Mel Maria Catholic Primary School

Newsletter - Term Three Week Four - 2024

Dear Parents and Staff

We are approaching the halfway point of Term Three and our students are participating well and thriving on all levels of school life.

The Catholic Schools Performing Arts is traditionally held during Term Three. Many of our students are participating as individual instrumental performers, class ensembles, school choir and are enjoying the experience. Congratulations to Mr Luke Murphy and our Year Four students on each campus for receiving ‘Excellence’ awards for their percussion performances last week.

We are looking forward to our choir performing next week and getting to hear other school performing.

One of the highlights of school life is the celebration of campus Masses, where all children get to gather to celebrate life and God's blessings as one community. Our children’s singing is a highlight and adds to the prayerfulness of the Mass.

We invite you to come along and share this with your children. The Feast of The Assumption will be celebrated on Thursday, 15 August at 9.00am on each campus and our students are preparing the hymns and the readings.

Your presence will add to the experience for your child on this Holy day of obligation,

so please feel welcome to come along. It is always such a joyful celebration. Mr Hille recently offered Mass for the Mel Maria Community on his visit to Lourdes in France.

Year Six students attending Pater Noster Parish will be celebrating the Sacrament of Confirmation this weekend. Please keep our students and their families in your prayers at this special time in their lives. Thank you to our teachers Naomi Smyth and Owen Connolly for helping them to prepare for this important sacrament.

I am delighted to report that the courtyard at Saint Joseph Pignatelli Campus is complete. I am sure Mr Hille will be delighted to see the results of his vision and planning come to fruition on his return from long service leave next week.

Pater Noster Campus renovations are also being enjoyed and used by our students and families. Your patience and flexibility throughout is much appreciated.

Our Parents and Friends Committee, meet next week on Tuesday evening 13 August at 7.00pm at SJP.

Please come along and support the great work being done on behalf of our students and families. New furniture will be arriving soon to enhance our learning spaces. The hard work and commitment of our P&F and parents in creating community is much appreciated.

Our staff appreciate your ongoing support with all of the learning opportunities we plan and provide for your children. Creating a positive and engaging learning environment is a priority for our staff team at Mel Maria.

Friday, 16 August is a Professional Learning Day for Mel Maria Staff. We hope families get to enjoy a mid-winter break.

Kind regards

Ros Nichols

Head of Campus

#MakingADifferenceEveryday

God of the prophets you gifted Mary MacKillop with vision and courage.

In her we see one who was not afraid to speak fearlessly your gospel of love.

We pray for the sensitivity and imagination to read the signs of our times, and to articulate new possibilities for our own day. Like Mary, may we learn to confront all that is oppressive and unjust, and empower others towards true freedom and integrity. Spirit of wisdom, be with us as we face new horizons.

Amen

CEWA MAD STEM Showcase

Wednesday was another proud moment for Mel Maria!

We are pleased to announce the teams from Years One, Five, and Six who showcased their term projects at the CEWA MAD STEM convention. These students have been actively engaged in inquiry-based learning, which emphasises critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Through this approach, students have honed their abilities to ask questions, conduct investigations, analyse evidence, provide explanations, and communicate their findings effectively.

The teams presented amazing innovative solutions aimed at making a positive impact on our world. A special mention goes to the Gender Sports Safety Team, who received the prestigious Panellist Award for their outstanding work.

TEAMS

Gender Sports Safety: Zoe, Brinn, Amelie, Indy – Year 5

Do you want to feel safe while playing your sport? Gender Sports Safety is for you! Our app helps you pick the sporting club that makes you feel safe.

Algae 11: Joachim, Huon, Hamish, Ebony – Year 5

Would you like to swim in a algae-infested waterway? If you’re answer is no, our product is right for you. The Algae 11 is a creative design with non-harmful flippers that create waves that rids the water of algae that will hurt you and all creatures.

Safety Plate : Paige, Amelia, Jack, Monty – Year 5

Feel that sad empathy every time you drive past a dead animal on the road? The safety plate has been designed to warn animals that your car is coming and help solve the issue of decreasing animal populations.

Dolphin Clicker : Sofia, Eleanor, Ava, Isabella – Year 5

The minute you start the motor on your boat, you are putting marine life at risk! This clever attachment for your boat, with its sensors and high-pitched clicking noise will warn dolphins about your presence in their home.

The Coral Bomb: Kyden, Ella, Anton, Elissa – Year 6

The Coral Bomb is similar to a bath bomb and acts as a solution to coral bleaching. The Coral Bomb dissolves in the water and helps to protect and strengthen the coral.

The Great Fishing Rod: Ruby, Mila, Ayla, Callum – Year 1

The fishing rod will weigh how many fish you catch and will stop you from fishing when you’ve caught too much. This is because people are fishing too much, design will stop too much fishing of our oceans, lakes and rivers.

Awesome Rubbish Collector: Luka, Zarah, Sophie, Ashton – Year 1

Cleaning the land of all plastic rubbish like bags and water bottles. We need to clean rubbish away, so creatures of the land won’t eat the rubbish and they don’t get sick.

No Money Food Shop: Tessa, Caio, Oskar, Hunter – Year 1

A free shop with food and items for the people who are hungry. The shop allows people to fill their basket of food and pick fresh food to help their empty tummies.

Transperth Easy Access : Zoe, Lyla, Gabrielle, Roman, Oscar – Year 5/6

I am sure we have all seen people taking up the disabled seats on the bus. This small card system will activate a flip chair that reserves this space for those who need it.

QDDS – Quality Door Defence System : Liam and Gabe – Year 5

QDDS is a doorframe covered in an electric magnetic rim to stop it being easily opened. When you want to enter use this special key system and the electric magnetic system is fully disarmed.

The Security Gate: Oscar, Max, Thomas, Noah

It is an external silicon insert that fits into an iPhone/ android phone case to block the audio ports from listening to private conversations. This will stop scammers and hackers from getting personal information.

All our students look forward to showcasing their work at Open Night.

Performing Arts Festival

Congratulations to the follow classes and students on receiving the following Performing Arts Awards.

EXCELLENCE Awards

· 4 Red Ensemble - SJP Campus

· 4 Green Ensemble - SJP Campus

· 4 Red Ensemble - Pater Noster Campus

· 4 Green Ensemble - Pater Noster Campus

MERIT Awards – Piano

· Hana Tjahjono

· Georgia Luckhurst

· Stella Kurniawan

· Evan Kelly

· Saidhbh Conneely and Georgia Luckhurst

· Angus Rigg & Cody Tan

School Choir Performances

Tuesday, 13 August - St Benedict’s Church, Applecross - Sacred and Liturgical Section 1:15pm 2:15pm

Thursday, 22 August - Vasto Club, Balcatta – Choral Section 9:30am-10:30am

The Year Six Christian and Community Leadership Ministries at SJP invited all students and staff (and parents!) to wear their pyjamas to school on Friday, 9 August to raise money for the Perth Children’s Hospital. They wore their pyjamas or comfiest clothes for the day (including enclosed shoes) and brought along a gold coin donation. We raised $350 for this great cause!

Exciting Semester Highlights

Wow, what a semester it’s been so far! We’ve already had some memorable experiences and valuable learning opportunities that we can't wait to share with you all at our Open Night. Here’s a glimpse of some of the exciting events and activities we had:

Cross Country Carnival - Our school spirit soared as we participated in our first Cross Country Carnival. Running alongside our fellow students, we gave our best efforts, and it was a fantastic day of athleticism, teamwork, and friendly competition. A selection of our fabulous class members represented us in the Interschool Cross Country Carnival, which we won!

Sacrament of Reconciliation Retreat - One of the most profound experiences this term was our retreat to the Schoenstatt Shrine in Armadale. We had the privilege of meeting Sr. Lisette, who guided us in our preparation for the Sacrament of Penance. Throughout the day, we engaged in meaningful activities that taught us how to make a positive difference in the lives of others. The retreat left us with beautiful memories and a deeper understanding of our faith. Our next step in our faith journey will be participating in our first Sacrament of Penance.

Author Visit - We were excited to welcome James Foley, author and illustrator, to our school as our author visitor for 2024. James shared with us the various characters he has created and how he became an author and illustrator of picture books, graphic novels, and chapter books. We even got to learn and draw illustrations like him.

Olympics - We’ve been researching our favourite Olympic sports which captivate and inspire us, showcasing the pinnacle of human achievement and the unifying spirit of competition. We've been making presentations on these sports, sharing our passion and knowledge with our class. Each day one of our trusty classmates film our presentations. You can see one of these by clicking on the QR code.

In Year Three at Pater Noster, we believe that variety is the spice of life! We launched into Term Three by exploring the beauty of God’s creation, and examining stories from our local Whadjuk Noongar people. We created eye catching artworks that depicted the Walyalup story, featuring Yondock (Spirit Crocodile) and Waugal ( Rainbow Serpent). This task was used as a springboard to move into a unit of inquiry around Australia and it’s natural features. We have studied a variety of maps, created our own maps and have discovered many new things about our very own state!

During Week Three, we came together as a cohort to bake cakes to donate to the Pater Noster Parish cake stall. We had a wonderful time cooking together and were very lucky to have help from some amazing parent helpers. It was a very enjoyable (and messy) day.

This week, we have been studying informative writing. We have been working together to co-construct learning intentions and success criteria to guide our work. Students have been exercising their sense of agency by co-creating our assessment rubric, after analysing a variety of work samples and engaging in rich discussion.

We are continuing to work hard to prepare for the upcoming Open Night! We can’t wait to share our outstanding learning with our families and friends.

Our Mel Maria students on both campuses enjoyed a visit from local author James Foley. The children were entertained by his theatrical presentation, exploring his journey on how he became an author illustrator. James led the children in a “How To Draw’ activity of two of his book characters, Stellarphant, and Happy Barry Capybara and inspired them to write and draw their own books. The children were engaged throughout the entire presentation and demonstrated true Mel Maria enthusiasm and positive behaviour.

Throughout this term, books from the CBCA shortlist have been read and discussed with the children in Early Childhood, during library.

The classroom teachers from the middle and upper years have borrowed the shortlist books from the Young Readers category to read to their children. The children have enjoyed hearing the new stories created and have loved voting on the books they like the most.

The results of the awards form the CBCA will be announced during Book Week and displayed in the library.

On the Monday, 19 August, the children will participate in a housekeeping assembly where they can come to school dressed up as their favourite book character.

It will be a wonderful celebration that we are all looking forward to participating in.

Don’t forget your book!!!!!!

Pre-Kindergarten 2025 – Applications are Now Due

Enrolments are now being taken for siblings and new students wishing to commence Pre-Kindergarten at Mel Maria Catholic Primary School in 2025. Families with children eligible for Kindergarten in 2025 are required to fill out a Pre-Kindergarten Enrolment Application Form. To enrol in Pre-Kindergarten a child must be three years of age before the 30 June 2025.

Mel Maria Catholic School Primary School will continue to operate full day Pre-Kindergarten groups next year with the days of attendance being Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Classes are filling up fast, with limited positions now available, so it is important that parents submit their applications as soon as possible. Application forms can be obtained from the office or please follow the link provided. https://melmaria.wa.edu.au/assets/Uploads/General/Application-for-Enrolment-Form.pdf.

Kindergarten 2025 – Applications are Now Due

In 2025, we will have a whole new Early Childhood space for students from Pre-Kindergarten to Year Two. This is going to be very exciting for the students, teachers and parents.

Enrolments are now being taken for siblings and new students wishing to commence Kindergarten at Mel Maria Catholic Primary School in 2025. Families with children eligible for Kindergarten in 2025 are required to fill out a Kindergarten Enrolment Application Form. These can be collected from the office or please follow the link provided. https://melmaria.wa.edu.au/assets/Uploads/General/Application-for-Enrolment-Form.pdf.

Kindergarten places are limited so it is important that parents within the Mel Maria Catholic Primary School community submit their applications as soon as possible.

Webinars for parents and carers

The eSafety Commissioner provides free webinars for parents and carers. These live webinars give parents and carers the knowledge, skills and tools to support their children to have safe online experiences.

Topics covered this term: