This year has been remarkable in many ways. Life has changed, routines have been disrupted, and we have had to adapt to things feeling and being a little different at school.  Nevertheless, I am surer than ever that it is the people - the staff, students and the wider school community - that make St Marys District School such a special place to be a part of.  Last week, we sent home copy of the 2020 School Magazine for each family.  This document that truly reflects the uniqueness of 2020 while demonstrating so clearly the wonderful achievements of our students, the incredible work of our staff, and the ongoing support of our families and broader community.  Most of all, while documenting this remarkable year, the magazine is a photographic record of the courage, growth, aspiration and respect that has been shown by all.

Even with the challenges of this year, our students and school continues to shine.  Within every classroom, curriculum area, student group and staff team at St Marys there are many experiences, opportunities, successes and achievements to be celebrated.  Recent data sets indicate high achievement including:

• Parent satisfaction survey data indicating significant improvement in school organisation, effective leadership, parent participation in decision making, support for students, and the increased variety of subjects and activities offered, with parents highly recommending our school to others.
• Staff satisfaction survey data indicates significant improvement in all survey markers including being at or above the Tasmanian school average in 10 focus areas. These include access to professional learning and development, increased resources to support classes, subjects and programs, support for students, and increased involvement in school planning and improvement. Staff also strongly recommend our school to others.
• Student Pat Reading data evidences growth across all grades and student wellbeing data shows increased high wellbeing for all year groups across every wellbeing marker. This is a significant trend up in our student learning outcomes and student wellbeing.

Students, staff and families should be proud our combined efforts this year efforts. To the parents, teachers, school support staff, and wider family circles: your support and care has helped nurture the successes of the young people of St Marys District School.

Staffing News

As with every year, we do have a number of staff confirmed as leaving us at the end of this year.  I would like to thank the following staff for their work and commitment to our school and students and wish them well in the future.

• Mrs Dilys Fyle
• Miss Sarah Bovill
• Mrs Ellen Redden
• Mrs Emily Garth
• Ms Narmina Hasanova
• Mrs Christine Waters
• Mr Alan Edwards

 The following staff will be joining us in 2021 and I am looking forward to welcoming them into our school community.

• Ms Adalia Draghici
• Mr Will Innis
• Mr Andrew Martin
• Mrs Leonie Youdale
• Mr Jason Gledhill

 Mrs Keziah Green will be returning after a period of leave.  Mrs Hannah Coates will be taking some leave and we excitedly await news of an addition to her family.  Mrs Mandy Simmons will be taking a well-deserved break and some Long Service Leave during Term 1 2021.

Our school leadership team is also confirmed for the 2021 school year. Working alongside me will be:

Miss Ros Smith                  Assistant Principal

Mrs Lynette Yodgee            Assistant Principal

Mrs Sandra Cook                AST  (K-6)

Mr Andrew Martin               AST  (7- 12)

Mrs Lucie Cornelius            AST – Quality Teaching Coach

2021 Class Groupings

In 2021 at St Marys District School composite class groupings will again be the norm in most cases.  Composite classes are not based on academic performance but instead are determined by a range of information including teacher, student and parent feedback.  Below are our 2021 class and team structures. 

Farewell Grade 10’s

The Grade 10 class of 2020 are to be celebrated as a resilient, determined and insightful cohort of students who are intelligent, articulate, committed to social justice – and above all else, kind. They are, a class to be proud of.

This year has been tough, and unique.  It has placed unexpected challenges in the path of us all and our Grade 10 students are no exception. For them, everything changed. And yet, in the midst of a global pandemic and Learning from Home they excelled. 

One of the most memorable moments of this unprecedented year, involves our Grade 10 students and their wonderful teacher Lucie Cornelius.  During Learning from Home, this group not only tackled online learning using Microsoft Teams and Canvas, they absolutely nailed it.  I vividly remember observing one of their online classes, most students were at home, online and some at school.  They worked as a whole class, broke into groups, using break out rooms, for discussion and then returned together to share the learning.  They used the chat function to communicate, shared their screens and utilised the electronic whiteboard for collaboration.  It was at this moment that I knew, that our students and teachers would be okay, and that we would be successful regardless of what this crazy year threw at us.  Thank you Grade 10s, you led the way and showed us all how successful we could be and how successful you are.

Best wishes for the future!

Finally, I would like to thank everyone in our school community for their ongoing support of our wonderful school.  To our students who will be returning in 2021,  families and our school community members, I wish you a Merry Christmas and a restful, relaxing and fun filled holiday.

Thank you.

Carolyn Watson

The Principal’s Art Purchase is an award established to support and encourage students with a love of and talent in the Visual Arts.  Each year grade 9 and 10 students have the opportunity to enter their art work, completed during the year for consideration.  A panel of judges view the anonymous entries and make the selection.  Once the selection has been made the name of the winning student is revealed to the panel.

The artwork is purchased by the school and professionally framed.  It will be hung in the foyer area of the administration block for a period of 3 years.  At the end of this time the artwork will be gifted back to the winning student and their family.

Shortlisted Entries

2020 Principal's Art Purchase

Just over a year ago, I stood here to tell you what I believed being a student leader meant. And although it turns out I didn’t save that speech and have now lost it, I remember that the most recurring theme in that speech was sacrifice. This year, each and every one of us have had to deal with sacrifice: be it from not having the events we wanted, or just from being unable to see and socialise with our friends. Term Two and isolation was tough on students, teachers and parents alike, and even when we returned to school, the guidelines we had to follow made it impossible to enjoy the events we usually have, like socials and camps. But despite all of these disappointments, we’ve managed other achievements. We’ve had a school pirate day, we’ve began a mentoring program; all these things and more are reasons why this year is still one we can call successful. In fact, this year is one we have triumphed in.

Term One began as every year before has, and for the Student Leadership Board this meant a trip to Launceston for the G.R.I.P. Leadership Conference. There we learnt better ways to run events and to focus on giving our school what it needs more so than what it wants. But perhaps the most important lesson we learnt was that what we achieved this year would become our legacy. What did we want to be remembered for? With the help of Mrs. Cornelius and the School Improvement Plan, we identified what we felt the school needed to work on. We wanted to create personal relationships between every student and teacher in the school, and to make it so every student had a sense of belonging. So immediately we began planning events like homegroup challenges to help classes work as a team. Yet, almost as soon as we’d gotten our act together, we were forced to make adjustments.

 On March 16^th, Australia officially implemented social distancing, and we were all forced to keep away from each other. For the rest of Term One, everything was put on hold, and our plans had to be cancelled. In order to stay safe, we had to sacrifice what we’d been looking forward to since the start of the school year. Then Term Two began, which was another big step in the wrong direction. We all had to suffer being away from each other, and the faulty internet that comes with using Teams instead of Zoom. For some of us, it was hard. Yet some triumphed. There were those of us who thrived during isolation, even enjoyed it more than they would normally at school. When feedback came in, it showed that more people liked the freedom that came with working from home than disliked it, and this really affected the way the rest of the year panned out. And yet another triumph came from being at home: pirate day.

Originally, the Student Leadership Board had planned pirate day to be at school, but this of course wasn’t possible. So, it went online. Students armed with the pirate-related activities sent out in packs gave in photos of themselves dressed up as pirates, as well as designing flags and dressing up their pets. A huge thanks has to go out to the teachers, who saw to it that every student knew of pirate day with notices on Teams and, in particular, a massive thanks to Mr. Wardlaw with his legendary pirate-spotting video. Almost as if pirate day was a signal, the all-clear to return to school hit us like a sledgehammer, and the last few weeks of Term Two were filled with friends reconnecting after what had seemed like years of only seeing glitchy computer screens.  

When we came back to school in Term Three, we were determined to make the most of face to face learning and the time we had left in the year. The SLB reduced our action plan to one key legacy: a mentoring program. We trained secondary students to become mentors in the primary and organised whole class and individual mentoring timetables. From the feedback we have collected, we know that the mentoring program has created new connections and friendships that have continued outside the program. We also know that the program has increased the confidence of mentors and supported the learning of primary students. The vast majority of participants want to continue mentoring in the future as they have seen the benefits for themselves, their mentees and the school. And as well as a mentoring program, the secondary students were able to participate in Winter Sports, something we had all but given up on.

In Term Four we were able to function almost as normal. We had the secondary Athletics Carnival, excursions to the Freycinet area, college enrolments for the Year Tens; everything was pretty much normal. There were, of course, some differences, like how Presentation Day is being filmed live, and the Grade Ten Leaver’s Dinner will be happening here instead of at White Sands, but all in all the Term was uneventful compared to the rest of the year.

2020 was a year of disappointments, yet despite this we’ve triumphed, perhaps more so than any other year in the past. We had to work from home, and we did it well. We had to keep our distance from one another, and we nailed it. We’ve sacrificed more this year than any other year in the past, students, parents, Student Leaders, teachers, we’ve all sacrificed. And we thrived. Each and every one of us should be proud of how 2020 turned out. Each and every one of us.

- Nathan Spurling

Celebratory Speech Grade 10 2020 

I wrote the notes for this speech at 3am on a sleepless morning about a month ago. I was inspired by a song that was stuck in my head, and you, wonderful young people before me. I hope my flash of midnight inspiration holds up because this has been a big year and so it calls for something a bit different. 

In a world which has been turned upside down, where overwhelming issues trouble us, it is hard to stay hopeful. Hope is important. It’s a call to action. Unlike optimism, hope is an active word. It motivates us to be better, do better and to treat each other better. You, the Grade 10s of 2020 give us hope. You have motivated us and made us hopeful for the kind of future you will build. 

Each of you have qualities which will make this world better. Among you are passionate thinkers: Amy, Louis, Darcey, Keanu and Nathan. Teaching doesn’t get much better than hearing your daring, brave, big ideas. Ideas make the world turn. Keep thinking and keep talking about your ideas. It makes a profound difference.  

Some of you bring energy, determination and courage. Sofia, Aaron and Tae, just being around you energises us (sometimes up the wall). You have the go to make change happen and build others up.  I know you will use your energy and courage to do something great and make something better. 

 Within this group there is a strong sense of justice. Of what is fair and what is not. This is such an admirable quality because if there is one thing we need, it is a fairer, more just world. Bridie, Larna, Xavier Jordan, Bayley Oliver-Bowling, Luke and Celeste. Listen to your inner sense of justice. Trust your instincts on what is right and wrong. This strong sense of justice will help others and create a better world. 

We cannot do better or be better without honesty. Jonah, Jade, Tiana, Codey, Bailey Barnes, Justin and Asher. We need you. We need your truth telling. You remind us to be honest with ourselves and with those around us and we must do this to be better.  

This year, kindness and compassion have held us together. Every day I came to school and saw you in person or on Teams, I witnessed kindness and compassion. It brings so much joy to see people embrace these qualities. Ellie, Kate, Issy, Tasharna, Mackenzie, Lani, Jess, Haydon and Catherine – be proud of your kindness and compassion. Know that it has made a difference and will make a difference, everywhere you go. 

This is how you have given us hope. Through your daring ideas, your courage, your sense of justice, your honesty and your kindness. As you finish Grade 10 and most of you leave on adventures to new schools and experiences, we’d like to thank you for this and if you indulge me, impart a pearl of wisdom:  

It’s a beautiful life and it will be a beautiful life with characteristics like these and people like you in it. But it won’t always be easy. We have been beside many of you as you have struggled and succeeded and we know that you can make the best of what is to come. You have given us hope but more importantly, you must stay hopeful.  

Trust in this beautiful, chaotic, glorious, frustrating, emotional, heart-breaking, heart-warming, difficult and complex life. Trust in your ability to live it, change it and find joy in it: Stay hopeful. 

Take a moment to reminisce and acknowledge the glorious days of your life at SMDS. 

Mrs  Lucie Cornelius

Yesterday we farewelled our year 10 students at their final assembly at St Marys District School.    Each student received an engraved pen, their Certificate of Completion and began a new tradition - signing the "Leavers' Book".   Students were cheered on their way by a guard of honour consiting of our Grade 5/6 students.

Secondary Swim Event Results 2020

On Wednesday the 9^th December a number of excited and enthusiastic secondary students hit the pool to compete for Champions and new records in the secondary swim event 2020.  The first record fell in the 3^rd event of the day, the grade 9 girls 25m freestyle.  This was the beginning of a consistent flow of records falling throughout the remainder of the day.  Congratulations to all students who participated in the event and to our Champions, Runner-up Champions and new record holders.  It was fabulous to be able to provide this opportunity for our secondary students and we had a great day at the pool.   Many thanks to Mr Nic Wardlaw for his commitment and energy to training the swim squad.  The number of new records clearly reflects that all that work pays off!  Thank you to the staff and students who assisted on the pool deck.  We would not have been able to conduct such a successful event without your assistance.

 Secondary Swim Event Results:

 Grade Champions:

New records:

Dear parents, caregivers and students,

 Thank you to all of you who participated in our last Lift challenge – My magical garden. The thought, imagination, creativity and care you all put in your magical gardens was much appreciated.

 Our winners for our Lift challenge are:

Coen – Kindergarten

Macey – Prep/1

Willow – Prep/1

Jett – Grade 1/2

Cobia – Grade 1/2

Bentley – Grade 1/2

Beatrix - Grade 1/2

Congratulations to each of you and your families! Each winner received a book from our special Lift library collection and a few small prizes.

 We wish all our families a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Recently our Kindergarten class spent the day at East Coast Natureworld.

We were given a guided tour of the park and got to get up close some beautiful native animals.  We enjoyed lunch in the café and a play on the playground too.  The wombats, kangaroos, baby emus and the blue tongue lizard.

We would really like to thank Jacqui and her staff for providing us with a really great day, we will remember this experience for a long time!

In recent weeks our students have applied their knowledge of rhythm, beat, pitch, sound dynamics and notation to the playing of a variety of instruments.   Grade 3 to 5 have learned how to safely and correctly hold, tune and play a variety of chords on the ukulele.  They have learned to play a song called IKO IKO.  The students have learned the names of the strings (1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th), the accompanying notes G, C, E, A and have demonstrated some interesting whole class pizzicato rhythms (plucking strings with fingers instead of strumming all the strings) using semi breves, minims, crochets, quavers and rests.   Our students have learned to create different sounds, change pitch and play octaves by pressing their fingers on different strings and on the different frets.  The K – 2 students have experienced using a range of instruments from the ukuleles, keyboards and percussion.  Through learning about the “little house” and the “big house”, our early childhood students have learned about the notes on a keyboard.  All grades have participated in many movement to music opportunities to develop their sense of rhythm and timing.  Some activities included ‘call and response’ lyrics, rhyming lyrics and repetition, which is so important in the acquisition of new skills. We have finished the year with learning about Australian bush dancing including a Heel and Toe Polka and a long-ways set Strip the Willow.

It has been a joy to deliver Music to your children from Kindergarten to Grade 4 this year.  Music supports literacy, numeracy and the development of fundamental movement skills.  Next year will see your children engage in more singing, dancing, listening and playing instruments in a fun, safe and inclusive way.  Karen Bramich

Please enjoy the final collection of photos from Term 4.   Our students have engaged in a range of learning opportunities from developing fundamental motor skills through game play and introducing a range of hitting, striking, catching and throwing skills opportunities through individual challenges, drills, skills, small groups and competitive team games.  The new “donut” flying discs have worked a treat!  Our students are aware that Physical Education is learning about ways to move our both – both active and passive.  Our Grade 1 / 2 class particularly enjoyed muscle stretching and relaxation activities.  Our Kindergarten students continued learning about “place and space” in PE.  How to work in free space, circle shapes, line formations and in small co-operative groups is very important in the development of a young child’s spatial awareness.

It has been a pleasure to deliver the Health and Physical Education curriculum to the K – 2 students this year.  I look forward to further developing, refining and consolidating your child’s skills next year in safe, respectful, fun and challenging ways.  I wish all families a safe and happy holiday break.   Karen Bramich

Just like Christmas, Back to School seems to be getting earlier and earlier each year!

This week, a 2021 back to school information pack was mailed to parents.   This pack contained a lot of information around levies, book and uniform days, financial assistance and included a book list to assist people in advance with their book covering needs.   The book list is for your information only, all required stationery items on the book list are covered in the composite levy and can be collected from school on the dates below:

School Hoodies will be available for purchase from the School Administration office on these days.  

Payment of Levies will not be required on these days. Families will be invoiced for their levies after commencement of Term 1 on Wednesday 3 February 2021. If you wish to set up a payment plan for your levies, please contact Lisa Bean, School Business Manager 0363723900 to arrange a confidential appointment.

Parents will be required to complete Student Information Validation Forms for their children on the above days.  Staff will be available to assist you with this process.

Lowes Pop up Uniform Shop will be on site for expert fitting and sales of the SMDS uniform (excluding school Hoodies).

The Department of Education recently announced that we would be expanding the Student Assistance Scheme for 2021.

Parents who have a current concession card as listed below can apply for dependent students for assistance under the STAS:

• Services Australia – Centrelink Health Care Card
• Service Australia – Centrelink Low Income Health Care Card
• Services Australia – Pensioner Concession Card or
• Department of Veteran Affairs – Pensioner Concession Card.

Please note that if you are already receiving student assistance you do not need to complete a form.

For 2021 a new on-line form has been developed to assist with processing applications for new applicants.

The online form can be completed here:  https://stasonlinesubmission.education.tas.gov.au/ 

The form will be available for public use from the 10 November. 

Once a validated form is completed the Department of Education will confirm the outcome of your application in writing, this process takes approximately 14 days.

We understand this online option may not be possible for all families, so if you require a hard copy form please contact your school or stas@education.tas.gov.au or 1800 827 055.