Dear Parents and Carers,

I would like to welcome our continuing families to another exciting school year and extend a special welcome to our new families for 2023. This year we invite the Green, Haworth, Hill, Iverach, Kelly, Nicholson, Whittaker and Wood families into St Mary’s. I sincerely hope your experience with the school is positive and your students are engaged with their learning.

The 2023 St Mary’s school year has started with great momentum focussing on teaching and learning. On Monday our staff joined over 2000 teachers from the Canberra & Goulburn Archdiocese at the Canberra Convention Centre to participate in the ‘Faith in Learning’ conference. The Archdiocese has implemented a consistent approach to the Science of Learning with a focus on direct instruction.

To assist the implementation of this approach, St Mary’s has been provided with an expert in the field. Michael Roberts has extensive knowledge in the Science of Learning and has 22 years of Principal experience across 10 schools. Michael will visit the school 5 times this year with dates being confirmed earlier this week. To ensure all staff benefit from this process, St Mary’s will take a pupil free day on his first visit, Tuesday 14 February. This will allow all staff to engage with Michael and ensure consistent training and knowledge is delivered across the board. I realise this is short notice for the pupil free day, however I hope you understand we must take advantage of this opportunity.

It is also with great joy that I welcome 18 new kinder students to our school, Jack Connellan, Bodhi Fair, Molly Green, Harper Hart, Hugh Haworth, Rylee Hill, Piper Hoye, Tully Hutchins, Billy Iverach, Luna Kelly, Bowie Loudon, Darcy Nicholson, Isabelle McDonell, Sam Robertson, Zoey Smith, Trudy Sturgess, Bronte Whittaker and Ida Wood. I must say how smart they look in their new uniforms and congratulate them on learning the St Mary’s culture so quickly.

2023 also sees two educators join our staff. I would like to welcome Mrs Nadia Worland (Release from face-to-face teacher, Wednesday) and Mrs Brydie Daly (Classroom Support Assistant, Monday & Tuesday) to the team and look forward to the collaboration they will bring to St Mary’s.

I would like to offer an invitation to our entire school community to contact the school for any reason, either positive or negative. I am open to constructive feedback and no issue is too big or too small for the school to be contacted about. I am looking forward to collaborating with the entire school community to ensure St Mary’s continues to provide the quality education service it is known for.

Kind Regards,

Phil Nielsen

Principal

  

Thank you, God, for new opportunities to learn and grow.

Be with our teachers, leaders, caregivers, and administrators as they guide us into the new school year. Give them the tools and energy to create engaging ways for all of us to learn and grow.

Help us to open our hearts and minds to new ideas, new friends and leaders, and new ways of learning. Show us how to seek joy in all things.

When things don’t go as planned, help us rejoice in the newness. When we have technical difficulties, help us rejoice in simple things like books and crayons. When we feel lonely or isolated, remind us that you are by our side.

When our teachers and caregivers seem worried and wary, help them to be gentle with themselves.

As we begin to explore the unknown of this school year, let us rejoice with new friends, in new ways of learning, in knowing that you are with us through it all.

God of joy and light, pour out your blessing upon these students, families, teachers, and leaders.

May each of you be a blessing and light in your new year!

Go and light up the world!

Amen.

   

Opening School Mass

Thursday 2nd March 2023

12 pm

  We are celebrating our whole school Opening Mass on Thursday the 2nd of March at 12pm. Our Year 6 leaders will be inducted at this mass.

If you are a Year 6 parent and you will not have a family member attending the mass, could you please let the school know so a staff member can be with your child during the badge ceremony.

All students attend this Mass and all our parents and carers are warmly invited to attend.

St Mary's has had a restructure of our student leadership groups.  In 2023 we will have 5 leadership groups - School Captains, House Captains, Faith Leaders, Resource Leaders and Community Leaders.

Our House Captains were elected by their house last Wednesday and for 2023 we will have 2 captains for each house.

McAuley - Harper McDonell and James Dean

Tenison-Woods - Amelia-Rose Blampied and Frederik Bell

MacKillop - Montana Crouch and Edward Tulloch

We welcome our new Kinder students for 2023

(L-R): Trudy Sturgess, Zoey Smith, Ida Wood, Luna Kelly, Bowie Loudon, Darcy Nicholson, Isabelle McDonell, Molly Green, Bodhi Fair, Harper Hart, Bronte Whittaker, Jack Connellan, Hugh Haworth, Piper Hoye, Rylee HIll, Sam Robertson, Tully Hutchins and Billy Iverach.

Interviews for all Year 1 to Year 6 students will be held next week on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons from 3.30pm in your child's classroom, depending on teacher availiablity.

These interviews are held in Term 1 to enable parents to speak about their child's strengths and where they might require some help.

The booking form will be available on Compass this week.  When you open Compass you will see and banner box that advises a Parent/Teacher meeting is available for booking.

Please take this opportunity to speak to your child's teacher.

Our school counsellor, Mrs Emma McRae, has sent the following letter for all parents.

Emma will be at school every Wednesday of Term 1 with the exception of Wednesday the 15th of February, which will be replaced by Thursday the 16th of February.

The link in Emma's letter below is here: School Referral Form

This information can also be found on our school website and includes a link to the referral form.

• School Swimming Carnival Notes - All Years - Please complete the Compass Event Permission by Monday night as the students need to be grouped into races.
• Medical Form (purple) - All Years - Please complete and return the form to the school office.  A new form is required every year for every student.  If you indicate your child has asthma an asthma plan, puffer and spacer are to be sent to the front office for use during school hours.

Library Timetable 2023

   

Sport Days 2023

      Happy Birthday to

Jess Hardie, Alicia Otaegui and Ted Glasgow

who celebrates their birthday's last week and during this week.

We hope you enjoy your special day.

There is parking in the church carpark and on Church Street for dropping off and picking up children.

Children who walk or ride to school may use the crossing on England Street as required but then must enter the school through the bus stop area.

Issue 1 of Scholastic Book Club will close on Thursday the 9th of February.

It is best to use the LOOP order system but if you need to pay by cash then the forms need to be sent to the office.

The following events are in the calendar in the next few weeks.

The Compass Calendar is updated to show Mass times, sporting events, important events.

The SZAPP calendar is no longer updated, please do not refer to this calendar for important dates.

Day	Event	Location
Wednesday 8 February	Kinder Rest Day and Best Start Testing
	School Counsellor Visit	At school
Friday 10 Februray @ 5.00pm	School Twilight Swimming Carnival	Holland Park Pool
Tuesday 14 February	Pupil Free Day
Wednesday 15 February	Kinder Rest Day and Best Start Testing
	MacKillop Touch Trials For athletes who qualified.	Sydney
	School Counsellor Visit	At school
Tuesday 21 February	CG AFL Trials. For athletes who nominated only.	Wollongong
Wednesday 22 February	Kinder Rest Day and Best Start Testing
	Ash Wednesday Mass @ 10am	St Mary's Church
	School Counsellor Visit	At school
Thursday 23 February	Western Region Swimming For athletes who qualified only.	Young
Friday 24 February	MacKillop Basketball Trials For athletes who qualified.	TBA