St Mary's War Memorial School West Wyalong eNewsletter

Dear Parents/Carers,

Welcome to Term 2. It is going to be a busy term at St Mary’s with plenty going on. A special thanks to the staff for their work during the holidays to prepare the students for a settled start to Term 2. Later this term the students are asked wear their winter school uniform which includes ties. This is not mandatory until the 1^st of June as there is still some warmer weather to come.

Many thanks to those who represented our school at the ANZAC Day march last week. It was lovely to see such a good representation from our school. It was also great to see our students so well dressed in their ties and wearing their grandparents and great grandparents service medals.

Next Thursday St Mary’s will support the “Do It For Dolly Day”. The day is celebrated on the 9^th of May, however, with so much happening we will celebrate the day on Thursday the 8^th. There will be blue treats and blue jelly sold at the canteen. Also, all students will be asked to wear blue on the day for a gold coin donation. This will be set up on QKR. In class, students will learn about how to recognise bullying, how to respond to bullying and how to talk to adults about bullying. The staff at St Mary’s are committed to raising awareness of bullying in our community and are proud to say there is no place for bullying at St Mary’s. Many thanks for your support.

Many thanks to our community council for their time in removing the fence between the old convent and our school in preparation for the new fence to be installed by Reece Middleton from RLM Repairs.

Next week we will celebrate Catholic Schools Week. The week will coincide with St Mary’s opening its enrolment period for 2026. If you know of any families interested in being a part of the St Mary’s community please ask them to contact the school for more information.

Congratulations to James Gregor of Year 2 for taking out 1^st place in the Ray White Easter Colouring competition. Honourable mentions also went to Mae Dean and Hugh Ridley.

Remember my door is always open.

Principal

Damian Collins

We will not have a focus value this week at St Mary’s. Instead, following the death of His Holiness Pope Francis we will focus on paying respect and giving thanks for his life of service.

A Prayer for Pope Francis

Year 6 ‘Journey with Jesus’ Retreat

On the last day of Term 1 our year 6 students joined with children from Lake Cargelligo to take part in a day long retreat with youth ministry officer from the Catholic Education Office Luke Maher. Students enjoyed the day with the students from Lake and thoroughly enjoined learning more about how to live like Jesus.

Year 2, 3 and Year 4 Mass

In Week 10 of last term Year 2, 3 and Year 4 celebrated Mass with Father Hilary. During the ceremony Arlie Orr, Zoey Smith and Stevie Smith also received the Sacrament of Baptism. We officially welcome you to living a life committed to Christ’s teachings.

Congratulations to the 28 students that received the Sacrament of Reconciliation at St Mary’s in the last week of Term 1, it was a lovely occasion. Thank you to Father Hilary and his Parish secretary Louise Daniher for preparing the students so beautifully.

Thank you Kate Cassidy from Kate Bakes for this masterpiece!

If you would like your child to receive their First Holy Communion, the enrolment information session will be held on Wednesday the 21^st of May at 5pm at St Mary’s church. The Sacrament will be held on Sunday the 22nd of June.

Student of the Term

June Cassidy	Matilda Cumming	Jeffrey Eza'awe
Maisie Maslin	Mae Dean	Stella Murrells
	Molly Gaynor

Happy Birthday to

Freddie Miles, Nathan Crerar & Trudy Sturgess

who celebrate their birthdays during this week.

We hope you enjoy your special day.

We have a very busy start to the term sporting wise! Lots of fun Gala Days coming up as well as our school Athletics Carnival!

Week 1 - Western Region Cross Country (Friday)

Week 2 - Wagga Wagga Primary School 10's Championships (Wednesday) & Paul Kelly Cup (Friday)

Week 3 - League Stars Day - Mortimer Shield & Trent Barrett Shield (Thursday)

Week 4 - St Mary's Athletics Carnival (Friday)

Wagga Wagga Primary School 10's Championship

Students who played in the Mid Western Primary School 10's Gala Day were lucky enough to make it to the next round! We will field a Year 3/4 team and a Year 5/6 team. The students are looking forward to another fun day of Rugby Union. A bus has been organised for this event and will be leaving the school at 7am.

If you are yet to action the Compass event, please do so ASAP.

Paul Kelly Cup 2025 - Wagga Wagga

The Paul Kelly Cup is the largest AFL primary school competition in New South Wales and the ACT and is open to students in Years 5 and 6. The Paul Kelly Cup consists of 12 player teams competing in round robin gala days. Games are played on a smaller field using modified rules.

Our Year 5/6 students are competing in Wagga on Friday 9th of May (Week 2, Term 2). We will field a boys team and a girls team in the non-competitive competition.

A bus has been organised by the school at the cost of $15 per student. A draw has not been finalised. Times will be confirmed closer to the date.

A Compass event has been sent out. Please action this as soon as possible.

Trent Barrett & Mortimer Shield 2025

This year the NRL are hosting both Trent Barrett Shield (Year 3/4) and Mortimer Shield (Year 5/6) on Thursday 15th May at Nixon Park, Temora. This event is for Stage 2 & 3 students and consists of both tackle and League Tag teams.

A bus has been organised by the school at the cost of $15 per student. A draw has not been finalised. Times will be confirmed closer to the date.

Students must bring a hat, water bottle, sunscreen and a change of clothes plus any protective wear your child uses including head gear, mouth guards and fit for purpose football boots. (Not compulsory but highly recommended).

An operating canteen for the day has NOT yet been confirmed, therefore students will need a packed lunchbox. If more information regarding a canteen is given it will be passed on.

A Compass event has been sent out. Please action this as soon as possible.

We would love to get parent coaches for these teams. Please contact the front office or wendy.connellan@cg.catholic.edu.au if you or anyone you know would like to volunteer.

Canberra Goulburn Archdiocese Trials

If your Year 5/6 child has the ability to compete at a representative level in the following sports - Netball, Football (Soccer), Softball, Touch Football and Rugby Union - you are able to nominate them for the Archdiocesan trials.

Please note that the Archdicocesan representative sport trials are highly competitve and there is an expectation that children nominating for these trials have extensive experience in the sport and currently compete at a high level.

If you would like to nominate your child to trial for a sport please go to https://csnsw.sport

Primary_Boys_12_Years_and_Under_Netball_Trials_2025_Page_1.jpg

Cross Country 2025

Good luck to the 27 students who will competing at Western Region Cross Country in Batlow this Friday! We can't wait to hear how you all go!

Reni Wendt	Molly Green
Owen Browne	Lucy Weir
Seth Coburn	Maisie Maslin
Darcy Nicholson	Indi Fair
Bodhi Fair	Meila Fair
Reuben Ridley	Ivy Wilson
Louis Morton	Ciara O'Meley
Harrison Chantrill	Charlotte Pursehouse
Ricky Smith	Emily McCoullough
Nicholas Quade	Cailah Semi
Ted Glasgow	Lilly Robertson
Hugh Ridley	Harriet Bell
Will McDonell	Scarlett Orr
	Abbie Blampied

We had a fantastic turnout for the Anzac Day March this year. Thank you to all the staff and students who attended. What a special occasion it was.

Do it For Dolly donations

All donations welcome!

We are welcoming new enrolments for the 2026 school year.

Please enrol online before 26th September however late enrolments are always accepted, at our website with the link below - https://smwms.nsw.edu.au/enrolment

If you require further information please call the school 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.

Day	Event	Location
Tuesday 29th April	Students First Day of Term 2
Friday 2nd May	Western Region Cross Country	Batlow
Wednesday 7th May	Wagga Wagga Primary School 10’s Championships - Stage 2 & 3	Jubilee Park, Wagga
Friday 9th May	Paul Kelly Cup - Year 5 and 6	Jubilee Park, Wagga
Thursday 15th May	Stage 2 & 3 League Stars Gala Day - Trent Barrett & Mortimer Shield	Nixon Park, Temora
Wednesday 21st May	First Holy Communion Enrolment & Information Session @ 5pm	At St Mary's Church
Friday 23rd May	St Mary's Athletics Carnival	McAllister Oval
Tuesday 3rd June	Ratburger - Year 3-6	Wagga Civic Theatre
Friday 6th June	Book Fair and Parade	At School
Monday 9th June	King's Birthday Public Holiday
Friday 20th June	Western Region Athletics	TBC
Sunday 22nd June	First Holy Communion Mass	St Mary's Church
Wednesday 2nd July	CE Director Mr David de Carvahlo visiting	At School

Week 1

Date and Day	Teacher on Leave or PD	Class	Relief
Thursday 1st May	Mrs Iverach	Year 3 Peace	Mrs Reichstein

Full Winter Uniform, Including Ties

It is compulsory for all students to wear full winter uniform from the 1st of June.

Students are permitted to wear pants and skirts prior to June 1st if the weather suits.

Parents can refer to the school handbook on our website.

Our school uniform is always to be worn with pride. It is our brand and reflects the quality of our school.

Girls Winter Skirts and Ties available from the School Office

Girls winter skirts - sizes 4-16 - $40.

Ties (elastic or tie your own) - Small & Large - $16

If you need further information please call the school office on (02) 6972 3003.

Attendances

Please remember that anytime your child is away you MUST submit an attendance note.

1. From the homepage of your Compass App, click on the blue plus Shortcuts button on the bottom taskbar.

2. Click on 'Submit Attendance Note'

3. If you have more than one child, select the child the attendance note is for

Select the reason
Enter a brief discription of the absence
Select the start and finish date and time
Click the 'Save' button

*Where possible, attendance notes should be entered prior to the absence occuring.

If you would like to help in the canteen in Terms 2 please contact our canteen manager Casey Judd at casey.judd@cg.catholic.edu.au or on Facebook.

If any volunteers are unable to fill their shift please contact Casey on 0400 472 921.

Date and Day

Teacher on Leave or PD

Class

Relief