Dear Parents and Carers

Last weekend, we celebrated Good Shepherd Sunday. The Gospel reflected on the image of the Good Shepherd—one who knows, guides, and protects his flock. This resonates with the recent election of Pope Leo XIV, who, like the Good Shepherd, is called to lead and care for the global Catholic community. His election brings with it a renewed sense of guidance and hope for the Church, following the incredible work of Pope Francis.

Within our own St Mary’s community, we also witnessed this spirit of leadership and commitment as our Year 6 students made their Commitment at Mass. This special moment marks an important step in their preparation to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation in June. We pray that, inspired by the Good Shepherd and Pope Leo XIV, our students will embrace the next step in their faith journey.

We have had a number of students across the school travelling to represent our Archdiocese at different sports and today we have students travelling to Canberra to represent our Southern Region in Cross Country. It is such a wonderful achievement for our students to reach this level and we are very proud of them. Last week we had a great week celebrating Catholic Schools’ Week. The purpose of the week is to celebrate our Catholic schools, highlighting our catholic identity and our inclusiveness. We are very fortunate to have a strong K-12 Pathway for Catholic Education on the Coast. Throughout Catholic Schools’ Week we joined together as a Catholic community for many events and purposes. The week ended with St Mary’s and St Bernard’s Year 5 and Year 6 students joining together for Carroll Day. We enjoyed celebrations with Open Day and Mother’s Day. Our K-12 connection will continue with St Mary’s hosting a Teddy Bear’s Picnic on Tuesday 20 May. I know Kindergarten are very excited about this event!

Reading Instruction

St Mary’s has adopted evidenced based instruction that is underpinned by The Simple View of Reading and Cognitive Science. This research-based approach informs the design of our instruction and classroom delivery. The Simple View of Reading and Literacy instruction compromises of explicit and systematic teaching word recognition, subject matter knowledge, vocabulary, sentence comprehension and language from written texts. All schools are implementing evidence-based teaching practices, meaning every student in every classroom across St Mary’s is provided with highly impactful lessons that improve learning outcomes. These teaching practices are relevant in all year groups and subjects, they are contextualised with relevant learning materials and complexity. We have a strong focus on literacy, providing intervention programs and shared literacy curriculum resources for all year levels.

Parents are encouraged to read with their child every night. Discuss with your child/ren what they learnt or enjoyed in the book. For younger children, ask them to read aloud at least four times per week. Help your child learn new words by using tricky and complex words, explaining what they mean and how they can use them. The staff have been focusing on paired fluency.

What is fluency?
Fluency is the ability to read accurately, at a good pace, and with expression. It requires students to effortlessly combine a set of complex skills which is not often easy for all students and requires some dedicated practice.

Why teach fluency?
When students are able to read fluently, they can read with automaticity and accuracy which allows them to access the meaning of the text more easily. Many studies have highlighted the critical relationship between fluency and comprehension (e.g., Lai et. al, 2014; Kim & Wagner, 2015; Klauda & Guthrie, 2008). It is clear that students that are able to read with greater fluency can better understand what they read.

Enrolment Reminder
We encourage families to complete all enrolment applications by the end of May. If you know of any families wishing to enrol for 2026, please encourage them to contact the Front Office and complete an enrolment form online. We have already received a number of applications. Please encourage those thinking of enrolling to make contact with the Front Office for a school tour. 

iPhones and SMART Watches
I understand that some students may need to bring a phone or Apple watch to school to be able to contact parents on their travel to or from school. Just a reminder to all parents that these are not to be used at school. All phones should be handed into the teacher at the beginning of the day or left zipped up in their school bag. Smart watches are to be treated the same as phones at school if messages/calls can be sent to them. Any messages for students during the day can be received via the Front Office. We want to remove the distractions to support students to focus on teaching and learning. 

SAVE THE DATE: PARENT ENGAGEMENT WORKSHOP TUESDAY 17 JUNE
On Tuesday 17 June, we will be hosting an Open School Community Council Meeting. Our focus will be on facilitating a workshop on Home and School Connections, particularly around supporting student health and wellbeing. The Workshop will be led by Sarah Rose, Catholic Education Family Engagement Officer. There are three Primary workshops, and we will be engaging in Workshop One: Home-School Connections for Primary Student Health and Wellbeing. The workshop is designed to be run with parents and staff. Our teachers will be engaging in the workshop with parents.

Please find the link to RSVP https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/STMWorkshop2025 Childcare will be available. If you have any questions or need further information, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.

NATIONAL WALK SAFELY TO SCHOOL
This week is National Road Safety Week. Today, we came together as a community for a fun and active start to the day by participating in National Walk Safely to School Day. It was wonderful to see so many students joining in and embracing the opportunity to promote road safety, health, and wellbeing.

SCHOOL COMMUNITY COUNCIL MEETING: MONDAY 19 MAY at 5:00PM 
Just a reminder that on Monday we are holding our next School Community Council meeting at 5.00pm in the Year 5 Classroom. Chloe Green, CE Governance and Policy Advisor, and Sarah Rose, CE Family Engagement Officer, will be leading our meeting to provide information on the purpose and role of a School Community Council. All parents and carers are invited to attend. It would be wonderful if you were able to join us. 

Blessings on the week ahead.

Kind regards
Jo 

Mrs Johanna Wain
Principal 

Dear Parents and Carers,

gurubangamba-ga MENTORING AND TRANSITION PROGRAM
The first session of the Carroll College gurubangamba-ga Mentoring and Transition Program for Aboriginal students in Year 5 and Year 6 will be held on Wednesday, 21 May. This program is delivered over three sessions, during the school year. The purpose of this program is for students to develop a connection to the College and form relationships with staff and other First Nations students. These important connections can provide guidance and support to help students as they transition from Primary school to Secondary school.

Students participate in a variety of activities that focus on the following themes:
* Building Relationships
* Fostering Resilience
* Respecting Yourself & Others 

These days not only help prepare students for the high school environment, they provide opportunities for students to make friends through positive social activities and join a community of students to share Aboriginal culture. Mr Nolan and Mrs Brady will accompany our students on this day.

NATIONAL SORRY DAY, 26 May 
National Sorry Day, 26 May, is a day to acknowledge the strength of Stolen Generations Survivors and reflect on how Australians can all play a part in the healing process of reconciliation for the people and the nation. While this date carries great significance for the Stolen Generations and other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, it is commemorated by Australians right around the country.

On Monday 26 May, Aboriginal students from Year 3-6 and our Stage 3 students will be walking across the Batemans Bay Bridge in unity to recognise Australia’s traditional owners and pay respect to the Stolen Generation. Following the walk they will have morning tea and a barbeque on the Clyde River Foreshore

NATIONAL RECONCILIATION WEEK 2024, 27 May-3 June

Each year National Reconciliation Week (NRW) celebrates the rich culture and history of the First Australians. It is the ideal time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.

The dates for National Reconciliation Week remain the same each year: 27 May to 3 June. These dates commemorate two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey— the successful 1967 referendum, and the High Court Mabo decision respectively.

Reconciliation Australia’s theme for 2025, ‘Bridging Now to Next’, reflects the ongoing connection between past, present and future.

Bridging Now to Next calls on all Australians to step forward together, to look ahead and push forward as past lessons guide us.

We all have a role to play when it comes to reconciliation, and in playing our part we collectively build relationships and communities that value Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, histories, cultures and futures.

On Friday 30 May at 9am our Year 1 students will lead a whole school assembly on the theme of Reconciliation. 

ICAS 2025

ICAS is an online academic competition that is designed to assess students’ higher order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Mathematics, Science, Writing, Spelling Bee and Digital Technologies.

Every student who participates is celebrated and recognised with a printed certificate in each subject area, and an online results report to track development each year. Top performers are eligible for one of the highly coveted ICAS medals.

To learn more about this year’s exciting ICAS competition, visit: (icasassessments.com/products-icas/)

How to participate in ICAS 

If you wish for your child to participate in ICAS this year, please:  

1. Read about ICAS subjects and prices here: (icasassessments.com/products-icas/)  
2. Read the Privacy Collection Statement below.
3. Read the terms and conditions here: (icasassessments.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/2023-ICAS-Assessments-Schools-TsCs_S2023.V6-1.pdf) 
4. Go to the Parent Portal to sign up to chosen subject areas here: (shop.icasassessments.com/pages/pps)  
5. Enter our school’s access code – SJE888 
6. Enter your child’s details, select the subject areas your child would like to participate in, then proceed to payment.ICAS results and certificates

ICAS results and certificates
All assessments will be conducted online, at school. We will notify you of the date(s) that we will run ICAS assessments, and when your child’s ICAS results are ready. Your child’s ICAS certificates will be delivered to school. Once we have received them, we will present them to your child to bring home. The back of the certificate will show your child’s ICAS results and the login details, “TAP ID and Pin”. - Use these to enter the Results Portal orti.icasassessments.com/ortiStudent

Privacy collection statement  
The following information is a privacy notification about how your child’s data is kept private and secure.

ICAS Assessment is owned by Janison Solutions Pty Ltd (We, Us, Our).

To deliver assessment products, Janison will require your child’s School to obtain your consent to provide Janison with certain personal information of students. Janison will collect, store, use, disclose and otherwise deal with such personal information in accordance with its privacy policy (below). We are aware of our responsibility to protect personal information related to children and students from being disclosed when we deliver an ICAS Assessments product. Unless you, as the child’s legal guardian consents, we will not:

• collect any personal information or data of children other than the information we need for the successful completion of an assessment, test, or exam. 

• transfer any personal information we obtain from a child in the delivery of assessments and tests to any jurisdiction outside of Australia. 

• share any personal information relating to children with any third parties (except for those third parties necessary for us to carry out our Services or provide our Products e.g., medal engraving). 

• use any personal information or data relating to children for marketing purposes. 

You can view our full privacy policy at https://www.janison.com/privacy-policy/. 

We may retain personal information and data relevant to a child for their future purposes or for research purposes by Janison for the duration of the school life cycle of the child. However, if you or your child at any time wish to have their personal information or data removed from our systems, they or you may opt out by simply contacting our Privacy Officer at privacy@janison.com or by contacting icasassessments@janison.com.

We are excited to be offering ICAS to our students this year and look forward to celebrating their achievements. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.  

ICAS Assessments 2025

Parent orders close Monday 28 July 2025

God bless and take care,

Mrs Sue Heffernan
Assistant Principal

This term in Year 5, our students have been engaged in some fantastic learning experiences! From diving deep into exciting new topics in Religion and Science to developing their teamwork skills in PE/Sport, the children have shown great enthusiasm and curiosity. It's been wonderful to see their confidence grow as they tackle new challenges, explore creative ideas, and make meaningful connections in their learning journey so far this term.

Stage 3 Camp to Berry Sport and Recreation
We couldn’t let the opportunity pass us by without sharing a few of our Stage 3 camp experiences from late last term. Year 5 had an unforgettable adventure at Berry Camp, filled with fun challenges and new experiences. Highlights included some capsizing boats during canoeing, (much to everyone's excitement), scaling the climbing wall with determination, aiming for bullseye in archery, and cooking delicious damper over an open fire. It was a fantastic opportunity for students to build resilience, teamwork, and lifelong memories with our friends. It really was a fun three days with lots of laughs.

Sienna: ‘In week 9 last term, we went on a majestic adventure to Berry, I was left astonished. When we arrived we ate lunch, (By the way we had a delicious honey soy chicken wrap). But, the first activity that I got when we got there was canoeing and uhh. Some goofballs tipped over! Crazy right?! Then we had lots and lots of fun playing yeet Bob! I was so shocked because there were mansions that we could've seen if we explored more beyond the river. After we went canoeing we put our canoes back, and walked up back to the freeplay area. We had some time to play. I tried pickleball for the first time, it was awesome! After our freetime, Went back to our cabins. We got changed and had some dinner. Dinner was spaghetti bolognese. After dinner, We went back to our cabins, changed into pyjamas and cleaned our teeth. We Played charades (WHICH WAS SOOOO FUN!) And then it was time for night activities! Once the night activities finished we all headed to bed. Day one was done!’

Lewis: ‘At Berry we had a blast, It was AWESOME! There was so much to do. Once we arrived at Berry, we got into groups. I noticed my group was doing rock climbing first. We were called the Fierce Wombats. When we got into the hall we had to put on harnesses to keep us safe, Because safety is most important. It was scary at first but I love it now.’

Aria: I was very happy that the weather was just perfect the whole time! The sunny skies made the activities even better. My favourite thing was canoeing, the highlight was definitely everyone capsizing. But, I also enjoyed working with my friends in the canoe. Our instructor Zac said we weren't allowed to swim in the lake. He said it was because of the rain, so when we finished we did a game of splashing everyone. It was so much fun! Another highlight was going indoor rock climbing. We had to get into small groups, then approach the rock wall to attach ourselves to the rope . Once you attached yourself to the rope you would say “check one” after this we yelled, “WEDGIE!”It was so funny! After we did a few rounds of rock climbing, we stepped it up and did it blindfolded.

Cooking Damper was a blast! We had to get a stick, put the dough on the stick and cook it on the fire. Mine didn't look very appealing at all. It was burnt, and when we finished cooking it, we put maple syrup inside. My hands were covered with maple syrup. It was a sticky moment!’

HSIE
In History Year 5 students have been wrapping up their exploration of the formation of the Australian Federation in 1901 through an engaging research task. They investigated the key contributions of the founding fathers—Sir Edmund Barton, Henry Parkes, and Alfred Deakin—focusing on their visions for a united Australian nation. Students examined how these influential leaders promoted ideas such as national unity, fair governance, and democratic representation, deepening their understanding of Australia’s journey to becoming a federation.

Pete Cromer Art
During Art lessons,, Year 5 students showed determination and perseverance as they created beautiful artworks inspired by Australian artist Pete Cromer. Using a combination of paper craft, watercolour painting, and shading techniques, each student carefully designed a unique and thoughtful piece as a special Mother’s Day gift. Their creativity and effort truly shone through, and we hope all the mums loved their heartfelt, handmade surprises! Some of their results were just beautiful!

Carroll College Day
Last Friday, Year 5 students had an exciting afternoon at Carroll College Day, where they took part in a range of fun activities to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Carroll College Broulee. From the laughter of tug-o-war and pool noodle balance fights to the energy of obstacle courses and pull-up challenges, the day was packed with lots of laughs.To top it all off, students enjoyed the awesome atmosphere of the Battle of the Bands, making it a memorable and fun way to finish the day.

Religion
This term in Religion, we will be investigating the topic titled: ‘Sacraments strengthen and nourish believers to live spirit filled lives’. We will be learning about the Holy Spirit, its representations through images, its significance within the rite of Confirmation and where/how the Holy Spirit is at work in our everyday lives. We have started the unit by learning about Mantras and creating our own mantra to help us feel closer to God when we are praying. 

English
This term, Year 5 has begun reading a new shared novel,
The Black Cockatoo by Carl Merrison and Hakea Hustler.
The story has already sparked thoughtful discussions as students explore important themes such as family,
culture, and standing up for what is right. 

My Body, My Life program
On Tuesday, our students participated in the My Body, My Life program. This Personal Development program was delivered by the Canberra Goulburn Archdiocesan Relationships Team, Catholic Education and focussed on growing and changing, personal hygiene, peer pressure, friendships and embracing our own uniqueness. This program was gently delivered and sparked some really interesting and important conversations within a safe, supportive and comfortable environment. 

Dhurga
This week, students began Dhurga lessons with Mr Riley Nolan. The study of Aboriginal Languages enables students to communicate in the target language and learn about the vital role that language has in the transmission of Aboriginal cultures. The study of Aboriginal Languages provides a unique opportunity to learn about and extend respect to Aboriginal Languages and cultures. Stage 3 students will be introduced to phonemes in Dhurga language and will begin by referencing the ‘Dhurga Dictionary and Learner’s Grammar a south-east coast, NSW Aboriginal Language Handbook’., developed by locals Trish Ellis and Kerry Boyenga. The students loved our first language lesson with Mr Nolan and started off our learning with simple conversational language such as hello, good morning/afternoon, yes/no and ‘how are you?’

Mrs Megan Grant
Year 5 Teacher

Southern Region Cross Country
Congratulations to the students who attended the Southern Region Cross Country on Friday May 2 at Wolumla. It was a beautiful sunny day and perfect conditions for a run. We saw impressive running, with some very fast times from students across the diocese including our very own St Marys team. It's always exciting seeing our students entering the final stretch of the race, putting in all their effort with lots of cheering coming from the hill, full of spectators.

Congratulations to the following students who have made selection to represent the Southern Region at the Archdiocesan Cross Country this Friday at Mt Stromlo. We wish them all the best as they compete against runners from both western and northern diocese schools. 

Rayne C, Annabel T, Tommy D, Xavier E, Zane C, Andre L, Patrick W, Dion P, Declan T, Calvin M, Bella S, Abbie H, Byron S, Mackenzie H, Maya C &  Camden H

I look forward to sharing their successes in the next newsletter.

Camden H - missing from photo

MacKillop Rugby League
Last Friday, Beau Mc and Xavier E from Year 5 travelled to Canberra to be part of the CECG Under 11’s Rugby League team. The boys had a fantastic day and not only did they represent St Mary’s with great sportsmanship, they learnt more skills and tips to bring back into their weekend club football. This was such a great opportunity for the boys and we all here at St Mary’s are very proud of you both. In exciting news, we congratulate Xavier E on his selection into the MacKillop Rugby League Team. Xave will play at the NSWPSSA Championships in Sydney in a few weeks time. We can't wait to hear all about the championships on his return.

Xave E: ‘On Friday, Beau and I went to footy trials in Canberra. It was a great experience. There were five teams, Canberra, Parramatta, Sydney, Wollongong and Wagga. We played 4 games but some people played 5 games if they got picked in the possible/probable teams and luckily one was me! To start the day, it was 4 degrees and at the end of the day it was 18 degrees, I scored two tries out of five games and two try - assists - I thought that was pretty alright! My mate Beau did great too and he played some great games as well. I was excited that I was picked but felt sad that I won’t have Beau to play with because he’s my best mate. I’ll be starting on the bench for the championships with number 16!’

Beau Mc: ‘ I really liked playing footy at the trials last Friday with my mate Xave. The best thing about the trials was that I made some new mates and I had new teammates to play with. I didn’t like that we lost three games but at least we won 1 game. I scored a try which was really good and I was happy with that. It was a really fun day.’

Touch Football Trials: On Tuesday, Bella S in Year 6 travelled to Canberra to trial for the CECG Girls touch football team. Bella had a great day and enjoyed the fast paced nature of touch football. Bella played in one of three girls teams and showed off her well practiced skills. Bella made it into the possible and probable team selections which is an amazing achievement for her first touch football trial. Well done Bella for representing St Mary’s with great sportsmanship. 

Bella S: On Tuesday I went to Canberra for the Touch Football trials. We played three games. I loved it, it was the best experience ever! I got picked in the possibles/probables team and then played another game. It was AMAZING!

Rugby Union Trials
Any experienced Rugby Union players in years 5 or 6 are invited to register for the Rugby Union Trials on Tuesday 27 May in Canberra. Please go to the CSNSW Sport website to register and find out more information or be in touch with me if you have any questions.

Stage 2 AFL in School Gala Day
On Monday 19 May, Stage 2 students will be participating in the rescheduled in-school AFL Gala Day. Students will be placed into teams to play non-competitive games of tag AFL alongside their friends. We are sure the students will have a great day. 

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead.

Mrs Megan Grant
Sports Coordinator

QKR
Just a reminder to please update your childs class on the QKR app. 

You update this by:

Opening the QKR App
Click on Profiles
Click on the childs name you wish to update.
Click on the dropdown arrow for the year and class to update.
Click on update profile.

This will then update your childs details for Canteen and Community Council events.

Mothers Day Raffle Winners
A big thank you to our generous local businesses for donating such wonderful prizes, here are our winners.

Teagan C - Raw Beauty
Ami S - Church St Pizza
Grace P - Adelaide Hotel Bistro
Luke M - Church St Collective
Nicole H - Moruya Health Cafe
Natalie McC - Eurobodalla Tree Services
Emma M - Gundary & Bodalla Bakers
Rachael McD - The Dance Collective
Anna T - Resting Ridge Leather
Adelaide S - Oyster Farmers Daughter

Community Council