Dear Parents and Carers, 

Catholic Schools Week 
Catholic Schools Week is one of the most important weeks for us at St Mary’s each year. With our partner schools, St Bernard’s in Batemans Bay and Carroll College in Broulee, we celebrate our uniqueness and the contributions we make to the lives of our students, families, community and Church. As we journey together, may we always be inspired by the Holy Spirit to be all that God has made us to be. Catholic schools are safe, supportive learning communities where the unique dignity of each child is respected, nurtured and valued.

In a Catholic school context, parents play a very important role as the first and continuing educators of their children. They have the primary and natural responsibility for their children's education and wellbeing. 

Research in Childhood development tells us:

• That  90% of a child’s brain development occurs before the age of five, so the role of families is critical in early learning.
• When families are engaged in their children’s learning at school, positive benefits accrue for students’ learning achievement and wellbeing.
• Every family has an important role to play in helping their children to become confident and motivated learners. This is true regardless of parent occupation, education, or income. It's what they do with their children that matters!
• Home/school partnerships are critical to student success and to achieve this, parents need the support of schools.

Teachers and support staff in Catholic schools have the privilege of working closely with parents to support their children to learn and grow up as well educated and emotionally mature individuals who care deeply about others, their community and the world in which they live.

Kinder Teddy Bears Picnic
It was a magical day for our Kindergarten students on Tuesday. We were privileged to host the annual Teddy Bears Picnic with the children from St Bernard’s in Batemans Bay. 

Thank you to Mrs Schofield, Mrs Hefferrnan, Mrs Connaughton and Mrs Van Weerdenburg for their work in organising the engaging activities and a very special Teddy Bear Picnic Lunch box. It was wonderful to be able to have our Playgroup children join in too. 

A special thank you to the SRC students from Carroll College who assisted on the day. They were very enthusiastic and their leadership was exceptional.  

Some of our wonderful Year 6 students led us in school prayer, talked about the Buddy Program and took families on guided tours of the classrooms, PAC and playground. 

If you have a younger child ready for school next year, please contact Annette or Cathy in the front office for an application form or complete one online. Interviews will be held over the coming weeks with offers beginning this term. Kinder Orientations and transition programs will take place later in the year.

If you know of other parents who may be interested in choosing St Mary’s, can you please encourage them to make contact with the school as soon as possible. 

Our playground equipment is currently out of action, but it will be re-opened /relocated following construction. Thank you parents for your patience as we manage the next few months.

With our school photos on Monday next week, we are asking parents to try and have their children in their winter uniforms or at least wearing their new school jumper over their summer school uniform. Please do not worry about this matter.

In recent years there has been a lot of work at the School Community Council regarding updating elements of the school uniform. All changes to school uniform items need to happen slowly to allow suppliers time to sell older stock and families time to use their current uniforms.

A Community Council parent survey showed that the majority of our parents prioritised the school jumper and girls’ winter pants as the first items needing to be improved.

Navy was chosen by parents as the preferred colour for both the new jumper and girls pants. 

The new jumper has proven to be very popular and the students love wearing them.  Whilst most students are now wearing the new navy one, students are still able to wear the older maroon v neck style for this winter. The maroon nylon jacket is now only to be worn over the top of the school jumper when students are outdoors. 

The School Community Council also decided to update the girls' pants' style and colour. From this year, girls may begin wearing the new navy straight leg pants instead of the maroon boot leg style, but this is not compulsory. The transition will occur over the next few years. Please do not feel that you need to go out and buy the new ones. Many girls will continue to wear their dresses too. 

School Photos
A reminder that official School photos will be taken next Monday May 8. Please send your child to school looking as neat and smart as possible and wearing the new school jumper if they have one. 

Mothers Day
Next Friday May 12 we will be hosting our Mother's Day Breakfast and Kinder liturgy to celebrate Mothers’ day in our school community.

Breakfast begins at 7:30am with the Liturgy at 9:10am

The School Community Council has organised a wonderful Mothers Day raffle which will  be drawn on the day. Tickets will be coming home today, with payment to be made via QKR. Tickets will also be available on Friday morning.

Carroll Day
On Friday May 12, we will be taking our Year 6 students to Carroll College to join in on their Carroll Day celebrations. We thank Carroll for inviting us and supporting our students as they prepare for transition to high school next year. 

Whole School Assembly
Our next Whole School Assembly will be held on Monday May 15 at 2pm in the PAC. Everyone is welcome to join us. Year 5 students will be sharing the great learning taking place in their classrooms. Parents of those students receiving Awards and Invitations to a Special  Lunch for ‘I am Safe’ will be contacted in advance. The students’ Special Lunch with me will happen on Thursday May 25. 

Wishing you and your families a relaxing weekend. It's time to pull out the winter woollies! 

Let us thank all those who teach in Catholic schools.
Educating is an act of love; it is like giving life.
Pope Francis

Noeleen O’Neill
Principal

Dear Parents, Carers, Boys and Girls,

Teaching and Learning
Effective teachers continually reflect on and improve the way they do things. It is important for teachers to continually update and expand their professional knowledge base and to improve or revise their practices so as to meet the learning needs of their increasingly diverse students.

Our staff continue to be involved in a range of professional learning opportunities to ensure that we have the most up to date knowledge on research and evidence based practices. St Mary’s has been fortunate to have been partnered with a number of key educational consultants to work with and coach our staff to develop and refine their skills. 

St Mary’s has recently begun a partnership with Good to Great Schools Australia, an organisation who support schools on their journey towards engagement and excellence in learning. With the support of the GGSA professional learning modules, our staff have been building their knowledge of Explicit Instruction to improve the literacy, numeracy and science outcomes of students and also increase their own pedagogical skills.

This week we have welcomed back to St Mary’s Dr Lorraine Hammond AM, from Edith Cowan University, who is a specialist in teacher-led instruction, including Explicit Instruction and Direct instruction. Dr Hammond worked with our K-2 teachers providing instructional demonstrations, observing their teaching practice and providing feedback to these teachers about their skills in delivering these high impact teaching practices. This coaching model is a way to unlock people's potential to maximise their own performance. Dr Hammond was very complimentary about our dedicated staff and their commitment to learning and improving student outcomes.

It was great to see many of our parents take up the opportunity to attend the parent workshop and hear Dr Hammond speak about how the brain learns to read, the best way to teach it and how you can help at home.

Catholic Schools NSW Early Years Symposium
On Friday last week, Mrs Schofield, Mrs White, Mrs Connaughton and Mrs O’Neill spent the day in Sydney at the Catholic Schools NSW Early Years Symposium. This was a one-of-a-kind opportunity for our staff to collaborate with other early years professionals, explore pedagogy and build skill acquisition to be able to enhance the educational outcomes of our early learners. Neuroscience Educator Nathan Wallis gave an incredible presentation about brain development, with a focus on the first 1000 days of a child’s life. He presented his information in a highly engaging and accessible way. If you have a moment, Mrs Schofield highly recommends you have a look at his website: https://www.nathanwallis.com/

Emergency and Incident Management Training
On Monday, members of our leadership team as well as some staff from Carroll College and St Bernard’s participated in an Emergency and Incident Management training day. The purpose of this training was to develop our skills and knowledge in planning for emergency situations. The topics covered on the day included the fundamentals of emergency management, the Emergency Management Plan (EMP), responding to an emergency and business continuity, all of which allow for our school to function both during and after an emergency or disaster has occurred. 

Later in the term we will work with Catholic Education and the course presenters, Bounce Readiness, to revise and develop our Emergency Management Plan (EMP). We will also be holding some simulation drills and working with the children so they understand the processes and procedures needed to ensure everyone’s safety in emergency situations.

Little Investigators Playgroup
It was great to see our ‘Little Investigators’ boys and girls this week and welcome some new little investigators. Our playgroup has now re-commenced for Term 2 and is held each Tuesday between 9-11am in the Performing Arts Centre (PAC). All infants and children (0-5years) with an accompanying adult are welcome. You don’t have to be a St Mary’s family to attend, everyone is welcome. This week we enjoyed joining the St Mary's Kinder students at their Teddy Bear's Picnic.

The webinar will cover:
- when gaming can be beneficial and strategies to promote better in-game experiences
- how to keep children safe online – using safety and privacy settings in games and platforms
- strategies to promote more balanced gaming and how to create smoother transitions from game-play to other activities
- the key online risks and where to find help for things like bullying and harassment in games.

The webinar is on Tuesday 23 May 7.30pm - 8.15pm
Please use the following link to register your attendance.

Dear Families,

Welcome to Term 2!

ANZAC Day
On ANZAC Day this year, students and staff from St Mary’s attended the Tuross and Tomakin Dawn Services, as well as the Moruya March. All three services were very well attended. During Week 1, the students in Year 5 Blue led the school in a beautiful prayer liturgy to commemorate this very special day. 

Project Compassion
Spanning across the six weeks of Lent each year, Project Compassion brings thousands of Australian schools, parishes and supporters together to raise funds for people living in some of the most vulnerable communities across the world. This year, St Mary’s collected coins in class, ran a very successful cake stall and sought online donations. Our fundraising efforts amounted to a total of $604.60. A fantastic effort by all - thank you!

Confirmation Enrolment
Next week, enrolment information and key dates will be emailed to families of Year 6 students who are intending on making the Sacrament of Confirmation this term. If you have any questions regarding this sacrament please email genevieve.schofield@cg.catholic.edu.au

A prayer for our school

Heavenly Father, guide us here at school
as we learn and grow in knowledge.
Help us to use what we learn for the
betterment of ourselves, our peers,
and our communities. 

Amen.

Gen Schofield
Religious Education Coordinator (Acting)

Welcome to Term 2. I hope everyone had a lovely Easter break.

Southern Region Cross Country
We hit the ground running last Friday as the St Mary’s Cross Country team travelled to Wolumla to participate in the Southern Region Cross Country. It was a very warm day but all the competitors took the conditions in their stride and tried their very best to run the tough 2km and 3km track. I was very proud of all the students as they cheered on the children from the other schools and gave each other lots of encouragement.

Congratulations to the following students who placed in the top 6 to move onto the next level of competition which is being held at Mt Stromlo in Canberra on Friday 19 May. A special mention to Mitchell W and Xavier H on finishing first in their age groups. Well done boys! We wish everyone all the very best of luck and look forward to sharing the results in the upcoming newsletter. A reminder for all these students to register online asap at CSNSW for this event.

Archdiocesan Cross Country Team

Netball Cup
On Wednesday, many students from across Years 4, 5 and 6 competed at the Eurobodalla Netball Cup at Broulee. The day was convened by Netball NSW and involved teams from as far as Narooma to Ulladulla. The children all played so well and it was clear that with each game, their skills got better and better. Their team spirit and determination was amazing and I was very proud of their sportsmanship. A special thanks to the following Carroll College students who assisted on the day: Kehlei C and Luke G.

Thanks also to Brooke Connaughton for joining us on the day and sharing her netball expertise.

MacKillop Rugby League and Netball
We wish all the very best of luck to Mitchell W (Year 5), Frank D, Axel S, Noah D and Oscar G (Year 6) as they travel to Canberra on Friday to participate at the MacKillop Trials Rugby League. We also wish good luck to Betty D-B as she plays netball with the Canberra Goulburn team at the Lyneham Netball Centre on Friday. We are sure you all will have a wonderful experience, showcasing your skills and talents in rugby league and netball.

Weyman Shield
Next Thursday 11 May, students in Stage 3 will be taking part in the Weyman Shield Rugby League Gala Day at Ack Weyman Oval. Students who play tackle football currently will be invited to compete in the tackle competition. All other students will be placed into League Tag teams and play against other schools in our area. We are looking forward to a wonderful day and photos and stories will be shared in the next newsletter. Consent and further information can be found on the COMPASS portal. 

Canberra Goulburn Rugby Union Trials
Any student in Year 5 or 6 with previous playing experience in playing competitive Rugby Union is invited to register and trial for the Canberra Goulburn Rugby Union Team on Monday 15 May in Canberra. Please go to the CSNSW website to register.

We have much to look forward to this term in Sport. I am very excited to be able to organise and be part of the many sporting opportunities within our school and wider community.

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead.

Megan Grant
Sports Coordinator

Mother’s Day Raffle
The Community Council is pleased to be running a Mother’s Day raffle this year with several amazing prizes from our generous local businesses, including gift packs from Curtis and Cloud and Gundary Bakers and vouchers from The Oyster Farmers Daughter, Moruya Pharmacy, Raw Beauty, Beauty on Q, Tukka, Choose to Move, Resting Ridge Leather Co, Church St Pizza and Mogo Pies. Tickets will come home with students later this week. Please return tickets to the office with payment via QKR! or cash. The raffle will be drawn at the Mother’s Day Breakfast, Friday 12 May.