Prayer for a Child’s First Eucharist 

Bless the children coming forward to receive  

Holy Communion for the first time. 

May this day be an initial step into a life-long love of the Eucharist. 

Give them a hunger for this sacred food so that they turn to you for 

Comfort, guidance and wisdom as they grow into full discipleship. 

Amen 

First Holy Communion 
As a faith community, we congratulate and keep in our prayers the Year 4 students, who will be celebrating the sacrament of Holy Communion (Eucharist) for the first time in our Sacred Heart Church this weekend Sunday 15 September at 10.00am. All families are warmly welcome to join us for the 10am Mass where Nicholas, Beau, Ethan, Aria, Matilda and Willa will receive their First Holy Communion. 

With the guidance of Father George, our Year 4 teachers Mrs Carla Durnan and Mrs Alicia Hampson, have been preparing the students for many weeks.

First Holy Communion is a significant sacrament in the Catholic Church, marking a person’s first reception of the Eucharist, the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. It signifies another step in the individual’s full initiation into the Catholic faith and their deepening relationship with Jesus Christ.

The word 'communion' means to be united with; Catholics believe that in Holy Communion we are united in a special way with Jesus Christ. The Eucharist celebrates the real presence of Christ in the bread, wine, and gathered community. At his last supper, Jesus said of the bread that he shared among his followers, "Take and eat, this is my body." When we receive Holy Communion, Catholics believe that in a mysterious way we are sharing in the body and blood of Christ. The Eucharist strengthens us and inspires us to grow with Jesus throughout our lives.

May Christ bless and guide our First Communion candidates and their families during this special time. Everyone please keep them in your prayers.

Let’s Celebrate St Mary's!
As we near the end of another school term, I find myself reflecting on and marvelling at all that we have accomplished. By "we," I mean everyone involved—especially the parents and friends who are an integral part of our vibrant and supportive community. I am continually impressed by the endless energy, goodwill, and support that defines the St. Mary’s community.

This term we have been fortunate to accommodate many events, gatherings and celebrations that add to the rich school life from which our children benefit so much. Term 3 has involved:

• Regional NAIDOC Mass and NAIDOC Week
• 100 Days of Kindergarten
• Liturgies and Masses - Mary MacKillop Feast Day, Feast of the Assumption
• 2025 Kindergarten interviews
• Sports representation at regional and archdiocesan level
• Southern Region Public Speaking
• National Science Week
• Book Week Parade, Book Quiz & Book Swap
• Father’s Day Breakfast and Liturgy
• School Assemblies (Yr 5 and Kinder)
• Sacrament of Holy Communion
• Mary Poppins - Rehearsals, set and costume working parties

Each of these activities demands energy, goodwill, and support from numerous individuals, including staff, students, parents, and the broader school community. Every term is filled with a variety of events and gatherings, whether they are small occasions or large-scale celebrations. All of them draw on the distinctive spirit that defines St. Mary’s.

In 2024, our community of students, staff, and parents embodies this unique spirit. This legacy has been handed down by those who came before us, and in turn, we will pass the spirit of St. Mary’s on to future generations. Thank you all for your generosity and the dedication with which you support and contribute to our school.

We are lucky to have such a diverse community within our school, and on Wednesday, we had the privilege of experiencing the vibrant colours and lively spirit of the Onam festival.

All our students dedicated time in class to learning about the Onam festival and crafting related artwork. Additionally, some of our families and students came together to create a pookalam in the PAC. The students enthusiastically participated in decorating the intricate design with a variety of flowers, working collaboratively to complete the vibrant display. Later, the entire school gathered in the PAC, where our Indian families, dressed in traditional attire, showcased their traditional dances, sharing the rich cultural experience with the whole school community.

It was a wonderful celebration of joy, peace and prosperity! Thank you to the families for generously helping us learn about Onam and your culture.

Next term there is so much to look forward to, including our musical production of Mary Poppins. Please make sure you read the information contained in this newsletter about upcoming ticket sales and the fundraising events that the Community Council are organising on the evenings of the production. It's going to be supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!!! 

Footy 2 Fight MND Mufti Day
The last day of Term 3 for students will be Thursday 26 September and will be a Footy Colours Mufti Day. This day is to raise awareness of Motor Neurone Disease. All gold coin donations will go towards the MND foundation. This foundation supports high-quality MND research to discover the causes, improve care and find treatments for those impacted by this disease and ultimately a cure for MND.

Staff Spirituality Day
Every year, we as a staff, participate in a Spirituality Day whereby we are given the opportunity to deepen our faith and connection with God. The last day of this term (Friday 27 September) has been set aside as a Staff Development Day and we will be focusing on our own spirituality and our vocation as catholic educators. This is a pupil free day.

The theme of our day is Silence and Stillness and staff will be exploring the theological understanding of the ways in which humans enter prayerful relationships with God leading to a deeper relationship with others.

Last day of term for students is Thursday 26 September.

God bless and take care,
Mrs Sue Heffernan
Principal (Acting)

Archdiocesan Public Speaking
We congratulate both Tommy D and Matilda W for participating in our Archdiocesan Public Speaking Competition held at St Bernard’s Batehaven on Monday. Competing with 24 students from across the Archdiocese, both students represented St Mary’s well and presented their speeches with some strong competition. We are very proud of both Matilda and Tommy for their great public speaking efforts. 

Tell them from me survey
Thank you to all of the families who took the time to complete the survey. Our students in Years 4-6 also completed surveys within class. These reports will arrive next week, and we will use them to help inform our Annual Improvement Plan, which the leadership will begin developing early next term for 2025. 

Message from Marhall's Buses 
We have received an email from Marshall’s that there are a number of St Mary’s families that are pulling up and dropping their child off in the mornings in the Bus Zone in Queen St, and/or conducting a u-turn in this area. The bus zone is not a drop off area, and doesn’t allow for buses to pull up safely for students to disembark. Drop off area can be in front of the pedestrian crossing or on Church St, or Church car park. 

Mobile Phones
We have seen an increase of students bringing in phones as they are using them on transport to and from school. We would like to remind you that the following helps us to create a safe and focused learning environment for all students.

Mobile Phone Check-In Procedure:

• Upon Arrival to school: All students who bring a mobile phone to school must check their phone in with their class teacher when they arrive on school grounds. This ensures that phones are securely stored during the school day, and not left in school bags.
• End of Day: At the end of the school day, teachers will return the phones to the students. This process helps maintain a distraction-free environment throughout the day.

Use of Mobile Phones on School Grounds:

• During School Hours: We recognise that students may need a phone for travel to and from school. However, once at school, mobile phones are not needed and should remain checked in. Students are not permitted to use their phones on school grounds at any time during the school day, including before the first bell, during recess and lunch breaks, and after school concludes.
• After School: Mobile phones are not to be used on school grounds even after the school day has officially ended. This includes waiting in bus lines or pick up areas.

We kindly ask for your support in ensuring your child follows these guidelines. This helps us to minimise distractions, reduce screen time, promote responsible phone use, and maintain a positive and focused school environment.

Blessings and Best wishes,

Mrs Carla Durnan
Assistant Principal (Acting)

Kinder B Charlotte M	For creating a fantastic diorama of Sacred Heart Church - well done!
Kinder B Kaiden G	For being a focused learner and trying his best always - well done Kaiden!
1 Blue Byron S	For consistently demonstrating a positive attitude towards his learning displaying outstanding independent work habits. Way to Go Byron!!!
1 Blue Kingi T	For his wonderful work ethic during Literacy Rotations, displaying developing reading confidence and comprehension.
2 Blue Mallee D	For his super efforts to improve his learning in all areas while making huge strides in his reading skills. Well done!
2 Blue Rosa R	Some deep thinking and thoughtful responses when using her senses to write about what life was like in Jesus’ time.
3 Blue Ashley H	For showing excellent leadership during our Mary Poppins Dance rehearsals, leading the group with accurate dance steps and confidence.
3/4 Maroon  Milton W	For thoughtful and engaging questioning during class novel ‘Storm Boy discussions, demonstrating higher order thinking and a genuine thirst for knowledge.
4 Blue Sienna B	For smashing goals in our ‘Scoot’ mental maths activities. Well done!
4 Blue Nicholas A	For outstanding contributions and thoughtful responses during Geography and Science lessons
5 Blue Benji R	For a thoughtfully planned and wonderfully executed satellite replica as part of our Earth and Space unit in Science
6 Maroon Callum T	For consistently demonstrating a positive attitude towards his learning, and showing a commitment to personal improvement
6 Blue Cooper C	A great result in his CMC Maths Assessment.

It is amazing to think that Kindergarten are only one term away from completing their first year of school. As usual, we have been extremely busy in our classroom. It was wonderful to be able to share our learning with the wider school and our families at assembly this week. We hope you enjoy this learning update too!

Religious Education
In Religion this term we have been learning about what the Church is, in terms of its physicality. We have visited Sacred Heart Church a number of times and had a close look at many of the sacred objects and icons. Our learning has culminated in the creation of dioramas of Sacred Heart. We enjoyed making miniature crosses, stained glass windows, candles, presider’s chairs, tabernacles, pews - just to name a few!

English
Kindergarten have now been introduced to most single letter-sounds, and several digraphs (two letters that combine to make one sound), we also have a substantial bank of what we call Tricky Words. When you put all of this together, you have a class of budding readers and writers! Kinder get very excited about the progress they are making. In these photos, you can see examples of a scaffolded writing activity, where the students were encouraged to independently add to the sentence ‘Jack had a bad chill.’ As you can see we are very good at identifying all of the different sounds in unfamiliar words! This week, we also really enjoyed reading to our Year 6 buddies.

Mathematics
Our Kinder Mathematicians have been blowing Mrs. Schofield’s socks off! At the moment, we are learning to count by 1s to 100, skip count by tens, use learned strategies to add and subtract numbers, and write two-digit numbers to 99.

Performing Arts
This term we are learning about Dance, through our whole-class musical item ‘Spoonful of Sugar’. We have been adding to our dance each week under the expert guidance of Miss Erika. We are going to be the most adorable buzzy bees in Mary Poppins Jnr.

History
In History this term we have been learning to recount memorable past events and compare features of daily life that have changed over time by sharing stories, images and objects. We have enjoyed sharing family photos and toys from when we were very small. A highlight was when Ms. Greig taught us how to play Jacks (see pictures).

PDHPE
This term in Health we have been developing our understanding of ourselves and exploring the varying needs of others in a unit centred around inclusion. So far, our favourite activity has been drawing a picture of ourselves without including our name), before swapping pictures and trying to guess who the person is! In Sport this term, we have enjoyed activities that support the development of our Fundamental Movement Skills. We also have a number of soccer stars in Kindergarten, and they have enjoyed sharing some of their drills and skills with the class.

From all of the wonderful students in Kindergarten - we wish you a safe, relaxing and happy weekend!

Mrs Genevieve Schofield
Teacher Kindergarten

JAR TOMBOLA
The Fundraiser we’ve planned is a Jar Tombola, which works as below:

1. Simply fill an empty jam jar with lollies, biscuits, small toys, pencils, anything you have that you think someone else would appreciate – see examples in picture.

2. Each family can then donate their jar by dropping it off at the St Mary’s office or alternatively send in with students. You can start sending jars in from now until the week prior to the Musical.

3. Community Council will be selling tickets ($5 per Jar) at the evening performances – you simply buy a ticket, you are given a number that corresponds to one of the jars, and you then collect your prize! 

EVENING REFRESHMENTS
In addition to the fundraiser, the Community Council will also be planning to provide intermission refreshments at the evening performances of Mary Poppins – a cup of tea/coffee and a sweet treat for $4.

If families would like to support the Community Council with donations of cakes, slices or biscuits for the performances, that would be much appreciated.

We are asking that families in K-3 provide donations on Tuesday 5 November.
We are asking that families in Yr 4-6 provide donations on Wednesday 6 November. (If you have children across these grades, please choose from either day to send in a donation. Families are not expected to donate food on both days).

CHRISTMAS RAFFLE
The Community Council will also be selling raffle tickets for a Christmas Raffle at the evening performances. Further details about the raffle will be provided in the next newsletter.

School Jumpers
School jumpers are in stock at Coastal Workwear Moruya at a cost of $75.00. All sizes are available except size 6.

Community Council