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Dear Parents and Carers,
A very warm welcome back to Term 4 and the final term of the 2024 academic year. We hope you all enjoyed a wonderful two week break from the routines of school life and were able to enjoy some extra special time with your children.
World Teachers Day
Today we celebrate and thank our teachers for the work they do to educate, inspire and empower the students, their families and school communities. Our teachers work tirelessly to transform teaching and learning, create inclusive learning communities and nurture students so they grow in confidence and excel in their learning.
As educators in a Catholic school, we truly value the privilege of living our Catholic values each day. Our classrooms are not just a place for lessons, but are where young minds are nurtured and futures shaped with care, creativity and community. We are very fortunate at St Mary’s to have such dedicated and committed staff that create opportunities for our children to flourish and thrive.
God of Love, Thank you for every teacher who notices a child’s special gift.
Thank you to teachers who are listeners and gentle guides.
Thank you to teachers who expect much and love enough to demand more.
Thank you for the special teacher each one of us remembers.
God of Mercy, Sustain teachers who give everything they have. Help exhausted teachers rest.
God of Strength, Encourage teachers to care and inspire them to nourish. Motivate teachers to keep on learning for the fun of it and to make learning enjoyable for children.
We wonder at teachers who know how to quiet a class of five year olds or help eight year olds to be empathetic. We admire teachers who enjoy primary school writers, or teach physics or math or history. Bless the people who are expected to accomplish these miracles and who know how to comfort children when miracles don’t happen.
God of Justice, help and support teachers in their special calling, wherever they teach and whatever obstacles they must face. We pray these things in the name of our great teacher, Jesus Christ.
Amen.
– Prayer adapted from the National Catholic Education Association
Grounds and Maintenance
Thank you to Mr Bateman for his coordination of the maintenance work taking place around the school. Over the holiday break we had some plumbing work completed and a new pathway has been laid. Thank you for your patience in accessing the school playground while this was completed.
Our students have been fascinated by the installation of the new soft fall under the playground equipment. The poles have been repainted and new shade cloth will be completed shortly. In the coming months, the hall and some of the classroom buildings will receive a freshen up with painting work to be completed.
Staff Professional Learning
As part of our commitment to ongoing learning, on the first day of Term 4, the staff participated in a day of professional learning with Sam Chrzczonowicz, Catholic Education Canberra Goulburn Teaching and Learning Officer EAL/D. Sam unpacked with staff the needs of students who have English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EAL/D). These students have another language other than English spoken at home and they are learning to become proficient in the four English modes: listening, speaking, reading and writing.
This was a valuable day for staff where we were able to learn about useful strategies that teachers could easily implement in their classrooms to support their EAL/D students.
Catholic Leaders Days
This week Mrs O'Neill has joined school Principals across the Archdiocese for the Catholic Leaders Days in Canberra. Each year our school leaders meet together to hear from educational experts and hold regional meetings to plan together for the following school year.
This year, Mrs O'Neill and Mrs Robertson from Cooma were being farewelled as they both retire at the end of this school year.
Archdiocesan Assembly - Come, Holy Spirit
Last Saturday, Fr George, Mrs Afflick, Mrs Durnan and Mrs Heffernan joined a variety of people from parishes and schools on the south coast at the 2024 Archdiocesan Assembly in Narooma. More than 650 people gathered at hubs across the Archdiocese in Canberra, Narooma, Goulburn, Cooma, Young and online on Saturday to celebrate the fruits of the Holy Spirit and explore new opportunities for evangelisation and synodality in the life and mission of the Church.
The gathering centred around the theme “It seems good to the Holy Spirit and to us…” (Acts 15:28). This theme guided us as we shared our stories, explored our collective journey and the path we are called to take as a community into the future. Our day was filled with fruitful discussions and discernment. It was wonderful to engage deeply with one another and reflect on the direction our Archdiocese is heading. In the coming weeks and months, we will have the opportunity to reflect upon the messages shared during the Assembly. It is essential that we listen to where the Spirit is calling us as we strive to renew and strengthen our Church community.
Gurubangamba-ga Mentoring and Transition Program
Yesterday, nine students from Year 5 and Year 6 attended the Gurubangamba-ga Mentoring and Transition program at Carroll College. This program aims to assist our Stage 3 Indigenous students gain confidence as they transition to secondary education. It is a great opportunity for them to make connections with peers from St Bernard’s, and the Carroll College leaders act as mentors in this process.
The theme for this session was ‘respecting yourself and others’ and students participated in a range of activities that encouraged them to collaborate and connect as they discussed what respect looks, sounds and feels like, and how they can put this into practice in their relationships with others. 
School Musical - Mary Poppins
With only two weeks to go, Mary Poppins is nearly here! It will be an incredible show. Our cast and production team have been working really hard. Tickets are selling fast, so make sure that you get yours before they sell out. Thank you for organising your children’s costumes. Our first dress rehearsal will occur next week. Check COMPASS for some important information regarding the musical that was sent out today.
Thank you for supporting the Community Council’s Jar fundraiser. Please see the Community Council News below for more information about what to donate for supper at the evening shows.
Swimming Program 2024
The students are very excited about our upcoming swimming program. We are very pleased to be able to provide swimming instruction for all of our students from Kinder to Year 6 at no cost to parents. Our School Community Council is contributing to the cost of relief staff to cover the four teachers at the pool each Friday.
The cost of pool entry for the Swimming Assessment day and 4 days of the program is $25.00. If your family holds a season pass or fitness passport card, then this may be used to cover pool entry. The COMPASS note for swimming will go out today.
2024 Eurobodalla Mayors Writing Competition
Congratulations to Alex K in Year 1 who was awarded the winner of the Stage 1 Mayors Writing Competion. Congratualtions Alex!
Kindergarten Orientation
We look forward to welcoming our 2025 Kindergarten students this term for the Kindergarten Orientation sessions on
Thursday 14 November and Thursday 28 November
Wishing you a wonderful term. Please keep in mind our Year 6 students who are embarking on their last term of primary school, with everything that entails. Such exciting times for them!
God bless and take care
Leadership Team
STAFF SPIRITUALITY DAY
On Friday 27 September, St Mary’s staff gathered together for a day of Spirituality. Our focus for the day was ‘Silence, Stillness and Service’. We reflected on the Gospel of Luke using a modern image At the Home of Martha and Mary- Ain Vares representing the juxtaposition of service, and making time for stillness and prayer in our modern life.
‘Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need for only one thing. Mary has chosen the better path, which will not be taken away from her.’ (Luke 10:38-42)
We recognised that in the busy world in which we live, we often get caught up in the busy, the to do lists and not find the time to listen to the Word of God. Our Spirituality Day was to focus on reflection and prayer as the ‘why’ behind the decisions we make. To ensure that our decisions are made with thoughtfulness and purpose by sharing the word of God through our daily actions.
MISSION MASS & MARKET MORNING
On Friday we celebrated World Mission Day by attending a Whole School Mass. This was followed by a wonderful morning back at school where each class hosted market stalls to raise money to be donated to Caritas Australia. Families and parishioners also joined in the fun, enjoying things like jelly cups, warm donuts, ice cream cones, lolly bags, a dance party and of course scored some goodies from the White Elephant Stall! We thank everyone for joining us and to our families for supporting this wonderful cause. Together we were able to raise $890 which will be used to support vulnerable communities both in Australia and overseas who are affected by natural disasters, conflict and displacement.
ALL SAINTS DAY MASS - FRI 1 NOV
On Friday 1 November Kinder and Year One and Two will be celebrating Mass with the Parish at 9.15am. Families are more than welcome to attend and share in morning tea afterwards.
PRAYER FOR PEACE
The fruit of Silence is prayer.
The fruit of Prayer is faith.
The fruit of Faith is love.
The fruit of love is Service.
The fruit of Service is Peace.
St Teresa of Calcutta
Blessings,
Mrs Jessica Afflick & Carla Durnan
Religious Education Coordinators
Religion
This term we are studying a very important topic in Religion - “Justice Starts With Me”. This is a pivotal unit in Religious Education for our year fives as it has a strong focus on civics and citizenship and the idea of students taking positive leadership roles within our school and community. It is a unit that teaches students the importance of positive action and working towards making our community stronger and safer through what we do, not what we say. This unit is designed to help our Year 5 students prepare as they take on the very important role as senior leaders at St Mary’s and in the community.
English
In English, Year 5 have been studying Tom Appleby, Convict Boy by renowned Australian author Jackie French. We have focused on expanding our vocabulary by taking interesting words from the novel, researching their meaning and constructing sentences using the who,when,what,where,why technique. Year 5 also focused on creating engaging topic sentences in order to introduce factual information in an interesting way to hook the reader when writing an information report.
All students in Year 5 have continued on with Reading Mastery which has been very successful in improving oral reading fluency and giving students the opportunity to read with peers who are at or around the same level. Spelling Mastery has continued to be very successful with a number of students fast approaching one hundred lessons for the year.
Maths
Connecting Maths Concepts (CMC) is proving to be a great success here at St Mary’s, with students getting one full hour of maths content each day, aimed directly at their level. Our Year 5 class is spread across three groups for the first hour of the day for Maths which has seen some very pleasing results.
Each week, we look to consolidate learning in specific mathematical concepts with ninety minutes of OCHRE mathematics lessons targeted at specific areas in line with the curriculum. Last term we completed in-depth units in angles and geometry as well as data. This term we will begin by learning about chance, probability and odds.
Art
In Visual Arts, Year 5 students have been studying Sandra Silberzweig, an intriguing artist who suffers from a rare condition called synesthesia. They then came up with their own version inspired by her work. Students paid special attention to the way they drew the eyes, nose and mouth, emulating Sandra’s style. Students could change the shape, placement and size of the eyes, nose and mouth and were encouraged to use their imagination to come up with their own details and patterns within the neck and above the eyes.
Year 5 has been working incredibly hard over terms three and four to master a very complex dance routine for our school musical - Mary Poppins Jr. We have spent half an hour every week with the wonderful Hayley VW, learning, practising and refining our part which is the longest and most complex dance class routine in the show.
Science
Last term we completed a fantastic unit on Earth and Space Sciences, studying our solar system and the Earth’s place in it. Over the course of the unit we explored planets, moons, dwarf planets and various other characteristics of our solar system. We built our own telescopes by experimenting with and measuring multiple different sized lenses. Our major project was a huge success, with students creating replicas of existing satellites such as Voyager, New Horizon and Himawari and adding features they thought would enhance the satellites capabilities. This term we will be studying the properties of light in our physics unit including the speed of light and the way we observe light. Year 5 will be conducting interesting experiments to determine whether light is moving as a wave or as particles.
PDHPE
This term in PDHPE Year 5 has been learning about tactics and the value of improving specific skills and implementing them during game time. The first two weeks have seen Year 5 take to the court in Netball which has pushed a number of students out of their comfort zone. It has been great to see students use transferable skills from their chosen sports, polish them with fun drills and then implement them on the court. Games proved to be very competitive with some fantastic sportsmanship.
Geography
Our second semester this year has allowed us to study a range of geographical topics from North America, to Europe, to our very own backyard here in Australia. We followed up an in depth study of the Murray/Darling river system with a look at our local area and how zoning affects the development of our region. This term we will be studying bushfires and floods. After the devastating bushfires of 2020, it has been a really valuable experience for us to look back at that time and reflect and to also study how we can mitigate the effects of a bushfire moving forward.
Mr James Campbell
Teacher 5 Blue
This award is an acknowledgment that students have been
outstanding and have gone above and beyond in the
classroom and on the playground!
|
Kinder B |
Demonstrating fantastic leadership in our school musical. |
|
1 Blue |
For making thoughtful contributions during our Religion lessons, learning about our local Church and faith community. |
|
2 Blue |
A fabulous start to Term 4, contributing thoughtful responses and working hard to follow our school expectations - being kind, safe, respectful and doing your best! |
|
3 Blue |
For his enthusiastic attitude towards learning this week. Well done Bentley on working so hard in all your Maths and English learning tasks. Keep up the good work! |
|
3/4 Maroon |
For your generous, helpful contributions shown during our Mission Day Stall activities. |
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4 Blue |
For your engagement in every lesson; your positive, hardworking attitude towards learning striving for improvement every day. |
|
5 Blue |
For a stunning portrait in visual arts, emulating the artistic styles of Sandra Silberzweig. |
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6 Maroon |
Blake, for making an excellent start to Term 4 and producing a fantastic rocket for STEM—well done on your creativity and hard work! Keep it up! |
|
6 Blue |
Great job on your improved engagement in class! It’s making a real difference. |
|
Kinder B |
Demonstrating wonderful growth in his writing. |
|
1 Blue |
For making outstanding growth in Mathematics, demonstrating his ability to add and subtract numbers vertically. |
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2 Blue |
For your excellent observations and wonderings about the church after our Mission Market Day Mass. |
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3 Blue |
For his focussed start to Term 4. Keep up the great efforts to work hard and do your best. |
|
3/4 Maroon |
For your determination and ‘never give up’ attitude you display towards your school learning each and every day. Well done! |
|
4 Blue |
For her creative skills in assisting with the musical backdrops |
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4 Blue |
For your tenacity to push yourself out of your comfort zone to produce work of a higher standard |
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5 Blue |
For consistently outstanding performances in Spelling Mastery tests. |
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6 Maroon |
Lucy, for showing great maturity with her learning and producing the most aesthetically pleasing rocket for STEM—well done on your creativity and hard work! |
|
6 Blue |
Well done on your excellent efforts in CMC Maths! Your hard work is showing results. |
Welcome back to Term 4! While things tend to settle down somewhat at this time of year in terms of sport, we do still have some exciting opportunities for students in the coming weeks.
NSWPSSA Athletics Championships
This week, Mackenzie H (Year 5) travelled to Sydney to compete at the NSWPSSA Athletics Championships at Sydney Olympic Park. After being named 11 Year Girl Runner up at the Archdiocesan Athletics Carnival, and finishing a very impressive 2nd in High Jump at the MacKillop Championships last month, Mackenzie was excitedly awaiting this next level of competition. Mackenzie has had a hugely successful year in athletics this year and to make it to NSWPSSA selections shows not only what great skill and talent she has, but also, provides an amazing experience for her to compete against so many other students at the same level. Mackenzie placed an incredible 19th out of 39 girls competing in the high jump event. We are all very proud of you Mackenzie and look forward to seeing what the future holds for you in athletics.
Hockey
WANT TO HAVE SOME FUN? Take up a new sport!
Come and try: ‘Hook into Hockey’, a 6 week free program at Gundary Oval starting on Tuesday 29 October.
4pm: up to 7yr olds
4.45pm: 8 yrs -13 yrs
Sticks and shin pads supplied.
A fun way of learning new skills and modified games in a safe environment
Join us at Gundary Oval, near the fire shed.
For more information, please contact Cheryl Sutherland: 0438742692 or via email at:eurohockeyclub@gmail.com
Intensive Swimming Program
We are excited to be working with the Moruya Swimming Pool to participate in a K - 6 swimming program. Swimming is a lifelong skill and water safety is an important aspect of coastal living as well as having many health benefits. The swimming program will begin in Week 3 with a swimming proficiency assessment session and then one day per week, for 4 weeks. Jessie White, Carla Durnan, Brooke Connaughton and myself will be leading the swim instruction for this program and Mrs Lorraine Borger will also be assisting our students. Lorraine brings a wealth of knowledge of swimming instruction and skill and we are very lucky to have her assistance and support as she volunteers with us again this year. More information, including consent, cost and other arrangements for the program will be communicated with families in the next few days via the COMPASS portal. Each child will require parental consent to participate in the program prior to the proficiency swimming session in Week 3. The only cost for this program will be the $5.00 entry fee for each session - which will total $25.00 per student which will be payable via COMPASS prior to the program beginning in Week 4. If your family holds a pool season pass or a Fitness Passport card, then these can be used to cover your child's pool entry. A copy of your pass number will need to be provided to the school, via the link below. This number will be recorded and passed on to the pool staff.
Please complete the Google Form by Friday 25/10 for organisation purposes. Thank you to those families that have already completed the form.
Please click on this link to access the Google Form:
Consent and payment for the Swimming Program will be live on COMPASS in the coming days.
Swimming Dates:
Week 3 Friday 1 November: Swimming proficiency session K-6 students
Week 4: Friday 8 November
Week 5: Friday 15 November
Week 6: Friday 22 November
Week 7: NO SWIMMING
Week 8: Friday 6 December
Canberra Goulburn Sports Trials for 2025: Basketball, Cricket and Tennis
In term 4, students in Years 4 and 5 this year (2024) may be eligible to trial for the Canberra Goulburn Archdiocesan 2025 Individual sports trials in Cricket, Tennis and Basketball. These three sports are the only sports that are trialled in the year prior to the next school year. This is because the MacKillop selections are quiet early in the new year. If your child plays any of these sports (Cricket, Tennis and Basketball) competitively and with a high level of skill, they are eligible to nominate for the trials. (Please note: Touch football trials are usually held later in term 4 each year to prepare for the year ahead, however, this has changed this year and trials for touch football will be held early in 2025).
If your child is interested in nominating for these events, please go to the CSNSW Sport website for more information and registration details.
If you require any further information or have any questions regarding individual sports trials, please be in touch with me at: megan.grant@cg.catholic.edu.au
All other sports nominations and trails for next year will be communicated to year 5 and 6 families in the new year.
|
Sport |
Registration Closing Date |
Trial Date |
|
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Cricket Trials- 2025 |
12 November 2024 |
Tuesday 19 November |
|
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Tennis Trials - 2025 |
Friday 22 November 2024 |
Thursday 28 November (PLEASE NOTE: change of date) |
|
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Basketball Trials - 2025 |
Friday 22 November 2024 |
Tuesday 26 November |
|
Wishing you a wonderful week ahead,
Mrs Megan Grant
Sports Coordinator
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 Term 4.
UNIFORM DONATIONS
The Community Council is starting a second hand uniform shop. Please see flyer beolow.
Community Council
Parents and carers play a key role in guiding their children as they navigate the online world and begin to learn through exploration, play and social interaction. Parents and carers can prepare their primary school aged child to be safe on social media even if they don’t use it yet. You can do this by building good online habits and staying informed about online safety. You can learn more about how to help your child begin their online journey on the eSafety Commissioner’s website. You can also learn about the range of social media, games, apps and sites in the eSafety Guide, including what all the apps are, their minimum age requirements, how to protect personal information and how to report content within the apps themselves.
Supporting positive and safe online experiences for your child
There are a range of resources available to support you to support your child to have a safe experience online.
- The eSafety Commissioner’s website provides:
- eSafety parents page including: information on how to have hard conversations about tricky topics like cyberbullying.
- webinars to give parents/carers the knowledge, skills and tools to support safe online experiences including supporting primary school children to understand consent and online boundaries and how to support your child with online gaming.
- family friendly videos and advice sheets in multiple languages to support your family stay safe online, getting started with social media, safer online gaming and getting help when your child is bullied online.
- eSafetykids page with child friendly information you can share with your child including what to do when someone is being mean online, being safe online, sharing photos and personal information online.
Signs a child or young person might need support
A child’s online activity might have a negative impact on them if they don’t also have a healthy balance of offline activities. Sometimes, your child might show signs that they are having negative online experiences or that they are being bullied. Your child may not tell you if an online ‘friendship’ or situation has become compromising or difficult. They may feel embarrassed or ashamed, or afraid it might make things worse.
Be alert to changes in your child's behaviour or mood. Watch for signs of withdrawal, anxiety, sadness or changed interactions with family or friends. Signs can include:
- less interest in social activities like meeting friends or playing sport
- not doing so well at school
- tiredness, sleep disturbance, headaches, eye strain
- changes in eating patterns
- reduced personal hygiene
- obsession with particular websites or games
- extreme anger when being asked to take a break from online activity
- appearing anxious or irritable when away from the computer
- becoming withdrawn from friends and family
You can learn more about warning signs of bullying and warning signs of grooming on the eSafety Commissioner’s website.
What to do if your child experiences something unsafe online
There are many ways that parents can raise a concern or get help if there is an incident.
- You can talk to your child’s school about any concerns you might have or if something has happened. Schools have policies and processes that can help. They can also work with you to make sure that your child gets extra support if they need it.
- If your child has been involved in an online incident it is important that you work together with your school to provide your child with the support they need. Learn how to help your child after an online incident on the eSafety Commissioner’s website.
- You can contact the eSafety commissioner for advice and to report abuse. The eSafety reporting system helps parents of children who experience serious cyberbullying and image-based abuse by working with platforms to have the content removed.
- If someone is contacting your child and this contact is unwanted or makes them feel uncomfortable, there are things you can do to help. Read more about child grooming and unwanted contact and what to do on the eSafety Commissioner’s website.
Where to reach out to for more support for your child
- Contact 000 for urgent assistance
- Talk to your child’s school
- Contact the eSafety Commissioner for advice or to report online abuse
- Visit your local GP if you want to talk about mental health support
- Kids Helpline: 1800 551 800 kidshelpline.com.au
- Lifeline: 13 11 14 lifeline.org.au
- Beyond Blue: 1300 224 636 beyondblue.org.au
