Semester One Reports 

Your child's Semester One Report will be available for you to access via the Compass app next Monday, 30 June. This comprehensive report provides valuable insights into your child's academic progress, highlighting their achievements and areas for further development.

We believe that open communication between home and school is essential for the success of our students. We look forward to parents/carers and students joining us for Learning Discussions next Friday, 4 July. Appointment times ARE OPEN via COMPASS CONFERENCES for you to arrange a time BETWEEN 8:00am-3:00pm for Years 1-6 and 9:00am-3:00pm for Kindergarten. Each slot is 10 minutes in length. If the opportunity to meet in person is difficult, we are also offering phone appointments for the day. Please select which option you would prefer when making your booking.

At St Mary's, we follow the NSW Syllabus for the Australian Curriculum, ensuring our students receive a well-rounded education aligned with national standards. The Semester One Report evaluates your child's performance across various subject areas, offering a comprehensive overview of their growth and learning throughout the term.

We employ the A-E grading scale for students in Years One to Six to provide a clear and informative assessment. Please note that the A-E scale represents different levels of achievement as follows:

A - The student has extensive knowledge and understanding of the content and can readily apply this knowledge. In addition, the student has achieved a very high level of competence in the processes and skills and can apply these skills to new situations.

B -The student has a thorough knowledge and understanding of the content and a high level of competence in the processes and skills. In addition, the student is able to apply this knowledge and these skills to most situations.

C - The student has a sound knowledge and understanding of the main content areas and has achieved an adequate level of competence in the processes and skills.

D - The student has a basic knowledge and understanding of the content and has achieved limited competence in the processes and skills.

E - The student has an elementary knowledge and understanding in few content areas and has achieved very limited competence in some of the processes and skills.

The report will provide a detailed breakdown of your child's performance in key subjects, including Religious Education, English, Mathematics, Science, History, Creative and Performing Arts, Personal Development, Health and Physical Education. Additionally, it will include information about their engagement with learning and a comment from your child's teacher, highlighting their successes and suggestions for further growth. We encourage you to carefully review and discuss the report with your child, offering support and encouragement as they continue their educational journey.

Join us for the Year 2/3 Showcase of Learning Assembly!

We are thrilled to invite you to our Yr 2 and Yr 3 students Showcase to be held in the Old Hall tomorrow, Friday, 27 June.

As has been the format of the past few years, there will be two performances on this day.

1. Student Session: The first session will occur at 10:15am, allowing the students to share their performance with their peers and giving them a dress rehearsal before the visitors arrive. 

2. Parent Session: The second session will commence for parents, guardians and friends at 12:30pm. 

We warmly invite all parents, grandparents, and extended family members to join us for the Parent Session of the Showcase of Learning Assembly. Your support and encouragement are invaluable to our students, and your presence will enhance their excitement.

WELL DONE

Congratulations to Our First Holy Communion Students

It was wonderful to attend the First Holy Communion Mass over the weekend, and we extend our warmest congratulations to all the students who received this very important sacrament over the two Masses. They were beautiful occasions for families to come together and celebrate this special milestone in their child’s faith journey.

Fr. Dominic reminded us of the significance of receiving the Eucharist regularly by attending Mass on weekends, encouraging us all to keep Jesus at the centre of our lives.

Congratulations to our Athletes

Congratulations to our St Mary's athletes who competed at the Northern Region Athletics Carnival last Friday. It was a beautiful sunny day, and from all reports, our students showed wonderful sportsmanship, supported one another, and achieved some fantastic personal bests. Thank you to Mrs Annie Cummins and Mr Edwards for managing the team and our timekeeping duty.

The following students achieved a position as a member of the Northern Region Team and will now compete at the Archdiocesan Carnival at the AIS on Thursday 21 August. CONGRATULATIONS Lincoln, Flynn S, Imogen, Cooper, Rory and Jesse. Further detail can be found in the Rep Sport section. 

Thank you to their families for the support and encouragement that allows these students to participate at this level.

2026 TERM DATES

This week we received the dates for our School Year for 2026 and have been asked to pass them on for your information. The dates below are student attendance dates.

Term One - 31 January - 2 April

Term Two - 21 April - 2 July

Term Three - 21 July - 25 September

Term Four - 13 October - 17 December

KINDER WOOD RAFFLE and STREET STALL

My thanks to our Kinder familes for their awesome Street Stall and Wood Raffle effort last weekend. The stall was well attended by the general public on a chilly but sunny Saturday morning.

Congratulations to our Wood winners who each had their wood delivered straight away. I would like to thank Tristan and Scott Kensit for the coordination of this P&F event and those who supported them in this with wood cutting, delivery, baked goods donations and manning the stall. Thank you Kennedy, Butz, Wheelwright, McDonald, Davis, Towell, McIntosh, Hewitt, Doran, Gay, Cummins, Travers, Waldron and McIntosh families. We appreciate you.

WELCOME BACK

This Term we welcomed back Harry Day and his family to St Mary's school community. Harry has settled back in with his former classmates in Year Five. We also congratulate Katie and Jakob on the safe arrival of their new baby son, Maximus.

COMMUNITY NEWS

Year Three students, Khloe and Adrian, have been attending RDA (Riding Develops Abilities) this year. They have greatly enjoyed the opportunity and have tasted success recently at the Regional Mounted Games. Khloe was awarded First Place and Adrian Third Place. Congratulations to both students.

Year Three student, Nicholas Wye was recently presented with a medallion on the 13th of June in recognition of his ability to manage challenges that come with his  Father being a member of the ADF. This was presented by Captain Jo Haynes at a  ceremony in Nowra.

As we head towards the end of Term 2, please ensure your outstanding school fee balance is paid as soon as possible.

Head Office sent reminder fee statements last week, and Belinda will be making contact with others.

Setting up a regular payment plan can help with the payment of school fees. If you would like more information on amounts, frequency, etc, please do not hesitate to contact Belinda.

Support Our School Community – Family Business Directory

OUR INITIAL VERSION IS LIVE! Head to the Parents Section of the website to check it out. We want all types of businesses!

Website Parent Page

We are proud of the vibrant and diverse community at our School, and we know that many of our families run incredible businesses. To celebrate and support each other, we are creating a Family Business Directory — a dedicated space on our School’s website where our families can discover, connect with, and support local businesses run by fellow School families.

Whether your business is big or small, online or brick-and-mortar, we’d love to showcase it!

If you would like your business to be included in the directory, please complete the form below with your business details. The directory will be made available on our website for easy browsing and searching by our School community.

> Family Business Directory information form

Thank you for helping us strengthen our School community and support each other’s ventures!

SACRAMENT OF THE EUCHARIST

What a special weekend for 10 of our St Mary’s students who received the sacrament of First Holy Communion over the weekend.

The St Mary’s community is very proud of all these students and their commitment to the program over the previous four weeks.

This is a beautiful and sacred moment in your faith journey.

John 6:35: "Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.'" 

SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION

Please see details below regarding the enrolment evening and program for the Sacrament of Confirmation. This program is for Year 6 and 7 students who have received the Sacrament of First Holy Communion. Please circulate this to families within our parish and community who may have students wishing to participate.

Notification will be sent out once the online enrolment form is open.

PILGRIMS OF HOPE

In this Jubilee year of 2025, former Pope Francis called each of us to build a better world for everyone and to experience the joy that comes from acting together as one.

Anxiety

We all feel anxious at times. Sometimes our children feel anxious too. There are many websites and apps available to help us deal with anxiety. Here are just a few.

REACHOUT BREATHE

https://au.reachout.com/tools-and-apps/reachout-breathe

SMILING MIND

https://www.smilingmind.com.au/

REACH OUT

https://au.reachout.com/

Yoga and Mindfulness

We all know the benefits of moving for our mental and physical wellbeing. There are many wonderful websites and resources for teaching your child yoga as a calming routine. Yoga can help your child grow in confidence, as they master new poses and create a flow between the body and mind. Regular yoga poses help build, stretch and strengthen coordination, flexibility and balance. Concentration, attention, focus and the behaviour of students improves with the implementation of yoga techniques. Controlled breathing can assist with moments of anxiety and stress. Yoga does not focus on an ability level but allows you to be the best you can be. Kids yoga can include songs, story-telling and word play.

There are many sites available to visit if you want to try yoga at home with your children.

https://youtu.be/jSZvMHlw9vs?list=PL8snGkhBF7ngqv160qM0Uf9IDaBkGzpo5

Allow your child opportunities to experience calming activities: yoga, listening to music, playing an instrument, colouring-in, meditating and building with lego. Just like adults, children need time out from over-stimulation and constant activity.

Auditory Processing Disorder

This is the system which transfers and decodes what we hear and sometimes the brain can’t make sense of the sounds that it hears. It is also known as Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD). One of the biggest struggles is listening with background noise.

An assessment for Auditory Processing can be done by a qualified audiologist. To help children with APD it can be helpful to:

• Break instructions down into small steps
• Sitting close to the person teaching
• Writing instructions down
• Double check with the child for understanding
• Asking the child to repeat the instructions
• Reduce background noise
• A quiet study area at home for homework and reading
• The use of an Assistive Listening Device eg. An FM in the classroom

https://info.learnfasthq.com/what-is-apd?__hssc=202247310.1.1559863374552&__hstc=202247310.c611be00092654db546e922c6110f5ed.1559863374552.1559863374552.1559863374552.1&__hsfp=2155975865&hsCtaTracking=07ad0949-2495-406b-8a03-04c92fc588c3%7C95b48d40-01f5-41fd-b164-08f91ace73c1

School Cup - Netball

Unfortunately, the weather was not on our side for the School Cup – Netball this week. At this stage, it has been moved to Term 3. We will keep you updated.

Northern Region Athletics

Last Friday, a team of keen athletes travelled to Hudson Park to compete at the Northern Region Athletics Carnival. Congratulations to all the athletes who achieved well in their corresponding events. A special mention to the following students who were successful in progressing to the next level which will take place on August 21^st at the AIS Track and Field Arena in Bruce, Canberra. We wish you luck for the next level!

• Lincoln Cummins
• Flynn Storrier
• Rory Bensley
• Jesse Costello
• Imogen Hewitt
• Cooper Sims

MacKillop Touch Football Trials:

Jacob and Tommy competed as part of the Canberra/Goulburn Touch Football team in Wagga Wagga on the 13^th June. Unfortunately, both did not make it any further but enjoyed the opportunity.

Rugby Union Trials:

Good luck to Bodi, Harry F and Rory who will travel to Forbes this weekend for Rugby Union trials as part of the Canberra/Goulburn team.

Upcoming trials:

• NSWCPS (MacKillop) Golf - nominations close 15th August

Where can I find trial dates?

The Canberra Goulburn Sports webpage has the full calendar for Primary, Secondary and SSA events. https://www.sport.cg.catholic.edu.au/calendar

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Kind Regards,

Annie Cummins & James Edwards

School Sports Coordinators

Weeks 9 Awards 

Awards will be presented at the assembly on Friday 27th at 9.05am.

K - Colton Gay, Amelia Towell

1 - Lexi Handley, Ava Lowe

2 - Jack Gerathy, Harvey Kensit

3 - Sidney Bush, Noah Munro, Nicholas Wye

4 - Henry Butler, Cooper Sims

5 - Samantha Fraser, Vincent Moloney, Georgia Proudman, Flynn Storrier

6 - Flynn Reeves, Harper Seaman 

Japanese - Year 5

Uniform - Sophia Doran, Louise Kennedy

Email: Crookwell@cg.org.au

Website: http://cg.org.au/crookwell/Home.aspx 

Phone: 0403 631 797