I would like to offer my heart-felt thanks to our parent body and broader school community for your support during a term laced with restrictions. Due to your effort, our students and staff have remained in good health throughout the term and we have had a wonderfully settled term of learning. 

I am appreciative of our staff who have dedicated extra hours to participate in professional learning this term. They also have spent many hours implementing their learning into explicit programs for their students.

I would also like to acknowledge our relief staff for their dedication to St Mary's, often putting work at St Mary's before other offers. 

Please enjoy a well-earned rest and we will see our students back to commence Term 4 on Tuesday 13 October.

Diary Dates

Term Four concludes for students on Wednesday 16 December

Term One 2021

27 January 2021 - Staff Planning Day (Wednesday)

28 January 2021- Staff Archdiocesan Systems Day (Thursday)

29 January 2021 - Year 1- Year 6 students commence (Friday)

1 February 2021 - Kindergarten students start (Monday)

*Kindergarten students have a rest during each Wednesday during February (3/10/17/24 February)

COVID restrictions for Schools Update

The Catholic Education Archdiocese of Canberra & Goulburn provided an update on 19 August relating to the current restrictions for NSW Catholic Schools, as advised by NSW Health.

They are as follows:

Assemblies

• Assemblies to be limited to 15 minutes - preferably avoided (applies to school and year assemblies).

COVID-19 Testing

• Students and staff with flu-like symptoms must not attend school or be sent home and tested for COVID-19.
• Where COVID-19 testing has occurred due to flu-like symptoms, and not due to close contact with a positive COVID-19 case, the person being tested must self-isolate until they receive a negative result. If the result is positive, they are required to self-isolate for 14 days. Family members are not required to self-isolate until the test result is received - although we encourage them to do so.
• The school must sight a negative test result before staff/students return to school.
• Staff/students must be symptom-free before returning to school.
• Schools must keep a record of negative staff/student’s tests in a central file.

Education Delivery

• Schools should limit learning activities to year groups where possible (this excludes playgrounds, before school, recess and lunch activities).
• Only external providers of essential curriculum may continue activities (eg. music tutors, Healthy Harold, sport skill development programs etc).
• External providers must have a COVID-19 Safe Plan which is sighted and reviewed by the school before commencing activities. This does not apply to Allied Health Providers who are providing one on one services.

Excursions

• No overnight excursions.
• Day time excursions are permitted within the local area only, subject to appropriate risk assessments.

Graduations

• There are to be no formals or graduation ceremonies.

Inter-School Activities

• No mixing of students from different regions including for sport, drama and debating.

Kinder and Year 7 Orientation

• Orientation to be delayed until Term 4.

P&F Groups

• All face-to-face P&F activities to cease and be conducted remotely.

Staff Gatherings/ Professional Learning

• All staff gatherings are to be on MS Teams. If professional learning needs to be face-to-face it should be limited to the number of people required to achieve the educational outcomes practising social distance. A record of attendance is to be taken. It must only occur by exception.

Singing/ Instruments/ Dancing

• No singing, choirs or chanting activities.
• No wind instruments in a group setting.
• Dance activities are permitted but require a COVID-19 Safe Plan.

Visitors

• No parents or carers on site unless the meeting is considered essential and should be by exception.
• All visitors must accept terms and conditions (social distancing, enhanced hygiene protocols etc.) prior to entering the school.

The NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has made a statement today relating to the easing of restrictions in NSW. When I receive further information from the Catholic Education Office about this, I will distribute it.   

Term Four Clubs

Next term the following clubs will be on offer:

Next term the students may return to school in their full summer uniform. For boys this includes the grey short-sleeve shirt and shorts with grey socks with the green and gold band, only available from our Uniform Shop. Girls are to wear the summer dress with white socks that are either long or folded at the ankle - not short anklet sports socks.  If you are shopping for shoes over the break please refer to our school shoe policy. Black sandshoe style shoes ARE NOT permitted. 

School Shoe Policy

First Communion

Last weekend Year Four students Saxon, Ava, William, Finn, Amelia, Naomi and Marli received the Sacrament of Eucharist in beautiful ceremonies in Gouburn, Taralga and Crookwell. Congratulations to each of the students involved. Thank you to their families for supporting them through the program and on their faith journey ahead.

Thank you to Belinda Cudaj for preparing the children for this very special Sacrament and to Sr Rosemary and Mrs Skelly for assisting the organisation and planning.

Our school photographs will be taken on 22 October in Week 2 of Term 4.

To order photographs go to www.advancedlife.com.au  and type in the nine-digit code AN3 WE9 3JZ. Alternatively, you may send back the envelope distributed in Week 8.

Sibling photographs can also be ordered online or by requesting an envelope from the Office.