Term Two Dates

NAPLAN

I would like to congratulate our Year Three and Year Five students for their effort with the NAPLAN tests over the past eight days. The students worked industriously to complete the Reading, Writing, Language Conventions and Spelling, and Numeracy tests. Their teachers and I are proud of their efforts.

Term Two P&F Meeting

I would like to thank all the parents who came to the Parents and Friends meeting on Tuesday evening. We had a productive meeting discussing the past and upcoming events. The next event on the calendar is the Kindergarten Street Stall, coordinated by Tenille McIntosh. Kindergarten families will receive information about this from Tenille soon.

Interactive Panel

I would like to thank our Parents and Friends Association for providing the funds to purchase a new interactive panel for our Year Five classroom. The panel that was in Year Five will now be moved into our second Kindergarten class. 

Industrial Action

We have received notice today that more than 17,000 teachers and support staff in 540 Catholic diocesan schools throughout NSW and the ACT have voted for the right to take protected industrial action in support of five key claims for their new enterprise agreement. The IEU Executive has endorsed a full-day stop work on Friday 27 May.

Whilst the staff at St Mary's support this action, the teachers do not want to cause disruption to their students learning and will be onsite so our classes can continue as normal.

We have just been notified that the Peter Lucas Cup has been cancelled due to this action. Unfortunately, the only schools that had registered to participate were Catholic Schools. 

The School Explorers

On Friday 3 June our school readiness program, The School Explorers Program, commences with our 'Move It' session at 2pm. The attending children will explore movement with our Perceptual Motor Program. We ask families to sign their children in at the school library prior to us moving to the Multipurpose Hall to commence our activities. Parents and carers are welcome to sign their child in and return to collect them at 3pm or to stay for the session. 

All preschool students who are school-aged in 2023 are welcome to attend our school readiness sessions, regardless of school choice. Please spread the word.

Art Show - Changes on the Landscape

The Crookwell Art Gallery is staging an art show exclusively featuring the works "Changes on the Landscape". The 12 works in this series of paintings by Margaret Shepherd span more than 200 years of Australia's history- from European settlement, Federation, World Wars, to a new millennium. The works are large, each measuring approximately one-metre square.

St Mary's students have been invited to view this historic collection. Each of our primary classes will walk to the gallery for a thirty-minute visit on Thursday 26 May.   

Federal Election

For your information, the National Catholic Education Commission has released a Federal Election report card assessing the responses from the major political parties on education priorities, comparing the major parties and their support of Catholic Education.

The report card compares and assesses the Coalition, Labor and Green’s responses to the priorities of:

• Genuine school choice through fair funding and ensuring affordable contributions from families
• Enabling faith-based education through religious protections
• Improving capital funding
• Support for delivering national priorities such as quality teaching, early childhood education, mental health and wellbeing programs and Closing the gap initiatives for Aboriginal and Torres Islander students

National Catholic Education executive director Jacinta Collins said the report card shows the Liberal National Coalition and Labor are on par in addressing Catholic education’s priorities, particularly on school choice.

“We are fortunate that both major parties continue to support genuine school choice in Australian education and are committed to families who choose a Catholic education for their children,” Ms Collins said.

Responses sought from key independent candidates are also being evaluated. 

Authorised by J Collins, National Catholic Education Commission, Level 3, 156 Gloucester Street, Sydney.

Enrolling Now

Enrolments can now be placed online. Go to https://enrolments.stmarysc.nsw.edu.au/enrol/ to enrol now.

Enrolments packs are available from our School Office or can be downloaded from our website http://www.stmarysc.nsw.edu.au/enrolment.html

MARY HELP OF CHRISTIANS - Patroness of Australia (24 May)

Next Tuesday Christians celebrate the feast day Mary Help of Christians. This day has been celebrated in Australia since 1844 but its history dates back to the start of the 1800's at a time when Napoleon Bonaparte had gaoled Pope Pius VII and kept him prisoner at Fontainebleau. The Pope vowed to God that if he were set free, he would declare a special feast in honour of Mary. Pope Pius was released on 24 May, 1814 and he returned to Rome. Twelve months later he decreed that the Feast of Our Lady Mary Help of Christians be kept on 24 May.

The new Church (Catholics) in Australia had a special reason for turning to Mary. No priests were sent to the colony in its early days and Mass was not allowed except for one brief year until 1820. People prayed the Rosary in those early days to keep their faith alive.

The Australian Catholic community remained faithful to Mary and Australia was the first nation to choose her as its Patron Saint - under the title, 'Mary Help of Christians'.

Today we live in a very fragile world and need all the help we can get. Mary – who is closer to God than any other human being – has a great deal to teach us about courage, faithfulness, compassion, humbleness and love. She is truly a ‘helper of Christians’. Let us remember to call on her for help.

Almighty God, deepen in our hearts our love of Mary Help of Christians.

Through her prayers and under her protection, may the light of Christ shine over our land.

May Australia be granted harmony, justice and peace.

Grant wisdom to our leaders and integrity to our citizens.

We ask this through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Mary Help of Christians, pray for us.

Mary is also the patron saint of our school and so she holds a special place in our hearts. We look to Mary as our guide in striving for excellence in all we do: in our work, our play, our praying, our reaching out to serve others.

Winter Appeal 2022

MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN OUR WORLD by supporting our Mini Vinnies WINTER APPEAL

Donation of the following items would be greatly appreciated:

• New thick socks
• New gloves/mittens/beanies/scarves
• Coats
• Sleeping bags
• Blankets/doonas
• Non-perishable food items

 (please make sure any used items are in reasonable condition)

Let us strive for excellence in answering Jesus’ call to help others…

School Athletics Carnival New Date

We can confirm that the new date for the carnival is Thursday 9 June.

If you can assist on the day in the following roles, please email me directly at rachael.croker@cg.catholic.edu.au ASAP.

• 8,9,10,11 and 12 year team managers
• Time keeping
• Infants’ helpers

Peter Lucas Cup- Rugby League Gala Day

Per the information in Mrs Lowe's section, unfortunatley the Peter Lucas Cup is now cancelled.

Athletics Coaching

The school has been able to secure a Sporting Schools grant for Term 2. This funding has gone to employing trained athletics coach, Vaughn, who is here each Friday for 5 weeks. Vaughn is guiding the students through the skills of relay running and baton changes, correct technique for shot putt and discus, as well as effective technique for long jump. The students are LOVING the sessions.

Vaughn giving Year 3 and 4 great advice on effective baton changes.

National Walk Safely to School Day

National Walk Safely to School Day is on Friday 20 May. Now in its 23^rd year, the annual campaign encourages all primary school children, their parents and carers to walk safely and regularly to school.

We were lucky enough to have a visit from Senior Constable Scott Hunter, who handed out stickers to the children as they walked through the school gate and had a chat with them about road safety.

Sullivan and Hendrix were excited with the Walk Safely to School Day stickers they received.

Weet-Bix Active Bands

Athletics Australia is running a promotional program, encouraging primary students to increase the level of activity they are participating in daily. The program sees students given an active band that has a scanning code, where students create their own profile, record their daily physical activity and graph this over a period of a month.

Your child will take home a band that has a QR code. Families will need to register the band using the QR code and update each day how much physical activity a child does. We have been assigned resources and lessons in each classroom, with the goal of every class doing an extra 15 minutes of fitness daily. Families can add this time to their child’s daily activity.

Please note that this is an OPTIONAL program, and there is no expectation that families must register. Many children will be happy to wear their cool new band to school and let it be a visual reminder to perhaps do a bit of running during play break or join a game of soccer for a session.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Student of the Week Awards

The Student of the Week Awards go to...

Kindy: Claudia Hills, Ivy Hewitt, Flynn Pascoe, Pepper Reeves

Yr. 1: Baylee Cox, Lucinda Fannin, Fraser McIntosh

Yr. 2:  Rory Bensley, Bodi Cooper

Yr. 3: Sophie Croker, Grace McCormack

Yr. 4: Sophia Foran, Elkie Storrier

Yr. 5: Joe Hayes, Lachlan Kilborn

Yr. 6: Rorey Hearne, Harry Price

School Spirit Award

Sophie Kilborn for community service

Madeleine Strode  for community service

Parish Office

For Parish and Sacramental matters, please forward your enquiries to Goulburn Parish Secretary, Sharon Cashman, via email. Alternatively, call into the Parish Office at the Old Convent Building. Sharon is available in Crookwell on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month from 11.30am-3.30pm

Parish Associate: Sr Rosemary Hart

Email: Crookwell@cg.org.au

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

Phone: 48321 633 

Address: 55 Wade Street (the Old Convent Building)

More soccer news for Saxon Greenwood and Ava Nicholson from the weekend’s Soccer Branch Championship that was held in Goulburn. 

Both competed in their respective representative STFA soccer teams in under 12’s. 

Saxon was goalie for his team for the weekend’s 3 games. He again performed outstanding in the goal in some very muddy conditions. His strong dominance in the goal helped his team to achieve being awarded the overall top scoring team and Southern Branch champions for this Carnival. They will now play their next representative soccer games in Nowra for the Country Cup championships on the long weekend in June. 

Ava played some very talented soccer in defence and attack, and scored some amazing goals over the weekend which was commented on by many on the sidelines. She played so well, she was in fact awarded the Ray Tweedie medal, for most talented under 12 female player. This is the second time Ava has won this award. Well done Ava!

Unfortunately Ava’s team ended up runners up at the end of the weekend.

Both Ava and Saxon can be very proud of their weekend sporting performance.

The Keeto 80km

Free Child Restraint Safety Check

Rocky Hill Musical Theatre- Wizard of Oz

Kids Community Disco

Romeo and Juliet performance at the Lieder Theatre Company