Calendar

Celebrating a Spectacular 2023 Book Week

The 2023 Book Week activities have been a resounding success, thanks to our students' enthusiastic participation, the dedication of our wonderful teacher librarian, Mrs Dorothea Hewitt, and the enduring magic of books.

This week the students have had the opportunity to participate in mystery book and cake decorating competitions, virtual presentations by esteemed authors and illustrators, activities focussing on the 2023 short-listed books and a book character parade.

Special Recognition goes to William Croker in Year 6 for being selected to receive the Crookwell View Club '2023 Switched on Reader Award'. This recognition celebrates William's achievement and inspires us all to continue our literary journeys.

As the 2023 Book Week pages close, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to Mrs Dorothea Hewitt, our teacher librarian extraordinaire, for her unwavering commitment to nurturing a love for reading and guiding us through this literary adventure. 

The School Explorers

Last Friday, we had our first School Explorers Session, 'Solve it!' with Year 5. It was wonderful to welcome our preschool friends to St Mary's. They all were settled and did exceptionally well with the rotating maths games. Year Five proved to be responsible helpers, guiding their preschool friends with compassion and excellence.

Tomorrow the 'Say It' session will focus on sounds and articulation. The activities will be guided by Mrs Cummins, Mrs Croker and Kindergarten in the Kindergarten classroom.

As per last week, we ask families to sign in and wait in the school library, or they may first join us for assembly in the Old Hall. 

Northern Region Public Speaking Competition

Congratulations to Max, Harry, Grace, Jacob, Sophie, Lucas, Chloe and Addin on participating in the NR Public Speaking Competition in Queanbeyan. From all accounts, the students made us proud!

A special congratulations to Jacob on winning the Year Four section. Jacob will now represent the Northern Region at the Archdiocesan Competition at Ss Peter and Paul's Primary School, Goulburn, on Friday, 8 September.

Stage 2 Wool Week Excursion

Next Wednesday, Stage 2 students, Year 3 and Year 4, will travel to the Australian Agricultural Centre via bus to learn all about sheep and wool.

The excursion activities will address Stage Two Science outcomes and will include learning about where wool comes from. They will experience a wool fleece and the various wool attributes used to classify wool, consider the implications of wool's unique properties and draw conclusions about its suitability in a range of everyday uses, watch a shearing and sheep dog mustering demonstration and make a wool key ring. 

St Mary's School Cross Country Presentation

It was with great joy on Tuesday morning that our Lawrence House Captains, Addin and Lauren, were presented with the new, long-awaited School Cross Country house plaque. 

Congratulations Lawrence!

Compassion is at the heart of God

Throughout the Bible, we find that compassion lies at the very core of the character of God. God is consistently described as loving, merciful, and compassionate.

In the gospels, Jesus’ message is clear… ALWAYS have compassion and mercy for EVERYONE! Jesus constantly reached out to the people who were outcast, poor, sick, and the oppressed. His compassion was unconditional, it was complete, and it reflected the very nature of God.

Throughout both the Old and New Testaments, we are told repeatedly that God requires us to love mercy and to show mercy and compassion to one another.

We are called to live out the compassion that Jesus showed every day. We are not only to notice and feel sorry for the sick, hurt, lonely, suffering, poor and downtrodden. We are to actually reach out and ‘embrace’ them with love, and to do it without judgement and without seeking any kind of reward. To live with the mercy and compassion of God is to come to truly know and love God.

Many Christians talk about having a personal relationship with God and describe this relationship as giving meaning, purpose and joy to their lives, even in tough times. The good news is that this relationship with God is accessible here and now to everyone… it’s not simply about ‘going to heaven when we die’ but helping to bring God’s kingdom on earth with our words and actions. The great news is that the Spirit of God, freely given to all of us, empowers and strengthens us.

The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah spoke about what it meant to live justly and compassionately and in doing so, to know God…

“[Josiah] did what was right and just, so all went well with him.”

“He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well.”

 “Is that not what it means to know me?”

Imagine a world where leaders answered God’s call to be merciful. We might not be able to directly influence leaders to be merciful and compassionate, but we can influence what happens in our own lives and in the lives of those we come across. Who knows? It could have a ripple effect.

At St Mary’s we strive for our value of COMPASSION; and we are continually blessed by witnessing the positive effect that compassionate and merciful students have on others in the classroom and playground.

Exciting Monday at St Mary’s as Angus Taylor, the Federal Member for Hume, visited Year 5 and 6! With humour and warmth, he shared his insights on the world of politics. Explaining various government levels, he made it clear how our voices matter. Angus Taylor's kindness shone through as he engaged with students. An exciting highlight: he agreed with our Year 5 and 6 students that a 3-day weekend for all Aussies would be fantastic! A big thank you to Angus Taylor for an enlightening and enjoyable talk. Our young minds are inspired to participate and create positive change in our nation's future.

The order slips were sent home last week. These MUST BE RETURNED BY MONDAY PLEASE

CECG Athletics Championships

Congratulations to Elizabeth Walsh, Mia Croker, Riley Plumb, Flynn Storrier, Grace McCormack, Jaydan Costello, Henry Galland and Ollie Croker who competed at the CECG Athletics Carnival on Tuesday at the AIS. The students were representing the Northern Region in both track and field events. In perfect weather conditions for competing, our students put in their best efforts, achieving great results and some PB’s.

Elizabeth Walsh:    100m 4^th place

Mia Croker:           100m 8^th place

Riley Plumb:           100m 8^th place

Flynn Storrier:      100m 1^st place , 200m 2nd place

Grace McCormack: Shot Putt 2^nd place

Jaydan Costello:    Discus 4^th place

Henry Galland:       Long Jump 2^nd place

Ollie Croker:          100m 6^th place

Progressing on to the next level are:

Flynn Storrier- 100m, 200m

Grace McCormack- Junior Girls Shot Putt

Henry Galland- 11yr boys Long Jump

Well done Flynn, Grace and Henry on progressing on to the next level, we are extremely proud of you!

Cricket NSW Country Blitz Initiative

Yesterday St Mary’s were lucky enough to participate in a unique Cricket sampling program, which is part of Cricket NSW's Country Blitz initiative. Sean Barrett (Cricket Manager for the Shoalhaven Region & Infrastructure Southern NSW) along with BBL Sydney Thunder players Matt Gilkes and Baxter Holt ran the students through some bowling and catching drills. The aim of the visit was to introduce the students to the wonderful world of cricket. Students were sent home with information on how to sign up for cricket this coming season. We are thankful for their visit and thoroughly enjoyed the activities and meeting the Sydney Thunder players.

Boorowa Touch Football and Netball Carnival 

Friday 20 October (Week 2, Term 4). Compulsory for Year 2-6 students.

Please fill in the Compass permission note and transport details for your child as soon as possible. A bus has been booked, and names are now being added.

Book Club

Issue 6 of Book Club was distributed today.

Please order online through LOOP by 31st August.

Children who received a Voucher for Book Week bring to me by this date also.

Thank you

Book Week

Book Week was jam-packed with activities this year, from character cakes to colouring-in.

Here are some of the children’s comments about the week’s events:

“I’ve enjoyed the whole week but today is my favourite because we got to dress up.” Riley (Renaldo) Plumb

“I LOVE dressing up!” Lucinda (Mary Poppins)

“The cakes were scrumptious!” Abbey Crosbie (Fern, Charlotte’s Web)

“I loved all the activities this week. The cake competition was fun, there were lots of really cool entries. Afterwards they were cut up and we got to buy them, and today I love that we could dress up as our favourite book character.” Sophie (Hermione) Croker

Elkie (Sam Kerr) Storrier and Sophie Culley (Ellie, Tomorrow When the World Began) entered the emoji competition: “You had to guess the short listed-book titles from the emoji clues. It was difficult but fun,” they said.

“The theme for the colouring-in competition was Read, Grow, Inspire. The picture was of children reading and being inspired by books; the flower represented the growth we gain from reading.” Charlie (Harry Potter) Lang

Mia Butler (Mary-Anna, The Baby-Sitter’s Club) enjoyed the Zoom Webinars. “My favourite was Kirsten Darell (author of the Football Fever series). She explained how she came up with the characters and developed their personalities. I especially liked that we got to pick a dog to go in the story, and choose its name, breed, and behaviour.” 

Colouring Competition winners are:

Kinder: Olivia Doran

Year 1 Green – Hannah Whittle

Year 1 Gold – Gracie Hannan

Year 2 – Bridie McCormack

Year 3 – Jesse Costello

Year 4 – Riley O’Brien

Year 5 – Hayden Tarlinton

Year 6 – Charlie Lang

Cake Competition

Flower/Garden

1^st – Grace McCormack

2^nd – Sophie Croker

3^rd – Tilda McIntosh

Character

1^st Anna and Noah O’Brien

2^nd – Lucinda Fannin

3^rd – Oscar and Mason Allport

Congratulations to our students who competed in the Mounted Games at RDA in Goulburn. We had some very excited students return to school this week with some beautiful ribbons:

Harper 1^st Place

Owen 2^nd Place:

The cool Kids Anxiety Program will begin Wednesday, week 1 of term 4. Expressions of interest for term 4  are now being accepted for children in years 3 - 6. 

The program will be run on-line over 10 consecutive weeks on Wednesday afternoons from 4pm. One parent is required to attend with their child at each session, two are welcome.

Would my child benefit from Cool Kids?

The Cool Kids program is being offered to children whose main struggle is with anxiety. Cool Kids covers a broad range of fears and worries including:

Social fears, Specific fears, Generalised anxiety, Separation fears. 

Cool Kids is not suitable for children whose main problem is low mood, aggression, hyperactivity, oppositional behavior or if they are autistic.

How to nominate your child

If after reading this information you would like your child to be considered for the program, please complete and return the attached Cool Kids Expression of Interest. Contact Belinda in the school office for the form

What Should I do if I Have Questions?

If you would like to discuss Cool Kids and whether your child would benefit from the program please email Cool Kids facilitator, Donna Spillman at donna.spillman@mccg.org.au or text/call 0498 460 086

Term 3 Tuckshop Roster

If you can help and haven't provided your name yet, please click the following link to complete the form. Tuckshop Helpers

More hands mean less work! Tuckshop is a great way to meet other parents.

Are you the new Parish Secretary? Apply now!

Parish Office