Calendar

Upcoming Events

Kindergarten Orientation Day 

Next Monday, 27 November, we welcome our Kindergarten 2024 class to St Mary's for their Orientation Day. The students will arrive at 9.15 am and head straight to the Kindergarten classroom to be greeted by their 2024 teacher, Mrs. Alison Cummins, and their 2024 Year 6 Buddy.

Parents of our new students are invited to attend a 'Meet and Greet' in the staffroom at 2.00pm, and a talk from our P&F Working Group Secretary, Reané Strode, and Treasurer, Allison Hewitt.

At 2.40pm, the parents will move down to the Kindergarten classroom for an information session with Mrs. Cummins.

The day will conclude at 3.00 pm. 

The children will need to bring a hat and packed lunch, recess and drink, or order from our tuckshop via QKR.

School Disco

On Thursday, 30 November, Year 6 will host a disco.

The infants (K/1/2) disco will happen during school time from 2.15pm until 3.00pm. 

The primary (3-6) disco will commence at 5.30pm and conclude at 7.00pm. Entry is via gold coin donation, and snacks will be available for purchase. The theme for the primary disco is 'Country'.

This is a fundraising event for the Year 6 end-of-year events.

Infants Touch Carnival

On Friday, 1 December, Kindergarten, Year One and Two will participate in an NRL Mini Touch Football Carnival from 9.45am-1.30pm at school on our bottom playground. The students will participate in a round-robin competition. 

Parents and younger siblings are invited to attend and bring a picnic lunch to share with their child at 11.15am. If you are not attending, your child will need a packed lunch/recess or lunch order (these will be delivered). A picnic rug or camp chair is also recommended.

The students will need their school hat, sunscreen, and plenty of water.

Kindergarten Showcase of Learning

On Friday, 8 December, Kindergarten will present their Showcase of Learning Assembly for Parents and Friends at 12.30pm in the Old Hall. All welcome!

Mission Day - Wrap up

We all had a wonderful day last Friday for our annual 'Mission Day'.

Organised by the dedicated students and staff, this event raises funds for Catholic Missions, fostering a sense of servant leadership in the senior students.

The atmosphere was excited as the entire school came together to contribute to this charitable cause. The various year levels showcased their creativity and entrepreneurial skills through various delightful stalls and entertaining activities.

The Year One students took charge of the morning tea with a delectable cake stall (thank you, Year One parents!), and the Year Three students (supported by Mrs Frost) added a sweet touch to the day with an ice cream stall that provided a refreshing treat, perfect for the warm weather.

Lunchtime was a sizzling affair, thanks to the culinary talents of the Year Five students (and Mr Culley) who manned the barbeque.

This year the afternoon activities organised by the Year Five and Six students were excellent! The afternoon featured a variety of well-organised novelty activities. Face painting (thanks, Ms O'Brien), putt-putt golf, an escape room, a haunted house, a comedy show, nail polish, a soccer competition, hair spray, a dance party, pop the balloon, and more – there was something for everyone.

The students embraced the opportunity to highlight their talents and creativity, adding a personal touch to each activity.

Once again, the generosity of the St. Mary's community shone through as the event successfully raised an impressive $1100 for Catholic Missions. This financial contribution will undoubtedly make a meaningful impact on the lives of those in need, reflecting the school's commitment to service, justice, compassion and global responsibility.

On behalf of St Mary's Primary School staff, I would like to thank you for all your generosity and support of this event.

Congratulations Lara!

A huge congratulations to Lara McCulloch, in Year 6, who was presented with an award for winning the CWA’s Southern Tablelands poster competition last Friday by Crookwell CWA Vice President and Handicraft Officer Lillian Marshall, together with Publicity Officer Cheryl John.

The judges commented that the standard of entries this year was extremely high and the judges found it a difficult job to decide the winning works. However, Lara’s poster was exceptional and went on to be judged further along with those from the Southern Tablelands District to win the district prize. The district includes fourteen towns and approximately twenty-eight schools. 
Congratulations Lara, we are proud of you! 

On Friday, we will have our final School Explorers session with our preschool friends. The children, accompanied by their Year 5 friends, will participate in the 'Play-It!' Sport (Physical Education) activities this week.    

Last week, the students enjoyed using our classroom technologies and the Edison and Bee-Bot robots.

Save the Date

As we are approaching the end of the school year, it would be greatly appreciated if families could please attend to their school fee account balances, as soon as convenient.

If you have any questions on the best way to pay, please do not hesitate to contact Belinda in the office.

Thank you for your attention to this.

St Mary’s School Values: JUSTICE and SERVICE

MISSION DAY

Last Friday’s Mission Day was a huge success. Thanks to the hard work and generosity of our school community, we raised just over $1100 for Catholic Mission. A very BIG thank you to our students for organising the fundraising activities, and to everyone for your support of in sending in donations and materials. Many thanks to Parent helpers Pip Frost, Dave Culley, and Angela O’Brien for helping out on the day. We continue to focus on our values of Justice and Service, following in the footsteps of Jesus as we journey towards Advent and Christmas.

Return of Library Books

Please ensure all library books are returned by next Thursday, 30 November.

As the end of the term and school year approaches, so does our school sport. We have three upcoming events to finish the year on a high.

Our NSW Netball Coaching sessions recommence this Friday, with three sessions remaining over the next three weeks. Our students will be looking forward to getting back into netball.

Surf Life Saving NSW will be visiting St Mary’s this Friday afternoon to present the 2024 Beach to Bush Program. The students will learn about being sun smart, spotting a rip, where they should swim at the beach, inland waterways, marine life, asking for help if in trouble, reading and obeying signs and the roles of our surf lifesavers.

Further information about this program and follow up student activities is available here: Beach to Bush - Beach Safety Hub.

On Friday 1^st December, The NSW NRL Development squad will visit St Mary’s to run a short skills session, followed by a mini school round robin competition for our Kinder, Year 1 and Year 2 students. We are grateful to Taylor Giggins and his team for this visit. They will be at St Mary’s from 9.45 to 1.30pm (stopping for lunch breaks). Parents and friends are more than welcome to attend.

Upcoming trials

Last Thursday was an great day for our yYar 5 students who participated in their leadership and reflection day, focused on developing their skills as leaders and reflective thinkers. Students engaged in a range of activities to build qualities like communication, collaboration, problem-solving, resilience and mindfulness. 

One highlight was the teamwork challenges, where students worked in groups to creatively navigate obstacles and solve problems. Students also participated in reflective sessions to understand themselves better as leaders. They identified their personal leadership strengths and areas for improvement through self-reflection. Students then set individual goals to further develop their skills and make a positive difference next year as the impactful Year 6 leaders at St Mary's.

It was a fantastic and very worthwhile day, that challenged students on a personal level while bringing them closer together as a grade. I was proud to see the responsibility, compassion and courage students demonstrated. We look forward to continuing to foster these awesome leadership capacities as the students continue their exciting learning journey in the year ahead!

Mr James Edwards

Tuckshop Roster

If your date doesn't suit, please work out a replacement/swap date and let Belinda know to update the roster.

Christmas Gift Idea

Want to get some early Christmas gifts sorted? Why not buy some of the St Mary's Recipe books? Now only $10 each!!

Books can be paid for using Qkr, under the P&F payment section or cash to the School Office.

Parish Office

Kids connecting with nature: Great Southern Bioblitz this weekend

This weekend between 12:01am on the 24th to 11:59 on the 27th of November, K2W Link is participating in the Great Southern Bioblitz.

K2W Link is area manager for the Upper Lachlan and Goulburn Mulwaree areas.  

This is a fun activity for kids to explore and learn about nature and the world around them.  

The goal of the Great Southern Bioblitz is to document the flora, fauna, fish and fungi of the Southern Hemisphere while providing a platform for groups, associations, local governments, and individuals to encourage engagement in citizen science across the southern hemisphere. 

Anyone can contribute to the bioblitz using the online platform iNaturalist.

All they need to do to contribute is to download the iNaturalist app, create an account and make observations this weekend. If the contributor is unable to identify the organism they can be identified later through good clear photos or sounds.

There is information on how to join and posts to share on our Facebook page: 

https://www.facebook.com/k2WLink

Leider Theatre Company presents Roald Dahl's The Witches

Girls in Rugby

Go4Fun 

International Day of People with Disability