Calendar

NAPLAN 

A huge well done to our Year 3 and Year 5 students for their efforts in NAPLAN this year. As always, we remind everyone that NAPLAN is just a snapshot in time and one small part of a child’s learning journey. We are incredibly proud of the way our students approached these assessments with a calm and positive mindset. Thank you to our staff for their hard work in supporting the students, and well done to everyone involved, we are nearly there!

Cross Country Carnival – Next Friday 28 March

Our annual Cross Country Carnival is set for next Friday at Crookwell Showground. This is always a fantastic morning filled with school spirit and friendly competition. Information has been included in the Sport section of today's Newsletter, and we encourage all families to come along and cheer for our runners.

We look forward to seeing you there!

CONGRATULATIONS!

Congratulations to Josh, Casey and Ivy Hewitt on the arrival of Bodhi Thomas on 14 March, weighing 3.48kg and 51cms. Ivy is a very proud big sister!

Inquiry into Foundational and Disability supports (NSW)

A NSW Parliament select committee has been established to inquire into and report on child development, early childhood intervention services, and other foundational and disability supports available for children and young people with developmental concerns, delays, differences or disabilities in NSW.
As part of the inquiry, the committee is seeking online submissions from NSW residents through a questionnaire. Please access the link below if you are interested in making a submission.

Link:Select Committee on Foundational and Disability Supports Available for Children and Young People in New South Wales

Interim Reports

Your child's Interim Report will be sent home this coming Monday 24 March. The Interim Report is designed to give you an indication of how your child is developing in their classroom and school environment. It does not report on their academic process.

Please make contact with the Class Teacher in the first instance if you would like to make a time to discuss it. Formal Interviews will be available to all parents at the conclusion of Term Two with Semester Reports

Contact

Teachers are your first port of call for questions and queries pertaining to the classroom. Appointments can be made with your child's classroom teacher by calling the Office.

I am also happy to support you in any way I can. Typically problems that are addressed quickly, in partnership, are the easiest to solve. I will be available on the school phone (48321 592) for calls usually from 8.30am - 4.30pm daily or via email within similar hours. The email address to be used to contact any staff member is office.stmarysc@cg.catholic.edu.au

Emails sent out of hours may not be responded to until the following day.

If you wish to make an appointment to see me, please contact Belinda in the Office.

-2025 Dates for your Calendar-

TERM ONE

Friday 28 Mar - School Cross Country

Monday 7- Thursday 10 Apr - Year Six Camp

Friday 11 Apr - Pupil Free/ end of TERM ONE

PILGRIMS OF HOPE- JUBILEE YEAR

Pope Francis has proclaimed 2025 a Jubilee (Holy Year).

In the Catholic Church, a Jubilee or Holy Year is a special year of forgiveness and reconciliation, in which people are invited to come back into right relationship with God, with one another, and with all of creation. It involved the forgiveness of debts, the return of misappropriated land, and a fallow (unploughed) period for fields.

The theme for this Jubilee Year is Pilgrims of Hope. Pope Francis has invited Catholics to renew our hope and discover a vision that can "restore access to the fruits of the earth to everyone". We are also invited to rediscover a spirituality of God's creation in which we understand ourselves as "pilgrims on the earth" rather than masters of the world.

Let us as a school community at St. Mary’s be Pilgrims of Hope, walking together in peace, love and forgiveness. As a community may we work together to give HOPE to those who may feel HOPELESS.

PROJECT COMPASSION

To date, we have raised a grand total of $472.25. This is through the generous donations that students have popped into their class Project Compassion boxes, as well as the amazing donations for St. Patrick’s Day. The SRC have been really proactive in organising events for Term 1 that allow us as a school community to dig deep and show compassion to those less fortunate.

Our final SRC fundraising event will be on Thursday 27 March. This will be a wear something purple mufti day for a gold coin donation, and milkshakes will be on sale during the lunch break, $2 each.

St Patrick’s Day –Monday March 17

Monday was St Patrick’s feast day. He is the patron saint of Ireland and one of the world's most popular saints. He taught people about the Trinity (three persons of God) using a shamrock (3 leaf clover). He is an important saint in Crookwell as many ancestors are of Irish descent.

St. Mary’s turned into a sea of green on Monday, with the SRC hosting a mufti day and cake stall. The selection of delicious green treats was simply magnificent and thoroughly enjoyed by both students and staff. Thank you to the SRC and their families for supporting this.

SACRAMENTS

The Term 1 fees are due by 21 March. 

Thank you to those who have already made payments, we appreciate your prompt attention to your account.

Please note, that whilst using CompassPay for excursions and events is compulsory, we do encourage using BPAY  to pay school fees.

This is because there is a surcharge applied to the school with each payment, which can result in a significant bill for us monthly.

For your reference, please find a breakdown of the 2025 fees if you wish to pay weekly, fortnightly or monthly (please note based on 52-week year).

As always, we are available for a confidential conversation about your school fee account, should you need it.

Polar fleece addition to Sports Uniform

We are very excited to announce the addition of a polar fleece jumper to our Sports Uniform. These jumpers will help add a layer of warmth during the colder months and are ready to be ordered via Qkr.

Please note, these are not to be worn with the academic uniform Monday to Thursday.

Second-hand uniform stock

We have a large amount of second-hand uniform stock available, free of charge. Please drop into the school to browse what is there at any time.

A big thank you to Mrs Shauna Hewitt for her excellent set-up!

Cross Country

Who’s ready to run like the wind? Our School Cross Country is fast approaching. It will take place on Friday 28th March at Crookwell Showground. Students will be dropped to the showground via their regular morning bus. If students do not catch a bus to school, they will need to be dropped off at the showground via private transport. Supervision will commence at 8:40am. The carnival commences at 9.00sm, with races commencing at 9:15am. The carnival will conclude at approx 11:00am. The race distances are as follows;

• 5,6,7 years - 600m
• 8 years -1000m
• 9, 10 years - 2000m
• 11,12 years - 2000m

We are NOT walking the course on the day of the carnival. Students have previously walked to the showground and walked their course during a Friday sport session. Students will also look at the course map with their teachers prior to the day. Students can also ask questions on the day prior to their race. There will be teachers on checkpoints directing students. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask Mr Edwards or Miss Croker.

The program of the day is as follows. Please note that the times are approximate.

Gilbert/Croker Cup Expressions of Interest (Year 3 & up)

The Gilbert/Croker Legends Day is coming up. The details are as follows.

• Date: Thursday, May 15th
• Venue: North Park, Goulburn
• Time: Students are to arrive at 9:30am for a 10:00am start

On the day, we are able to nominate mixed tag and tackle teams. The students will play in age groups of years 3 & 4 (tackle or tag) and years 5 & 6 (tackle or tag). Can you please express your child’s interest and what they would be most comfortable playing (tackle or tag) using the link below. Expressions of interest will close 31st March. More details to come closer to the date.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdY4xZ_3KMlcen1P0lV7SSKSkwxV2XsecrjDcVIumdqocBqvg/viewform?usp=sharing

School Cup - Netball NSW Expression of Interest (Year 3 & up)

This year's School Cup will be held on the 24th June in Goulburn.

Students from Years 3 - 6 are invited to express their interest in playing through the link below. The teams will be split into year groups (Year 3/4 and Year 5/6).

More information to come closer to the date.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdQA5JLorlNY7ZKNWXGEqdye2RZTdER31E9JU2B8Ses5SO-EQ/viewform?usp=sharing

Premiers Reading Challenge is a great way for your child to engage with reading. The challenge will open on Monday 24 February and close on August 22 2025. If your child is interested in participating in this year’s challenge, please come by the Library and discuss with Mrs McCormack how they can take part. There will be a showcase of Premiers Reading challenge books, on display in the library that children are welcome to borrow and log in the challenge.

Dyspraxia

Dyspraxia is when a person has difficulties with motor coordination. It affects people’s fine and gross motor skills. Dyspraxia affects people in different ways. People with dyspraxia can also experience difficulties with their memory, planning, organizing and carrying out movements in the right order. It can affect articulation and speech and perception in some people.

Resources

There are so many fabulous resources online for parents to access. There are some free information resources on the following site on ADHD, Auditory Processing, Memory, Dyslexia, Learning Difficulties, as well as many other learning processes.

https://www.learnfasthq.com/free-learning-resources

Vision Checklist

If you are concerned about your child’s learning and/or vision be aware of the following signs and symptoms:

• one eye drifts or aims in a different direction than the other. This can be very subtle
• turns or tilts head while reading or during other visual activities
• head is frequently tilted to one side or one shoulder is noticeably higher
• squinting or closing of one eye
• excessive blinking or squinting
• poor visual/motor coordination skills (often called, "hand-eye coordination")
• problems judging distances while moving in space, frequently bumps into things or drops things
• becomes easily confused when in motion
• frequently loses things

While reading or doing close work your child:

• holds the reading material or object too close
• closes one eye or covers eye with hand
• twists or tilts head toward book or object so as to favour one eye
• uses finger or ruler to read
• frequently loses place and/or skips or repeats lines
• fatigues easily and/or becomes drowsy
• rubs eyes during or after periods of the reading or close work
• reports that words move on page or run together
• has a tendency to knock things over on a desk or table
• exhibits avoidance behaviours

Child demonstrates or reports:

• headaches or eyestrain
• nausea or dizziness
• motion sickness or car sickness

DOUBLE VISION!

If your child reports seeing double, please take your child for a binocular vision evaluation.

Early detection of visual problems is vital for successful learning!

WEEK SEVEN CLASS AWARDS

Please join us at 9:05 am tomorrow, Friday 21 March.

K - Elsie Hills, Hanna Hunter, Eleanor Smart

1 -  Elyssia Camilleri, Liam Hunter

2 - Lincoln Cummins, Andy Storrier

3 - Tommy Culley, Jack Hewitt, Abigail Kennedy, Laela McIntosh

4 - Henry Lowe

5 - Samantha Fraser, Lacy Starling, Aria White

6 - Quade Haynes, Imogen Hewitt

UNIFORM- 

Congratulations to Sidney Bush, Sophie Croker, Ivy Hewitt and Jacob Hogan for proudly wearing our St Mary's uniform.

Japanese- Congratulations to Year 3 Green and Gold for being our Japanese Class of the Week!

For Parish and Sacramental matters please forward your enquiries to Goulburn Parish Tuesday to Friday 9am to 1pm in Goulburn.

Email: Crookwell@cg.org.au

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

Phone: 0403 631 797