Welcome back

Welcome back to Term 3! We hope this message finds you well and that you had a restful, warm and enjoyable break.

We are excited to start this new term with our students and continue to provide a safe and engaging learning environment. Our dedicated teachers and staff are committed to supporting your child's growth and academic success.

We have planned various student activities and events this term, including excursions, fundraisers, feast days and sporting events. We encourage you to stay up-to-date with our school newsletter, calendar, Compass, school website and our social media pages so you know when these events are on.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063739085537

https://www.instagram.com/

Today we welcomed the new Executive Director of Catholic Education to St Mary's Primary. Mr deCarvalho enjoyed a tour of all classes, engaged with students and was impressed with their engagement and focus on all tasks. He remarked on their exemplary manners and respectful interactions with him. We hope Mr deCarvalho will visit us often and share in the wonderful work we do here as St Mary's school community.

Important dates to note:

Tues 19 Aug - Community Council/P&F Working party meetings 6pm & 7pm

Fri 22 Aug - Northern Region Public Speaking

Thurs 21 Aug - CECG Athletics at the AIS

Tues 2-Thurs 4 Sep- Book Week

Fri 5 Sep - St Mary's Feast Day

Fri 12 Sep - Yrs 2-6 at CHS Careers/STEM Day Expo

Fri 19 Sep - Kinder/Year One Showcase 

Fri 25 Sep - Final day of Term Three for students

We look forward to working with you this term to ensure your child has a successful and fulfilling experience. 

Welcome and Congratulations

This Term, we have welcomed two new students to our School community. Shailah (Yr6) and Alyssia (Yr2) have settled in beautifully and are acclimatising smoothly! 

During the holidays, Mr Edwards and his wife, Harriette, welcomed a baby boy to their family. Baby Atticus was born on Thursday, 10 July and has begun his work creating their new role as Mum and Dad!

We wish them all the best and can't wait to meet him. Mr Edwards is taking Parental Leave for Weeks One and Two, with Mrs Davis and Mrs Nicole McCormack working with Yr 3 Green.

Thank you

Over the last few weeks, we have been lucky to have some proactive parents stepping in to offer help with some maintenance jobs. Our front garden was looking weedy and messy until Pip Frost took it upon herself to weed and mulch it one afternoon. It now looks spectacular.

Cole Davis noticed we had a dangerous tripping issue with lifting cement at our front gate. During the holidays, he borrowed machinery to grind it back and so ensure all our students and visitors safely enter the school grounds.

Thank you, Pip and Cole. We appreciate you!

The School Explorers  - School Readiness Program

Is your little one starting school in 2026? Help them embark on an exciting educational adventure with "The School Explorers" commencing this term on Friday, 15th August.

"The School Explorers" is a comprehensive school readiness program designed to familiarise children commencing school in 2026 with our caring staff, friendly students, state-of-the-art facilities, and the exciting world of the NSW curriculum key learning areas. This program aims to make the transition to primary school smooth, enjoyable, and filled with confidence!

All preschool-aged children are invited to attend regardless of school choice. Come along to all or as many sessions as suits you. Parents are welcome to stay for the session, leave your child in our capable hands, or a combination of both.

To register or for more information, don't hesitate to get in touch with Belinda on 48321592. We can't wait to welcome your child to St Mary's!

Public Speaking Competition - Yrs 3-6

In Week Three, each student will have the opportunity to present a speech to their class. This allows our students to gain valuable experience in public speaking within a comfortable and familiar setting. It also allows them to engage with their peers, share their ideas, and practice their communication skills.

The speech topics are as follows:

Year 3 - If animals could talk, what would they say? - 2 minutes

Year 4 - A much needed invention- 2 minutes

Year 5 - What would I do with a time machine? - 3 minutes

Year 6 - What mistakes teach us - 3 minutes

Following the class presentations, five representatives from each year group will be chosen to present their speeches to the entire school during Week 4. These finalists will compete to be one of the two chosen speakers for their respective year groups.

The selected speakers from our school will then move on to represent St Mary's at the Northern Region Public Speaking Competition on Friday, 22nd August. This is an exciting opportunity for our students to showcase their talents and compete with other schools in the region. This event will be hosted here at St Mary's.

We encourage all students to participate enthusiastically in their class presentations and make the most of this valuable learning experience. Public speaking enhances communication skills and boosts confidence, critical thinking, and self-expression.

Parents and families are welcome to attend the school competition and show their support for our budding speakers. Confirmation of timing will be communicated closer to the date.

Winter Uniform reminder

We have noticed many students arriving to school in an untidy manner with ties loosely tied, shirts untucked and incorrect footwear. Please help us to remain respectful and tidy by ensuring your children are proud to wear their uniform correctly. They look so wonderful when they do.

As per our Uniform Policy, if there is a need for a student to be out of uniform, we require communication via a note or email please.

Our second-hand uniform collection is available for everyone and has every item on offer for FREE.

All other uniform orders are to be sent through Qkr and will be delivered or ready for collection on TUESDAYS and THURSDAYS ONLY. Please respect this procedure.

Some other reminders about our school uniform- hair accessories must be in the school colours only, earrings must be sleepers and studs, no nail polish is to be worn to school, and shoulder-length hair, or longer (male or female), must be tied back.

2026 TERM DATES

The dates below are student attendance dates.

Term One - 31 January - 2 April

Term Two - 21 April - 2 July

Term Three - 21 July - 25 September

Term Four - 13 October - 17 December

The Term 3 school fees will be run this week and fee statements will appear in your email inbox soon. This is a good reminder to ensure that you are receiving statements. If not, please check your spam and junk mail and if not there, let Belinda know as soon as possible to ensure they are being sent to the correct address.

Please ensure that if you have an outstanding school fee balance, it is paid as soon as possible. Additionally, ensure that the Term 3 amount is paid in a timely manner.

Setting up a regular payment plan can help with paying school fees. If you would like more information on amounts, frequency, etc, please do not hesitate to contact Belinda.

TERM 3 SCHOOL VALUE - COMPASSION

This term, St Mary’s will focus on living our school value of COMPASSION.

Compassion is much more than just feeling sorry for another person or group of people.

The mercy value of compassion is about feeling AND ACTION. It is about loving and caring for your family and friends, and about showing kindness to people who are feeling sad or upset to help them feel better. The mercy value of compassion is about feeling that you can make a difference and setting out to do this as best you can.

Jesus is the perfect model of compassion. He showed God’s unconditional love for all humankind by always reaching out with concern, care, and kindness. Out of compassion for all of humanity, he gave the ultimate sacrifice; he was crucified to free us from sin and restore our relationship with God.

How can you model Jesus’ compassion in your everyday life?

We encourage our students daily to ‘CHOOSE KINDNESS’.

At school, we are reflecting on the following Scripture passages to lead us to be more compassionate members of our community…

Ephesians 4:32 “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

Colossians 3:12-14 “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

1 Thessalonians 5:15 “Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.”

SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION

Students in Years 6 and 7 who have celebrated the Sacrament of First Holy Communion, are invited to enrol for the Sacrament of Confirmation.

Our enrolment evening will be on Wednesday 13^th August, 6pm, in the Year 6 classroom.

Please see all details regarding the program below. If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact me at rachael.croker@cg.catholic.edu.au

SEMESTER 2 PERSONALISED PLAN MEETINGS

At the end of last term, most of you met with your child’s class teacher. For this reason, we will hold Personalised Plan meetings later in the term for those of you who wish to have another meeting. If your child is on a Personalised Plan, this will provide you with an opportunity to meet with your child’s teacher and me to discuss their progress, a plan moving forward, and to set new goals. If you would like to meet sooner, please contact me or the school office to arrange a mutually convenient time.

TIPS ON BEHAVIOUR MANAGEMENT

Sue Larkey is well known for her resources/ideas/strategies for children with Autism. Many of her strategies are also useful for children who do not have the ASD label. In her free newsletter, she lists signs of sensory processing difficulties and gives tips for calming students. You need to subscribe to receive the newsletter. She also has many free tip sheets for behaviour management, social interaction and communication on her website. There are tip sheets for managing iPads, using visuals, rewards and tokens.

https://suelarkey.com.au/tip-sheet/#ts

Sue Larkey also has a lot of e-learning available.

 https://elearning.suelarkey.com.au/

The Human Brain

The brain is a remarkable organ and science is advancing in such a way that scientists can look closely at learning difficulties in children, developmental delays and other neurological conditions, through the mapping of the brain. Through science, it is also possible to identify the impaired genes of a stu

dent and allow for family genetic mapping to explore learning and behavioural difficulties. Re-training of parts of the brain is possible and certainly an area with enormous future development.

As mentioned before, I enjoy reading articles from the following newsletter.

https://www.Learningbrainnews.com

Information for parents

The Victorian Government have a useful page for parents with information for students with additional needs. There are links to good information on Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia, ADHD and other learning support areas.

Education – information for parents | vic.gov.au

The NSW Education site offers practical advice for parents below. There are learning resources for English and Maths for all students.

Parents and carers Education NSW

A-Z homework help is available in English and Maths.

Homework tips for primary school

Another great resource for parent information is AUSPELD. There is a link to explaining the difference between learning disabilities and learning difficulties. There is an article on identifying  and diagnosing specific learning disabilities and another link to information about interventions. There is information on Assistive Technology to help your child.

https://uldforparents.com/contents/

Where can I find trial dates?

The Canberra Goulburn Sports webpage has the full calendar for Primary, Secondary and SSA events. https://www.sport.cg.catholic.edu.au/calendar

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Kind Regards,

Annie Cummins & James Edwards

School Sports Coordinators

Library Days:

• Tuesday: Kindergarten, Year 1, Year 2, and Year 6.
• Thursday: Year 5, Year 4, Year 3 Green and Year 3 Gold

Please ensure your child brings their library bag on their library day so they can borrow books.

Book Week at St Mary’s – Week 7 (2nd–4th September 2025)

We’re excited to celebrate Book Week at St Mary’s in Week 7, from Tuesday 2nd to Thursday 4th September.

Our Scholastic Book Fair will be held in the library. Students will have the opportunity to browse the Fair on Monday 1st September, with sales open from Tuesday to Thursday between 8:40am and 4:00pm.

As a special treat, on Wednesday afternoon, Meerkat Productions will present a live performance based on the 2025 CBCA Picture Book of the Year, The Garden of Broken Things.

Book Club:

Book Club brochures were sent home yesterday. Please place all orders via LOOP by Thursday 31st July.

Premier’s Reading Challenge

Many students have shown wonderful enthusiasm, with some already finishing the PRC!
If you need assistance entering your child’s completed books on the PRC website, I’m happy to help.
Please ensure all entries are submitted by Friday, 19 September 2025 (Week 9, Term 3).

Email: Crookwell@cg.org.au

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

Phone: 0403 631 797 

Support Our School Community – Family Business Directory

OUR INITIAL VERSION IS LIVE! Head to the Parents Section of the website to check it out. We want all types of businesses!

Website Parent Page

We are proud of the vibrant and diverse community at our School, and we know that many of our families run incredible businesses. To celebrate and support each other, we are creating a Family Business Directory — a dedicated space on our School’s website where our families can discover, connect with, and support local businesses run by fellow School families.

Whether your business is big or small, online or brick-and-mortar, we’d love to showcase it!

If you would like your business to be included in the directory, please complete the form below with your business details. The directory will be made available on our website for easy browsing and searching by our School community.

> Family Business Directory information form

Thank you for helping us strengthen our School community and support each other’s ventures!