NAIDOC MASS

Last Thursday, our Year Five and Six School leaders represented St Mary's at the Regional NAIDOC Mass held at Ss Peter and Paul's Cathedral. This is a highly valued event on our school calendar, and I was extremely proud of the respect and the manner in which our students conducted themselves during each element of the Mass. From the smoking ceremony welcoming all to the land, through to the enthusiastic participation in the Mass and then the reverence and respect they showed to all the Award winners. So wonderful on all accounts.

THANK YOU to our REC, Mrs Rachael Croker, who was charged with the planning and organisation of the event. She coordinated and collaborated with our Regional schools to ensure all schools were involved in the Mass.

CONGRATULATIONS to Year Five students, Lacy Starling and Jesse Costello, who were both recognised for their Sporting achievements with the NAIDOC 2025 Awards. Thank you also to their families, who were there to support and celebrate this with them.

Together, we celebrated Culture, Faith, and Community — honouring our shared history and walking forward in unity

Public Speaking Competition - Yrs 3-6

This week our Primary students have had the opportunity to present a speech to their class. 

Following these class presentations, six representatives from each year group have been chosen to present their speeches to the entire school next Monday, 11 August at 12:00pm. 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.

Parents and families are welcome to attend the school competition next Monday and show their support for our budding speakers.

NSW PSSA Boys Netball

Next week, Year Six student, Harley White, will participate as a member of the Western Plains team and compete at the PSSA Netball Comp in Coffs Harbour.

We have included the draw and a link to games that are going to be live streamed 

Best of luck Harley !!!!

Thursday 14th August 

Time	Court	Vs Team	Live Streamed
9am	3	Sydney Basin	Yes
10am	1	Southern Inland	Yes
11am	3	Mid-North Coast and Inland	Yes
12.30pm	2	Northern Coastal and Inland
1.30pm	3	South Coast	Yes
2.30pm	1	Sydney Basin	Yes

Friday 15th August 

Time	Court	Vs Team	Live Streamed
9am	2	Southern Inland
10am	1	Mid-North Coast and Inland	Yes
11am	3	Northern Coastal and Inland	Yes
12pm	1	South Coast	Yes

Link for Streaming 

https://nswschoolsport.brightcovegallery.com/category/videos/live?page=1&count=24

  

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

This week, we welcomed a new student to our School community in Year Six. Nethil Waisundara has been made to feel welcome as a senior student, and we wish him and his family a smooth transition to life in Crookwell.

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.

For more information, don't hesitate to get in touch with Belinda on 48321 592. We can't wait to welcome your child to St Mary's!

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

You should have received your Term 3 school fees statements in your email. 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.

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.

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!

SAINT MARY OF THE CROSS MACKILLOP - Feast Day –August 8

 We continue to focus on our school value of COMPASSION and what better role model do we have than our first Australian Saint, St Mary of the Cross whose feast day we celebrate on Friday. Mary answered God’s call and clothed herself with the qualities of Jesus.

Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience.  Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other … Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. (Colossians 3:12-14)

St Mary Mackillop’s daily life reflected compassion for others. She lived by her mottos:

“To live simply, travel lightly and make room for all”

“Never see a need without doing something about it”

Mary’s compassionate way of life inspired others to follow in her footsteps. These women became known as the Sisters of St Joseph’. Today they can be found making a difference all over the world carrying on Jesus’ mission of reaching out to the poor and needy with love, compassion and faith.

All Christians are called to try to be saintly in their daily lives; to live lives according to God’s commandments to love God and one another. What a beautiful world it would be if everyone was inspired to follow Mary Mackillop’s example by ‘making room for all’ and ‘never see a need without doing something about it.

Prayer

God, help us to look with 'soft eyes' as Mary MacKillop did,

Upon all who are a part of our days

Allow us to break through the barrier

Of our scrutinising views.

Transform our inner landscape into a peaceful place of acceptance.

Pull back our projections and criticisms.

Replace our mean measurements and our biased expectations

With an openness that allows others to be. 

TERM 3 STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE COUNCIL

We warmly welcome our term 3 SRC leaders. Our elected students will work alongside our school Executive team to develop projects to assist those in need. Mission month, ‘Socktober’ will be a key focus for the SRC.

NAIDOC MASS

Year 5 and 6 travelled to Sts Peter and Paul’s Cathedral in Goulburn last Thursday to attend the NAIDOC Mass with staff and students from the Northern Region Catholic Schools. The mass was a celebration of Culture, Faith and Community. This year marks 50 years for NAIDOC Week, honouring and uplifting Indigenous voices, culture and resilience. The theme of The Next Generation: Strength, Vision and Legacy- celebrates the achievements of the past while looking ahead to a bright future.  

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

School Sport

For sport this term, the school as a whole will walk to Todkill to strengthen their Tennis, Touch, Oztag and Soccer skills. The local consent form on Compass covers the walk to and from Todkill. These sports sessions will occur in Weeks 3, 4, 6 and 7 from 12:15 - 1:30.

School Cup - Netball

A new date has been set for the Schools Cup. It will now be held on the 18^th of August (Monday, Week 5). By now, you should have received a notification from Compass regarding the change of date. Permission and registration on Play HQ have been transferred over, so there is no need to re-register. All other details are to stay the same and these can be found on Compass. If you can assist on the day or were previously assisting but the new date doesn’t suit, please let me know (annie.cummins@cg.catholic.edu.au).

League Stars Day for students in Kindergarten to Year 2

Date: Tuesday, 11th November
Venue: North Park, Goulburn (private transport)
Time: Students are to arrive at 9:30 am for a 10:00 am start, concluding at 2:10 pm
On the day, we are able to nominate mixed tag teams. The students will play in year groups of K/1 and 2. Can you please express your child’s interest by the end of Term 3.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfdymHsKErXBH6pLzzIfkT8O5R5dYMOdRtYcfRQbG0WEIkv0g/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=107268297601984138813

Save the Date

• Boorowa Touch Football Carnival (Yr 2 - 6) - 24^th October. More information to come soon.

NSWCPS Golf

We wish the best of luck to Rory, Jesse and Cooper, who will head down to Blackheath Gold Club on the 25^th August to compete in the NSWCPS Golf Tournament for a spot in the MacKillop team. Cooper will compete in the 9-hole competition, while Jesse and Rory will compete in the 18-hole competition. Good luck to all. 

PSSA Hockey

In Week 5, Tommy will compete at the PSSA Australian Boys U12 Championships. This tournament will take place in Bendigo, Victoria. Tommy will play as goal keeper as part of the NSW team. Each state and territory will verse each other over the 4 days of competition. We wish Tommy the best of luck.

NSW Primary Schools Boys Netball Championships

Harley will be competing at Coffs Harbour on 14-15^th August as part of the Western Plains team at the NSW Primary Schools Boys Netball Championship. 60 students were selected from NSW to compete at this tournament. A NSW team of 10 boys will be selected from this championship to compete in the School Sport Australia, Netball Boys 12 Years and Under Championship in Victoria. Harley will be wearing both shooting and defending bibs, but mostly playing GS. Good luck Harley.

Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn Athletics

We wish Lincoln, Imogen, Rory, Jesse, Cooper and Flynn S the best of luck as they head to Canberra for the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn Athletics Championships on the 21^st of August. 

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 Week Cake Decorating Competition – Year 6 Fundraiser

To support Year 6 fundraising for their graduation, students are invited to enter our Book Week Cake Decorating Competition!

Cakes can be decorated individually, with family, or in a group of friends.
Designs should reflect this year’s Book Week theme: “Book an Adventure” or be inspired by a favourite book or character.

After judging, cakes will be sliced and sold at lunchtime. All proceeds will go towards Year 6 graduation expenses.

We can’t wait to see your deliciously creative entries!

Congratulations to our week 3 award winners!

Awards will be presented at our assembly tomorrow, Friday 8 August at 9.05am.

Kindergarten: Jai Costello, Lottie Davis, Archie Kensit, Arthur Moorby.

Year One: Lexi Handley, Harriet McIntosh

Year Two: Vida Stephenson, Lyla Storrier

Year Three Gold: Mason Allport, Gabriella McDonald

Year Three Green: Gracie Hannan, Hadley Reynolds

Year Four: Riley Plumb, Caitlin Summerfield, Lizzie Walsh

Year Five: Darcy Armstrong, Oscar Montgomery

Year Six: Quade Haynes, A'dee Reynolds

Japanese Class of the Week:  Year One

Performing Arts: Henry Johns

Congratulations to the following students for wearing their uniform correctly and with pride:

Harriet McIntosh

Nethil Waisundara

Email: Crookwell@cg.org.au

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

Phone: 0403 631 797 

Positive Partnerships is a Federal Government funded initiative. Interested parents are invited to attend a one-day workship for families to learn about autism. This a free event, in Goulburn on 23 September.

Register here: 
https://www.positivepartnerships.com.au/workshop/?eventtemplate=69-1-day-parent-carer-workshop-nsw&event=2150

Learn more:    
https://www.positivepartnerships.com.au/about-us/what-we-do

Goulburn Chess

CCSP's Term 3 Sleep Webinar

Do you know how vital sleep is to your children's health, learning and emotional wellbeing? Do you know what effects screens are having on the quantity and quality of our sleep? Don't miss this opportunity to find out strategies you can use to help your children develop healthy sleeping habits for optimal function!

Join Sleep Educator Lisa Maltman from The Sleep Connection for an insight into how important sleep is for your children - and you - and tips for making sure the whole family gets enough zzzzzzzz.

PLEASE JOIN US FOR CCSP’S TERM 3 SLEEP WEBINAR

Wednesday 13 August

7pm - 8pm

PRESENTED BY THE SLEEP CONNECTION

Register using the link - See you online!

For parents and carers of K-12 school students

https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/00bfb0c7-19b2-4660-8715-69ffdb2f78c8@43c01865-a091-4ea9-adee-6ba5e69e291f

CECG Family Offer Foundation to Year 6 Novels