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- Principal Talk with Mrs Lowe
- Religious Education with Mrs Skelly
- Representative Sport with Mrs Sally Croker
- School Sport with Mrs Rachael Croker
- Library News with Mrs Hewitt
- Classroom Support with Mrs Spackman
- Child Safe Advocate with Mrs Sally Croker
- Peer Support
- School Fees
- Student Awards
- Parish News
- P & F News
- School and Community Notices
Term 3 Key Dates
| Thursday 29 August | Fathers Day Gift Stall |
| Thursday 29 August | Counsellor visit |
| Tuesday 10 September | Cricket Blast School Cup Years 3- 6 |
| Thursday 12 September | Counsellor visit |
| Friday 13 September | Official Opening of the Multipurpose Sports Court |
| Friday 20 September | Archdiocesan Public Speaking Competition Boorowa |
| Friday 20 September | K/1/2 Excursion to National Zoo and Aquarium |
| Thursday 26 September | School Disco 6pm - 7.30pm - Years 3-6 |
| Friday 27 September | Stage 1 (Year 1and Year 2) Showcase of Learning 12.30pm |
| End of term |
Satisfaction Surveys
I am very pleased to share with the community the results of our recent school satisfaction surveys. These surveys help inform the development of our Annual Improvement Plan.
The parent survey attracted 56 responses which is a 62% completion rate.
The staff survey attracted 15 responses which is a 75% completion rate.
The student survey attracted 57 responses from all students in
Year 3 to 6, this is a 90% completion rate.
These completion rates are considered excellent.
An overview of the results is presented in an executive summary. This is formed by collating the results in the following manner:
As you would imagine, once again we are very happy with these results. We would like to assure you, however, that even though they are all very positive responses we are still able to ascertain from this data the target the areas that require further strengthening.
If you made a comment in your Parent Survey, that you would like to discuss with me further, I encourage you to do so. As the surveys are anonymous I am unable to contact those who made comments that require clarification or discussion.
New Website
Have you visited our new website yet?
Go to https://stmarysc.nsw.edu.au/ to view our new schoolzine site. This links with our Calendar, Newsletter and Facebook pages.
Devices Brought to School by Students
A reminder that if iPod's, iPads, phones, or any personal devices, are brought to school, they must be given into the Office at the start of the day and collected at the end of the school day. The devices are not to be left in the student's bags or taken into classrooms.
Scholarships
Each year the Country Women's Association of NSW offers Education Scholarships to assist with secondary schooling and the area of the Arts. Application forms can be collected from the school office and need to be submitted to the CWA State Office by 30 September.
Our Father's Day
This coming Sunday is Father’s Day. It is a day to give thanks for the gift of fathers.
It also provides us with an opportunity to think about our first Father … OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN - the perfect example of a loving, compassionate, merciful and wise ‘Dad’.
The Lord’s Prayer, also called the Our Father, is the best known and recited prayer in Christianity and it is the perfect prayer to God, our Father. It captures the entire religion’s beliefs. Not surprising since it was Jesus Himself who taught His apostles to pray it when they asked him… ‘Lord, teach us to pray’ (Lk 11:1-4).
St. Cyprian wrote, “My dear friends, the Lord’s Prayer contains many great mysteries of our faith. In these few words there is great spiritual strength.” Sadly, this prayer is often said only on rote memorization which means people miss out on this. Pope Francis commented, “How many times there are people who say, ‘Our Father,’ but do not know what they say! … Do you feel that when you say ‘Father,’ that he is the Father, your Father, the Father of humanity, the Father of Jesus Christ?... Do you have a relationship with this Father? … When we pray this prayer, we are connecting with a loving Father… the Holy Spirit gives us this connection with him, the feeling of being God’s child.
WHAT DO THE WORDS OF THE OUR FATHER ACTUALLY MEAN?
- Our Father, Who art in heaven Jesus didn’t tell us to say, “My Father” but stressed “Our Father.” We don’t live as isolated individuals but we experience God’s fatherhood as members of one family with Jesus the Son. This reminds us that we recognise each other as children of God, pray for each other, and treat each other accordingly.
- Hallowed be Thy Name Hallowed is another word for holy. We recognise that God’s name is holy, and ask that His name be recognised by everyone throughout the world. The holy name of God is often used without thought or reverence, or even misused in today’s world. It is worth noting that the actual name of God is considered to be so holy to the Jewish people that it is never spoken.
- Thy Kingdom come We are asking that God’s kingdom (where there’s only goodness, honesty, and love for one another) surround us today in our everyday life. We are also praying for the fulfilment of the Lord’s promise of eternal life at the end of time.
- Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven We pray for God’s grace to help us to do His will throughout our life (love God and love neighbour) – in big and little things – eg. moving an elderly parent into our home, volunteering regular time to help a neighbour, not spreading gossip, forgiving someone who has hurt us, being patient and kind etc.
- Give us this day our daily bread Here we acknowledge that all things we really need come from God. We ask God to continue to give us not only the food we need for nourishment, but faith, hope and strength. We also ask for the Bread of Life the Eucharist.
- And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us God knows that when there is bitterness and anger in our hearts, there’s no room for His love to fill our hearts. Forgiving someone and letting go of grudges is often easier said than done. Only God can give us the strength to do it through prayer.
- And lead us not into temptation Temptation and sin go hand in hand. When we come face to face with temptation, it can sometimes be difficult to resist. That’s why we need our Father to give us spiritual strength to resist temptation.
- But deliver us from evil Evil is a reality in our world. We will always be tempted to veer from the right path onto the wrong one. But evil has no power over God and when we pray to God for protection against all that is evil, He will shield us — always.
When praying the Our Father let us stop and reflect on the words we are saying and let them transform our lives…
“The meaning of the Our Father … aims to form our being, to train us in the inner attitude of Jesus.” Pope Benedict XVI
Primary Sport- Canberra/Goulburn Archdiocese
Representative Duties
SSA-School Sport Australia 12 years and under Hockey Championship
The NSW Girls team was awarded Silver at the conclusion of the Hockey Championships last week, with QLD being awarded Gold.
Both girls reported a wonderful week full of new friends, hockey highlights and support from family and friends.
“The first thing we did was the Opening Ceremony. We had to wait about an hour before it even started! Bella was announced Captain for the NSW PSSA Girls Team. We held the flag with pride. One hour later it was time to play our first game. We played Queensland and lost that one 4-1. After a break we played Tasmania and we won that one 7-0.
On Tuesday we won against Victoria 7-0 and ACT 4-0.
On Wednesday our team and the Boys team went on an Educational Excursion to the Bendigo Gold Mine. We went 61 metres underground and learnt about the miners and their experiences in the olden days. When we came back we went gold panning and we found gemstones but no one was lucky enough to find gold.
We felt amazing during the week making lifelong friends and lots of memories. We had an absolutely fantastic time”
Isabelle and Bella
MacKillop Athletics
Congratulations to Rosa Blowes. She competed at the Archdiocesan Athletics last week after another Junior competitor had relinquished her Shot Put place. Rosa came first with a throw of 6.80m and is now a member of the MacKillop Team to compete at Homebush on 16 September.
Other commendable results include;
Ava – 10th 100m
Bridie -4th – 100m
Fynella – 6th- 100m, 9th -200m
Lachlan – 11th – 100m
MacKillop Cricket
We wish Jake Cosgrove the best with his next trial for the Mackillop Cricket Team. He will travel to Wagga next Thursday 5th September for an afternoon training session and then trial the next day
Years 3-6 have been invited by Cricket NSW to take part in the Cricket Blast on Tuesday 10 September at Todkill Park, Crookwell.
Students will be divided into class teams, and take part in modified games during the day.
Students will wear their sports uniform and will need to ensure they have packed their school hat, plenty of water and sunscreen. They will not be required to bring their own cricket gear, all equipment will be supplied on the day.
There is no requirement for a permission note for this event, as the students Local Excursion forms cover this.
Any enquiries, please contact Mrs. Rachael Croker.
Book Week Quiz
The family Book Week Quiz was very popular with 27 families completing it.
At morning assembly next Monday, participation certificates will be awarded to the following children.
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Reece Allport |
Braith Plumb |
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Chloe & Charlie Bensley |
Archie & Olivia Pursell |
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Rosa & Briana Blowes |
Chloe & Emily Salt |
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Sienna & Toby Charnock |
Harper Seaman |
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Charlotte Crosbie |
Darcy & Marli Selmes |
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Georgina & Sophie Culley |
Phoebe Selmes |
|
Billie-Jo Garnham |
Alex Storrier |
|
Joesph Hayes |
Elkie Storrier |
|
William Heffernan |
Maddie Strode |
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Ava & Imogen Hewitt |
Charlie & Hayden Tarlinton |
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Charlie Lang |
Patrick & Thomas Walsh |
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Peter & Andrew Lawson |
Nathaniel & Katyanna Waters |
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Marnie & Finn McCormack |
Ethan Whittle |
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Regan and Naomi Picker |
|
Book Club
The closing date for Book Club orders is next Thursday 6 September.
If possible, please order through LOOP. Instructions are on the Student Order Form.
Dyslexia
Please find attached an information sheet on Dyslexia.
Have you had your child’s hearing checked?
Sound Scouts is a Free Hearing Health Check for Students K-12, funded by the Department of Health. This is an App endorsed by Hearing Australia.
An estimated 10% of schoolchildren suffer from hearing issues, which left undetected can lead to speech, learning, and behavioural problems. The App provides an indication of a child's hearing health and generates an automated report. This report details the child's listening abilities, in quiet and in noise. It is game based so it's fun and easy to use and the App can help identify the increasing number of hearing issues in school-age students.
Helpers Needed For Our Intervention Programs
If you would like to assist with any of our intervention programs at school, please complete the volunteer form link below or contact Belinda, Sarah or myself. Parents/grandparents/community members are welcome to help. They need to have a Working with Children Check and we can help them with this application process. We will train the volunteers in what to do. You may like to come and simply listen to some children read. We currently offer intervention programs in Spelling, Reading and Numeracy.
Restorative Justice at St Mary's
At St Mary’s we always try to take a positive approach to managing student behaviour. We always encourage the students to show care for others, which is one of our Mercy Values.
Occasionally, in the heat of the moment, students can forget our school rules and when that occurs, we try to resolve the situation by practising Restorative Justice.
Restorative Justice aims to help the student recognise how their actions have affected someone else and how that makes the other person feel. In doing this we hope to reduce the inappropriate behaviour and build an understanding that our actions have consequences.
Restorative Justice is a whole school approach to promoting resilience and aims to contribute to the building of positive relationships in school communities. It is focused on helping young people become aware of the impact of their behaviour on others through personal accountability and learning from a conflict situation. An important component of restorative practices is the focus on restoring relationships after harm has been done.
The Principles of Restorative Practice
Foster awareness in the student of how others have been affected.
Involve the student actively. A restorative intervention encourages the student to speak. They face and listen to those who have been affected by their inappropriate behaviour. They help decide how to repair the harm and make a commitment to this. The student is held accountable.
Accept ambiguity. Often fault is unclear and people can agree to accept the ambiguous situation. Separate the deed from the doer. We can recognise a student’s worth, their virtues and accomplishments while disapproving of their wrongdoing.
See every serious instance of wrongdoing and conflict as an opportunity for learning. Negative incidents can be used constructively to build empathy and a sense of community in the hope that there is a reduction of negative incidents in the future.
Affective Questions are provided to students and school staff to assist in managing conflicts or potential conflict situations and to work towards a resolution.
- What did I do?
- Who do you think was affected?
- What was I thinking?
- What am I thinking now?
- What am I going to do to make things right?
Our focus is on the specific behaviour or incident without pointing the finger of blame. The Restorative Justice process is used to draw out who was affected and how they were affected. After discussion and Circle Time with all parties involved in problem-solving what needs to happen to ‘make things right’ an agreement is reached that all will work towards.
Peer Support- Moving Forward
Week 6
This week in Peer Support, children will have an opportunity to discuss their personal qualities and strengths. The children will identify their qualities and acknowledge how they contribute to their achievements. Through activities children recognise they used their strengths to achieve success and can be encouraged to approach future activities optimistically.
Ask your child to describe their own qualities and strengths so you can recognise and acknowledge these.
Week 7
Next week in Peer Support children will discuss skills and how to communicate their feelings and needs to others. The children will discuss skills they use when participating in a variety of activities. When children understand they already have many of the skills needed to succeed, they can feel more confident when trying something new. The children are asked to identify events which trigger different feelings. Encourage your child to remember the skills they have used in one activity when trying something new. Also encourage your child to communicate their feelings and needs.
A kind reminder that our Term 3 school fees are due tomorrow for those who do not have an existing arrangement in place.
It may also be timely to review your current direct debit arrangement to ensure that the payment amount is enough. Belinda is able to help you with this, so please feel free to contact her at the School Office.
Class Awards
The Student of the Week Award recipients this week are...
Kinder - Logan Anderson and Harper Seaman
Year 1 - Charlotte Crosbie, Alex Storrier and Lucas Plumb
Year 2 - Chloe Bensley, Emilee Salt and Charlie Tarlinton
Year 3 - Will Millett
Year 4 – Charlie Cramp
Year 5 - Alec McIntosh and Darcy Simmons
Year 6 - Ashleigh Bachta
School Spirit Awards
Ellie McCormack for Striving for Excellence
Awards are presented at our Monday morning Assembly in the Old Hall at 9.05am.
Everyone is welcome to attend.
Goulburn Catholic Mission Mass and Lunch
On Sunday 15 September, the Goulburn Catholic Mission will be having mass followed by lunch to celebrate 180 years of the Goulburn Parish and to farwell Fr Dermid. Please find further information regarding time and tickets below.
Parish Office
For Parish and Sacramental matters please forward your enquiries to Parish Secretary, Janet Haynes or Pastoral Associate Sr Rosemary via email or call into the Parish Office at the Old Convent Building on Tuesdays or Thursdays.
Email: Crookwell@cg.org.au
Website: http://cg.org.au/crookwell/Home.aspx
Phone: 48321 633
Address: 55 Wade Street (the Old Convent Building)
Altar Roster
1 September- Olivia Anderson
8 September- Phoebe Selmes & Oliver Gray
15 September- Olivia Anderson
22 September- Nathaniel Waters
29 September- Regan Picker
Please arrive 15 minutes before Mass to help Father prepare.
It is important that you contact another server to arrange a swap if you are unable to make it on your rostered day.
We would love it if some more children could join our Altar Serving team. Please contact the Parish Office if your child is interested. Training is provided and new children are rostered on with experienced servers.
Tuckshop
Special Lunch Order- Macaroni Cheese available on Monday 2 September for $4 a bowl
Roster
Friday 30 August- Nicola Pursell, Rebecca Scott, Sally Galland
Monday 2 September- SPECIAL LUNCH ORDER DAY- Claire McCormack, Marguerite Walsh, Maureen Lucock
Friday 6 September - Mandy Kemp, Katherine Fraser, Daria Lawson.
- An email was sent requesting for volunteers to offer their assistance for tuckshop for the last 3 weeks of term. If you can help on Monday 9/9, Friday 13/9, Monday 16/9, or Monday 23/9, please contact Daria directly. If enough volunteers cannot be raised, then tuckshop will not be open on these days.
Menu Adjustment
You might have noticed that Chicken Chippees are no longer available on the recess menu. It has been decided that rather than supply two different types of chicken nugget-type products, that the Chicken Chippees will be replaced with Chicken Dinos. Chicken Dinos come in packs of 3 and are now available both 1st and 2nd breaks. Chicken Dinos are the healthier option of the two and fit within the NSW Healthy Canteen Guidelines.
Social Function- Friday 1 November
As you would have read in last week's newsletter, unfortunately the P&F Social Event "Gatsby Night", set for this coming Saturday night, has been postponed.
If you have already purchased tickets for the evening, please hold onto these. The raffle has also been extended and will be drawn on the new date.
A new date and location has been set. Put in your diaries Friday 1 November at Laggan Pub. More details about the night will be provided in the coming weeks.
A P&F survey has been sent home last week. It would be appreciated if you are able to take the time to complete this and return so that the organisers can create events that are of interest to all.
Crookwell Mary Gilmore Festival
The Crookwell Mary Gilmore Festival Performing Youth Showcase competition will be held on Saturday 26 October from 1.30pm in the Dome Pavillion at the Crookwell Showground. Categories are band, musical instrument, vocal and poetry. More details are in the attachment. Please note the amendments below.
SDN Crookwell Preschool Community Day
Taralga Fun Run
As part of the Taste of Taralga Festival, there will be a fun run held on Saturday 5 October. Go and be a part of the festivities!
Goulburn Regional Art Gallery
Education program for term 4 now open for bookings...
As a Creative Kids Provider, we are able to accept Service NSW Creative Kids vouchers for Afternoon Art Club programs. Be sure to bring yours along to use for term 4 fees. As always bookings for workshops are confirmed when we receive full payment of fees and a completed permission slip which can be found on our website. A new slip is required each term.
October Holiday Workshops
Familiar Faces with Sally- For children and adults
When: Thursday 3 October
Time: 10am - 12pm
Ages: 6 years +
Cost: $35 per partnership (one adult + one child)
This unique holiday workshop is not just for the kids. Young artists are invited to bring along any special adult be it a parent, sibling or grandparent, for double the trouble.
Sally will show you some tricks for creating likeness in portraiture, then its over to you. Using your choice of drawing or painting materials, create an image of the 'familiar face' of your partner. Take your artwork home or gift it to your partner to remind them of how special they are.
Soft Monster Sculptures with Sally
When: Friday 11 October
Time: 10am - 12pm
Ages: 6 years +
Cost: $25 per child
Sew, stuff and paint your way to a freaky (but cute) monster friend. Sally will use her awesome sewing skills to cut and sew some monster shapes, then its over to you to give it some spunk with all kinds of cool colors and accessories.
We will be using sewing needles in this workshop. Some sewing experience would be of benefit but not necessary at all