Filter Content
- Principal Talk with Mrs Lowe
- School Fees
- Religious Education with Mrs Skelly
- Child Safe Advocate with Mrs Sally Croker
- Classroom Support with Mrs Spackman
- Music with Mrs Cummins
- Representative Sport with Mrs Sally Croker
- P & F News
- Student Awards
- Goulburn Mission Parish News
- School and Community Notices
Building Works
The builders have been hard at work. During the past week and a half, they fenced off the site and started demolishing the parts that will be removed; the old built-in classroom fittings, carpet, shelving in storerooms and storeroom walls.
School Access
Thank you for your flexibility, patience and understanding regarding your access to school. As you would be aware, due to building works there is currently no front step access to the Office. Those who need to see Belinda or me will need to come through the Old Hall and use the internal stairs.
Morning temperature checks will continue in the Old Hall. Students will enter through the main doors and exit through the side door. In the afternoon the bus lines will be held in the Old Hall. If you are waiting to collect your child, and it is not raining or too cold, in the interest of maintaining social distancing for adults, we ask you to please wait outside, either near the library entrance or Mary statue. We will send your child to you. Thank you for your compliance with this request so far.
Please remember that whilst we are faced with COVID-19, we request that all adult access is limited in the school grounds. This means that unless you have a need to visit the office or have a pre-arranged appointment, we kindly ask that you do not come into the school grounds. This is for the health and safety of our students and staff. Thank you for respecting this request.
Counsellor Visits to Restart Term 3
Great news- we have been advised that we will have a counsellor from CatholicCare commencing with us again during Term 3. These sessions are a wonderful chance for students to be able to discuss any concerns or worries they have and also assist with behaviour, stress and issue management. They also offer parent sessions. If you would like to be involved, please contact Belinda via telephone or email Office.Stmarysc@cg.catholic.edu.au to be included on the list.
Congratulations
Congratulations to Elise Croker (1st), Claire McCormack (2nd) and Emily Carlon (3rd) who were the lucky recipients of prizes in the Kindergarten fundraiser drawn on Friday.
Digital Communication
SZapp is the app we use to digitally communicate messages, send out group emails and publish our website through. This is the app for the platform Schoolzine, which our newsletter is published through as well. SZapp will allow you to do absence notes, changes in travel arrangements, changes to details, etc.
If you have not already downloaded this app, attached below are instructions on how to do this. If you experience any problems, please see Belinda.
School Uniform
One thing that sets St Mary's students apart from other students is their smart school uniform. It unites them as a group and promotes pride in their school. Since our full return to school, I have been reminding the students how important it is to wear their uniform tidily. Shirts need to be tucked in with top buttons done up (if possible) and ties sitting in the collar.
Below is a copy of the acceptable school shoes. If you are shopping for school shoes during the coming break please keep this in mind as many stores will have other styles which do not comply with our policy. Sand shoe or 'vans' style black shoes are not acceptable.
Please note, all uniform pieces, with the exception of shoes, girls white socks and bottle green gloves or scarves, need to be purchased from our uniform shop. Only school approved items are to be worn, please.
Lost Property and Naming of Clothes
Please ensure that all pieces of clothing, lunch boxes, drink bottles and other items sent to school are well named so we can return pieces to their owners quickly.
Baby News!
Congratulations to the Costello and Reynold's families who welcomed new additions.
Jai Daniel Costello arrived 8 June, weighing 9lb 10oz and measuring 53.5cm long.
Eméry Cooper Reynolds was born on 3 June.
Jesse and Jaydan, Max'e and A'dee are all very excited to welcome their baby brothers.
Enrolling Now
Please spread the word about our School Tours. If you know someone who is interested in learning more about St Mary's or who has a child ready to start Kindergarten in 2021, we welcome their visit. Social distancing regulations will be put in place for our tours.
Enrolments can now be placed online. Go to https://enrolments.stmarysc.nsw.edu.au/enrol/ to enrol now.
Enrolments packs are available from our School Office or can be downloaded from our website http://www.stmarysc.nsw.edu.au/enrolment.html
The School Explorers Program
Next term our preschool friends will be visiting each Friday afternoon to participate in The School Explorers, our school readiness program.
Attached below is the amended program dates, please share this around!
A reminder that the Term 2 school fees are due tomorrow if you do not have an existing direct debit in place.
If you would like to discuss your fees or arrangements, please do not hesitate to contact Belinda.
This Sunday 14 June - Church feast of CORPUS CHRISTI - the ‘Body and Blood of Jesus Christ’
The Eucharist (Holy Communion) is a re-enactment of the Last Supper, the final meal that Jesus Christ shared with his disciples before his crucifixion. At the meal Jesus shared unleavened bread and wine (the staple food of the time) and he instructed his disciples to continue to do this to remember him.
‘And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you (on the Cross); do this in remembrance of me.” … he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you (on the Cross). Do this in memory of me.”
Catholics believe that the piece of bread (host) that is "taken, blessed, broken and given" by the priest, becomes the life of Jesus which was taken, blessed, broken (on the cross) and given in sacrifice for us.
Although the bread and wine physically remain the same, when it is blessed during the Mass it is transformed beyond human comprehension into Jesus. This is called Transubstantiation (the real presence of Jesus in Holy Communion) and it is the most important act of worship.
We go to Mass to receive Jesus’ in Holy Communion just as he asked us to do. And by doing this we are united with each other and strengthened and nourished by Jesus himself for the journey of our lives.
After we receive Jesus at Mass, we are told by the priest to GO FORTH… This means that the Mass is only the beginning; that we are to take Jesus love and share it with all those we meet outside the Church.
A message from St Vincent de Paul Society:
Thank you for your continuous support to the work that we do, we appreciate the generosity and kindness that your school and young people continue to show.
Traditionally the Vinnies Winter Appeal launches each year on the 1st of May.
This year Vinnies has launched a COVID-19 Crisis Appeal to raise funds in response to the additional need we are seeing due to COVID-19. Right now, there are millions of vulnerable Australians living in poverty who need emergency food and financial support. Those who have recently lost their jobs are also coming to Vinnies for assistance and many will be using the services for the first time. Your generosity will be going directly to people doing it tough.
St Mary’s Mini Vinnies Team
Your gold coin donations for our Superhero Fundraiser day in week 9 will help raise desperately needed funds for Vinnie’s COVID-19 Crisis Appeal. Donations can also be made online at www.vinnies.org.au/covid19crisisappeal or by calling 13 18 12.
Please remember to support our St Mary’s Mini Vinnies team in their efforts to keep the poor and homeless warm this winter with donations of the following:
- New thick socks
- New gloves/mittens/beanies
- Warm Coats, jumpers and scarves
- Sleeping bags
(please make sure any used items are in reasonable condition)
Donations may be delivered to St Mary’s Primary School office.
Principle 5 - KEEP ME IN THE LOOP
Children and young people need information about what is happening to them and their families. They also require opportunities to share their views and needs in a safe environment.
Involving children and young people in decision-making processes is both validating and empowering for them. It can also help services improve the quality and responsiveness of assistance that is provided to individuals and families as they are more aware of their needs and wishes. The way that children are engaged, the information that is provided to them and their involvement in decision making is shaped by their developmental needs, their wishes and their capacities.
Homework Hints
SUPPORTING CHILDREN TO DO THEIR HOMEWORK:
- Make it clear that it is their homework, not yours!
Help your children to understand it is their homework and their responsibility to complete it. Guide them and help them and eventually they will do it themselves. It does not have to be perfect! It is their work!
- Don’t force them to do their homework!
Don’t make it a power struggle. Nurture your relationship, it is much more important.
- Discuss expectations and consequences with them!
Have a calm discussion with your child at the beginning of every term. This will help give them a sense of ownership. Set the time when homework will usually happen and where. Decide together which privileges will be off-limits until homework is done. Decide on the consequences together if the homework is not done.
- Don’t micromanage them!
It is possible for your child to do their homework on their own. As you support them in the early years, this help should become less and less. Some children are very independent and don’t need your help. They can just do it. Praise them for doing it on their own.
- Create a distraction-free area for homework and studying!
Setting aside an area for study will help with focus. Make it an area where there is no TV or digital device distraction.
- Acknowledge their good behaviour!
Be observant and find opportunities to praise your children for their efforts. Eg. “That’s great that you focused on your work for 20 minutes.”
- Do your homework at the same time as them!
While your children are doing their homework, read, pay your bills, do an online study course so they see the importance of completing homework.
Homework is important, but there are other things that are even more important: Responsibility, persistence, commitment, curiosity, a love for learning. Homework is just one tool to reach these higher goals.
https://www.daniel-wong.com/2015/03/16/homework-without-nagging/
Building Resilience
The following is a fabulous website for Beyond Blue to explore Building Resilience in young Children. Well worth bookmarking! Find three things every single day to be thankful for!
No Maths Club
Please be advised that Maths Club is on hold until further notice.
I am looking at creating a ukulele group. If you have a ukulele at home could you please bring it in for next week's Music lessons. We do have a small number available at school.
If your child is interested in joining this group ask them to let me know.
Thank you.
Information from CECG Sports Coordinator Sherree Bush
Finance have begun the process of refunding Canberra Goulburn, MacKillop and CCC levies to parents for sporting events that have been cancelled.
As you can imagine this is an arduous task with many refunds to be processed and has had to go through a lengthy process of differing levels of approvals within our finance department. With the new website also comes new processes for refunds so is a new system for our finance department to learn.
One person within the finance department is in charge of manually performing these refunds so all in all will take her around two weeks to work through them all. Parents also need to remember that once she has allocated their refund it usually takes a couple of days before the money lands in their account.
We do apologise for the time taken for this to happen.
Tuckshop
A big thank you to Daria Lawson who has given up every Friday to open the tuckshop. Due to current restrictions, Daria will be there by herself and undertake strict hygiene measures. Tuckshop will be available on Friday's first break only with limited menu items, no window service and no cash orders.
Class Awards
The Student of the Week Award recipients this week are:
Kinder - Harry Day and Payton Selmes
Year 1 - Billie Garnham and Ned Mallinson
Year 2 - Sienna Gann, Leo Knight and Elsie McIntosh
Year 3 - Lara McCulloch
Year 4 – Briana Blowes
Year 5 - Charlie Cramp and Max'e Reynolds
Year 6 - Alec McIntosh and Regan Picker
School Spirit Award
Jobe Seaman for being an excellent role model of compassion and respect
Luca Morning for being an excellent role model of compassion and respect
Lucy Gamble for always showing respect and compassion
Live Streamed Marriage Seminars Sundays in June
The local Archdiocese has organised a series interactive live-streamed presentations for Marriage & Family Month immediately after the 11am Online Mass at St Christopher’s Cathedral for the next three Sundays (14th, 21st, 28th June).
Listeners will be able to interact online and ask questions of our impressive line-up of international, interstate and local Catholic couples speaking at 11.45am each Sunday from mid-June. See full program at https://www.catholicvoice.org.au/marriage-family-month-june-2020/
Free Online International Catholic Marriage Summit this week
Starting this Friday, 50+ high profile Catholic speakers & social media personalities will be appearing online with their spouses to share openly about the highs, lows and challenges of married life.
This free International Catholic Marriage Summit is the first of its kind. The instructions to the committed Catholic speakers was to ‘keep it real’. Talk topics include finances, grief, communication, conflict and sex. It should be a great resource for any engaged or married couple. Register for free here or at https://www.joyfuleverafter.org/
Award-winning Canberra winemaker Tim Kirk and his wife Lara, a Catholic marriage educator, will be speaking on the topic: “I Can’t Make You Happy”.
Latest protocols for NSW Parishes
We are able to have a maximum of 50 people at any Mass. Names will be recorded as you enter the church. Only 1 door will be open, so we can keep a count. Names will also be recorded.
Protocol: Communion in the hand only
1.5m distancing
Customary/ recommended hygiene practices.
If you are coming to Mass this weekend could you please ring the Crookwell Parish office today between 9am and 2pm to put your name down as we can only accept 50 parishioners for each Mass. If unsuccessful for Mass this weekend you will be included in Mass next Sunday. We would like be fair with every parishioner so it may come to everyone coming every second Sunday.
It is recommended those over 70 to consider not attending Mass.
Masses:
Crookwell: 9am Sunday. Entrance will be through the main door.
Taralga: 5pm Saturday. Entrance will be through the main door.
Goulburn:
9am OLOF Morning Masses: Names will be recorded as you enter the main door
OLOF church will be open until 10.30 for private prayer- again all names to be recorded. If you are able to stay and help please see Chris/Marlene
Weekend Masses:
5pm SPP Vigil – entrance through main door.
7am OLOF Sundays- entrance through main door.
10am SPP Sundays- entrance through main door.
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)
Crookwell 200 Years Celebration Calendar
The Crookwell 200 Years celebration calendar is available to purchase at the school office for $10, cash only please.
