Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to Week 4 of Term 2.  I would like to thank our parent community for supporting the additional Professional Learning days that our system has granted.  St Mary’s has made wonderful use of the opportunity. Teachers have spent time collaborating and creating programs that will improve teaching and learning at the school.  We have also used the time to update relevant school policies to improve school procedures.

Pre Covid-19 student attendance data was extremely good at St Mary’s.  Obviously close contact and other restrictions have had a significant impact of students coming to school.  We are currently operating with very reasonable restrictions.  We are also moving into the period of the year that sickness is more prevalent, and it is time to put attendance at the highest priority.  Please do not ignore Covid-19 symptoms, but I strongly encourage parents to send students to school when they are well.  I have been reporting attendance numbers to the students and our record for the year is 7 students away.  We celebrated with some extra time for playtime.  I would welcome another opportunity to celebrate if we were able to beat that mark.

Thank you to our parents who pick up students in the afternoons.  You have made the adjustment and are now coming onto school grounds to walk your children safely back to your cars.  A reminder that when entering the Church car park the Court Street entrance is used and when exiting the Church St exit is used.  This is simply to enhance the flow and safety of the traffic.  I observed the problem of pick-up during heavy rain and I hope to have a change of procedure to help this situation coming out soon.

God Bless,

Mr Nielsen

We are excited to welcome parents and carers back into our school and class masses.

   

The following students have been chosen to read at our Mary Help of Christians Mass on Tuesday the 24th of May at 12pm:

Welcome - Cate Curry

First Reading - Mrs Harland

Response - Stephanie Paul

Second Reading - Alexandra Patton

Prayers of the Faithful - Lilly Robertson, Abigail Sturgess, Harriet Bell, Rose Hague, Kirby Logg and Cooper Miles

Offertory Procession: Annabelle Brose and Clancy Blampied

Altar Servers - Hugo Harper

If your child is not available on this day please contact Mrs Daniher or the school office so a replacement can be arranged. 

Please find a link to the readings below so that your child can practice:

We all remember the devastating impact of the floods in the Lismore region earlier this year.

As a way to support Catholic schools in the Lismore diocese St Mary's are running a Book Club Fundraiser.

Simply order a book for the fundraiser as part of your Book Club order and let your class teacher know which book/s is for donation. When the orders arrive we will compile the donations and organise shipping to Lismore to restore books in their school libraries.

Please contact the office if you would like another book club brochure.

As a bonus part of this fundraiser, the points generated by the book you purchase will go to a fund that supports your child’s class to purchase new books.

Your support will be invaluable!

Happy Birthday to

Marley Loudon, Stevie Smith and Archie Maslin

who celebrate their birthdays next week.

We hope you enjoy you special day.

The Mortimer Shield is a rugby league gala day that consists of tackle and league tag competitions and is open to students in Years 5 and 6.

Our Year 5/6 students are competing in Junee on the 25th of May.

All students are required to participate in this sporting competition.

A form generated via COMPASS will be emailed this week and will need to be competed before Friday the 20th of May.  Please contact the school if you have any questions.

Mrs Donna Spillman, our school counsellor for this year, is continuing to meet with students via Zoom every Wednesday.

Please follow this link for detailed information on the service provided to our families by Catholic Care.

If you would like to make a confidential appointment for your child please contact the school office if your child is already registered.  If you wish to register your child to see the counsellor please contact Mr Nielsen first and then an complete online form at this link:

Catholic Care - Counselling Referral Form

Award Winners

Our award winners this week.

  

The following events are in the calendar in the next few weeks.

To see the school's full calender check out the SZApp or our website.

This request was forwarded to us by the Archbishop's office, if anyone in our community offer assistance please email Cat direct.

Catalina is a 24 year old woman from Canberra seeking short or long term accommodation from Tuesday 24^th May when she begins working as a paramedic at the West Wyalong Ambulance Station.   Would you have a granny flat to rent out or a spare room she could board in?

Cat says  “I work long hours and will be spending most of my days off in Canberra, so I will not be around too much. And when I am home I’m quiet and neat. I’m also a practicing Catholic Christian and can provide character and professional references if required. Please contact me via phone or email for more details. 0478 648 949 or catalina.ringrose.voase@gmail.com”.

Link to Catholic School Parent Council Website