Dear Parents and Carers,

Students have settled extremely well into term 4. I like to refer to spring as the season of 'the jumper'. Although spring has taken it's time to get here, we are starting to see the traditional fresh mornings and warmer afternoons.  This often leads to students wearing a jumper in the morning and taking it off over the day. At times jumpers can be left behind and having a name on the jumper makes the process of returning the it much easier. Now would be the ideal time to check that your child’s name is still on their jumper.

The following statement was delivered to all Catholic Education Canberra & Goulburn schools:

The COVID-19 roadmap for schools has been superseded. All CECG schools, early learning centres and out of school care services can return to normal activities, subject to appropriate risk assessments and staff availability. From Friday 14 October, there is no longer any requirement for a person to quarantine if positive to COVID-19.

St Mary’s is currently running under no COVID-19 restrictions. We will continue with good hygiene practices and still encourage those that are unwell to stay home and recover until symptoms have subsided.

Regards,

Phil Nielsen

October is the month dedicated to the Most Holy Rosary, primarily since the liturgical feast of Our Lady of the Rosary which is celebrated on October 7th. Over the last week in our classes, students have been familiarising themselves with the prayers that are prayed throughout the Rosary and tomorrow as a whole school we will come together in our classes and pray the full Rosary. St Mary’s will be joining in with other children from all over the world and will participate in the One Million Children praying the Rosary.

The aim of this prayer initiative is first of all to show that the trusting prayer of children can fly like an arrow straight to the heart of God and consequently has great influence. How powerful then is the prayer of the Rosary when prayed by children for peace and unity within families, within their own nation and in the whole world!

As Pope St John Paul II wrote in his Apostolic Exhortation on the Rosary, “The Rosary is by its nature a prayer for peace since it consists in the contemplation of Christ, the Prince of Peace, the one who is “our peace”.

Let us Pray:

Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn, then, O most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

Amen

The school counsellor Mrs Donna Spillman, will be at the school on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.  If any parents would like their child to see the counsellor this term, it would be a great opportunity for them to meet face to face.

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

Friday 21 October - 8.55am to Midday

Friday 28 October - 8.55am to Midday

Friday 4 November - 8.55am to 3.20pm - wth a parent information session at 9am on "Everything you need to know about Kinder 2023"

Friday 11 November - 8.55am to 3.20pm

Children should wear comfortable clothes and a hat.  They will need a piece of fruit, recess and a drink for the two half days.  On the full days they will need their lunch as well.

Happy Birthday to

Martina Uiva

who celebrates her birthday this week.

We hope you enjoy your special day.

During October, St Mary’s will be participating in Socktober, an Australian Catholic Missions initiative to raise funds for global poverty. This year’s effort will be directed to children in Ethiopia.

In Week 3 of Term 4, students will be learning about the life experiences of children in Ethopia and making a sock caterpillar.

Our school fundraising goal has been set at $200. This equates to roughly $2 donation per St Mary’s student. The following link will send you to our SMWMS fundraising page to donate. Your child’s name can be attached to the donation or you can choose to remain anonymous.

Link to St Mary's Socktober Fundraising page

 Please give generously and support our fundraising effort.

Mrs Cuthbertson

My Body, My Life - Day Session for Year 5/6 students

My Body My Life is the Archdiocesan program approved by Catholic Education for Stage 3 Puberty and Personal Development education.

Our Year 5/6 students will participate in this program on Wednesday the 26th of October.

Year 5/6 parents will receive more detailed information about this via SeeSaw.

For the first time in four years our Year 5/6 excursion to Canberra is happening.

Final payment for the excursion was due on Friday the 21st of October.

Consent and payment is via Compass.  Please contact the school office if you need more time to pay.

The itinerary, packing list and important information can be found as part of the event in Compass under resources.

2023 school travel applications are now open
Applications for student travel in 2023 open from Monday 10 October 2022.

If your child intends to use the free bus travel scheme, either in town for Years K to 2 or from a rural location for Years K to 6, please plan ahead and apply before the end of Term 4 via the School Student Transport Scheme (SSTS).  In rural areas it is recommended parents also contact their local bus operator to discuss their travel needs.

If you have received an expiry notice from Transport for NSW you should update the details before the end of Term 4 to ensure that St Mary's can endorse the application and entitlements remain valid.

Please contact the school if you have any questions.

National Nutrition Week 16-022 October

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.