St Mary's War Memorial School West Wyalong eNewsletter

Confidence is defined as the feeling or belief that one can have faith in or rely on someone or something. This helps us trust in our own ability to do things well even in hard situations, and not question ourselves when making decisions. Confidence should not be confused with arrogance which only makes others feel bad about a situation.

A virtue that notably is not overly associated with Jesus is confidence. We can often forget how confident and sure of himself Jesus really was. He never doubted himself, never changed himself to please other people. He never felt the need to prove how strong or capable he was. The scriptures show that Jesus’ confidence came not from getting glory or from proving himself, but rather from his willingness to be weak, his focus on his greater purpose, and his love for other people.

This self-assurance is reflected greatly in our scripture passage today where Jesus' unwavering confidence in God was displayed in the desert. His faith and trust in God were unsurmountable and he was rewarded with the angels appearing to look after him after being tempted by the devil continually.

How can you apply confidence in your life and live like Jesus? Here are a few suggestions:

Grow from constructive criticism - Learn from what others are saying don't get defensive, find ways to improve yourself.
Ignore negative criticism - Say, 'Thank you for your opinion' and learn to let it roll off your back, this may take practice.
Define your values - Know your beliefs, your ideals, your principles, and passions in life. Proclaim and live by them.
Self-talk - Be mindful of the critical voice within our own heads that can eat away at our self-esteem.
Combat self-doubt - Maintain a positive yet realistic view of yourself and repeat the words, "I AM ENOUGH".

Opening School Mass

Thursday 2nd March 2023

12 pm

We are celebrating our whole school Opening Mass on Thursday the 2nd of March at 12pm. Our Year 6 leaders will be inducted at this mass.

If you are a Year 6 parent and you will not have a family member attending the mass, could you please let the school know so a staff member can be with your child during the badge ceremony.

All students attend this Mass and all our parents and carers are warmly invited to attend.

The following students have been chosen to read at our Opening School Mass on Thursday the 2nd of March:

Elizabeth Sturgess
Ted Glasgow
Charlotte Carne
Jessica Hardie
Edith Dean
Maive Stewart
Ricky Smith

First week of Lent

We begin our annual Lenten Project Compassion journey by learning about Laxmi, a 16-year-old girl living in Jajarkot, a remote district in Nepal where almost half of the population live below the poverty line. Tragedy struck when Laxmi was 10 years old and her father passed away. Her father worked hard to pay for his children's education and, after losing him, Laxmi was at risk of falling further into extreme poverty.

With the support of our partner Caritas Nepal, Laxmi joined a child's club at her school where she was encouraged to resume her education. Through the child’s club, Laxmi developed the skills and confidence to become a leader, advocating for clean water taps at her school.

Laxmi is now excelling in her studies and working towards her dream of becoming a civil engineer. She continues to be involved in the child's club, serving as an advisor and mentoring the next generation of young leaders at her old school.

Watch a short film about Laxmi’s story here.

Donate to Caritas

This year the parish will be undertaking the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the First Eucharist for students in Year 3 and 4. The important dates to remember are shown below, please note there will be one information night for both Sacraments.

Sacrament of Reconciliation

Thursday 27 April -	Welcoming and Information Night
Thursday 4 May -	Reconciliation Retreat
Thursday 11 May -	Sacrament of Reconciliation

Sacrament of Eucharist

Thursday 27 April -	Welcoming and Information Night
Sunday 28 May -	Commitment Mass @ 9.30am
Thursday 1 June -	Eucharist Retreat
Sunday 4 June -	First Eucharist @ 9.30am

The recipients of our Whatever You Do, Do Well awards this week:

Indianna Bales	Anderson Blampied	Amelia-Rose Blampied
Annabelle Brose	Charlotte Carne	Hunter Connellan
Tully Hutchins	Luna Kelly	Maisie Maslin
Rose Player	Charlotte Pursehouse	Leo Stephens
	Reni Wendt

Our assembly will be held in the school hall on Friday afternoon at 1:50pm.

Western Region Swimming

On Thursday the 23rd February we had 15 swimmers attend the Western Region swimming in Young.

It was wonderful weather and our students behaved brilliantly, had a fabulous time and enjoyed the competition.

Hunter Connellan, Indi and Meila Fair qualified to swim at the Archdiocesan carnival in Queanbeyan on Tuesday the 7th of March.

St Mary's is very proud of Hunter Connellan who competed in every event and managed to come first or second. Congratulations Hunter on becoming the joint Western Region Senior Boy Champion.

Canberra Goulburn AFL Trials

On Tuesday the 21st of February Max Cuthbertson, Jimmy Dean and Nate Sams travelled to Wollongong to trial for the Canberra Goulburn and Wollongong combined AFL team.

The trio competed to an extremely high level and were all selected for the dual diocesan team. Congratulations boys!

MacKillop Basketball Trials

On Friday the 24th of February 6 basketballers travelled to Wollongong to trial with the Canberra Goulburn basketball team in an effort to be selected for the MacKillop team.

Jimmy Dean, Nate Sams, Eddie Tulloch, Marley Loudon, Hannah McDonell and Harper McDonell all enjoyed the competition and showed some great skills and determination.

While we did not have a student chosen for the MacKillop team, Jimmy Dean was picked for the possibles & probables game.

Well done to these wonderful basketballers.

Our last day of rest for Kinder students is this Wednesday the 1st of March.

Date and Day	Teacher on Leave or PD	Class	Relief
Mrs Cuthberston will be attending a Classroom Support Teacher training day in Canberra on Tuesday the 28th of February and Wednesday the 1st of March.
Mr Nielsen will be at a meeting in Canberra on Friday the 3rd of March.

Mrs Emma McRae our counsellor will be visiting our school this week on Wednesday 1st March.

If you would like to make a confidential appointment for your child please contact the office.

Happy Birthday to

Adalia Chantrill, Alexandra Patton and Harry Carne

who celebrate their birthday's during this week.

We hope you enjoy your special day.

The Life Education Van will be visiting St Mary’s School from Monday 6th of March to Wednesday 8th March.

It is expected that all students participate in this program as the content is linked to the school curriculum.

The cost per child is $12 and this should be paid via Compass.

Please logon to Compass to give consent and pay for the Life Education program for all your children. The Compass event also has information on the day each class will attend and the program the students will participate in.

Merchandise is also available for sale after the sessions. Please print the form, place correct money in an envelope with the order and hand to your child’s class teacher. It is important that the form and cash are sent to the office for the merchandise as the school hands this on to the Life Education presenter.

Click here to see the Healthy Harold merchanise.

St Mary's has student records for every child that are first included on our database when your child in enrolled.

These records do not change unless parents advise us and include details such as mobile numbers, street addresses, email addresses, employer information and emergency contact details.

The emergency contact details we store are the name and phone number of the person the school should contact when the primary contacts (parent/s) are not available. It is important this information is correct.

Do you need to change your Emergency Contact details?

Please call or email the school at office.smwms@cg.catholic.edu.au if you would like to check or change any of the information listed above.

Canteen Information - Treats

The process for the QKR! treat orders (ice cream, lollies) is going to change.

Children will be required to retain their lunch bag and return to the canteen for collection of the treat.

The school will inform the students of this process to assist with the transition. Could you also advise your children to keep their lunch bag if you ordered them a treat and return to the canteen after eating their lunch.

Thank you for your help with this process.

Canteen Roster

Monday 27 February	Friday 3 March
Sarah Bales Baking: Amy Pursehouse	Karla Whittaker & Allirah Stewart Baking: Carlie Ferguson
Monday 6 March	Friday 10 March
Kate Maslin & Ivy Garrote Baking: Both	Allirah Stewart & Emily Watts Baking: Both
Monday 13 March	Friday 17 March
Kate Dean Baking: Kate Dean	Anna McCoullough & Tracey Robertson Baking: Both

Award Winners

Some pictures of our award winners this week.

Quick Bites 32 - 40 Water Waste Free2.jpg

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

The Compass Calendar is updated to show Mass times, sporting events, important events.

The SZAPP calendar is no longer updated, please do not refer to this calendar for important dates.

Day	Event	Location
Wednesday 1 March	Kinder Rest Day FINAL
Wednesday 1 March	School Counsellor Visit	At school
Thursday 2 March	School Opening Mass	St Mary's Church
Monday 6 March	Healthy Harold - Kinder, Year 2 and Year 3	At School
Tuesday 7 March	Canberra Goulburn Swimming Carnival. For athletes that qualified only.	Queanbeyan
	School Counsellor Visit	At School
	Healthy Harold - Year 4, 5/6 Hope	At School
Wednesday 8 March	Healthy Harold - Year 1, 5/6 Faith	At School
Tuesday 14 March	Canberra Goulburn Rugby League Trials	Canberra
Wednesday 15 March	School Counsellor Visit	At School
Wednesday 15 March to Monday 27 March	NAPLAN testing in this period for Year 3 and Year 5	At School
Wednesday 22 March	School Counsellor Visit	At School
Tuesday 28 March	MacKillop AFL Trials	Wagga Wagga
Wednesday 29 March	Altina Wildlife Park (more information closer to the date) Kinder, Year 1, Year 2	Altina Wildlife Park
Wednesday 29 March	School Counsellor Visit	At School
Wednesday 5 April	School Counsellor Visit	At School
Thursday 6 April	Last day of Term 1
Monday 24th April	First Day of Term 2 TO BE CONFIRMED
Tuesday 25 April	ANZAC Day Public Holiday. Our students participate in the march and service in West Wyalong.
Thursday 27 April	Reconciliation Enrolment (Year 3/4) @ 5pm	At School

Opening School Mass

Thursday 2nd March 2023

12 pm

Sacrament of Reconciliation

Sacrament of Eucharist

Western Region Swimming

Canberra Goulburn AFL Trials

MacKillop Basketball Trials

Date and Day

Teacher on Leave or PD

Class

Relief

Canteen Information - Treats

Canteen Roster

Award Winners