Dear Parents/Carers,

Welcome to another busy week of fun and learning at St Mary’s.

Last Friday our Year 6 leadership class attended this year’s Archdiocesan NAIDOC Mass in Young. I was lucky enough to accompany them and was very impressed with their conduct. The students were fine representatives of St Mary’s.

On Thursday last week our school’s NAPLAN results were distributed. Before handing these reports out, I enjoyed discussing with the students the aspects of NAPLAN that are not assessed which are vital components of success at school. These discussions involved many things like effort, following rules and being kind and compassionate. Many things that are important aspects of life at St Mary’s. However, upon analysis of these results I am extremely proud to report that we were above the national average in the majority of areas in Year 3 and Year 5. I look forward to closer analysis of these results with staff in coming weeks.

Last week our school beanies arrived. These have proven quite popular. They can be purchased at the front office for $20. These are not compulsory. Please remind your child they are to be worn outside the building and are only to be worn as part of the winter school uniform. The front office ladies will place your child’s names on the tag inside. Please ensure this has happened.

On Tuesday we welcomed the Semi family to St Mary’s. Zechariah in Year 2 and Cailah in Year 4 have settled in seamlessly to life at St Mary’s. We look forward to the contributions they will make at St Mary’s and trust they will enjoy their experience at our wonderful school.

It has come to my attention that there are a few students bringing toys and other items from home. These cause many disagreements and arguments in the playground. Could these items please remain at home. Many thanks for your co-operation.

Good luck to Maci Coburn, Edith Dean, Mae Dean, Archie Maslin, Will McDonell, Charlotte Pursehouse, Maive Stewart and George Weir who will represent our school at the Public Speaking ‘Speak Off’ with Lake Cargelligo. I am sure you will do us proud!!!

Our annual Tell Them from Me Survey will be open to parents and children on the 5^th of August. A note outlining the survey will be sent home today. Please return it ASAP if you do not want your child to participate.

Today we began our numeracy focus at St Mary’s. This included a visit from Chris Higgins from Catholic Education in Canberra to work with our staff and learning support team in showing us ways to positively engage our students in numeracy. His visit also coincided with the launch of our Numeracy Intervention and Extension Program (NIEP) that involves many of our students. If your child has been identified as benefitting from this program by your teacher you will be notified on Seesaw.

Remember my door is always open.

Principal

Damian Collins

Term 3, 2024 Class and Whole School Mass Timetable

Special Mass for our Grandparents and special elderly friends

St Mary’s would like to invite all our parents, grandparents and significant elderly friends to a special whole school Mass to celebrate the important role you play in all our lives. The Mass will be held in our beautifully renovated Church on Wednesday 14th August at 12pm. We hope you can join us for this special celebration. 

      Happy Birthday to

Scarlette Orr, Hendrix Stewart and Skylar Shumba

who celebrate their birthday during this week.

We hope you enjoy your special day.

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.

Day	Event	Location
Tuesday 30th July	Western Region Public Speaking	Lake Cargelligo
Monday 5th August - Friday 9th August	ICAS - Writing & Digital Technologies	At School
Thursday 8th August	'Grug' Kinder, Year 1 & 2 excursion	Wagga Civic Theatre
Monday 12th August - Friday 16th August	ICAS - English	At School
Thursday 15th August	School Photo Day	At School
Monday 19th August - Friday 23rd August	ICAS - Science & Spelling	At School
Monday 26th August - Friday 30th	ICAS - Maths	At School

• Winter uniform to be worn
• Hair is to be tied up and neat & tidy
• Socks - Boys grey and Girls navy
• Ties with top button done up
• Jumpers to be worn
• Girls in navy pants or school skirts and boys in grey pants
• No jewellery other than small studs or sleepers

  - Envelopes will be available at the front office when they arrive for those who do not wish to order online.

St Mary's War Memorial School

School Photography Date: 15th August 2024

School photography day is coming up soon. Group and portrait photographs can be purchased by following the link above.

Important Information:

• School photos purchased online DO NOT require envelopes returned to school.
• Don’t forget to order your sibling photos now - when you order your single photos.
• Late fees/additional charges will be applied for purchases after photo day
• Photos will be returned to your school for distribution approximately six weeks after photos are taken
• Past years’ photographs are available at school’s advancedlife & your advancedyou photo sites (follow the link above)

*Sibling photographs must be ordered either online, prior to the day of photography.  A photograph will not be taken without an order. Sibling photographs only apply to children enrolled at the school.

advancedlife would like to express our appreciation to St Mary's War Memorial School for placing your trust in us. Please remember we offer a 100% money back guarantee on our products to ensure your peace of mind. We would also love to receive your feedback or resolve any issues you may experience as fast as possible, to ensure your satisfaction. If you have any questions, comments or feedback relating to your advancedlife experience please contact us at  enquiries@advancedlife.com.au.

   

REGISTRATIONS 

CLOSED

This year the UNSW ICAS assessments are online and will be held in August.

Participation in these assessments is at parents discretion.  There is no obiligation for your children to sit these assessments as they are not used in the schools reporting.

The ICAS assessments are suitable for students wishing to extend themselves academically and take up the personal challenge of competing in an international assessment.  Your child will be presented with high-quality, expert-developed questions, allowing them to apply their learning without the need for prior study or revision.  Every student will receive a printed certificate and an online result report. Top performers will be eligible for medals and are invited to attend special award ceremonies to have their academic excellence publicly recognised.

The sitting windows for the ICAS tests are listed below, however the school will finalise the actual date of the tests in the coming weeks:

Writing - Monday 5th - Friday 9th August

Digital Technologies - Monday 5th - Friday 9th August

English - Monday 12th - Friday 16th August

Science - Monday 19th - Friday 23rd August

Spelling Bee - Monday 19th - Friday 23rd August

Mathematics - Monday 26th - Friday 30th August

We are welcoming new enrolments for the 2025 school year.

Please enrol online before the 2nd of August, however late enrolments are always accepted, at our website with the link below - https://smwms.nsw.edu.au/enrolment

If you require further information please call the school office.