PARISH BULLETIN

FATHER'S DAY BREAKFAST & RAFFLE

Don't forget to return your raffle tickets by Friday 5th September to be entered into the draw for some fantastic prizes!

🎁 First Prize: Ozpig Series 2 Portable Wood Fire Stove – valued at $370.00, kindly donated by Thompsons Rural Supplies
🥩 Additional Prizes: Meat trays and “Dad Bags” generously provided by our Community Council

                                                             Thank you for your support and good luck in the draw!

CLASS AWARDS WEEK 6

SCHOOL DISCO- Community Council

Term 3 Reading Challenge

Congratulations to Sophie from Yr 5 for winning the SLATE $50 Gift Voucher.

Sausage Sizzle Lunch – Monday 1st September

We’re excited to celebrate the following children with a special Sausage Sizzle Lunch on Monday, 1st September!
This is a fun way to recognise their efforts and achievements—well done to all!

CANTEEN NEWS - Mrs Jennifer Harden

Hot Lunch Tuesday 2, September

Chicken or Bean Burritos served with optional, sour cream, guacamole or salsa

$6.00

Friday 5, September

In Celebration of Book Week “The Garden of Broken Things” Cupcakes

Available via flexischools or over the counter.

$3.00

Hot Lunch Tuesday 9, September

Sloppy Joes with potato gems and veggie sticks

$6.50

Hot Lunch Tuesday 16, September

Hot Lunch Leftovers

This will be our last hot lunch for the year and will include individual portions of some of previous meals.

Thursday 25, September

Last day of the term Meal Deal

Meal to be determined and flyer sent home as we get a little closer.

SPORTS NEWS - Mrs Leonne Challen

Boorowa Touch and Netball Carnival

Currently our teams still have some spots available while others do have students on the waiting list. If your child is unable to attend the day please let me know.

Touch

Year 2 - full

Year 3 - 3 spots

Year 4 - 3 spots

Year 5 - 1 spot

Year 6 - full

Netball

Year 2/3 - 2 spots

Year 4/5 - full

Year 6 - 1 spot

The updated teams list is available in the Resources section of the Compass Event. Please check there regularly. 

MacKillop Golf Tournament

A big congratulations to Tom McKnight who was successful in being selected in the MacKillop Golf Team on Monday in Blackheath. What an amazing achievement Tom! He will now go on to compete in the NSWPSSA Golf Championships in Barooga in late September. We look forward to hearing all about the next stage of your golfing journey!

Launch It Golf Program

On Wednesday we were lucky enough to have the team from Golf NSW visit us showcasing their lunchtime Launch It program. This program has been run in well over a hundred schools throughout NSW and is designed to encourage students to get involved with their local Golf Club. 

From the team: The aim for the students (and teachers) is to have a go and try to smash real balls into the net as hard as they can. We are looking to find the biggest hitters in NSW & ACT in all year levels of schools.

From all accounts the kids loved the experience. Our 3/4 students came and had a go during lunch and recess and our 5/6 students enjoyed sessions between the break times. The competition was fierce and even some teachers tried it out!! We are very thankful to Casey and Cade from Golf NSW who ran the day so smoothly. What a great initiative! Keep an eye out for our testimonials on the Golf NSW website.

RE NEWS - Ms Jillian Murray

Crazy Sock Day 

THANK YOU to all our wonderful students and teachers of St. Mary’s who “rocked their socks” to raise money in support of a great cause! All funds raised have been donated directly to our local Vinnies Sleepout Appeal, helping those in our community.

Mission Day Fair – Coming Soon!

We’re excited to announce that on Thursday, September 25th (Week 10), St. Mary’s will be hosting our annual Mission Day Fair! This much-loved event is a wonderful opportunity for students to enjoy a day filled with fun activities, friendly smiles, and plenty of laughter.

As part of our Christian faith, we are called to care for those in need, both locally and globally. Mission Day gives our students the chance to put this into action by raising money for those who may not have the everyday essentials we often take for granted.

Students are encouraged to start saving their coins, with activities and games starting from as little as 20 cents. There will be a wide variety of exciting stalls and activities, all aimed at supporting the important work of the Catholic Missions.

Let’s come together, have fun, and make a real difference in the lives of others!

Upcoming Dates:

Term 3:

September 9th    Combined Whole School Mass with Hennessy 

• 9 am at St. Mary’s Church

September 18th   Sacrament of Reconciliation

• 6 pm at St. Mary’s Church

September 25th  Mission Day Fair

Term 4:

October 23rd   First Eucharist (Holy Communion) Retreat Day

November 22nd   Sacrament of First Eucharist (Holy Communion) Mass

• 6 pm at St. Mary’s Church

AP NEWS - Mrs Katie Thompson

Important Reminder for Families

To support a focused and safe learning environment, students are not permitted to bring toys or sporting equipment from home. Our school provides access to these items during appropriate times, such as recess and physical education.

Personal items brought from home are often lost or broken and can cause unnecessary distractions during the school day. We appreciate your support in helping students stay organised and engaged in their learning.

Helping Parents with Children who want to avoid school

Sometimes despite your best intentions, getting your children to school can be difficult. If your child is reluctant to go to school, it can be challenging, but there are several approaches you can take to address this:

1. Open Communication: Talk to your child to understand the reasons behind their reluctance. It could be due to academic pressure, social issues, or other concerns.
2. Positive Reinforcement: Encourage and reward your child for attending school. Small incentives can motivate them to go.
3. Involve Them in Solutions: Ask your child for their input on what might make school more enjoyable or less stressful for them.
4. Work with the School: Collaborate with teachers and school counsellors to address any issues your child might be facing.
5. Create a Supportive Environment: Ensure your child feels supported at home. Help them with homework and be there to listen to their concerns.
6. Set Realistic Goals: Break down the school day into manageable parts and set small, achievable goals to help your child feel more in control.

It's important to be patient and understanding while working through this. Every child is different, so finding the right approach might take some time.

Safe on Social - Kirra Pendergast

AI Agents & Kids – Navigating Digital and Legal Identities

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly influencing children's lives, from learning tools to personalised health assistants. As AI becomes more integrated into education and daily activities, it's essential for parents and educators to understand how AI agents affect children, both legally and digitally.

NATIONAL SCIENCE WEEK

KKW

During National Science Week, KKW were learning about how Living Things move. We have learnt that in order for a human to move they need a brain, muscles and their bones to support movements. We have been  investigating how different animals move and we have discovered that some animals can move in a number of different ways. We even learnt that a kangaroo can swim. 

In our photos, we are acting out how our favourite animals move.

 In our group photo, we got to choose an animal from the Farm Animal container and we got to explain to the class how our animal moves.

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After an anxious wait the grass for our houses are beginning to sprout!! We are very excited and will continue monitoring the ‘growth code’ and let you know what we find out!

5/6 W

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As part of National Science Week, our Year 5/6 White students took part in a series of hands-on experiments exploring the fascinating reactions of different everyday items. The classroom was filled with excitement and curiosity as students made predictions, observed surprising results, and discussed the “why” behind each reaction. These activities not only provided plenty of fun but also encouraged teamwork, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills. It was a fantastic opportunity for our students to see science come alive right in front of them!

5/6 G

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To celebrate National Science Week, 5/6 Gold became budding scientists, exploring a range of fascinating chemical reactions. What started as hands-on experiments quickly grew into challenges that tested not only our scientific thinking but also our creativity and competitive spirit. The students had a fantastic time discovering how science can be both exciting and imaginative, while showing that the possibilities really are endless!

CANTEEN NEWS - Mrs Jennifer Harden

SPORTS NEWS - Mrs Leonne Challen

Boorowa Touch & Netball Carnival

We have entered 8 touch teams and 3 netball teams this year. We are looking forward to a fantastic day coming up in Term 4. The draft teams list can be found below. I have added team managers - if you are no longer available to help or would like to add your name to help us out with a team please let me know. We will have Hennessy students assisting as refs/umpires and we are grateful to Mr Brendan Croese for assisting with this. The carnival rules, codes of conduct and the teams list have been uploaded to the Compass event. Please check the event on Compass regularly as I will continue to upload information as it becomes available.

Archdiocesan Athletics Carnival

A big well done to our athletes that competed yesterday in the Archdiocesan Athletics Carnival at the AIS. 

Congratulations to Henry Aiken who was named Senior Boys Age Champion Runner Up - a terrific achievement!!

Well done to the following students:

Henry Aiken - 1st Snr High Jump, 1st 12yrs 100m, 2nd Snr 200m

Rose Butt - 5th 11 yrs Shot Put

Henry Maloney - 3rd Jnr Long Jump & 5th Jnr Shot Put

Oscar McRae - 6th Snr Shot Put

Marlie Oakley - 10th 12yrs 100m

Nina Robinson - 5th 9yrs 100m

Layla Stinson - 5th Snr Long Jump

Senior Girls Relay - Layla Stinson, Eden Sibanda, Ruby Edwards & Marlie Oakley - 6th place

RE NEWS - Ms Jillian Murray

Sacrament of Confirmation 

Congratulations to all our Year 5/6 students who made their Sacrament of Confirmation last Saturday evening at our parish mass. It was a lovely celebration and wonderful to see families, friends and teachers supporting our students as they made their sacrament together.

AP NEWS - Mrs Katie Thompson

Bullying No Way Week at St Mary’s

Staff and students had many valuable conversations last week. These conversations were turned into a massive chain of UNITY. Each link in the chain was a message from a student about how they would call out or stop bullying at St Mary’s. The chain now hangs in the hall to remind us all of ST.MARY’S COMMITMENT TO STOP BULLYING and THAT EVERYONE PLAYS A ROLE. The COLLECTIVE ACTION MAKES A DIFFERENCE AND ENCOURAGES ACCOUNTABILITY.                   Well done St. Mary’s.

We encourage parents and carers to always keep the conversation going and if your child tells you about things at school, or you observe something in public that involves conflict or bullying, take the opportunity to talk about what bullying is. You can learn more about what defines bullying at bullyingnoway.gov.au.

Questions you could ask:

• What do you think bullying is?
• Have you seen it? How did you feel?
• Have you ever felt scared at school because of bullying?
• As well as me, who are the other adults you would talk to when it comes to things like bullying?
• Have you or your friends left other kids out on purpose? Do you think that was bullying? Why or why not?
• Have you ever tried to help someone who is being bullied? What happened? What would you do if it happens again?

Remind your child that bullying is never okay and discuss how they can respond safely if they experience or witness it. Encourage them to seek help from a trusted adult and keep seeking support if needed. By promoting open communication, we empower children to stand up against bullying and create a safer environment where everyone can feel that they belong.     

Attendance Matters

School Attendance is critical to your child’s success at school. Unnecessary absences or lateness can have an impact on your child’s learning and wellbeing. The impacts can affect their academic success, social skills, routines and discipline, and future opportunities. 

Parents can play a significant role in encouraging their children’s attendance such as:

• establishing routines like setting a consistent bedtime and morning routines to ensure children get enough sleep and are ready for school on time.
• Communicate the importance of being at school by talking to your child about why attending school is important for their learning and future.
• stay involved and show interest in their school activities, attend parent-teacher meetings and keep track of their progress.
• Help create a positive experience of school by celebrating growth and achievements and providing support when they face challenges.
• address issues promptly if your child is facing any difficulties at school, such as bullying or academic struggles, so they can be dealt with quickly to prevent absenteeism.
• set a good example by demonstrating the importance of commitment and responsibility through your own actions.

By implementing these strategies, parents can help their children develop a positive attitude towards school and improve their attendance. 😊

Safe on Social: Kirra Pendergast

AI Algorithms and What You See Online - Student Cheatsheet

Do you ever wonder why your TikTok or YouTube feed seems to know exactly what you like? That’s because of AI algorithms which is a type of artificial intelligence that curates the content you see online. These algorithms are trained on your activity, such as what you watch, like, or share, to predict what you’ll want to see next. While this can make your online experience more enjoyable, it’s important to understand how these algorithms work, how they influence you, and why it’s essential to think critically about the content you consume. 

PRINCIPAL NEWS - Mr Peter Hughes

On September 2nd, the new Director of Catholic Education for the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn, David de Carvalho, will be spending the day at St Mary’s School meeting with students, staff, Fr Jiss and members of the Community Council. At 11am we have scheduled morning tea in the hall and I invite any parent who may be interested in meeting with David to come along. For catering purposes please let the front office know.

David has been in the role for two months and takes on his role of director following a highly successful career in the education sector. The following passage from the announcement of his appointment gives an idea of his experience and expertise.

Prior to his current appointment David was the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Theology, Philosophy and Education at the University of Notre Dame Australia. He has held the positions of Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA); Chief Executive Officer, NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) and Chief Executive Officer of the National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC). In these roles he has shaped the national educational landscape in terms of the National Curriculum, modernisation of the NAPLAN assessment, reform of the NSW Higher School Certificate and, more recently, the development of new Initial Teacher Education programs, including in Early Childhood Education.

What this passage fails to say is that David began his career as a mathematics teacher in Victoria. In the early 2000’s David was chair of the School Board at St Thomas the Apostle in Canberra where I was the school principal, so the connection goes back a long way.

In a sign of his desire to get to know the schools and school communities he has begun to visit all schools in our Archdiocese commencing with schools situated in rural NSW. His first visit was to St Francis Xavier at Lake Cargelligo. We look forward to welcoming David to St Mary’s.

Parent/Teacher/student meetings

A reminder that these are scheduled for next Wednesday afternoon/evening. Parents were sent a booking sheet on Compass. As I pointed out last week these are important opportunities and as school principal I would love all families to attend.

If for any reason you are unable to meet with your child’s teacher next Wednesday please contact the teacher and make an appointment for another suitable time.

Families with children in Year 1/ 2 Blue will have received an email from Ms Murray informing parents she was now unable to meet families on Wednesday. If you did not receive this notification please contact Ms Murray to make arrangements to meet at another time.

Reading Challenge

The reading challenge for term three concludes today. Could the reading logs for students from Years 3 to Year 6, that have accepted the challenge and read for at least 19 of the 20 nights, return their log to school on Monday. These students will go into the draw for a $50 gift voucher kindly donated by Slate. For students in Kindergarten to Year Two we will gather this information from the classroom teacher. All students that complete the challenge will have lunch provided by Mr Hughes on Monday 1st September.

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Next week I will be absent from school as I will be attending a conference on building thinking classrooms in Mathematics.

LIBRARY NEWS- Mrs Sarah Sullivan

BOOK WEEK IS NEARLY HERE!

We’re going on a….Character Hunt!
Keep an eye out for some famous book characters on the playground  NEXT WEEK  (at Lunchtime!)
Find the character with your stage level printed on it e.g. K/1/2, 3/4 or 5/6 and bring it to the library to Mrs Sullivan for a prize!

PARISH BULLETIN

OFFICE MATTERS

Term 3 school fees are now due. School fees are essential to supporting the operational costs of St Mary’s and ensuring quality resources for student learning. We kindly ask that you select one of the above options to address any outstanding balances.

Full Payment
You may choose to pay the full outstanding balance in full.

Regular Payments via BPOINT

• Via BPOINT: Set up a regular payment plan through BPOINT to assist with budgeting. Please contact Mrs. Dal Molin for support.
• Via BPAY: Set up a regular payment plan through your internet banking using BPAY. If you need help calculating recommended payment amounts based on your current balance and Term 4 fees, please contact Mrs. Dal Molin.

Combination Payment
You may opt to make a lump sum payment toward the outstanding balance, followed by a direct debit arrangement for the remaining fees. Mrs. Dal Molin can assist with setting this up.

Fee Remission
If you are experiencing financial hardship, you may apply for a fee remission. Forms are available at the front office. All information provided is treated with strict confidentiality and will be reviewed only by Mr. Hughes and Mrs. Dal Molin.

For further assistance or to discuss your options, please contact the front office to arrange an appointment.

CANTEEN NEWS - Mrs Jennifer Harden

National Science Week 2025

It's National Science Week for 2025! The week showcases Australia’s biggest celebration of all things Science and we have had a fabulous time exploring this year's theme - Decoding the Universe – Exploring the unknown with nature’s hidden language.

The theme invites us to explore the codes and patterns that shape our world. Throughout the week, we have been busy investigating a range of exciting and hands-on activities, including experiments and challenges all designed to spark wonder and awe! 

National Science Week is about celebrating curiosity, creativity, and the way science connects to our everyday lives. We can’t wait to show you over the next couple of weeks how our students became scientists, engineers, and explorers for the week! Stay tuned!!

K Blue

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K Blue were inspired by being in nature for National Science Week! At the start of the week Mrs Mandy Williams read, I Am Tree Rex by  Mo Davey to the class outside in the beautiful sunshine. The main message in the book relates to caring about trees. Afterwards, the children collected leaves and made patterns with them, it was a lot of fun! Madden loves trees so much that he hugged one!

Year 1/2

This week our Stage 1 scientists spent time exploring nature’s hidden language by decoding the “growth code” of grass seeds. Each student has created their own colourful home, planted a lawn, and is testing how changes in sunlight, water, or soil affect growth. Over the next few weeks, we will measure, graph, and photograph our lawns to see what nature is telling us. We look forward to sharing our findings with you!

Year 3/4

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During National Science Week Year 3/4 explored the ways living beings communicate beyond words. In nature, many messages travel through frequencies we can’t hear or see. By studying animal calls and visualising sound waves, students were able to reveal patterns in communication that they have not observed before. 

Year 5/6 Blue

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As part of National Science Week, 5/6 Blue explored the fascinating world of electrical circuits. Students worked with batteries, motors, and lightbulbs to design and construct a variety of circuits. They also investigated the properties of insulators and conductors by testing a range of classroom objects using a simple circuit. This hands-on learning experience encouraged problem-solving, critical thinking, and collaboration, while sparking curiosity and excitement for science.