Dear Parents,

In the last week we have seen a number of activities taking place with our Easter Concert occurring last Friday, our cross country on Tuesday and the MacKillop Swimming Championships taking place yesterday. These were all wonderful events and I thank all the staff and parents that supported these events and the wonderful students for their participation. More detail on these events are later in the newsletter.

Korean

I am aware that there has been some discussion by a number of parents regarding the benefits of the students from Year Three to Year Six studying Korean. Prior to 2023 we had Year Three and Year Five studying Mandarin remotely. We felt this program was not meeting the needs of the students or inspiring them to learn another language. With Mr Zibowski having taught in Korea for four years and with a good knowledge of the culture as well as spoken and written language, it was an easy decision to move from Mandarin to Korean.

Korean is taught from Year Three to Year Six and this initiative has been well received by staff and students. I have also received correspondence from parents saying how much their child enjoys their Korean lessons.

Korean is one of the priority languages promoted by the Federal Government and is promoted in both the Australian Curriculum and the NSW syllabus. The following paragraphs are taken from the NSW Korean syllabus.

Learning languages provides the opportunity for students to engage with the linguistic and cultural diversity of the world and its peoples. Students broaden their horizons in relation to personal, social, cultural and employment opportunities in an increasingly interconnected and interdependent world. Proficiency in languages provides a national resource that serves communities within Australia and enables the nation to engage more effectively with the global community.

Contemporary research and practice have established a clear link between the learning of languages and improved literacy skills for both background speakers and second or additional language learners. Through the development of communicative skills in a language and understanding of how language works as a system, students further develop literacy in English, through close attention to detail, accuracy, logic and critical reasoning. Learning languages exercises students’ intellectual curiosity, increases metalinguistic awareness, strengthens intellectual, analytical and reflective capabilities, and enhances critical and creative thinking.

Korean is the language of one of Australia’s significant Asian neighbours, and is spoken by a population of more than 80 million people in Korea and communities worldwide. 

Through learning languages, students develop an intercultural capability and an understanding of the role of language and culture in communication, and become more accepting of diversity and difference. They develop understanding of global citizenship, and reflect on their own heritage, values, culture and identity.

The study of Korean in Kindergarten to Year 10 may be the basis for further study of one of the differentiated Korean syllabuses available for study in Stage 6, and for future employment, within Australia and internationally, in areas such as commerce, tourism, entertainment, hospitality, education, sport, visual arts, performing arts and international relations.

As a school we are fortunate to have a language program being delivered face to face. Across Australia there is a lack of language teachers and this is particularly true in regional and rural communities. The Korean program at St Mary’s is in its infancy and I am sure the benefits will become obvious in the years to come.

I ask parents that have concerns regarding what is being taught at St Mary’s to contact me so I can try to allay your fears.

Interim Reports

Interim reports for all students are now accessible via compass. These give an overview of how your child has applied themselves to their learning this term and also has a focus on dispositions they bring to their work.

There is an option for teachers to request an interview on the form and parents may contact their child’s teacher should they like to organise an interview.

Our formal parent-teacher interview sessions will occur in week four of next term.

ANZAC Day 2023

We have been invited by the President of Young RSL, Mr Phillip Mitchell, to participate in the Commemoration of ANZAC on 25th April 2023, including the march and ceremonies at Anderson Park. Any St Mary’s students are encouraged to be a part of this important ceremony. Please indicate your children’s ability to attend in the attached google form by the end of term, Thursday 6th April.

All students who attend the march are asked to march in their full winter school uniform. We will be assembling at the Town Hall at 10.30am. Staff will be marching with the students. 

NAPLAN 2023

We successfully completed all NAPLAN testing in Year 3 and 5. Parents will receive results later in the semester. We thank parents for ensuring their children were at school on testing days and this resulted in a very low number of makeup tests being required. There will be changes to the way the information is reported to parents. ACARA will use new proficiency standards that will replace the numerical NAPLAN bands and the national minimum standard will be replaced by levels of achievement -  Exceeding, Strong, Developing, Needs additional support.

Back to School Road  Safety

Transport NSW are committed to keeping our school community safe and they have provided us with important reminders and awareness raising clips for parents regarding school zones hours, demerit points and pedestrian crossings. As mentioned in previous communications, last year we had several near misses and so we remain vigilant with educating our students about the correct ways to enter and depart school safely. Please take the time to view these links:

School Zone Hours – You Tube 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7Le_k0R0PY  

Children and Pedestrian Crossings – You Tube  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ih0rXAqxSZg&t=13s  

School Zone Fines and Demerits

https://www.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-11/School_zone_offences.pdf

Keeping Kids Safe Online - Year 5 Presentation

Last Wednesday Karin Clarke from Young PCYC visited Year 5 to speak about online behaviours.

Karin challenged their thinking about what behaviours they thought were ok. She provided great guidelines and rules to stick to and showed them some great online websites to help support them should they get into difficulty. I encourage you to take a look at Kids Help Line: Styaing Safe Online https://kidshelpline.com.au/teens/issues/staying-safe-online 

It covers what the risks are, how they can protect their personal information and identity, 9 hints to keep safe and what to do or who to turn to if they feel threatened or unsafe. 

Thank you Karin for helping Year 5 learn more to assist with navigating the online spaces safely. 

Kind Regards

Mrs Katie Thompson

There was a man named Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister, Martha, and he was ill. It was the same Mary, the sister of the sick man Lazarus, who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair. The sisters sent this message to Jesus, 'Lord, the man you love is ill.' On receiving the message, Jesus said, 'This sickness will not end in death, but it is for God's glory so that through it the Son of God may be glorified.' Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, yet when he heard that he was ill he stayed where he was for two more days before saying to the disciples, 'Let us go back to Judaea.' The disciples said, 'Rabbi, it is not long since the Jews were trying to stone you; are you going back there again?' Jesus replied: Are there not twelve hours in the day? No one who walks in the daytime stumbles, having the light of this world to see by; anyone who walks around at night stumbles, having no light as a guide. He said that and then added, 'Our friend Lazarus is at rest; I am going to wake him.' The disciples said to him, 'Lord, if he is at rest he will be saved.' Jesus was speaking of the death of Lazarus, but they thought that by 'rest' he meant 'sleep'; so Jesus put it plainly, 'Lazarus is dead; and for your sake I am glad I was not there because now you will believe. But let us go to him.' Then Thomas -- known as the Twin -- said to the other disciples, 'Let us also go to die with him.' On arriving, Jesus found that Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days already. Bethany is only about two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming she went to meet him. Mary remained sitting in the house. Martha said to Jesus, 'Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died, but even now I know that God will grant whatever you ask of him.' Jesus said to her, 'Your brother will rise again.' Martha said, 'I know he will rise again at the resurrection on the last day.' Jesus said: I am the resurrection. Anyone who believes in me, even though that person dies, will live, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this? 'Yes, Lord,' she said, 'I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who was to come into this world.' When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in a low voice, 'The Master is here and wants to see you.' Hearing this, Mary got up quickly and went to him. Jesus had not yet come into the village; he was still at the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who were in the house comforting Mary saw her get up so quickly and go out, they followed her, thinking that she was going to the tomb to weep there. Mary went to Jesus, and as soon as she saw him she threw herself at his feet, saying, 'Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.' At the sight of her tears, and those of the Jews who had come with her, Jesus was greatly distressed, and with a profound sigh he said, 'Where have you put him?' They said, 'Lord, come and see.' Jesus wept; and the Jews said, 'See how much he loved him!' But there were some who remarked, 'He opened the eyes of the blind man. Could he not have prevented this man's death?'  Sighing again, Jesus reached the tomb: it was a cave with a stone to close the opening. Jesus said, 'Take the stone away.' Martha, the dead man's sister, said to him, 'Lord, by now he will smell; this is the fourth day since he died.' Jesus replied, 'Have I not told you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?' So they took the stone away. Then Jesus lifted up his eyes and said: Father, I thank you for hearing my prayer. I myself knew that you hear me always, but I speak for the sake of all these who are standing around me, so that they may believe it was you who sent me. When he had said this, he cried in a loud voice, 'Lazarus, come out!'  The dead man came out, his feet and hands bound with strips of material, and a cloth over his face. Jesus said to them, 'Unbind him, let him go free.' Many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what he did, believed in him,

REFLECTION

Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus? The siblings Martha, Mary and Lazarus were friends with Jesus; they have a personal relationship with the Lord. Jesus loves the three of them dearly. 

When Jesus was informed by Martha and Mary that their brother Lazarus was sick the Lord went there. Even if He knew that Lazarus had died already the Lord nevertheless went to the siblings place notwithstanding the developing danger to his life. Why? Because Martha, Mary and Lazarus were best friends with Jesus.      

When Jesus raised Lazarus from the grave, He showed us that there is life and resurrection for as long as we believe in Him. There is hope for a new life even if we die but to have this new life we should not only know Jesus. We must also die from our sinfulness and we should be friends with Him as well.

Jesus went to the tomb of his friend Lazarus for only one purpose and that is to bring His friend back to life again. Why? This is for the reason that Jesus wanted them to believe and have faith in Him. Jesus wanted them to know that nothing is impossible for Him, that even death He can mightily defeat.

Jesus’ raising of Lazarus opens our minds to the reality that there’s a new life after our mortal death provided that we are friends with Jesus and provided that we are willing to accept Him as our Lord and saviour.

Are you now friends with Jesus and is He already your Lord and Savior? – Marino J. Dasmarinas

LITURGIES AND PRAYER SERVICES

Year 4 celebrated a beautiful liturgy today, based on the theme of friendship. Thanks to those families who were able to attend. 

Next week, we commence our Holy Week celebrations. We will commence on Monday with Kindergarten leading us in a celebration of Palm Sunday.  On Tuesday we will celebrate Holy Thursday featuring Year 6 and on Thursday we will commemorate the Passion of Christ featuring Year 5. Each prayer session will be held at 8:50am in the Hall. We extend a warm welcome to all members of our school community to join us during this very special week.

EASTER

Commencing this Sunday, we begin our Holy Week journey as Catholics. St Mary’s Church will be holding masses on each of these special days. Please see the attached timetable for Mass times.

SACRAMENTAL REGISTRATION

Thanks to all families who were able to attend the registration night for the Sacramental program last Wednesday. If you were unable to attend and would like to still register for Reconciliation, First Eucharist or Confirmation, please collect a registration form from the front office. There is a $50 registration fee per family. The students will prepare for the Sacraments at school with parents being asked to attend one information session at the commencement of celebrations. Father Jiss has asked for your attendance during a minimum of three Masses during your child’s preparations. This will help them understand the Sacrament at a greater level. Please email me if you have any additional questions.

PROJECT COMPASSION

Thu’s story: Vietnam

Thu lost his leg after stepping on a landmine in Vietnam. With your generosity, Thu can now earn extra income and support his wife as she recovers from a stroke.

Thu was just 12 years old when he lost his leg. One day, he was looking after his cows when he stepped on an unexploded land mine.  

“War is most terrible with great loss. At the end of the war, there are still consequences such as unexploded ordnance, causing many losses, casualties and death,” Thu says. 

Thu lives in the Quảng Trị province, located on the Northern Central Coast of Vietnam. Situated along the demilitarised zone that divided Vietnam, the province was one of the most heavily bombed areas during the Vietnam War and is considered one of the most polluted provinces in terms of unexploded ordinances (UXOs) in Vietnam.

In addition to being the breadwinner for his family, Thu had to take on the role of caring for his wife, Linh, after she suffered a stroke.

Please watch Thu's story using the following link: https://www.caritas.org.au/project-compassion/thu-story/

Please remember that we can all make a difference to the lives of people just like Thu. Please donate any amount to our Project Compassion Appeal this year and make a difference for ‘All Future Generations’. 

As next week is our final week of Project Compassion, I encourage all families who have been collecting money at home to return their boxes so we can tally how much we are able to share and make a difference for all generations.

HAPPY EASTER

Thanks to everyone for their support during the Term. I hope you all have a holy and happy Easter and I look forward to seeing you all after a well earned break.

God Bless,

Warren Ziebowski

(Religious Education Coordinator)

School Cross Country

The weather was on our side on Tuesday! Despite a smaller number of races and a change in order we still had a fantastic turn out for our carnival. Well done to all our students who ran their hearts out and had big smiles on their sometimes red little faces!!!!

A big thank you to our two parents who volunteered their time to help us out - Pauline Sharpe who supported and cheered the student’s on from a checkpoint and Frances Crowley who offered her assistance despite being on crutches - we really appreciate your time. Thank you to our superstar grandparent that volunteers for us every year Mr Peter Ward who drove our cart at the back of the pack to give some students a much needed respite! Thank you also to Chad and Archie Challen who set out the course early on Tuesday morning and drove the front cart with some tunes that were apparently very inspiring!!

Once again we thank the Hennessy Year 11 PASS class team who assisted us again this year. They stood out on checkpoints cheering and encouraging students to keep going, they warmed up our runners on the start line and even ran with the students! I think Regan Bannister ran 6-8kms on the day. We love having these students helping us and the kids get such a kick out of seeing them. Thank you once again to Mr Brendan Croese for his help in organising the students to attend.

We congratulate O’DWYER House who were the champions on the day with a total of 559 points! Amazing effort!

Well done to the following students who were Age Champion & Runner Up on the day:

5/6 year old Boys

Champion: Maheep Thind Runner Up:  Clancy O’Brien

5/6 year old Girls

Champion: Ava Yelverton Runner Up: Nandini Jhunjhunwala

7 year old Boys

Champion: Henry Wright Runner Up: Mason Terry

7 year old Girls

Champion: Montana Cartwright Runner Up: Anastasia Austen

8 year old Boys

Champion: Ashton Callaghan   Runner Up:  Alex Holt

8 year old Girls

Champion: Evie Yelverton Runner Up: Serenity Gunning

9 year old Boys

Champion: Alex Presser Runner Up:  James Sinclair

9 year old Girls

Champion: Agatha Murphy Runner Up: Savannah Wright 

10 year old Boys

Champion: Kynan Burgess Runner Up:  Jye Ralph

10 year old Girls

Champion: Indianna Brown Runner Up: Belle Morris

11 year old Boys

Champion: Sam Presser Runner Up:  Rory Brodbeck

11 year old Girls

Champion: Annabel Bailey Runner Up: Jayda Holt

12/13 year old Boys

Champion: Carter James Runner Up:  Isaac Wright

12/13 year old Girls

Champion: Mercadez Cartwright Runner Up: Sarah Webber

The medals were given out at assembly today! The top 5 place getters in each age group move onto Western Region in Grenfell on Friday 28th April. Notes for this carnival were put in class notebags on Wednesday.

Archdiocesan Swimming

Well done to all our swimmers who competed at the MacKillop Swimming Championships at Sydney Olympic Park yesterday. We enjoyed watching the live screen when we could and were excited to cheer the students on!!!

There were lots of fantastic results with students achieving either improved entry or personal best times. To compete at this level and achieve these results is outstanding and we are so proud of all the students!

Congratulations to Chloe Buck who achieved a Bronze medal in the 11 years 50m Freestyle and Harry Robinson who was awarded a Silver medal in the 13 years 50m Freestyle.

Archdiocesan Soccer Trials - Year 5 & 6

We wish Rory Brodbeck, Sam Presser, Kynan Burgess, Levi Clark, Harry Collins, Charlie Maher, Carter James, Pippa Smith & Lelan Ralph the very best of luck as they compete for selection in the Archdiocesan Football Team on Monday in Lyneham. We hope you have a fantastic day and we look forward to hearing about your experiences!!

STUDENTS FEAST FROM PADDOCK TO PLATE

St Mary's Gardening club has made front page of the Catholic Voice Newspaper. A copy has been sent home to each family. We do have extra copies available at the front office.

Happy Friday St. Mary's Parents, 

Your children may have noticed that I have tried out a new type of pizza this week utilising a mini pizza base and topping it with fresh sauce, cheese and ham. If you have any feedback feel free to reach out. I know pizzas are a popular item. 

I also trialled a garlic bread pizza (garlic bread topped with sauce, cheese and ham) that seemed to get enthusiastic positive reviews and you can look for it added to the menu for next term.

Next week on Thursday the 6th we have our Cheeseburger meal deal for $6.00. 

You can order by returning the flyer that went home yesterday or by ordering on flexischools. 

The meal deal includes a cheeseburger on a new type of brioche style bun that I am excited about trying out.  Please note we can provide a vegetarian option which is now reflected on Flexischools alternatively please write vegetarian if you are returning the paper flyer. 

I would love some extra helpers in the canteen next Thursday to help us get all our cheeseburgers ready please follow the link to our volunteer app: 

https://app.getzelos.com/i/nxRsgjaJ or email me at jennifer.vorvis@cg.catholic.edu.au to sign up. 

As a mother myself I know life is very busy and many of you work however I am aiming to have canteen helpers on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday each week. Even if you can only spare an hour between 10 and 11 am this would help me in the final push to get all the lunches packed up and ready to serve to the kids. 

This week we did 40+ orders on Wednesday, 50+ on Thursday and over 90 lunch orders today, so extra hands make it all possible! 

Thank you and look forward to meeting more of you in the canteen. 

- Jen Harden 

HILLTOPS COMMUNITY HUB

JUNIOR NETBALL 

YOUNG HOCKEY

PCYC SCHOOL HOILDAY PROGRAM

HILLTOPS LIBRARY

Autmn_School_Holidays_2023.pdf

Autmn_School_Holidays_2023 _pdf 240.89 KB

League Stars Holiday Clinic

SEASON 2023 JUNIOR SOCCER REGISTRATIONS