Dear Parents and Carers 

Last Sunday many of our St Mary’s students celebrated their First Communion in our Parish, it was a wonderful celebration for the community. The children had prepared over several weeks including a full retreat day last Friday. Enormous thanks to Mrs Ann-Marie Wilson our Religious Education Coordintor, Mrs Hedger for supporting many of the students and the Parish Sacramental Team. 

During the holidays the Parish are holding a Blessing of the Animals Gathering on Mollymook Beach Reserve on Tuesday 4th October 4:30 - 6:30pm. (Information is included in this Newsletter) You are invited to bring your pets to the gathering on a lead or in a carrier box to be blessed. Pack a picnic blanket or chair and enjoy the company and the Season of Creation with our community.  

We have so much to be grateful for in our school community this week, with the premiere and finale of our Pirates and Mermaids Musical. It was such a joy to see each child in the school having the courage to step outside their everyday reality and onto the stage. A recent study by the University of Wollongong found the impact of a child being involved in artistic endeavors early, helps them to sustain confidence and creative thinking skills for a lifetime. The arts encourage children to develop resilience, develop problem solving skills and their understanding of our world. An enormous thanks to my staff and in particular Mrs Daniella Cooper, Mrs Glenda Johntson and Mrs Erin Chard for their commitment to bringing the production to life. 

There have been a few ‘pirate style’ or extreme haircuts appearing in the ground lately, cuts with long hair contrasting with very short hair and shapes carved into the side of heads. Now our pirate play is over and students do not need to be reflecting this theme please ensure that after the holidays all students have long hair tied back and all haircuts are more in line with learning and respect and less with the extremities of current trends. There have also been reports of head lice so please ensure all hair below collar length is tied back, we thank you for your support in this regard.

It was wonderful to welcome so many special visitors for Grandparent’s Day on Tuesday, many who had travelled considerable distances to be present on the day.  It has been a few years since we have been able to welcome our community elders onto school grounds. They were treated to the finale of our school production, a lovely morning tea and a sausage sizzle provided by our amazing P and F. The classrooms were abuzz with lots of learning being shared in the open classrooms. 

Over the holidays a transformation will be taking place in our playground, as the work begins on our new playground. This work has been made possible through generous and kind community donations after the bushfires, the fundraising efforts of our P and F, a donation from Treading Lightly and the Federal Government Black Summer Bushfire Grant. The plans for our playground are avaialble for viewing in our Office Foyer, they include: 

• A dry creek bed and water pump 
• Mud Kitchen 
• Sensory playspace and equipment 
• Sandpit
• An Indigenous gathering space
• Rocks to climb over and tunnels to climb through 
• Sitting areas and trees
• Greenhouse / planting area. 

This work will be started in the school holidays and when students return we will have a 

safety/ construction zone barricaded off until the work is completed. There may be some disruption to our play/ parking space during this time, but I know the end result will be spectacular. 

Congratulations to Finn Bradley and Peyton Manning -Jones who have both been shortlisted in the Diocesan Christmas Art Competition for Stage Three students. This is a wonderful achievement for these very talented students, their work will be hung in the Wollongong Gallery as part of a special exhibition. Thanks to Mrs Emily McGregor who worked with our Stage Three teachers to ensure the students were supported in creating superb original artworks of such a high standard. We look forward to these artworks eventually coming back to St Mary’s and to be exhibited at school for Christmas. 

Congratulations also to Adele Bracken in Year 2 for her qualification in the McKillop trials for the 100 metres dash at Sydeny Olympiuc Park this week. Adele put in an amazing performance coming 4th overall on the day, Adele represented the Diocese of Wollongong against many other Diocesan teams, what a great achievement! 

As we come to the close of Term 3, I thank you for your ongoing support of our school community.

I wish you a safe and happy holiday,

Yours in partnership,

Laurinda Nelson  

Last Wednesday, Evelyn Hodges and Mauree Dews from the St Vincent De Paul Society (Ulladulla) visited our school to collect the donations from our Pyjama Day and to thank the school community. The donationswere in abundance with every class being proactive and generous. Maureen thanked the Mini-Vinnies team for organzing and shared some heartfelt gratitude that the work we are doing really does make a difference for those living at the margins in our community. Thank you St Mary's Families.

Warm regards,

Mrs Collins