Dear Parents and Carers 

Last weekend, we celebrated Pentecost Sunday, which is the celebration of the Holy Spirit coming to reassure and enable the apostles after they had suffered the loss of Jesus. They were afraid of what had happened to Jesus and had locked themselves in a room, paralysed with fear. The gift of the Holy Spirit was to free them from their fear, represented by the doors flying open with a great gust of wind and a rush of tongues of fire, This of course terrified the apostles even more, then they experienced the strength of the Spirit moving in them, they started to speak in different languages. 

They found courage and they found their voices. Finding and giving voice has been in the media recently in connection with the Indigenous Voice campaign. This is Reconciliation Week, we pray that as a country we listen deeply to our Indigenous brothers and sisters calls for justice for a voice, truth telling and listening. 

I am very pleased to announce that Ms Lisa Kelly will be replacing Mrs Hedger in Year 6 for Semester Two. We are so blessed to have a teacher of such high calibre available in our area, considering the large scale teacher shortage. Mrs Kelly has had extensive experience working in Catholic Schools in Victioria. She comes highly recommended and has a passion for upper primary education. Ms Kelly will be teaching the Year 6 class five days a week, with Mrs Cerff moving to support the REC role on a different grade. We look forward to introducing Ms Kelly to Year 6 in the coming weeks. We wish Mrs Hedger a happy, healthy and comfortable last few weeks of term. 

Thanks to our parents for supporting our St Mary’s Uniform Policy, it has been wonderful to see our students arriving in their winter uniforms this term. I know the ties can be tricky, our staff are always happy to help with getting them tied on arrival at school. Our uniform is a way that we can show pride and a sense of belonging to our school community. We ask parents to ensure that they send their child in full school uniform including hair tied back, and wearing black polishable leather shoes with our formal uniform and predominantly white joggers with the sport uniform. 

Next Thursday we will be hosting a ‘Biggest Morning Tea’, this fundraiser is to support those impacted by Cancer. We know there are many families in our school community that have been affected by cancer. We are asking that Stage 2 (Years 3 and 4) bring in something they have baked to sell to the students at first break. Thank you to our parents and students for supporting such a worthy cause. 

On Monday night our P and F will be meeting for the month of June. The P and F meetings are such an important part of our school community and culture, it is a great way to lend a hand, meet other parents and have parent voice in the school. Please join us at 5:30pm on Monday. 

I hope to see you in our school soon,

Yours in partnership 

Laurinda Nelson

PB4L Celebration Corner

Class Merit Awards

Kinder –  Zenia V, Charlotte P

Year 1 – Oliver S, Evie R, Thomas G

Year 2 – Jacob Mc, Charlie K

Year 3 – Steven K, Adele B

Year 4 – Fleur C, Ruby F

Year 5 – Imogen H, Louis R

Year 6 – Felex A, Ava C, Nat B

Super Star Awards for Week:  

We Care For Others- 

 Phoebe H, Jackson L, Daisy D, Parker G, Ruby F, Maddy G, Jemima C, Evie P, Maddie H, Jesinta N, Alexandra W, Gemma W, Aliera B, Oliver B, Sunny G, Leif C

We Care For Learning- Sophie H, Clifford C

Principal Award: Clifford C

We are thrilled to celebrate the remarkable achievements of our talented students at the recent Diocesan Cross Country Championships held on the 23rd of May at the picturesque "Willandra" in Cambewarra. A team of 20 St. Mary's students travelled to the event, showcasing their running prowess and demonstrating incredible determination in the face of tough competition. 

We are delighted to announce that three of our outstanding athletes have qualified for the next level of the competition, the NSWCPS MacKillop Cross Country Trial. This prestigious event will take place on the 13th of June at The Sydney International Equestrian Centre. Let's give a round of applause to Arlo S, who secured an impressive 8th place, Adele B, who showcased her skills and finished in a remarkable 7th place, and Evie P, who excelled and claimed an outstanding 4th place. We wish them the best of luck as they progress to the NSWCPS MacKillop Cross Country Trial, where they will represent our school with pride.

Congratulations to all the students who participated in the Diocesan Cross Country Championships. Your commitment to sportsmanship, resilience, and healthy competition is truly admirable. We applaud you for your achievements and wish you continued success in your athletic pursuits.

On the 9th of May, our very own St. Mary's Demons travelled down to Batemans Bay to compete in the AFL Paul Kelly Cup. The team put on a spectacular display of determination, teamwork, and sportsmanship, showcasing their incredible skills despite their limited experience. Let's relive the highlights of this memorable day!

The St. Mary's Demons faced off against three formidable opponents: Milton A, Milton B, and St. Peters. From start to finish, our talented team left their mark on the field and demonstrated that hard work and dedication can truly make a difference.

One of the standout aspects of the day was the incredible goal-scoring abilities displayed by our players. Louis, Nat, Ryder, Sam, Charli, and Torin showcased their prowess in front of the goal, delighting the crowd with their accurate shots and remarkable skills. Their efforts played a significant role in securing the team's success throughout the tournament.

In addition to the impressive attack, we witnessed outstanding defensive performances by Henry and Anika. They fearlessly guarded our goal, making it difficult for the opposition to make their way to the forward. Their commitment to the team's defence was truly commendable and contributed greatly to the overall success of the St. Mary's Demons.

The team's exceptional performance was not limited to the attacking and defensive aspects of the game. Alexandra and Arlo, with their unwavering determination, fearlessly took on the challenges both in attack and defence. Their resilience and courage were evident throughout the matches, inspiring their teammates and earning them well-deserved applause.

Go Demons!

Year 5 students made ratatouille in our canteen yesterday with some ingredients grown in our school garden. 

This Friday afternoon at pick up time we will be selling mini frittatas for $3 each or 4 for $10 (that’s dinner sorted!)  to raise money for future cooking with our students

We welcome any produce that you may have growing at home to help us keep costs down. 

We’re so grateful to Cameron W in Year 6 who has donated 10 Litres of honey from his family’s very own hives.

Pentecost

Year 1 has been learning about the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. The disciples described the Holy Spirit as wind and fire so we expressed our understanding of these symbols through art. Take a look!

Area and Arrays

Year 1 has been learning about Area and Arrays. We made ‘Array Cities’ and recognised that we can see arrays in everyday life, like the windows of a building. We counted how many rows of windows our buildings had and how many windows in each row. We linked this to previous learning of making equal groups.

Evie L said ‘Area is the space inside a shape’. We have been measuring the area of our desks and maths books. We even measured the area of our hands and feet and compared them to see which one had the largest area. Some children identified arrays in the process of measuring area.

SCHOOL HATS - Can be purchased at the office $15

Please note Students must be wearing their own hat.  There will be no spare office hats available.

Please label your childs clothing clearly with name E.G hat, jumper, jacket as this helps us to return clothing items to the correct child. 

Orders for Winter Uniforms can be made on line at LOWES please ensure your child/children are wearing the correct uniform/shoes for winter.

Our amazing Mini Vinnies Team from Year 5 and 6 generously supported our local Vinnies conference with the St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal last Friday at the IGA in Milton. Some spontaneous busking from our students also managed to raise more money for the appeal. We raised over $300. Thank you to parents who cooked and then came down the street to buy some sweets. Our annual Souper Hero Day is planned for June 15. We are also planning another fundraiser on the last day of school.