Dear Parents and Carers

Last Friday we celebrated Fathers’ Day as a school community with an early breakfast and a heart warming Liturgy. Both served as a reminder of the profound impact fathers have on their families and the importance of showing love and appreciation for them. A huge thank you to Anneliese Robinson for her superb barbequed egg and bacon rolls, to the staff who arrived early to prepare, cook and serve, to Heritage bakery for the donation of bread rolls, and to Mrs Cerff and Mrs Wilson who prepared a beautiful Liturgy. I hope that all of our Dads, Grandads and other male role models in our lives were shown in lots of ways how much they are loved on Father’s Day. 

Last week saw the first session of our ‘Transition To School Playgroup’ for our Kindergarten 2024 students and their parents. These sessions will continue in Week 9 and will be held in our School hall on Wednesday afternoons and Thursday mornings. Transition to school Playgroup plays a crucial role in early childhood development, giving new Kinders and their parents an opportunity to meet their classmates as well as ensuring that school is a friendly and familiar place for them. This week saw an incredible story-telling experience from Mrs Treweek which kept the preschoolers and their parents mesmerised. Please make our new families feel very welcome into our St Mary’s community.   

Preparations are well underway for our school production of ‘The Wizard of Oz’. The premiere will be on Thursday 22nd September at 5.30 pm, followed by a Matinee to host our Grandparents at 10:00am on Friday 23rd September. Friday will also play host to a shared lunch with Grandparents and families. The production would not be possible without the dedication of Mrs Daniella Cooper, Mrs Erin Chard and Mrs Glenda Johnston, who have devoted much time and attention to bringing the arts alive for our children. It is always a great joy to witness the confidence that each child gains when they step onto the stage to act, sing or dance. We look forward to sharing this musical feast with you!                                                                                                                                                                                                     Our Stage Three students are buzzing with excitement for their two night trip to Berry Sport and Recreation Camp next week. We wish our Stage Three students and their teachers the very best of fun! 

Many of our Year 3 students will be making their First Holy Communion this Sunday. First Holy Communion is a sacred and transformative moment in a Catholic's life. It's a time for deep reflection on the presence of God in our lives, the gift of the Eucharist, our connection to the Church community, and our call to holiness, forgiveness, and witness. It marks the beginning of a lifelong journey of faith, and it's a beautiful reminder of God's love and grace. 

Please join us at Holy Family Catholic Church, Ulludulla at 9:00 am on Sunday 10th September to celebrate this momentous occasion. 

Blessings to you all,

Julie Valentini                                                                                                     

With the change in seasons, we will be having a uniform transition allowing students to wear winter or summer uniform during Week 9 and Week 10.

Compulsory summer uniform will commence at the beginning of Term 4.

Students and staff have been drawing their self portraits and our Fundraiser products are now available to order.

We will have two products available to purchase:

- A whole school 2023 Self Portrait Tea Towel
- “Our Little School on the Hill” Apron, a blue on white school apron with logo and hand prints

Both products make fabulous gifts, are wonderful keepsakes and fun to have at home.
They will be ready for collection toward the end of November.
If you would like to see an example please look online or visit the school office.

Thank you for your support.
P&F Committee

On Monday 4 September, Year 1 and 2 went to Cupitt’s Estate to explore the farm and garden. In Science, we are learning about ‘Paddock-to-Plate’. We met Gav who showed us around the farm. We looked at the animals at Cupitt's and how they are cared for and we looked at the gardens and what produce comes from them. We were given a tour of the compost and met the worms and learnt about how they help the compost. We visited the chicken coop, met the chickens and learnt that the guinea pigs actually mow the lawn for the chicken coop! We also learnt about the cycle of life resulting in the ‘Paddock to Plate’ process. Thank you to Bec and Addison, our volunteer helpers and of course our wonderful SSO’s who supported us on the day.

Staff and students alike had fun dressing up and exploring different characters at our annual Book Week parade and celebrations.

Throughout Term 3 the Year 3 class at St Mary’s has been participating in Outdoor Education sessions. Students are working through a Geography unit of work based on Australia’s environment, Flora and Fauna, the human impacts on their environment, and how Australia’s environment and population compares to that of an Asian country (Vietnam).

The outdoor aspect of our unit began with students collecting small objects from the ground in their immediate environment and analysing what they collected. They concluded that there are common colours that make up man made small objects (litter). Those are often blues, pinks, whites and blacks. From the students’ collections, they surmised that most natural products (found on the ground) consisted of shades of brown, yellow, greens and grey. These collections have been kept and were used within students’ artwork, which have been entered into the Threatened Species Art Competition through Shoalhaven Council.

The Year 3 students have spent some time in their classroom researching their chosen threatened species as well as the role of hollows as habitats in order to answer the following questions:

1. Why is the animal a threatened species?
2. How is their habitat (particularly a hollow) instrumental to their survival and safety as a species?

Students created a model of their chosen animal using clay, ready for use in their artwork. To complete their artwork, students used natural materials to create a hollow suitable for their chosen threatened species. Students were encouraged to include some of the man made objects collected throughout their learning to demonstrate some of the human impacts on our environment that our animals come across every day.

In line with our Outdoor Education philosophy, all natural materials will be returned to the environment after the completion of the unit, and any litter collected will be disposed of responsibly. 

Here are some photos of the students in action, and of some of their artworks entered into the Shoalhaven Council art competition.

We have started our 2024 Playgroup sessions. It is lovely meeting our newest school community members!

We invite you and your family to  join us for our whole school performance on Thursday 21 September at 5.30pm in the school hall and again the next day for Grandparents day on Friday 22 September at 10.00am. We ask that students who are not in the play come dressed in their own clothes to match their class theme. Mrs Johnston is organising costumes for students that have main parts in the play. (A note about this is coming out soon.)

If anyone has a spare witches hat they would like to donate to the school for the Stage 1 item please pop it into the office for Mrs Johnston to collect.  

Thank you
Mrs Cooper, Mrs Chard & Mrs Johnston

Choir Notice:
Mrs Chard, Mrs Robinson and a group of selected choir students from Year 5 & 6 are visiting the Sarah Claydon retirement home on Tuesday 12 September. Just reminding families to give permission on compass for this happy event. Thank you