Dear Parents and Carers

“There’s No Place like St Mary’s!”
(adapted from ‘The Wizard of Oz’)

Tonight will see the culmination of a term of lessons, and weeks of rehearsals, as we showcase our School Production ‘The Wizard of Oz.’ All students have the opportunity to participate in the production in class groups and/or in individual roles, providing an enjoyable way for them to explore their talents and interests, and perhaps cultivate a lifelong appreciation for the arts. Many thanks to the cast and crew, particularly Mrs Daniella Cooper, Mrs Glenda Johnston, and Mrs Erin Chard who have given so much of their own time to ensuring that the production is of the highest quality. We look forward to seeing you tonight! 

On Friday, we are celebrating Grandparents’ Day with our Matinee performance and shared lunch. Grandparents have such a special bond with their grandchildren and provide unconditional love, guidance, and wisdom of life experiences. On this day, we are drawn to remember Saint Joachim and Anne – the grandparents of Jesus – whose wisdom and faith was passed on to Mary, so that in her time she could say “yes” to becoming the Mother of Jesus. On Friday we honour all grandparents and community elders whose impact is profound and enduring, shaping the lives of their grandchildren in significant ways. We will treat our visitors and guests to Morning Tea and a Sausage Sizzle provided by the P&F.

On Sunday 10 September many of our students celebrated their First Holy Communion, marking the beginning of their lifelong journey of faith. It was a special celebration for the Parish community. The communicants were prepared over several weekends, and also participated in a full Retreat Day with students from other schools. Enormous thanks to Mrs Ann-Marie Wilson and Mrs Chloe Cerff our Religious Education Coordinators, Mrs Emily McGregor our Year 3 Teacher, Fr Michael and the Parish Sacramental Team.

Looking back, this term has seen numerous accomplishments across the school. From academic achievements to creative endeavors, from sports triumphs to community service, our students’ achievements encompass a wide range of academic, personal, and extracurricular accomplishments both within and outside of the school setting. Most recently, we commend Louis R and Tehya G who represented the school in the Archdiocesan Stage Three Public Speaking Competition at Fairy Meadow last week. Both students spoke incredibly well with Louis placing third in his age category. Louis will now represent our school in the Diocesan finals.

Outside of the school, many students continue to pursue their passions. The past few weeks have seen many of our students receive esteemed results in Dance Eisteddfods, Swimming, representative sports, and Grandfinals in Netball, Soccer and Football. Well done to all students for striving to do their best in so many ways, and to their parents who support them in their many endeavours. Parents play such an essential role in the success of our students, and we thank you for your continued support and involvement in your child's education. Your partnership with the school is invaluable, and together we can create a nurturing and thriving educational community. 

I extend my heartfelt appreciation to our dedicated staff members who have worked tirelessly throughout this term to provide an enriching and supportive learning environment for all. Their passion for education and commitment to our students is truly commendable. 

We look forward to welcoming Lindy back next term after a short break. We know that she will continue to lead the school with the compassion, commitment and integrity that we have grown accustomed to. As Acting Principal for the past few weeks, I thank you once again for your continued support and dedication to our school community. I wish you all a restful and rejuvenating break. I look forward to seeing everyone back for the start of the new term on Tuesday 10 October.

Blessings to you all,
Julie Valentini                                                                                                  

We invite you and your family to join us for our whole school performance tonight, Thursday 21 September at 5.30pm in the school hall and again tomorrow for Grandparents day (on Friday 22 September) at 10.00am.

On Sunday 10 September, Jack T was baptised at our beautiful little Church on the hill. He was surrounded by all the people who love him and his sister Evie, played a significant role in supporting him, by helping Fr Michael with various jobs throughout the service. Congratulations Jack!

A reminder that compulsory summer uniform will commence at the beginning of Term 4.

On Monday, 18 September, a group of students went on an excursion to Bundanon Art Museum, on the Shoalhaven River. This excursion was made possible due to the kind donation from the Milton Ulladulla Apex Club.

Bundanon was the property of Australian artist Arthur Boyd and is situated on the Shoalhaven River. The Boyd family have bequeathed the property to the nation to become a centre for art and learning.  

Students enjoyed viewing the exhibition The Polyphonic Sea and participating in an art experience in which they observed and listened using their senses. Following this they participated in a wax and ink workshop in which they created art as an interpretation of the landscape.

Mrs McGregor
Visual Arts Teacher 

Year 4 were lucky to have guest author and baker Anneka Manning visit our classroom and help us celebrate our whole class reward in Week 9.  Anneka is the creator of the face-to-face and online baking school, Bakeclub. A warm and generous communicator and educator, she has worked as an author, food editor, consultant, teacher, and publisher on magazines, newspapers and books, including Gourmet Traveller, good taste and The Australian Women’s Weekly. Her books include BakeClass and Mastering the Art of Baking. Anneka spoke to the class about the book that inspired her at the age of 8 and all the fantastic things she gets to do in her job as a food writer and baker.

The day started with Year 4 making Mrs C’s Sunrise Smoothies during munch & crunch. The students wizzed the Banana and Berry Smoothies in the blender and then drank them out of their edible cups!

After the break Mrs Manning visited the classroom for an author talk. Year 4 had a lot of interesting questions for our visitor. The students then baked Oat & Honey Cookies.

Mrs Robinson then cooked with a group that prepared Rice Paper Rolls for the rest of the class. At the end of the day the whole class had the chance to enjoy the food that had been prepared.

020_Honey_Oat_Biscuits_MMAB_final.pdf

020_Honey_Oat_Biscuits_MMAB_final _pdf 63.73 KB

Y4CookingArtwork.pdf

Y4CookingArtwork _pdf 1.74 MB

Recount - Berry Sport and Recreation Camp 
by Imogen H

Last week Year 5 and Year 6 went to camp in Berry. We all were split into different cabins with groups of up to 3 - 7 people. Both girls and boys had their own living room area. We were all REALLY excited!!

Here’s what we did on the first day. Once we got off the bus St Mary’s got split into two groups, the Wombats and the Water Dragons. My group was the Water Dragons. ROAR! My group started with raft building, so we rushed to get changed! Our group was now in little teams so we could make multiple rafts to put on the lake. Most of us failed though… but we sure had a SPLASH!!

After that we got changed, had dinner and went to the night show.

Day Two went like this. The Water Dragons went to make damper. Mine was a nice golden colour. Then we filled it with golden syrup. Yummm. It was good. After lunch it was Rogaining. Rogaining was where we went around the camp using a map and finding flags which had numbers on them. The flags were worth different points. The aim of this was to try and get the most points. We were split into groups of four or six for this activity. The rules were that you weren't allowed to split up and you HAD to stay on camp grounds. When you heard a honk, you had to go to the lake. My group didn't win but it sure was fun!  

Next it was Archery, we used actual arrows which were sharp! We had fun. Mr Harding even got a bullseye! But I was at the best out of my group. Finally Day Two was over.

The final day was here! This is what we did. Both groups were doing water activities. The Wombats were building rafts and as Water Dragons we were kayaking. We first put on life jackets, then learned how to paddle. We got with a partner and set off down stream. When we got to the end we had a fruit break. Then we went back to shore. We put the Kayaks back, took off our life jackets and went to a little garden area. We collected a stick and a rock and a leaf. We all sat down in a circle and shared three things about camp. When we held up the stick we would say something that would stick with us. The rock was something that ROCKED about camp and the leaf was something we would leave behind us. After this we said our goodbyes and left.

Camp was an exciting event that I will probably remember for life! It was fascinating and mind boggling that these activities are still being used today and also that the camp use to be an orphanage, or was it a boarding school? I have so many activities that I want to do again!

Thank you Berry Sport and Recreation for having us.

Did you enjoy the Lunch Time Launch it? Would you like to continue learning Golf?

The Mollymook Golf Club run clinics on Tuesday afternoons from 4pm-5pm at their Hilltop course for all levels of players.

The cost of the clinic is $100 per term, the club accepts Active kids vouchers.

The Club can provide equipment for those players who do not have equipment.

To register for the term 4 program please phone the Mollymook Golf Club on 4455 1911.