Dear Parents and Carers

It has been wonderful to return to St Mary’s this term, it brings me such joy to see our students bounding into the playground to start the term. I would like to thank Julie Valentini, Carolyn Rutkowski and Karen Richards for their support whilst I took leave. We are so fortunate to have people of this calibre to pick up the baton in such a professional manner.

Today we are celebrating our Feast day,  St Mary Star of the Sea or ‘Stella Maris’. This particular image of Mary our Mother Mary, Star of the Sea, has been a beloved title for those who make a living by or on the sea, as she is the calmer of storms and a guiding light. Before the time of GPS technology, sailors solely relied on key stars to help them navigate where they were going. During the Middle Ages, the North Star actually went by the name “Stella Maris”. Sailors can always rely on the North Star to lead them, as it remains fixed in the same location throughout the night. Similarly, Mary our mother watches over us and supports and guides us.  We celebrated our Feast Day with a liturgy, a Mini Vinnies Market and throughout the day, singing workshops with the wonderful Andrew Chinn. We hope you enjoyed our special concert at 2.20pm in the hall. It is was a wonderful day.

We are currently advertising for a Religious Education Coordinator position for 2024, this position has been made vacant by the resignation of Mrs Gabrielle Peters from this leadership role. Mrs Peters has been an integral part of our school and parish community, leading with such dedication and integrity in faith development. We can't thank Mrs Peters enough for all her hard work in the REC role. Mrs Peters will step into a fulltime teaching role for 2024, we are so fortunate that Mrs Peters will remain on our staff at St Mary’s. 

We invite you to join us on Thursday 16 November 2023 for the official opening of our new Playground. The playground was funded through a number of generous donations from our community and our P&F over several years, but most significantly we were the beneficiaries of a Black Summer Bushfire Federal Government Grant.  Starting at 9.30am, this will be a significant event in the life of our St Mary’s school with many visitors sharing the morning with us. Our Kitchen Garden team will be catering on the day, and our indigenous team will be performing a welcome song and dance. 

There will be a working bee on Saturday 11 November to ensure our school is looking at it’s best for the Opening later in the week. If you can spare some time between 9.00am-12.00pm, we would love your help. 

I look forward to seeing you around our school,

Yours in partnership
Lindy Nelson                                                                                         

Payment of School Fees by Instalment

Existing Families in our school WITH Instalments

If you are currently paying by instalments there is no need to complete another Request to Pay by Instalment as your request carries over from year to year unless you wish to amend the frequency of your payments eg Weekly to Fortnightly

Existing Famlies in our school WITHOUT Instalments

If you would like to pay school fees by instalments in 2024 and have previously not taken up this option for payment, please complete a Request to Pay by Instalment Form which is available on the school’s website or from the school’s administration office. On completion of the request either email it to instalments@dow.catholic.edu.au or submit at the school office. Following receipt of the request, instalments will be generated on your school fee account during the process of invoicing 2024 school fees. Your school fee statement will provide a list of scheduled payments and their due date depending on the frequency you have chosen eg Fortnightly, Monthly, etc.

IMPORTANT: Please note that if you currently have a child or children at another school in the Diocese and you are paying by instalments at this location, you will not need to complete another Request to Pay by Instalment. The instalment request carries over from school to school with the same frequency of payment eg Weekly, fortnightly, etc.

In preparation for the Opening and Blessing of our new playground, we are inviting parents and carers to our Working Bee on Saturday 11 November 2023.

Jobs required include:
- weeding
- whipper snipping
- gurneying
- mulching

So please bring your hat and gardening tools, shovel, rake, gloves and wheelbarrows.

Your help would be greatly appreciated. Please contact the office if you can attend and help in any way.

Year 1 has been learning about creation in Religious Education this term. We went outside to experience, explore and enjoy God’s creation. We recorded our observations on clipboards and responded to the beauty through Visual Arts. 

In the coming weeks we will explore what it means to be caretakers and act responsibly with creation in ways that give life rather than diminish life.

Take a look at our learning.