Dear Parents and Carers

This week we celebrated the feast of All Saints and All Souls, in our Catholic tradition these days are a special day of prayer and remembrance for the great people who have made a difference in the lives of many. At the liturgy on Wednesday, we celebrated and remembered people who have died. Some famous and written about in books and movies, some known only to those that were close enough to recognise the holiness of a life lived simply with great love and kindness. It reminds me that we need to make everyday a day lived to the full with gratitude. 

This is the season of change in schools, this week we have had our second Orientation session for our new 2024 Kindergarten students. They have settled into big school so well under the careful guidance of Mrs Jodie Lee and Mrs Karynne Treweek welcoming and guiding these children and parents with such care and expertise. Our Year 6’s are beginning their orientation to High School, which brings  excitement and sadness in equal measures. We will keep them all in our thoughts and prayers. 

You will have received an invitation to the Official Blessing and Opening of the Outdoor Learning and Healing Space, we are hoping all of our families can join us on Thursday 16 November at 9.30am. This is a great celebration for our school community with this project transforming our playground after the great grief associated with the devastating fires of 2019. We were so fortunate to receive a Black Summer Federal Government Grant, combined with the hard work of our P&F, and generous donations from the broader community, we have a beautiful space that has transformed our learning environment. On the day of the opening we will have Bishop Brian Mascord, Peter Hill -Director of Schools CEDoW as well as lots of the people in our community who have made this project possible. This event will be catered by our wonderful and talented Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Team under the careful eye of Jodi Donnelly in the kitchen. Please join us on the day. 

One of the features of our Playground is the beautiful story poles telling the local story of ‘Balgan’ more commonly known as Pigeon House Mountain. We have been so blessed to have Uncle Phil Butler telling this precious story in a video filmed by Jamie Lepre (Lily’s dad). This story will stay with the poles into the future through a QR code. You can preview this video starring some of our Year 3 students on the St Mary’s School Website.  Enormous thanks to Uncle Phil and Jamie for ensuring this story stays with the poles for future generations in our community. 

Please join us for our first Working Bee in a long time at St Mary’s being held on Saturday 11 November. This is to prepare our grounds for the Opening and Blessing, many hands make light work. We need your help!

Have a lovely weekend,
Yours in partnership
Lindy Nelson                                                                                         

In preparation for the Opening and Blessing of our new playground, we are inviting parents and carers to our Working Bee next 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.

Our Year 5 students led the school prayerfully in a liturgy observing the importance of All Saints Day on Wednesday 1 November.

Year 1 students were very excited recently when Mrs Chard entered their classroom with two big tubs full of sticks, string, leaves and collected objects from outside!

The wild windy day kept the class inside, where students made the most of the natural materials to create a ‘Story Map’. A Story Map is a physical representation of their story (often a narrative or a recount) and once it is built students then tell their story orally using the map they have built.

This task is a very creative and tactile way of helping young story writers plan and tell a story with a beginning, a middle and an end. Using the natural materials helps students remember their story and tell it in order, as well as engaging the audience with a visual!

We’re thrilled to announce that we have received a 2023 Woolworths Junior Landcare Grant for our project, planting an Indigenous garden.

Our students will be involved in exploring a sensory garden of local Indigenous plants and listening to the stories of Uncle Phil Butler.

St Mary’s is one of 1,107 primary schools and early learning centres across Australia to receive a Woolworths Junior Landcare grant to help grow our next generation of environmental champions.

We are looking forward to getting their hands dirty and learning from this project – we’ll keep you updated!

 Click on the Woolworths Junior Landcare Grant map to read more about our project and others*.

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.