Filter Content
- Principal's Report
- Proactive Testing of Mulched Areas
- PB4L Celebration Corner
- Birthday Wishes
- Diary Dates
- Lent
- Welcome Baby Louis Peter Cerff
- P&F News
- Shrove Tuesday - Year 1
- NAPLAN Information
- Year 2 News
- Mini Vinnies Cake Stall
- Stage Two News
- Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden
- From the Office
- Community Notices
Dear Parents and Carers
Last week we commemorated Ash Wednesday in the Parish church. This day signifies the liturgical season of Lent. Lent represents the 40 days and nights that Jesus went out by himself and fasted in the desert. This is a time of preparation of our minds and hearts, ready for the Easter Season. Traditionally as Catholics, when we journey with Jesus during Lent, we are encouraged to Fast, Pray, and Give. Pope Francis urges us to fast from the ‘Culture of indifference’, a culture that doesn’t care that fellow humans are in desperate need. Countless people struggle every day to find sufficient food, clean water, decent shelter, adequate clothing, and medical care. Lent is an opportunity to learn how fortunate we are and that it is our opportunity to give to others. Each class has a Project Compassion Box, classes can contribute to this collection to help those in need. These are important life lessons in compassion for our students.
Thanks to all the parents and carers who visited the school on Tuesday for the Parent Information and Open Classrooms afternoon. We had many families present to meet their child’s teacher and familiarise themselves with the new classroom. I thank the teachers for their sense of welcome extended to our community on Tuesday. We hope you found the Parent Information Session informative and helpful.
Stage Two had a great first day in the Kitchen Garden on Tuesday. This was a wonderful opportunity to work in the school garden and to prepare and cook nutritious and delicious food in the School Kitchen. Flatbread and Pesto were being eagerly tasted by the budding chefs. We are so fortunate to have our Kitchen Garden Team returning in 2024 including Anneliese Robinson, Anna Sim, and Jodi Donnelly. This venture would not be possible without their generous time and energy.
Next weekend is the Annual Milton Show, our K-2 students have been busily preparing banners for the pavilion. Students can be picked up early on Friday by parents to take part in the Grand Parade at the showground. This year our P&F will be holding a stall, we ask you to help out, by signing up for a shift on one of the three days. Thanks to Melissa Gibson and Sophie Costello for organising this effort for our school community.
On Monday 4 March at 5.30 pm we will be holding the AGM for the P&F Association. This is a great place to get to know other parents in the school as well as contribute to our wider school community. Please come and lend a hand!
I look forward to seeing you at school,
Yours in partnership
Lindy Nelson
You may be aware of recent media reports regarding health concerns related to asbestos contaminated mulch found at a number of playgrounds and schools across Greater Sydney.
To ensure that mulched areas of our grounds are safe, we have undertaken an audit of our landscape suppliers. This audit found NO record of any mulch being supplied to our school by companies connected to the contaminated mulch.
The Catholic Education Office has also arranged for proactive testing of mulched areas across all Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong schools and parishes, to provide families with greater assurance. This testing is precautionary only.
It is important to state again that after completing our audit, there is no reason to expect that any of the mulched areas on our grounds will be contaminated. Regardless, the safety of students, families and staff is always our highest priority, and given the serious nature of this situation we are choosing to take a cautious approach.
We will provide you with an update when the results of the testing are available.
Principal Awards
Steven K, Fleur C, Madeleine G
Class Merit Awards
Kindergarten: April E, Savannah G
Year 2: Evie R, Hugh G
Stage 2C: Isla P, Oliver B
Stage 2P: Clay C, Evie T
Library Merit Awards
Alexandra L, Fleur C, Jemima C, Daisy D
We Care for Ourselves Awards
Abel J, Aya S, Parker C, Clifford C, Patrick T, Oscar O, Jasper S, Oliver T
| WEEK 4 | |
| Friday 23 Feb | Assembly (Stage Two), School Hall, 10.00am |
| WEEK 5 | |
| Monday 26 Feb | |
| Tuesday 27 Feb | |
| Wednesday 28 Feb | |
| Thursday 29 Feb | |
| Friday 1 Mar | Milton Show Grand Parade, Showground, 12.00pm Milton Show Weekend |
| Sunday 3 Mar | Family Mass, Parish Church, 5.00pm |
| WEEK 6 | |
| Monday 4 Mar | Dental Visit P&F AGM Meeting, 5.30pm |
| Tuesday 5 Mar | |
| Wednesday 6 Mar | |
| Thursday 7 Mar | AFL Skills Day, Kinder - Year 2, Onsite St John's Year 7 2025 Open Night |
| Friday 8 Mar | Mass, Bishop Brian presiding, Parish Church, 10.00am Assembly (Stage One), School Hall, 2.30pm |
| DATES TO REMEMBER | |
| 13 Mar - 25 Mar | NAPLAN Testing Period |
| Thursday 28 Mar | Holy Week Liturgy, School Hall, 9.30am Easter Hat Parade, School Hall, 12noon |
| Friday 29 Mar | Good Friday, Public Holiday |
| Monday 1 Apr | Easter Monday, Public Holiday |
| Friday 12 Apr | Pupil Free Day, Last Day of Term 1 |
| Monday 29 Apr | Term 2 Commences |
During Lent, God challenges us to be transformed. We are encouraged to think of things we could do to achieve this, for example, have conversations with God, do good deeds and give to Project Compassion. As adults we understand these acts to be FASTING, PRAYER and ALMS GIVING.
During our Lenten season we have wonderful opportunities in our Milton Ulladulla Parish to reflect and pray.
LENT: MILTON PARISH STYLE: Lynne Kelly is leading a Pietà LENTEN REFLECTION GROUP. Embark on a transformative Lenten journey with Pietà, an exquisite book and Triple CD Resource containing short daily reflections (from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday) perfect for individual/group devotional reading in addition to the longer-form Sunday Scripture readings, reflections, prayers, questions and visio divina that traditionally form part of Lenten group gatherings. The group meets each Lenten Wednesday in Milton Church at 2.30pm. Participate in the HOLY WEEK RETREAT AT BENEDICTINE ABBEY JAMBEROO from 25-27 March, including the Chrism Mass in Francis Xavier Cathedral Wollongong. Russell and Pat Williams are leading STATIONS OF THE CROSS DURING LENT on Fridays at 5pm in Holy Family Church from Friday 23 February 2024. Please participate in this beautiful devotional spiritual practice. Participate in Weekday Masses. There will be an ADDITIONAL WEEKDAY PARISH MASS AT MILTON, on Wednesdays at 4 pm followed by a Lenten cuppa. The SECOND RITE OF RECONCILIATION (SoR) will be offered at Ulladulla on Thursday 14 March at 6pm. SoR will also be offered at Ulladulla after Mass every third Thursday of the month. At Sussex Inlet SoR is available after the Vigil Mass on the last Saturday of the month, During Lent this will be 24 March. As usual, SoR is available by appointment. Please avail of the SoR during Lent. “In a world where "there is no shortage of hotbeds of hatred and revenge," Pope Francis told priests and seminarians (14 March 2023) that "we confessors must multiply the 'hotbeds of mercy,'" by making it easy for people to access the sacrament of reconciliation.” Additionally, let’s deepen our PRAYER, FASTING AND ALMSGIVING during Lent. e.g. Lectio Divina with daily Mass readings; healing our planet through eating less meat and being mindful of methane gasses damaging our Earth; volunteering your time, talent, and treasure at the Milton Show where the Milton Parish God Loving Coffee Van and Catholic Condiments Stall will be situated for three days.
We are excited to announce a very special arrival! Welcome to Louis Cerff who was born on Tuesday. Congratulations to the Cerff family!
The P&F has commenced for the school year and we are looking forward to a successful year of supporting the St Mary’s school community. At this time of year, we love to open up the floor for any great fundraiser or activity ideas to be held throughout the year. If you have any ideas or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to bring them up in the meeting or speak to a member of the committee to bring up on your behalf.
We are always on the lookout for some enthusiastic parents or members of the community to offer their skills in whatever capacity they are able - whether that be helping to organise a fundraiser, volunteering in the canteen, rustling up gifts from local businesses for raffles or even taking a role on the committee. Being involved with the P&F is a great way to get to know members of the school community, and to find out what is happening and have a say on aspects of school life.
Meetings are generally held on the first Monday of the month, from 5.30pm – 6.00pm. Snacks and drinks are provided, and children are welcome with room to play nearby. If you are unable to attend in person, a zoom link is provided so you can also be involved remotely. The next meeting will be the AGM and we would love to see some new faces on the Committee, or in supporting roles within the P&F. The current committee has held the positions for 2 years and would be happy to support any new members to the P&F to find their feet and transition into their new roles.
Mrs Robinson made pancakes with us on Tuesday before Lent. We learnt that people used up all of their rich ingredients to make pancakes before going without during lent. We enjoyed yummy pancakes before we wrote about it. THANK YOU Mrs Robinson!
NAPLAN 2024 parent and carer information
Each year the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is undertaken by students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. Students will participate in tests for writing, reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy.NAPLAN 2024 will take place from Wednesday 13 March to Monday 25 March.
NAPLAN is just one part of our school learning assessment program. The tests assess literacy and numeracy skills your child is already learning at school.
In preparation for NAPLAN, our school will undertake activities to help students become familiar with the format and functionality of the online tests. These activities are not an assessment of student ability and will not be marked. Excessive preparation for NAPLAN is not required nor recommended.
The public demonstration site (https://www.nap.edu.au/online-assessment/public-demonstration-site) is available to see the types of questions, tools and functions used in the NAPLAN tests.
Further information about NAPLAN is available on the NESA website (https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/k-10/understanding-the-curriculum/naplan/parent-information).
If you have any questions about NAPLAN, please contact your child’s teacher.
It has been a busy two weeks in Stage Two. Pancake making, Indigenous Culture with Uncle Phil and Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program.
Shrove Tuesday - Pancakes
Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden
Our front gate is for Kiss & Drop only, there is no parking between 8.00am-9.30am and 2.30pm-4.00pm. Please remain with your vehicle within this zone. Drop and drive off in a safe and timely manner so others can do the same and please avoid getting caught up chatting with others. We welcome you to come into the school, please park at the end of Corks Lane.
Lunch Meal Deals:
All orders must be provided with the correct money (cash only) in a clearly labelled envelope/paper bag/zip lock bag with your child’s name, class and the order details on it. Unfortunately, we do not supply lunch bags.
Labelling uniforms:
We already have uniform items coming up to the office with no name on them. Please label all items of clothing and lunch boxes, drink bottles etc so we can ensure your child’s items are returned to them.
Some of our parents used this wonderful site, plus there are many more available.
https://www.brightstarkids.com.au/name-labels
If your child needs some help with what bus to take, they have great bus tags for backpacks.
Uniforms:
> A Flash Sale will be on offer during term 1 as we still have several brand-new (limited sizes) items available that will be heavily discounted. Keep an eye on Compass for sale date and times.
> If you would like your child to try on uniforms prior to placing an order with Lowes, please call the office to make an appointment.
> Pre-Loved – We are happy to take your pre-loved uniforms, however, please ensure they are stain-free, no rips and are in very good condition.
NEWSFLASH! All St Mary's uniforms are now avaialbe from the Lowes store in Nowra.
SCHOOL HATS $15 AVAILABLE AT THE SCHOOL OFFICE
School fees for 2024 have now been invoiced and statements issued. You may also view your school fee account in the Compass Parent Portal. Please note that if you have instalments, they will only be visible on your school fee statement and not in the Parent Portal.
Please note the following:
- The invoicing of school fees and the distribution of school fee statements each month, is now a function carried out by the Catholic Education Office.
- Payment of fees, whether as an annual payment or payment by instalments is due on the date/s provided on your school fee statement.
- If an amendment is made to your school fee account eg your child changes subjects in a secondary school, you will be emailed a statement which will provide a new schedule of payments and due dates. Please review this schedule to make any changes to your payments that are necessary.
Reminders for Late Payments:
SMS and email reminders are automatically generated by our accounting software based on the number of days a payment is overdue and are distributed by the Catholic Education Office. For those families that may have difficulty in paying their school fees, these reminders may cause some distress. This is not our intention. Our intention is to support the collection of school fee accounts centrally and in so doing, alleviate some of the administrative work of our schools.School Fee Account Enquiries:
Please note, despite the centralisation of various functions, your school/s will always be your point of contact for matters pertaining to fees. If you wish to discuss your school fee account, please contact your school office. The role of the Catholic Education Office is to action centralised tasks on behalf of schools.If you wish to pay by Instalments:
Many families have already elected to pay their school fees by instalments. If you wish to avail yourself of this option please complete a Request to Pay by Instalment Form which is available on your school’s website or at your school’s office. On completion of the request either email it to instalments@dow.catholic.edu.au or submit at your school’s office. Following receipt of the request, instalments will be generated on your account and a schedule of payments and due dates will be provided on your next school fee statement. Please note it is only necessary to complete this form once during the period of child/children’s enrolment unless you wish to amend your payment frequency.Difficulty with Payment:
If you are experiencing financial difficulty, we encourage you to contact the school in which your child/children are enrolled to discuss an arrangement that will assist you meet your commitments. This may include the completion of a Diocesan Application for Fee Concession which is available from the administration office of each school. Be reassured that your situation will be treated with strict confidentiality and respect for your circumstances. If you wish to submit an application, please do so at your child’s school. Please note, if you have children in more than one school, it will only be necessary to submit one application.For those families that received a Fee Concession in 2023, you will receive an email prior to your annual review date attaching a further Application for Fee Concession. You may also initiate an earlier review if you wish to do so by contacting your school office.
For further information regarding school fees, please access the Diocesan School Fee ManagementPolicy and Frequently Asked Questions which is available on your school’s website.
