Dear Parents and Carers,

As you know, this week has been a combination of very cold days and some warmer ones. Please make sure that your children come to school dressed for the cold and that their clothing is named on the inside. Many students are now wearing the new school jumper but it is definitely not compulsory this year. Some students are wearing their maroon one underneath on very cold mornings. There is an increased level of pride and the students say they are very warm. And perhaps best of all…. so far we have not had any of the new school jumpers ‘dumped’ on the playground. 

Canteen and Working With Children Checks
Thank you to Hayley Van Weerdenburg for taking on the massive job of reopening the school canteen. The students and staff were delighted! Last Friday 176 lunch orders were put through QKR and despite a few minor hiccups, it all went to plan. I understand there has been a bit of confusion with some prices and Hayley is working with QKR to sort it. Some students have been provided with credit from last week. 

Hayley will need help each Friday. I encourage any parents or grandparents who can find the time to volunteer to help out even if it's once a term. You will need to have a Volunteer Working With Children (WWC) prior to commencing though. You can apply online and they do not cost anything for Volunteers.

https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/transaction/apply-working-children-check

Please contact the Front office or email Hayley on hayley.vanweerdenbur@cg.catholic.edu.au for more information. The WWCs need to be kept on file in the Front Office. We would be very grateful for your support. 

Early Years’ Learning - K-2 Investigations 
Every morning, the students in Kinder- Year 2 participate in a variety of stimulating learning activities that are creative and developmentally appropriate. The Investigations are planned so that students of all abilities are learning; challenged to solve problems, work with others and communicate effectively. Developing good oral language skills is key to reading and writing in the early years.   

If you get a chance, take a look at our short video of Early Years’ Learning at St Mary’s. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38lf3Zay6Jc

We are thrilled to be offering a unique program that the students absolutely love. 

Last term, Mrs Schofield piloted a Focus Family Week in her classroom. Each student's family members came into the classroom throughout the week to teach the students about their family. Parents and grandparents have shared and taught the children about their family traditions, aspects of their jobs, arts and crafts, cooking, culture and history. In preparation for our Fair Education Grant report, we have recently asked families to tell us what they think about the program. We have been overwhelmed with the positive feedback received.  

"Our family loved the idea of Focus family week. Not only being able to have interaction on a different level with our son's teacher it also allowed us to meet his classmates as well. We loved that our son got to learn all about how other families live and their differing dynamics. He loved telling us about all the family's stories and who was coming in next. I think it really allowed the children to be able to experience a new level of learning that didn't feel regimented and textbook-like. Overall, such a positive experience and so glad we as a family got to be a part of it!"

Our involvement in the Focus Family Week was so special and meaningful for us as grandparents. The experience enabled us to share some of our passions with the class...music and clay building ...and we felt so honoured to have been able to share these things. The benefits for us were two-way as we could see that the children were engaged, asked thoughtful questions, displayed enjoyment, and participated spontaneously. The biggest joy was to see our granddaughter beam with pride and to also see how she became more confident “in the limelight” as the morning progressed. We feel the Focus Family experience gives all the children and the families a chance of being exposed to the interests, passions, ideas and ways of living of others. We wish we could have come to every family's sharing experience!!! 

Little Investigators
Later this term, we will be having two mornings for Preschool children to come in and join in with some of our current Kinders in their Investigations. Parents of all local children, not only those enrolled for 2023, are welcome to stay and learn about our morning routine. Thursday September 8 and Wednesday September 14 have been set aside as the dates. These mornings DO NOT replace our normal Kinder Orientations planned for November and they are not a compulsory part of transitioning to St Marys. Everyone is invited.

Pupil Free Day 
A reminder that Monday August 22 is a Pupil Free Day at St Mary’s, St Bernards and Carroll College. These extra days were allocated by the Director for schools to catch up staff PL, analysing student data and planning. With so much illness in recent months, most teachers have had an excessive workload and missed their regular planning time. If any parent is unable to find a carer for their child on that day, please send me an email and I will arrange supervision. In many schools, staff are currently unable to provide the extras that we know students (and staff) love. We are so lucky here at St Mary’s to have a staff that continually goes above and beyond. Wednesdays Book Week Parade and Book Swap showed just how dedicated the staff are. Thank you parents for sending in so many books. It was a fabulous idea and one that the whole school community supported. I even grabbed some old Enid Blyton's books to give to Mrs Hampson for Christmas!

Enrolments 2023
We are almost at the time where we decide on the best class structure for 2023. To do that well we need to have definite numbers in each grade. If you know of any parents considering enrolling their children at our beautiful school next year or in future years, please encourage them to contact Cathy Smith or Annette Hazell at the office as soon as possible. We welcome any potential parents to come in and get a feel of our school. It has been very difficult in the last few years, not being able to have parents on site, but we are always trying our best to share.

Please keep an eye on and share our Facebook Page... photos and videos don't lie! As you can see, our children and staff are very happy and everyone is learning.  

Class and Whole School Masses
Finally, we are able to take our students back to parish masses. Whilst parents are still not able to be at school, they are able to attend the Church and parish events. Next Monday is the Feast of the Assumption and as it is a Holy Day of Obligation, the whole school will be attending Mass. Teachers will inform parents when their child’s class mass is on.  

Fair Education
Next Monday, Mrs Gen Schofield and I will be attending the Fair Education Conference in Newcastle. We will be sharing the success of our Early Years’ Learning project and learning about the other schools’ projects on engaging parents and community. We look forward to coming back with new ideas to continually improve what we do here at St Mary’s to make your child's experience at school the best it can be. 

God’s blessings on your families.

Noeleen O'Neill
Principal