Issue #8 24th May 2023

Principal's Update

Feast Day of Mary, Help of Christians

Today, May 24th, is the Feast Day of Mary, Help of Christians – Patroness of Australia. The day has an interesting history. Pope Pius VII established the feast in honour of Our Lady Help of Christians in 1815. After being imprisoned by Napoleon Bonaparte, he established the feast in thanksgiving for his release. At that time in Australia, there were no Catholic priests and therefore no Mass available. Catholics recited and relied on the Rosary to sustain the community. In 1844, Australia became the first country in the world to have Mary Help of Christians as Patroness.   

Mary is known by many titles, and in 2014, our St Mary’s Catholic School adopted this day as our school’s Feast Day.  As a school, we will hold a fun day full of activities this Friday 26th May. Mass will be held at 9.15am (parents, you are welcome to join us for this part of the day), followed by activities for the children in classes and on the oval. A free BBQ lunch will be provided by our PIP Team for all students. We will also hold our annual Teacher vs Year 6 game.  

Parents, if you are able to assist with the bbq, we would appreciate any help. Please use the Team Helper Sign Up Link ‘Feast Day BBQ’ https://signup.com/go/frLfGiN  

A reminder, there will be no lunch orders available this Friday.

National Simultaneous Storytime 

Today is National Simultaneous Storytime. Children across the school (and Australia) will stop this morning and read ‘The Speedy Sloth’ by Rebecca Young. 

National Sorry Day and Reconciliation Week 

This Friday is National Sorry Day and Reconciliation Week begins this Saturday 27th. We will come together next Tuesday 30th at 1.50pm to hold a short Liturgy organised by Miss Jorja Poulton our Aboriginal Education Teacher, to acknowledge and reflect on the past. Parents are welcome to join us. 

Kinder 2024 Enrolments 

Our enrolment interviews began this week and will continue over the coming weeks. We have had a great response and positions are filling fast. If you have a child who is to begin Kinder next year (or know someone who does), please submit your enrolment form as soon as possible (before the end of May) to avoid disappointment. 

Time Capsule 

The 25 year old school time capsule is set to be opened! On Thursday 22nd June at 1.50pm, we will be opening up the time capsule as a whole school. What treasures will be inside?! Parents are welcome to join us for this special occasion. Later in the year, we will create and seal our own capsule, to be opened in many years time. 

First Eucharist

Please keep the children who are preparing to receive the Sacrament of First Eucharist in your prayers. They make this Sacrament on June 17th and 18th.  

Winter Appeal 

Our Winter Appeal has begun! If you have clothes, blankets or other warm used (but still in good condition) items, please send them in with your child over the next few weeks. Our Mini Vinnies Team will be donating these for local distribution.  

School Reports and Parent/Teacher Meetings  

Semester 1 School Reports will go home (via Compass) on Friday 16th June. During the week of Monday 19th June, our teachers will hold meetings with parents to discuss your child's effort and learning. Please book a time to meet with your child's teacher through Compass.

Concert 

All students have now been informed if they are in ‘Performance Group Green’ or ‘Performance Group Gold’ for our school concert. Performance Group Green will perform their two shows on Tuesday 5th September (an afternoon show and an evening show). Performance Group Gold will perform their two shows on Wednesday 6th September (an afternoon show and an evening show). The concert will be held at The Art House, Wyong. Grades are beginning rehearsals now. If you can offer any assistance, please let your child’s teacher know. 

COVID 

Now that Winter is upon us and illnesses increase, please only send your child to school if they are well. If your child has a temperature, sore throat, headache or other flu-like symptoms, they must stay home. Only attend school when symptom-free, this keeps everyone safe and stops the spread of germs. Our school continues to keep up with the COVID Smart Measures. If your child tests positive for COVID, please contact the school so that we can notify the school community. People exposed to COVID-19 should follow NSW Health guidance and test to identify the infection early even if they are not experiencing any symptoms.

Canberra

Year 6 are excited to be heading to Canberra in just a few weeks (June 7th-9th). It is a wonderful two night experience for our leaders. We hope you've packed some warm clothes!

50th Anniversary Dinner and Dance 

The Parent Team and our Marketing Officer, Brooke, will send out details for the 50th Anniversary Dinner and Dance in the coming weeks. Our 50th Anniversary dinner and dance that was set for later this month has been moved to Term 4. 

Thoughts and Prayers

Please keep the Pirtle-Condon (Luke, 5 Green) and Deane (James, 1 Gold) family in your thoughts and prayers, and also the Callaghan (Willow 4 Blue, Tilly 1 Green) and Tite family (Ella 4 Green, Finlay 1 Gold). Luke and James' grandfather and Willow, Tilly, Ella and Finlay's grandfather have both recently passed away. May your treasured memories help your family through this difficult time.

REC

Feast Day

This Friday we will celebrate our school's Feast Day and acknowledge our 50 Years as a school community. We will begin the day with mass at 9.15am. We would love to see as many parents, grandparents and parishoners there to celebrate with us. 

First Eucharist

Please keep our Year 4 students and some Year 5 and 6 students in your prayers. They are preparing for the sacrament of Communion. 

Sacred Space 2 Green and 2 Blue

Thank you to 2 Green and 2 Blue for sharing their learnings about Mary, Jesus' mother and the importance of our mums and the significant women in our lives. This was a wonderful reflection before we celebrated Mother's Day.

Sacred Space Upcoming Dates

Each fortnight we have one or two classes leading our school in a Sacred Space item. This is held at 1.50pm in the Undercroft. Please note the upcoming dates:

Thursday June 1st - 4 Green and 4 Gold

Thursday June 15th - 1 Green and 1 Blue

Thursday June 22nd - Opening the Time Capsule

Thursday June 29th - Kinder Green and Kinder Gold

Mother's Day Liturgy

Thank you to all the mothers, grandmothers and significant women in our children's lives who attended our Mother's Day Liturgy. Our church was overflowing with people and the love and gratitude in the church was amazing. If you missed the Mother's Day Reflection, head over to our Facebook page and check it out. Year 1 did an amazing job leading our liturgy. Thank you to the teachers for preparing them so well.

Mini Vinnies - Winter Appeal

We continue to collect preloved warm clothes and blankets for our Mini Vinnies Winter Appeal. If you have any clothes or blankets that you no longer please send them into school. We will donate these to St Vincent DePaul during our Sacred Heart Mass in Week 8.

Sacred Space 5 Gold

Thank you to 5 Gold who lead us through their learning last Thursday. We loved hearing about the work of Mary MacKillop during the 1800's and all the work she did to ensure all children received an education. It was wonderful to hear how she helped build the Catholic Church in Australia.

Uniform Shop News

Please ask your children to check lost property for any items that may be theirs. A friendly reminder to please put your child's name on their fleece jumpers, parkas, lunch/snack containers and drink bottles. If you have purchased/been given secondhand items, please remember to replace the previous owner's name with your child's, so if the item is misplaced,we can try and  re-direct it back to the correct owner. Many Thanks.

Sports News

Broken Bay Cross Country Championships - What a glorious day yesterday at Fagan Park with perfect conditions for the Cross Country Championships.

Special mention to Leo and Flynn who came  7^th and 6^th and are off to the Polding Trials at the Equestrian Centre to race against the best Cross Country runners from Northern NSW. Good Luck Boys!

Merit and Star Awards