St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Toukley eNewsletter

Principal's Update

Open Day - Enrolments are now open!

Yesterday afternoon we began our enrolments for Kinder 2026. Between now and May, I will be conducting interviews with all prospective parents as we prepare our classes for 2026 - we hope to again have three Kinder classes. If you know anyone who is interested in sending their child to St Mary's for Kinder, please ask them to contact the office today. Letters of acceptance are sent out around June, so we encourage applications to be in to the school soon, to ensure that siblings will have a place available to them.

Thank you, fantastic children! I would like to say a HUGE thank you to our amazing students in Year 5 and Year 6. These amazing students volunteered their time yesterday afternoon, leading tours, handing out enrolment packs, interacting with the new students and running activities up until 5pm. They were outstanding representatives of our school and I could not be more proud of them. Well done! We are also blessed with amazing staff who stayed back late to ensure the afternoon ran smoothly. Thank you.

Ash Wednesday Today is Ash Wednesday, which marks the start of Lent, a 40-day period leading up to Easter. It's a day when Catholics reflect on the themes of repentance, self-reflection, and humility. This morning, our students attended Mass to receive ashes on their foreheads as a reminder of how we should be humble, and think about how we can help others. Lent is a chance to make small, good changes in our lives.

Fundraiser Recently we held our fundraiser, and our students were very excited to hear that we raised our $1000 goal. We are in the process of placing orders for new footy/soccer goals for our oval. Thank you to everyone for your contributions.

Catholic Schools Week Last week, our school reflected on our wonderful Catholic School. We are so lucky to share a school community where parents, students, staff and parish work alongside each other, in an inclusive and welcoming environment. Our children love learning, enjoy time with their friends and thrive in our beautiful school. A number of students led a beautiful Sacred Space liturgy on Thursday morning, well done.

Diocesan Staff Mass Tomorrow evening, many of our staff will celebrate Mass at Waitara with staff from across Catholic School Broken Bay. This annual Mass is a time for staff to come together, with our bishop, and nurture our faith. We will also celebrate Miss Sharon Johnson reaching a significant milestone of teaching in Catholic Education for 25 years.

Carpark Safety There are several parents who are still dropping off into the bus bay of a morning or pulling up near the oval to drop off. There are also parents who continue to park in spots that are not designated parking spots in the afternoon for pickup, or who park in the bus bay. While this continues, it increases the risk to our children. Please follow our carpark rules, and park rear to curb in a parking spot to drop off and pick up your children. You will notice that we are currently in the process of remarking our pedestrian crossings in yellow, to increase their visibility and safety of our chidlren.

Cross Country Our school Cross Country will be held in two weeks, Friday 21st March. The morning will be split across two venues: Our School Oval (Kinder and Year 1) and Jenny Dixon Reserve (Years 2-6). Our Cross Country is a compulsory event, children can run or walk the course. Between 9.10am and 9.30am, Kinder and Year 1 will complete a course on our school oval, whilst being cheered on by the rest of the school. At 9.30am, Years 2 - 6 will leave to walk up to Jenny Dixon Reserve, with their races being held between 10.00am and 11.30am.

Please ensure the permission note, on Compass for all Year 2-6 families, is signed as soon as possible. All details about event times, what to bring etc. can be found on the permission note.

NAPLAN Next week, our Year 3 and Year 5 children will sit NAPLAN. NAPLAN is held during a two-week window where the children sit national testing for Writing, Reading, Conventions of Language (Spelling and Grammar and Punctuation) and Numeracy. They will complete one test a day. We wish our students the best of luck during the NAPLAN window of March 12th-24th.

School Counsellors We are blessed to have Verona working as our school counsellor 5 days a week. This year, our team is joined by Caitlin, who will be at school on Thursdays and Fridays. Please talk to your child's teacher if you think they may require some confidential, short-term support.

Updating your Residential Address and Contact Details If you have moved or changed phone numbers, could you please email the office to update your residential address, phone number or emergency contacts.

Students arriving early to school They are still a significant number of students who are arriving to school well before our teaches begin supervision at 8.30am. Children should not be arriving at school before 8.10am, (please utilise OOSH if this is required), as students are unsupervised and there is a rise in students doing the wrong thing and being injured before 8.10am. Thank you for your understanding.

QKR! Please change your child's class and year on Qkr! There are still a number of children who are not receiving their lunch order as the class is incorrect in the parent portal. Please put your lunch orders in early (this can be done days before) to avoid app issues at high-volume times.

Playgroup Soon, our Playgroup for 2025 will begin. They are always wonderful mornings with many smiling faces coming together for some fun activities. Our dates are on our flyer, the first one is in a few weeks, Wednesday 26th March. If you have a child looking to start school next year, we look forward to seeing you there.

Food Wastage We are noticing that some children are throwing away extra food that is uneaten. Please check how much your child is eating (food from home and lunch orders) to ensure no food is wasted.

Parent Charter You will recall our CSBB Parent Charter being distributed last year to all families. I have attached this document again, for all families to read. It outlines the role of parents and staff in the development of our children, and our co-responsibilities. As a guide, please remember to always contact your child's teacher first, to discuss or meet regarding your child and any concerns. In instances where this is not able to be resolved, you can contact the office who will direct your matter to the appropriate leadership team member. Families are reminded to never contact other students or family members. Please download the document here, or take a hard copy from our front office:

CSBB Parent Charter

From our REC

Opening School Mass

Last Friday we held our Opening School Mass. This was a wonderful celebration. Our School Leaders and all Year 6 students pledged their commitment to our school and its values. Our Year 6 students performed a special blessing on their Kindergarten Buddy. This was very moving and brought a tear to many eyes! Thank you to all our parents and grandparents who attended. We know there isn't a lot of spare seats in our Church but we appreciate your understanding and the effort you make to support our students.

Last week we celebrated our Catholic School, St Mary's. Our Sacred Space was a wonderful opportunity to share all the things our students love and value about our school.

Today our Year 5 students led our Ash Wednesday Mass. Thank you to our Year 5 teachers who prepared our students so well. Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent. Lent is the 40 days leading up to Jesus' Death and Resurrection. During Lent, as Catholic we focus on how we can grow and change for the better. This can be done through Prayer, Fasting or Almsgiving (doing things for others without being asked). For the remainder of this term we will be focusing on these three things.

On Monday our Mini Vinnies group shared with our community the theme of Project Compassion in 2025, "Unite Against Poverty." They shared with us the injustice children in Third World Countries face. We can make a difference this Lenten Season when we donate to Project Compassion. We will once again be holding a competition to see which class raises the most money. Stay tuned for what reward the class raising the most money will get.

On Sunday 23rd March at 9am our Year 2 children will be leading Mass. They will be responsible for Reading, the Gospel Procession, the Offertory Procession and singing the Thanksgiving Hymn. Please bring a plate of food to share for morning tea after Mass. This is a great way to catch up with other Year 2 families and to connect with our Parish. Please complete the form to let us know what job your child would like at Mass. https://forms.office.com/r/YJgkpnaZh3

2025_Sunday_Mass_Invitiations.pdf