Newsletter 2025 Term 3 Week 5

PRINCIPAL NEWS - Mr Peter Hughes

On September 2nd, the new Director of Catholic Education for the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn, David de Carvalho, will be spending the day at St Mary’s School meeting with students, staff, Fr Jiss and members of the Community Council. At 11am we have scheduled morning tea in the hall and I invite any parent who may be interested in meeting with David to come along. For catering purposes please let the front office know.

David has been in the role for two months and takes on his role of director following a highly successful career in the education sector. The following passage from the announcement of his appointment gives an idea of his experience and expertise.

Prior to his current appointment David was the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Theology, Philosophy and Education at the University of Notre Dame Australia. He has held the positions of Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA); Chief Executive Officer, NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) and Chief Executive Officer of the National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC). In these roles he has shaped the national educational landscape in terms of the National Curriculum, modernisation of the NAPLAN assessment, reform of the NSW Higher School Certificate and, more recently, the development of new Initial Teacher Education programs, including in Early Childhood Education.

What this passage fails to say is that David began his career as a mathematics teacher in Victoria. In the early 2000’s David was chair of the School Board at St Thomas the Apostle in Canberra where I was the school principal, so the connection goes back a long way.

In a sign of his desire to get to know the schools and school communities he has begun to visit all schools in our Archdiocese commencing with schools situated in rural NSW. His first visit was to St Francis Xavier at Lake Cargelligo. We look forward to welcoming David to St Mary’s.

Parent/Teacher/student meetings

A reminder that these are scheduled for next Wednesday afternoon/evening. Parents were sent a booking sheet on Compass. As I pointed out last week these are important opportunities and as school principal I would love all families to attend.

If for any reason you are unable to meet with your child’s teacher next Wednesday please contact the teacher and make an appointment for another suitable time.

Families with children in Year 1/ 2 Blue will have received an email from Ms Murray informing parents she was now unable to meet families on Wednesday. If you did not receive this notification please contact Ms Murray to make arrangements to meet at another time.

Reading Challenge

The reading challenge for term three concludes today. Could the reading logs for students from Years 3 to Year 6, that have accepted the challenge and read for at least 19 of the 20 nights, return their log to school on Monday. These students will go into the draw for a $50 gift voucher kindly donated by Slate. For students in Kindergarten to Year Two we will gather this information from the classroom teacher. All students that complete the challenge will have lunch provided by Mr Hughes on Monday 1st September.

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Next week I will be absent from school as I will be attending a conference on building thinking classrooms in Mathematics.

AP NEWS - Mrs Katie Thompson

Bullying No Way Week at St Mary’s

Staff and students had many valuable conversations last week. These conversations were turned into a massive chain of UNITY. Each link in the chain was a message from a student about how they would call out or stop bullying at St Mary’s. The chain now hangs in the hall to remind us all of ST.MARY’S COMMITMENT TO STOP BULLYING and THAT EVERYONE PLAYS A ROLE. The COLLECTIVE ACTION MAKES A DIFFERENCE AND ENCOURAGES ACCOUNTABILITY.                   Well done St. Mary’s.

We encourage parents and carers to always keep the conversation going and if your child tells you about things at school, or you observe something in public that involves conflict or bullying, take the opportunity to talk about what bullying is. You can learn more about what defines bullying at bullyingnoway.gov.au.

Questions you could ask:

• What do you think bullying is?
• Have you seen it? How did you feel?
• Have you ever felt scared at school because of bullying?
• As well as me, who are the other adults you would talk to when it comes to things like bullying?
• Have you or your friends left other kids out on purpose? Do you think that was bullying? Why or why not?
• Have you ever tried to help someone who is being bullied? What happened? What would you do if it happens again?

Remind your child that bullying is never okay and discuss how they can respond safely if they experience or witness it. Encourage them to seek help from a trusted adult and keep seeking support if needed. By promoting open communication, we empower children to stand up against bullying and create a safer environment where everyone can feel that they belong.     

Attendance Matters

School Attendance is critical to your child’s success at school. Unnecessary absences or lateness can have an impact on your child’s learning and wellbeing. The impacts can affect their academic success, social skills, routines and discipline, and future opportunities. 

Parents can play a significant role in encouraging their children’s attendance such as:

• establishing routines like setting a consistent bedtime and morning routines to ensure children get enough sleep and are ready for school on time.
• Communicate the importance of being at school by talking to your child about why attending school is important for their learning and future.
• stay involved and show interest in their school activities, attend parent-teacher meetings and keep track of their progress.
• Help create a positive experience of school by celebrating growth and achievements and providing support when they face challenges.
• address issues promptly if your child is facing any difficulties at school, such as bullying or academic struggles, so they can be dealt with quickly to prevent absenteeism.
• set a good example by demonstrating the importance of commitment and responsibility through your own actions.

By implementing these strategies, parents can help their children develop a positive attitude towards school and improve their attendance. 😊

Safe on Social: Kirra Pendergast

AI Algorithms and What You See Online - Student Cheatsheet

Do you ever wonder why your TikTok or YouTube feed seems to know exactly what you like? That’s because of AI algorithms which is a type of artificial intelligence that curates the content you see online. These algorithms are trained on your activity, such as what you watch, like, or share, to predict what you’ll want to see next. While this can make your online experience more enjoyable, it’s important to understand how these algorithms work, how they influence you, and why it’s essential to think critically about the content you consume. 

RE NEWS - Ms Jillian Murray

Sacrament of Confirmation 

Congratulations to all our Year 5/6 students who made their Sacrament of Confirmation last Saturday evening at our parish mass. It was a lovely celebration and wonderful to see families, friends and teachers supporting our students as they made their sacrament together.

SPORTS NEWS - Mrs Leonne Challen

Boorowa Touch & Netball Carnival

We have entered 8 touch teams and 3 netball teams this year. We are looking forward to a fantastic day coming up in Term 4. The draft teams list can be found below. I have added team managers - if you are no longer available to help or would like to add your name to help us out with a team please let me know. We will have Hennessy students assisting as refs/umpires and we are grateful to Mr Brendan Croese for assisting with this. The carnival rules, codes of conduct and the teams list have been uploaded to the Compass event. Please check the event on Compass regularly as I will continue to upload information as it becomes available.

Archdiocesan Athletics Carnival

A big well done to our athletes that competed yesterday in the Archdiocesan Athletics Carnival at the AIS. 

Congratulations to Henry Aiken who was named Senior Boys Age Champion Runner Up - a terrific achievement!!

Well done to the following students:

Henry Aiken - 1st Snr High Jump, 1st 12yrs 100m, 2nd Snr 200m

Rose Butt - 5th 11 yrs Shot Put

Henry Maloney - 3rd Jnr Long Jump & 5th Jnr Shot Put

Oscar McRae - 6th Snr Shot Put

Marlie Oakley - 10th 12yrs 100m

Nina Robinson - 5th 9yrs 100m

Layla Stinson - 5th Snr Long Jump

Senior Girls Relay - Layla Stinson, Eden Sibanda, Ruby Edwards & Marlie Oakley - 6th place

NATIONAL SCIENCE WEEK

KKW

During National Science Week, KKW were learning about how Living Things move. We have learnt that in order for a human to move they need a brain, muscles and their bones to support movements. We have been  investigating how different animals move and we have discovered that some animals can move in a number of different ways. We even learnt that a kangaroo can swim. 

In our photos, we are acting out how our favourite animals move.

 In our group photo, we got to choose an animal from the Farm Animal container and we got to explain to the class how our animal moves.

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After an anxious wait the grass for our houses are beginning to sprout!! We are very excited and will continue monitoring the ‘growth code’ and let you know what we find out!

5/6 W

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As part of National Science Week, our Year 5/6 White students took part in a series of hands-on experiments exploring the fascinating reactions of different everyday items. The classroom was filled with excitement and curiosity as students made predictions, observed surprising results, and discussed the “why” behind each reaction. These activities not only provided plenty of fun but also encouraged teamwork, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills. It was a fantastic opportunity for our students to see science come alive right in front of them!

5/6 G

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To celebrate National Science Week, 5/6 Gold became budding scientists, exploring a range of fascinating chemical reactions. What started as hands-on experiments quickly grew into challenges that tested not only our scientific thinking but also our creativity and competitive spirit. The students had a fantastic time discovering how science can be both exciting and imaginative, while showing that the possibilities really are endless!

LIBRARY NEWS- Mrs Sarah Sullivan

BOOK WEEK IS NEARLY HERE!

We’re going on a….Character Hunt!
Keep an eye out for some famous book characters on the playground in Week 7! (at Lunchtime!)
Find the character with your stage level printed on it e.g. K/1/2, 3/4 or 5/6 and bring it to the library to Mrs Sullivan for a prize!

CANTEEN NEWS - Mrs Jennifer Harden