St Mary's Primary School Young eNewsletter

Next Wednesday we are holding our next Community Council meeting in the staff room at 6pm which all parents are invited to attend. At that meeting we will be discussing some significant changes to how our canteen operates. There are two topics that will be discussed.

The first of these is reducing the days the canteen operates which will see it open on a Tuesday to Friday. Our data shows that Mondays have very few lunch orders with the cost of opening the canteen much greater than the income it generates. While operating a canteen provides a service to families and is not set up to make a profit, it needs to come close to breaking even.

For families that have an emergency and don’t have the capacity to make lunch on a Monday we will have an item such as vegemite scrolls, that we will have frozen, that can be defrosted and heated up by office staff. This will be on the Flexischools app.

The second change is a drastic overhaul of the food available for purchase either for lunch or as a snack. Staff have noticed a surge in the purchase of unhealthy snacks as well as the quantity and frequency of these purchases. Most of our snacks would be classified a ‘red’ under the traffic light system meaning they are unhealthy and should only be served on rare occasions. We will also be looking at how we can make our lunch offering healthier by examining lighter options.

Our initial thoughts are that these ‘red’ items be served as part of a meal deal, for special celebrations such as St Patrick’s Day and at the annual soccer carnival which we run and cater for.

As a school we are putting a lot of time and effort into supporting many students that struggle at school for a variety of reasons. Staff work hard to maintain a calm and settled classroom yet we are providing them with foods that have additives that can heighten their behaviours. In essence we are making it hard for ourselves.

We’re excited to bring more healthy options to our canteen, but we need your help to make it happen! If you have some time to spare, whether it’s once in a while or regularly, we’d love for you to volunteer.

Do you have a simple, healthy snack or meal idea that your kids love? Share it with us! You can also come in and help prepare these treats in the canteen so they can be sold or stored for later.

Every little bit of help makes a big difference! If you’re interested, please reach out to the front office or contact our canteen manager, Mrs Jennifer Harden, at jennifer.vorvis@cg.catholic.edu.au

At the meeting we will be looking at the two publications listed below. You may wish to look at these yourselves.

Guidelines for healthy foods and drinks supplied in school canteens

National Healthy School Canteens - pocket guide

If you are unable to attend the meeting next Wednesday and would like to put forward your thoughts, I encourage you to send me an email that I will present to the Community Council. My email is peter.hughes@cg.catholic.edu.au

Jumpers in the cooler weather

As we enter Autumn and experience the cooler mornings, could parents please be mindful of labeling all jumpers that are brought to school. The students often forget to pick them up and without labels they end up in lost property.

Can you also please be aware that all jumpers must be a part of the uniform, which is the navy woolen jumper with their summer uniform or the royal blue polar fleece jumper with their sports uniform.

Lost property

We have a lost property box in the front office. Any clothing that is not labelled will be placed there. Please ensure that ALL your children's clothing, especially hats, jumpers, drink bottles and lunch boxes are clearly labelled with your child’s name to ensure a safe return to their owner.

Late Students

Just a reminder that our school bell goes at 8.50am. Please make sure that your child or children arrive by then. We understand that from time to time some children are late due to unforeseen circumstances. Being on time for school allows the children to be settled and organised to begin learning in the morning session which is a key learning time. If your child(ren) is late you must come through the front office where they are signed in by our office staff, teaching staff mark the rolls first thing in the day. We thank you for your cooperation.

Online safety with Kirra Pendergast and Safe on Social

Do you ever talk to your child about cyberbullying? Cyberbullying remains one of the most significant challenges in the online world, especially for children navigating social media and digital communication. Read on here for Kirra’s advice about how to navigate this critical conversation with your child.

W7_How_to_Talk_to_Your_Child_About_Cyberbullying.pdf

W7_How_to_Talk_to_Your_Child_About_Cyberbullying _pdf 270.91 KB

PROJECT COMPASSION

SACRAMENTAL PROGRAMMES (Stage 2 & 3):

Important_Information_regarding_Sacraments_in_2025_1_.pdf

Important_Information_regarding_Sacraments_in_2025_1 pdf 100.14 KB

KEY DATES
April 5th or April 6th Mass	Registration forms for all the Sacraments will be handed out DURING MASS on either of the weekend masses
April 10th	Sacramental Registrations & Information Evening
March 5th – April 17th	Season of Lent
April 13th – April 19th	Holy Week
April 19th	Easter Saturday
April 20th	Easter Sunday

Archdiocesan Netball Trials

We wish River Hambilton the very best of luck as she competes for selection in the Canberra-Goulburn Netball Team in Lyneham next Thursday. We hope you have a fantastic day and look forward to hearing about your experience!!

School Cross Country Reminders

Our Cross Country Carnival will be held next Monday 24th March at The Young Golf Course.

* 5, 6, 7 and 8 year olds will run 1 km.

* 9 and 10 year olds will run 2 km.

*11 and 12 year olds will run 3 km.

CHILDREN DO NOT COMPETE IN GRADE GROUPS – THEY COMPETE AS THE AGE THEY ARE TURNING OR HAVE ALREADY TURNED IN 2025 REGARDLESS OF THE GRADE YEAR THEY ARE IN.

Following is the format for the day:

9.30 5/6 year boys

9.45 5/6 year girls

10.00 7/8 year old boys

10.15 7/8 year old girls

10.30 9/10 year old boys

10.50 9/10 year old girls

11.20 11/12/13 year old boys

11.50 11/12/13 year old girls

Approx 12.30 All remaining students will return to school

PLEASE NOTE, THE TIMES ABOVE ARE APPROXIMATE TIMES ONLY. While we do our best to stick to the times given, we may run early or late. All students will be given a sticker with a unique number which will be recorded at the completion of the race to establish placings in their age group. The top 5 in each age group from 9 years to 12/13 years will be selected to run at the Western Region Cross Country in Adelong/Batlow on Wednesday 2nd April.

ALL CHILDREN ARE TO WEAR THEIR SPORTS UNIFORM. They will take their bag to the golf club with their hats, sunscreen, fruit break and a drink. The canteen will operate normally for the day.

Any students with asthma indicated on their medical information must have their puffers in their pockets for the entire race and ensure they’re wearing their asthma band they received from their teacher. Students with asthma will not be permitted to race without their puffer.

Any assistance you can offer on the day would be greatly appreciated. In order to ensure the day runs smoothly we really need people to supervise at checkpoints. If you can help on the day please let me know via email - leonne.challen@cg.catholic.edu.au

MacKillop Hockey Trials

We wish Eden Sibanda the very best of luck as she represents the Canberra-Goulburn Archdiocese in the upcoming MacKillop Hockey Championships in Goulburn next Friday. We will certainly be cheering you on and look forward to hearing all about it!!