Newsletter - T3W8 - 9/9/22

From the Principal

I would like to start my newsletter article today by announcing our School Leadership Team for 2023.

Congratulations to these students. All the applications were genuine and authentic. Each student was able to articulate their vision for the College and were very impressive with their enthusiasm and sincerity. Thank you to all who applied. You all conducted yourselves admirably and should be proud of the fact that you have chosen to be part of this leadership process. 

At this point I would like to pay particular recognition to our outgoing Student Leadership Team, especially Jordyn Aleckson, Nic Griffin, Elizabeth Robinson, Joshua Macdonald, Chelsea Robertson, Brayden Gumbleton, Sophie-Rose Hastie and Sam Coggan. Thank you to the 2022 leadership team for your involvement and your commitment to St Mary’s. All members of the College community are welcome to attend our Graduation Mass and Awards Ceremony on Friday, 23 September, commencing at 10am in St Mary’s Church.    

Our Senior students now have only 2 weeks until they finish their HSC courses for 2022. This means that we will be farewelling our Year 12’s with a graduation mass and awards ceremony. A separate letter has gone home to all Year 12 students and their families to give them more information. The last day of Term 3 is a day where our students in years 7-11 are able to sign out early after the Graduation Mass. A permission note will go home with all students next week. Please note that Graduation Day is a compulsory school day as the College appropriately farewells our Year 12 students after 13 years of education.

These final weeks of Term 3 are always special in a NSW secondary school as the full school community is afforded various opportunities to gather; and these last couple of weeks at St Mary’s have been no exception. Our annual ‘Showcase’ made a comeback after 2 years in the COVID wilderness. The students certainly did themselves and the College proud as they sang, danced, and acted their way through the night. Special mention to all of the artists, photographers and TAS students who also ‘showcased’ their talents at this event.  Thank you to Mr Justin Hayward and his team for their enthusiasm and organisation of this event.  Our students were also in their yellow colours (as part of ‘R U OK Day’) and were involved in various activities at lunchtime to draw awareness to mental health. All of these opportunities serve as a timely reminder about just what a special community we belong to here in Casino. And of course we still have our Year 12 Graduation to look forward to on Friday, 23 September. 

Thank you to all students who participated in the ‘Safeguarding Kids Together’ student voice project which occurred at the College last week. This is part of the initiative organised by all the schools in Casino to help inform future directions for the schools and the wider community. We will keep you posted on the findings, and the outcomes from these meetings.

COMPASS
As you have been made aware, from 2021, all schools within the Lismore Diocese will be gradually transferred to our new Student Information System (SIS) called Compass.  The Compass platform is both an app for your phone and is also available via an internet browser. The app and computer parent portal will be our school’s communication to you. The compass app will allow you to;

• Enter in explanations for late arrivals or absences.

• Update your family contact details.

• Download and view your child's semester reports.

• View  news feeds of school announcements, alerts and updates.

• View the school calendar.

• Provide consent for events, and pay for excursions and school fees

• Book interview times for Parent-Teacher Interviews, and the SETP interviews

During the school holidays the Catholic Schools Office will be supporting us with this transition.  The transition will begin from Wednesday, 28 September 2022. You will receive an SMS and an automated email with instructions to follow to access Compass either via the app on your mobile device or via an internet browser. You will also be provided with a link in the SMS message to reach out for support should you experience any difficulties.

Enjoy the fortnight ahead.

Tracy Robinson
Principal

Upcoming Dates

Week 9
Tuesday, 13 September - COMPASS Parent Information Evening

Week 10
Thursday, 22 to Friday, 23 September - Ignite Conference
Thursday, 22 September - Year 12 Movie World 
Friday, 23 September - Year 12 Graduation Mass

Parish Mass Times

Weekend Mass
5.00pm (Sat) & 8.00am (Sun)

Mass ONLINE

Weekdays
Monday 9.00am 
Tuesday  8.00am
Wednesday 8.00am
Thursday  9.00am
Friday  9.00am
Saturday  9.00am

Reconciliation
Saturday 8.30 am-9.00 am

Country Mass
11 September - Bonalbo 10:30am

Masks are recommended in the Church

From the Assistant Principal - Learning and Teaching

COMPASS
In term 4 the College will be moving to a new student management system. The system is called COMPASS and it will change a lot of the school procedures around marking rolls, mark books, reports, excursions etc. It will also change the way that the school communicates with parents, and the way parents pay for school fees and excursions. In order to assist parents to get to know this system and understand the new ways that the College will be handling communication and payments, there will be a parent information evening on Tuesday, 13 September at 6:30pm. Further information regarding the functionality of this new platform can be found by navigating to  https://www.compass.education/guide. Students do not need to be present at this meeting as they will have their own information session at school regarding their log on and use of Compass.

Nadine Connolly
Assistant Principal - Learning and Teaching

From the Assistant Principal - Mission

Yesterday, Thursday 8 September, is recognised by the Catholic Church as the birthday of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Mary is a figure all our students can look to for guidance and support. She is the model of service to the Mission of the Church, and clearly demonstrates the joy of the Kingdom of the God in our daily lives. 

Mental Health Awareness Week
It has been a big week at the College. With this focus on mental health, we have had a number of guest speakers in the College to speak with our students about how to access support if and when it is required.  

HeadSpace
On Monday our students were able to participate in a workshop led by HeadSpace where they learnt about accessing assistance through the school and a variety of organisations.

Nathan Hulls
On Wednesday, Nathan Hulls presented to the whole College community about resilience and intrinsic motivation.

RUOk Day
Today we had a special school assembly, led by our Student Representative Council encouraging us to Reach Out and offer assistance and a listening ear to our peers. Our students also were given the opportunity to wear yellow to school to help raise awareness and prompt positive action in supporting our friends. 

Clare Axman
Assistant Principal - Mission

From the Leader of Careers

It has been a busy term in the Careers department. With Year 10 finalising subject selection for Stage 6 and more students taking up opportunities for work experience, plus Year 12 beginning their transition out of school, we’ve all been occupied with forward-thinking, University applications and job applications.

If you are a Year 12 student and you’re still unsure of what you’ll be doing once school and your exams are over, check out some of the local opportunities advertised below. These have also been emailed directly to all Year 12 students.

Richmond Valley Council has a wide range of opportunities for Year 12 school leavers, as well as students in Year 10  and 11. Check out the link below for more information and to register:
https://richmondvalley.nsw.gov.au/council/working-with-us/scholarships-apprenticeships-and-traineeships/

On Monday and Tuesday of this week, nine Year 10 students and two Year 11 students completed a two day workshop run by Cherie Topfer from YES 2 FUTURE CAREERS. These students represented themselves and the College well and Cherie was full of praise for their enthusiasm and commitment to the workshop. They were also able to attend the Richmond Valley Jobs Expo held at the Casino RSM Club on Tuesday. Lots of business cards and flyers were collected and we learnt a lot about the options available in our local area. It’s great to see students pushing themselves out of their comfort zone and maturing, even over the short space of two days.

Year 10, 11 & 12 students - remember to keep an eye out for emails from me. That’s my primary way of communicating with you all, be it about job or study opportunities.

Michelle Went
Leader of Careers

From the Leader of Learning - Inclusion & Diversity

During the month of September there are opportunities to access online webinars provided by TextHelp. These contain learning and practical skills for students to use assistive technology. This technology has numerous applications to support students both in class and when working at home. For further information please click on the links in the below flyer.

Kelly Scurr
Leader of Learning - Inclusion & Diversity

From the Literacy Coach and The Leader of Learning - Numeracy

Over the past few weeks, some students at the College have taken up the opportunity to participate in the ‘Unleashed Student Writing Competition’ run by Write4fun.  Students have been able to write on any topic and submit a poem or short story.  A few students have been studiously working away during lunch crafting their short stories and they are to be congratulated on their enthusiasm and creativity.  The closing date for the competition has now been extended to Sunday, 11 September 2022.  I have asked a few students if I could share their work here, while we wait for the competition to close and be judged, please enjoy these creative short stories:

The Dark Corridors by Arlee Hancock

The Fear of Being Lonely by Tahlia Donnelly

I encourage any student who still may be interested in entering, to see me for entry details and we wish all those students who have entered the best of luck.

Kelly Winters
Literacy Coach & Leader of Learning

From the Sports Coordinator - External

Len Diett Shield Round 4 vs Xavier
Our First XV played their final match of the Len Diett Shield Competition on Monday 29 August, coming away with a 33-14 win over Xavier Catholic College. Having gone down to Xavier earlier in the year, the boys were keen for redemption on our home field. This was also the last opportunity for our Year 12 boys to wear the navy and sky blue, so energy was high and they were dominant from the opening whistle. James Crane came away with a hat trick of tries on the wing and Will Ainsworth and Jack Hannigan each crossed the stripe for a try of their own. Beau Baildon kicked 3 goals and Hayden Sivewright 1.
All of the boys should be proud of the way they have conducted themselves throughout each of the four matches played this year. They have been wonderful ambassadors of our College, and it has been a pleasure to coach them.

Rugby League Foundation Referees Course
Over the past two Thursday afternoons, seventeen of our Year 7-9 boys have taken part in the NRL’s ‘Behind the Goal Posts’ program, giving them the opportunity to undertake the first step in becoming a rugby league referee.

The boys have worked with NRL Game Development Officer Kel Menchin on learning the laws of the game and putting their refereeing skills to the test in the lead up to next Thursday’s Matt King Cup gala day for the local primary schools. The boys are all looking forward to next week and we thank Kel Menchin for passing his knowledge onto our next generation of referees.

Mike Ryan
Sports Coordinator - External

From the Sports Coordinator - Internal

Weekly School Sport 
As our new school year begins halfway through term 4, students will not be making sport selections for term 4 sport. Instead, students will be participating in an inter house competition where they will play an array of sports against the other houses.
A reminder for the rest of term 3 and going into term 4 that students are not permitted to wear canvas shoes or black socks on sports days, as per our uniform policy. Students continuing to disregard this rule, without a valid reason, will be placed on a sports detention. Please take the time to have this conversation at home so that students are not missing out on much needed fun, physical activity.

Homeroom Footy Tipping Competition
To help enhance our College community spirit, for the duration of the NRL season, each homeroom class has been participating in a ‘Homeroom Footy Tipping Competition’. There were loads of house points up for grabs as well as a pizza party for the winning homeroom. 
The NRL regular season has now come to an end and we have now concluded our homeroom footy tipping competition. Congratulations to MacKillop 3 who were the winners and will be presented with a trophy during the week 10 assembly, followed by a pizza party that day at lunch time. As a collective, DePaul was the house with the most cumulative points, so congratulations to DePaul and all the homerooms participating. Below is the final table of results:

Sports Ability Program 
Year 9 and 10 students that do PASS for their elective were recently given the opportunity to participate in the ‘Sports Ability’ program, a fun, educational program that teaches students about disability awareness and inclusion. The interactive program allowed the students to participate in wheelchair basketball and other activities while speaking with presenter David Johnson about his disability and achievements as a wheelchair athlete, most notably a Silver Medal in the Sydney 2000 Olympics. The students had so much fun and gained a deeper appreciation and understanding for the abilities of people with disabilities.

Andrew Fitness
Sports Coordinator - Internal

From the Leader of School Evangelisation

Social Justice Cake Stall 
Last weekend we held a social justice cake stall after Mass at the St Mary’s Parish. We were inundated with donations  from members of the parish, our school community and families from St Mary's Primary. We had a vast array of delicious baked goods and home produce. We sincerely thank everyone for their contributions and for those who assisted in running the stall. The money raised will be donated to our school hardship fund, which assists with school uniforms, school supplies and providing food for students in need. The total amount raised was $655.90. 

ThreeSixTeen
Our final youth group session for the term will be held this Friday evening, 9 September. Thank you to our ministry students for assisting in running this valuable program. The group is aimed for students at SMP in year 3 to 6 run by our Teen ministry students. The success of the program is evident with the influx in participants, we currently have 90 SMP students registered for the program. Students gather together to share in prayer experiences, play games and deepen their faith. This Friday night we will also be hosting a family prayer service for the participants to conclude the term. Thank you to all the awesome volunteers who make this program possible and continue to share the message of Jesus in their words and in their actions. 

Ignite 
We have 9 students and 5 staff members attending the annual Ignite conference in Brisbane in the last week of this term. We are really excited to be able to attend such a dynamic conference which will inspire us all to continue to grow in our faith. To celebrate the participants attending Ignite we will be gathering for a Commissioning Mass on Saturday, 17 September at St Mary’s Catholic Church commencing at 5.00pm. We would love to see members of our school community in attendance to wish our staff and students well as they embark on this discipleship journey. 

Mahaila Day
Leader of School Evangelisation

Debate Teams

Over the past three weeks, sixteen SMCC students from years 7 - 10 have been competing in the 2022 Catholic Schools Debating Association (CSDA) regional dioceses competition. Years 7 & 8 travelled to Kempsey on Friday, 26 August, hosted by the wonderful Saint Paul’s College, with years 9 & 10 making the trip to Port Maquarie, the following Tuesday 30 August, hosted by the lovely Mackillop College. Unfortunately for our year 9 & 10 teams the competition was too strong and both teams walked away with only 1 out of 3 wins for the day. The 9 & 10’s were not at all disheartened by this outcome and are very excited to host some schools here in the future as well as try their luck again next year in the 2023 CSDA regional competition. Our year 7 team walked away almost victorious with 2 out of 3 wins. For their first time participating in a debate competition they were absolutely outstanding and again are very much looking forward to future competitions. The highlight of these three weeks has been the journey of our year 8 team. At their initial competition date they won all three of their debates and ended the day tied on performance points with Saint Paul’s College, Kempsey. This draw meant these two teams needed to go head to head on mutual ground to determine who would progress to the finals in Sydney. On Thursday, 8 September, the year 8 team accompanied by myself, made the journey to Grafton where we were hosted by McAuley College and entered into the tie-breaking debate. Our SMCC Year 8 team walked away victorious and now move on to the CSDA state debate finals, which brings together the winners of the Metropolitan competition and the winners of the NSW regional dioceses in Sydney, NSW. These students have made amazing progress and we can’t wait to see how the continue on in this competition. More information coming soon.

Teams
Year 7 - Stella-Grace Dean, Charlotte Singleton-Kinsella, Chloe Transton and Chloe Spinaze
Year 8 - Zoe Andrews, Patrick Zeller, Stella Harley and Tyler Winters
Year 9 - Lascelle Hayward, Angeline Codrington, Jayden De La Cruz and Chelsea Campbell
Year 10 - Ella Andrews, Libby Walker, Erica Richards and Alexis Quantrill

Che McDougall
Teacher

Canteen

Volunteers
We are looking for volunteers to assist in the Canteen. Please contact the Canteen via the College office if you are available at any time to help.

Flexischools
Flexischools is a well-established organisation allowing you to easily place all your canteen orders online at any time.

Download the Flexischools app from the App store or Google Play. Click here for details on how to set up your account. 

Once registered, you can start placing orders immediately.

Please note that sushi orders will need to be placed before Tuesday afternoon at 1pm as Sushi will only be available for Wednesday orders.

There is a charge of $0.29 per order for using this service.

If you have any questions, please contact the Flexischools Customer Service Team via their website contact page.

The normal process of ordering from the canteen (cash, eftpos, morning lunch orders) is still available.

Uniform Shop

2023 Year 7 Students
The Uniform Shop is now accepting orders for Year 7 students, 2023.
Orders can be placed online via Flexischools or in person at the College Uniform Shop.
We would encourage parents to place orders/layby uniforms, especially for those students who may require special orders, as soon as possible, to avoid disappointment.
Please note that while we are able to exchange uniforms (ie change of size), the item must be unused, and in its original condition and packaging. Please retain your original tax invoice and/or receipts for proof of purchase. 

2023 Senior Students
All students that are going into Year 11 when the new academic year commences in Week 6 of Term 4 are advised to start looking at purchasing their senior uniforms in the coming weeks.

Uniform Shop Opening Hours
Tuesdays         3.15pm to 5.00pm
Thursdays        2.00pm to 5.00pm

Payments of cash, cheque or EFTPOS are welcome.

Orders can also be placed via the Flexischools service. No fees are charged to families for using this service.

Please note the following information for orders made via this service:

Tuesday Orders
- Cut off time is 12noon on Monday
- Pick up available from the College office on Tuesday afternoon from 3.30pm - 5.00pm

Thursday Orders
- Cut off time is 12noon on Wednesday 
- Pick up available from the College office on Thursday afternoon from 3.30pm - 5.00pm.

Orders not collected will be given to the student the following day to take home.

Whilst all care will be taken to ensure that stock availability is correct at the time of ordering, there may be some items that are not in stock at the time of packing the online orders. In this case, you will be contacted to advise of an estimated time of arrival for new stock of that item or given the option of a refund processed through Flexischools.

All uniform shop order enquiries can be emailed to: cash-uniform@lism.catholic.edu.au

Second Hand Uniforms

Sustainable School Shop is an online shop dedicated to buying and selling of second hand uniforms. For more information ring 1300683337 or visit www.sustainableschoolshop.com.au.

 Please note that this facility is available for use with the new College uniforms only.

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