Newsletter - T1,W4 - 24/02/23
From the Principal
What a huge fortnight we have had at our College. We have celebrated Opening Mass, Ash Wednesday, Our Year 7 Parents Welcome Evening and of course, the swimming carnival. While life at the College is always busy, it has seemed a little more so as we get back into the swing of things for 2023.
I would like to thank all the parents of Year 7 students who came along to our ‘get-to-know-you’ evening this week. It was great to see many familiar faces, as well as new ones. The students had worked on some presentations to show their parents and I hope that events like these help people feel like part of our community. It is in the Gospel of Matthew that we find the following verse: “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” This is of course the central idea of our faith, and one which we endeavour to achieve at our College in every interaction we have with each other every day.
The annual College swimming carnival was held yesterday, and I have to say that it was one of the best carnivals I have been to at St Mary’s. The spirit of the day, the behaviour of the students and the effort put in by every participant was a joy to see. The students cheered each other on, worked together as a group, and had an all-round great day. I would like to thank Mr Andy Fitness who ran his first carnival and did so without a hitch - even considering the fact that we had to move the whole day to the Kyogle pool. Thank you to all the students who participated with such great spirit and competitiveness. Congratulations to Champagnat House who won the day - 500 points ahead of De Paul. I would also like to extend my thanks and appreciation to the students and parents who turned up on the day.
I would like to highlight some upcoming events:
- College Photographs will be taken on Friday 24 March. Full, formal uniform must be worn on this day, which includes long trousers and ties for our Years 11 & 12 boys. Several students will also require haircuts before this time.
- A Pupil Free Day will occur on Thursday 6 April (Holy Thursday)
- Open Evening will be on Tuesday 2 May, from 5.15pm
On Ash Wednesday this week, the College spent time together in quiet reflection, led by Fr Peter, after which they received the ashes. As we begin our Lenten journey and move into Easter I would like to finish this newsletter article with a quote from Pope Francis “During this season of conversion let us renew our faith and receive with open hearts the love of God”.
Tracy Robinson
Principal
Upcoming Dates
Week 5
Monday 27/2/23 - Vaping Presentation
Wednesday 1/3/23 - Senior Biology/Inv Science Field Trip, Flat Rock
Thursday 2/3/23 - Diocesan Swimming Carnival, Kempsey
Thursday 2/3/23 - Senior SLR Fitness excursion, Lismore
Week 6
Tuesday 7/3/23 - Senior Agriculture Field Study excursion
Thursday 9/3/23 to Friday 10/3/23 - LEAD Conference, Grafton
Parish Mass Times
Weekend Mass
6.00pm (Sat) & 8.00am (Sun)
Weekdays
Monday 9.00am
Tuesday 8.00am
Wednesday 8.00am
Thursday 9.00am
Friday 9.00am
Saturday 9.00am
Adoration
Follows 9.00am Saturday Mass
Reconciliation
Saturday 8.30am - 9.00am
Country Mass
Tabulam - 10:30am Sunday 26/02/23
From the Assistant Principal - Mission
Our Gospel this weekend exclaims “Let the children come to me!”. What a beautiful phrase, particularly for us as a school community. In a Catholic school setting, we are often reminded of the joy of children. This week it was most beautifully seen at the swimming carnival. All students in attendance showed their school pride and had a day of fun with their friends and fellow students.
It was lovely to see so many parents take the time to join us on Wednesday evening for a chance to meet their children’s new friends, new teachers, and become comfortable with our learning environment.
Clare Axman
Assistant Principal - Mission
From the Literacy Coach and The Leader of Learning - Numeracy
NAPLAN - Years 7 & 9
The National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a point in time assessment of literacy and numeracy skills. Students in Year 3, 5, 7, and 9 participate in the annual tests in writing, reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. All NSW schools will sit NAPLAN online in 2023.
Our school will be participating in NAPLAN between 15 and 27 March, 2023.
It is important that students bring with them a pen/pencil and most importantly, a set of headphones that plug in as the Locked Down Browser that is used to secure the NAPLAN tests does not allow bluetooth headphones. Headphones (that plug in) are an essential item needed to complete the Conventions of Language test in particular, but are very useful for all tests. Lastly, students will need a positive attitude to do their best.
Further information will be provided in the next newsletter.
If you have any questions regarding NAPLAN, please contact Emma Northam or Mark Chivers via the College on 66622255.
Emma Northam & Mark Chivers
Literacy Coach & Leader of Learning - Numeracy
From the Sports Coordinator
Swimming Carnival Recap
What a day! The carnival was filled with fun, laughter and some friendly competition. Year 12 made the most of their last carnival with their cake stall and signature floatie race a huge success. We saw great comradery between senior and junior students creating an infectious school spirit. The house war cries were in full spirit with De Paul taking the bonus points for their volume and cohesiveness.
One of the highest participation rates we have seen, saw the day filled with success from multiple students and even some long standing records being broken. Champagnat were clear winners at the end of the day followed by De Paul in 2nd, McAuley in 3rd and MacKillop taking home the wooden spoon.
Age champions for the day were:
12 years boys - Jed Handford
12 years girls - Emma Green
13 years boys - Connor Winters
13 years girls - Ella Rose and Harper Myers
14 years boys - Hayden Griffin
14 years girls - Sarah Green
15 years boys - Riley Grant
15 years girls - Belle Wall
16 years boys - Billy McGrath
16 years girls - Elle Hannigan
17+ years boys - Clayton Wilkinson
17+ years girls - Libby Walker
Of course the day would not have been run without the efforts of our teachers. Thank you to Kyogle pool for hosting our carnival but we hope to be back in our home town next year. Congratulations to all students involved.
Upcoming Representative Sport
Tuesday, 7 March 2023 will see a number of St Mary’s students representing our College at the individual boys/girls Diocesan Rugby League and Football (soccer) trials to be held in Lismore. Good luck to these individual students in the hope of making their respective Diocesan teams to play down at the State championships later this year.
On Friday, 10 March we will have four boys representing the College at the diocesan tennis championships in Tweed Heads; Connor Turner, Ben George, Jayden De La Cruz and Miller Scully. Good luck and play well.
Week 8 and 10 this term will see the open division boys and girls basketball and football (soccer) play the diocesan championships in Port Macquarie and Lismore respectively. We also wish these players the best in their preparations leading up these events.
Mercy Centre Gym
Our brand new gym facility is now open to students to use before and after school on selected days. If students are interested in using the gym, they need to register their interest on the sports noticeboard outside the staffroom.
The gym is open:
Monday and Tuesday afternoons 3:15pm - 4:15pm
Wednesday and Friday mornings 7:30am - 8:30am
Andrew Fitness
Sports Coordinator
From the Leader of School Evangelisation
Ash Wednesday
On Wednesday the 22nd we gathered as a whole school community and were joined by Fr Peter Slack for an Ash Wednesday Liturgy. We were reminded that Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of our lenten journey. Students were invited to reflect and to understand the significant of this period, and how it is relevant in our modern lives. We were able to pause from our busy days to take time out to be still and to pray together.
Year 7 Welcome Evening
Our Year 7 welcome evening was also held on Ash Wednesday. Thank you to all of the students and their families who attended this. It was great to be able to gather together to pray and share a meal. There were over 100 people attending. Congratulations to the Myers family who won the Kahoot. Also thank you to all of the students who contributed throughout the evening.
YMO Introduction
I would also like to introduce our Youth Ministry Officer for 2023- Charlotte Kean. Charlotte is a recent graduate from Trinity Catholic College. Charlotte will be working in RE classes, running ministry programs, and assisting with the liturgical life of the College. Charlotte is a talented musician and we are really excited to have her joining us for the year.
Vinnies Young Adults
Ms Day and a number of our senior students have been volunteering with a newly established Young Adults Vinnies Conference. The group comprises of school students, university students, religious people, teachers and other professionals. The group has established a number of outreach opportunities across the northern rivers. Currently the group is volunteering at the Winsome Hotel in Lismore, The Casino Community Kitchen, our own 3:16 Youth ground, and aged care visits to St Matthews. I would like to congratulate Nick Carey, who has recently been voted as President of this conference. As a College community we are filled with pride to see our students living out our school motto to ‘Reach Out’ in every aspect of their lives. Volunteering is a fantastic way to develop leadership skills whilst actively making a difference to the world around us.
House Mass
Each term we will be inviting one house group (teachers, students and their families) to attend Mass at the parish. SMCC will be providing readers, music ministry and refreshments following mass. This term we will the de Paul house is invited to attend. Students from other house groups are welcome to attend however we will be focusing on celebrating the contributions of our dePaulians.
Mahaila Day
Leader of School Evangelisation
Parents & Friends Association
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
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 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.
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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