Newsletter - T2,W4 - 19/5/23

From the Acting Principal

During the week, our Year 7-10 students started their Semester 1
examinations. Students were settled and worked well during this period. The results of these examinations will give parents/carers data around learning and the feedback from teachers will give students the opportunity to improve.

A special thank you to all the families who spent time completing the ‘Tell Them From Me’ survey. These parent/carer/student/staff surveys allow the College to gain valuable feedback that shapes the strategic direction moving forward.

Next Friday, 26 May 2023 the College will celebrate the annual ‘Beef Day’ which is a highlight of the school calendar. Organisation for the festivities is underway and I am looking forward to experiencing my first Beef Day. The College Beef Day is a compulsory school day and as such, student attendance is an expectation. School is much more than classrooms and examinations; St Mary’s is a wonderful community and events like Beef Day allows students the opportunity to build that community spirit. 

St Mary’s Year 7, 2024 enrolment interviews will commence on Monday, 22 May 2023. If you have not yet been in communication with the College regarding 2024 enrolments, please contact the office to collect an enrolment package and arrange an interview time as there are limited spaces available.

Friday, 26 May 2023 is ‘Sorry Day’. The Sisters of Mercy have prepared the following reflection and prayer. This day is an opportunity to become more conscious of past harm done and the healing needed in relationships between Aboriginal and white Australians. In 1998, Australia stopped to recognise for the first time a National Sorry Day on 26 May, the eve of the commencement of National Reconciliation Week. Genuine reconciliation requires acknowledgement of the harm done by the perpetrators and beneficiaries of past policies so that healing can reach the whole community. This prayer invites us to pray together for such healing.

Prayer
God, Mother of Mercy, stir within us compassion and a deep desire for reconciliation.
On this National Sorry Day may this compassion and reconciliation be strong and true so that justice flows, action flourishes, a difference is made and peace is accomplished. 

Michael Campbell
Acting Principal

Upcoming Dates

Week 5
Monday, 22/5/23 - Year 7, 2024 Enrolment Interviews 
Tuesday 23/5/23 - Year 11 and 12 Preliminary Parent/Teacher Interviews
Wednesday 24/5/23 - Beef Week Led Steer 
Wednesday 24/5/23 - Cochrane Cup U14's Rugby League, Woodlawn
Thursday 25/5/23 - Beef Week Cup 
Friday 26/5/23 - Beef Day Celebrations
Friday 26/5/23 - National Sorry Day 

Week 6
Monday 29/5/23 - Sorry Day Liturgy 
Tuesday 30/5/23 - Year 12 Parent Information Night - University, ATAR
Thursday 1/6/23 - Country Cup Rugby Leage, Casino

Parish Mass Times

Weekend Mass
Saturday 5.00pm 
Sunday 8.00am

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

Adoration
Following 9.00 am Mass Saturday

Reconciliation
Saturday 8.30am - 9.00am

From the Assistant Principal - Learning and Teaching

Year 7-10 Exams
The College has just finished up its Stage 4 and 5 exam week. All students in years 7-10 undertook exams for every subject they are enrolled in. This is a new process that we have begun this year and the students adapted to it really well.

Time was allocated for all year groups to do some study before their exams, and then they completed exams that ranged from 50 minutes in year 7, to 95 minutes in year 10.

I would like to acknowledge the efforts of all students during this week. For a new process that asked students to sit in an exam room in silence for a long time, they did extraordinarily well.

The College will continue this exam period twice per year - once for the Semester 1 and once for the Semester 2 exams. The educational outcome for our students due to this process will be an increase in writing skills, an increase in examination skills and faster processing and thought flexibility.

'Serving' the Community 
On Fridays, the Year 11 Catholic Faith in Action students attend Mass at the Parish and then stay to provide morning tea to the parishioners and Parish office staff. This is a valuable way for our students to connect to their local parish, one that both they and the parishioners are enjoying.

Nadine Connolly
Assistant Principal - Learning and Teaching

From the Assistant Principal - Mission

Last Sunday we celebrated the special women in our life. Mother’s Day is a day to honour and appreciate the incredible women who have nurtured, guided and shaped us. We are surrounded by so many wonderful women in our community and I want to express my appreciation to each and every one of you. Last Sunday’s Gospel of John was centred around the Holy Spirit and Jesus’ promise to accompany his disciples always. 

The Holy Spirit supports and leads us to provide wisdom, comfort, and strength in our roles. We find solace in the Holy Spirit's constant presence, guiding us in our relationships and responsibilities, particularly during challenging periods. May we embrace the Holy Spirit's teaching, allowing ourselves to be transformed and united with God and seek to fulfil our roles to the best of our ability.

Clare Axman
Assistant Principal - Mission

From the College Business Manager

Camp Kokoda Payments
The Year 9 2023 Camp Kokoda excursion was added to school fee accounts for Year 9 students in Term 1.  A reminder that payment is due by Wednesday, 5 July 2023.  Thank you to the families who have already paid or are making regular payments.

The College is required to confirm student numbers and make an advanced payment to Camp Kokoda six weeks prior to the camp i.e. Wednesday, 12 July 2023. The camp is compulsory for all Year 9 students however if your child has a valid reason for not attending this camp, an application must be made to the Principal in writing and approved prior to Wednesday, 5 July 2023. If the Principal deems the reason valid then a full credit for the camp costs will be applied to the debtor account. Please note this is a non-refundable event.

No student is to miss out on this opportunity. If you are experiencing financial difficulties, please contact the College Business Manager as soon as possible to make alternate arrangements for payment.

School Fees
A reminder to families that school tuition fees are now billed each term.  All other fees and levies have been billed in Terms 1 and 2.  Term 3 Tuition fees will be billed on Monday, 17 July 2023 and Term 4 Tuition fees will be billed on Tuesday, 22 August 2023.  These fees will be added to the fee statement at the end of the retrospective month.  

The table below outlines the cost of tuition fees for 2023.  This table may assist families with budgeting for the remainder of the year or if they wish to calculate the annualised cost of tuition fees for the whole year.  We are unable to generate a statement for the whole year but payments in advance may be made via the usual methods of payment.

Schedule of Fees for 2023

Sibling Discounts are applied to Tuition Fees, we are able to offer sibling discounts for families with children across both Parish Schools. These discounts will be applied as follows:

Due dates for 2023 school fees are as follows unless paying by regular installments or an alternate arrangement has been made:

Term 1 Fees due Thursday, 30 March 2023
Term 2 Fees due Tuesday, 6 June 2023
Term 3 Fees due Tuesday, 22 August 2023
Term 4 Fees due Tuesday, 12 December 2023

If regular installments are being paid the due date is Tuesday, 12 December 2023.

Leanne Cummins
College Business Manager

From the Leader of Curriculum

Parent, Students, Teacher Conferences
The Parent, Students, Teacher Conferences for Stage 6 students and their parents will be held next Tuesday, 23 May from 3:30 - 7:00 pm. Click here for information on How to Book an Appointment which was also sent out through Compass.

Year 10 - 12
Procedure for Being Absent on the Day of an Assessment Task OR the “Day before”. This is a reminder of what is required in case a student is away on the day of or the day before a task.

• The school needs to be contacted by 9am on the day informing us of that student’s absence.
• A medical certificate needs to be provided upon returning to school. An “unjustified” absence as per NSW Education legislation will likely result in a zero awarded for the task, however, the task will still be marked & feedback provided.
• It is the responsibility of the student to organise a catch-up time for the missed task with their classroom teacher immediately upon their return to school.
• The school’s assessment policy (viewable by clicking any assessment task event in the Assessment Google Calendar) also explains the requirement for students in Year 10 - 12 to attend school the “day before”. This could include the Friday before the Monday a task is due. The reason for this rule is to ensure that the remaining students are not disadvantaged by a student who remains at home and continues to work on a task.
• Please note that all of the above is outlined at the bottom of every Assessment Notification that is either handed out as a hard copy or posted on Google Classroom.

Assessment Calendar
A reminder that the school uses a Google Calendar for the Assessment Calendar. Anyone with the link can view it AND open the hyperlinked Assessment Booklets.

1. Either type the following address into your browser’s address bar or click on it below SMCCAssessmentCalendar

2. Codes are as follows

• CC = Compressed Curriculum i.e. Year 11 & 12
• 10 = Year 10 etc.
• (IC) = In Class task
• (HI) = Hand In task

3. Note that when clicking on an assessment task, a pop up window will be displayed. This window will include a link to the relevant Assessment Booklet. Clicking on it will not just open that booklet but also (after it has finished loading) jump to the entry for that particular subject.

Please note that if you are subscribed to that calendar, the interface will look different but the functionality is the same. Another bonus of being subscribed is that one can search & filter for a particular year level.

Michael Woerner
Leader of Curriculum

From the Leader of Pastoral Care

Year 10 Vaccinations
A reminder that the Year 10 Meningococcal ACWY vaccine will be offered for our students here at the College Wednesday, 7 June 2023. Vaccination will only be provided at school if consent has been received. To provide consent for vaccination online, parents/carers will need to:

• visit the online consent portal link at Service NSW 
• click the login with ‘Service NSW Account’ button and log in with their Service NSW details, or creat an account with Service NSW  if they don’t already have one
• enter Medicare details for themselves and their child.

NSW Health have also provided the following step-by-step guide on how to provide consent online. For families who are unable to access the online consent form, there are written copies available from the College office.

Safe on Social
Safe on Social will be hosting an upcoming webinar titled "Clearing the Smoke: Navigating Teen Vaping and Social Media" on Thursday, 25 May 2023 and invite St Mary’s Catholic College parent community to participate. The webinar aims to provide valuable insights, strategies, and resources to help parents navigate this complex issue effectively.

As authorities in their field, Safe on Social have a unique perspective on this topic and bring years of experience working with parents on how to navigate difficult situations. Any questions you may have about the topic can be sent to Safe on Social at info@safeonsocial.com and they will do their best to address them within the webinar.

Vaping Resources for Parents
The Commonwealth Government’s recent announcements regarding increasing regulation and decreasing youth access to vaping products is welcome news. 

The Northern NSW Local Health District have put together some excellent resources for parents and will soon be advertising for school and community attendance at the Northern NSW Youth Vaping Forum to be held on Tuesday, 20 June 2023 at Ballina SLC. Please take the time to read the below resource flyers.

Michele McCaffery
Leader of Pastoral Care

From the Sports Coordinator

NRCC Hockey
A massive thank you to Mr Matt Carter and Mrs Kate Rowlands for taking a SMCC hockey team for the first time in a long time. Congratulations to the students involved for what I know was a fun experience. Mrs Kate Rowlands has written an account of the day.

Catholic Cup Open Rugby League
Last Wednesday, the St Mary’s open boys rugby league team travelled to Woodlawn to partake in the annual Catholic Cup. This year, St Mary’s drew Woodlawn, Xavier Catholic College and St Joseph’s College Banora in our bracket to determine the progressing school. 

Our boys began the day off the bus and into the first game against Woodlawn. The first half was a warm-up for the boys and once the belief was put inside of us, we won the second half 14 - 10 thanks to a Jack Hannigan double and an Oliver Shields special. However, the game was still lost by a couple of tries. After a quick re-warm-up, the boys took some physicality into the first half against Banora where Hayden Sivewright found early points. At the half-time break, we found ourselves at 4 all and right in the match. Supercoach Mr Bartlett then inspired the side to take the win, in which Tom Wyatt showed no hesitation to take off the back of a terrific short ball to win the game 10 - 8 . All the boys really enjoyed the day and would like to thank Mr Bartlett for coaching, Mr Fitness for working behind the scenes and Mr Lollback for missing the bus. 

Diocesan Cross Country
On Friday, 19 May 2023, 17 SMCC students will represent the College at the Diocesan Cross Country held in Grafton. The College would like to wish the students competing all the best.

Beef Week Clash
The annual sporting clash is set to reignite the cross town rivalry between St Mary’s Catholic College and Casino High School. SMCC will be looking to get their hands on the Beef Week Clash trophy after Casino High has had possession of the trophy for the past few years. 

SMCC still needs team members for the following sports:

- Yrs 7 to 9 League Tag
- Girls Soccer
- Archery
- Boys Open Volleyball

 Any student interested is to place their name on the related list on the Sports noticeboard.

The clash will take place on Thursday afternoon, 25 May 2023 across a number of venues throughout Casino. Parents and guardians are encouraged to come and support the school.

SMCC Athletics Carnival
A reminder that the SMCC Athletics carnival will take place on Thursday, 15 June 2023 (Week 8). Long jump, high jump and longer distance running events take place prior to the carnival, so students are reminded to keep an eye on the daily notices for details on these events.

NSWCCC Girls 18s Rugby League Trials
During the week Kali Ainsworth travelled down to St Mary’s Stadium in Sydney to partake in the NSWCCC Girls - 18 Years & Under Rugby League Selections as part of the Northern Country team. The trials went over two days where the girls played against other combinations of dioceses across NSW, Southern Country, Sydney and Metropolitan. From this, 20 girls were selected as part of the NSWCCC team to progress through to the Australian School Girls Rugby League Championships. 
Kali was selected in this team. The College would like to congratulate Kali on her efforts and wish her all the best at the Australian School Girls champs held later this year in Redcliffe. 

Upcoming Sport
Term 2 is always a very busy term in regard to sport. In the next few weeks SMCC has:

• Cochrane Cup U/14 boys rugby league Wednesday, 24 May 2023 - Woodlawn
• Country Cup U/13, U/15 and Open boys rugby league Thursday, 1 June 2023- Casino
• Dio Junior Soccer 7-10 boys and 7-9 girls Tuesday, 6 June 2023 - Coffs Harbour
• Dio Netball girls and boys years 7/8, 9/10 and 11/12 Tuesday, 13 June 2023 - Tweed Heads
  

Weekly School Sport
A reminder to students and families that students are to wear the correct sport uniform on Thursday’s for weekly sport. Students are not permitted to wear black socks or canvas shoes and must adhere to the college’s uniform policy.

The College wishes to promote sport in a safe and positive manner and this begins with the correct uniform. 

Andrew Fitness
Sports Coordinator

From the Leader of School Evangelisation

Vinnies Sleepout
A reminder that we will be hosting the Vinnies Winter Sleep Out at school on Thursday, 8 June 2023. The Friday is already a student free day so students will have plenty of time to recover from braving the cold. Students are asked to complete an expression of interest and more details will be available on the Compass App. 

Shine
All Year 10 Ministry students are expected to attend the SHINE discipleship event at Coffs Harbour next term. Payment and consent for this event is available on Compass. There are some additional spaces for students outside of the Ministry class who would like to attend. These students have been provided with an expression of interest form. 

Festa Christi
In 2023, two groups of Year 8 students (divided into male and female groups) from across the Diocese are invited to attend Festa Christi, a two-day retreat experience with activities that focus on 'walking in another person’s shoes’, having the students overcoming their fears and gaining a greater awareness of social justice. Our school has an allocation of 5 female students and 5 male students.  Both of these retreats will be held at the Coffs Harbour adventure Centre. 

• Boys Retreat- Tuesday,  1 August 2023 to Wednesday, 2 August 2023
• Girls Retreat- Thursday, 3 August 2023 to Friday, 4 August 2023

All Year 8 students are invited to apply to attend this event and have been emailed an application form. 

Mahaila Day
Leader of School Evangelisation

Beef Day Information- Friday 26/5/23

Our Beef Week celebration day is next Friday, 26 May 2023. Beef Day is an important day for St Mary’s Catholic College as it gives us an opportunity to recognise our town’s heritage and come together as a community to celebrate the beef industry. This day is NOT optional and is still regarded as a compulsory school day.
 
The following is a list of events and times for the day:
8:45am – 9:00am     Homeroom
9:00am – 10:00am   Pet Show (Please note that pets need to be picked up at 10am)
9:30am – 1:30pm     Activities on site
1:30pm – End of school day if parent consent has been provided on Compass. Supervision will be provided at the College if required.
 
The College “Vinnies” group will be selling Hot Beef rolls for $3 and cans of drink for $2 throughout the day. Vinnies will also be selling lolly bags for $2. They would appreciate the support of the rest of the College community in this venture. Side-show alley activities will involve a small cost and any monies raised will be donated to St Vincent de Paul. We encourage students to bring a small amount of cash for these events.

Additional Activities and Events
As we have transitioned to Compass we’re hoping that the processes we have put in place will make granting permissions for the different events on the day seamless. Your child(ren), have been invited to participate in 2 events on the day: 
 
Event #1 – Beef Day Early Leavers: Permission to leave College grounds at 1:30pm. 
Event #2 – Beef Day Activities: Mechanical Bull, Wrecking Ball and Obstacle Course $15.
 
As a parent you will need to give permission on an individual basis for each event that your child(ren) have been invited to participate in, this will allow us to accurately supervise your child and know the different permissions that you have agreed to. 
 
For the Events that you would like your student to participate in, you will need to access Compass and
-Opt in to the event
-Read the information and consent form
-Proceed to select Consent and/or pay for the cost of the activity if there is a cost attached. 
 
Please be mindful that just “opting-in” to the event does not mean you have given consent. There is a cost of $15 for the Mechanical Bull, Wrecking Ball and Obstacle Course Event than will require payment to be made at the time of giving consent.
 
These events will be live in your Compass portal this afternoon and cut-off is strictly Thursday 25 May as the College will be unable to accept consent and payment on the day. If you require any further information, please contact the office on 66622255.
 
We look forward to celebrating this occasion with our College community.

Year 9 Geography Fieldtrip to Byron Bay

As a part of mandatory fieldwork as outlined in the Stage 5 Geography syllabus, Year 9 students participated in a fieldtrip to Byron Bay last Thursday, 11 May 2023. The aims of the excursion were to explore the different management strategies that have been implemented at Byron Bay to mitigate further dune erosion and beach degradation. 

Despite threatening weather at times, the students were able to partake in fieldwork, including dune cross-sections and field sketching. The students were able to utilise this experience in their examination during exam week. The students are to be commended on the attention and respect shown on the day. I would like to thank Miss Jones, Mrs McPherson, Ms Lickiss, Mr Lollback & Mrs Formaggin for their preparation of the students and accompanying them on the day.

Christopher Robinson
Leader of Learning - HSIE

NRCC Hockey

NRCC HOCKEY
On Tuesday, 9 May 2023, St. Mary’s Catholic College sent two teams to the NRCC Hockey Gala Day at Goonellabah for the first time in more than a decade. Both the boys and girls teams were excited to have a go at hockey for the first time with only two students having played before.

Both teams played 4 games across the day. The girls played against Mt. St. Patrick’s Murwillumbah, Trinity, St. Joseph’s Banora Point and Woodlawn. Their first game was against a very strong and experienced Mt. St Pat’s side, which was a difficult game to start with. Elsie had an amazing game in goal, saving a number of goals. Paige was invaluable all day due to her previous playing experience.  In the three following games, the girls improved, learning the rules and tactics of the game, as well as further developing their hockey skills. While the girls didn’t win a game, they all had an enjoyable day and learnt a lot.

The boys played against Trinity, Woodlawn, Mt. St. Pat’s and Xavier. They had an impressive 1 all draw against a more experienced Woodlawn team in their first game. Considering this was the first game of hockey for most of the team, it was an awesome effort and they were very unlucky not to come away with a win. All the boys gave their all when on the turf, this was shown by their skill and game sense improving across all the games. The other sides had a number of very experienced and much bigger players, but the boys did not give up.

The SMCC boys worked hard in their other three games, but were unable to get a win.

It was great for so many students to get the chance to have a go at something new. Hockey was the winner for the day, and we hope to attend the gala day next year.

Kate Rowlands
Teacher

Poets Out Loud

On Wednesday, 10 May, Sarah Temporal from ‘Poets Out Loud’ attended the College to run a ‘Spark Poetry’ workshop. Students from Years 7-10 were able to self nominate to take part in this workshop and were all successful in writing and sharing their creative works together. This is Sarah’s third time at the college and last year she assisted one of our students to compete in the ‘Poets Out Loud’ youth slam competition. I would like to thank Sarah for her time and dedication to our students and thank our students for both their attentiveness and willingness to share personal thoughts and ideas in this space. We look forward to hopefully seeing another SMCC student in the ‘Poets Out Loud’ youth slam competition again this year. 

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

The new Uniform Shop is open and ready for business.

 All parents and visitors will be required to sign in at the front office prior to proceeding to the uniform shop. This is a child protection requirement.
 The Uniform Shop service is now a cashless service. The only method of payment is EFTPOS or online ordering via Flexischools.

Uniform Shop Opening Hours
Tuesdays         3.15pm to 4.15pm
Thursdays        1.45pm to 4.15pm

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 on Tuesday afternoon from 3.30pm - 4.15pm

Thursday Orders
- Cut off time is 12noon on Wednesday 
- Pick up available from the College on Thursday afternoon from 2.00pm - 4.15pm.

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.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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