Newsletter - T2,W8 - 16/6/23

From the Acting Principal

Vinnie's Winter Sleepout
On Thursday, 8 June 2023, 55 of our students braved the cold to support St Vincent De Paul and the amazing community work they do. These students slept at the College in conditions far removed from the usual home comforts, the way they conducted themselves was fantastic. All these students should be proud of themselves for engaging in such a community building event.

Subject Selection Evening
On Tuesday, 13 June 2023, our year 10 students and parents were invited to attend a subject selection information evening designed to give families some guidance when it comes to subject selection in the senior years. The attendance was strong, and I would encourage students and their families to contact the College if you have any queries.

Athletics Carnival
On Thursday, 15 June 2023, the College held the annual athletics carnival. The weather was great and student participation was excellent. I have said many times, community building events really do tell a story of a school and its spirit. The way students participated on the day proves that St Mary’s does have tremendous school spirit. Well done to all!

Year 7-10 Parent Teacher Interviews
On Tuesday, 20 June 2023 and Wednesday, 21 June 2023 the College will be conducting Parent/Teacher Interviews for our Years 7-10 families. These interviews are designed to give valuable feedback about student progress, these interviews are affirming and allow staff to talk directly with families relating to areas of improvement.

Have a great weekend!

Michael Campbell
Acting Principal

Upcoming Dates

Week 9
Tuesday 20/6/23 - Year 9 Reflection Day
Tuesday 20/6/23 - Year 7-10 Parent/Teacher Interviews
Tuesday 20/6/23 - Country Cup Rugby League (Round 2)
Tuesday 20/6/23 - Youth Vaping Forum 
Tuesday 20/6/23 & Wednesday 21/6/23 - Year 7 to 10 Parent/Teacher Interviews
Wednesday 21/6/23 - Jeans and Jerseys for State of Origin
Thursday 22/6/23 - Forming Futures Barista Excursion 
Thursday 22/6/23 - Senior Agriculture Field Trip 
Thursday 22/6/23 - Trade Readiness
Thursday 22/6/23 - 2023 Street Retreat
Friday 23/6/23 -  Trade Readiness

Week 10
Monday 26/6/23 - Katrina Fanning Cup
Tuesday 27/6/23 - Trade Readiness Final Day
Wednesday 28/6/23 - NAIDOC Assembly & Activities
Wednesday 28/6/23 - Taste of the Bush Excursion - 9 and 10 Food Tech

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

First Eucharist 
Sunday 25 /6/23 - 9.00am

From the College Business Manager

Camp Kokoda Payment Reminder 
Thank you to the Year 9 families that have already paid for Camp Kokoda or have made contact with the College to make other arrangements.  The following message is a reminder to all families that have not yet paid or made contact with the College.

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.

Leanne Cummins
College Business Manager

From the Leader of Curriculum

Subject Selections - Year 10 into Year 11 2024
The Year 10 into 11 Subject Selection process has now commenced with the next sessions taking place in Term 3.

Session 3 — Monday, 24 July 2023 - Period 1 - 2 (Term 3, Week 2)
Students discuss choices & have them signed off by relevant LOLs

• Subject selection Google Form made available & to be completed by 5pm Friday, 28 July 2023 (Term 3, Week 2)

Session 4 ~ Monday, 7 August 2023, 8am - 5:30pm (Term 3, Week 4)
SETP Interviews. Please note the following about these interviews:

• Students only attend school on this day for their interview. 
• These interviews are compulsory. No Year 11 enrollment will proceed until an interview is conducted.
• Those who cannot make this day are asked to contact Mr. Woerner for a suitable alternative time.

The above process will be greatly helped if students and their parents/guardians access the St. Mary’s Stage 6 Subjects (or bit.ly/stage6subjects) and they begin the process of informing themselves what subjects are available & which ones would be of interest to them.

An email has been sent out with the link to the above site to both students and parents/guardians. Please make sure the student accesses the site (parents/guardians will have access as well) and bookmark/favourite it as the link will not be provided again.

Stage 6 Trial Exams
These exams are held during Week 6 of next term (Monday, 21 - Friday, 25 August 2023) and play a very important role in a Year 11/12 student’s school based mark which in turn accounts for 50% of their final HSC mark. As a consequence I would like to take this opportunity to remind students and their parents of the school rules around assessment tasks.

• The trial exam marks can account for anywhere between 30-40% of their school-based HSC mark
• They are an excellent opportunity to practise recalling information and answering questions under exam conditions
• Any absence from an exam requires a medical certificate or a statement from a professional authority. Any absence that is deemed unjustified (example family holiday, driving test etc) will result in a zero being awarded for this exam.
• The exams will start on a Monday and as a consequence the Friday (18. August) before then is considered as the day before the exam period. Absences on that Friday need to be addressed in the same manner as the previous bullet point
• Whilst students are welcome to attend school at times when they do not have exams for purposes of study or seeking help from their teachers, attendance is not compulsory for the exam period other than to sit for an exam. Students who are in attendance outside of exam times must sign in and out at the front office and must complete their study in the Library or in a designated room supervised by a teacher.

Michael Woerner
Leader of Curriculum

From the Leader of Pastoral Care

North Coast Youth Vaping Taskforce Forum
In our last newsletter I made mention of the North Coast Youth Vaping Taskforce Forum being offered by North Coast Health Service in Ballina.

We wish to extend an invitation to join the upcoming North Coast Youth Vaping Taskforce Forum to be held in Ballina on Tuesday, 20 June 2023 from 9am – 4pm.  

 If you are interested in attending, please complete the survey below to register your interest. 

North Coast Youth Vaping Forum EOI Survey

 You can find more about the North Coast Youth Vaping Taskforce here.

Youth Mental Health First Aid
The focus on the Mental Health of our students is a priority and as such our staff continue to keep Youth Mental Health First Aid accreditation updated to confidently support our students. These 2 day courses will be running again over the next few weeks to expand the number of our college staff with this accreditation. Our Heads of House work closely with staff and our College Counsellor in monitoring all students and in particular vulnerable students.

Michele McCaffery
Leader of Pastoral Care

From the Leader of Learning - Inclusion & Diversity

Clarence Valley Close the GAP Day 2023
Recently there have been a lot of significant opportunities for our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students at the College! After meeting with the CSO’s Aboriginal Education Advisory Committee in Term 1, Brendan Randall of St Joseph’s Primary School in Maclean shared yet another amazing opportunity with the College. So, after the usual preparations, on Thursday, 8 June 2023, a group of students travelled to Yamba to attend the Close the Gap day. It was clear blue skies as the multitude of school buses pulled into Ngayundi Sports Complex.
The purpose of the day was to educate and create awareness of the Close the Gap program for all youth. This encompassed all aspects of health, education, employment, justice and culture. Following the Welcome to Country ceremony, students could participate in Yarning Circles, stalls, activities and musical entertainment throughout the entire day. One highlight was meeting current NRL players from the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
It was heartening to see hundreds of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students come together to experience this opportunity. Community members welcomed our students warmly, and hoped to see us return in 2024. St Mary’s will be there!

Kelly Scurr
Leader of Learning - Inclusion & Diversity

From the Sports Coordinator

Sport Report

7-10 Boys Soccer Gala Day 
Last Tuesday, St Mary's took a bus down to Coffs Harbour to participate in the junior dio soccer day. The boys had an early start leaving at 5:30am but we were raring to go and got straight into our first match suffering a close loss to Mt Saint Patrick’s. We didn't let that dampen our spirits going into our second match but unfortunately we ended up losing 6-0 with our first two goal (own goals courtesy of Max Hale and Jack Walker) the two boys got a laugh out of this. The boys let our third match get away from us but we managed to score in the fourth game courtesy of Ben George. A big shout out to Max Hale for his goal keeping efforts in the last match and I would like to say a big thank you to Mr Fitness and Mrs Hughes for taking the time off to take the bus down and give us the opportunity to represent the school.

Country Cup
St Mary’s have progressed through to the next stage of the state wide Country Cup.

The first round was held at Casino two weeks ago. Up against Woodlawn in their first game, it was encouraging to see that the team was up to the challenge. Isaiah scoring in the first few minutes increased the confidence within the team. Woodlawn scored to even up the game, however with St Mary’s scoring first – we won the game.

Second game was against Kyogle – with Kyogle having a few very good players and with a couple of St Mary’s not being able to play due to injury, Kyogle was able to win 12 to 8.

The third game was against Maclean HS, as the boys were about to warm up, they were told that there was no need too!! Maclean HS had forfeited and were on their way home.

With the top two teams progressing to next week’s Far North Coast Finals, the St Mary’s boys were very happy. Let’s hope for wins next week.

The Under 13s Rugby League team had to win 3 of their 4 games for the day to progress to the diocesan level. After losing the first game, the spirits and belief in the side were low. Thankfully, Mr Lollback was there to inspire us all as we fought our way to 3 solid wins beating Maclean 4 - 1 and 4 - 2 as well as Woodlawn 3 - 0 to win the day and progress levels. The stars of the day were Nash Thomas, Corey Love and Lucas Murray who collected the 3, 2 and 1 votes respectively. The U13s would like to thank Mr Fitness for organising the teams, Mr Bartlett and Mr Lollback for helping on the day and Jack Hannigan, Max Hale and Lachy Rippon for keeping us hydrated.

Diocesan Girls Netball
Tuesday we had 3 girls teams compete at Tweed in the Dio Netball. The Opens girls had lots of fun and in a series of five closely contested netball matches. With one draw and four nail-biting defeats, the Open’s enjoyed a fun day out in the sun. Thank you to Ms McDougall for coaching us. 

The 9/10 team was coached by Shenane, who imparted her netball knowledge on the girls. The girls had some really close games, Bella Roberts and Belle Wall were the most valuable players on the day demonstrating exceptional athleticism. 

Mrs Mcaffery took charge of the 7 and 8 girls who had a mixed day with some wins and losses. The Formaggin twins were valuable throughout the day, and led the younger players demonstrating exceptional leadership on the court.

The teams would like to thank Mr Fitness for organising the day, and providing opportunities for us to continue to represent the College in sport. There were many memories made and we had such a great day. 

Boys NRCC Netball
Yesterday we had boys teams compete at Tweed in the NRCC Netball. This year saw a huge turn out of boys teams with St Mary’s entering 4 teams across all divisions. 

The senior boys started the day off well with two comfortable wins. While we failed to progress to the a final after some unlucky close games, the boys showed grit and held our own for the rest of the day, finishing 3rd overall in a tough pool.

The two year 9 and 10 teams played extremely well considering they had never played before. The ‘A’ team battled out for third place, narrowly losing to Trinity, finishing 4th whilst the ‘B’ team played admirably finishing 6th overall.

The stars of the day were the year 7/8 boys, coached by Mr Chivers, who went through undefeated, winning 5 matches including the grand final. An outstanding show of skill, tenacity and the height of star goal shooter Blair Campbell.

The junior boys were crowned the Northern Rivers Catholic Colleges under 14 boys netball winners for 2023.

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

• Country Cup Round 2 - U/13 and U/15 boys rugby league - Tuesday, 2o June 2023 - Ballina
• Katrina Fanning Cup open girls rugby league Monday, 26 June 2023 - Murwillumbah

SMCC Representative sport
Students and families are reminded that when representing the College at any sporting event, that students must wear the full college sport uniform. This means that students are not permitted to wear casual jumpers, hats, track pants or shoes or socks. Students that fail to adhere to the college uniform policy whilst representing SMCC in sport will be asked not to attend. The purpose of this policy is to present as a team and show pride in our school. Any questions please direct them to the College Sport Coordinator Andy Fitness.

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

Yr 7 Troubie Productions - Ryka Ali in Kadul

Last Tuesday, June 6 2023, Year 7 viewed the Troubie Production Ryka Ali in Kadul, which engaged students with elements of Indigenous culture and meaning. The students participated in learning dance, the meaning behind elements of body art and clothing, throwing boomerangs and playing the didgeridoo (boys only). Additionally, the Year 7 cohort was exposed to indigenous language and gained an appreciation of the rich and diverse culture that is inherent within indigenous Australians.

Christopher Robinson
Leader of Learning - HSIE

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

The Uniform Shop service is a cashless service. Methods of payment are by EFTPOS or online ordering via Flexischools. No fees are charged to families for using the Flexischools service.

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

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

Thursday Orders
- Cut off time is 12 noon 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.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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