Newsletter - T3, W8 - 8/9/23

From the Acting Principal

I would like to acknowledge and congratulate our senior students for almost completing their HSC courses for 2023. Our Year 12 students are almost at the end of their 13-year school journey. One of the highlights of being an educator in a high school is watching students grow from children into young adults. The current group of Year 12 students should be very proud of the young adults they have become. We will be formally farewelling our Year 12’s with a Graduation Mass and Awards Ceremony in week 10. A letter has gone home to all Year 12 students and their families outlining key dates.

Showcase
This was my first Showcase experience and I was blown away by the preparation and hard work that went into highlighting our very talented students. I would like to thank Mr Justin Hayward and his team for the hard work that went into organising this event.

Have a great weekend

Michael Campbell
Acting Principal

From the College Business Manager

The payment of school fees is essential for the day to day running of the College and we are grateful for the efforts people make in paying these fees.  If you need to discuss your school fee account please contact the College Office.

Term 1 & 2 & 3 fees are now due and payable unless regular payments are being made or an arrangement has been made.

Term 4 Tuition fees will be billed during the week commencing 09 October 2023 and will appear on the October statement.  

For planning purposes the  schedule of fees for Term 4 is below:

Term 4 Tuition fees Years 7-10 $486  
Term 4 Tuition Fees Year 11 $609

All Term 4 fees will be due and payable by 12 December 2023 unless an arrangement has been made.

Leanne Cummins
College Business Manager

Upcoming Dates

Week 9
Monday 11/9/23 - Year 9 Pass Tennis
Tuesday 12/9/23 - Stage 6 Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews
Tueday 12/9/23 - Year 8 Catch the Wave Day
Thursday 14/9/23 - Netball NSW Cup (Round 2) - Ballina 
Friday 15/9/23 -RUOK Day
Friday 15/9/23 - Year 9 Father's Day Mass

Week 10
Tuesday 19/9/23 -Year 12 Assembly
Tuesday 19/9/23 - Year 12 Car Wash
Wednesday 20/9/23 - Year 12 Graduation - St Mary's Catholic Church 
Thursday 21/9/23 - Year 12 Wet n Wild Day
Thursday 21/9/23 to Sunday 24/9/23- IGNITE, St Laurence’s College, South Brisbane

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

Country Mass
Bonalbo - 10.30am Sunday 24/9/23

Mission Team

Mission
In our Gospel readings this week we hear “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Mt 18:20). Our College community gathers together in God’s name every day. Our mission is to live out our faith, knowing that God is with us always.

We are coming to the end of our time with our Year 12 students. We have only a fortnight left of time together as a cohort of St Mary’s Catholic College. We are looking forward to sharing these final days with our students as they prepare to embark on their future journey. We have a number of wonderful activities planned with them, and for them, to help mark this milestone. Please keep our Year 12 students in your prayers as they conclude their time as a student of St Mary’s.

Clare Axman
Assistant Principal - Mission

Evangelisation

Parish Cake Stall
Last weekend we held our Parish Bake Stall raising money for our school hardship fund. This was hugely successful and we were able to raise just over $700. Thank you to all of the students who assisted by baking items for the stall. Thank you to Nick Carey, Lizzie Carey and Charlotte Day who assisted Ms Day and Ms Northam with the running of the stall.

Ignite
Ignite is quickly approaching and we are super excited to be attending this event in Brisbane with 10 students from our school and 1000’s of other like minded young people. It is going to be an incredible experience for the students attending to deepen their understanding of the faith and develop new friendships. Please keep these students in your prayers as they attend this discipleship event.

Mahaila Day
Leader of School Evangelisation

Learning & Teaching Team

A Change to Transition Week
Transition week is held in Term 4, Week 5. It has been put into place to allow the College to transition from one academic year to the next 4 weeks before the end of the calendar school year. We have this in place because of our compressed curriculum and the need to begin courses earlier than the start of the next year.

Traditionally transition week has consisted of Monday and Tuesday being student free days and Reach Out activities being conducted from Wednesday to Friday. Due to the changing nature of society in a post COVID world, we are no longer able to complete Reach Out activities in large groups the way we have done in the past. This means that transition week will need to look very different for SMCC moving forward.

The College has decided to focus more predominantly on learning and teaching during this week, and then better incorporate Reach Out activities and opportunities throughout the school year for students. 

Nadine Connolly
Assistant Principal - Learning and Teaching

NAPLAN
NAPLAN results have been distributed to all students in Years 7 and 9. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the College office. 

Emma Northam
Literacy Coach

Library Term 3
As we are nearing the end of our academic year, I am asking students to ensure any books they are finished with are returned. If texts are required for study and revision, these may be kept until after exams if they are being used.

Please note, that as we move into the new school Year in Term 4, students will need to have all books returned, or paid for if lost,  before they can borrow resources for the 2024 academic year.

I thank you for your understanding on this matter.

Bev Champion
Leader of Library and Resources

Showcase Report (2023)
The College’s annual Showcase highlights the talent from our students in Music, Art, Drama, Photography, Dance, and Design & Technology. 

This year it was held on Tuesday, 29 August 2023. The night started with an Art, Photography, and Design & Technology exhibition with delicious appetizers being prepared and served by students. Following, there were 30 performances from our Music, Drama, and Dance students. 

As always, the night was a huge success with an attendance of 220 people. Thanks to all the students who performed and the staff who were involved in organising the event. We look forward to Showcase in 2024. 

Justin Hayward
Leader of Creative Arts/LOTE

Sports News

NSWCCC Interdiocesan Athletics Championships
Good luck to these students that have progressed through to the NSWCCC Interdiocesan Athletics Championships at Sydney Olympic Park Athletics Centre, Homebush Bay. These students will compete in the following events early next week.

• Angel Codrington 16 years girls Javelin
• Lascelle Hayward 16 years girls High Jump
• Campbell Stuart 12 years boys 100m
• Jay Urquhart Purdon 13 years boys Javelin, Shot Put and Discuss
• Nashua Thomas 13 years boys High Jump

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 DePaul 4 who were the winners and have been presented with a perpetual trophy during assembly this week, followed by a pizza party at lunch time in week 9. Not only did DePaul 4 win this year’s competition, they tipped a perfect round in the first week and lead the competition every single week. Very deserved winners. Below is the final table of results:

Upcoming Sport - Term 3
Thursday 14/9/23 - Netball NSW Cup Round 2 - 7/8 boys and 9/10 girls

Andrew Fitness
Sports Coordinator

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         3.00pm to 4.15pm
Thursdays        1.30pm to 4.15pm

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 - 4.15.00pm

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