Newsletter - T3, W10 - 22/9/23
From the Acting Principal
On Wednesday our Year 12 College leaders were farewelled in a very fitting formal celebration of the Eucharist followed by an awards ceremony. Whilst some of these students were appointed as official leaders, I am proud to say that all Year 12 students were quality leaders of the College. They have represented themselves, their families and the College with distinction, we could not be prouder of the way they have carried themselves. I wish them all the best with their future endeavours and look forward to hearing some of the success stories. I would like to give a special mention to our official College leaders for the work they put into leading the student body and engaging with staff providing ideas and vision for the future of St Mary’s.
College Captains - Nick Carey and Charlotte Day
Vice Captains - Tom Wyatt and Ava George
House Captains - Kharis Birney, Tahlia Richards, Connor Turner, Sophie Winkler
Term 4 begins on Monday, 9 October 2023.
Have a great break
Michael Campbell
Acting Principal
Upcoming Dates
Week 1
Monday 09/10/23 - First Day for Students
Wednesday 11/10/23 - HSC Exams Begin
Friday 13/10/23 - Dio North Volleyball -Casino Indoor Sports Stadium
Friday 13/10/23 - 'Grin and Tonic' Shakespeare performance
Week 2
Tuesday 17/10/23 - Dio eSports Rocket League
Wednesday 18/10/23 -Year 7 Vaccinations - 2nd Dose
Thursday 19/10/23 - Lismore Show 2023-Steer Judging
Friday 20/10/23 - Year 10 PASS Excursion to BOUNCE
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
This week we farewelled our Year 12 students. It was a beautiful day, and befitting of their time as students of St Mary’s Catholic College. I want to thank Fr Denis for his wonderful celebration of the schooling for these students.
Our term has drawn to a close and we are looking forward to the rest and recuperation only a holiday can provide. I trust everyone has a wonderful break and we look forward to welcoming all students back to the College in term four.
Clare Axman
Assistant Principal - Mission
Evangelisation
We ask that God continues to hold our Year 12 students in the palm of his hands and gives everyone calm hearts to uncover our individual gifts. Let our students learn to listen to the Holy Spirit and be guided to where they need to be. Thank you God, for blessing our Year 12 students with people in their lives who have been vessels for your work and have shown our students the way, the truth and the life. The Catholic Faith is deeply instilled in our students, and we know that their inner lights will continue to glow for eternity.
May God Bless each and every one of you.
Mahaila Day
Leader of School Evangelisation
Safe on Social
Kirra Pendergast and the Safe on Social team have some advice:
- The Rise in Scams and What you Need to Know: The Rise in Scams
- Stay informed about the latest apps, platforms and trends: Stay informed about what your child is experiencing online
Michele McCaffery
Leader of Pastoral Care
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
Progressive Achievement Tests
During Week 1 of Term 4, all students from Years 7 to 10 will participate in Progressive Achievement Tests (PAT). Testing will occur on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.
All students will require a charged device to complete the tests.
Please ensure your child has a working device on these days or has arranged to get a White Card to use the school Chromebooks. A pen is also required.
The College will lend out Chromebooks to students who have a White Card first. If there are too many students without a device, some students will have to sit their PAT test immediately after the rest of the school.
Please do not hesitate to contact the College if you have any concerns about the PAT testing process.
Emma Northam
Literacy Coach
Library
As we close for another term, I would like to wish all our Year 12's the very best with their future endeavours. It was inspiring to see the achievements of many of our Year 12’s this year at the Graduation Mass.
On another note, I have been excited by the number of students who are starting to talk about and become absorbed by the books they are reading for leisure. I have noticed some students are becoming more discerning, and selecting books from genre’s they enjoy reading which is very encouraging. Having good reading abilities may enable students to interpret and find meaning in all that they read, and eventually develop their ability to communicate effectively through writing. Students are encouraged to continue to borrow fiction from the Library or access it from the SORA app found on the Library website or downloaded from the App store.
In terms of end-of-year processes, I ask that Year 12 students return all books and texts as part of the sign-out process. For all other students, if they have books they are no longer using, or books that are overdue, please return them to the College Library. All books will need to be returned before new books are issued for the 2024 courses commencing in November.
I wish everyone an enjoyable holiday.
Bev Champion
Leader of Library and Resources
Sports News
To our Year 12 Graduates
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the Year 12 Graduates for their hard work and dedication to SMCC on the sporting fields, not only this year, but for throughout their entire high school career.
Seeing the students participation and achievement in sport is the reason I do this role. I am so proud of how they have represented our College and I wish them all the best in any and all future sporting endeavours.
NSWCCC Interdiocesan Athletics Championships
Unfortunately this carnival was cancelled due to safety reasons and the College wishes to share this message on behalf of Catholic Sports NSW.
“...due to unforeseen and serious safety concerns with the event, the NSWCCC Athletic Championships…at Sydney Olympic Park Athletics Centre has been cancelled and will not be rescheduled.
The decision was made after correspondence with relevant local authorities, including the NSW Police Force. CSNSW Sport apologises for any inconvenience and disappointment caused, however the safety of our students, parents and staff is and remains our number one priority.”
The Catholic Schools Office of Lismore also shared a statement regarding funds paid:
“As a result of the event cancellation, we will be refunding all registered students the $100 registration levy. Please wait up to 3 weeks for this amount to be refunded into your accounts.”
Students then had the opportunity to apply for the NSW All Schools Championships. NSW All Schools, is the culmination of the state secondary school pathway.
We wish the students that applied and were successful for this pathway, the best of luck.
Netball NSW Schools Cup - FNC Regional Finals
Last Thursday, 14 September 2023, saw St Mary's represented by the Year 9 & 10 girls and Year 7 & 8 boys teams. The girls made it through for the Far North Coast Regional Netball Finals and the boys were given a wildcard entry. The day was about picking the best teams in each of the age categories to represent the Far North Coast down in Sydney.
St Mary's Year 7 & 8 Boys: They played five games in total. Their first game against Tweed River High saw them start on a great high, final score 7-3 St Mary's win. The second game was a forfeit by the other team giving them an automatic points win. The third game was against Emmanuel Anglican College, which proved too much for them, final score: 15- 4. In the semi-final St Mary's played against Trinity. It was a tight game with both teams putting in a strong passing game and solid shooting, with St Mary's taking the lead part-way through the first half. Unfortunately the boys could not hold on, with the final score ending with a Trinity win of: 10-8. The fifth and final game was for third place, it was played against Woodlawn. The boys played a strong game with great passing and consistent shots going through the net... final score 11- 6 St Mary's Catholic College Casino winning.
St Mary's Year 9 & 10 Girls: They played four games in total, with the first bringing a win against Kingscliff, final score: 8-4. Second game brought an unexpected challenge, with the original team forfeiting and as a result Trinity was moved in the slot to play St Mary's Catholic College. It was a tough game with strong and fast passing evident by both teams, unfortunately St Mary's Year 9 & 10 girls couldn't keep score with Trinity, final score: 3-6. Third game was against McAuley Green with St Mary's losing, final score: 7-16. St Mary's final game was against a Grafton school which saw them struggle with a couple players injured. St Mary's not coming up with a win unfortunately, final score: 13-7. Despite the fact the Year 9 & 10 girls lost, they played with great sportsmanship and represented St Mary's Catholic College to a high standard.
Term 4 Weekly Sport
Students were given the opportunity last week to fill out google forms to select their preference for term 4 sport. As our academic year comes to an end midterm, students will be progressing up a year group beginning week 6.
What this means for weekly sport is that students in Years 7-9 needed to fill out 2 separate google forms - one for weeks 1-3 (no sport weeks 4 and 5 due to exams and transition week respectively) and the other for weeks 6 onwards. While Year 10 only needed to complete the first google form for weeks 1-3 as they will progress to Year 11 and no longer have timetabled weekly sport.
All students were emailed this google form by Miss Hughes and have had almost 2 weeks to complete these. Any student that has not filled out this google form will be placed in a sport for Term 4.
Sport lists and compass events will be completed during the holidays, ready for week 1 next term.
Have a safe and enjoyable holiday.
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.
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.