Newsletter - T4, W6 - 17/11/23
From the Principal
Thank you to all the parents who attended the learning and teaching discussions during transition week. This was a new initiative aimed at deepening the conversation around student learning and what the next steps could be for advancement. The feedback from parents was overwhelmingly positive. One of the priorities for the College moving forward is to strengthen family partnerships and improve communication channels, this initiative was a first step.
Week 6 of Term 4 signifies the start of the new academic year due to the compressed curriculum that St Mary’s Catholic College offers. One of the benefits of a compressed curriculum is students gear up again and work hard through Term 4 right up to the last day before the Christmas holidays. While traditional schools are on the wind down, St Mary’s Catholic College students are winding back up. Congratulations to all students for the way you have started the new academic year.
The Senior Retreat finished last Friday, 10 November at Camp Drewe in Lennox Head. I had the pleasure of spending some time at the Retreat and was impressed with how well the students bonded with each other and staff. The Retreat program is so vital in the development of students outside the classroom and allows them to build positive relationships with each other and staff.
The College bid its final farewell to our Year 12 students last Saturday night with a tremendous celebration at the formal. The entrance was impressive, and it was great to see students’ parents and staff having fun with each other and give these fantastic young adults the send-off they deserved.
The start of the new academic year has brought about some staff changes. We farewelled Andrew Fitness and Che Mcdougall who are spending some time on an overseas adventure. Mahaila Day has also finished her fulltime employment at St Mary’s to head north in 2024. Mahaila will continue to work at the College in 2023 on a casual basis. All these teachers have been a great asset and will be sadly missed by staff, students and families.
We welcome Mr Craig Beare to St Mary’s Catholic College who will work as the Sport Coordinator. Craig has a wealth of experience having worked for many years at St John’s College, Woodlawn and most recently distance education.
Michael Campbell
Principal
Upcoming Dates
Week 7
Monday 20/11/2023 - White Card Training
Wednesday 22/11/23 - Leadership Assembly
Friday 24/11/2023 - Yr 7 2024 Orientation Day
Parish Mass Times
Weekend Mass
Saturday 6.00pm
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
Tabulam - 10.30am Sunday 26/11/2023
An Invitation to Adoration in our Catholic Church
Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
Every Wednesday between 5 pm and 6 pm.
Could you spend 5 or 10 minutes before the blessed sacrament in silence
Peace within our world
Peace within our community
Peace within your family
Peace within your heart.
Mission Team
Mission
Welcome back to the new academic year! We begin this year with a celebration of Venerable Catherine McAuley. Catherine McAuley is a significant religious person who was the founder of the Sisters of Mercy. Catherine is known for her enterprising spirit and the care she provided to the poor and destitute women of Dublin almost 200 years ago.
We are continually grateful for the Sisters of Mercy and their contributions to our community and the global community.
Clare Axman
Assistant Principal - Mission
Evangelisation
Senior Retreat
The recent retreat themed "Fear Not" was an incredible journey for our Year 11 and 12 students. The program began with a Stage 6 retreat day at Windara which was facilitated by the Passionist Retreat Team. Year 12 then went to Camp Drewe and participted in a range of activities which were focused on forming future goals and reflecting on their schooling journey thus far.
Students were able to take advantage of the beautiful location and went boogie boarding, built rafts and enjoyed each others company. Our students walked away from this experience with the courage to tackle their final year of school, and were united as a Year group to support each other through the challenges that they may face. Thank you to all of the staff who accompanied the students on this retreat, it wouldn’t be possible without our dedicated staff.
I would also like to bid my farewell to the St Mary’s community as I conclude my role as Leader of School Evangelisation. It is with a blend of emotions—sadness and gratitude—that I say goodbye to this deeply cherished community.
St Mary’s holds a special place in my heart, and has been a central part of my life's journey. The opportunity to serve alongside dedicated colleagues and to teach incredible students has been a true blessing. I am grateful for the relationships that I formed with the parish, families and the broader Casino community and I know these will continue in the future.
The warmth and support I've received from the St Mary’s community have been invaluable. Your enthusiasm for fostering a nurturing environment, one that encourages growth, faith, and compassion, have made my time here truly rewarding.
Mahaila Day
Leader of School Evangelisation
1 hr Webinar - Talk to Your Kids about Vaping
Parents and carers are invited to a free one-hour webinar during November and December to learn how to protect young people from vaping. Registration is essential.
Learning & Teaching Team
New Academic Year
This week we began our new academic year. This means that students have advanced into the next grade and that work for their new level and new classes has begun. The move to a new academic year in the middle of term 4 is important to make sure that our students get the time they need to complete all of their courses - especially in Stage 6.
For our Stage 6 students, the beginning of their new subjects means the beginning of their new assessments. All students may have assessments due right up until the final day of term. It is important that students are organised and make sure they know their due dates. It is also important that families know the NESA rules around absence from an assessment task. If you are planning on starting your Christmas holidays early, please ask your child to check their assessment dates and hand in what they need to in order to complete their task. Specific rules around assessments will be given to students in the coming week.
Learning and Teaching Discussions
Thanks you to all of those families that took time out of their week last week to come and talk to us about their child’s learning and educational development in 2023 and helped us set goals for 2024. Around 65% of our families in years 8-10 made appointments during this time and we are grateful for the opportunity to work with you to help your child succeed.
Learning profiles will be given to all students so they can monitor their learning growth. Teachers will be focusing on these learning goals in their teaching in 2024, and they will form the basis of class tasks and assessments in the coming year. For those who were unable to make it during this time, if you would like a copy of your child’s learning profile, please contact me at the College.
To further improve how we support our students and families please take the time to complete this short survey regarding transition week.
Integrity Awards ands Celebration Day
When we began our new non-academic reporting - the SMCC Integrity Awards - we gave students and families details of how the students who consistently met our expectations would be rewarded at the end of the year.
Those students who have maintained a 3.2 and above average will be invited to our celebration day to occur in the last week of term. Students who have received the Integrity award for 2023 will be celebrated at an upcoming College assembly and notes will be going home shortly.
Nadine Connolly
Assistant Principal - Learning and Teaching
Year 12 Formal
Last Saturday, 11 November 2023, St Mary's Catholic College celebrated in style at the Year 12 Formal held at The Relihan Centre. The class of 2023 looked stunning; the young ladies beautiful in gorgeous gowns, and the young gentlemen dapper in suits. A fun night was had by all with delicious food catered by The Secret Chef and dancing the night away to the awesome Cath Simes Band.
Kerry-Anne Mckey
Head of House - McKillop
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.