Term 1 Week 6 Newsletter 2025

Important Dates

Character Virtue:  C O U R T E S Y
What it looks like:   Jesus showed us by example that courtesy is treating people considerately and thinking about what is good for them, not just us.
What it means:  Courtesy means treating others the way we would like to be treated ourselves.
Why it is important:  Being courteous prevents rudeness and arguing.  It helps a home or school to run more smoothly because people are not being selfish but are always thinking of others.

From the Principal

Dear Parents,

Welcome to Week 6.

Dear Parents,
We celebrated the beginning of the Lenten season with our Ash Wednesday Mass last week. Lent is a time of preparation for Easter with a focus on fasting, giving and prayer.

NAPLAN testing commences this week for our students in Years 3 and 5
NAPLAN reflects key areas of literacy and numeracy, which are foundational to lifelong learning. Conducted annually for Years 3, 5, 7, and 9, it assesses reading, writing, spelling, grammar, and numeracy skills. While not the sole measure of ability, it offers a snapshot of progress and helps students build resilience under test conditions.
For parents, NAPLAN data highlights your child’s strengths and areas for growth. For teachers, it informs targeted strategies to meet individual and class needs.

On a broader scale, NAPLAN helps our schools:
*  Identify trends and evaluate teaching methods.
*  Allocate resources effectively.
*  Enhance educational outcomes collaboratively.

ATTENDANCE - The importance of regular school attendance:
Effective monitoring and promotion of regular student attendance is a legal requirement for our school. More importantly, it is a fundamental issue in relation to student well-being and has proven implications for student academic progress and achievement.
Based on research, the NSW Education Standards Authority has determined that primary students with attendance rates below 90% are at risk of ongoing impacts on their learning. Research shows that poor school attendance is associated with:

• lower academic achievement, including literacy and numeracy
• early school leaving
• leaving school with fewer qualifications
• reduced opportunities for students to learn and access educational resources, further limiting achievement
• further absenteeism in higher year levels

We will be monitoring student attendance throughout the year. You can expect to be contacted by your child’s teacher if a pattern of non-attendance, regular late arrivals or unexplained absences occurs.

School Photographs

School Photography Date: THURSDAY, 13th March 2025

DON'T FORGET TO ORDER...

Dear Parents,

School photography day is coming up this week. Group and portrait photographs can be purchased by following the link below. If you prefer to order using an envelope please visit the school office, collect an order envelope and hand your payment to our photographer on school photo day.

Two easy ways to purchase:

1. Visa, MasterCard or PayPal
2. Cash – complete the envelope supplied and return it to our photographer on photo day

Or visit: www.advancedlife.com.au
And enter online order code: WRP M52 MAB

School photography information:

• Online orders - do not require an envelope returned to your school
• Sibling Photos - Don’t forget to pre-order your sibling photos online up to 24 hours before photo day. We provide your school with a list of sibling orders right up to the day of photography, so no one misses out. If you miss the online order deadline, you can submit a completed sibling order envelope first thing in the morning of the day of photography, so your school is aware you want the photo taken and can bring your children together in time for it. Sibling photographs only apply to children enrolled at your school. Please note not all schools offer sibling photos
• Late fees - a late fee will be applied to each package purchased after photo day due to the additional cost of producing these packages separately
• Package delivery - School photographs will be returned approximately 6 weeks after the day of photography. Please note this delivery timeframe is dependent on proofing and additional photography days at your school.
• Previous Years’ photos - Past years’ photographs including sports, co-curricular and representative groups are also available to order under the “previous years or group photo” tabs at your school’s advancedorder site when you click on the “Order School Photos Here” button above. You can also order past packages, portrait images and gifts from your child’s unique, individual and secure advancedyou image archive site using the unique 9 digit image code found on packages you have ordered in the past

Sport

Diocesan Swimming Carnival - The Diocesan Swimming Carnival will be held here in Dubbo tomorrow.
Best of luck to the following swimmers who will represent St. Mary’s:
Brock, Harry, Georgia, Lucy, Slater, Louie, Roy, Emily, Connah, Sophie, Hamish, Georgie, Jackson, Cohen, Matthew, Frankie and Diesel.

Diocesan AFL Trials - Congratulations to Jackson, Leo, and Thomas, who were selected for the Bathurst Diocesan AFL team.

Cricket - A BIG thank you to our NSW Cricket Facilitator Mrs Jen Baker who has given the Girls Cricket Program at St Mary's a boost with her knowledge and expertise. Primary Girls were able to participate in a FREE Girls program last Friday, which will continue for the next 3 weeks. All Primary Girls are welcome to join in (check out the brochure below).

Religious Education

Meet4Mass - Our Term 1 Meet4Mass has been scheduled for Sunday, 6th April 2025.  We would like to invite everyone to come along and celebrate Mass with us on this day.

2025 Sacramental Parent Information Session - These have now taken place for 2025. If you have missed out on registering your child for one of the sacraments you need to contact Rosie Hosking, St. Brigid’s Sacramental Coordinator via email at sacraments.dubbo@cdob.org.au

ST. BRIGID'S PARISH - MASS TIMES:  
St Brigid's:  Saturday - 6pm, Sunday - 9am and Sunday - 6pm
St. Laurence's Church:  Sunday - 7.30am

Wellbeing

The Year 6 leaders have been to Holy Spirit to share the Ash Wednesday Mass with the residents and Fr Greg...

TUNING INTO KIDS...
As children grow into pre-teens and onto adolescents, it can be a turbulent time, and as parents and carers we can be left feeling like we are speaking a completely different language when trying to communicate with our child. Thankfully there is now more education than ever about how to navigate this time in your child's life, and how to foster strong, nurturing relationships. Tuning into Kids is an evidence based program that teaches parents and carers the skill of Emotionally Intelligent Parenting. Through these skills, parents and carers are able to become more aware of their child's emotions and responses to different situations, as well as attuning to their world and what is important to them. Amy Welbourne, Counsellor and trained Tuning into Kids facilitator is offering a condensed 1.5 hour version of what is normally a 6 week program, so that you can learn the key points from this training and start putting them into practice. 
Amy will also touch on the pros and cons of social media and its impacts on child brain development.

When:  Tuesday, 18th March 
Time:    5.30 pm to 7.00 pm
Where:  St. Mary's School Library
What to bring:   Notepad and pen

Thank you, Mrs Sue Nuttall - Wellbeing Leader

Awards

STUDENT OF THE WEEK:

HOUSE AWARDS:
Congratulations to the following students for gaining 10 points for
their Sports House for exemplary behaviour:

School Fees

Term 1 2025 School Fees are due this Friday, 14th March 2025.
If you wish to commence a new Direct Debit plan or have an existing Direct Debit plan in place that needs adjusting, please let us know via email:  k.bywater@bth.catholic.edu.au  Thank you.

Music

Community News

BIRTHDAYS:
Celebrating their birthday this week are:
Bede, Isaac, Raffie, Quinn, Logan, Koa, Lillie, Ivy, Thomas and
Mrs Britt O'Connor.
We hope you enjoy your birthday!

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Canteen

Volunteers for the Canteen
2025 Canteen Rosters were sent home with students today.  
THANK YOU!   THANK YOU!   THANK YOU!

MunchMonitor - We encourage all families to use the MunchMonitor online program for lunch orders. 

School Uniform

CCSP Parent Survey

Tell us about your experiences as a Catholic school parent and what you'd like to know more about.

We value every parent's thoughts and opinions!

CSSP would like to know how involved/engaged you feel you are in your child's learning at a NSW/ACT Catholic school, how connected you feel in your child's school, and your thoughts on how schools could enhance family-school partnerships.

This data informs our parent learning program and provides us with valuable information about how our Dioceses and schools are engaging with families.

Thank you so much for taking time out to give us your feedback.

Please click the link to go to the survey: