Term 1 Week 7 Newsletter 2025
Important Dates
| Mar 17 | Happy St. Patrick's Day |
| Mar 18 | Tuning Into Kids - 5.30 pm to 7.00 pm |
| Mar 18 | NAPLAN - Years 3 & 5 - Reading |
| Mar 19 | NAPLAN - Years 3 & 5 - Language Conventions |
| Mar 20 | NAPLAN - Years 3 & 5 - Maths |
| Mar 21 | Year 3 Excursion - Botanic Gardens - 9 am to 11.45 am |
| Mar 24 | Parent Teacher Interviews |
| Mar 25 | Parent Teacher Interviews |
Mar 31 | PUPIL FREE DAY |
Apr 11 | Last Day of Term 1 |
Vision Statement:
St. Mary's Primary strives to be a welcoming Christ-centred learning community that promotes a quality holistic
education and trusting relationships in a caring and supportive environment.
Acknowledgment of Country: We acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land, the Wiradjuri people, who, long before us, lived, loved, educated and raised their children on this site. We pay our respects to elders past and present, and we recognise the young people who are our future. We acknowledge all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families in our community. We respect their deep physical and spiritual connections to the country through their stories traditions and living cultures.
Character Virtue: C U R I O S I T Y
What it looks like: Curiosity allows us to look at the world with wonder and ask questions as an observer of God's creation.
What it means: Curiosity means wanting to learn and discover new things.
Why it is important: Curiosity about topics, and how things work and other people can help us grow and develop our understanding and knowledge.
From the Principal
Mr Luke Wilson
Principal
Dear Parents,
Welcome to Week 7.
Parent-Teacher Interviews - Monday, 24th March and Tuesday, 25th March
Parent-teacher interviews will be held next week. 6B and 3B interviews will be held at different times. Please check your grade emails for details.
* Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 teachers will conduct two-way parent-teacher interviews.
* Years 3 to Year 6 will conduct three-way student-parent-teacher interviews.
Families will be able to book a time for their interviews as of this afternoon.
These interviews are an excellent opportunity for a one-on-one chat with your child’s teacher and to gain information on their progress in the first eight weeks of the year. It is also an opportunity for you to share any concerns or questions.
PUPIL FREE DAY - MONDAY, 31ST MARCH
St. Mary's staff will gather with our literacy consultant, Dr Sarah McDonagh,
and staff from St. Laurence's to focus on the effective use of rich,
quality texts in teaching reading comprehension.
2026 KINDERGARTEN SIBLING ENROLMENT APPLICATION FORMS
need to be returned to the school office by Friday, 4th April.
Thank you.
School Photographs
LATE ORDERS...
Dear Parents,
School photos were taken last Thursday, 13th March. Group and portrait photographs can be purchased by following the link below for 7 days from the day photos were taken, after which late fees/additional charges will be incurred.
Purchase before late fees apply via:
Visa, MasterCard or PayPal
ORDER SCHOOL PHOTOS HERE...
https://www.advancedimage.com.au/PublicPortal/Home.aspx?nbnhmHqqedBLADijVqDGp8y+ceJwx6RC
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
- Late fees - a late fee will be applied to each package purchased more than 7 days 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 - Last Tuesday, St. Mary’s swimmers represented the Western Region at the Diocesan Swimming Carnival. Thanks to Mr Keady, who did a fantastic job organising the carnival.
Congratulations to our Senior Girls Relay team (Georgie, Emily, Sophie and Frankie) and to Georgie, Diesel, Matthew, Emily and Georgia, who qualified to progress to the Polding Carnival, which will be held in Homebush.
Religious Education
Gospel Focus: Transfigured
Luke 9:28-36
Be humble, share forgiveness, show you are sorry, and help others.
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
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:
| Hayden - 2B For his steady, focused, settled approach to his learning. |
| Willah - 2G For improved confidence in reading groups. |
| Kala - 3G For being a steady and diligent worker. |
| Hugh - 5G For consistently trying his best regardless of the task. |
HOUSE AWARDS:
Congratulations to the following students for gaining 10 points for
their Sports House for exemplary behaviour:
| LA SALLE: | McAULEY: | MOORE: | LENNON: |
| Henry - KB | Lillian - KB | Archie - KB | Kamie - KG |
| Mackenzie - 2B | Arliah - KB | Mackenzie - 2B | Jensen - 2B |
| Kai - 2G | Annie - KB | Benji - 2B | Louie - 2B |
| Abigail - KG | Eboni - 2B | Liddy - 2B | |
| Sully - KG | Heidi - 2B | Wyatt - 2B | |
| Maddix - 2G | Oakely - 2B | Jack - 2G | |
| Ruby - 2G | Will - 2B | Matilda - 2G | |
| Irish - 2G | Georgia - 2G | Reggie - 2G | |
| Hartley - 2G | Jack - 2G | Emily - 5B | |
| Emmie - 5B | Alexis - 2G | ||
| Madelyn - 5B |
School Fees
TERM 1 FEES WERE DUE LAST FRIDAY, 14th March 2025. PROMPT PAYMENT PLEASE.
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.
Term 2 Statement date: 9th May, 2025 and instalment due date 23rd May, 2025
Term 3 Statement date: 1st August, 2025 and instalment due date 15th August, 2025
Music
Community News
BIRTHDAYS:
Celebrating their birthday this week are:
Remy, Max, George, Roy, Liza, Jake, Lewy and Mr Luke Wilson.
We hope you enjoy your birthday!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Canteen
CANTEEN ROSTER | |
| Tuesday, 18th March | Kristy Hubbard |
| Wednesday, 19th March | Julie Bashford, Leah Job and Jo Trimboli |
| Thursday, 20th March | Emma Maas and Emily Simpson |
| Friday, 21st March | Liesl Gamser and Aleks Sutton |
| Monday, 24th March | Sheridan Wiatkowski |
MunchMonitor - We encourage all families to use the MunchMonitor online program for lunch orders.
School Uniform
THE CLOTHING POOL
Thank you to our parents who have dropped in their secondhand clothes for the Clothing Pool.
We are in urgent need of Sports Shorts and Grey Shorts - Size 4 and Size 6.
If you happen to have these at home and they are no longer in use,
please consider dropping them off at the school office.
Much appreciated.
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: