Term 1 Week 9 Newsletter 2024
Important Dates
Mar 26 | Easter Raffle drawn at 9.00 am |
Mar 26 | Years 3 and 4 - Visit to DRTCC 'Dog Man' at 12.30pm |
Mar 26 | Parent Teacher Interviews |
Mar 27 | Holy Thursday Liturgy - 12.30pm (presented by Year 6) School Hall |
Mar 28 | Stations of the Cross - 11.30am (presented by Year 3) School Hall |
Apr 02 | Easter Liturgy - 12.30pm (presented by Year 2) |
Apr 02 | Rugby Union Gala Day (Years 5 & 6) |
Apr 03 | CPS Swimming - Homebush |
Apr 04 | Primary Cross Country - commencing at approx. 9.30am |
Apr 05 | Rugby League Gala Day (Years 5 & 6) |
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: D E T A C H M E N T
Detachment means we don't become slaves to possessions, events or even people. It helps us develop a healthy independence and see things from a clear point of view. It's like the story of the rich young man in the Gospels who asks Jesus what he must do to be perfect. Jesus answers, "Go, sell what you possess, give it to the poor and come follow me."
Detachment is:
* Loving people and using possessions purposefully and with gratitude.
* Generously sharing what we have with others.
From the Principal
Mr Luke Wilson
Principal
Dear Parents,
Welcome to Week 9.
This week, we celebrate the events of Holy Week. Since the early days of Christianity, the week beginning with Palm Sunday and ending at sundown on Easter has been a sacred time because it commemorates the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
On Friday, Kindergarten did a beautiful job leading us in the celebration of Palm Sunday. Year 6 will lead our Holy Thursday Liturgy on Wednesday and Year 3 will lead our Stations of the Cross Liturgy on Thursday.
Parent-Teacher Interviews - Parent-teacher interviews continue tomorrow. Thank you to all parents who took the time to discuss their child’s learning with teachers last week. 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.
These interviews are an excellent opportunity to chat with your child’s teacher, learn about your child's progress in the first eight weeks of the year, and share any concerns or questions.
Wishing our St. Mary's families
a happy and Holy Easter.
Enrolments for Kindergarten 2025 are open - Parents wishing to enrol their child are asked to contact the school to receive a copy of St. Mary’s Enrolment Policy and current Enrolment Application Form. Forms can also be accessed via our school website. A copy of your Child’s Birth Certificate, Baptismal Certificate, Immunisation Record, and any other supporting documentation will be required to process
your enrolment application. Enrolment interviews for all new families
will commence on Monday, 13th May.
It would be helpful if any of our 2025 Kindergarten sibling enrolments could be sent in the next few weeks. This will help us clarify how many places we’ll have available for our new families in 2025.
Sport
Primary: Thursday, 4th April commencing at approx. 9.30am
Infants: Tuesday, 9th April
Kinder and Year 1 will do their runs with their Years 5 and 6 buddies.
The 9-year-olds and under and 10-year-olds will run 2 kilometres, and the 11- and 12-year-olds will run 3 kilometres.
All children will walk the course in the morning and run in age-group races throughout the day. The first four runners across the line will be selected for the school Cross-Country Team.
Asthma Reminder: Classes have commenced running practice for our upcoming Cross Country. For children's safety and as per school policy, we remind parents that asthmatic students must have a labelled puffer and spacer in the school Sick Bay. They should also have their puffer accessible at all times.
Religious Education
Mr Tim Keady
RE Coordinator
Dear Parents,
EASTER LITURGIES
We invite our families and community to
come along to one of our Holy Week Liturgies.
Holy Thursday Liturgy (Year 6)
Wednesday, 27th March at 12.30pm in the School Hall
Stations of the Cross (Year 3)
Thursday, 28th March at 11.30am in the School Hall
Easter Liturgy (Year 2)
Tuesday, 2nd April at 12.30pm
Rise - RISE Youth Festival is for young people in Years 6 to 9 (anyone in Years 10-12 can be involved as a youth team member). The Diocesan Youth Ministers facilitate a festival full of fun, friendship, small group challenges, workshops, games, music and lots of opportunities to encounter Jesus. Register HERE.
Rego is open (even though it's not until July holidays) - St. Brigid’s Parish will subsidise the cost to bring the participant's contribution to $50. We'll also try to arrange transport or carpooling.
Project Compassion 2024 - In 2024 the Project Compassion focus will be ‘For All Future Generations’. As it was Project Compassion Sunday last Sunday- each class will commence their fundraising for 2024 this week. This year's theme reminds us that what we do today can have an impact For All Future Generations. This message invites us to step up for those who do not have the essential resources they need for their survival and those whose needs at this time are far beyond ours. By putting compassion into action, we can make a difference today, For All Future Generations.
Meet4Mass - Each year, primary schools in Dubbo organise Meet4Mass. This is an opportunity for families and students to come together to celebrate the Eucharist at a Sunday morning Mass. This term, K-5 from each school will combine on Sunday, 7th April at 9am. We would love to see you there.
Gospel Focus: Hosanna (Mark 11:1-10) Praise gives us hope.
ST. BRIGID'S PARISH - MASS TIMES:
St Brigid's: Saturday - 6pm, Sunday - 9am and Sunday - 6pm
St. Laurence's Church: Sunday - 7.30am
Awards
HOUSE AWARDS:
Congratulations to the following students for gaining 10 points for
their Sports House for exemplary behaviour:
| LA SALLE: | LENNON: | McAULEY: | MOORE: |
Cooper Lew | Lucy McArthur 3B | Max Bourchier 2B | Charlie Boothby 3B |
| Kahlee Slade 4B | Logan Waters 3B | Billy Carter 3B | |
| Zoe Taylor 4B | Koa Cooper 4B |
Community News
BIRTHDAYS:
Celebrating their birthday this week are:
Jobe Pearson, Amy Cass, Clare Arjona, Melody Good,
Louie Fitzgerald, Andrew Warman, Skylar Tobin,
Hudson Green, Maggie Elliott and Mrs Mary Patterson.
We hope you enjoy your birthday!
The new Active and Creative Kids voucher is now available, helping to make activities more affordable for eligible NSW families.
Parents, guardians and carers of eligible school-aged children will be able to use two $50 vouchers per calendar year.
About the new program
- Vouchers are available to those receiving Family Tax Benefit Part A, or Family Tax Benefit Part B, or both.
- Vouchers can be downloaded as a QR code and used toward either an eligible physical or creative activity.
- The $50 vouchers will be issued in school Term 1 and school Term 3.
- Vouchers must be redeemed before their expiry date.
For more information, visit Active and Creative Kids.
Medical
Photo: Students from Year 2 helping a Kinder student who fell over and needed
a bandaid.
- If your child needs Medication at School, parents are asked to complete the Parent Consent Form (yellow form) indicating details of dosage and time required so the teacher has permission to administer the medication.
- If your child has a Severe Allergy, parents need to complete an Individual Health Plan (pink form).
- If your child suffers from Asthma, parents need to complete a Student Asthma Form (blue form).
Attendance
The importance of regular school attendance - The effective monitoring and promotion of regular student attendance is a legal requirement for our school. More importantly, it is a fundamental issue to student well-being and has proven implications for student academic progress and achievement.
Based upon 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.
PARTIAL ABSENCES:
Parents must attend the school office to use the Compass Kiosk to complete a PARENT DROP-OFF or PARENT PICK-UP if arriving late or leaving early.
FULL DAY ABSENCES:
A Note should be submitted via Compass for a FULL DAY absence from school.
Reminder: Parents to submit an attendance note within 7 days of absence. Thank you.
Canteen
Canteen Roster
TUES Mar 26 | Amanda Isbester |
WED Mar 27 | Zoe Fox |
THURS Mar 28 | Chris Catelotti and Jackie Pratten |
TUES Apr 02 | Jenny Higgins |