2024 Term 4 Week 1
Dear Parents and Carers,
We are excited to welcome everyone back for Term 4! We hope you had a wonderful break and are ready for an engaging and productive term ahead.
This term promises to be full of learning, creativity, and fun as we dive into new topics and projects. Our teachers have planned some exciting activities to keep our students inspired and motivated.
Please mark your calendars for important dates and upcoming events, including our school musical and our end-of-year celebrations. The Term 4 calendar of events is published in this newsletter. We appreciate your continued support and involvement in our school community.
World Teachers Day - Friday 25 October
Next Friday, we will celebrate World Teachers' Day here in Australia, a special occasion to honour the incredible work of our teaching staff. At St Mary's, we are fortunate to have a dedicated and passionate team committed to nurturing our students’ growth and learning.
Their hard work, creativity, and compassion make a significant difference in our children’s lives every day. Let’s take this opportunity to express our gratitude for their unwavering commitment to excellence in education. Thank you for supporting our teachers and helping us create a vibrant learning community!
Jacaranda Festival
Parade of Youth - Saturday 26 October
We are excited to share that our students will be participating in the Jacaranda Festival Parade of Youth on Saturday 26 October. This is a fantastic opportunity for our talented students to showcase their school spirit.
We will gather out the front of the council chambers at 8.45am behind our school banner to start marching at 9am. Our students have created a vibrant banner for the Parade of Youth, reflecting their creativity and teamwork. Dressed in their school uniforms, they will proudly represent our school as they march through the streets.The Parade of Youth will proceed down Prince Street to Market Square, featuring schools and community groups from across the Clarence Valley, all proudly carrying banners they have designed. This year’s theme is *90 YEARS IN BLOOM* - a celebration of the oldest floral festival in Australia!
Judging of the banners will take place on the Market Square stage, with awards for both best school and best community group. Following the judging, students will partake in the traditional maypole dance. We encourage everyone to bring a picnic blanket, chair, hat, and sunscreen to enjoy the festivities!
Clarence Valley Schools on Show - Wednesday 30 October
Get ready for a fantastic day of entertainment at the Clarence Valley Schools Variety Showcase! Local schools will be participating, with amazing performances including musical acts, choir, and dance routines. Our talented Primary Dance group and Year 1 students will take the stage at around 1:20pm, so don’t miss it! Food vendors will be available for lunch, snacks, and drinks, so bring your picnic blanket, chairs, sunscreen, and hats for a comfortable day. Join us on Wednesday, 30th October, for an unforgettable day of talent and fun!
Jacaranda Thursday - Thursday 31 October - PUPIL FREE DAY
It’s time to celebrate everything PURPLE! Our talented primary dancers will be performing on the Jacaranda Stage at Market Square at approximately 10:30am, so be sure to come and cheer them on. The Jacaranda Thursday celebrations kick off at 7am with a FREE breakfast provided by 2GF and Clarence Independent in Market Square – but get there early as the lines can be long! With over 220 market stalls opening across Prince, Pound, and Fitzroy Streets, and three stages of entertainment throughout the day, the town will be buzzing. Don’t miss out on this exciting event!
Float Procession - Saturday 2 November
The Newcastle Permanent Float Procession will start at 5pm on Saturday 2 November. Our school will enter a float into the parade. A note will be sent home in the coming days to invite parents and students to assist in decorating our float on Saturday afternoon.
|
Event |
Date |
Comment |
|
Parade of Youth & Banner Competition |
Saturday 26 October |
Theme: 90 YEARS IN BLOOM |
|
Jacaranda Schools Day |
Wednesday 30 October |
|
|
Jacaranda Thursday |
Thursday 31 October |
Pupil-free day |
|
Float Procession |
Saturday 2 November |
Socktober
Get ready to make a difference next Friday, 25 October! Our school is participating in Socktober, an initiative that encourages Australian students to raise awareness and funds for mission programs supporting children from disadvantaged and vulnerable backgrounds worldwide.
Join the fun by wearing your craziest socks with your sports uniform and joggers. Don’t forget to bring a gold coin donation to support this important cause. Let’s show our school spirit and help those in need!
School Hats
We’d like to remind all parents that students must wear their St Mary's blue hats during play times for sun safety and as part of their school uniform. If a student does not have their St Mary’s wide-brimmed school hat, they will be asked to play in designated areas that are undercover, such as the breezeway, block area, or our passive play space in the school library.
Please support us by reminding your child to bring their St Mary’s wide-brimmed school hat every day. Together, we can ensure our kids stay safe while enjoying outdoor activities!
School hats can be purchased from Lowes in Grafton Shopping World. Lowes has a sale this weekend with discounted prices on school uniforms should your child need a new hat. Thank you for your cooperation!
Kinder Transition and Enrolments
We are thrilled to announce that our Kinder transition program, Mini Mary’s, will commence in Term 4! This program is designed to help our youngest learners smoothly transition into school life, providing them with valuable experiences and support.
Through engaging activities and opportunities for social interaction, Mini Mary’s aims to build confidence and familiarity with the school environment. We look forward to welcoming our new students and helping them embark on this exciting journey!
We do have enrolment spaces available in some grade groups, including Kindergarten. Please contact us for more information.
Staffing Update
We are pleased to announce that Jane Dougherty has joined St Mary's Primary school staff as our Student Wellbeing Office. Jane not only brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to this role but also has an understanding of our school from her time as a parent and teacher at St Mary's. We are confident that she will make a significant contribution to our school community.
Musical
Musical - Thursday 14th November
We are excited to announce that tickets for our upcoming school musical are now available for purchase through Compass Tix! You can buy your tickets by following this link. The musical will take place at the Saraton Theatre on Thursday, 14th November, starting at 6pm. We kindly ask that all audience members be seated by 5:45pm to ensure a prompt start. Don't miss this wonderful event showcasing the amazing talents of our students! As we are finalising costuming and planning we do need to know if your child will not be participating on the night, if you could please let your classroom teacher know as soon as possible.
Musical Full Dress Rehearsal - Monday 11 November
On Monday, 11th November, students will be attending a full dress rehearsal at the Saraton Theatre for St Mary’s Primary School Musical - Thank You For The Music! The event will be held at the Saraton Theatre on Prince Street, Grafton, and there is no cost for this excursion. Further details can be found on Compass Events.
Warmest regards,
Jas, Dominique and Jacki
Upcoming Student Free Days
Just a reminder - The remaining student free days for 2024 are:
- Thursday 31 October (Jacaranda Thursday - gazetted public holiday)
- Thursday 19 and Friday 20 December (Week 10, Term 4)
Term 4 Events Calendar
Year 5 Student Discipleship Retreat- Exuro
Year 5 students will travel to MCC to participate in a Student Discipleship retreat where they will have the opportunity to share with students from other Catholic schools in our local area.
Socktober Fundraiser for Catholic Mission
Students are invited to wear their craziest pair of socks to help raise funds for Catholic Mission. Gold coin donation required.
Graduation Mass
Our Gradualtion Mass will be held on Wednesday 11 December.
We are excited to embark on another term of learning. Our students have been working diligently to achieve their learning goals, and their efforts are truly commendable.
Please note that Semester 2 report cards will be available for parents in Week 9. We believe that parent engagement is essential to our students' success, and we encourage you to reach out if you have any questions or concerns. If you’d like to learn more about your child’s progress, don’t hesitate to contact their classroom teacher.
At the end of Term 3, Darcy W, Spencer O, Addison P, and Lilly L proudly represented our school in the Clarence Public Speaking Competition. These students were selected through our school competition and travelled to Coffs Harbour, where they presented their speeches at the theatre in John Paul College in front of a large audience.
Our students competed against finalists from several schools, including Mary Help of Christians Sawtell, St Augustine’s Coffs Harbour, St Francis Xavier Woolgoolga, St James Yamba, St Mary’s Bellingen, St Joseph’s Maclean, St Joseph’s South Grafton, St Mary’s Bowraville, and Mount St John’s Dorrigo.
We are incredibly proud of their efforts; they demonstrated immense courage and did a fantastic job presenting their speeches. A special congratulations goes to Addison, who secured 2nd place in the Year 5 section!
Warm regards
Jas Stuart
Assistant Principal Learning and Teaching
Pastoral Care
In 2024, we have been actively refining our Behaviour Management Policy through meaningful student collaboration. Throughout this process, students have voiced their expectations for a positive school environment.
During our professional development day at the start of this term, staff came together to capture these insights and create the document titled “The St Mary’s Way.” This week, teachers have been working closely with students to further refine the document, ensuring it aligns with their perspectives and agreements.
We plan to review "The St Mary’s Way" again at the end of the term for additional refinement, if needed. This ongoing collaboration is vital for creating a supportive and engaging school culture.
We have also been reviewing our consequence flow chart, incorporating feedback from students and parents. This collaborative effort is essential for ensuring its effectiveness and fairness. We plan to revisit the flow chart at the end of the term for further refinement based on additional insights and outcomes.
Sport
2025 Swimming Nominations
Due to the closure of the Grafton Pool we are unable to hold our annual swimming carnival until February next year, however this will be too late for us to select a school swimming squad to swim at the next level in the swimming pathways to NSW State Championships.
If your child is an exceptional swimmer and is willing to travel to these carnivals at Maclean, Kempsey and Sydney, please collect a nomination form from the school office and fill in names, events and times. Please return this form to the school office by Monday 4 November.
Please note: 8 years freestyle is the only 8 years event. All others - Breaststroke, Backstroke and Butterfly - are Junior events for 8, 9 and 10 year olds combined. Therefore, your 8 year old will need to be an exceptional swimmer to qualify in the Junior events. Remember we are planning for 2025 so your child’s nomination is for their age next year eg turning 9 in 2025, nominate U9.
Summer Sports Trials
A number of our students in Year 4 and 5 have nominated themselves for summer sports trials in Basketball, Cricket, Touch Football, Tennis and Softball. They are trialing to represent the Clarence Zone at the Lismore Diocesan trials in November. These trials are being held at various locations around the Coffs/Clarence region.
| Tennis | Woolgoolga, 28 October | Addison Peppernell, Sophia Hearfield, Felipe Correa da Rosa and William Bryant |
| Cricket | Coffs Harbour, 30 October | Darcy Allen, Hugo Fenn, Sandy Fenn and Harry Whyte |
| Touch Football | Yamba, 31 October | Braxn Nipperess, Parker Bancroft, Willow Dwyer and Macey Eveleigh |
St Mary's School uniforms are available to purchase from Lowes in Grafton Shopping World. The sports uniform is worn on Wednesday and Friday each week.
Attendance
- If your child is arriving to the school after 8:45am please sign them in at the office.
- Please use Compass to record full day absentees. Partial absences are recorded by staff when students are signed in and out of the office.
- Students who leave a school event early will have a partial absence recorded.
- A medical certificate or other documentation may be requested where frequent absences due to illness occur.
- Generally, extended leave (greater than 10 days) during the school term would not be approved. These absences are recorded on the roll as unjustified and a completed Form 01 Extended Leave Notification Travel/Other Greater than 10 Days is required.
- In exceptional circumstances parents may complete an Form 02 Approved Extended Leave Application - Travel/Other Greater than 10 Days for consideration by the Principal, explaining why an absence for extended leave is in the best educational interest of the student. The Principal may decline or accept this application.
School Fees
Parking in Hoof Street
There are a small number of parking spaces near the Sunrise Shop (corner of Hoof and Turf Streets) for use by their customers. To assist this small business, we suggest parking away from the corner.
Overseas Visa Details
Reminder: Parents and Carers are to keep the school informed of any change in residency/visa status during the course of their child's enrolment, with
evidence of new visa status provided. Parents should be made aware that
the school must be informed of any change in residency status;
Working With Children Check (WWCC)
At St Mary's we are committed to creating and supporting a culture of safety for children and ensuring that children are protected. All employees and volunteers are required to have a current WWCC.
NB - The vast majority of volunteers in schools are parents of a child attending the school at which they are volunteering (eg reading groups, fetes, camps, excursions and canteen) and therefore do not require a WWCC. Exceptions to this are
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volunteers interacting one-on-one with a child not their own,
-
working with children who have a disability,
-
offering mentoring services,
-
when the volunteer is not a parent or close relative.