2025 Term 1 Week 7
Dear Parents and Carers,
50 Days of Learning Kinder Celebration - Thursday 3rd April
Time sure does fly when you’re having fun! 50 Days of Kinder is just around the corner, and we're planning a special night of fun and pizza for our incredible Kindergarten students and their parents and carers.
Turf Street Kiss and Drop Zone:
- Please avoid parking in the Kiss and Drop area, as it is a 2-minute stop only. When cars are parked here, it disrupts the flow of traffic on Turf Street.
- If the Kiss and Drop zone is full, please continue driving along Turf Street and loop back around. This will help keep traffic moving smoothly.
- Remember, when cars are backed up, it can cause congestion that affects everyone’s ability to get through quickly. Your cooperation is appreciated in keeping the traffic flowing!
Hoof Street:
- For safety reasons, please do not cross into the bus zone on Hoof Street.
- We kindly ask that parents walk their children across the road as there is no designated crossing on this street.
Warm regards
Jacki Moore
Principal
Mission
Sacrament of Confirmation - Tuesday 20th May
Confirmation is a special step for our baptised children, where they'll receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit and make a deeper commitment to their faith. Confirmation confirms Baptism and is the second formal step in the process of becoming initiated into the Christian community.
Students in Years 3-6 will soon begin preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation which will be celebrated on 20th May at 6:00pm. By preparing for Confirmation, students will learn more about being part of our church community.
If you would like your child to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation, it is a good time to check that the school has a copy of their Baptism Certificate.
We'll be sharing more details about the preparation process soon. If you have any queries please contact your child’s class teacher, or Hannah Gorman hannah.gorman@lism.catholic.edu.au.
We're looking forward to guiding our students on this wonderful journey of faith!
Bishop Greg’s Lenten talks
Bishop Greg’s final Lenten talk for 2025 will be held this Monday 24th March at 6pm. It will be available to view on the Lismore Diocese YouTube channel. For those who couldn't view them, or if you'd like to revisit them, the first two Lenten talks are available on the Diocese of Lismore YouTube page. I highly recommend taking the time to watch them.
https://www.youtube.com/@LismoreDioceseAU
Student Expectations & Values: The St Mary’s Way
This week, our school leaders again chose to focus on one of the most important aspects of the St Mary's Way: respect. This week, the focus is on sportsmanship. They'd love to see everyone showing great sportsmanship by playing games and sports for fun during breaks, making sure everyone, no matter their ability, feels welcome to join in, and understanding that learning to lose helps us grow. During breaks it is also important to respect the decisions made by umpires or the majority, demonstrating fairness and good character.
Wellbeing
Harmony Day Celebrations
Today was Harmony Day and what a wonderful opportunity it has been for our students to learn about the incredible diversity that makes our school so special! We look forward to building on this foundation, continuing to celebrate our cultural richness and ensuring that every student feels accepted, belongs, and is welcomed.
A particular thank you goes out to the families who volunteered their time today to share something special from their culture! We're so grateful for your involvement.
Best regards,
Hannah Gorman
Assistant Principal
cipal Mission
Clarence Zone Rugby Union Trials
Braxn Nipperess, Ethan Maloney, Jimmy Walsh, Hugo Fenn and Sandy Fenn travelled to Coffs Harbour on Monday to try out for the Clarence Zone Rugby Union Team. All played with great spirit and were great ambassadors for our school. Braxn and Jimmy wre both successful and now will represent our school and the Clarence zone at the Diocesan Rugby Union Trials. These trials will be held in Grafton at a later date.
Diocesan Winter Sports Trials
Next Friday a number of our students will be representing our school and the Clarence Zone at the Diocesan Winter Sport Trials here in Grafton.
Rugby League - Willow Dwyer, Braxn Nipperess and Harry Whyte
Hockey - Addison Peppernell and Charlotte Ensbey
Soccer - Parker Bancroft and Jimmy Walsh
Good luck to all our trialists next week.
Yours in sport
Peter Tonkin
PLAY OUR WAY IS COMING TO NEW SOUTH WALES!
She Hoops, in collaboration with Basketball NSW, is hitting the road to bring a basketball clinic to Yamba on 8 April 2025 - featuring guest player Mikaela Ruef and head coach Nat Hurst.
Girls Basketball Clinics (All Levels)
Whether you're stepping onto the court for the first time or fine-tuning your game, our fun, supportive, and high-energy clinics are designed for girls of all skill levels. Led by top coaches and professional female players, this is your chance to grow, learn, and have a blast!
Leadership Workshop (16+ years)
A space for women to come together, learn, and grow. Inspired by the culture and success of the Australian Opals, this interactive workshop explores leadership in different ways, on and off the court. Whether you’re a player, coach, parent, or just love being part of the game, this is for you.
Basketball Clinic Registration - https://t.ly/PDpmI
Leadership Workshop Registration - https://t.ly/_x1zJ
Primary School Gala Days - Football Registration
Counselling
Kind regards
Catherine Collopy (School Counsellor - St Mary’s Grafton)
Upcoming webinars
Learning and Teaching
NAPLAN
Our Year 3 and Year 5 students have been working hard this week completing the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) assessments. NAPLAN is a national assessment that is administered to students in Years 3, 5, 7, and 9. It measures key skills in literacy and numeracy, such as reading, writing, language conventions (spelling, grammar, and punctuation), and numeracy. These assessments help identify how students are progressing in these areas at a national level.
Student Led Conferences
Our Student-Led Conferences have been taking place over the past two weeks, and our students have done an exceptional job sharing their achievements and setting goals with their families. These conferences provide an excellent opportunity for students to take ownership of their learning while offering parents and carers valuable insight into their child's progress. This connection between home and school helps foster a supportive learning environment, where families can actively engage in their child’s educational journey.
Premiers Reading Challenge
We are excited to announce that St Mary's Primary School is once again participating in the NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge! This is a wonderful opportunity for students to engage in reading and discover the joy of books, while also contributing to a state-wide celebration of literacy. Students will receive paper copies of their unique usernames and passwords along with an information sheet on how to enter the books that have been read. The competition closes on Friday 22 August.
The Long Way Home Competition
The Long Way Home Competition aims to unearth and publish Clarence Valley writers of all ages.In the past we have had many students from our school have their writing published in the annual ‘Long Way Home - Stories from the Clarence Valley’ book. The theme for this year is ‘Heat of Gold.’ We encourage students to enter this competition, if they would like further information please contact your child’s class teacher.
Warm regards
Jas Stuart
Relay for Life
OOSH Vacation Care
School Year Safely: Tips for 2025
Getting In and Out of the Car:
- Always use the door closest to the curb to prevent stepping into traffic
- Make sure your child waits until the car has completely stopped before exiting.
Walking Safely:
- Encourage distraction-free walking by asking your child to remove headphones and put away devices while crossing streets.
- Teach your child to stay alert, follow traffic signals, and use designated pedestrian crossings.
Using the Bus Safely:
- Wait at the bus stop together, standing at least one step back from the edge of the road.
- Always meet your child at the bus stop on the same side of the road—never call them across from the opposite side.
- Wait for the bus to leave before crossing the street, ensuring it is safe to cross.
Using Wheeled Transport:
- Remind your child that helmets are mandatory when riding a bike in public—it’s the law.
- Encourage helmet use and protective gear for other wheeled activities, such as scooters, skateboards, and rollerblades.
Never sacrifice safety for convenience, source: https://roadsafety.transport.nsw.gov.au
CVCON 2025 enrolment forms
Bricks4Kidz Northern Rivers
Uniforms
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.
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,
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working with children who have a disability,
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offering mentoring services,
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when the volunteer is not a parent or close relative.
Child Safeguarding Statement
The Diocese of Lismore Catholic Schools (DLCS) is wholly committed to the safety and wellbeing of children and young people.
As school communities and as individuals, we commit to fostering communities of safeguarding that recognise and uphold the dignity and rights of all children and young people. Our commitment is drawn from the teaching and mission of Jesus Christ, in love and justice, whereby the dignity and sacredness of each child is respected. Additional information may be found on the DLCS website or by using this link: Child Safeguarding Policy.