Term 3 Week 9 2025

PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

School Mass

Thank you to the many families who joined us for the Children’s Mass on Sunday. A special thanks to Mrs Dumbrell for coordinating this celebration. It was wonderful to see such a strong turnout from our school and Parish community.

Teach Well Professional Development 

This Wednesday we welcomed Brooke Schembri from TeachWell to St Mary’s. Brooke worked alongside staff to support the implementation of further high-impact teaching strategies that benefit our students. She also presented at our staff meeting, highlighting the great things already happening at St Mary’s as well as identifying areas for further growth. Brooke’s guidance has been an excellent support to our staff throughout 2025.

Summer Uniform Reminder

Students can now start wearing their summer uniform. As the warmer weather approaches, it’s a great time to ensure students are bringing and wearing school hats. Contact the office if you need any summer uniform.

Trivia Night

This Saturday, 20th September, is our School Community Council Trivia Night! Doors open at 6:30pm for a 7:00pm start. We’re looking forward to a great evening together.

Last Day For Students

Next Thursday, 25th September, will be the final day of Term 3 for students. During the day, they will take part in a Big Map learning experience at BTS, led by Disaster Relief Australia. On Thursday we will also hold our end-of-term assembly in the afternoon (normally held on Fridays). On Friday, staff will be engaged in professional learning.

Enjoy the remainder of the week,

Ryan

FROM THE REC

A huge thank you to all the families and students who attended our Parish Mass on Sunday. The students should be congratulated for their wonderful leadership of the Mass and it was so wonderful to see so many students and their families at the Mass.

This weekend many of us are looking forward to the annual St Mary’s trivia night! I would like to take this opportunity to thank Tracee Holland, Kerrie Ambrose for all of their dedication and hard work in making this such a wonderful event.

Stewardship

As Catholics we are called to be stewards of the land. 

Stewardship is rooted in scripture, recognizing we, as individuals, are not owners of our lives but rather are stewards or managers. Stewardship, quite simply, is recognizing that everything we have and everything we are is a gift from God and being grateful and generous with those gifts.

While the Bible may not explicitly address environmental concerns as we understand them today, the broader concept of stewardship can be applied to caring for God's creation. In returning to the early chapters of Genesis we note that humans are given the responsibility to rule. This charge implies a role of caretakers or stewards, responsible for maintaining the harmony and balance of the created world.

Applying this principle to contemporary environmental issues, believers can see themselves as good stewards of the Earth. Responsible resource management, sustainable practices, and a mindful approach to environmental impact align with the biblical call to be caretakers of God's creation. 

It’s no accident that the risen Jesus was mistaken for a gardener (John 20:15)—a reminder that caring for creation is part of our calling.

I wish you all a wonderful weekend.

Jeanette Dumbrell

Religious Education Coordinator

CAKE RAFFLE

HOME COOKING

RADIO NEWS

CHILD SAFE ADVOCATE

Social Media Minimum Age

Under the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024, age-restricted social media platforms will have to take reasonable steps to prevent Australians under the age of 16 from creating or keeping an account from 10 December 2025.

This regulatory guidance provides an explanation of guiding principles before setting out guidelines for industry on reasonable steps to comply with the Social Media Minimum Age obligation. 

It should be read alongside eSafety’s other relevant information, including:

• our guidance to help online service providers assess whether their services are age-restricted social media platforms and therefore required to take reasonable steps to prevent Australians under 16 from creating and keeping accounts on those platforms
• our statement of commitment to children’s rights in the implementation of the Social Media Minimum Age obligations
• our compliance and enforcement policy
• our regulatory guidance for other schemes under the Online Safety Act.

Please see the link below for more detailed information in the Social Media Minimum Age guide:

https://www.esafety.gov.au/

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

BATLOW BIG MAP

SPRING NETBALL

SCHOOL HOLIDAY EVENT