Term 4 Week 3 2025
PRINCIPAL'S REPORT
Catholic Education Canberra Goulburn Support
This week, we welcomed Damien Webb from our Catholic Education Teaching and Learning team, who worked with staff on Mathematics planning and assessment. This collaboration will continue to strengthen our planning and support heading into 2026. Regular visits like this are an important part of our ongoing partnership with the CE office staff, ensuring our team is well-supported and continually developing as an informed and collaborative team. I want to express my appreciation for the time and effort our CE colleagues invest in engaging our school and helping St Mary’s continue to grow and provide the best learning opportunities for our students.
Presentation Evening - Save the Date
St Mary’s will host our annual Presentation Evening on Monday, 8th December at 6:00pm. We look forward to welcoming all families to celebrate together as we acknowledge the achievements and growth of our students throughout the year. It’s always a special night to reflect on the year that’s been and to recognise the wonderful efforts of our students and school community.
Display Boards
You may have noticed the new display boards outside the assembly area under the weather shed. These will be used to share updates on various student events, newspaper articles, and important Child Safe Advocate information. We encourage families to keep an eye on the boards regularly for reminders and news about what’s happening at St Mary’s.
Book Fair and Open Classrooms
Our Book Fair and open classrooms this week were a wonderful success! It was fantastic to see so many families visiting, sharing in the excitement of reading, and celebrating the learning of our students. If you weren’t able to visit your child’s classroom during the week, please don’t hesitate to reach out to their teacher — they’d be happy to have you in so that your child can share some of the great learning happening in their room.
CWA Visit
Today, St Mary’s students visited the CWA to share presentations about a country of interest and to perform a selection of songs for the local CWA members. Our Year Six Leaders also visited yesterday to assist with setting up for the event. Congratulations to all of our students for representing our school so brilliantly, and a special thank you to our Year Six leaders for their initiative and support.
I want to take the time to thank all of the community members that are contributing to making St Mary’s such a great place for our students to grow and learn.
Enjoy the weekend,
Ryan
FROM THE REC
This Friday St Mary’s is participating in Socktober. ‘Socktober" for Catholic Mission Month helping to raise funds and awareness to support children from disadvantaged and vulnerable backgrounds in many countries around the world. Students are asked to bring some coins to donate for this day. We will endeavour as a school to build a coin line around our ‘100s’ square in the playground.’ Thank you in advance for your support of this vital charity.
Saturday November 1st is All Saints Day, this is a Holy Day of Obligation in the Catholic Church. All Saints’ Day celebrates the feast or solemnity of all the saints in Heaven, both saints recognized by the Church as holy men and women and those who remain unknown.
Pope Boniface IV instituted All Saints’ Day in the Church in 609 when the Roman temple of the Pantheon in Rome became a Church named the Basilica di Santa Maria ad Martyres (the Basilica of St. Mary and the Martyrs). Initially instituted in May, Pope Gregory IV moved the holy day to November two centuries later, in 837. Since then, Christians have celebrated All Saints’ Day on the first day of November.
Pope Francis encouraged us to draw inspiration from the saints as guides for living out the Beatitudes:
“On this solemn Feast of All Saints, the Church invites us to reflect on the great hope, that is based on Christ’s Resurrection: Christ is risen and we will also be with him. The Saints and Blesseds are the most authoritative witnesses of Christian hope, because they lived it fully in their lives, amidst joys and sufferings, putting into practice the Beatitudes that Jesus preached and which resound in the Liturgy today. The evangelical Beatitudes, in fact, are the path to holiness.”
I would like to offer a prayer for All Saints Day.
Dear Father,
You have given the saints in heaven eternal happiness and they now live in the fullness of your glory.
Because of their holy love for you, they also care about us, our family, our friends, our church, and our neighbours.
Thank you for the gift of their friendship and the witness of their holy lives.
We ask our patron saints and every saint who has become especially dear to us to intercede for us.
We ask them to help us journey safely on the narrow path that leads to heaven.
O Lord, give us their protection.
Grant us their assistance in overcoming temptation and gaining the fullness of life with you.
Amen.
MORNING DROP OFF
A reminder to parents that staff are not on duty each morning until 8.35am.
BOOK FAIR
Purchases can be paid by cash or card or online. If ordering online you will need to bring in your receipt.
REMINDERS
"Socktober" is tomorrow.
Students can wear their crazy socks for a gold coin donation.
Pie orders and money are due in by 3pm tomorrow if you are ordering.
CAKE RAFFLE
This week the SALMON family are baking.
Next week the SCHWARZROCK family are baking.
HOME COOKING
This week the DODDS family are cooking.
Next week MRS JACKSON will be cooking.
YEAR 6 IN THE SPOTLIGHT
What's your favourite memory from your time at St Mary's? The Sydney excursion because it was exciting and memorable.
What are you most proud of achieving this year? Becoming a school leader
What was your go-to lunch box snack this year? Popcorn
What High School are you going to? McAuley
What's one word to describe your 5/6 class? Exciting
What are you most looking forward to about high school? Learning my way around the school and making new friends
What are you going to miss about St Mary's? Teachers and friends
What do you want to do when you're grown up? A Psychiatric Nurse
OPEN CLASSROOMS AND BOOK FAIR
RADIO NEWS
Tune in next week to hear HUNTER and MACKENZIE on the radio!
THANK YOU
Thank you to Scott Murray & his helper Thomas Korn for planting the tree at the bottom of the playground for us. We appreciate your help and support.
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK
