Newsletter 2025 Term 2 Week 9
PRINCIPAL NEWS - Mr Peter Hughes
Your child’s report should arrive home with your child today. Please check their bag. A couple of points before you look at the report.
- A ‘C’ grade equates to what was once termed ‘average’. ‘D’ and ‘E’ are below and well below average while ‘A’ and ‘B’ are above and well above average.
- If a report has ‘not assessed’ in a subject area it means those strands were not taught in the first half of the year and will be covered in Semester Two.
- There is no Korean grade for Year Three to Year Six this semester as Mr Ziebowski, who teaches Korean, was away for all of term one and this term he has been revising what was covered in 2024 for the students who have studied Korean previously and introductory lessons for our Year Three and Year Four students.
- Should you have any questions or concerns about the report I ask you to contact your child’s teacher.
WR Athletics
Last Friday St Mary’s hosted the Western Region Athletics Carnival. It was well organised and all the events ran smoothly. I thank Mrs Challen for coordinating the carnival with many parents from other schools impressed with the flow of the day.
There were some outstanding athletes competing and it was good to see all the students from St Mary’s trying their best. Mrs Challen will provide more detail in her section of the newsletter.
Once again many parents gave up their time to assist with events on the day or help out at a very busy canteen. We also had students from Hennessy provide invaluable assistance along with staff from school. I thank everyone for their generosity.
Chess Comp
Yesterday we hosted the St Mary’s Invitational Chess Competition with just under seventy participants. The competition consisted of seven rounds with some of our players finishing towards the top of the standings. The first three places were taken out by participants from Rosary School, Watson who travelled out from Canberra. I have not yet received the final standings for those outside the top three which will determine the placegetters in the 2025 school championships.
The top 16 players from St Mary’s will be invited to participate in the Gunganlin Zone of the ACT Primary Schools Open Chess Championships on the 7th August.
A wonderful and free chess site for children wishing to learn more about and play others online is Lichess.org. There is a children’s mode and it may be an activity they can undertake during the upcoming break should it be miserable weather. When I opened the site there were over 52,000 players participating in games.
Reading Reward
On Monday we will be holding a reward lunch (sausage sandwiches and a popper) for those students from K-6 who read for at least 18 of the 19 days in our reading challenge. The names of these students are listed below.
River Nortje-Billing Cora Van Emmerik Levi Ainsworth Franco Cabacungan Shane Jackson Adriyon Peiris Archie Spring Lara Boyd Ardy Comerford Chelsea Crossan Gemma Harris | Halle Leibick Alexis Robinson Cruz Savage Bailey Smithers Benny Batinich Hartley Braham Angadjot Singh Sohi Myles Sullivan Magdalena Wright Angus Everdell Aurora Gunning | Madden Formosa Ella Pritchard Mason Terry Poppy Murdoch Indi Wilder Naia Sofo Savannah Wright Bridie Armstrong Monte Murphy William James |
Slate from Young is donating a $50 gift voucher to be drawn after each reading challenge. It is for students from Years Three to Year Six as for them to complete the challenge they have to be self motivated and show a commitment to reading. All students that complete the challenge, no matter the grade, will continue to have lunch cooked by Mr Hughes.
The winner for this challenge was Poppy Murdoch.
AP NEWS - Mrs Katie Thompson
Celebrating Our Presentation Spirit
Last Thursday, our ten student leaders proudly represented St Mary’s in the Presentation Schools Student Zoom, joining 16 other Presentation schools from across New South Wales, spanning city and country, large and small. Together, they engaged in meaningful conversations with Sr Susan Miller, Congregational leader, and other students to explore what it means to be a Presentation school. In small group online meeting rooms, students shared the values, symbols, and traditions, like the lantern, cross, and Nano Nagle’s legacy, that make our schools unique.
Our leaders were inspired by the creative ways other schools bring the Presentation charism to life and are excited to explore some of these ideas at St Mary’s. The day ended with a fun and competitive Kahoot-style quiz, where our team, led by the outstanding Toby Price, held the lead several times and were in first place with just five seconds to go! Although we didn’t take the win, the squeals of excitement and disappointment could be heard all along the admin block corridor.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to Sr Susan for organising such a valuable opportunity for our students to connect, learn, and celebrate the shared spirit of our Presentation community.
Safe-on-Social’s Kirra Pendergast
This week for Safe-on-Social we are looking at our Digital Footprints. Your digital footprint is the trail of information you leave behind every time you go online. It includes everything from the photos you post, the comments you make, and even the content others share about you. Understanding how your digital footprint impacts your online image is essential for protecting your privacy and reputation.
WHOLE SCHOOL REWARD
For our next 'Whole School Reward' The Year 6 Parliamentary Parties have decided on......
‘Anything but a School bag’ day for Wednesday 2nd July Week 10.
Which means that kids bring their school things for the day in literally anything but their school bag.
Check out the fun list of Anything But a Backpack ideas for your child to use.
RE NEWS - Ms Jillian Murray
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Week 10 - VINNIES WINTER APPEAL - BEANIE DAY & RAFFLE
On Wednesday 2nd July, we have our annual fundraiser for the Vinnies Winter Appeal. Wear a beanie and bring a gold coin donation.
Let’s join together to raise money for those in need this winter!
As part of this year’s fundraising efforts, we are excited to include a raffle, generously donated to support the Vinnies Winter Appeal!
🎁 Prize: A children’s bike (pictured below)
🎟️ Tickets: $1 each — available at the school office
🕒 Sales close: Wednesday morning
🏆 Draw: Held at school on Wednesday 2nd July
Week 10 - WHOLE SCHOOL MASS
On Thursday 3rd July, we will be celebrating our Term Two Whole School Mass at St. Mary’s Church, 9 am. This will be a celebration of our school and a beautiful way to end a busy term.
All students will need to be dropped off to the Parish Centre before mass begins and will return to school with their class once our mass has concluded to continue with their regular school activities. All buses will be dropping students straight to Hennessy bus stop, NOT St. Mary's on tomorrow morning.
Week 1 Term 3 - GRANDPARENTS PRAYER SERVICE
We’re excited to celebrate Grandparent’s Day on Friday, 25th July at St. Mary’s! This special day is a wonderful opportunity to come together as a community and honour the grandparents and elders who play such an important role in our lives.
1.00pm Prayer Service
1.30pm Afternoon Tea in the Hall
2.00pm Open Classrooms with Grandparents
Grandparents & grandchildren photos
We are asking students to email a photo of themselves and their grandparents to Ms. Murray or the front office by the end of this term please. These photos will be used as a part of our special slideshow during the prayer service to help us celebrate our loved ones.
jillian.murray@cg.catholic.edu.au
office.stmarysyoung@cg.catholic.edu.au
SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION
A reminder that registrations for the Sacrament of Confirmation will close on July 4th.
ST CLEMENT'S GALONG
SPORTS NEWS - Mrs Leonne Challen
Western Region Athletics
We were very lucky to have a glorious sunny day for our opportunity to host the WR Athletics last Friday. It was our first time hosting and it certainly was a team effort!
A big thank you to Phil McInerney and the committee members of Little A’s who set up and took down all the equipment we needed. It was such a frosty start to the day and they were there at 7am setting up. They then stayed and assisted with being the race starter and helping with the timing gates. Your generosity is truly appreciated.
Thank you to Pauline Sharpe, Alecia Brown, Annie Carson, Liz Wright, Rajshree Jhunjhunwala and Karan Thind who ran the canteen and did a wonderful job of nourishing everyone!
Thank you to Chad Challen, Megan Holt and Liz Sheridan who volunteered their time to help run Long Jump - it was a long day for them and I am very grateful for their assistance.
Thank you to Mr Hughes, Mrs Dal Molin, Mrs Rumble, Miss Parker and Mrs Presser who assisted on the day and in the weeks leading up to the carnival. Your support is greatly appreciated.
Thank you to Mr Brendan Croese for organising a terrific group of helpers from Hennessy. Imogen Sutherland, Lucy Eastwood, Amy Glasgow, Hallie Kelly, Sybella Murphy, Liam Payne, Ashlee Peacey and Nellie Ward - what an amazing bunch of students!! They assisted on events all day and were so accommodating and enthusiastic - outstanding effort!!
Finally, well done to our amazing students who competed with enthusiasm and great school spirit.
Congratulations to Henry Aiken who was named Senior Boy Champion - fantastic effort!!
We wish the following students the very best of luck as they represent the Western Region at the upcoming Archdiocesan Athletics Carnival next term: Henry Aiken. Rose Butt, Zoe Caldwell, Nixon Gault, Henry Maloney, Oscar McRae, Marlie Oakley, Nina Robinson, Layla Stinson and Eden Sibanda. Well done to our Senior Girls Relay team which will also compete at the carnival!
MacKillop Rugby Union Championships
We wish Oscar McRae & Nixon Gaullt the best of luck as they represent the Archdiocese at the upcoming MacKillop Rugby Championships in Forbes on Monday and Tuesday next week. We hope you both have a fantastic experience! We will be cheering for you!!
NSWCPS Golf Tournament - 25th August
Information about this upcoming competition can be found in the link below.
CANTEEN NEWS - Mrs Jennifer Harden
CANTEEN VOLUNTEER REQUESTS
WEEK 10
| Monday 30/6 | |
| Tuesday 1/7 PASTA BAKE TUESDAY | 4 people needed 10– 11:30am |
| Wednesday 2/7 | |
Thursday 3/7- Last day of Term 2 for students |
As always any questions or to volunteer reach out via email: jennifer.vorvis@cg.catholic.edu.au or by phone 0428 115 296
WEEK 9 CLASS AWARDS
WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING IN OUR 5/6 CLASSROOMS
5/6 Blue
'This term in Science, 5/6 Blue have been actively exploring the Three States of Matter.
Students have conducted hands-on investigations involving the mixing and filtering of various common household substances. These practical activities have not only enhanced their understanding of scientific concepts but have also made learning both meaningful and enjoyable.'
5/6 Gold
In 5/6 Gold we have been keeping very busy.
We've done some cool coding in STEM and enjoyed some kimbap (Korean sushi) with Mr Ziebowski. We conducted some interesting experiments combining different liquids and solids to make either solutions or suspensions. We were quite surprised by the results when we tried to separate them again!!
Finally we presented our wonderful Term 2 Genius Hour projects. Now to finish off our information reports and present our speeches before a well deserved holiday.
5/6 White
Life in 5/6W has been very busy. Over the past fortnight, we have been preparing for our assembly item. In maths this week we have been beginning to look at the probability of different outcomes occurring and conducted an investigation to check our hypothesis. We also presented our genius hour of projects in the hall to the rest of the school and our families that we have been working hard on throughout the Term.
