Principal Talk with Mrs. Lowe
Term Two Dates
WEEK TWO |
Catholic Schools Week |
Thursday 5 May |
Welcome back and Mother's Day Mass 12pm - all welcome Mother's Day Stall and Raffle |
Friday 6 May |
Specialist Athletics program |
WEEK THREE | |
Monday 9 May |
Tuckshop commences for Term 2 |
Tuesday 10 May - 12 May |
Year 3 and Year 5 NAPLAN Testing |
Friday 13 May |
School Athletics Carnival at Todkill Oval |
Northern Region Cross Country
Staff Leave
This term we have a few staff members taking leave for various reasons.
Currently, Mrs Spackman is away accompanying her daughter, and one of our ex-students, Emily, as she presents a research paper at an International Meeting for Autism Research in Austin Texas. INSAR is an annual scientific conference to exchange and disseminate new research and progress with ASD scientists.
After completing her Bachelor of Science, majoring in Psychology, followed by her Honors year at Melbourne University, Emily’s thesis on Autism was published. Emily is currently working for Melbourne University and Stanford University, in California, on a research program. Emily has a 3-year scholarship to complete her PhD at Melbourne University.
Mrs. Spackman was excited to have an opportunity to accompany Emily and will return to us on 24 May.
We congratulate Emily on her amazing achievements thus far and wish her continued success!
Next Tuesday, Mrs. Shauna Hewitt will commence leave as she travels to England to attend the funeral of her mother. We offer Shauna our condolences and hope that she enjoys her time away catching up with her family and loved ones. Shauna will return on 26 May.
Mrs. Rachael Croker will commence Long Service Leave on Monday 23 May. Rachael will be accompanying her daughter, Bella, to Newcastle for the Combined High Schools Hockey Championships. Bella is playing in the South Coast team. The following week, Rachael was selected to coach and manage the MacKillop Boys Hockey team competing at Tamworth. Congratulations Rachael and good luck! Mr Brian Howard will be teaching Year Three in Rachael's absence.
From Term Three, Mr. Larry O'Kane will be commencing Long Service leave for the remainder of the year. Larry is looking forward to spending time with his family and pursuing one of his passions, gardening. A suitable replacement will be found for Mr. O'Kane this term. I will keep you posted on this matter.
NAPLAN
The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) commences next Tuesday for our students in Year 3 and Year 5.
The following is our test schedule:
Tuesday 10 May | Year 5 Writing |
Tuesday 10 May | Year 3 Writing (paper) |
Wednesday 11 May | Year 5 Reading |
Thursday 12 May | Year 3 Reading |
Monday 16 May | Year 5 Conventions of Language |
Tuesday 17 May | Year 3 Conventions of Language |
Wednesday 18 May | Year 5 Numeracy |
Thursday 19 May | Year 3 Numeracy |
If your child is absent on a scheduled test day they will have the opportunity to do a catch-up test if they return to school on or before 20 May.
Industrial Action
Teachers in the Catholic Education system who are part of the Independent Education Union will have the chance to vote on protected action between 11-17 May. I will let you know the result of this ballot and any measures that need to be put in place as soon as I am notified.
Student Pick Up
The street directly out the front of St Mary’s is a Bus Zone from 8.30am-9.30am and 3.00pm-4.00pm. Please be aware that occasionally parents dropping off/picking up their children in this bus zone have been fined by the police.
We recommend that in the afternoons if you have come to collect your children by car you walk with your child to the crossing on Wade Street to cross safely out of the Bus Zone.
Uniform Matters
In Terms 2 and 3, the students are to wear the full winter uniform, however, a two-week leeway is given if the weather is still warm enough for the summer uniform. As of next week, all students should be dressed fully in their winter uniform. This includes the tie.
Please note, due to issues with the manufacturing company, the supply of boys long-sleeved shirts may be low. At this time, there are no size 8 shirts. Our apologies for this, but unfortunately this is out of our control.
In preparation for the cooler months, you might like to order our school coat, which is a warm bottle green parka style coat, from our Uniform Shop. No other coats will be permitted, however, bottle green gloves and beanies may be purchased elsewhere.
Please also ensure you have all your children's uniform labelled.
Some other reminders about our school uniform- hair accessories must be in the school colours only, earrings must be sleepers and studs and no nail polish is to be worn to school. Hair, both boys and girls, is to be tied back if it is longer than collar length.
Enrolling Now
Enrolments can now be placed online. Go to https://enrolments.stmarysc.nsw.edu.au/enrol/ to enrol now.
Enrolments packs are available from our School Office or can be downloaded from our website http://www.stmarysc.nsw.edu.au/enrolment.html