2024 Grandparents & Special Friends Day 

Tomorrow, Friday 15 November, we invite our parents, carers, grandparents and special friends to St Mary's to share our Grandparents Day. The day will commence with Mass at 9.30am. Following Mass, our visitors are invited to visit with their grandchildren in their classrooms, see their wonderful work and participate in some fun class activities. Following that we will move to the MP Hall for morning tea.

After morning tea, our students will perform their amazing skipping skills to music. This will be presented on the Basketball Court at the Bottom Playground. Seating and shade will be provided and we are sure you will be blown away by the skill and expertise of our skipping students! We highly recommend a hat for our Grandparents and Special Friends. There are chairs and shade available and you are most welcome to bring your own camping chair if you wish.

Also, St Mary's is renowned for its incredible morning tea spreads; let us not disappoint this year. We ask families to donate a plate of food to share on this special day. Our Year 6 families, coordinated by Rechell and Reane, are asked to support with the setting up and serving of morning tea.

We look forward to welcoming you all!

Year Six Camp

What a magnificent week we had at Narrabeen last week. Year Six were excellent ambassadors for St Mary's and received compliments and accolades on their behaviour and cooperation from the Staff. Thank you to Mrs McCormack and Mr Edwards for the time they invested to attend and supervise. It is a big week and there are many sacrifices made for staff to attend these events.

Thank you also to Mrs R Croker for leading St Mary's in our absence. I appreciate the collaboration and responsibility that is owned by all at St Mary's.

"We arrived at Narrabeen at around about 12:00. We unpacked and set up our rooms before we headed to the dining hall for lunch where we had sandwiches for lunch.

After lunch we headed over to their massive gymnasium where we played archery tag and shot arrows at each over a battle line. After that we were all hot and sweaty so we went down to the lake and did stand up paddle boarding. There was a lot of pushing people off and challenges like the plank challenge which Mr Edwards won .

After that we got changed and chilled out amongst our cabins before heading to dinner where we had spaghetti bolognese for dinner.

The next day we caught a bus over to Palm beach where we passed the Home And Away film crew.

We parked the bus where we had morning tea and that's when we realised  that the lighthouse which we were going to climb was closed. Some of us were disappointed and others were relieved.

But that problem was soon resolved when we decided we would walk the whole entire beach to get to the safest place to swim.

Once we finally got to the end of the beach we all bolted into the water where we stayed most of the time. We started playing catch boys vs girls where we tackled each other in the water. That was one of my favourite activities at camp. It's safe to say we all slept pretty well that night.

The next morning we went kayaking and abseiling. We kayaked down the river and back up. After that we showered and got changed before heading down to abseiling.

Abseiling was really fun. Chase was our demo man and was the first one to try it. Watching him was pretty funny. But then it was my turn! It was nerve wracking hanging off the side of a cliff! The instructors were a huge help! Once you get over the edge and start making your way down it starts to get fun and the second time is way better. This was my favourite activity at camp.

The next day was our last day. We were supposed to do a bush walk and make a damper but the total fire ban came in that day so instead we did stand up paddle boarding before heading to the indoor pool for raft building which was so fun. Our raft made it the whole way and we won! After that we got changed and packed onto the bus where we watched Red Dog and the Lion King"

By Gabby Price 

Year Five Astronomy Excursion

The Year 5s were over the moon after their overnight excursion to the Australian Agriculture Centre, and we can’t blame them! For the Astronomical Agriculture Excursion: A Night Under the Stars, students set off on a two-day, action-packed adventure filled with learning, laughter, and life-long memories.

Students bunked up in cozy yurts with three of their closest mates—making for stellar sleepovers in a unique farm setting! They threw themselves (and boomerangs) into traditional Aussie activities, each taking a turn to master the ancient art of boomerang throwing. And that’s not all—they also took flight by piloting drones, launching new skills to new heights!

The true highlight was the nighttime astronomy session, where students had a ringside seat to view Saturn and its magnificent rings through the telescope. They even spotted a nebula, adding a real starry twist to their learning! Back on Earth, they dug in to plant trees as part of a carbon experiment—a small way to give back to our planet, one tree at a time.

After a day filled with fun and exploration, everyone gathered around the campfire for a hearty feast of camp oven goat stew with damper and mugs of hot chocolate. It was the perfect way to wind down, sharing stories and laughs around the fire with a warm treat in hand.

All in all, the excursion was an un-earthly success, and we couldn’t be prouder of our Year 5s for their curiosity, team spirit, and adventurous attitudes! Thank you to the Australian Agriculture Centre,  who made this adventure possible.

Remembrance Day

This week School Leader's attended the community Commemoration and laid a wreath on behalf of St Mary's. 

Mrs Rachael Croker had also organised a Remembrance Day Liturgy in the Church for students. Both events are wonderful examples of respect and gratitude for the peaceful world we live in. 

School Explorer's

Last Friday our 2025 Explorer's enjoyed a "Make it" session with Mrs Knight, Mrs R Croker, Year Five and Mrs O'Brien.

With two more sessions to go, we look forward to our Orientation Day on Monday 2 December.

Important TERM FOUR dates to note:

Friday 15 Nov - Grandparents Day

Friday 22 Nov - Mission Day

Monday 2 Dec - Kindergarten 2025 Orientation Day

Thursday 12 Dec - Leadership 2025 Mass

Thursday 12 Dec - St Mary's Carols evening

Monday 16 Dec -  Year Six Graduation

Wednesday 18 Dec - Year Six final Assembly

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2025 Term Dates

Included below are the dates for our 2025 School year. 

TERM 1,2025 (31 Jan - 11 Apr)

Friday 31 Jan - CECG system-wide pupil-free day

Monday 3 Feb - NSW pupil-free day

Friday 11 April - CECG system-wide pupil-free day

TERM 2, 2025 (28 Apr - 4 Jul)

Monday 28 Apr - CECG system-wide pupil-free day

Friday 4 July - CECG system-wide pupil-free day

TERM 3, 2025 (21 Jul - 26 Sep)

Monday 21 July - CECG system-wide pupil-free day

Friday 26 Sep - CECG system-wide pupil-free day

TERM 4, 2025 (13 Oct - 19 Dec)

Monday 13 Oct - CECG system-wide pupil-free day

Friday 19 Dec - CECG system-wide pupil-free day

We would like to ensure that all accounts are paid by the end of the school year. We would appreciate your assistance with this.

If you would like to confirm your current balance, you can do this via the Compass app. Select "More" on the bottom right of the screen, and in the bottom centre you will find the tab "School Fees".  Here you can see your current balance and you are also able to check out your debit/credit history.

If you have any questions regarding your school fee account, please do not hesitate to contact the School Office.

The 2025 school fees will be advised when confirmed by Head Office.

Weeks 5  Awards 

Awards will be presented at the assembly on Friday 15 November at 12.00pm.

** Please note the different time to coincide with Grandparents Day.

K - Elyssia Camilleri, Liam Hunter, Ava Lowe

1 - Olivia Doran, Adam Fraser, Harvey Kensit, Chelsea Moorby, Vida Stephenson

2 - Tommy Culley, Claudia Hills, Adeline Millett, Archer Moloney, Noah Munro

3 - Henry Butler, Denzil Hills

4 - Luca Morning, Flynn Storrier, Aria White

5 - Sophie Croker, Harley White

6 - Alice Frost, Olivia Millett, Lucas Plumb, Thomas Walsh

Uniform Awards

Congratulations to the following students for wearing our school uniform correctly and with pride:

Henry Johns

Harry Reid

Lost items and a reminder to name 

A kind reminder to please check the uniform items that come home with your child each day. Occasionally items get taken off and accidentally picked up and taken home to another family. We have a few students who are missing jumpers which are named. If you can please check and return anything that has come home accidentally.

Our lost property pile has grown into a mountain again, so please feel free to come and check for any missing items. Any clothing left over at the end of the year will be placed in the second-hand items.

Second-hand items

The second-hand items are also full to the brim. Remember these items are all FREE! So why not drop in and browse through these to help stock up your supply.

Remembrance Day

On Monday our school community gathered in the church for a beautiful Remembrance Day liturgy.

You might like to pause and say a prayer for the fallen and for peace.

God of love and peace,

We thank you for the peace and security we enjoy.

We remember those who faithfully served their country in time of war

and we pray for them.

We remember those who are still serving, and we pray for them and their families.

We pray for all men, women and children caught up in today’s terribly conflicts.

We pray for leaders of countries to find peaceful resolutions.

We pray for the day to come soon when there is no war, only peace.

May we who enjoy freedom and peace,

make the most of every opportunity to spread kindness and love. 

Let this be our commitment – to strive for peace in our homes and our world.

This we pray in the name of Jesus who gave his life for the sake of the world:

Jesus Christ, our example of peace. Amen.

November – The Month of Holy Souls

We continue to pray for loved ones who have gone before us…

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,

and let perpetual light shine upon them.

May they rest in peace. Amen.

Dear God of Mercy, I pray this day for all souls,

both known and unknown to me,

who, although touched by death,

have not yet entered Your Heavenly Kingdom. AMEN

Teacher v Students Soccer Game Mission Week Activity

On Tuesday 19 November, we will be hosting a teacher v student soccer match. Students who want to ‘take on’ the teachers will be asked to bring a gold coin donation, with all monies added to the amount we raise at Mission Day. May the best team win!!!!!

Striving for JUSTICE and SERVICE at St Mary’s: MISSION DAY

Next Friday 22^nd November is our Catholic Mission Day. Please remember to help us support CATHOLIC MISSION.

Please see details below for further details:

Clothing: Mufti

Money: Students are encouraged to bring no more than $10:00 for Mission Day activities such as lucky dips, white elephant stall, novelty activities and ice-creams. 

Food Stalls: At lunchtime there will be a sausage sizzle, with sausage sandwiches costing $3 each.

At recess we will have a cake stall, with cakes on sale for 50c each

WHITE ELEPHANT/LUCKY DIPS – Many thanks for the new and used items donated thus far. If you haven’t cleaned out your cupboards, there is still time: Examples of items include toys, games, books, kitchenware, clothes/shoes, drawing/sketching materials, jewellery, purses/bags/wallets etc.

Class roles for the day are as follows:

The last issue for 2024 of Book Club has been distributed today.

Please order by Loop by next Thursday 21 November.

For Parish and Sacramental matters please forward your enquiries to Goulburn Parish Secretary, Heather Moss. Heather works Tuesday to Friday 9am to 1pm in Goulburn.

Email: Crookwell@cg.org.au

Website: http://cg.org.au/crookwell/Home.aspx 

Phone: 0403 631 797 

Address: 55 Wade Street (the Old Convent Building)

Applications are now open for 2025 School Student Transport Scheme (SSTS) travel 

Students in the Opal network applying for an Opal card (including a Term Bus Pass) for the first time will receive their School Opal card at their nominated postal address from mid-January 2025.

Students progressing from year 2 to year 3 and from year 6 to year 7 do not need to re-apply if they:

• are continuing at the same school, and
• are residing at the same address, and
• have not been sent an expiry notification from Transport for NSW.

Where a student meets the new distance eligibility, the system will automatically update their entitlement. If they do not meet the new eligibility, they will receive an expiry notification.

Students who change address, school, campus location, have repeated a year or received an expiry notification for their school travel entitlement need to renew or update their details before the end of term 4. This will ensure that schools can endorse applications, so their travel entitlement can remain valid for the start of the 2025 school year.

Students who have an entitlement approved under a medical condition that is due to expire will receive a notification advising them to re-apply.

Term Bus Pass holders will receive a notification to re-apply.

Rural and Regional Students

Students living in rural and regional (R&R) areas should receive their travel pass at the start of the new school year from their nominated transport operator. It may come via the school or be sent directly to them at home. Note: some R&R operators do not issue travel passes. Students/parents should confirm with their nominated operator if they do not receive a pass.

Real-time Trip Information

** Please note, GPS information may not always be up-to-date if signal strength is compromised **