Upcoming Events

Welcome! 

Welcome back to all! I hope you have had a happy, restful and safe summer break.

We commence the year with 140 students. A very warm welcome is extended to the new families joining our school community; the Carlon, Day, Doran, Elsley-Mattox, Francis, McFadden, Moloney, Proudman and Mallinson families. We wish you all a happy and smooth transition into school life at St Mary's.

Welcome back to our existing students, families and staff. I am confident that 2020 will be a productive and fulfilling year for all!

Opening School Mass

On Friday 7 February at 9.30am we will hold our Opening School Mass in St Mary's Church. The Captains badges will be blessed and presented to our 2020 School Leaders during this Mass. All welcome!

Thank you!

Thank you to the Naughton and Knight families for the extra work they did in the holidays preparing our yards and gardens for the first day back.

Thank you also to Anita our cleaner, and all the staff, for completing many additional holiday improvement and preparation duties.

Thank you to Brendan Luchetti, PE teacher and former personal trainer, for donating a large supply of sporting equipment to St Mary's over the holiday break.

School Hours

Students commence school at 9.00am (first bell) and conclude at 3:10pm. Morning Club is offered to our families as a free service from 8am to 8.40am each morning. This is held in the School Library. Playground supervision does not commence until 8:40am and concludes at 3:30pm in the afternoon.

Newsletter

Today you have received the first school newsletter for the year. Newsletters will be emailed out each Thursday afternoon and are also available on the website and Szapp app, however, if you would prefer a print copy please contact Belinda. 

If you require instructions on how to download our Szapp app please see Belinda.

We love to share our school communities news and events. Please email the office with photos and updates for inclusion in the newsletter. 

Kindergarten

Our new Kindergarten students arrived at ‘big school’ yesterday looking very smart in their St Mary’s uniforms. The students had a very settled and productive day with Mrs Croker and Mrs Romer. We wish our new Kinder students a wonderful first year of school!

Contact

Teachers are your first port of call for questions and queries pertaining to the classroom. Appointments can be made with your child's classroom teacher by calling the Office.

I am also happy to support you in any way I can. Typically problems that are addressed quickly, in partnership, are the easiest to solve. I will be available on the school phone (48321 592) for calls usually from 8.00am - 4.30pm daily or via email within the same hours. The email address to be used to contact any staff member is office.stmarysc@cg.catholic.edu.au

Emails sent out of school hours will not be responded to until the following day.

If you wish to make an appointment to see me, please contact Belinda in the Office.

Catholic Education Bushfire Response

The Catholic Education Archdiocese Canberra Goulburn (CECG) is providing support to affected schools and families in response to the recent bushfires.
Their intention is to ensure that families and staff who have been impacted by the
bushfires are supported in this time of need and that schools are able to begin the 2020 school year and return to normal operation as far as possible. A number of
initiatives are described below to support affected schools.
The following arrangements have been made:

1. Full remission of fees and levies for 2020, paid by the system, for significantly
   affected families;
2. Additional relief teacher allocation to support additional release for staff
   affected;
3. A discretionary fund will be given to Principals of schools where communities have been affected to support the local needs created by the bushfires – spending is related to the school and students;
4. Additional counselling for staff, students and school communities.
   The system will support schools through the recovery phase ahead

Fundraising

CECG suggests that fundraising in System schools relating to the 2019-20 bushfires be directed to the following three charities:
* Vinnie’s Bushfire Appeal (St Vincent de Paul)
* Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery or
* Salvation Army Disaster appeal.

As a school community, we would like to do something for our colleagues in the affected communities in our Archdiocese. At this stage, we think a plant drive might be something of benefit later in the year. If you have any other ideas please let us know.  

Crookwell Show

The Crookwell Show will be held on 8/9 February. This year's theme is Celebrating 200 Years of Crookwell. We have decided that for our school display we would like to present the History of Catholic Education in Crookwell, in alignment with the historical theme. If you have any old St Mary's school uniforms, desks or memorabilia that you would be happy to lend to us to display at the Show please contact Belinda. 

The P & F will be running a barbeque at the Show. This event is coordinated by Craig Croker and Daniel Walsh and all families are rostered on for a shift over the two days. Please see the P&F section for more information.

Clubs

Our Maths, Lego, Chess, Writing, STEM and Games and Cards Clubs will be commencing in Week 3. All children will have the opportunity to take part in these optional break time and afternoon clubs.

Maths Club will be running on a Monday afternoon with Mrs Spackman from 3.15pm to 4pm in the Star Room.  

Term Dates

Term 1: Wednesday 29 January (Years 1-6) Thursday 30 January (Kindergarten) to Thursday 9 April

Term 2: Tuesday 28 April to Friday 3 July

Term 3: Tuesday 21 July to Friday 25 September

Term 4: Tuesday 13 October to Wednesday 16 December

Medicines

If your child requires medicine or is on medication, it must be kept at the office, clearly marked with the child's name, the dosage required and how often. Medicines are not allowed to be kept in the schoolbags during the day.

Daily Transport

Please remember to let the office know if there is a deviation to the normal transport routine. This can be done in person, via SZapp, an email or by telephoning. This will ensure all staff are aware of where your child should be going. If we have not received advice of a change, your child will be put on their normal mode.

Fees

Fees are emailed out during the first weeks of each term. If you would prefer a paper copy, please let Belinda know. Please ensure if you have any outstanding amounts, they are paid as soon as possible. Fees can be paid by setting up an easy, regular direct debit, BPAY, Qkr, cash or cheque. Please see Belinda for further details.

A warm welcome to St Mary’s School for 2020 to all parents, students and staff. A special welcome to our new Kindys and new families. Jesus always welcomed EVERYONE without exception. “When the crowds learned it, they followed him, and he welcomed them and spoke to them ...” (Luke 9:11).  With Jesus as our example, we should never be shy about welcoming others, whether it’s welcoming friends into our home, visitors into our school and church, or saying hello to a stranger.

In 2020 let us all strive to keep up St Mary’s tradition of being a welcoming community.

Go out of your way to say G’DAY!

 Our School Motto and Values

Our School Motto and values remind us to always reach out to each other and to others with a warm, welcoming and loving heart.

Our motto encourages us to work TOGETHER AS ONE in TRUTH AND KNOWLEDGE.

Our Mission is to be…

Jesus’ hands - offering SERVICE to others

Jesus’ eyes - seeing the needs of others with COMPASSION 

Jesus’ heart - sharing RESPECT for everyone 

Jesus’ feet - walking the road of JUSTICE 

Jesus’ mind - persevering and striving for EXCELLENCE

School Swimming Carnival

Who: Years K-Six

When: Tuesday 4 February

Time: Commences at 9:10am, concluding at 3pm

Cost: $1 pool entry or season pool pass

Please see the letter sent home regarding programme of events, student needs for the day, asking for volunteers and when age champion medals will be presented.

#The back-up date for the carnival is Tuesday 11 February. In the event that the carnival is cancelled, notification will be made via the School social media forums.

A copy of the carnival program is below, please note that time and order of events can change at any given point on the day.

Save the Date

Term One is especially busy this year with many carnivals, gala days and specialist tennis lessons. Please see the dates below, however please be aware that some dates may change.

Sport Trials 2020

Library

All classes visit the library each week. Please ensure your child has a library bag in order to borrow.

Tuesday: Year 3, Year 5, Year 4

Wednesday: Kinder, Year 1, Year 2, Year 6

Volunteers

Volunteers are needed to cover books for the Library. Plastic covering is supplied and you are able to do this at home in your own time. If you are able to assist, please complete the form below  and I will contact you. Thank you!

Library helpers

ICT

To have access to the Information and Communication Technologies at St Mary’s, children in Years 3-6 are requested to read and sign the Acceptable Use by Students Policy Form which will be sent home. Parents/Guardians please sign the Acknowledgement section and return to the Office.

Classroom Support News

Welcome back!

Our 2020 Classroom Support team is:

Mrs Gwenda Romer: Classroom Support Assistant (CSA)

Mrs Shauna Hewitt: CSA

Mrs Rie O’Brien: CSA

Mrs Elizabeth Webber: CSA

Mrs Tory Simmons: CSA

Mrs Nicki Spackman: Classroom Support Teacher (CST)

We are all excited to be working with children across all classes and welcome new students and families to our school.

Helpers Needed For Our Intervention Programs

If you would like to assist with any of our intervention programs at school, please complete the online form below or contact Belinda at the office.

Grandparents/community members are also welcome to help. We would like to offer intervention programs in Spelling, Reading and Numeracy.

Intervention Program Volunteer Form

Morning Club

Following the success of Morning Club in 2019, it is available again each day from 8am-8.40am. It is an opportunity for children to arrive at school early when it is difficult for parents who need to be at work early or have appointments. This service is available for all children from K-6 and is held in the library. The children will be required to participate in quiet activities during this time, reading, writing, drawing, colouring, board games, card games, puzzles, ipad activities, homework tasks and/or computer tasks. Children may bring games to play and share if they wish.  At 8.40am the children who attend will then go to the playground for morning supervision by a staff member. No student is to be in the playground unsupervised before 8.40am.

Personalised Plan Meetings

Each semester, and sometimes more often depending on student need, we hold scheduled Personalised Plan meetings for students with a disability or an additional need requiring intervention or adjustments. These meetings will occur in Week 4, February 17 and 18. You will be advised by letter of the date and time next week, if your child requires a PP meeting.

Opening Days

The uniform shop is open every Tuesday and Thursday from 12pm-1pm, however orders can be placed at any time on Qkr and then distributed on Tuesday or Thursdays.

A copy of the order form can be found below.

Size 8 Girls Summer Dresses and Size 6 Boys Shirts

Please be advised that due to the close down over the Christmas period, production of these speciality, embrodiered items was halted which has resulted in a small delay with them being received here. Once they are available, they will again be visible on Qkr. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience.

Baby News

We congratulate the Foran family on the lovely new addition, Ariana to their family on 21 December 2019. Ariana is a baby sister to Archie in Year 3 and Sophia in Year 2. 

Parish Office

For Parish and Sacramental matters please forward your enquiries to Parish Secretary, Janet Haynes or Pastoral Associate Sr Rosemary via email or call into the Parish Office at the Old Convent Building on Tuesdays or Thursdays.

Email: Crookwell@cg.org.au

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

Phone: 48321 633 

Address: 55 Wade Street (the Old Convent Building)

Altar Roster

Will be provided soon.

We would love it if some more children could join our Altar Serving team. Please contact the Parish Office if your child is interested. Training is provided and new children are rostered on with experienced servers.