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Term 4 Key Dates
| Monday 19 October |
School Counsellor visit (Weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, 10) |
| Thursday 22 October |
School Photos http://www.advancedlife.com.au/ CODE AN3 WE9 3JZ |
| Friday 23 October |
Operation Christmas Child box items or a donation towards postage due |
| Monday 26 October |
Tuckshop resumes - Sharyn M, Claire and Elizabeth |
| Wednesday 28 October |
Raiders 'Aspire' Program with Alan Tongue |
| Friday 6 November |
The School Explorers Program - 'Make It' 2pm - 3pm |
| Friday 13 November |
The School Explorers Program - 'Play It' 2pm - 3pm |
| Monday 16 November |
Kindergarten Orientation Day 1 9.30am - 2.30pm |
| Monday 16 - Wednesday 18 November |
Year 6 Camp |
| Thursday 19 November |
Phil Geia Performance |
| Friday 20 November |
Mission Day |
| Monday 23 November |
Kindergarten Orientation Day 2 9.30am - 2.30pm |
Welcome!
Welcome back to the final term of school for the year. I hope everyone managed to enjoy some rest over the Spring break.
This term we warmly welcome Owen Moorby who has commenced in Year One and Mrs. Samantha Croke, who is completing a teaching practicum with Year Four. I would like to pass on our congratulations to Jessica, Simon, Lucas, Connor and Riley Plumb on the safe arrival of baby boy, Arlen. We look forward to meeting him soon.
This term promises to be action-packed with many fun and educational events on the horizon.
On Thursday next week, we have our school photographs. if you have not already put through your orders please do so as soon as possible. On Thursday we also have Sethan, Lucy, Ava and Chloe participating in the Archdiocesan Public Speaking competition. We wish them all the best of luck!
In Week 3 we look forward to a visit from the Canberra Raiders. They have developed a regional community program, known as Aspire, aimed at teaching Year 5 and Year 6 primary school children about respect, teamwork, resilience, wellbeing and leadership through a football analogy. The program is delivered by Alan Tongue (former Canberra Raiders captain).
Throughout Week 5, we celebrate NAIDOC Week and in Week 6 the children will enjoy a performance by Phil Geia, a Bwgcolman with family ties to Yarrabah and Torres Strait. Phil will present traditional stories, music, dance and showcase a range of instruments.
On Monday of Week 6 our Year 6 students will travel by private bus charter to the Department of Sport and Recreation in Narrabeen for a two night/3 day camp experience.
Week 6 will conclude with Mission Day, a special event organised by our senior students to raise money for the Catholic Missions.
Other noteworthy events in Term 4 include the commencement of our Orientation and transition programs for Kindergarten 2021 (details below) and our Year 6 students.
This term we will also farewell Mrs Jennifer McCarthy as she retires from her Music Teacher role at St Mary's. Jenny has been a permanent part-time staff member at St Mary's for many years. She will continue with her private piano tuition and will also work as a casual teacher for us. We will farewell Jenny with a concert to end all concerts! More details will follow.
We are also looking forward to the completion of the refurbishment of the Mercy Building this term. It is projected that we will move back into this building mid to late November. We will also hold an Opening Ceremony and community walk-through when COVID restrictions allow.
I would like to wish everyone a productive and fulfilling term full of learning, joy and wonder. As usual, please do not hesitate to contact me as the need arises, my door is always open.
COVID restrictions for Schools Update
The Catholic Education Archdiocese of Canberra & Goulburn provided an update on 29 September relating to the current restrictions for NSW Catholic Schools, as advised by NSW Health.
They are as follows:
Assemblies
- Assemblies to be limited to 15 minutes - preferably avoided (applies to school and year assemblies).
COVID-19 Testing
- Students and staff with flu-like symptoms must not attend school or be sent home and tested for COVID-19.
- Where COVID-19 testing has occurred due to flu-like symptoms, and not due to close contact with a positive COVID-19 case, the person being tested must self-isolate until they receive a negative result. If the result is positive, they are required to self-isolate for 14 days. Family members are not required to self-isolate until the test result is received - although we encourage them to do so.
- The school must sight a negative test result before staff/students return to school.
- Staff/students must be symptom-free before returning to school.
- Schools must keep a record of negative staff/student’s tests in a central file.
Education Delivery
- Schools should limit learning activities to year groups where possible (this excludes playgrounds, before school, recess and lunch activities).
- Only external providers of essential curriculum may continue activities (eg. music tutors, Healthy Harold, sport skill development programs etc).
- External providers must have a COVID-19 Safe Plan which is sighted and reviewed by the school before commencing activities. This does not apply to Allied Health Providers who are providing one on one services.
Excursions
- Day time excursions are permitted within the local area only, subject to appropriate risk assessments.
- Overnight and interstate excursions and camps can resume (ACT/NSW only) where they are a necessary part of a student’s education program (for example, College outdoor education programs).
- Schools must adhere to the specific COVID-19 rules within the state/territory they are travelling and must only conduct the excursion if it is safe to do so at the time given the current COVID-19 status in the area being travelled to.
- All excursions and accommodation must have a COVID-Safe plan.
- Where excursions are conducted the mixing of any other school group or members of the public should be minimised.
Graduations
- Year 12 Formals or graduation ceremonies are now permitted subject to meeting NSW Health requirements.
- Schools may hold a Year 6 assembly to recognise the completion of primary school for Stage 3 Students (Year 5 & 6) subject to meeting NSW Health requirements.
Inter-School Activities
- Interschool sporting activities permitted outside local areas and communities.
- Must have a COVID-Safe Plan and no spectators permitted.
- Avoid mixing students when not participating in activities.
- 5 metres social distancing required for solo singers
- No more than 5 people permitted to sing in choirs, with 5 metres distance required for audiences. Choir members must not face each other and required to stand 1.5 metres apart.
- The use of Wind instruments requires 3 metres social distancing.
Kinder and Year 7 Orientation
- Kindergarten Orientation can be commenced from 1 November subject to meeting NSW Health requirements. This includes:
- parents only being permitted to remain on the school premises for 10 minutes; and
- students being free from COVID-19 like-symptoms and the school following COVID-19 safe practices.
- Year 7 orientation can proceed from 12 November following the conclusion of the HSC, subject to, meeting NSW Health requirements. This includes:
- the students being free from COVID-19 like-symptoms and the school following COVID-19 safe practices;
- being kept in groups to minimise mixing, a maximum of 2 visits is permitted;
- transitioning Year 6 students to be kept separate from other students; and
- to not be together in a large group in a hall for more than 1 hour.
P&F Groups
- All face-to-face P&F activities to cease and to be conducted remotely.
- No P&F / Community Council social gatherings
Staff Gatherings/ Professional Learning
- All staff gatherings are to be on MS Teams. Professional learning for staff should not be conducted face to face unless it is absolutely necessary. Only essential compliance training that involves a mandatory face-to-face demonstration for certification can be attended by staff. Staff numbers must be restricted and mixing of staff from other schools is not permitted.
Singing/ Instruments/ Dancing
- Singing is permitted for solo and small choir groups subject to certain restrictions.
- 5 metres social distancing required for solo singers.
- No more than 5 people permitted to sing in choirs, with 5 metres distance required for audiences. Choir members must not face each other and required to stand 1.5 metres apart.
- The use of Wind instruments requires 3 metres social distancing.
Visitors
- No parents or carers on site unless the meeting is considered essential and should be by exception.
- Parent and carer attendance not permitted at assemblies and other school events.
- Parent and carer volunteers not permitted – e.g. parent reading helpers (note: canteen and uniform shop volunteers are permitted)
- School-based activities that involve large gathering of adults not permitted. These include parent/community gatherings such as parent functions, working bees, fundraisers, school barbecues, large parent information evenings, and large on-site cultural events.
Attendance
- All students should be either:
- at school;
- at home because they are currently unwell;
- at home due to self-isolation requirements;
- at home because they have a medical certificate which states that they are unable to return to school due to an ongoing medical condition (or in limited cases where a family member has an ongoing medical condition).
Kindergarten Orientation Program
It is with joy that I can now announce our Term Four Kindergarten Orientation Program can commence from the beginning of November. Our new Kindergarten students are invited to attend all or as many of the sessions as they are able.
- Schools may now commence planning for orientation programs for Kindergarten to be held from 1 November 2020 (Term 4 Week 3) subject to health advice.
- Schools are required to confirm with parents and carers that all attendees including students and staff are well and free of any flu-like symptoms.
- Parents/carers are to enter the school site and report to a designated drop off and collection zone.
- Parents/carers should not remain on-site for longer than 10 minutes.
- Start classroom orientation visits after the regular school start time to avoid congestion.
- Staggering start times to limit the number of people on-site and to prevent queuing.
- Maintain a record of names and contact details for all students for at least 28 days after the event.
- Ensure each parent signs the external visitors form.
- Adopt and promote good hand hygiene practices (hand sanitiser distribution points)
- Implement cleaning protocols for any shared items used during the orientation.
- For students with additional needs other transitional and orientation arrangements can be considered, by individual arrangement.
School Zone Reminder
Term Four Clubs
This term the following clubs will be on offer:
| Wednesday | 11.25am | Library | Chess Club |
| 1.40pm | Old Hall | Drawing Club | |
| Thursday | 11.25am | Peace Garden | Garden Club |
| Friday | 11.25am | Lego Club | MP Hall |
| Daily | 8.00am | Old Hall | Morning Club |
Summer Uniform
The students may return to school in their full summer uniform.
- For boys this includes the grey short-sleeve shirt and shorts with grey socks with the green and gold band, only available from our Uniform Shop.
- Girls are to wear the summer dress with white socks that are either long or folded at the ankle - not short anklet sports socks.
- If you are shopping for shoes please refer to our school shoe policy. Black sand shoe style shoes ARE NOT permitted.
School Photographs
Our school photographs will be taken on 22 October in Week 2.
To order photographs go to www.advancedlife.com.au and type in the nine-digit code AN3 WE9 3JZ. Alternatively, you may send back the envelope distributed in Week 8.
Sibling photographs can also be ordered online or by requesting an envelope from the Office.
Toys & Technology
At St Mary's we encourage students to leave their toys at home. We are happy to supply our students with equipment to play with at break time and are always open to suggestions about suitable play equipment and activities. If a child does decide to bring a toy to school, please be aware that they do this at their own risk. Whilst we encourage our students to respect other people and their possessions, sometimes things can get lost or accidentally broken. It would be a pity if this happened to something that is special to the child.
As there is an increasing amount of technology coming to school with students each day we ask that devices are clearly labelled. It is essential that all devices are left in the basket upon arrival at school. Labelling devices will ensure that they are returned to the correct students at the end of the day.
Operation Christmas Child - ONE WEEK TO GO!
Operation Christmas Child (OCC) is a project of Samaritan’s Purse. It partners with local churches in developing nations to reach out to children by providing gift-filled shoe-boxes to children in need.
As a school, we will aim to fill as many boxes as we can. Items can include small toys, hair accessories, a hairbrush, toothbrush, skipping rope, marbles, pencils, notepads, textas, handkerchiefs etc. We are aiming to fill seven boxes, one for each class.
If you would prefer to send in a couple of dollars to go towards the $10 postage per box, rather than send in an item, this would also be appreciated.
2021 Term One Start Dates
27 January 2021 - Staff Planning Day (Wednesday)
28 January 2021- Staff Archdiocesan Systems Day (Thursday)
29 January 2021 - Year 1- Year 6 students commence (Friday)
1 February 2021 - Kindergarten students start (Monday)
*Kindergarten students have a rest during each Wednesday during February (3/10/17/24 February)
JUSTICE and SERVICE at St Mary’s
World Mission Month - October 2020
Life these days is very busy for most families – work, family, and all the responsibilities that come with these. It can be a huge effort to juggle everything on our plates let alone think about those in our world who don’t have ‘enough’ to lead full lives.This is why the Catholic Church has set aside the month of October as Mission Month, a time to really focus our thoughts on our global brothers and sisters who, through no fault of their own, are living in poverty, sickness or fear.
Mission Month is a worldwide occasion of thinking about, praying for, and working for the JUST world that our God desires for us. Human dignity calls for the recognition that EVERY human being is made in God’s image and is PRECIOUS.
Jesus said “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10).
Thank heavens we have Catholic Mission Month, St Vincent De Paul Appeals, and Caritas to jolt our memories and stir our consciences about answering Jesus’ call to ‘Love our neighbour’. Truly loving means acting.
Our school values for this term are JUSTICE and SERVICE, and they remind us that we are called to be…
- JESUS’ FEET – walking with others in the spirit of JUSTICE
- JESUS’ HANDS – offering SERVICE to others
Our students will be learning about the importance of working for justice. They will discover how our school community - as part of the Church – is called to engage in her mission to bring about a JUST world; how they can serve others through their prayers and actions (including fundraising, Mission day etc).
Our Mini Vinnies’ Team is planning a special activity to help us reflect on the needs of others. We need your help for this. Could you please gather all of your OLD/ODD SOCKS and send them into school ASAP.
This term St Mary’s aims to raise funds to help those living in poverty and to empower children and young adults with disability.
St MARY’s MISSION DAY is in week 6. Please clean out your cupboards for our White Elephant Stall
We know first hand how much influence social media has over our lives. Over the past few weeks the Safe On Social Team has been flooded with messages from concerned parents after watching the new Netflix documentary, The Social Dilemma.
Have you seen it?
It’s certainly an eye opener.
For those that haven’t, here’s a quick summary...the documentary interviews several high-profile former employees of the biggest social media companies out there. These are the very men and women who helped build social media as we know it today...and now they have some pretty big fears - and pretty big regrets.
In their own words, "you can’t put the genie back in the bottle."
The documentary is a fascinating and frightening look at how social media is impacting our mental health, manipulating our behaviour and how dependent and intrusive it actually is...and how it’s purposely designed this way.
While The Social Dilemma can be a shock to watch, it presents an important opportunity for family discussion.
Here are 4 key themes from the documentary to discuss with your kids:
- Mental health
Constant social media use can impact a child’s sense of self-worth and identity. We encourage parents to stay on top of what is happening in the news, your child’s school and within their circle of friends to monitor closely situations that may impact their mental health. There are a variety of support tools as well as Q&A support within the Toolkit. - Delaying & limiting social media use
As much as it’s difficult, look to delay younger kids having access to social media for as long as possible (the documentary suggests 16) - Model good social behaviour as a parent
As parents we have to practice what we preach. These apps are designed to hook us in (and they do!) so be mindful of what your own social media/phone habits might be saying to your children. It’s also suggested to turn off notifications and keep devices out of your bedroom to limit usage. - Open communication
Use the film to tap into your child’s interests – what are they really into online and then use that as an opportunity to work through and mitigate the risks together. If age appropriate (the film is rated PG-13) watch the documentary together to see their views and spark ongoing conversation.
The following cheat sheet around Parent Resilience Strategies is useful to further help with these discussions.
Welcome back! I hope you enjoyed some valuable quality time with your children during the holidays.
Morning Club will continue this term each day from 8am-8.40am. All children are very welcome.
Volunteers
Unfortunately, we are unable to welcome reading volunteers into our school until the COVID restrictions are lifted. We look forward to working with you again when this opportunity arises.
Work Placement
We are pleased that Brad Hayes is continuing his work placement at St Mary’s this term. On a Wednesday, Brad is a welcome friendly face around the school and the children enjoy learning with Mr Hayes.
We are also pleased to welcome Stephanie Knight as a work placement student. Stephanie will work with us on a Thursday and Friday throughout this term. Mrs Knight will assist us with reading, maths, garden and lego clubs. We look forward to working with Stephanie this term
It is pleasing to be able to inform everyone that there has been some easing of restrictions in relation to school-based sport.
The new guidelines have allowed us to do some planning of sporting activities for Term 4, which I am sure the students will be quite excited about.
Friday Sport
Commencing next Friday, Week 2, and running for a 6-week block, we have been lucky to secure the Goulburn Martial Arts Academy to run a Judo/ Taekwando/ Mini Ninjas program for our Friday sport sessions. This has been made possible through a a Sporting Schools grant, allowing us to bring in qualified coaches to run this program.
If you have questions relating to this program please email me at rachael.croker@cg.catholic.edu.au
Athletics Carnival
We have had discussions about holding a potential Athletics Carnival towards the end of the Term. The format would be slightly different from our normal carnival routine, with there being no individual or house points allocated, and the focus being on modified athletics activities.
Further details regarding this will come as they are finalised.
Football Posts
We are in search of some large football posts like the ones we currently have on the bottom playground to create a second field for our students to use. Do you, or do you know of someone, who may have posts that are no longer being used or suggestions of who may be able to perhaps build some for us? Please get in touch with Belinda in the Office if you can assist.
Book Club
Book Club is due next Thursday 22 October.
Orders can be placed via Loop or returning the sheet and payment page to school
Class Awards
The Student of the Week Award recipients this week are:
Kinder - Henry Butler, Lucinda Fannin and Payton Selmes
Year 1 - Riley O'Brien and Sam White
Year 2 - Lily Coggan, Alex Storrier and Thomas Walsh
Year 3 - Charlie Lang
Year 4 – Caitlyn Hogan and Amelia O'Brien
Year 5 - Georgina Culley and Olivia Pursell
Year 6 - Dylan Greenwood and Regan Picker
St Mary's Cookbook 
We've had a good number of recipes come through, but would love some more.
If you, or anyone you know, are willing to share your favourite recipe(s) that would be fantastic!!! Please email them to Belinda Tarlinton at Office.Stmarysc@cg.catholic.edu.au
Coordinator's Daria Lawson & Tash McCormack
Tuckshop Term 4 Roster
There have been a few changes already, so please check below to see if your date doesn't work.
TUCKSHOP_TERM_4_2020_as_at_14_October_2020.pdf
If your name is not there and you can please help, please complete the form- Tuckshop Helpers.
Helping in the tuckshop is not scary at all and you won't be left alone without any training or assistance. If you would like to have a look at how it works before actually having a go, please contact Daria.
Remember, many hands mean less work and would reduce the load on the same people who continuously volunteer.
Monday 26 October: Sharyn Mallinson, Claire McCormack, Elizabeth Egan
Friday 30 October: Jackie Blowes, Belinda Foley, Mary-Ann Kilborn
Monday 2 November: Allison Hewitt, Candice Millett, Nicola Pursell
Friday 6 November: Brooke Wong, Claire McCormack, Marguerite Walsh
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)
Resilient Kids!
In this 8 week program your child will begin to learn new tools to understand and get in control of their anxious thoughts and emotions.
Throughout the 8 weeks we will be focusing on vital skills including
- optimistic thinking
- problem-solving
- resilience building
- personal character strengths
- emotional regulation and literacy
- social skills
- self-confidence
This is an 8 week group program for 8-12yr old children that will run on Tuesday afternoons.
4.30pm-5.30pm Tuesday’s
$200 for the program. *payment plans available.
Program will run 20/10/20-8/12/20
Contact: Jacinta Ojwang- Holistic Counsellor and Intern Psychotherapist
e: jacinta@innerpeacecollective.com
m: 0406 202 264
w: innerpeacecollective.com
i: @theinnerpeacecollective
CADS Performance- The Vicar of Dibley
