Term 4 Key Dates

2021 Staffing

I would like to thank our 2020 staff for their hard work and resilience in a year that has provided many challenges. We are very lucky to have dedicated and experienced teachers at St Mary's.

This year we farewell Mrs. Jennifer McCarthy from the role of Specialist Music Teacher. Jenny has been part of the St Mary's staff for twenty-five years and over her time as Music Teacher, she has developed a love of music in our students. Jenny has taken our students to perform at the Goulburn Eisteddfod, Viewhaven, the Senior Citizens Centre and she was the creator of Singfest, a mass Northern Region Choir. Many of our students, past and present, will acclaim Jenny for establishing their musical interests. We are fortunate that Jenny will remain on staff as a casual teacher. 

I would like to congratulate Alison Cummins and Linda Walsh on successfully renewing their temporary full-time positions for 2021. 

I would also like to thank Tory Simmons for her work as a Classroom Support Assistant at St Mary's over the past two and a half years. Tory and her family have relocated to Goulburn and she will continue to work in a similar capacity at Ss Peter and Pauls. We wish Tory and her family the best of luck.  

I am pleased to announce the classroom teachers for 2021:

Kinder— Mrs. Alison Cummins        

Year One— Mrs. Sally Croker  

Year Two— Mrs. Susan Branson            

Year Three – Mrs. Rachael Croker            

Year Four – Mrs. Therese Skelly    

Year Five– Mrs. Linda Walsh        

Year Six— Mr. Larry O’Kane                    

Library/ICT— Mrs. Dorothea Hewitt

Music/Dance/Drama—Mrs. Ashlee Picker 

Executive Release & Teacher RFF— Mrs. Karen O’Keefe 

Classroom Support Teacher— Mrs. Nicola Spackman

Classroom Support Assistants - Mrs. Gwenda Romer, Mrs. Shauna Hewitt, Mrs. Rie O'Brien and Mrs. Elizabeth Webber

Office Manager - Mrs. Belinda Tarlinton

Our staff are very excited to be taking on their roles and look forward to building positive relationships and creating engaging learning opportunities for your children next year.

Dion Drummond Performance

Last Thursday our students were immersed in a lively and entertaining Aboriginal Cultural performance by Dion Drummond and his cousin Ronaldo Guivarra. The performers delighted us with music, dance and stories from the Cairns and Torres Strait regions.

Raiders ASPIRE Program

On Tuesday our Year Five and Six children participated in a program related to building respectful relationships with ourselves, our classmates and the broader community.

Raiders players Jarrod Croker, Sam Wentworth and Sam Williams delivered a range of pair-share, small group and whole-class activities that emphasised the theme of respect.

At the ASPIRE session, we also welcomed Senator Jim Molan, Member for Goulburn Wendy Tuckerman, ULSC Mayor John Stafford, ULSC General Manager Colleen Worthy, Raiders staff Don Furner and Andrew Bishop, Police members, Acting Inspector David Cowell and Senior Constable Scott Hunter and representatives from our local rugby league and union clubs. 

We would like to thank ex-St Mary's student Sarah Williams for organising this event for us. 

The Term 4 school fees are now overdue if you do not have an existing arrangement in place. Please organise payment as soon as possible to ensure  you finish the year with a zero balance on your account.

If you would like more information, please contact Belinda.

ADVENT

Getting our hearts and minds ready to celebrate Jesus at Christmas time

The season of ADVENT, which leads us to Jesus’ birthday at Christmas, begins this Sunday.

Advent is a time for us to stop and reflect on our lives and our relationships (with God and each other). It is a time for us to consider the HOPE, PEACE, JOY and LOVE Jesus can bring to our lives if we invite Him in. Are we in touch with our loving God, who gives us the will and the strength to be the best people we can for each other? Make some time in your day to reflect on these questions:

• Do we know God LOVES us PERSONALLY, DEEPLY, UNCONDITIONALLY?
• Do we give real time to God in order to KNOW this deep love? What about attending Mass?
• Are we aware when and how God blesses our day/our lives? Do we give thanks?
• How do we treat others? Could we listen more carefully, be more tolerant or understanding, more patient, more honest, kinder or less selfish?
• Do we need to say sorry and make things right?

We will be having a whole school Advent prayer in the school hall on Monday morning at 9am

St Mary’s School Values: JUSTICE and SERVICE

A big thankyou to everyone for supporting our MISSION DAY last Friday! We raised much needed funds for those in need.

We are continuing to open our hearts to God by striving for justice this Advent, for the less fortunate in our community and in the wider world. Please help us support St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal

Emotional Intelligence

The emotions of children matter. Focus and learning improve, when children are not anxious or aggressive. Sometimes children can be victims or perpetrators of bullying when their emotions are difficult to control. Bullying can be contributed to a lack of emotional intelligence skills. As teachers and parents, we need to teach these skills.

• We want children to recognise different emotions in themselves and others.
• We want children to understand the cause of emotions and their consequences
• We want children to be able to label different emotions.
• We want children to be able to express their emotions in ways that are socially appropriate
• We want our children to learn to regulate their emotions.

If we are emotionally intelligent, we recognise a range of healthy emotions. This helps us to develop stronger, positive relationships, enjoy better health and wellbeing. Emotional intelligence can help protect us from depression, anxiety and aggression.

Children need to be clear about behaviour expectations at home and at school, to ensure they can better regulate their emotions and behaviour. It is helpful to teach them to take a short pause before reacting to others.

Education in emotional intelligence is as important as learning traditional subjects. Our learners then become more effective, more self-aware and more compassionate people.

Sue Larkey and Tony Attwood

Sue Larkey and Tony Attwood are well known for their professional development days for parents and teachers. They also offer e-learning and many resources to assist families in managing challenging behaviours. The following e-book has lots of strategies for all students, but especially children with ASD, ADD, ADHD, ODD and developmental delays.

https://suelarkey.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Early-Childhood-Free-E-Book-2019-compactv2.pdf

Additional needs/Sensory toys/Social & emotional skills resources

The Elizabeth Richards store has many items for children with additional needs including, social skills games, therapy swings, sensory items, calming items, hearing protectors, timers. We use many of these items at school.

https://www.elizabethrichards.com.au/collections/special-education

Revised Athletics Carnival/ Mini Olympics

Due to the current COVID restrictions not allowing us to have parents and helpers attending school events, we have made the decision to revise our Athletics Carnival format to a Mini Olympics program.

This will take place on Friday of Week 8 from 12pm-3pm on the schools bottom oval. 

The Sports Captains and Year 6 will be in charge of organising modified Olympic events such as shot put, discus, hurdles, running events, egg and spoon race and much more.

This will be a program with participation and fun being the emphasis, and a lovely way for our students to finish sport for the year.

Talk-and-Walk-a-Thon 

Year Six Peer Support leaders will be hosting the Talk-and-Walk-a-Thon tomorrow in support of Mental Health Month.

It’s important that our children feel safe, connected and supported at school and within the wider community. The Talk-and-Walk-a-Thon has been designed to strengthen this feeling of connection and sense of belonging, allowing students to get to know other students at school.

Students will be invited to stretch their legs and talk about topics ranging from their favourite music, food, movies, sports and more. These topics will encourage peer engagement, help strengthen bonds and allow students to feel connected with people they see every day but may not necessarily know.

On Wednesday 2 December in Week 8, Mrs O'Brien will be having a Japanese Taster Day for the last lesson of the year.

Mrs O'Brien will be using packets of curry mix (picture below), with chicken, carrot, potatoes, onions and rice. 

If you have any concerns of allergies/reactions with the ingredients, please let the School know beforehand.

Rite of Catholic Initiation of Adults

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)

Year 4 – Rorey Hearne and Peter Lawson

Year 5 - Charlie Cramp and Bridie Croker

Year 6 - William Fraser and Chloe Salt

Available at the School Office. Cash only please.

Pictures and Popcorn in Goulburn

KAOS Muster

KAOS (Kids Acting On Stage) is putting on a production of "Shrek Jnr" in 2021. If you are interested there will be a muster on 1st and 3rd February at 5pm at the Memorial Hall. The show dates will be 21/22/23 and 28/29/30 May 2021. All welcome from Kindergarten to 16 years of age.

Goulburn Art Gallery School Holiday Fun

Goulburn TAFE Semester 1, 2021 Enrolments Open

Children's Cartooning Programs- School Holidays

Summer_2021_Cartooning_Workshops_for_the_parents_and_schools.pdf

Summer_2021_Cartooning_Workshops_for_the_parents_and_schools _pdf 673.82 KB

Laggan Hall Christmas Markets

The DV Alert - Equanimity Project and CWA

Domestic and family violence response training is a free national training program designed for health, allied health and community frontline workers. If you are interested, please see the PDF attachments below for more information.