Upcoming Events

Welcome Back!

It is lovely to see everyone back safe and sound from a restful break.

We are very excited to welcome the Hills family back to Crookwell and the St Mary's School Community. Many of you will remember Denzil, who participated in the Kindergarten Orientation activities last year. Denzil has commenced in Kindergarten this term. Welcome back Stacey and Brad!

ANZAC Day

This Sunday 25 April we invite all students to participate in the ANZAC Day events.

This year St Mary's students will march and lay wreaths at both the Crookwell and Taralga ANZAC Day services.

Students participating in the Crookwell events are asked to assemble for the March in the RSL car park from 10.30am. The March will move down Goulburn Street to the Memorial Park for the ANZAC Day Commemoration Ceremony. Students remain assembled until this Ceremony concludes.

Our students who wish to participate in the Taralga March and Commemorative Service are asked to assemble at the Northern end of the Main Street, near Taralga Public School at 2.30pm. The children will march down the street to the cenotaph for the Commemorative Service and wreath-laying. After this point, our assembled group will disperse prior to the Memorial Hall program. 

Students are asked to come dressed in their full winter uniform with their school hat.

It would be wonderful to see as many of our students at either of these special ceremonies.

This year we are required to submit a list of the attendees, please complete the form below if you are coming to either of the services. Names can also be added manually on the day.

ANZAC Day Attendance

Uniform Matters

It has been lovely to see everyone return this week dressed beautifully in their school uniforms. 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. 

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. 

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.

Intensive Learning Support

I am pleased to announce that this term we have received some additional funding to support our learning intervention programs.

Due to the challenges COVID-19 created for many students, the NSW Government made an announcement that $31 million would be given to non-government schools to implement a small group tuition program to support students who would benefit the most from intensive tuition. This support will be tailored to students' requirements to ensure that their educational outcomes continue to improve in 2021.

This term at St Mary's, some staff will undertake training in the MacLit and Reading Tutor Program, part of the MultiLit ensemble. These programs fit nicely with InitaLit and Mini-Lit, literacy interventions we already employ.  We have also been able to extend the hours of our classroom support teachers to enable them to deliver these programs and work with students to support their learning.

Catholic Schools Week

Monday 3 to Friday 7 May, we celebrate Catholic Schools Week. We do this by offering service to others in our community. This year our Catholic Schools Week activities include a visit and tidy up at the Community Garden for Year 1 and Year 2, a visit to Crookwell SDN Pre-school for Kindergarten, the Legends Shield Gala Day Goulburn for nominated students in Years 3-6, a visit to the Crookwell Early Learning Centre by Year 4 and the launch of our St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal for Years 5 and 6.  The week will conclude with the Northern Region Cross Country Carnival.

Throughout the week I will also conduct school tours. Please spread the word about our Open Week Tours. If you know someone that is interested in learning more about St Mary's, or who has a child ready to start Kindergarten in 2021, we welcome their visit. School tour bookings can be made by calling Belinda on 48321592.

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 their children off in the mornings 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 that you walk with your child to the crossing on Wade Street to cross safely out of the Bus Zone. 

NAPLAN

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) assesses literacy and numeracy skills that are essential for every child to progress through school and life. Students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 participate in the annual NAPLAN
tests in reading, writing, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy.
The assessment provides parents and schools with an understanding of how individual students are performing at the time of the tests. NAPLAN is just one aspect of a school’s assessment and reporting process - it does not replace ongoing assessments made by teachers about student performance.
NAPLAN also provides schools, education authorities and governments with information about how education programs are working and whether young Australians are meeting important educational outcomes in literacy and numeracy.

The NAPLAN Online assessment window starts on Tuesday 11 May and finishes on
Friday 21 May 2021. The tests must be taken in the following order:

For more information go to 

https://nap.edu.au/docs/default-source/resources/naplan-online-information-brochure-for-parents-and-carers.pdf 

School Counsellor

Our School Counsellor, Sharyn Lynch, will be commencing on Monday 26 April. Sharyn now works at St Mary's every Monday. If you would like to book an appointment with Sharyn please complete the referral form via the link below or it is available on the school website in the Parent Page:

https://catholiccare.force.com/housing/s/school-referral-form

 

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

EASTER – the Season of new life (April 4 - May 23)

We continue to celebrate the Church season of Easter for the next four weeks. We celebrate Jesus’ resurrection – and the NEW LIFE in heaven Jesus won for us by dying on the cross. To say "I believe in Jesus Christ . . . who rose from the dead," is to say I believe that the Resurrection goes on and on and on forever. Just as death could not hold Jesus, we now too can live in hope that death will not be the end for us.

During this Easter season we also remember who Jesus was. He lived among us as one of us – fully human – and he came to show us a better way to live… to strive to be people of love, hope, mercy, compassion, peace and justice - even in the midst of pain and sorrow.

This term our focus will be on our school value EXCELLENCE

we are Jesus’ mind – persevering and striving for excellence!

Let us be Easter people striving to open our hearts and minds to follow Jesus in:

• Listening attentively to others’ problems
• Reaching out to help the sick
• Acknowledging and helping the poor
• Showing patience (Jesus’ friends didn’t always ‘get it’)
• Showing tolerance (many didn’t agree with him)
• Standing up for what was right (even when others disagree)
• Having courage to do what is right (even when condemned)
• Praying often and seeking guidance from his Father
• Forgiving (no matter how difficult)
• Having mercy on all those who have lost their way

Every time Jesus rises in our own hearts in new ways, the Resurrection happens again.

Every time we see Jesus where we did not recognise him before—in the faces of the poor, in the love of the unloved, in the revelatory moments of life, Jesus rises anew. The real proof of the Resurrection lies not in the transformation of Jesus alone but in the transformation awaiting us who accept it.

An Easter Prayer

Jesus, who suffered and died for me,

help me to understand that in every life,

something good fails, something great ends,

something looms like an abandonment by God.

Give me the wisdom to know that your rising from the dead is a sign to us

that every one of these “little deaths” is life becoming new all over again.

Be with me in living Your Resurrection over and over again.

Help me to be attentive to Your presence in the signs of my everyday life

Praise to you, risen Lord, who keeps on meeting me in the garden of my life,

who keeps on calling my name.

May I be open to hear your voice, allowing me to feel loved, blessed and cherished.

Praise to you, risen Jesus, who walks with me on my life’s journey,

coaxing the ache out of me.

Comfort and strengthen me with Your holy, peaceful presence

And help me to carry your risen presence with me, wherever I go and to whomever I meet.

Praise to You, our risen Jesus

Child Safe Standards

In my role as Child Safe Advocate, I have become familiar with the NSW Child Safe Standards. These standards were developed by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse based on their findings and research. The standards aim to help organisations that provide services and facilities for children to promote child safety and minimise risk of harm to children. In my role, I have looked into and conducted an audit on our policies and procedures here at St Mary's for Standard 1 and Standard 6.  With our added dependence on Internet communication and research, I would like to assure our school community of our efforts to ensure your children are safe when working online either through MS Teams or Google Classroom

The Royal Commission recommended the following 10 standards:

Standard 1: Child safety is embedded in institutional leadership, governance and culture
Standard 2: Children participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously
Standard 3: Families and communities are informed and involved
Standard 4: Equity is upheld and diverse needs are taken into account
Standard 5: People working with children are suitable and supported
Standard 6: Processes to respond to complaints of child sexual abuse are child focused
Standard 7: Staff are equipped with the knowledge, skills and awareness to keep children safe through continual education and training
Standard 8: Physical and online environments minimise the opportunity for abuse to occur
Standard 9: Implementation of the Child Safe Standards is continuously reviewed and improved
Standard 10: Policies and procedures document how the institution is child safe.

You can find out more about the child safe standards on the Royal Commission’s website.

Below is a resource NSW Office of the Children's Guardian has put together for online learning that lines up with Standard 8.

https://stmarysc.nsw.edu.au/_file/media/1475/standard_8_online_resource.pdf

We are looking forward to our Cross Country Carnival to be held next Wednesday, April 28.

Our carnival will be held at the Crookwell Showground this year as we are also the Northern Region hosts a week later.

Students will wear the FULL SPORTS UNIFORM to school on Wednesday and will need to ensure that they have the following:

• School hat
• Sunscreen
• Plenty of water
• Packed recess and lunch

A program for the events is located below. Please note the times are only estimated and indicate the order of events. We do not follow times during the carnival.

Program of Events 

 Monaro Rugby Union Primary Schools Gala Day

Unfortunately, we received news on Tuesday afternoon that the Rugby Union Gala Day has been cancelled.  

I would like to thank Ben Foley and James McCormack for offering to coach teams for this event.

If this event is rescheduled for later in the year I will keep you posted.

Save The Dates 

• Legends Shield Rugby League Gala Day: Tuesday, May 4, Years 3-6, North Park Goulburn 

BEST OF LUCK TO AVA NICHOLSON AND CHARLIE CRAMP AS THEY COMPETE FOR A PLACE IN THE MACKILLOP SOCCER TEAM TOMORROW (23 APRIL).

Registrations received to date include:

TOUCH FOOTBALL- 3 May Lyneham

Bridie Croker

Will Croker

GOLF - 26 July Blackheath

Nate Kemp

Jaydan Costello

Henry Galland

Registrations for the following NSW Primary Sports Canberra Goulburn Trials are now OPEN;

Touch Football - Close 27th April

https://csnsw.sport/sports/mackillop/touch

RUGBY PRIMARY GIRL'S 7's

https://csnsw.sport/sports/mackillop/rugby-union

GOLF - PRIMARY

https://csnsw.sport/sports/mackillop/golf

Please head to the Canberra Goulburn Sport Webpage for information regarding the trials and the link for registration.

https://www.sport.cg.catholic.edu.au/nominations

The full 2021 NSW Primary and Secondary Sports Calendar is now available. It includes dates and information or links to further information for Canberra Goulburn, MacKillop, CCC, NSW All Schools, NSWPSSA and School Sport Australia trials and Championships.

Available at: https://sport.cg.catholic.edu.au/calendar

Class Awards

For Parish and Sacramental matters please forward your enquiries to 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)