Term 2 Week 2 2023
Principal's Message
‘We do whatever it takes to lead the way in Love, Learning, Faith, School Spirit, Sport & Community’
Dear Families & Friends,
100 Years of the Convent (my speech today)
Today is a 100 year celebration of the foundation of this beautiful building that is a landmark for our local area.
If only these walls could talk ... I wonder what they would tell us?
We would hear stories of great joy about the lives that have been touched and the impact that this building and school has had on the Casino community.
This building has seen generations of staff and students come and go, each leaving their own unique mark on the history of this place. It has witnessed the growth and evolution of this town, of education, from the early days of chalkboards and textbooks to the modern era of chromebooks, the internet and interactive TVs.
It has been a witness to the changes and challenges of the world around us. It has seen World War 2, Man land on the moon, Elvis, The Beatles, Justin Bieber & Tik Tok. It has seen far too many droughts, fires and floods and recently Covid ... 24 Prime Ministers. It was here when Martin Luther ‘Had a Dream’ and when Australia 2 won the America's Cup.
These walls have physically seen far too many Beef Weeks and Casino Truck Shows to remember.
But I really think the building is a little like us.
It is built strong, it has had to be and just like this building, we have had to be.
It has signs of wear and tear and needs some good TLC ... we probably can all recognise this in us too.
Our school was established in 1884, by what we believe was a Mother, with 40 kids. Today we have over 600.
I very much wish to acknowledge the Mercy Sisters who have been with us since 1887. Sister Mary Joseph Donegan was our first principal and it is so good to see some former principals here today.
The Mercy sisters came from all over the world. They taught and lived in this building. It is also so very good to see our Mercy Sisters here today. This is your building and still your symbolic home.
Today we will light up our new Lantern for the first time to remind us of Catherine McAuley and the Mercy Sisters.
Catherine, the founder of the Mercy Sisters said “We should be shining lamps, giving light to all around us.” This quote is at the heart of the vocation of the Sisters of Mercy. It references our Catholic faith and the tradition of the Mercy Sisters. If we are shining with Mercy Spirit, we give service to others, and we are a positive example; just as the Mercy Sisters were and are today. So the light reminds us of this and will be turned on each evening.
We also light up this gorgeous building tonight for the first time, to celebrate all its beauty, history and to ensure it is front and center in our community, reminding us of who we are, where we have come from and what we are all about. It will be lit up Cyan Blue tonight, to honor our sisters ... but I can assure you I will not be lighting it up Blue around State of Origin time.
Our kids and guests will also receive a little medallion as a special memento of today.
Today we also unveil two plaques. The first is the plaque for the beautiful building we sit in front of today. Today we officially name the building as it is affectionately known as ‘The Convent’.
We also name our refurbished flood affected rooms, currently known as Block A. Affectionately, and very Australian, we will give it a first name . It will be named The Catherine Centre, after the founder of the Sisters of Mercy, Catherine McAuley. It may over time even be shortened to Cathy as we often give nicknames to people and things we care for.
I want to formally thank Fr Peter for all he has given our school and this community over the many years. He is a big part of the successful history of Catholic Education in Casino and should be very much acknowledged for this. Fr Peter deeply cares about this community, our school, the town folk, parishioners, staff and kids and we thank him for his leadership, guidance and friendship.
I want to acknowledge Archpriest George Barry, who led the initiative, planning and building of this building alongside many others in not just our parish. He died at the age of 42 and in such a short time, created some of the great physical spaces we still see here today. The Casino Parishioners were also and are still so very generous. Their money paid for this building to be built. We can never lose sight of this great generosity and the foresight of great leaders and great leadership. This celebration is less about a building and more about the foresight people had to ensure we had and still have a very strong Catholic Education for the kids of Casino.
I also wish to acknowledge our great staff and students who are writing the current and future history of our school and community. And I can tell everyone here today, that the future is very bright with this crew!
Vision Our students are learning to understand and enact our school vision to ensure we are the best version of ourselves that we can be and be the best school.
Love | We respect ourselves & others |
Faith | We display the Face of Jesus in our words & actions |
Learning
| We have high expectations We give good effort & persist |
School Spirit | We display pride We use our manners |
Sport | We display effort, fairness & honesty in our play |
Community | We embrace our community and accept all |
Take care
John O’Brien
Assistant Principal's News - Mission
Lowes - Low Stock
Please be aware that Lowes may potentially run out of stock during the next month or so in the girls' dresses. They have more arriving early July.
Student Surveys
All students in Yr 4 - Yr 6 have now completed their Tell Them From Me student surveys via the online platform. The survey measures include such topics as emotional and social well-being, physical health and behaviours and attitudes linked to student success. The survey also allows students to give their thoughts and feedback in open-ended question responses. This type of feedback is so valuable to help us to keep improving as a school to be the best that we can be.
Parent Surveys
The TTFM Parent Surveys close on Monday 8th May.
CLICK BELOW TO ACCESS THE SURVEY:
http://tellthemfromme.com/gmntj
Charlie Cox Beef Week Cup
The CCBWC will be held on Thursday 25 May at Colley Park and is open for students in Years 3-6 to play for one of our school rugby league (tackle), netball or soccer teams. A permission note has been sent home on Compass for those who have registered. If you believe your child hasn't registered at school but you would like them to participate, please contact me via email asap sam.irvine@lism.catholic.edu.au
Student of the Month Assemblies
Friday 2 June 2:10pm in the Relihan Centre
Thursday 29 June 2:10pm in the Relihan Centre
ThreeSixteen Youth Group
This term, St Mary’s Catholic College has again offered to run an after school youth group at the church for our Years 2-6 students that focuses on bringing kids together for fun, food and understanding about God in their lives. The program is called “ThreeSixTeen” and will be co-ordinated by College teacher Mahaila Day and supported by youth ministry officers and high school students. The idea of the sessions are for students to have lots of fun and participate in enjoyable activities.
Next date for ThreeSixTeen will be held on Friday 2 June from 3:30pm - 5:00pm. To support the running of this program, a teacher from our school will collect the students after school on the Friday, walk them to the church and stay until the end of the session. Parents will be required to pick their child up from the church at 5.00pm. The students are given afternoon tea before the session. To give your child permission to attend, please access the registration form sent out via Compass to both your email and as a push notification (Y2-6 parents only).
Chapel
Our school Chapel has now been fully restored (floors and painting) after it was used as a temporary Kinder classroom during last year's floods. This space looks absolutely amazing (see photo below)! Our students and teachers will now start to use this space a bit more for prayer, RE lessons and general visits.
Friday Church Roster - Term 2
All parents and family members are welcome to come along and celebrate our Friday afternoon prayer services in the church.
19th May - Kinder, Years 5 & 6 at 1.00pm
9th June - Year 1 at 1.00pm
23rd June - Years 2 & 3 at 1.00pm
Sam Irvine
Assistant Principal - Mission
Assistant Principal's News Teaching & Learning
Write On Competition
Write On is an annual writing competition for NSW students in Years 1 to 6. It is designed to encourage students to develop their writing skills. Students submit their entry to the school and the school chooses one entry from each stage to be submitted to the NSW Education Standards Authority for judging.
We would love to see as many students as possible taking on this challenge in 2023. We know we have some incredible writers here at SMP! Students who wish to submit an entry for this competition are asked to look at the attached flyer to ensure they are writing to the required criteria and are asked to submit their piece to Mrs Wilde before 9 June.
Premiers Reading Challenge
Just a reminder that the Premier's Reading Challenge is underway. If your child wants to take part but has misplaced their login details, please email me at felicity.wilde@lism.catholic.edu.au and I can send them through to you. This is only necessary for students in Yrs 3-6 as K-2 will be completed and logged at school.
Our 2023 Maths Olympiad
Team
Maths Olympiad
We are excited to announce that our school will be participating in the 2023 Australian Primary Schools Mathematics Olympiad (APSMO). This annual competition is a great opportunity for students to challenge themselves, showcase their mathematical abilities and compete with students from across Australia and around the world.
The APSMO Maths Olympiad is designed to test students' problem-solving skills, mathematical reasoning, and creative thinking. It consists of multiple-choice questions, short-answer questions, and extended-response questions that are both challenging and engaging. Students who participate in the Olympiad will have the chance to demonstrate their skills, receive recognition for their achievements, and develop their passion for mathematics.
Students in years 5 and 6 who have demonstrated exemplary problem-solving skills have been invited to be a part of the SMP team for this competition and are training every week.
The first Olympiad was completed on Wednesday this week and the team will compete in 3 more competitions this year.
We believe that participating in the APSMO Maths Olympiad is an excellent way for students to enhance their mathematical abilities, improve their problem-solving skills, and gain confidence in their academic abilities. We look forward to your child's participation and encourage you to support them in their mathematical journey.
If you have any questions about the Olympiad or the registration process, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Felicity Wilde
Assistant Principal - Learning and Teaching
Sport News
The NSWPSSA State Swimming Championships were held in Sydney on Wednesday and Thursday 5th and 6th of April. Thomas McCormack competed in backstroke, individual medley, freestyle and breaststroke. In these events, Thomas did exceptionally well coming third in freestyle and first in breaststroke. Thomas will now compete at the National Swimming Championships in Sydney later in the year. Thomas is the first SMP student in many, many years to make a National Championship. What an achievement to be crowned the fastest 11yo breaststroke swimmer in NSW!
Congratulations Thomas!
The Winter Sports Polding tryouts were held in Tamworth on Friday 28th April. Jonah Vakararawa, Teo Stavenow and Thomas McCormack all attended the day.
Congratulations to Jonah for making it into the Polding Rugby League team that will compete in the NSW PSSA Championships later in the year. Thomas is off to Forbes shortly to try and make the Polding Rugby Team.
Well done to Teo, Jonah and Tom!
Zone Cross Country
On Wednesday the 3rd of May 50 students from our school went to compete at the Richmond Zone Cross Country at Hepburn Park in Goonellabah. All students had a wonderful day racing against schools from Lennox Head, Ballina, Lismore, Coraki and Woodburn. Congratulations to the following students who came in the top 10 in their races the top 8 will be going on to compete in the Diocesan carnival in Grafton.
Charlie O’Brien, Lexi Cadman, Abby Gray, Thomas McCormack, Olive Chelman, Chelsea Rose, Isabel Flynn and Marcos Barber.
A special congratulations to Larah Kenny, Harpah Baker, Harper Williams, Jack Morton and Wallace Gray for coming in the top 10. For their age group, this is as far as they go.
Can the running singlets please be washed and returned to Mr Fiedler by Monday.
Jack Fiedler
Sports Co-ordinator
Leader of Faith
Mini Vinnies
Last week our Year 6 Mini Vinnies group elected their peers for the positions of President, Secretary and Treasurer.
Congratulations to:
Audrey Jones - President
Ella McIntyre - Secretary
Claire Freeburn - Treasurer (pictured below)
We look forward to these young ladies leading this group and our social justice activities in Term 2.
First Communion
A reminder for parents of students who made their Reconciliation in Term 1, your child will complete their Sacraments of Initiation with the Sacrament of First Communion on Sunday 25 June at 9.00am Mass. Notes will come through Compass in the near future.
Karen McDonald
Leader of Faith
Leader of Love and Community
ANZAC Day Art Displays
Before the holidays, each class worked very hard on making ANZAC Day art displays for their classrooms. The teachers all based the artworks around different picture books relating to ANZAC Day. This is to ensure that the importance of ANZAC Day is never lost on us and ensuring the children know the sacrifice that so many of our soliders made for us and our freedoms.
SMP's Got Talent
Last term, we had some students in Year 5 rehearse and perform a short play on how important it is for students to follow our school vision, and the rewards that they can get from doing so. The girls practiced for a few weeks and then were filmed. Take a look at their video below.
This is all part of our SMP's Got Talent. If your child has a talent that others may not see here at school, we would love to hear about it! We like to showcase these talents during our Student of the Month Assemblies. We usually have 1-2 students showcase their talents for around 1 minute each. In the past we have had students dancing, singing, playing the piano and violin and performing gymnastics. If their talent is something that needs to be recorded, you can always record it and send it to either your childs teacher or myself. My email is kristie.irvine@lism.catholic.edu.au
Mother's Day
We invite all mums, nans, aunts and significant women in our childrens lives to join us for a prayer service and drinks and nibbles next Friday 12 May from 2:15pm on the Turf.
Kristie Irvine
Leader of Love & Community
Birthdays
Happy birthday to 
Mother's Day Stall - Friday 12 May
MOTHER’S DAY STALL ~ FRIDAY 12 MAY
The Mother’s Day stall will be held next Friday, 12 May. The stall is where students can purchase a gift for $5.00 each for their mother/guardian. Please return a slip by Thursday, 11 May in an envelope marked with child/ren’s name + class/es and with correct money enclosed. Alternatively, write the information on an envelope and place the money inside. Place envelope in the office door. There is a limit of 3 gifts per student.
CHILD’S NAME | CLASS | QUANTITY OF GIFTS | COST @ $5 EA |
TOTAL | $ |
HELPERS NEEDED Help is always needed on the day. Please let the school know if you can help any time between 9.00am – 11.00am. Phone the school office on 6662.2566 and advise of available time. Thank you.
Lost & Found
- Denim jacket found after Open Night
- Sterling silver (?) bracelet with charms - similar to a Pandora bracelet
Call in to the school office for collection.