Term 1 Week 6 2024

Principal's Message

‘We do whatever it takes to lead the way in Love, Learning, Faith, School Spirit, Sport & Community’

Open and Celebration of Learning Night

Wednesday 3rd April 5:30pm - 7:00pm

Dear families and friends,

You are all welcome to our SMP social event where you can check out the great learning our kids have completed this first term of 2024.

For Current families: From 5:30pm - 7:00pm walk through your child’s learning spaces to witness the great learning taking place at our school and an opportunity to socialise and talk with teachers.  Complementary Zeebras coffee & Rotary sausage sizzle will be available alongside live music. This is a good social night.

 For Interested Kindergarten families & other new grades in 2025:  From 5:00pm – 5:30pm I will hold a brief information session in the Kindergarten rooms about our school. From 5:30pm -7:00pm interested new families are encouraged to look at the learning that is taking place here at SMP and socialise over some food and drink. Please share this with new interested families. Enrolment Open Now

School Fees 
I have spoken to a few families of late that are struggling to pay fees, understandably for various financial reasons. I welcome this communication and very much welcome the offer to support. No family will be lost to our school for the inability to pay fees.  We are a Catholic school that believes in providing the very best education for all. We as a Catholic school community will always support those that most need it, finacially and in any other way.  That is what we do to lead the way in Love and Faith!

Student Led Conferences on 8 & 9 April
I want to STRONGLY ENCOURAGE all families to participate in our Student Led Conferences at the end of this term with your child and your child’s teacher, especially to discuss where your child is at against their Success Criteria that has been shared with you. Please discuss with your child how they are doing with their Success Criteria and consider some goals from this criteria in going forward that you will discuss at the student-led conferences.  More information to come soon.

Parents & Friends Committee
In 2023 our P&F Committee engaged in a thorough process to determine which of the two new models of parent representation available to schools in the Diocese of Lismore was appropriate for St Mary’s. During this process we provided parents with the opportunity to voice their preference through a survey, and we thank the parents who completed it.  The current P&F used the results to help discern our School's choice and this year we will be moving forward as the St Mary's School Community Group. This model seeks to engage parents in meaningful discussions about school improvement and the best outcomes for our students. It does not have an elected executive committee of parents, the right to fundraise or hold a bank account. At our meeting Wednesday, we formally dissolved the St Mary's P&F and adopted the School Community model. We warmly invite parents to attend our future meetings.

Fr Peter's Surprise Party
House shirts are welcome to be worn, but not compulsory. You can purchase a colour shirt  from places such as KMart or Incy Wincy.

Take care
John O’Brien

Assistant Principal's News - Mission

3:16 Youth Group
Today from 3:30-5:00pm we have over 75 students from Yrs 2-6 participate in the first 3:16 Youth Group for the year.  This is truly incredible and something that I did not think would be possible. When the 3:16 first started, I said I would have been happy for 10 students to come along. I didn't think it would be something that would last forever and be as popular as it is. If your child is in Yrs 2-6 and would be interested in attending the 3:16 Youth Group, please email me and I can add them to the list. 

I am also very appreciative of our wonderful staff who give up their Friday afternoon to lead our students in prayer, worship, art and craft and fun movement games; Miss Mac, Miss O'Connor, Aunty Sarah, Mrs Brooks and Mrs Serone.

Incitare
Last Tuesday, a number of our Year 6 students attended the student retreat day called Incitare. The students participated in a number of prayer and worship activities with all of the other Catholic schools in our Richmond Zone. Our attending students will now be the student leaders for our whole Year 6 Cohort Incitare day later in the year. Well done to these students for being great representatives of our school - Arlen Connolly, Isabel de Wit, Jessel Dibley, Myles Elwell, Charlotte Hogg, Brianna Macdonald, Isabella MacMahon, Valentina McDonald, Darcie Reddell, Ruby Seed, Liam Sullivan, Elaina Underhill, Lukas Wells and Annabelle Winters.  Thank you to Mrs Ally Llewellyn for supporting our students on the day!

Family Mass
On Saturday 16 March, we will hold our first Family Mass for the year which will be held in conjunction with our regular Saturday evening parish mass from 6:00pm - 7:00pm. All students and family members are invited to come along and celebrate this with our staff. We will combine with the College for this Family Mass so it will be nice to come together to celebrate our faith.

We will provide a couple of pieces of pizza for everyone at the end of the mass.

Sam Irvine
AP Mission

Assistant Principal's News Teaching & Learning

Premier's Reading Challenge
The Premier's Reading Challenge aims to encourage a love of reading for leisure and pleasure in students and to enable them to experience quality literature.  It is not a competition but a challenge to each student to read, to read more and to read more widely.
At SMP we enrol all students in K-2 in the challenge and ensure that the books read in class for the first two terms include a selection from the challenge. This means that all students in K-2 automatically complete the challenge through their classroom books.
If you would like to enrol your child in Yrs 3-6 into the Premier's Reading Challenge, please email me at felicity.wilde@lism.catholic.edu.au and I can email you your child's login details to get started.

Students are awarded, based on the number of years they have completed the challenge. 

First year - Challenge Completion Certificate
Second Year - Challenge Completion Certificate
Third Year - Challenge Completion Certificate
Fourth Year - Gold certificate
Fifth Year - Challenge Completion Certificate
Sixth Year  -Challenge Completion Certificate
Seventh Year - Platinum Certificate

2024 Challenge dates
Monday 26 February 2024:  Challenge opens
Friday 23 August 2024:  Challenge closes for student entries 

Please let me know if you have any questions on how your child can take part in this challenge.  

Felicity Wilde
AP Teaching & Learning

Stage 3 Instructional Leader

Spelling Mastery

This year students in Years 5 and 6 are partaking in a new spelling program called Spelling Mastery. Spelling Mastery is a way of teaching kids how to spell words really well. It combines different methods like sounding out letters, learning whole words and understanding how words are built. This helps students become competent spellers who can rely on their skills. The program uses the Direct Instruction (DI) approach to deliver short and sharp, 20 minute lessons 4 days per week. Within these lessons, the teacher uses a script that indicates what they say and how students are to respond. The results we are seeing from this program are already very positive!

Kristie Irvine
Stage 3 Instructional Leader

Leader of Faith

Sacrament of Reconciliation
We are now nearing the completion of our preparation for those students involved in the reception of this sacrament.

Important Dates:

• Next Wednesday 13 March at 6.00pm in the church  - Reflection Night on Forgiveness /Reconciliation (all enrolled students for this sacrament and at least one member of their family invited to attend

• Sacrament of First Reconciliation Wednesday 20 March at 6.00pm in the church (all enrolled students for this sacrament and family members/friends invited to attend). Students wear smart, casual clothes. If any girls have white dresses from Confirmation, keep those ready for the sacrament of First Eucharist in Term 3.

Any concerns, please make contact with Miss Karen McDonald.

Mini Vinnies Cake Stall - Friday 22 March
We have 53 members in our Year 6 Mini Vinnies group this year. These students are very keen to raise some money during Lent to assist those living in poverty.

The students will be running a cake stall at LUNCHTIME on FRIDAY 22 MARCH.  There will be a variety of goodies for sale including: jelly cups, ice cups, cupcakes,lollie bags, slices, fairy bread and a few little guessing competitions. Items will cost between 20c -50c.  We hope our students will bring a few coins on the day to spend and support the work of Mini Vinnies.

Karen McDonald
Leader of Faith

Sport News

Sporting Achievements

Congratulations to Jack Crimmins, who competed in the QLD State Series Motocross at Hervey Bay. In extremely testing conditions, Jack was able to walk away 1st in his class. This is his first win at a State Series event. Congratulations, Jack, on such a great achievement!

Congratulations to Chelsea Rose for successfully auditioning for RB Corp. Instructions for their upcoming production.

Dio Swimming Carnival

On Friday, March 1st, Thomas McCormack, Liam Sullivan, Lucy Hancock, Ashton Leadley, Lucas Myers, Campbell Hardwick, Harrison Myers, Finnan Martin, Rocco Jenkins, Kira Green, Ryder Birney, Harper Williams, Chelsea Rose, and Bobbi Grisell attended the Diocesan Swimming Carnival in Macksville. Congratulations to all students who represented our school, truly leading the way in sport!

Special congratulations to Thomas McCormack for receiving age champion and Lucy Hancock,  Harrison Myers & Thomas McCormack who have successfully progressed to polding.

2024 SMP Cross Country Carnival Results

Congratulations to all the participants of our SMP Cross Country Carnival. The day was filled with school pride and spirit, and I was thoroughly impressed by the grit, determination, and courage displayed by everyone. It's evident that our students are leading the way in both sportsmanship and school spirit. A special acknowledgement goes out to all the parents who generously gave their time to assist with various tasks on the day and those who enthusiastically dressed up in their child's house colour, and engaged in spirited War Cries. This collective effort creates a vibrant community atmosphere and contributes to a positive school culture. Thank you to everyone involved for their contributions to making this event a success.

Nikki Hammond

Leader of Sport

Tuition Fees

Tuition Fees for Term 1 are now available in the Compass portal.  A Fee Statement has been emailed to all families and includes:

• Term 1 Tuition Fees - including sibling discounts across the College and the Primary school
• Resource Fee - per student
• Term 1 Building & Maintenance Levy - per family

The Fee Statement includes individual BPay details.  Term 1 Fees are due for payment by 12 April 2024 unless an arrangement has been made.  A full Fee Schedule which may help with organising instalments is included.

Thank you to all our families for your continued support. 

Student of the Month & Learning Achievement Awards - 1 March 2024

Birthdays

Happy birthday t0 Mason Hamilton-Hill Havana Jarrett Seth Bennett Aurora Gill James McCormack Jasper Taylor Hallie Kenny Brock Farrelly Liam Samaraweera Emily Shelton Larah Kenny Nate Ludlow Charlotte Wells  and Sophia Derrig who have recently celebrated their birthday, and to Jamie-Brielle Bernal who celebrates tomorrow.