Term 3 Week 2 2024
Principal's Message
‘We do whatever it takes to lead the way in Love, Learning, Faith, School Spirit, Sport & Community’
Dear families and friends,
Welcome Back!!
Legends of our Faith - Carlos Acutis
Carlos is soon to be a saint, the first millennial to be so. I'm going to share about Carlos with students, staff and families. Carlos was born in London but moved back to Italy, where his parents were from, at a young age. He was 14 when he died from leukemia in 2006. He did many great things; one was inviting kids home from school who had fought and helping them to reconcile. He has two miracles attributed to him from prayer intercessions, more to come.
Learning Visit
Our Assistant Director for Teaching and Learning, our Regional Service Leader, alongside other key Diocese of Lismore Catholic Schools staff attended our school yesterday to look at how we are teaching, in particular in Mathematics. Just like our parent visit at the end of last term, I spoke with them first, then they saw this in action in 6 of our classrooms, to get an idea of what it looks like from Year Kindergarten to Six.
If you have not watched this video on how we teach English and Mathematics, I urge you to do so. Classroom Learning Link. The following video has me explaining the why and how we are teaching English and Mathematics. Principal Message Link. This approach to teaching and learning, alongside our Success criteria, is having a good impact on our students and their learning.
Trucker Cap Friday & Community Kitchen Fundraiser
Today we celebrated Trucker Cap Friday and what a great day it has been. Tomorrow, we will raise some money for the Casino Community Kitchen with a great vantage point for the parade: $10 all-day car parking, $3 sausage and a $2 drink. Cash is preferred but EFTPOS is available. Thank you very much to Lemo's for generously donating the bread.
Rugby Trip
I’m looking forward to going with our Rugby Team to compete at St Joseph’s, Hunters Hill in the finals in Sydney next weekend. Will Campbell has been a great help with coaching the team and will join us on this trip. Will is an ex-student and works for NSW Rugby Union. It is great having ex-students help lead and mentor our current students. Will is a credit to himself, NSW Rugby and our school.
We are all welcome to wear Green & Gold and/or Aussie gear next Friday, 9 August to support and show our appreciation of our National Olympic Team efforts, especially the hard work completed over the last few years for them to get there.
John O’Brien
Principal
Acting Assistant Principal's News - Mission
Welcome to Term 2! There is a lot happening here at SMP. Listed below are our key Faith Dates and celebrations for the term ahead:
- Wednesday 7 August - Confirmation Reflection Night at 6pm
- Tuesday 13 August - Confirmation
- Thursday 8 August - Mary MacKillop Feast Day
- Thursday 15 August - Assumption Mass at 1.00pm
- Friday 6 September - Years 1 & 2 Prayer Service at 1.00pm
- Friday 13 September - Kinder, Years 5 & 6 Prayer Service at 1.00pm
Friday 13 September - 3:16 Youth group
Saturday 14 September - Family Mass - Wednesday 18 September - First Eucharist Reflection
- Sunday 22 September - First Eucharist
On Thursday 15 August we will celebrate the Feast of The Assumption with a whole school mass at 1.00pm. Please see the poster for details. We welcome all family and friends to attend.
The Bullying No Way National Week of Action is running 12-16 August this year. By working collaboratively within our community, we can collectively help reduce bullying.
Parents and carers play an important role in helping your child understand bullying, and know how to respond to it.
If your child tells you about things at school, or you observe something in public that involves conflict or bullying, take the opportunity to talk about what bullying is. You can learn more about what defines bullying at bullyingnoway.gov.au
Questions you could ask:
- What do you think bullying is?
- Have you seen it? How did you feel?
- Have you ever felt scared at school because of bullying?
- As well as me, who are the other adults you would talk to when it comes to things like bullying?
- Have you or your friends left other kids out on purpose? Do you think that was bullying? Why or why not?
- Have you ever tried to help someone who is being bullied? What happened? What would you do if it happens again?
Remind your child that bullying is never okay and discuss how they can respond safely if they experience or witness it.
Encourage them to seek help from a trusted adult and keep seeking support if needed.
By promoting open communication, we empower children to stand up against bullying and create a safer environment where everyone can feel that they belong.
For more information, visit bullyingnoway.gov.au
Kristie Irvine
Acting AP - Mission
Assistant Principal's News Teaching & Learning
NAPLAN Results
NAPLAN test results were sent home with students in Years 3 and 5 last week. Our NAPLAN results are improving as a whole school and we are very proud of all our students who worked hard to complete these. It is important to remember that NAPLAN offers a ‘snapshot’ of your child’s skills on the day the tests take place, in Term 1, and this data is only one piece of information we use to gauge how your child is going. We compare this data against our standardised PAT tests, our regular in-class assessment, online writing assessments and check-in testing completed regularly for reading. If you have any questions regarding these results please don't hesitate to talk to your child's teacher.
Upcoming ICAS Tests
We have the most students ever registered for ICAS testing this year! We are definitely Leading the Way in Learning at SMP.
This fortnight's tests are: Writing on Tuesday 6 August and English on Wednesday 14 August.
If your child is registered for these assessments, but will not be attending school that day, please let me know as we have some flexibility in supporting this.
Newcastle Permanent Maths Competition
Congratulations to all our students who took part in the Newcastle Permanent Maths Competition this week. Students in Stage 3 who have achieved in the top 25% of the country in their standardised assessments were invited to take part in this competition and this year we had over 30 children invited. We even had a group of students from Stage 2 take part as a result of their excellent assessment results. This demonstrates the superb level of maths we have here at SMP!
Premier's Reading Challenge
Any student in Years 3-6 (registered or not) who would like to complete the challenge, is still able to bring the list of books they have read this year to me, and I will log them onto the website. If they have read over 20 books, that are recognised by the challenge, they will be accepted.
Felicity Wilde
AP Teaching & Learning
Year 6 Newcastle Permanent students
Years 3, 4 and 5 Newcastle Permanent students
Stage 2 and 3 Instructional Leader
Extension Learning Opportunities at SMP
At St Mary’s we offer opportunities to challenge and extend the learning for students who are excelling in a range of learning areas.
Mathematics
A number of students in Stage 2 are participating in the Maths Explorer group each week. The primary focus of this program is to build students’ confidence to solve challenging problems using a range of strategies.
A number of Stage 3 students are participating in the Maths Games Competition. They meet each week to practise problem solving skills and apply strategies to solve challenging tasks. Top achievers across Australia receive medals and trophies to acknowledge their success.
Our aim for all these students is to strengthen their love of learning and build on their skills to solve mathematical tasks that extend their thinking.
Newcastle Permanent Maths Competition
Students who achieved in the top 25th percentile in their PAT Maths assessment from Years 3 to 6 were invited to participate in this competition in 2024. Students are given 45 minutes to complete 35 questions without help from calculators. All participating students will receive a certificate, and the top 3 students will win cash pri
Maths Olympiad
zes. This is another great opportunity for our talented mathematicians to be challenged and show off their skills.
English
Prime Minister’s Spelling Bee
Students from Years 3 to 6 are selected to participate in this online competition. This involves an online Spelling Bee, where 30 challenging words are given to each student on their devices. Students who spell these words with the greatest accuracy in the shortest time then move on to the next level. Round One of the competition takes place next week.
Writing
Forty-eight students from Stages 2 and 3 will attend the Byron Writers Festival School workshop in Bangalow on the 7 August. These students have been selected by their class teachers based on their creative writing skills and love of writing. The students also submitted an entry in the Jesse Blackadder Short Story Competition. The winners will be announced at the Writers Festival, we know that two of our students have achieved a Highly Commended Award for their stories. The workshops will give the students the opportunity to meet published authors who share some tips on the process of writing from the first draft to the final finished product. It is wonderful to give these students this opportunity.
Michelle Bratti
Stage 2 Instructional Leader
Sport News
During the holidays, Maddison Clark, Milla Constable and Zoey Churchill proudly represented Casino at the State Age Champion-ships for Netball. Over three challenging days, they competed in wet and demanding conditions. The girls had an excellent experience and showcased pride and sportsmanship throughout all their games. Congratulations girls on a fantastic achievement.
In Week 10 of last term, Thomas McCormack represented SMP in the Polding Rugby League team at Forbes. Thomas’ team achieved a commendable second place, with his exceptional skills earning him selection for the NSW team. This marks a historic achievement as the first SMP student to achieve this honor. We are proud to support Thomas as he represents our state. Congratulations, Thomas!
On Saturday, July 27, eight students travelled to Southport Aquatic Centre to support Thomas McCormack as he competed in multiple events at the National Stage Age Championships. Thomas swam brilliantly, earning a bronze in the 50m Breaststroke, two golds in the IM & Freestyle relay and a 4th place finish in the 50m Freestyle. These amazing achievements are a reflection of Tommy's time, dedication and persistence
Zone Athletics
On Thursday, 1 September, 55 students represented SMP at the Zone Athletics Carnival at Woodlawn. A huge congratulations to all involved! You represented SMP with pride, determination and school spirit. A big thank you to Mr Parish and Mrs Lyon for taking our students.
We had some fantastic results, and several students have now advanced to the Diocesan Athletics Championships, which will be held in Coffs Harbour on Friday, August 16th. Congratulations to Eva Crompton, who was the runner-up for Senior Girl Champion; Rocco Jenkins, who was the runner-up for Boy Champion; and Thomas McCormack, who won the Senior Boy Age Champion.
We look forward to supporting all our SMP athletes who have made it in a couple of weeks' time.
Could all SMP singlets please be returned to Mrs Hammond by Monday, 5 August.
Casino Fun Run
The AA Casino Fun Run is set for September 15 this year. We're excited to announce a new school and staff challenge! A trophy will be awarded to the primary school with the most participants in the 2km race. We would love to see as many SMP students as possible join in this fantastic event. Please follow the steps in the flyer to register. We can't wait to see you there!
Nikki Hammond
Sports Co-ordinator
Leader of Love and Community
Book Week & Grandparent’s Day:
One of the most exciting events of the year is coming up in Week 5. On Friday 23rd August, we will celebrate our Grandparents and the amazing role they play in our lives. We will also show off our costumes for Book Week with a parade. The theme for Book Week is “Reading is Magical”.
We invite our Grandparents along to visit classrooms and to have a shared lunch with students. A light morning tea will be provided for our Grandparents. Please see the invitation below.
We can’t wait to see everyone dressed up and look forward to celebrating our Grandparents.
Around the World at SMP:
In Week 10 we went around the world at SMP, where we learnt about the many different cultures that we have at our school and celebrated our diversities. Celebrating our differences at SMP helps us all build understanding and acceptance. We had families from different cultures visit our school and share food, languages, dances, traditional clothing, music and special artefacts. We are so grateful for the many families who gave up their time to share their culture with us.
We also celebrated NAIDOC Day, where we reflected on the significance of our first nations people. This was a day filled with learning, singing, performance & cultural understanding. Aunty Sarah & Tara did an amazing job organising this special day.
Around the World at SMP
NAIDOC Day
Hannah de Silva
Leader of Love and Community
Virtual Reality
Over the last two weeks, each class has travelled to different countries through Virtual Reality (VR). For the Olympics each class has been given a country to learn about; some classes have chosen to visit this country and others have chosen to visit Paris where the Olympics are being held.
Students have thoroughly enjoyed this experience.
Birthdays
Happy birthday t0 
Darbie Talbot Huxley Parker Willow Martin Hannah Martin Jack Capello Bonnie Noble Emmanuel Melindo Harrison Irvine Floranda Kingdom Xander Connolly Bowie Stubbin Charlotte Stringer Micah King Benji Reynolds Riley Horne Hunter Martin Arlo Taylor Frankie Berry Nikolai Stylianou Elijah Aylward Tyler Edwards Lewis Creighton Ethan Zaiko Marli Smith Rian Stokes Dakoda Slater Bethany Jones Elaina Delaney George McKenzie Duke McKey Tahlia Freeburn Leah Macintyre Flynn Zaiko Connor Farrelly Sophie Connolly Colby Randall Blake Formaggin Callen Barnes Logan Hollis Ameah Stringer Kaige Pederson Cadence Farrelly Riley Purnell Alice Bruggy Tyler McPherson Tate Leadbeatter Tyla Sivewright Riley Gillespie Joe Handford Larissa Really Isaac McInnes Arrien Del Rosario Reagan Bunting and Dallas Murphy who have recently celebrated their birthday, and to Nate Want and Willow Hale who celebrate tomorrow.
Community News
