Dear Parents and Friends of St Mary’s,

I hope you are enjoying this beautiful Spring weather and making the most of the sunshine.

We welcomed the Director of Catholic Education - Diocese of Sale, Mr Paul Velten, to St Mary’s on Thursday to meet with staff and students. It was wonderful to have Paul visit our beautiful school, and we look forward to seeing him again.

Please ensure that permission notes are signed and returned before any school event to reduce the stress on staff and administration trying to contact parents and guardians the morning of. Students can only participate in events if forms are returned before the day.

I ask that all family dogs be on a leash and supervised when accessing the school or at drop-off and pickup times. We must always consider our students' safety, as animals can be unpredictable.

Congratulations to Bianca and Zahli, who participated in the Gippsland Regional Athletics in Moe yesterday. We are so proud of your efforts and well done!

Our calendar is becoming incredibly packed, so please keep up to date with up-and-coming events.

Kind Regards,

Maria

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

The new date for school photos is Monday 30th October 2023.

All current orders will be honoured and we would like to encourage you to place an order if you haven't already done so.

Forms have been sent home with students. Please contact the school office if you would like a form. If you would prefer to order online, please use the links below:

School Photo Order Form

or Scan this QR code:

Every week, students are nominated by their peers to be our Playground Rangers. These students uphold the St. Mary's Principles of Be Safe, Be Responsible, Be Respectful, Be A Learner. Congratulations to this week's Playground Rangers! Well done Amelia, Arlo, Lachlan, Blake, Maliah and Harrison.

ST. MARY'S BOOK FAIR

To celebrate Book Week, St. Mary's Library is organising a Book Fair from Monday 23rd October - Tuesday, 31st October.

Payments can be made with card, cash or can be done online.

If you intend to pay online, a receipt payment slip will need to be returned to the library for the item to be collected.

The QR code and the wish list for you to scan for payments are on the back of the flyers that will be handed out next week.

Students will be able to fill out a wish list when they come to visit the fair.

The times for the Book Fair are below, if you cannot make any of these times, please contact a school and organise a time with Sharon.

MON 23rd : 2:00 - 3:15

TUES 24th: 2:00 - 3:15

WED 25th: 2:00 - 3:45

THURS 26th 2:00 - 3:45

FRI 27th: 8:15 - 9:00 AM AND 2:00 - 3:45 PM

MON 30th: 8:15 - 9:00 AM AND 2:00 - 3:15 PM

TUES 31st: 8:15 - 9:00 AM AND 2:00 - 3:45 PM

A percentage of sales goes back into resources for our school library. We thank you for your support.

Held annually on the last Friday of October, Day for Daniel honours the memory of Daniel Morcombe, who tragically went missing in December 2003; he was wearing a red T-shirt.

The  Day for Daniel Foundation aims to build a future, where children are free from harm and abuse. We encourage parents, carers and to start a conversation with children and young people about personal safety.

We have registered our school to be a part of this fundraising day. On Friday, 27th October 2023, students can wear red clothes and we will be conducting child safety activities.

If you would like to make a donation to the foundation, the link is below.

Click on this link to donate to the Day for Daniel campaign

Religion News:  Thursday the 19^th of October

This Sunday is World Mission Sunday.   Each year, the second last Sunday of October is dedicated to World Mission Sunday.  It offers us the opportunity to celebrate 200 years of Missions.  Pope Francis, in his message for World Mission Sunday 2023, reflects on the theme “Hearts on fire, feet on the move," based on the story of the disciples who encounter Jesus on their way to Emmaus (cf. Lk 24:13-35).

The link below is a beautiful song that was sung by Andrew Chinn’s daughter – The Face of God.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0KfFoVqh1k

Socktober

This coming Tuesday the 24^th of October, students are asked to come to school in their school uniform, with the addition of wearing socks in a crazy way.  Please bring a gold coin donation which we will forward onto Catholic Missions to assist the families in Timor-Leste.  

Sacrament of Reconciliation: This will be celebrated on Tuesday the 14^th of November at 6:00 p.m. in the St. Joseph’s Room.

Kind Regards,

Sue Benc

SOCKTOBER FUNDRAISER

On Tuesday, the 24th of October, we are having a crazy sock day to raise money for Socktober Missions: This year's focus is on Timor-Leste In exchange for a gold coin donation, students can wear socks in any way they choose, mismatched, as hair ties, as gloves, wear them around their neck, or make a colourful belt. Have fun and be as creative as possible. It's for a good cause.

Please note that students still need to be in school uniform.

Get to know Timor-Leste. 

One of Australia's closest neighbours, Timor-Leste is a small island republic just under 700kms from Darwin, which shares its western border with Indonesia. The country secured its independence from Indonesia in 2001, after an oppressive and violent occupation. Today, the scars still linger as the people grapple with the effects of poverty, low-quality healthcare and infrastructure, corruption and inequality.

Click here for details on Timor Leste and how your donations can help

Click on the link below to view a special video from the Director of Catholic Education, Mr. Paul Velten:

Message from the Director of Catholic Education

The Design a Plate fundraiser is still ongoing, this fundraiser gets children to draw an original painting onto a plate, which they can bring home as a personalised piece of artwork.

Each plate is $10.00. 

We appreciate your help in making this program fun for the kids and thank you for your continued support.

Please note that we are limited to one plate per student.