2023 Term 3 Week 8
Dear Parents and Carers,
Its been such a busy time at St Mary's!
Today is a very important and special day for our school as we celebrated our school feast day, the birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus. We thank Fr Joe for visiting our school this morning to start the day with mass. We then enjoyed a BBQ lunch followed by lots of fun tabloid sports led by our Year 6 students.
It was wonderful to have so many fathers, grandfathers and other special people in our students' lives visit our school last Friday for our Fathers Day celebration. The morning started with bacon and egg rolls and sausage sandwiches for breakfast in the courtyard followed by a liturgy led by our talented year 2 students.
We were saddened to hear of the passing of Delma Frawley. Del worked in Catholic Education in Grafton throughout the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s mostly in the infants years. Del had a passion for ensuring the students were kept at the centre of all decisions and provided many of our current staff and parent community with a quality and caring start to their schooling education. We have put together some photos of Del and her students, some which you will recognise. See if you can spot our current Acting Principal and Assistant Principal Mission in their Year 1 photo from 1988!
This week our Stage 3 students travelled to Lake Ainsworth on Monday to commence their camp and we have enjoyed hearing of their adventures! Photos can be seen on Facebook.
The annual Ride for Sick Kids was held this week, where a team of dedicated cyclists have ridden 500kms from Grafton to Newcastle to raise funds for seriously ill children and their families.
In the past our school has witnessed first hand the amazing support provided by the Ronald McDonald Learning Program, and we were pleased to be able to welcome the riders into our school on Tuesday. During the visit CEO, Ross Bingham shared a little about how Ronald McDonald House helps families in our community and presented two students with bikes. We are truly thankful for the generosity shown to our school.
Kindergarten had a wonderful excursion when they visited St Mary’s Church and then the park for some fun and ice cream.
A big thank you to Mrs Niethe for organising our Science Week activities last week. There is a great deal of planning and time required in organising an event that meets the needs of students across the whole school.
Jacki has extended her leave until the end of this term and the Catholic Schools Office has asked Jas to continue in the role of Acting Principal.
Hannah Gorman has been appointed in the role of Acting Assistant Principal Learning and Teaching during this time. Hannah is looking forward to working with the exec team in leading the wonderful learning and teaching initiatives that are taking place at our school.
Matt Green will be working in the Year 3 class alongside Peter Tonkin on Monday and Tuesdays as well as continuing in his role as Assistant Principal Mission. Lauren Connor and Peter Tonkin will continue to lead Year 3 Wednesday, Thursday and Fridays.
Don’t forget the upcoming pupil-free day on Friday 22 September.
Finally, best of luck to those Stage 3 students who are competing in the Netball Schools Cup being held in Casino on Wednesday 13 September.
Jas and Matt
Please note the following pupil free days:
Friday 22 September - Term 3 Week 10
Monday 9 October - Term 4 Week 1
Friday 3 November - Term 4 Week 4
The final day of the 2023 school year for students is: Friday 15 December - Term 4 Week 10
St Mary’s Primary 2023 Important Dates
(subject to change please check our website for calendar updates)
Term 3
Wednesday 13 September - Netball Schools Cup final in Casino
First Reconciliation
Thursday 14 September - R U OK? Day - yellow dress up day
Saturday 16 September - Holy Communion
Sunday 17 September - Holy Communion
Friday 22 September - Staff PL day - Pupil Free Day
Term 4
Monday 9 October - Staff PL day - Pupil Free Day
Friday 13 October - Socktober
Tuesday 17 October - P and F Disco 5.30pm start
Wednesday 18 and Thursday 19 October - CSO Band - Wildfire visit
Friday 27 October - World Teacher’s Day in Australia
Friday 27 October - Day for Daniel - Red dress up day
Thursday 2 November - Jacaranda Thursday - school closed
Friday 3 November - Staff PL day - Pupil Free Day
Friday 10 November - Remembrance day liturgy 10.35am start
Tuesday 21 November - Year 5 Leadership speeches
Wednesday 6 December - Year 6 Graduation dinner (Change of Date)
Thursday 7 December - End of Year Mass and Awards ceremony
Friday 8 December - Stage party and colour run; class rewards day; and Christmas Shirt day.
Thursday 14 December - Year 6 fun day
Friday 15 December - Year 6 farewell assembly and last day of the year for students.
SPORT
Dudley Jones Tennis Shield
On Friday students from St Mary’s competed in the Dudley Jones Tennis Competition. This competition is for primary schools in the Clarence Valley and has been running for 53 years. We had four teams competing and placed second overall.
Congratulations to Olivia, Stella, Felipe and Tomas as runners up, being narrowly beaten by one game by Gulmarrad Primary School in the final.
I would like to acknowledge all students for their participation and wonderful attitude throughout the day. Thank you Addison, Amelia, Evie,Callum, Emily, Felipe, Jamieson, Logan, Maeve, Olivia, Serge, Sonny, Sophia, Stella, Tomas and Will for playing and representing the school with pride. Thanks also to the families who encouraged and supported our teams.
Netball Schools Cup
Our Stage 3 netball team travels to Casino for the North Coast Netball finals after winning the Grafton carnival. Good Luck Team!
Touch Football
Community Announcement
Healthy Lunch Box Ideas
Child Safety Handbook
Attendance
- If your child is arriving to the school after 8:45am please sign them in at the office.
- Please use Compass to record full day absentees. Partial absences are recorded by staff when students are signed in and out of the office.
- Students who leave a school event early will have a partial absence recorded.
- A medical certificate or other documentation may be requested where frequent absences due to illness occur.
- Generally, extended leave (greater than 10 days) during the school term would not be approved. These absences are recorded on the roll as unjustified and a completed Form 01 Extended Leave Notification Travel/Other Greater than 10 Days is required.
- In exceptional circumstances parents may complete an Form 02 Approved Extended Leave Application - Travel/Other Greater than 10 Days for consideration by the Principal, explaining why an absence for extended leave is in the best educational interest of the student. The Principal may decline or accept this application.
St Mary's Primary School P&F
The P&F are an important group within our school. We understand that it is not always possible to attend the meetings due to time restraints of family and work. We value everyone's thoughts and ideas, and therefore invite parents to use the link below to share agenda items with us.
Please check the school calendar for the date of the next meeting.
Emergency Management Planning
eSafety Advice for Parents - thinkUKnow
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) are urging families to be proactive this school year and update the privacy settings on children’s devices to help prevent predators from contacting them online.
The AFP-led ThinkUKnow program – Australia’s first and only nationally delivered, law enforcement-led online safety program – has produced guides for parents and carers.
- Gaming devices and what you need to know
- Parent and carer social media starter kit
For more information, visit this website.
Parent Guide to DIBELS Assessment (Primary)
School Fees
Road Safety
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Kiss and Drop Zone in Turf Street
Just a reminder that the Kiss and Drop Zone is currently signed as a one minute parking zone. This means that you cannot park your car in the kiss and drop zone for an extended period. The students arrive at Kiss and Drop at 3pm and are supervised in this zone until 3.20pm. Please consider arriving closer to 3pm for collection.
The Kiss and Drop is designed for you to stay in your car while your child enters the car. If your child cannot open the car door and secure their own seatbelt, you need to park your car in the designated parking areas and walk to the gate to collect your child. Please drive through as far as possible to allow sufficient space for other drivers in the zone. The Kiss and Drop Zone does not function effectively and becomes congested if there are any hold ups or delays.
The school does not request the presence of the Grafton Police to manage traffic at the front of the school. However, there is a regular police presence on Turf Street monitoring the safety of the school zone. Please ensure that you adhere to all traffic signs in the area to avoid fines.
Please check out our school Safe Travel webpage that details all the processes for travel to and from school.
Parking in Hoof Street
There are a small number of parking spaces near the Sunrise Shop (corner of Hoof and Turf Streets) for use by their customers. To assist this small business we suggest parking away from the corner.
Child Safe Standards
Our school as part of the Diocese of Lismore Catholic Schools Limited (DLCSL), like all child-safe organisations, is implementing the Child Safe Standards. As a part of this work, we share our Child Safeguarding Commitment Statement which reinforces our dedication to the safety and wellbeing of all children.
Child Protection
St Mary's Primary School is committed to ensuring we provide a safe environment for students. We are required to meet the statutory obligations of the legislation relating to child protection and the policies and guidelines set out by the Catholic Schools Office. The Child Protection Policy can be found on the webpage.
Working With Children Check (WWCC)
At St Mary's we are committed to creating and supporting a culture of safety for children and ensuring that children are protected. All employees and volunteers are required to have a current WWCC.
NB - The vast majority of volunteers in schools are parents of a child attending the school at which they are volunteering (eg reading groups, fetes, camps, excursions and canteen) and therefore do not require a WWCC. Exceptions to this are
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volunteers interacting one-on-one with a child not their own,
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working with children who have a disability,
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offering mentoring services,
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when the volunteer is not a parent or close relative.
Anti-bullying and Wellbeing
Bullying is a serious offence and is not acceptable in our school. All alleged violations and every act of bullying will be duly investigated, and parents/carers informed.
The anti-bullying policy can be found on the school's webpage.