Calendar

Welcome 

This week we welcomed Caitlin Summerfield into Year Four. Caitlin and her family, Regan, Sylvia and Sophie, have moved to Crookwell from New Zealand. We hope they feel welcomed to our wonderful school community.

Athletics Carnival

Our Sport coordinators have results and a wrap-up of the Athletics Carnival in the Sport Section of this Newsletter. I would like to acknowledge their efforts here and those of all the staff who worked tirelessly all day to ensure the Carnival ran smoothly and professionally. I am extremely grateful for their efforts and dedication to their students. I would also like to thank the parents and CHS students who volunteered their time to assist with timekeeping and field events. Finally, to Tennille and her Year 3 Canteen team, who provided delicious food and snacks all day, thank you.

Please join us on Monday morning for the Age Champion Presentation Assembly at 9:05am.

Kinder wood Raffle

Have you purchased raffle tickets for our Kinder Wood Raffle? Three prizes of wood loads are available. Don't forget to share them with family and friends. Extra books of tickets will be sent home to families today.

Sold tickets and money are to be returned by June 13, please.

Mackillop U11 Rugby League

Congratulations to Year Five student, Jesse Costello, who has become a member of the U11 Mackillop Rugby League Team. He will compete at the PSSA Championships in Blacktown in June. Jesse may well be our first St Mary's student to achieve this success, and hopefully not the last!

ATTENDANCE

When not unwell, we know that every day of attendance at school adds to your child's chances of success and achievement from kindergarten to high school. You play a key role in making sure your child attends school every day, and you do this because you understand that attendance leads to success, not just at school, but later in life. Every day at school counts towards your child’s learning.

As mentioned above, we realise some absences are unavoidable due to health issues or other circumstances. However, we also know that when students miss too much school, no matter the reason, it can cause them to fall behind academically. The more absences your child has, the harder it is for them to catch up on missed work and stay connected to their school community. Absences add up quickly. If your child is absent just one day every two weeks over a school year, this will add up to 20 days of lost learning. This is almost half a school term.

The following table indicates the levels of attendance.

Did you know you can check your child's attendance on Compass?

Go to your child's profile, then choose Attendance from the tab. Towards the bottom of that page can then see your child's collated absences and percentage rate.

Part of my job is to respond to all emerging absenteeism (<90% attendance) with support to improve attendance. This may involve an initial phone call, followed by letters and the creation of a Student Attendance Plan.

We want your child to succeed at school and we know that you do as well. Please let us know if you require support in ensuring your child attends school on time each day. Feel free to contact me to discuss this or any other concerns.

Congratulations and best of luck

Tomorrow we have ten St Mary's students running as members of the Northern Region Cross Country Team at Mt Stromlo. We wish them all the best of luck and are very proud of this team's accomplishment.

Run like the wind, Sophie C, Imogen, Tommy P, Harper, Cooper, Lizzie, Macie-Lee, Bridie, Elaine, Tommy C.

THREE-WAY LEARNING DISCUSSIONS - save the date!

This Term, we would like to invite parents/carers and students to our Learning Discussions on Friday, 4 July. This is the final day of Term Two and is a Pupil Free day. Your child's Semester Report will have been delivered to you on Monday, 30 June. Appointment times will open around Week FIVE for you to arrange a time that suits. If the opportunity to meet in person is difficult, we are also opening up phone appointments for the day. 

'NUT AWARE SCHOOL'

We have an increasing number of children attending St Mary’s who suffer from a severe anaphylactic reaction to peanuts/tree nuts and sesame seeds. These reactions can be serious and even life-threatening. These children need to have an EPIPEN (automatic injector device to administer adrenaline) on hand in case of an emergency at school.

As caregivers, we need to take all precautions necessary to minimise the risk of a life-threatening anaphylaxis.

As a community, we can work together to minimise the risk associated with being exposed to these foods that act as a trigger to such attacks.

The school acknowledges that due to food processing practices, it is impractical to eliminate nuts or nut products entirely from an environment where there is food, hence the reference to ‘Nut Aware’ School.

Management at School

• Parents/caregivers are encouraged not to send food that contains nuts to school with their children. This includes peanut paste, Nutella, Muesli Bars, all nuts and cooking oil containing peanut oil, as well as foods containing nuts (but does not extend to ‘foods that may contain traces of nuts’)
• Staff supervising students whilst they eat their lunch.
• The Tuckshop will not have ‘for sale’ food items that contain nuts, but this does not apply to food labelled ‘may contain traces of nuts’.
• No food sharing between children.
• Staff participate in annual First Aid training to assist with understanding and dealing with anaphylaxis (severe allergic reaction).

For Parents

• Parents are asked not to send peanut butter or nutella on sandwiches, biscuits etc. (to minimise the risk from person-to-person contact).
• Emphasise the importance of hygiene when eating food at home and at school – washing hands.

While we can never entirely enforce or regulate what comes from home in each child’s lunch box, not where foods contain traces of nut oil, we hope people will assist in working towards minimising the risks and look at alternatives away from nut products.

Election of Pope Leo XIV 

It is with great excitement that we celebrate the election of our new Pope. Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost, will be a voice of wisdom as he continues the important work of leading the Church in the world and providing spiritual and moral guidance to the global community. Having spent years in Peru, Pope Leo XIV brings with him the experiences and  perspective of the Global South, lifting voices from the margins to centre stage.

Our St. Mary’s parish and wider community will keep Pope Leo XIV in our prayers as he continues and strengthens his work in response to today’s challenges.

Prayer for Pope Leo XIV

Faithful God,
You guide us on the path of life
and your goodness is our constant companion.

Be with our new Shepherd, Pope Leo XIV,
in his service of the Church.
Fill him with the power of your Spirit,
the peace of your presence
and the compassion of Christ.

May he walk with you,
in wisdom and humility,
and lead us, together with all God’s people,
to embody your love for the world.
Amen

SACRAMENT OF FIRST HOLY COMMUNION 

Students in Year 4 and above and who have received the sacrament of Reconciliation in 2024 and prior are able to participate in the program.

Sessions will be held on a Wednesday afternoon, 3:30pm to 4:30pm at St Mary's school, as per the schedule below.

FIRST HOLY COMMUNION

Enrolment Evening 21 May 6pm: YEAR 6 CLASSROOM 

Session 1 28 May

Session 2 4 June

Session 3 11 June

Session 4 18 June

Second Rite 22 June

The sacrament of First Holy Communion is a beautiful sacrament where students will receive the Eucharist for the first time.

If you would like to enrol your child, enrolments are now open on Qkr and can be accessed by:

Enrolment directions: - open Qkr! - in nearby locations click on “Goulburn Mission” - Enter your details as the profile - Click on “Catholic Parish of Mary Queen of Apostles Goulburn” - Click “Sacraments” along the top - Year 4 students & above wanting to do First Holy Communion “MQA 1st Holy Communion” - add to cart and fill in child’s information.

If you have any queries, or would like more information, please email rachael.croker@cg.catholic.edu.au 

Gilbert/Croker Cup (Year 3 & up)

Good luck to those who are participating in the Croker/Gilbert Cup today. It is bound to be a day full of footy and fun with friends! Thanks to Mr. Edwards and Mrs. R Croker for accompanying the students, as well as the volunteers who are helping with the teams. The day wouldn’t run without you, and we are very grateful!

School Cup - Netball NSW Expression of Interest (Year 3 & up)

This year's School Cup will be held on the 24th June in Goulburn.

Students from Years 3 - 6 are invited to express their interest in playing through the link below. The teams will be split into year groups (Year 3/4 and Year 5/6). Expressions of interest are closing soon.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdQA5JLorlNY7ZKNWXGEqdye2RZTdER31E9JU2B8Ses5SO-EQ/viewform?usp=sharing

School Athletics Carnival

Congratulations to all who competed at the School Athletics Carnival last Friday. The weather was on our side for once, the vibes were high, and the sportsmanship was excellent! We are very grateful for all the teachers, parent helpers and anyone else who helped on the day to make the carnival a huge success.

Congratulations to the following Age Champions. The medals will be awarded at the Age Champion Assembly on Monday, 19^th May at 9:05am.

*Age Champions for Athletics are awarded 8yrs and up.

*For further representative Carnivals, students compete in Junior (8, 9, and 10 Years), *Intermediate (11 Years), and Senior (12 and 13 Years) age groups for all events other than 100m. 

*The Northern Region Team will be selected from children turning 8 years, or older, in 2025. 

*The Northern Region Athletics Carnival will be held on Friday 20 June.

Archdiocese Cross Country:

Congratulations to Harper, Imogen, Sophie, Tommy P, Cooper, Elizabeth, Macie-Lee, Bridie A and Elaine who were successful in gaining a spot in the Northern Region Cross Country Team. They will compete tomorrow at Stromlo Forest. We wish them the best of luck! Run like the wind!

MacKillop Hockey:

Wishing Tommy P and Flynn D the best of luck for the coming week as they travel to Newcastle. Tommy and Flynn will play in the MacKillop Hockey Championships. We can’t wait to hear how you go!

Netball Trials:

We wish Harley, Max S and Jack S the best of luck as they travel to the Western Plains Netball trials on Wednesday 21^st May in Orange. We can’t wait to hear how you go!

Touch Football Trials:

Congratulations to all who trialled at the touch football trials on Tuesday in Canberra. A special mention to Jacob and Tommy P, who were successful in gaining selection in the Canberra/Goulburn team. We are very proud of you all!

Rugby League Trials:

Congratulations to Jacob, Riley, Rory and Jesse who trialled for the MacKillop Football team as part of the Canberra/Goulburn team. We are very proud of your efforts. A special mention goes to Jesse who was successful in gaining selection in the MacKillop team in a forward position. Well done, Jesse! What an outstanding achievement.

Rugby Union Trials:

Good luck to Bodi and Harry F, who will be travelling to Canberra on the 27th of May to trial for the Canberra/Goulburn Rugby Union team. We can’t wait to hear how you go!

Upcoming trials:

• NSWCPS (MacKillop) Golf - nominations close 15th August

Where can I find trial dates?

The Canberra Goulburn Sports webpage has the full calendar for Primary, Secondary and SSA events. https://www.sport.cg.catholic.edu.au/calendar

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Kind Regards,

Annie Cummins & James Edwards

School Sports Coordinators

Weeks 3  Awards 

Awards will be presented at the assembly on Friday 16 at 9.05am.

K - William Butz, Elsie Hills

1 - Lexi Handley, Quinn Haynes

2 - Henry Johns, Patrick Proudman

3 - Thaddaeus Camilleri, Macie-Lee Charnock, Laela McIntosh, Hannah Whittle

4 - Jack Strode, Jack Towell

5 - Willow Hewitt, Isobel Tran, Aria White

6 - Owen Moorby, Faith Riles

Japanese Award- Congratulations to Year One for being the class of the week.

Uniform Awards

Congratulations to the following students for wearing our school uniform correctly and with pride:

Oscar Allport

Bride McCormack

For our upcoming Art Day, we’re excited to explore the incredible work of the famous sculptor Michelangelo!

To help our students experience the art of sculpture hands-on, we kindly ask parents to send in a cake of soap with their child. The soap will be used for a fun and creative carving activity inspired by Michelangelo’s masterpieces.

Thank you for supporting this artistic adventure—we can’t wait to see what our young sculptors create!

Polar fleece addition to Sports Uniform

We are very excited to announce the addition of a polar fleece jumper to our Sports Uniform. These jumpers will help add a layer of warmth during the colder months and are ready to be ordered via Qkr.

Size 8 and 10 jumpers are now low in number and will be restocked over the next month.

Please note, these are not to be worn with the academic uniform Monday to Thursday.

Term 2 Winter Uniform

Term 2 will see the change in uniform to our winter items. Please see the table below. Items can be ordered via Qkr and sent home via the students or collected from school on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.

Second-hand uniform stock

We have a large amount of second-hand uniform stock available, free of charge. Please drop into the school to browse what is there at any time.

A big thank you to Mrs Shauna Hewitt for her excellent set-up!

Developing the Reading Brain 

Learning to read is a vital skill that is the foundation for acquiring knowledge, unlocking opportunities and participating fully in society. Reading is essential for academic success, personal development and overall wellbeing.  

Developing a reading brain involves building neural pathways that connect sounds to written words, and this process starts early in life. Key skills include phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. These skills are built through various activities like reading aloud, speaking, and playing language-based games.       

So how can we as parents, carers and educators support the development of the Reading Brain? 

1. Early Development:

Exposure to language from birth: 

Verbal interactions, reading aloud, and singing nursery rhymes are crucial for developing the brain areas related to language and reading.  

Print awareness: 

Early exposure to print, like pointing out letters in books, directing children's attention to sounds, letters, words/and or other language in our environments and communities, can help children recognise the visual representations of language.  

Phonological awareness: 

This involves recognizing and manipulating sounds in words, which is a crucial skill for sounding out words.  

2. Key Reading Skills:

Phonemic awareness: Understanding that words are made up of individual sounds (e.g., "cat" has /c/, /a/, and /t/ sounds).  

Phonics: Learning the relationship between letters and sounds (e.g., the letter "c" makes the /c/ sound).  

Fluency: Reading words quickly and accurately, with proper expression.  

Vocabulary: Building a strong vocabulary is essential for understanding text.  

Comprehension: Understanding what you read, including identifying main ideas, details, and making inferences.  

3. Strategies for Developing the Reading Brain:

Reading aloud: Encourage children to read aloud to improve fluency and build confidence.  

Reading for pleasure: Help children find books that interest them and make reading a positive experience.  

Engage with language: Play games, sing songs, and engage in conversations to build language skills.  

Provide support: Offer extra support to children who are struggling with reading, such as tutoring or individualised instruction.  

Pattern identification: Help students identify and use patterns in words and sentences.  

Vocabulary processing: Connect new words to prior knowledge and use multisensory learning.  

Reading comprehension strategies: Teach strategies for different parts of the comprehension process 

For Parish and Sacramental matters please forward your enquiries to Goulburn Parish Tuesday to Friday 9am to 1pm in Goulburn.

Email: Crookwell@cg.org.au

Website: http://cg.org.au/crookwell/Home.aspx 

Phone: 0403 631 797