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Important Dates
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- 19th October: PIRLS Testing for Year 4 students
- 19th October: 5pm Year 5/6 Camp Information Session
- 21st October: 4.30pm School Board Meeting
- 22nd October: Ned's Mindset Mission - Whole School Performance
- 25th to 29th October: Teacher Appreciation Week
- 26th October: Transition 2022 Orientation Sessions Commence
- 26th October: 5pm BYODD 2022 Parent Information Session
- 29th October: Crazy Sock and Hair Day Fundraiser
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All Term 4 events and details are published on SchoolStream. Please check the EVENTS tab to add event details direct to your calendar!
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Principal's News
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Week 1, Term 4, 2021
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I trust that all families have had a lovely break and returned free of the dreaded ‘lurgy’ which dominated in the last few weeks of Term 3.
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We welcome to our St Mary’s school community this week new families to Darwin, Billy, Elsie and Ariki.
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Whilst we have been on holidays we have had new air conditioning installed in some of our upstairs classes just in time for the burst of hot weather this week.
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We welcome Mrs Shannon Feldtman back to St Mary’s this term. I know Shannon is very excited to be back working at school and enjoying her role in leading Instructional Coaching and Mathematics across the school.
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This week we also welcome Miss Kaitlyn Oliver to St Mary’s school staff. Kaitlyn is working alongside Miss Sthephany in the school Canteen. Kaitlyn’s primary role is will be liaising with the School, OSHC and Community of Learners to ensure the smooth and efficient service of food for children is well communicated across the community.
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A reminder to parents of our online food ordering via Flexischools. During this term we are endeavouring to improve the overall food service and encourage Parents to complete food orders using the online system in preference to the handwritten bag orders. Moving forward into 2022 we will be phasing out the handwritten ordering system.
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There was a lovely buzz of excitement this morning around the school with our welcome back sausage sizzle and coffee van. The highlight for all of us was to be able to be able to gather together with families to start our final term. Thank you to all of our fabulous staff who assisted with the setting up and cooking of food this morning. A shout out to Denis from Just Coffee Darwin for providing our caffeine hit and a big thank you to Paul Kirby for his generous donation to our BBQ breakfast!
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We are now well into the planning phase for the 2022 school year. We are in the midst of the recruitment phase for teachers and specialists role within the school. I expect that teachers for 2022 will be finalised by the end of October.
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Enrolments for next year are strong, with enrolments now open for our classes all Year levels. Could I ask that if you are aware of any changes to your family circumstances or if you know of transfers out of Darwin that you let us know as soon as possible as I expect that we will soon be starting waiting lists for many classes. You can advise us of your intentions via the "Intentions for 2022" form, found on School Stream. We appreciate you advising us of any changes by 15th October.
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The Transition Program for preschool children starting school next year will begin for our new 2022 Transition students and we are super excited to have our new little students coming to school. This program will run every Tuesday morning for a five week period from the 26th October until 23rd November. We are still open for 2022 transition enrolments and if you know anyone who is still making a decision, please encourage them to come and meet us.
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A reminder that this is a 10 week term and that the students last day of school for 2021 is Thursday 16th December.
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Have a great week families,
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Uniform Reminder
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Please ensure that your child has the correct uniform requirements including the correct footwear, socks and school hat. Please support us in our endeavour to adhere to our uniform guidelines, which can be found in our Parent Handbook or school webpage.
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Classroom News: Room 8
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The students in Room 8 were so excited to be back at school this week. We have been busy in the nursery taking care of our babies before it’s packed away, the students have decided they would like a Christmas cafe and post office this term. In science this week we started observing the properties of materials. We have brainstormed all the describing words we felt from our object feely box and are very excited to design and create our own party hat.
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NED's Mindset Mission
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NED's Mindset Mission is a character education program that centers around three important messages that have lifelong relevance: Never give up, Encourage others and Do your best.
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During the assembly, students will learn about the importance of these three life skills while also enjoying storytelling, magic, humor and yo-yo tricks. Students will have the opportunity for the 5 days after the performance to purchase their own yo-yo - see details and prices below.
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Families are welcome to join us for this live-streamed event!
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Keeping Safe: Child Protection Curriculum
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St Mary's Catholic Primary School was approved for a pupil free day for day one Term 4, Monday 11th October. On this day our teachers and support staff were trained in the Keeping Safe: Child Protection Curriculum which is a requirement of all Catholic schools in the Northern Territory. The Keeping Safe: Child Protection Curriculum is a world class, evidence-based child safety curriculum that is delivered to students by educators that have completed a comprehensive training course.
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The Keeping Safe: Child Protection Curriculum is developmental and consists of two themes:
1. We all have a right to be safe
2. We can help ourselves to be safe by talking to people we trust
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Our intention is to begin incorporating some of the teachings of this curriculum during Term 4. Parent details and information will be sent home via School Stream in the coming weeks and a parent information session held later in the term.
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Progress in International Reading Study (PIRLS)
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St Mary's Year 4 students have been selected to take part in the Progress in International Reading Study (PIRLS). PIRLS is an important educational research project investigating student achievement in reading. More than 50 countries, including Australia, are participating in this study. PIRLS is an important activity to keep us, as parents and citizens, informed about how our students in Australia are performing in comparison to their peers in other countries and to compare programs of study and teaching practices. We will be able to obtain current national and international information which will help improve the teaching and learning in reading in our country.
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Selected students will do an assessment in reading literacy and complete a questionnaire about their experiences at home and school. There is no need for students to study specifically for the assessment as it will not affect individual students’ grades or progress in school. Individual student profiles will also be provided to participating students towards the middle of 2022.
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All data will be kept strictly confidential and no individual student or school will be identified in published data or reports.
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Your child will be bringing home a copy of the attached Student and Parent Information Sheet. Please take the time to review this information.
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PIRLS testing will occur next Tuesday 19th October for our Year 4 cohort.
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If you have any questions, please contact your child's teacher or our school PIRL's coordinator Christine Ferreira.
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BYODD 2022 Parent Information Session
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Students in Grade 4/5/6 at St. Mary’s are expected to bring their own designate device to use for in class activities. Overall we are very pleased with the Year 4/5/6 students’ engagement with the BYODD program.
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A BYODD Parent Information Session for 2022 is being held on Tuesday 26th October at 5pm in the MacKillop Hall. All families of students currently in Year 3 or those who do not have a designated device are strongly encouraged to attend to learn more about the program and device specifications.
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For more information please contact our Deputy Principal Christine Ferreira.
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RE News
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Welcome Back to the Start of Term Four. I trust that all families had an enjoyable break over the holidays away from the routine and busyness of school life. We move forward into Term Four with renewed excitement about a few enjoyable big school events.
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Some of the key liturgies and masses this term include World Mission Day, Remembrance Day, Advent, Graduation Mass and our End of School Year Mass. Please keep an eye out for these.
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Dear Jesus, I pray that you be with my child today as they return to school. Bless their going and coming. Bless their learning and playing. Please protects their heart from fear and keep them safe. Please give them good friends. Let them feel joy and thank you for loving them always. In your name. Amen
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Made in the Image of God
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As a part of our Religious Education curriculum, St Mary’s Catholic Primary School will teach the human sexuality program, Made in the Image of God (MITIOG). This program was developed by the Catholic Education Office in South Australia and all Catholic schools in the Darwin Diocese implement this program. The teaching of the MITIOG program will take place across Weeks 1-2 in Term 4 and the students will be grouped by Year levels and/or gender in Year 5/6.
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Information regarding the outcomes covered for each year level has been sent out via School Stream. We strongly encourage families to use the suggested activities to facilitate conversations with your child about these topics.
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If you have any questions regarding the program or would like to learn more please contact our Religious Education Coordinator Clare Nolan on clare.nolan@nt.catholic.edu.au.
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Socktober - Crazy Sock and Hair Day Fundraiser
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21st Century Dancing
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Thank you so much for making the concert a huge success with your support and presence. The concert video is going through it's final editing and proofing stage and will be available for purchase soon.
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Enrolments for 2022
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Help spread the word! Enrolments for 2022 are now open
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If you would like an enrolment package, please contact the school office. If you have already received an enrolment package for your Transition 2022 child, please complete and return to the school office as soon as possible so your enrolment interview can be scheduled. If your child is currently enrolled in the St Mary’s Community of Learners Pre-school program you will still need to complete a School enrolment form for Transition.
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Please note, that until enrolment paperwork is received at the school office, we cannot hold places for Transition 2022. Therefore, if you currently have a child at St Mary's and have a younger sibling starting Transition next year, please let the school office know as soon as possible. Information for the Transition Orientation program in Term 4 will be emailed to all families who have completed enrolment forms. Only children who have completed enrolment forms will be able to attend the Orientation program, so please kindly finalise all Transition enrolments by 22nd October.
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In the Event of a Cyclone
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As we are now in the cyclone season in the Top End, families are reminded of our school procedures in the event of a cyclone. School closures are announced by the Department of Education and are broadcast to the public on the local TV and radio stations. In the event that government schools are closed, Catholic schools will also be closed. Please listen to the radio or TV for updates in relation to school closures and reopening. We will endeavour to keep families informed via our school app – school stream, facebook and email, but this will be dependent on the availability of power and personnel.
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Optimistic October 2021
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Download our School App
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Why download the App?
- Receive instant notifications for important news and classroom updates.
- Complete permission and absentee forms.
- Keep up to date with events and save event details directly to your own calendar.
- Order from our school canteen.
Don’t forget to turn your notifications on – so you don’t miss any important notices!
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Canteen Online Orders
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To streamline processes across the school, this term we will be phasing out paper bag lunch orders from our canteen.
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We encourage families to set up an account for online ordering through Flexischools, which is linked directly in the School Stream App. Details on how to set up an account can be found in the “CANTEEN” tab of School Stream. There is no need to download the Flexischools App, it can all be accessed from the School Stream App.
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Please note daily orders close at 8.40am. Any orders received after this time, will be fulfilled subject to availability of stock and may be substituted for a basic sandwich.
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Please help spread the word!
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We are so excited to be running our very own Playgroup sessions at St Mary's.
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These sessions are open to families outside of the school and cater for babies and toddlers of all ages. You can find us every Friday (school term only) in the Mary MacKillop Hall, please enter via the Parish entrance from Smith Street.
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St John's Catholic College, Darwin
Year 7 2022
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Information regarding Year 7 2022 at St John's Catholic College.
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What is happening in Darwin
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