|
|
|
|
|
|
Upcoming Dates
|
- 7th April: Last day for students Term 1
- 8th April: Catholic Education System Pupil Free Day
- 19th April: First day for students Term 2
- 22nd April: Welcome back to Term 2 Coffee Morning
|
Please refer to School Stream for full event details. Please check the EVENTS tab to add event details directly to your calendar!
|
|
|
|
Principal's News
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
|
And just like that, Term 1 has gone in a flash and the holidays are almost upon us… I want to thank the school as a community for the great start we have made to the 2022 school year. I really feel blessed to be a part of this amazing St Mary’s community of parents, students and educators. I know that every staff member cares for every student in this school and am in awe of the number of examples of staff going above and beyond for the benefit of our students and families.
|
|
Week 10 heralded the safe arrival of Thea Anastacia Carew to the world. Congratulations to Kate, Tahlia and the Carew family on this very exciting news. We can’t wait to meet baby Thea and have our cuddles.
|
Congratulations also to Ashton in Room 11, whose family welcomed a new baby sister as well this week!
|
Mrs Sarah Muller commences leave from her position as PE Teacher next term for the remainder of the year. We wish Sarah and family well for their time living in the community of Katherine. We expect to announce our new PE Teacher at the beginning of next term.
|
|
Staff Development Day – Friday 8th April
|
|
Today all St Mary’s staff have taken part in a staff Development Day around the theme of ‘Laudato Si’. The concept of Laudato Si relates to one of the six main principles of Catholic Social teaching - Care for our Common Home. In June 2015, Pope Francis delivered an important encyclical, Laudato Si' - On care for our Common Home. In this article, he posed the question, What kind of world do we want to leave to those who come after us, to children who are now growing up? (#160 LS)
|
|
|
|
|
We will endeavour to respond to this question and explore how St Mary’s can intentionally provide a lifelong recognition of the values necessary to understand and appreciate the inter-relatedness of all creation. We will map how our learning environment encompasses the lifelong attitudes and practices we would like to present within our St Mary’s community and provide opportunities for our students, staff and parents to be actively involved in working towards an integral ecology shaped by Catholic social teaching and personal conversion.
|
|
Please note that in 2022, the Easter School holidays are scheduled for the week prior to the Easter public holidays. The last day of Term One will be today, Friday 8th April, with the public holidays falling as follows:
|
|
Holy Thursday: 14th April
|
|
Easter Sunday: 17th April
|
|
Easter Monday: 18th April
|
School will resume for Term Two on Tuesday, 19th April.
|
School will resume for Term 2 on Tuesday, 19th April, and conclude on Friday, 24th June.
|
Welcome to Caitlyn and family who joined our school community this week.
|
I wish you all a safe and Holy Easter. Please take the time to reflect on the Easter Story with your family. Remember that every Good Friday, has an Easter Sunday, a revelation shared with me at a retreat over a decade ago, and has helped me through some tough situations since.
|
|
|
|
God’s blessing for a peaceful and blessed Easter.
|
|
|
|
Term 2 Coffee Morning
|
|
|
|
Religious Education News
|
Holy Week: Here we are, ready and waiting for the onset of Holy Week. This is THE most important item in the Christian Calendar. I hope you are able to take time over the next few weeks and really explore the story of Easter with your children. It is a very complex one filled with injustice, despair, and sadness, yet it finishes with such hope. Without Good Friday, there can’t be an Easter Sunday. I guess we need to remain faithful throughout our personal ‘Good Friday’ experiences and know that God is with us and provides a hope-filled Easter Sunday.
|
|
Room 11 have put together a very prayerful reflection for Holy Week. We encourge you to take some time over this Easter Season to view and pray together as a family using this reflection. You can watch by clicking the link below.
|
|
|
|
|
As we enter Holy Week, we continue to reflect on the lives of people vulnerable to extreme poverty and injustice and how we can respond through supporting Caritas Australia’s Project Compassion appeal.
|
Your generosity is the pebble that allows Caritas Australia to create the ripples that will improve the livelihoods of vulnerable communities, supporting them to flourish and create opportunities for future generations to live to their full potential and thrive.
|
Please return all Project Compassion boxes and envelopes to the school office by Friday 27th May or donate online via the Caritas website at lent.caritas.org.au
|
|
Sacramental Program Updates: On Saturday Bishop Charles met with the families of those children commencing preparations for the Sacraments of Reconcilliation and Holy Communion next term. We know of a few families who would be interested in selling or buying a pre-loved Holy Communion gown. If interested please email clare.nolan@nt.catholic.edu.au for further details.
|
|
|
Easter Resurrection Liturgy – Tuesday 19th April 1:30pm in the Mary MacKillop Hall
|
ANZAC Day Liturgy – Tuesday 26th April 8:30am in the Mary MacKillop Hall
|
|
Religious Education Co-ordinator
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Thought for the Week
|
|
|
|
Jesus is better than pizza. He can’t be topped!
|
|
As we start to draw towards the end of this Holy season of Lent, and prepare for Easter, it is important for us to stop and reflect on our thoughts and behaviours. Lent is a time of simplicity; a time when we can do a little ‘stocktake’ on ourselves and look for ways to become more like Jesus and to make a little difference to those around us. Here are eight FREE gifts you can try!
|
|
|
|
|
Room 11 News
|
|
|
|
CathCroc
|
|
|
|
2022 School Swimming Program
|
|
As you look through the highlights and photos from our school swimming program there were lots of smiling faces, which is a testament to a successful program! We would like to acknowledge the work of the instructors Royal Life Saving NT who made the program fun and enjoyable for our students. The Swim Program focused on water safety, how to respond in an emergency and teaching students what to do keep themselves and others safe.
|
A super big shout out to Mr Stephen Lyons for supporting at the pool every day, teachers and staff who jumped in to help support students in the pool and of course to Ms Sarah Muller for all her organization and preparations behind the scenes, well before the program even started.
|
|
We have been discussing with Royal Life Saving NT options for the lesson that was missed for classes during Week 1 due to the lightning storm and severe wet weather. Unfortunately, due to their busy schedule with other school bookings, we have been unable to organise an opportunity for the missed lesson to be made up. As per Royal Life Saving NT's policies, refunds are not issued for missed lessons. However, St Mary's have made the decision to offer families a refund of $10 for the missed lesson. We ask that you please make contact with the school to arrange how you would prefer your refund processed.
|
|
|
|
Pastoral Care and Wellbeing News
|
|
|
MEDALS is a five week program for primary school aged Defence children to build their resilience and develop a tool kit of skills to manage the absence of a parent. Through the eyes of Tyler Turtle children learn strategies to help them build their resilience.
|
Some of the topics covered include:
|
- Staying connected
- Managing change
- Relaxation strategies
- Managing emotions
|
The MEDALS program has been designed to strengthen ADF families with primary school aged children thrive in a changing environment. This is achieved by assisting children to develop resilience/coping skills, self-awareness/self-management, awareness of others/environment, positive living skills, optimism, stress management/self-care strategies, healthy connection with parents , perception of support and confidence to access, an understanding of realistic roles during deployment and to normalise emotions around change.
|
The program is based on the emotional cycle of deployment. Through the use of narrative, children are able to explore their own self-knowledge and coping strategies and make decisions regarding constructive approaches to problems that arise throughout the stories. Children can relate the experiences related in the stories to their own situation and experience and explore alternative responses open to them. Children also share a lot of knowledge and ideas with others which helps normalize their experiences and to consciously use coping strategies that work for them.
|
|
If you are a ADF family and are interested in your child participating in this program, please contact our Defence School Mentor, Karen for further details.
|
|
|
“We believe that all children should be given the best chance in life.”
|
OnLineTraining was established in 2008 to provide flexible professional development for teaching professionals in the UK who support children and young people with special educational needs.
|
|
In 2008, they began a collaboration with the Departments of Education in Australia, initially partnering with NSW to adapt their courses to suit the Australian education system. In the years that followed, their courses were implemented by the Departments of Education in all States and Territories in Australia, and many of the Catholic Dioceses and Independent Schools associations, too.
|
OnLine Training(OLT) have a number of free parent/carer courses available that are self-paced. These courses offer a range of resources and information to help inform and support parents and carers. OLT currently have the following courses available:
|
- ADHD for Parents/Carers
- Autism for Parents/Carers
- Learning Theory
|
Catholic Care NT also have a number of parent/carer courses available. See the flyer below for more information.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Canteen Online Orders & Update
|
|
|
To streamline processes across the school, in 2022 we are now only accepting online orders for lunches.
|
All families need 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.
|
For those with an existing account, you will need to update your child's class and room number for 2022 before placing your first order. Please refer to the instructions in School Stream.
|
You can find the updated 2022 Canteen menu in School Stream. 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.
|
|
Please note that at this time our school canteen has been impacted by supplier shortages. Some items may be temporarily unavailable and will be marked as 'out of stock' when ordering. Thank you for your understanding.
|
|
|
|
|
|
What is happening in Darwin
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
  
|
|
|
|
|
|
