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Upcoming Dates
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- 23rd May: Athletics Carnival (Years 3-6)
- 25th May: National Simultaneous Story time
- 31st May: School Photo Day
- 27th May: Sorry Day Assembly
- 27th May - 3rd June: National Reconciliation Week
- 3rd June: Reconciliation Week Assembly led by Room 13 Year 3/4
- 10th June: School Colour Fun Run!!
- 24th June: Last day Term 2
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Please refer to School Stream for full event details. Please check the EVENTS tab to add event details directly to your calendar!
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Principal's News
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Dear Parents and Caregivers,
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NAPLAN: Last week our students began their NAPLAN testing in Years 3 and 5 and displayed maturity beyond their years. TStaff discussed with them that this is only one snapshot of their learning and to approach this challenge with their best effort. NAPLAN is certainly important information for schools that will help us target specific future learning for students, but it is not the only way we collect information about our students. Currently, your child/ren’s teachers are collecting and finalising assessments regarding learning so that they can report to you later this term.
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Walk Safely to School Week: This week you would have noticed a higher Police presence on Cavanagh and Lindsay Streets at the drop off and pick up times.
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Thank you to parents for your support and cooperation in ensuring we keep the need for our School Crossing as a major priority for Local, Territory and Federal government.
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Please keep in mind the importance of Safety over Convenience when dropping children off at school.
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UNIFORM: Thank you to the many families who ensure that their children are coming to school wearing the correct school uniform every day. It is a delight to see children wearing their uniform with pride. There are still a few children who are wearing coloured shoes with their sports uniform. St Mary’s Uniform Policy has been communicated throughout the 2021 and 2022 school year that all Black shoes or leather joggers are the correct St Mary’s school uniform.
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Athletics Carnival: There is a wonderful buzz of anticipation around the school this week for our upcoming Athletics Carnival on Monday next week. I look forward to the great sportsmanship and Spirit of St Mary’s being actively present at the Marrara stadium on Monday.
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Transition 2023: SIBLING ENROLMENT PAPERWORK Due by 31 May 2022.
We are now in the early stage of planning for the 2023 school year and the class structures across the school. We are requesting for any of our existing families (including our Community of Learners) who may have a child eligible for Transition in 2023 to ensure their enrolment application paperwork has been submitted to the school by the 31st May.
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An enrolment pack is available on line from our website or alternatively from the front office in Lindsay Street. Children who are born between 1st July 2017 to 30th June 2018, are eligible for entry into the 2023 Transition class.
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Welcome to Howie and family who has joined our school community this week,
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Have a wonderful weekend ahead,
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Prayer Laudato Si' Week
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Religious Education News
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Month of Mary: May sees us enter into the Month of Mary. This is a time to reflect on Mary the mother of our Church and also to acknowledge our mothers and mother figures in our lives. Who was Mary? Mary was a young Jewish woman who lived in Nazareth in what is now Israel. The early traditions of the Christian community named Mary’s parents Anne and Joachim. Because of Mary’s faithfulness as a Jewish woman, we can imagine that her parents were also devout Jews and raised their daughter in accordance with their faith. Their tender care and devotion helped Mary to grow into the confident, yet humble young woman who would say yes to God. Because of the time and area in which Mary lived, we can make some pretty good guesses about what her life was like. Mary was probably a peasant. As a woman deeply rooted in the Jewish faith, Mary trusted that God heard the cries of his people and would “remember his mercy.” (Luke 1:54) Mary and Joseph raised Jesus to be a faithful Jew, aware of the injustices in the world, but believing in God’s justice, mercy, and love — believing that there is another way. By doing so, they changed the world. Reflecting on Mary’s life offers us the opportunity to learn from her and emulate her response to God. Mary teaches us how to lead our lives in faith and hope and love.
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Laudato Si’ Week: The seventh anniversary of Pope Francis’ Encyclical letter Laudato Si: On Care for our Common Home takes place on May 24th. Laudato Si Week (Week 5) is celebrated annually in appreciation of the 2015 Encyclical letter in which the Pope says, “The entire material universe speaks of God’s love” (#84). Pope Francis has helped Catholics understand the connection people have to the whole of creation and that caring for Earth community is central to mission. “All of us can cooperate as instruments of God for the care of creation, each according to his or her own culture, experience, involvements and talents” (#14).
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This week you may wish to take some time as a family to reflect the themes of Laudato Si.
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Reconciliation celebration will be on Tuesday 24th May at 6pm in the Cathedral. All are welcome to help celebrate this special occasion.
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Confirmation rehearsal will be Thursday 2nd June at 6 - 7 pm in the Cathedral. Children will celebrate Confirmation on Sunday June 5th at 9:30 am Mass. All are welcome to come and celebrate with our students on this special occasion in their faith journey.
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First Communion first lesson will be Thursday 26th May at 3-4pm in the library. Children will need to be collected from the library at 4 pm and enter the school via the coded gate.
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We have a family with a pre-loved as new gorgeous Holy Communion dress in size 8 available for sale. If you are interested in purchasing this dress you can come and view it in the front office.
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If you have any questions about the Sacramental Program or wish for your children to participate please contact clare.nolan@nt.catholic.edu.au for more information.
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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.
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Reconciliation Celebration -Tuesday, 24th May 6 pm at the Cathedral
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First Communion next lesson - Thursday, 26th May 3 - 4 pm
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Confirmation Rehearsal - Thursday, 2nd June 6 - 7 pm at the Cathedral
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Confirmation Celebration - Sunday, 5th June 9.30 am Mass at the Cathedral
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St John's Catholic College Feast Day Mass - Friday, 10th June 9 am - Students from Years 3-6 will be attending at the Cathedral. Families are also welcome to attend.
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Religious Education Co-ordinator
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News from Room 9
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Catholic Education and the Federal Election
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Big Book Swap
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Week 7 (30th May to 3rd June)
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Indigenous Literacy Foundation - Great Book Swap
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The school's fundraising team is Yirrikipayi. This will be held within National Reconciliation Week.
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What does Yirrikipayi mean?
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Yirrikipayi means crocodile in Tiwi, a language spoken by approximately 2000 Tiwi people.
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We will be once again running the Great Book Swap - we will be asking for students to bring in any preloved books for the swap. Once the books have been displayed we will invite children to come and choose a book/s for a gold coin donation. If students can deliver the books for the swap to the library before Thursday 25th May. All funds go to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.
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If you would like to make a donation to the foundation the link is below.
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School Photos
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School photo day is 31st May
Order your photos using the link below
School code is: 1QT CAX BQ2
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CathCroc
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Annual Athletics Carnival Years 3-6
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This coming Monday is the St Mary’s Athletics Carnival at Arafura Athletics Stadium, Marrara. This event is only held for students in Years 3-6. The carnival will run from 9.00am to 1.30pm and is being held as an inter-house carnival for all students. The results from the carnival will also assist in the selection of the St Mary’s Athletics Team for the Darwin Region Inter-School Carnival held later in Term 2.
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The students will be travelling to and from the venue by bus and will therefore require your permission to be transported by chartered coach. The buses will be ready to depart at 8.30am sharp and it is important all students are ready to leave at this time. Students from Year 3 – Year 6 will be picked up from the venue at approximately 1.30pm and returned to school.
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All students will need to bring:
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- Hat
- Drink bottle/s
- Recess & Lunch – please ensure you pack food with a freezer pack to keep cold as no refrigeration will be available
- Sports Uniform / House colours – sun smart clothing
- Runners
- Sunscreen
Permission forms are now overdue. Permission forms for the Athletics Carnival will be collected online through the School Stream App. Please select the ‘Athletics Carnival Permission Form’ under the FORMS tab on the homepage. Alternatively, you can complete the form by following this link: https://smcps.myschoolstream.net/athletics-carnival-permission-form/ If prompted the school code is smcps.
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A big shout out to Miss Zara Pearson for her work behind the scenes and preparation for Monday's carnival! We know the students are going to do us proud with their outstanding spirit and sportsmanship.
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Below you can download the schedule and times of events for the Carnival should you wish to join us for a particular event!
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Pastoral Care and Wellbeing News
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Dry Season has arrived which means time to get gardening at St Mary’s. Thanks to the generous giving of our families in our Colour Run last year, we are ready to begin creating a wonderful outdoor space for our students. The sensory garden will offer students an outdoor space to learn, play and be mindful. Sensory gardens improve physical fitness, health, mood and cognition.
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A sensory garden is a garden environment that is designed with the purpose of stimulating the senses. This stimulation occurs courtesy of plants and the use of materials that engage one’s senses of sight, smell, touch, taste, and sound. These types of gardens are popular with and beneficial to both children and adults.
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At St Mary’s we want our sensory garden to be a community space for students and families to enjoy. We want to embed the principles of Laudato ‘Si by caring for our common home with a space where students can learn to care for nature. We plan to sustainably source materials for the garden and grow herbs to be used in our canteen and shared with families. We are lucky to live in such a multicultural community and we plan to celebrate that in our garden by exploring native plants, bush tucker and visually represent our diverse community.
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If you or someone you know would like to be involved in this community project we ask that you please contact Ms Walsh. You may have a particular skill, be a keen gardener, have some spare time to give or know a local business that may wish to be involved. We hope to form a committee with family, staff and student representatives to help with the planning and building of our garden. Ms Walsh can be contacted through the school office or via e-mail: Sinead.walsh@nt.catholic.edu.au
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We are excited to see this space unfold!
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Today, we officially launched fundraising for this year’s Colour Run. The students will come home from school this afternoon with a booklet detailing the process for online fundraising.
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The Colour Run will take place on Friday, June 10th. This year, St Mary’s Catholic Primary School is raising funds for much needed literacy resources for all classes across the school! Our teachers have been taking part in professional development, learning about the latest research and evidence-based practise around effective instruction and the systematic teaching of reading. So to support the teaching and learning of reading, we plan on purchasing a wide range of new reading resources, including take home readers, guided reading texts, shareable big books, reading intervention resources, as well as teacher resource books.
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We will send an additional note in the coming weeks with further details about the event day.
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If you wish to support this event and fundraise, please go to the School Fun Run website to create an online fundraising profile: https://app.schoolfundraising.com.au/users/sign_up or collect cash donations and fill in your booklet. The students also have an opportunity to win prizes based on the amount of money they raise.
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If you have any questions, please contact the School Colour Run team on 1800 386 786 and they will gladly assist. Alternatively, please contact Ms Walsh: sinead.walsh@nt.catholic.edu.au.
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All staff will be present on the day to provide duty of care throughout the event. Families are welcome and encouraged to come along on the day.
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Thank you for your support and generosity. We had so much fun last year and look forward to another fun event this year!
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Spirit of St Mary's Update
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Our Spirit of St Mary’s goal for this term is: 50,000 points!
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Week 4 point check: 27,976 points!
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Shout out this week goes to Room 11 who have 4,981 points!!!
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Meaningful May
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Kids and Screen Time
For their next Cyberwise Chat - Cyberwise are going to answer the question they get asked most:
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- How much time are kids spending with their screens?
- What are they doing and when should you worry?
- What are the signs of an unhealthy dependence?
- Do parental controls really work?
- And what can you do if your child just can't (or won't) unplug?
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Why We're Chatting About This
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Just when you thought kids couldn't possibly spend more time with screens, a new study from Common Sense Media finds screen time up 17% for tweens and teens since the start of the pandemic. And that doesn’t include time spent attending school virtually and doing homework.
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We're excited to welcome special guest Sue Scheff, nationally recognized author, parent advocate and family Internet safety advocate. Most importantly, Sue is the founder of P.U.R.E. (Parents Universal Resource Experts) where she helps parents at their wit's end when trying to find help for teens struggling with behavioral addiction to screens.
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Year 7 - 2023
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Download School Stream
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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 & Update
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To streamline processes across the school, in 2022 we are now only accepting online orders for lunches.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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What is happening in Darwin
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