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Upcoming Dates
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- 2nd December: Assembly led by CoL - Kangaroos Graduation
- 4th December: Second Sunday of Advent
- 8th December: Carols in the Cathedral
- 9th December: Showcase of Stars Assembly
- 11th December: Third Sunday of Advent
- 13th December: Step Up Day
- 15th December: End of Year Mass; Last day for students for 2023
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Event details will be updated on School Stream closer to the event date.
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Please check the EVENTS tab regularly and add event details directly to your calendar!
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Principal's News
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Week 8, Term 4, 2022
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Year Six Graduation: Last night, we bid farewell to our Year Six graduating Class of 2022. We are very proud of you all and wish you every success in the future. No doubt the lessons you’ve learned in your time at St Mary’s will stand you in good stead as you move onto middle school and beyond. Thank you to the parents and families for the wonderful way the children presented and conducted themselves last night. The Spirit of St Mary’s was very obviously present amongst you all.
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We were privileged to have Bishop Charles and Deacon Dean lead our school and parent community in a beautiful Mass of tribute to the Year Six children. It was also very special to have Alden’s older brother Jacob as the Altar assistant for this special Mass.
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Thank you to Miss Clare Nolan for the preparation of the beautiful Mass and music. I especially acknowledge the work of the Teaching staff behind the scenes with the children, especially the Year 5/6 class teachers Miss Clare Nolan and Miss Zara Pearson from Room 11 together with Mrs Michele Jia and Mrs Lynae McGuigan from Room 16.
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Special mention to all those teachers still on staff at St Mary’s who have taught the children over the past seven years, your commitment and dedication toward the children is admirable.
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St Mary’s 2022 Award winners were announced at the conclusion of Mass.
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Academic Excellence – Kim Nguyen
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Awarded for outstanding achievement and performance across all academic areas and displaying exemplary learning.
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Excellence in The Arts – Brylie Blair
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For outstanding participation and skills in the area of Music and Performing Arts.
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Excellence in Physical Education – Frederick Richards
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Demonstrating outstanding participation, skill and sportsmanship across all athletic endeavours.
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Excellence in ICT – Spencer Evans
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For outstanding participation and skills in the area of Digital Technologies and Information Communication Technologies.
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Marian Perpetual Award – Ava Wauchope
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The Marian Perpetual Award is presented to a Year 6 student who is judged by the School Staff to have best exemplified Mary’s love for Jesus, not only her love for Him as a Mother loving her Son, but her love for Jesus shown by her willingness to follow what Jesus asks of every human person, whether female or male.
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School Bus Travel: We have been notified of some unsafe and concerning behaviour occurring on some of the Bus transport in the afternoons. I have shared this concern, particularly around child safety with local transport authorities. I ask any parents who have concerns around this matter to be in touch with me as soon as possible so that this issue can be addressed in an appropriate and timely manner.
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Drop Off and Pick Up Zones: In recent weeks we have had two near misses with children exiting cars – one on Cavenagh Street and one on Lindsay Street. Parents please ensure that you drop your children in the correctly marked zones for drop off and pick up. Please where possible, take the extra time to drop children
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on the curb side of the school, so they are not crossing roads unattended or opening doors into the traffic. When walking, it is strongly suggested you hold your child’s hand when crossing the street as well.
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Exciting news overnight for our school community: St Mary’s has won the overall Indigenous Arts Award presented last night for our collaborative Art Piece entered into the Rights on Show Arts Exhibition at the NT Supreme Court. A very proud Ms Zufferey and Mr Lyons were present at the awards ceremony last night and accepted the award and prize money on behalf of St Mary’s. The exhibition is open until the 15th December. See poster later in this newsletter.
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The end of year is a time of great celebration and, as the season of Advent begins, a time of waiting. With only two weeks remaining of our 2022 school year, it is time to look back on the milestones and achievements of 2022 amidst the excitement of preparing for Christmas and the holiday season.
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At Assembly this morning we celebrated our Community of Learners Preschool Graduation, and next week we will acknowledge the exceptional academic growth of some of our students with a special Showcase of Stars Assembly. This is a wonderful opportunity to acknowledge the effort and growth of learners in our school community.
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We farewell Mrs Gurpreet Kaur from our support staff next week as she and her family are moving to Sydney. Gurpreet has been an amazing support to students across the both the OSHC and primary school over the past three years and will be sorely missed by the staff and students here at St Mary’s.
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Farewell to Lincoln (Room 16) and family who leave our school community this week.
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I look forward to seeing many of our school families next Thursday at our annual Christmas Carols evening in the Cathedral. As I write this newsletter, I can hear the children practicing the songs they will sing on the night.
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Prayer
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May I be aware of my true nature.
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May I be a source of healing to others.
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May I dwell in the breath of God.
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Religious Education News
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As mentioned last week, we have begun the season of Advent. Children have been learning about Advent and the importance of this time of year. The most significant tradition of the Advent season is the Advent Wreath. The wreath and candles are full of symbolism tied to the Christmas season. So what does the Advent Wreath symbolize? The wreath itself, which is made of various evergreens, signifies continuous life. The circle of the wreath, which has no beginning or end, symbolizes the eternity of God, the immortality of the soul, and the everlasting life we find in Christ.
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In the second week of Advent we light the second candle, the candle of peace. This week let us remember to find peace from turmoil and chaos. Regardless of our circumstances or our situations, we are encouraged to find inner peace and peace with others. God has called us to be peacemakers in our world.
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St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal
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We have begun our annual St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal. As a school we will work together to collect gifts. The Vinnies Christmas appeal is all about bringing joy and festivity to families and individuals who may be in need of some extra support at this expensive time of year. Gifts can be left at the school office.
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For most of us, Christmas is a time of celebration with family and friends; the joy of exchanging gifts, making precious memories, and enjoying delicious Christmas food. However, for many Australians, including families and children living below the poverty line, Christmas can be a time of struggle. We invite you to share in the spirit of Christmas by donating a small gift for a child and place it in the front office.
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Thank you for your support and helping us bring joy to those in need during the Christmas period.
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Key events and dates for remaining of the term:
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Second Sunday of Advent - Sunday, 4th December
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Carols in the Cathedral - Thursday, 8th December
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Third Sunday of Advent - Sunday, 11th December
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End of Year Mass – **Thursday 15th December at 8:30 in the Cathedral. Please note the change of date for the End of Year Mass.
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Religious Education Co-ordinator
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Making Jesus Real
This week our theme is ‘Taking the good with the bad’. In life we have great times, good times, ordinary times and not so good times.
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During the week, children will explore this theme and ways we can celebrate and deal with different times in our life.
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Stimulating Science News from Room 5!
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Updated School Policies
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Our staff and School Board have been reviewing a number of our school policies.
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Attached below are our most recently ratified policies:
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We encourage families to take the time to review these policies, which are also accesible on our school website for future reference.
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St Mary's has also recently updated our renewal with the NT Cancer Council as a Sun Smart School. It has been wonderful to see the majority of our students have a school hat to wear at school. As a Sun Smart School if students do not have a hat to wear we have 3 designated shaded play areas: courtyard verandahs, Gym and canteen undercover area. We are also aiming to encourage students to use sun protection daily, with each classroom having a dedicated sunscreen station. Education around the sun's ultraviolet (UV) raditiation is also important and highlighting the effects it can cause including sunburn, skin and eye damage and more severe sun cancers. Thank you to Miss Brenda who has been updating our UV chart daily on our school notice board. As you can see the times of needing sun protection are very early and span across the school day. For this reason we strongly encourage students to wear a hat if walking to and from school.
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Mathematics Data
St Mary’s has been focused on improving outcomes in Mathematics and have recently completed Progressive Achievement Tests (PAT). PAT tests are designed to assess each student’s current capability against the appropriate standard for their age and is a valuable source of information on each student’s development. Unlike NAPLAN, the PAT assessments do not generate a student/parent report. However, student data is available to our teachers and is a valuable source of information on each student’s development. We use PAT data as one of the many tools to assess student progress and growth. Teachers also use the results to track each student’s development from year to year. This information is another useful tool for identifying those students who require extra support or extension in their learning.
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We have seen absolutely outstanding results across all year levels. Our year 6 cohort should be congratulated for outperforming the Australian year 6 norms across all percentiles in Mathematics. St Mary’s Year 4 cohort also outperformed all Australian norms in reading.
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Many of our students have made 18-24 months growth in Mathematics over one year, which is a testament to our outstanding students and dedicated staff.
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Curriculum Leader Mathematics
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Carols in the Cathedral
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We are counting down to our Carols in the Cathedral event next Thursday evening.
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Below are the dress requirements for each class cohort. If you have any questions please contact your child's classroom teacher for more information.
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Transition: A plain white T-shirt and navy or black pants/skirts and children will be given a headband to wear on the night.
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Year 1/2: Students will be sent home a Christmas T-shirt to wear, any shorts/pants/skirts and Christmassy hair accessories.
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Year 3/4: Christmas colours and accessories.
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Year 4/5 & 5/6: Christmas colours and accessories.
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2022 School Fees Reminder
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School fee statements were sent out early in Term 4. We would appreciate all families finalising outstanding school fees as soon as possible. Banking details are listed below or you can pay in person using card at the Front Office.
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BYODD Program 2023
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ORDER NOW FOR DELIVERY PRE-2023 SCHOOL YEAR
In 2023, we will be expanding the BYODD program to students in Years 3 to 6. Children moving into Year 3 next year are eligible to join the BYODD program.
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Please find linked below the documents that were shared at our Parent Information Session last term:
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These documents contain all the information that you need to know regarding our 2023 BYODD program.
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Our BYODD purchase portal is now open and taking orders for devices for pre-Christmas delivery. You can learn more about our supplier Edunet by watching this video.
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In the chance that you have purchased a previous BYODD device for an older child who will be moving into Middle School next year and will not be requiring the device, it can be passed on to the younger sibling. If you have any further questions regarding the BYODD program, please do not hesitate to contact Christine Ferreira christine.ferreira@nt.catholic.edu.au
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It's a Girl!!
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We congratulate Miss Walsh and Sunil on the safe arrival of precious baby Éabha (pronounced Ay-va)! Born earlier this week... Mum and bub doing great! St Mary's wishing you all the best as you enjoy this precious time together.
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Pastoral Care and Wellbeing News
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Please see below December’s Action for Happiness calendar. This month’s theme is ‘Do Good December”. This time of year is a particularly busy time at school and at home as we near the end of the year and manage the build-up weather. This has been another difficult year of uncertainty and ups and downs for many of us. Kindness is contagious, and helping others has been proven to make us feel better too. As we approach Advent season we are encouraged and to focus on being generous with our time and attention. Small acts of kindness can make a big difference.
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In a recent study researchers synthesized results from 88 experimental studies involving over 25,000 participants to measure how much our own altruism increases after witnessing someone acting “prosocially”—for example, comforting someone who is crying, donating to charity, or acting cooperatively in a competitive game. In the studies, people would read about or see someone act in a kind and helpful way, and then have the opportunity to be kind and generous themselves. Their analysis showed a moderately strong effect, where people witnessing altruism tended to follow suit themselves. That means that when people model kind and helpful behaviour, it has a healthy impact on spreading goodness in a community.
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"People resonate when they watch someone do something good," says the study's lead researcher, Haesung Jung. "The message that these prosocial behaviours are quite contagious is a real important message that people should know."
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As Catholics, kindness is living the Gospel values or 'Making Jesus Real'. See below and excerpt of Pope Francis' interview for for Catholic News Service, March 2020.
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"We must rediscover the concreteness of little things, small gestures of attention we can offer those close to us, our family, our friends. We must understand that in small things lies our treasure," he (Pope Francis) said. There are small acts of kindness, affection and compassion that often go unnoticed in daily life, "but they are nonetheless decisive, important," he said. "For example, a hot meal, a caress, a hug, a phone call. They are familiar gestures of attention to the details of everyday life that make life meaningful and that create communion and communication among us," he said. "Listening to each other is important because that's how we can understand the needs, efforts, desires of the other. This language made of concrete gestures must be safeguarded. In my opinion, the pain of these days should open us up to this concreteness," he said.
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Do Good December
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Spirit of St Mary's
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Our Spirit of St Mary’s goal for this term is: 50,000 points!
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It’s a big goal for our students but we are confident that if we work together as a team we can achieve this goal and have a super awesome Spirit Cup Fun Day!
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Week 7 point check: 44,739 points!
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Shout out this week goes to the teachers and educators of our Year 6 and COL Preschool graduates! Thank you for organising such memorable ceremonies for our graduating students and their families.
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Rights on Show Art Exhibition
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Music News
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Please note that lessons for this term will finish in week 8, Thursday, 1 December. There won't be lessons in weeks 9 and 10.
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Lessons for 2023 will resume in Term 1, week 2: Thursday, 9 February.
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Piano lesson enrolment forms for 2023 are now available from the front Office.
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Disruption to School and Urban Bus Services
Due to driver shortages, some school and urban bus services may be cancelled or experience changes at short notice.
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The Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics is working with CDC Northern Territory (NT) to limit these disruption and we apologise for any inconvenience caused.
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Start of the 2023 School Year
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The 2023 school year begins on Wednesday, 1 February 2021 at 8.15 am for all students. Children are asked to be at school at least ten minutes before classes begin in order that they may find their classrooms and be ready to begin classes at 8.20 am. Please remember to pack lunch, fruit break and recess separately as lunch goes in a container in the cool room in the canteen. The children are also able to have a water bottle in the classroom with them each day.
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The School Book Room will be operating from Wednesday, 25 January 2022 (closed Thursday, 26 January public holiday) from 9.00 am to 3.00pm each day. All uniforms and book packs can be purchased from the library from this date.
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Please note, book packs are paid for at this time and will be distributed to teachers for use in the classroom.
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2023 School Terms
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Term 1, 2023 Monday, 30 January 2023 - staff return
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Wednesday, 1 February 2023 - students return
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Thursday, 6 April 2023 - last day term one
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Term 2, 2023 Monday, 17 April to Friday, 23 June 2023
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Term 3, 2023 Monday, 17 July 2023 - staff return
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Tuesday, 18 July 2023 - students return
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Friday, 22 September 2023 - last day term three
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Term 4, 2023 Monday, 9 October 2023
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Thursday, 14 December 2023 - last day for students
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Friday, 15 December 2023 - last day for staff
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2023 School Fees
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Outside School Hours Care and Early Learning Centre Fees
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Year 7, 2023
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St Mary's Playgroup
We are so excited to be running our very own playgroup sessions at St Mary’s!
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When: Wednesday 9.30 – 11.30 am (Term weeks)
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Where: Mary MacKillop Hall
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St Mary’s playgroup is the only playgroup in the Darwin CBD registered with Playgroup Northern Territory. Our playgroup sessions allow children to explore through play, enjoy story time, morning tea and create a masterpiece too!
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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 Wednesday (school terms only) in the Mary MacKillop Hall, please enter via the Parish entrance from Smith Street.
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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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Want to avoid fees when topping up your Flexischools account?
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Click below to download a step-by-step guide on how to top up your Flexischools account without a surcharge via Electronic Bank Transfer
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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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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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Cyclone Season
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.
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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.
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Please listen to the radio or TV for updates in relation to school closures and reopening.
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We will endeavour to keep families informed via school stream, but this will be dependent on the availability of power and personnel.
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Visit www.securent.nt.gov.au for more information.
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For up to date weather alerts please refer to www.bom.gov.au . (http://www.bom.gov.au/)
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What is happening in Darwin
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Experience the creative works of O’Loughlin Catholic College students in year 7-10 in the Arts and Technology areas.
Food, Drinks, Exhibitions, Performances, Demonstrations, Face Painting – truly a night not to be missed!
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Friday 2nd December 5.30pm.
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