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Upcoming Dates
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7th - 10th April: Easter Weekend
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11th - 14th April: School Holidays
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- 17th April: Term 2 commences
- 18th April: Easter Liturgy 8.30 am
- 20th April: Reconciliation students first lesson 3 - 4 pm
- 21st April: Spirit Cup Fun Day - Dress like a teacher and bring your toys to school day.
- 24th April: Anzac Day Liturgy 2 pm
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27th April: Confirmation students first lesson 3 - 4 pm
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- 12th May: Mother's Day Liturgy 8.30 am
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Event details will be updated on SchoolStream 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 10, Term 1, 2023
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More and more this year I am feeling that the ‘ordinary’ moments of our days at St Mary's are extraordinary - or is it that I am becoming more and more aware of God’s presence in our interactions and events. We have had a fantastic start to our year and some wonderful and exciting things are happening each day at school. As human beings we sometimes jump too quickly to focus on what is not going well and neglect the positives that are here right in front of us.
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Over the past two weeks of our swimming program the Spirit of St Mary's has been clearly seen and heard. I have been most impressed with the students who have participated with a smile on their faces regardless of their swimming abilities. For some students, success at swimming is a challenge with fear of water or feeling too scared to let go of the edge. Yet they give it a go, and try their best to master the skills required to be competent swimmers. Stepping bravely into the unknown like this impresses me hugely. Thank you to our wonderful teaching and support staff for the time, care and planning which goes into making the swimming program such a worthwhile learning experience for our students.
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During the Easter break our Admin office spaces will be freshened up with a new coat of paint. We also hope to see the commencement of the works by Darwin City Council on our much awaited School Crossing on Lindsay St. These works will most likely go into the first week of Term 2. Towards the end of April the upgrade of the Cavanagh Street carpark works should commence.
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A gentle reminder of any outstanding fees owed to St Mary's for Term 1 and for Before and After School Care. We ask if these accounts can be settled before the commencement of Term 2 please.
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Our last day of term comes in the midst of Holy Week. Holy Week is named “Holy” because it is an intense week of re-focussing on the most sacred story of our Christian belief. It is a time of invitation to open a space into the heart and soul of our deepest search for meaning. Who is this Jesus that has changed the world? What does that mean to me? Can I respond to the invitation to deepen my Christian call to also make a difference?
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Last night I was thinking about the upcoming Easter break and especially about the message of Easter. The one resounding aspect of Easter is a message of great sacrifice and great love. As we head into our Easter holiday break I want to share with you an image and news story from a few years ago of Pope Francis, making the message of Easter a very real one.
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Pope Francis offered a 17-year-old boy a very rare privilege during his general audience on Wednesday - a personal tour of the 'Popemobile'. Pope Francis invited Alberto di Tullio, 17, up onto his open-top Mercedes at the end of his general audience while tens of thousands of people looked on. The boy's father, Celestino di Tullio, told reporters how he choked up when Francis approached his son. He said the Pope saw him and embraced him. When the boy pointed to the car, the Pope invited him up. Footage shows the Pope and Alberto chatting on the open-deck of the 'Popemobile' before the teenager had a go in the Pope's white swivel chair.
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My Easter prayer for our school community is that we are strengthened and enriched by the blessing and sacrifice of Jesus and his great story of love. May we strive each day to live out the joy of the Gospel message in making Jesus real in everything we do and say.
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Easter Prayer
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Bishop Charles Easter Message
My dear brothers and sisters,
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In addition to my earlier video message for young children, I would like to share two more video messages which I have recorded (one for youth/young adults and one for adults).
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Links to view or download all three Easter messages are as follows:
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To download the video messages to your device
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Religious Education News
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Congratulations to the following students who won the Project Compassion colouring competition. Thank you to everyone involved.
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Holy Week
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Thank you to Room 16 and Deacon Dean for leading our Holy Week Reflection last Friday. We wish all our school families a wonderful and restful Easter break and we look forward to seeing you back at school on Monday, 17th April for Term Two.
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Sacramental Program
Lessons for sacramental program will commence in term 2.
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The first lesson for students participating in Reconciliation will commence on Thursday 20th April from 3.00pm to 4.00pm in the library.
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For students participating in Confirmation lessons will commence Thursday 27th April from 3.00pm to 4.00pm in the library.
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6th April: Holy Thursday; last day Term 1 for students
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10th April: Easter Monday
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18th April: Easter Liturgy 8.30 am
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20th April: Reconciliation students first lesson 3 - 4 pm
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24th April: Anzac Day Liturgy 2 pm
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27th April: Confirmation students first lesson 3 - 4 pm
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12th May: Mother's Day Liturgy 8.30 am
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Religious Education Co-ordinator
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Unity Magazine
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Get your digital copy of the Unity Magazine. While printed copies of the Unity magazine will continue to remain available, we are encouraging those who can connect digitally to go online and access Unity magazine: https://darwin.catholic.org.au/unity-magazine/.
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The printed edition will be available in your Parish in a few days. This way of making the magazine available will help towards the care of our planet as expressed in Laudato Si.
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Joffa is coming to St Mary's!
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We are so excited at St Mary's to have Joffa (Jeff Taylor) coming to our school next term to create a community mural with us! All students in the school will be involved in creating a mural that reflects our St Mary's values and we would like to extend this invitation to any families in our community who would like to join us on these days. If you are interested please email our Deputy Principal christine.ferreira@nt.catholic.edu. See below for details.
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Children's University
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This year St Mary's have partnered with Charles Darwin University to offer the Children's University Program!
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For those who have returned their EOI forms, you will receive further information and details on how to access the learning portal earlier in Term 2. You can start keeping a list of any extra curriculum activities your child has completed in Term 1 or places they may visit throughout the upcoming holidays. These can be backdated and added to your child's learning passport next term.
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Or contact our school's Children's University Coordinator:
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P&F Easter Raffle
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Thank you for supporting our fundraising raffle! The raffle prizes will be drawn when we return to school on Tuesday 18th April after our Resurrection Liturgy.
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School Canteen Services Update
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We are excited to announce a new update to our school canteen online ordering and services that will make ordering your favorite foods during recess easier than ever before. Starting next term, our canteen will offer a new "Recess" ordering service that will allow you to pre-order your child's snacks and fruits for the recess break.
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To accommodate this change our existing "2nd Break" service will be updated to "Lunch" service.
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Like our existing service orders need to be placed before 8:40 am each day via the Flexischools platform (see instructions at the end of this newsletter). The menu options will be available on the school app and will include a range of healthy and delicious options that cater to all tastes and dietary requirements. Once the orders are received, the canteen staff will prepare the food and have it ready for students to pick up during the designated recess eating time at 10.40am.
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We believe that this new service will help reduce waiting times at the canteen and ensure that students have more time to enjoy their recess break. By ordering ahead of time, students will also have a greater selection of food options to choose from, and can rest assured that their preferred meals and snacks will be available when they arrive at the canteen.
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Throughout Term 2 we will be aiming to phase out all window cash sales.
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As always, we welcome your feedback and suggestions. Please feel free to share your thoughts with us, and we will do our best to incorporate them into our future plans.
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Spirit Cup Points Updates
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We have reached our Term 1 goal of 25,000 points!
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Congratulations everyone! We have now set a date 21st April
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for our Spirit Cup Fun Day:
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"Dress like a Teacher" free dress and bring your toys and games to school day!
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Extra shout out to Room 8 for having the highest points with a grand total of 7062!
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This class will receive extra play on our Spirit Cup Fun day and an icey-cold treat for their extra hard efforts to follow the 4Rs.
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BYODD Program 2023
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PORTAL IS STILL TAKING ORDERS FOR BYODD
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We have been advised by Edunet that some models are running low on stock - order now to avoid disappointment.
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In 2023, we have expanded the BYODD program to students in Years 3 to 6 and it is a requirement that students in these year groups have their own designated device for school use.
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Please find linked below the documents and information for BYODD. These documents contain all the information that you need to know regarding our 2023 BYODD program:
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Ordering your child's device is quick and easy through our supplier Edunet. You can learn more about our supplier Edunet by watching this video.
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We know of a previous St Mary's family seeking to sell their existing BYODD device as they have needed to upgrade for Middle School.
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Year 7, 2024
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Music News
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New School and Library Bags
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We are very excited to share that in 2023 we will be introducing a St Mary’s school bag! We will have two sizes available to accommodate our younger and older students. The new school bag is made of a lightweight yet durable fabric. We will also have waterproof library bags available for purchase in the new year as well.
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Cost of the school back packs will be $45 and $10 for the library bags, both will be available for purchase at the start of the school year.
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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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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 2023 we are 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 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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What is happening in Darwin
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On Sunday, 14 May, walk or run at one of 70 events held nationwide or participate whenever and wherever with MDC Anywhere.
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Start your Mother’s Day with purpose by getting active for life-saving breast cancer research.
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Sign up in February to save up to 36% off your entry fee and receive up to 2 FREE Child tickets (age 12 & under) with every Adult or Concession ticket purchased in one transaction.
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