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Upcoming Dates
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- 8th to 10th August: Year 5/6 Camp
- 12th August: Assembly led by Room 11 Year 5/6
- 15th August: Andrew Chinn visit & whole school Mass Feast of the Assumption
- 15th to 18th August: National Science Week
- 18th August: P&F Gathering
- 19th August: Assembly led by Room 9 Year 4/5, P&F Movie Night
- 21st August: P&F Family Portrait Fundraiser
- 22nd to 26th August: Book Week, Book Fair & Book Character Parade
- 8th September: St Mary's Feast Day & Art Show
- 9th September: Pupil Free Day
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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 regurarly and add event details directly to your calendar!
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Principal's News
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Week 3, Term 3, 2022
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Dear Parents and Caregivers,
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Room 16 students presented a wonderful song, I Am the Earth at Assembly this morning. The message of this beautiful song is very much at the heart of Laudato Si’ and care for our common home - the Earth.
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One of the priorities we have established at St Mary’s in the past year is a commitment to our environment inspired by the teachings of Pope Francis in his encyclical Laudato Si’. We refer to this commitment as Integral Ecology. This title suggests that our practices – which involve education, procurement and purchasing, along with the more identifiable actions such as recycling, reusing and composting – should be integral to who we are and what we do. Our upcoming school Art Show theme this year is Laudato Si’. Across the school there is a busy hive of endeavour creating and making artworks whilst remaining true to the practices and ethos of living Laudato Si’.
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Later this term, more visible components to our Integral Ecology practices will come to fruition as we plan to move into class projects and responsibilities intentionally linked to Ladauto Si’. It is our aim that the students, rather than the staff, become the drivers of this work. In this way, we are aiming to shape students to be responsible stewards of the Earth moving beyond their primary years through to secondary schooling and adulthood. Each year level will have an allocated class project covering one aspect of Laudato Si’. Students from all year levels will have opportunity to voice, lead and showcase their class projects. We have recently planned and purchased resources for a new waste management and recycling system for the school. This system involves composting, recycling and reusing waste materials responsibly and ethically so to reduce the waste across our school. We will begin in Week 5 with our senior leaders introducing our new colour-coded bin system to the rest of the school.
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School Crossing and Road Safety
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We are still awaiting the installation of the warning flashing lights outside our school. It was expected that these were installed at the end of June. At this stage, we have not yet received any further information in regard to the Children’s pedestrian crossing after giving feedback on Darwin City Council plans last month.
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In the meantime, some feedback we have received is around the safe use of our School drop off and pick up zones. We request that all students are picked up and dropped off on the St Mary’s side of Lindsay St or Cavenagh St. These zones are clearly marked as our drop off and pick up zones and are much safer than children needing to cross the street during these busy periods in the day. Parents and caregivers please be reminded of our Kiss and Go expectations. Please be quick and kiss and go. If you need to park your car, please do so in designated areas.
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Wishing our Year 5 and 6 students a wonderful time at Camp next week and a massive shout out to our St Mary’s staff members supporting them at Batchelor Outdoor Education Centre for the three days. I look forward to hearing of the St Mary’s spirit shining!
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Happy Primary Principals' Day to
Ms Harrison!
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Today we celebrated Primary Principals' Day.
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We are very lucky to have you, Ms Harrison as our Principal and we appreciate all that you do to make St Mary's the great school that it is!
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Religious Education News
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This coming Monday 8th August is the Feast of Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop.
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Mary MacKillop accomplished numerous extraordinary things throughout her life. She exhibited courage, determination, and an immense amount of faith in God. Particularly because of these virtues, she became the first Australian saint and a great religious role model. Hundreds of Australians have been inspired by her legacy of compassion to become better people and assist those less fortunate. She sacrificed her life for those in need, and her quote, "Never see a need without doing something about it," has inspired generations of Australian Catholics to better themselves by giving generously and living humbly regardless of their circumstances.
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You can learn more about the life and works of Mary Mackillop by enjoying this educational video.
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Feast of the Assumption Mass on Monday, 15th August at 8:30am
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Andrew Chinn School visit and performance Monday, 15th August
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School Feast day Mass on Thursday, 8th September at 8:30am
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School Catholic Identity Day Friday 9th September
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On this day, our school staff will be taking part in a professional development day with Holy Spirit CPS.
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The day will be led by Marty Ogle and will focus on the Making Jesus Real (MJR) philosophy. MJR has a simple message - Jesus is part of our lives and can change the way we live and we can make Jesus live through our actions and words.
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You inspired Saint Mary MacKillop
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To live her life faithful to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and constant in
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bringing hope and encouragement
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to those who were disheartened, lonely or needy.
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We ask that our faith and hope be fired afresh by the Holy Spirit so that we too,
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like Mary MacKillop, may live with courage, trust and openness.
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Ever generous God hear our prayer.
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We ask this through Jesus Christ. Amen.
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Pupil Free Day
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Friday 9th of September 2022 is a Pupil Free Day.
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Vacation Care will be open from 7:30am -5:30pm, if your child/ren requires care, please complete the booking form in School Stream.
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P&F Movie Night
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Join us for a movie under the stars on our school oval!
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The Bad Guys: PG 100 minutes running time
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The P&F are looking forward to hosting this FREE event for our school families. Wacky Wings and Rigney's Kitchen food vans will be on site selling delicious dinner options! Popcorn, snacks and drinks will be available for purchase from the school canteen. Please also bring a picnic blanket or chairs to sit on.
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Donations: On the night, we will be running our super fun Lob-a-Choc game! We would love some donations of 180-200g chocolate blocks of any brand. If you are able to help please drop your donations into the front office - thank you!!
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To help with catering purposes, we would appreciate it if families could please RSVP using the "RSVP P&F Movie Night" FORM on School Stream.
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Or click the button below to RSVP now!
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Parents and Friends' Family Portrait Fundraiser
Only 1 booking left!
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Is it time to update your precious family photos?
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The St Mary's P&F have organised a Family Portrait fundraiser. Bede from Laura Jean Photography will be taking family portraits (with a crème backdrop) at St Mary’s CPS on Sunday 21st August.
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You will receive an 8"x12” family photo plus keyring for just $20.00 (available once per family). This year, these funds will go towards technology upgrades across our school. Additional images or package options are also available on the day, at great prices.
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Canteen Survey
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The St Mary’s P&F is committed to supporting our school community to have their voices heard on a range of matters. We are currently conducting a review of the St Mary’s School Canteen to determine if it is meeting the needs of students and families. We would really appreciate it if you could please spare a few minutes to fill out our survey in the link below. The information gathered in the survey will be reviewed by the School Board and will help support the school in planning for the future direction of our school canteen.
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For every family that completes the survey your child/ren will receive a complimentary icey-pole from the canteen as a thank you!
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St Mary's Art Show!
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Shout out for Recyclables
The staff and students of St Mary's have been busy preparing some beautiful art for our upcoming Art Show, but we need a few recyclable things to help us along the way.
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This week we are calling out for:
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- soft drink bottles.
- Glass jars of all shapes and sizes, including the large Moccona Coffee jars.
- Magazines
Students can place the items in the box outside the staff room. Thank you for your assistance in collecting these items, we hope to put them together to create some amazing art pieces.
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Art Show Sponsorship
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An exciting opportunity exists for businesses to sponsor our Art Show!
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You can sponsor by making a monetary donation or alternatively a donation of art supplies that our students can use to help support the creation of their art pieces. If you or someone who know own a business who would like to take up this opportunity, please contact our school front office at 8981 9796 or admin.stmarys@nt.catholic.edu.au. All businesses who sponsor our Art Show will have their business logo promoted in our Art Show Digital Flyer.
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Art Smocks
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As the students work on their amazing works of Art they will be using a variety of materials such as paint, clay or glue - which can be quite messy!! We strongly encourage all students to bring into school an art smock or oversized large old shirt which can be worn to protect their school uniform.
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Chief Minister's Reading Challenge
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Many St. Mary's students started The Chief Minister’s Reading Challenge back in Term 1! The challenge closes on Friday 19 August 2022 (Term 3 Week 5).
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Students who complete the Chief Minister’s Reading Challenge will receive a personal certificate from the Chief Minister recognising their achievement. As they complete reading challenges in future years, they will be recognised with medals correlating with the number of reading challenges they have completed.
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Please send in your child's reading record to the school library!
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This is a great lead into Book Week, which we will be celebrating from 20th to 26th August (Week 6). During this week, Ms. Brenda will have the Scholastic Book Fair running in the library where students and families can purchase some special books to add their personal library. We will end the week with our annual Book Character Parade at our Friday assembly. This week's Book Week theme is Dreaming with eyes open...! This is a wonderful theme that encourages creativity and endless possibilities. We cannot wait to see the students' costumes.
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Pastoral Care and Wellbeing News
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The Benefits of Altruism for Stress Management
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Updated on January 26, 2021
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It’s often been said that it’s better to give than to receive, but did you know that this cliché is actually backed by research? While many of us feel too stressed and busy to worry about helping others with their burdens—or would like to think about doing good deeds when we have more ‘spare’ time, energy, and money—altruism is its own reward and can actually help you relieve stress.
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Altruistic acts can improve your quality of life in several ways and are absolutely worth the effort. Here are some ways that helping others helps you.
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Psychological Well-being: Studies show that altruism is good for your emotional well-being and can measurably enhance your peace of mind. For example, one study found that dialysis patients, transplant patients, and family members who became support volunteers for other patients experienced increased personal growth and emotional well-being.
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Another study on patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) showed that those who offered other MS patients peer support actually experienced greater benefits than their supported peers, including more pronounced improvement of confidence, self-awareness, self-esteem, depression and daily functioning.2
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Those who offered support generally found that their lives were dramatically changed for the better.
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Increased Social Support: Studies also show that what goes around generally does come around. More specifically, when people make altruistic personal sacrifices, they end up reaping what they sow in the form of favors from others.
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These individuals earn the reputation as altruistic people and end up receiving favours from others who they may not have even directly helped. The favours and social support you ‘earn’ through altruism, combined with the good feelings you get from helping others, more than make up for the sacrifices made in the name of altruism.
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Keeping Perspective: Many people don’t realize the strong impact that their comparisons have on their outlook. However, your expectations of life and the people you compare yourself to can make a real difference in your level of life satisfaction. For example, your home may seem shabby to you if you’re comparing it to the living rooms you see in the pages of decorating magazines, or it may seem palatial and opulent compared to the structures inhabited by people in impoverished countries.
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Helping others in need, especially those who are less fortunate than you, can provide you with a sense of perspective on how fortunate you are to have what you do in life—be it health, money, or a safe place to sleep, and help you focus less on the things you feel you lack. Helping others with their problems can also help you gain a more positive perspective on the things in life that cause you stress.
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Better Community: When you do something nice for someone else, often the positive effects go beyond just you and that other person, influencing your whole community. One of my favourite illustrations of this phenomenon is in the movie Pay It Forward where one boy’s good deeds have far-reaching positive consequences.
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When you do nice things for others, you often enable them to do nice things for others, and the phenomenon grows. Your children and your friends may see your good example and behave in more altruistic ways as well. As Gandhi said, “You must be the change you want to see in the world," and you can contribute to a more positive community.
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Stress Relief: When you feel stressed and overwhelmed, you may feel like you’re least able to give. However, acts of altruism can be a great form of stress relief.
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Studies have shown that the act of giving can activate the area of the brain associated with positive feelings, lifting your spirits and making you feel better the more you give. And given that altruism can lead to lasting emotional well-being, a more positive perspective, a positive effect on others, and better social standing, it certainly does the job as a healthy means for relieving stress and increasing life satisfaction.
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Altruistic August
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Spirit of St Mary's
Our Spirit of St Mary’s goal for this term is: 25,000 points!
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Week 3 point check: 6,770 points!
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Shout out this week goes to Ms Harrison, for modelling MJR for all of our students. Happy Principal's Day!
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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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Year 7 - 2023
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Year 7 enrolments for 2023 close on the 26th August 2022.
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If you know of students and families who are thinking of attending O’Loughlin in 2023 a gentle reminder to send their enrolment forms and all supporting documents in before the 26th August.
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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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What is happening in Darwin
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