2024 Term 4 Week 9
Dear Parents and Carers,
Staffing Update:
We wish to inform you that Dominique, our Assistant Principal Mission, will be taking 12-months leave from her role. While we will miss her presence and leadership, we fully support her decision and wish her a restful and joyful break.
Dominique has made a significant impact on our school community, and we are grateful for her dedication, vision, and unwavering commitment to the success and well-being of our students. During her time away, we will continue to benefit from the strong foundation she has built in her role.
In the meantime, we are in the process of finalising staffing arrangements for 2025 and will provide further updates as soon as our recruitment process is complete. We are confident that the transition will be seamless and that our school will continue to thrive under the guidance of our leaders.
We look forward to welcoming Dominique back for the 2026 school year and wish her a well-deserved break filled with rest, rejuvenation, and new adventures.
We are currently recruiting positions for next year and staffing will be announced next week as soon as it is available.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support.
End of 2024
- Last Day for 2024: Wednesday, 18 December.
- School Office Closure: The office will be closed from Thursday, 19 December, and will reopen when students return in 2025.
2025 Key Dates
- Monday, 4 February
- Mathematics Assessment Interview (MAI) Day
- For Years 1–6 students.
- Students do not attend school as usual on this day. They will be required to come to school for a short Mathematics assessment.
- Parents and carers can book timeslots via Compass next week.
- Kindergarten Best Start Interviews
- Scheduled from Monday, 4 February to Friday, 7 February.
- Kindergarten students will complete:
- A 30-minute Literacy assessment.
- A 30-minute Mathematics assessment.
- Timeslots can be booked via Compass next week.
- Tuesday, 5 February
- First Day of School: Years 1–6 students.
- Monday, 10 February
- First Day of School: Kindergarten students.
Uniform update:
As you prepare for the return to school, we would like to kindly remind you that school shoes must be completely black, in line with our uniform policy. Shoes with any additional colors or logos are not permitted. Thank you for your cooperation in ensuring that our uniform standards are maintained.
Tuesday 17 December is Class Party day!
Class party day is coming up. To add to the Christmas cheer, students are invited to wear their favourite Christmas shirt or any other festive attire. Students will need to ensure they have their school hat and sports shoes for the day.
End of Year Awards and Thanksgiving Mass:
On Wednesday 11 December, we welcomed our school community to the school to celebrate our Thanksgiving Mass and student award recipients. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Fr. Joe for celebrating our end-of-year Mass. It was a wonderful opportunity for our school community to come together and reflect on the year's blessings and achievements.
Congratulations to all our award recipients, your dedication, hard work, and commitment to excellence inspire us all. These awards recognise not only your remarkable academic, athletic, artistic, and leadership accomplishments but also your resilience and determination throughout the year. You have made our school community proud, and we cannot wait to see the incredible impact you will continue to make in the future. Congratulations once again on this well-deserved recognition!
Year 6 graduation:
What a truly wonderful evening we had at this year's Year 6 Graduation Night. It was a celebration of not just the students' academic achievements, but also their growth, friendship, and all the memories they've created over the years.
The event was filled with joy, laughter, and a sense of pride as we watched our Year 6 students take their final steps before transitioning to the next chapter of their educational journey. From the heartwarming speeches to the dance floor antics, it was a night that captured the essence of their time here with us.
We were also incredibly fortunate to have Father Joe join us for the evening. His presence added a special touch to the occasion, and we would like to extend our sincere gratitude to him for taking the time to be with us. Father Joe reminds us all of the importance of community, faith, and resilience as we look forward to the future.
As we reflect on the evening, we are reminded of the incredible sense of community that surrounds our school. The support from all of you – the parents, Parish community and staff – has made these students' experiences so memorable. The Class of 2024 has made their mark, and we couldn’t be prouder of all they've accomplished.
Thank you to everyone who helped make the evening such a success, from the behind-the-scenes volunteers to the students who worked so hard to make the night special. It was a beautiful way to end this chapter, and we look forward to hearing about all the amazing things our Year 6 graduates will go on to achieve in the years ahead.
Compass:
Families leaving the Diocese of Lismore Catholic Schools are reminded to download any documents that may be needed in the future before 31 December 2024 (such as school reports).
Happy Holidays:
As we approach the end of the school year, we would like to extend our heartfelt wishes for a joyful and peaceful holiday season. This time of year offers us a chance to pause and reflect on the blessings we have received, and to spend time with family and friends.
May the spirit of Christmas, with its message of love, hope, and peace, fill your homes with joy. We encourage everyone to take this opportunity to rest, recharge, and enjoy the special moments that this season brings.
We look forward to welcoming everyone back in the New Year, ready to embrace the challenges and successes that lie ahead. Until then, we wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Blessings to you and your loved ones,
Jacki, Jas and Dom
2025 Dates
Friday 31 January Admin Day for teachers (Student Free Day)
Monday 3rd February MAI Day
Tuesday 4th February Year 1 - 6 return to school
Monday 10 February Kinder start
Upcoming Student Free Days
Just a reminder - The remaining student free days for 2024 are:
- Thursday 19 and Friday 20 December (Week 10, Term 4)
Term 4 Events Calendar
St Mary's End of Year Thanksgiving Mass
On Wednesday, we gathered as a school community to reflect on this past year. Our end-of-year Thanksgiving Mass was a beautiful celebration of our shared journey, filled with heartfelt thanks and a renewed sense of togetherness. During the Mass, Fr Joe encouraged the students to live out the golden rule, by treating each other with kindness and respect.
Thankyou to all those parents and carers who joined in the celebration.
St Vincent De Paul Christmas Hampers
On Monday we will be delivering our Christmas Hampers to the St Vincent de paul Conference for distribution. Thank you to everyone for their assistance.
Sport
As the year comes to an end, it’s time to reflect on the many achievements of our students in 2024. Swimming always kicks off our year but this has been very challenging over the past with no Olympic pool. We’re definitely looking forward to our school swimming carnival in February next year when the new pool will be open. This year's swimming squad were good competitors, sadly no one qualified to make it to the Diocesan level.
Cross Country running was our next big carnival at Junction Hill. Again, this event was a great success for our whole school. The parkland around makes for a perfect cross country track. Four students represented our School at the Diocesan level, Nav Robinson, Catalina Veneri, Serge Lobsey and Anastasia Vereyken. Well done on your efforts, particularly Anastasia who won her event and went on to represent Polding at a state level, congratulations.
Winter Sports started in Term 2. Noah Inskip (soccer), Serge Lobsey and Lilly Lemont (hockey), Braxn Nipperess (Rugby League and Rugby Union). Well done to Braxn and Serge who went on to represent our Diocese and particularly Serge who represented Polding in Primary Schools Hockey at the NSW State level.
Athletics was next up and another great day was had by all at the Junction Hill Athletics track. A beautiful day with a fast track set the scene. A large squad of our athletes then traveled to Coffs Harbour International stadium for our Clarence Zone Athletics carnival. Serge Lobsey, Anastasia Vereyken, Jack Cornish, Alice Cornish and our Junior Boys relay team ( Harry Whyte, Jack Cornish, Jimmy Walsh and Henri Green) all won their events and qualified for the Clarence team to compete at the Diocesan level. Serge Lobsey was named as Senior Boys Champion on the day, well done to all.
Dudley Jones / Todd Woodbridge Tennis Tournaments were a grand success for St Mary’s. For the first time in around 20 years we have won the prestigious Dudley Jones Shield ( see photos below)
Summer Sports trials have just finished with Addison Peppernel making it to the Diocesan Tennis team. They will play in the Polding championships next year at Tamworth.
Finally to our two Sports People of 2024 - Anastasia Vereyken and Serge Lobsey. Both these athletes displayed brilliant performances during 2024. Anastasia and Serge are both long distance runners with superb fitness. Due to their hard training and dedication they have achieved at the highest level. Both Polding representatives, Anastasia for Cross Country running and Serge for Hockey, have excelled in their chosen sports. Well done and good luck.
Peter Tonkin
FEES
From 2025, school fees and levies will be billed annually and families will receive a statement in February that reflects your payment preference. Please ensure you complete the short online form to provide your preferred payment frequency - this needs to be completed no later than 30 Nov 2024. If no preference is indicated, we will assume the quarterly payment option as your default choice.
OOSH
CVCON 2025 enrolment forms
Bricks4Kidz Northern Rivers
Uniforms
St Mary's School uniforms are available to purchase from Lowes in Grafton Shopping World. The sports uniform is worn on Wednesday and Friday each week.
Attendance
- If your child is arriving to the school after 8:45am please sign them in at the office.
- Please use Compass to record full day absentees. Partial absences are recorded by staff when students are signed in and out of the office.
- Students who leave a school event early will have a partial absence recorded.
- A medical certificate or other documentation may be requested where frequent absences due to illness occur.
- Generally, extended leave (greater than 10 days) during the school term would not be approved. These absences are recorded on the roll as unjustified and a completed Form 01 Extended Leave Notification Travel/Other Greater than 10 Days is required.
- In exceptional circumstances parents may complete an Form 02 Approved Extended Leave Application - Travel/Other Greater than 10 Days for consideration by the Principal, explaining why an absence for extended leave is in the best educational interest of the student. The Principal may decline or accept this application.
School Fees
Parking in Hoof Street
There are a small number of parking spaces near the Sunrise Shop (corner of Hoof and Turf Streets) for use by their customers. To assist this small business, we suggest parking away from the corner.
Overseas Visa Details
Reminder: Parents and Carers are to keep the school informed of any change in residency/visa status during the course of their child's enrolment, with
evidence of new visa status provided. Parents should be made aware that
the school must be informed of any change in residency status;
Working With Children Check (WWCC)
At St Mary's we are committed to creating and supporting a culture of safety for children and ensuring that children are protected. All employees and volunteers are required to have a current WWCC.
NB - The vast majority of volunteers in schools are parents of a child attending the school at which they are volunteering (eg reading groups, fetes, camps, excursions and canteen) and therefore do not require a WWCC. Exceptions to this are
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volunteers interacting one-on-one with a child not their own,
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working with children who have a disability,
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offering mentoring services,
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when the volunteer is not a parent or close relative.