St Mary's Catholic School Wellington eNewsletter

Our Vision

St Mary's Catholic School is a Christ centred, inclusive community where individuals are supported to learn at high levels and to grow spiritually, socially and physically.

"We have gifts that differ, according to the grace given to each of us." (Romans 12:6)

Principal's Message

Enjoy the little things in life,
for one day you will look back and realize they were the big things.

Dear St Mary’s families,

Thank you for your support of our wonderful school during term 3. We have had some opportunities to come together as a school community, celebrating our Fathers and to enjoy our amazing school performance of Shrek. It is the community connection that makes St Mary’s so special and every one of you is a part of that. Thank you.

I would like to say a special thanks to our teaching staff over the past two weeks for their dedication and support. We have had unusually high staff absences and every staff member at school has gone above and beyond to ensure that our students have been settled in classes and engaged in learning.

St Mary’s staff and students farewelled Mrs Carberry this week. We have been blessed to have Mrs Carberry at St Mary’s and thank her for her contribution to our school and the positive impact that she has had on the students in her classes. We will miss you Mrs Carberry and wish you all the best in Broken Hill.

We finished off the school term today with Mercy Day Mass, lunch together and staff and students were able to enjoy friendly competition in our students v teachers games.

Thank you everyone for a super charged term. We wish everyone a relaxing break and look forward to seeing you all for the beginning of term 4.

God bless,

Mrs Leanne Clarke
Principal

Diary and Important Dates

Staff Development Days (Pupil Free Days) for Term 4
Monday 13 October 2025
Monday 3 November 2025

Week 1

Monday 13 October: PUPIL FREE DAY - Staff Development Day

Tuesday 14 October: Term 4 commences - students return | P&F Meeting 5.30pm

Wednesday 15 October:

Thursday 16 October:

Friday 17 October:

Saturday 18 October: First Reconciliaition Enrolment Mass and Information Session

Week 2

Monday 20 October: Year 6 visit Maranartha House

Tuesday 21 October:

Wednesday 22 October:

Thursday 23 October: Confirmation Spirit Day and Practice Evening

Friday 24 October: National Grandparents Day

Saturday 25 October: Sacrament of Confirmation 6pm

Religious Education News

St Mary’s - A Mercy School
This week, we celebrate the Sisters of Mercy, who are responsible for the growth of St Mary’s in its earliest days. The sisters arrived in Wellington 142 years ago, educating many generations since then. The Feast Day of the founder of the Sisters of Mercy, Catherine McAuley, was September 24.

We celebrated with a School Mass this morning, where we thanked Sr Marjorie, on behalf of all the Sisters past and present, for their dedication and mercy shown to those in need.

Sacrament of Confirmation
Thank you to the candidates and their families for attending Masses in preparation for Mass with the Bishop, an important part of the sacrament process. Reminders for those families enrolled in the Sacrament of Confirmation.

Candidates should:

Sit with their family members.
Make the Sign of the Cross respectfully.
Each have the Mass response cards handed out on entrance (or a Mass booklet), so they are well rehearsed in the responses. A hymn booklet would also be appropriate.
Please make sure children are not chewing gum during Mass.

RISE - Reminder
We recently had two Diocesan Youth members speak to students regarding RISE, a Youth Festival for young people in Years 6 to 9. The Diocesan Youth Ministers facilitate a festival full of fun, friendship, small group challenges, workshops, games, music and lots of opportunities to encounter Jesus. We are looking for students who would love to have a great, memorable experience together.

RISE will be held 2-3 October at Ridgecrest, in the first week of school holidays.
Take a look at the RISE website.
Click here for registration link and more information We currently have 2 Year 6 students attending. For more information, please contact Mr Stevens urgently.

Christmas Art
Thank you to the students who travelled to Bathurst recently to view artworks on display and support the Diocesan Christmas ArtWork and Story Exhibition. Olivia Potter, Ellie Heywood, Caylee Johnston, Pippa Horton, Frankie McGuire, Phoenix Brindley and Jack Stevens were wonderful representatives for our school. Please see their photos in the photo graphic.

Mr Christopher Stevens
Leader of Ministry and Mission

St Patrick's Parish Sacramental Calendar 2025

Teacher Changes Term 4

Year 1/2C Mrs Wykes will be teaching Year 1/2C on Monday - Thursday and Mrs Redfern will be the class teacher on Friday

Year 3 Mrs Frogley will be teaching Year 3 on Monday - Thursday and Miss Nixon will be the class teacher on Friday. We thank Mrs Wykes for her dedication to and support of Year 3 during Terms 1-3.

Mr Doherty will be on leave for the first 5 weeks of term and Mrs Gibbons will be covering his classes

Miss Rich will be stepping away from the K-2 Leader of Learning role for family reasons and we are currently organising for a teacher to cover this role for term 4. We thank Miss Rich for her valued contributions. More information early next term regarding changes to our leadership team.

Uniform- Summer Uniform Term 4
Students are asked to be in their full summer uniforms for the beginning of Term 4. The school hat must be worn in the playground during recess and lunch, and is a requirement for all Sport/PE lessons. A reminder that If your child is unable to wear their uniform on a given day, please send in a note (or send an email) to the classroom/ Pastoral Care teacher.

Collection of Students after School
For student safety, parents and carers are asked not to collect children from the bus gates in the afternoon. Students can be collected from the office, K-2 Warne Street gate or the side gate off Gisborne Street.

Mr Allan Jones
Assistant Principal

Learning Matters

K-2

‘Ice-cream is a requirement for the holidays.’

Congratulations K-2 students on the amazing term you have had. Every day your smiles, your laughter and of course your energy brings excitement to our learning. May all families enjoy the holidays and take the time to enjoy the outdoors as our weather warms up. Whether you are jetsetting away or staying home, enjoy the little things and the time you have together.

Mrs Carberry leaves us at the end of this term and we would like to wish her the best of luck as she heads back to Broken Hill. Your enthusiasm in the classroom, your patience and guidance with the students, your knowledge shared with all will be missed immensely. Know that you have made a big impact on the students and staff here at St Mary’s and we will all miss you.

Ms Kellie Rich
K-2 Leader of Learning

Year 3-6

Goldfields Excursion
Year 5 and 6 thoroughly enjoyed their day at Bathurst last week when participating in the Bathurst Goldfields excursion. Students loved having the opportunity to see what life was like for miners and other people during the Goldrush era. They also had the opportunity to do some gold panning to find some gold for themselves. Hopefully there were many cries of ‘Eureka’ during the panning!

Thanks to Mrs Gibbons
Mrs Aleksandrovics has been away for the past few weeks and Year 4 has had the pleasure of having Mrs Evette Gibbons fill in. A big thank you to Mrs Gibbons for looking after the class in Mrs Aleksandrovics absence. We look forward to you being back with us again next term teaching our Secondary classes.

Mr John Nugent
3-6 Leader of Learning

Year 7-10

Write a book in a day (The Kids' Cancer Project)
Students from Year 7-9 participated in Write A Book In A Day. They were up bright and early to start the day at 8am and finished at 8pm. Students had a fundraiser earlier in the week to raise money for this foundation who publishes completed books for sick children especially children with cancer. A big Thank you to Mr John Nugent who initiated this opportunity for the students. We cannot wait to see how they turn out when they are published!

Year 10 Retreat
Thank you to Mr Stevens and Mrs Milgate who gave up their time to supervise and enrich our year 10 students at Ridgecrest this Wednesday and Thursday. What a wonderful opportunity for our students to spend time together in their last schooling year at St Mary's Catholic school.

Mercy Day activities
We started the day with a Mass at St Patrick's church. Students from Year 10 versus the Teachers in the annual students Vs teachers matches in Touch Football, Netball and Kick Soccer.

Mrs Tammy Nugent
7-10 Leader of Learning

Sport News

All School State Touch

The St Mary's Wolf Pack took on the State's best this week competing at the NSW Touch State Finals in Manly. Our girls played very well and pushed all teams finishing on a high defeating Terrigal 6-1. Our girls can be very proud making it to State and displaying excellent skills and sportsmanship. Thank you to all parents and helpers for making this so special for the girls.

Mr Alistaire Thompson
Sport Teacher

SPB4L Focus- All Areas
Our focus for the final 2 weeks of Term 3 was ‘All SPB4L Areas’. St Mary’s School has 4 fundamental rules:

Be Safe
Be Respectful
Be Responsible
Be a Learner.

SPB4L Cub Credits Shop
Year 3-6 students can use their accumulated Cub Credits to make purchases from the Cub Credits Shop. Students are encouraged to purchase desired products as early as possible as some of the more popular items can sell out quickly.

Mr Allan Jones
Assistant Principal

SRC News

Please read below a letter from Clare Sorn.

“Education is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty.”

Dear St Mary’s SRC,
Thank you so much for your generous donation towards school supplies for students in Cambodia.

Because of your amazing fundraising efforts 300 children received essential notebooks and stationery, which were handed out to two remote village schools in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

We truly appreciate your compassion and leadership. Your kind actions in fundraising show how young people can make a powerful impact - both in their own communities and around the world.

Thank you!
Clare, Oscar and Team xx

SRC Report

Term 3 has been very successful for the SRC with many fundraisers to support lots of good causes. We started off the term with Jersey Day. Students wore their favourite sporting jersey with a gold coin donation to support the Cancer Council, raising over $150. Next, we hosted a Pyjama day to raise money for our school’s beloved Breakfast Club. As nearly all students wore their fav pyjamas, we are very grateful to say that over $250 was donated to Mrs Sears and Mrs Hodges to continue the running of Breakfast Club. Also thank you to everyone who donated food items and spreads to support our school. A major cause that's currently been happening over the past few weeks is our Samaritans Christmas Box. Classes have been asked to bring in an item each to put in the shoebox for children overseas who are less fortunate than us. The SRC collected all the boxes at the start of the week and we are very proud to see how much stuff was in each box and there was even stuff leftover!! Thank you to all students, parents, teachers and families for donating items to help vulnerable families and children. As leaders of the SRC, we are very grateful for all the support during term 3. Bring on term 4!!

Brydie and Ella
School Captains

Library News

Thank you to all those students who have shared their favourite books throughout Term 3. Every child will be given the opportunity to share their favourite books over the year. Term 4's favourite book sharing timetable will be posted on Seesaw at the beginning of next term.

Congratulations to all students who have been working hard to achieve their Term 3 reading goal. Last week, Year 5 visited KFC as a reward for achieving their whole class reading goal. The students challenged each other to read at least 2 medium to large sized novels and pass each assigned comprehension quiz by the end of the term. Many students went well beyond this target and are now keen to set a new goal in Term 4. Well done and keep up all the great reading, Year 5!

Year 5 At KFC

Next Term, I look forward to announcing our Term 3 Golden Book Trophy winners and Top Renaissance readers. Our Term 4 competition starts this weekend. Please encourage students to keep on reading over the holidays. Visit the local library or use our online library platform SORA during this time. SORA is a reading app for students providing access to a large range of ebooks and audiobooks. Simply go to https://soraapp.com/ When asked for your school please put ACEN (Australian Catholic Education Network) Students then log in using their normal school email account details. Many of these books are listed on Renaissance, so make sure whenever students finish reading anything they jump onto Renaissance Reading and complete the corresponding quiz if available (https://global-zone60.renaissance-go.com/welcomeportal/1543596)

Happy holidays, Everyone!
See you all in Term 4.
Mrs Hayley Jones
Teacher Librarian

A Huge Thank You To Mrs Jones & Dymnocks Children's Charities

We are thrilled to congratulate Mrs Jones on her successful application for a book grant through Dymocks Children's Charities. Thanks to her efforts and the generousity of Dymocks, our school has been gifted a Library Regeneration Program valued at $10,000 worth of quality books.

This incredible donation is already fostering a love of reading across our school. Our students are buzzing with excitement as these beautiful new books find their way into eager hands and curious minds.

Thank you again to Mrs Jones and Dymock Children's Charities for helping us build a stronger reading culture and giving our students the gift of stories that will inspire their imaginations for many years to come.

2025 Design Competition

With the school holidays coming up, now is the perfect time for students to get creative and take part in our 2025 Design Competition.

This competition celebrates the joy of reading and invites students to express what books mean to them - whether it's adventure, friendship, imagination or comfort. Plus it's a wonderful way to keep students engaged over the break while encouraging their creativity.

The winning student will receive: A book pack valued at $300, A Certificate of Achievement, and their artwork featured on our website and soical media, showcasing their crativity to our community.

Encourage your child to bring their imagination to life and share their love of books with us- it's a fun, meaningful project that can inspire and excite over the holidays.

Competition closes on 17 October 2025.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at info@dymockschildrenscharities.org.au

Dymocks Creative Design Competition Activity Sheet.pdf

Dymocks Creative Design Competition Enrolment Form

Assembly

Early this year, our school launched a Cultural Advisory Committee.

The objective of the committee is to partner with our AEOs and school leadership team to enhance a cultural perspective on opportunities across our school.

If you have an interest in the cultural perspective of our school and have cultural knowledge that would deepen the students' educational experience in our school, we would love you to join this group.

Our group aims to meet for 1 hour once a term, unless projects require more attention.

Please email Miss Hodges or Mrs Sears for further information
j.hodges4@bth.catholic.edu.au & d.sears@bth.catholic.edu.au

We would like to wish safe travels to all of the families attending and participating in the Koori Knockout 2025 in Tamworth, Friday 3rd - Monday 6 October. Best of luck to Nanima, Common Connections, and Wellington Wedgetail Eagles teams.

Live coverage will be streamed on NITV for those wanting to enjoy local football without the travel.

The Koori Knockout has grown to be one of the largest Indigenous sporting events in the world. In 2024, the tournament featured an extraordinary 138 teams, including current and former NRL and NRLW stars, showcasing the immense talent and passion within First Nations communities.

Maranatha House Visit

On Monday twelve Year 10 students visited Maranatha - it was a very special visit and sadly their last visit in their school careers. We planned on painting rocks again as the elderly really enjoyed this activity with our last visit. This time we painted the elderly names on the rocks, some names painted were of the elderly's loved ones as a remembrance. Then the group decorated the rocks and painted some inspirational words, with words chosen such as "love", "faith", "hope", "joy" and "smile". The rocks will stay as a momento of this very thoughtful Year 10 who shared the activity providing encouragement and respect. Well done Year 10.

Louise Hennessy
Community Wellbeing Program Manager

Students gave Mrs Carberry a heartfelt farewell this week and celebrated the end of a successful term with a pizza reward lunch.

On behalf of the students, staff and wider community of St Mary's School, we would like to extend our sincere thanks to everyone who contributed to the creation of our beautiful Wiradjuri Animal Garden Signs.

We are especially grateful to the team at the Macquarie Correctional Centre for their incredible skill and craftsmanship in cutting the steel signs with such precision and care. Your work has brought a lasting and meaningful feature to our school grounds.

A heartfelt thank you also to our Parent and Friend Association for your dedication in organising and coordinating this project from start to finish. Your commitment continues to enrich the learning environment and cultural understanding of our students.

Finally, we extend our appreciation to Steel Supplies Dubbo for generously donating the steel used in the signs. Your support made this project possible and is deeply valued by our school community.

Together, you have helped us create an unique and educational space that that honours the Wiradjuri language and culture. Thank you for being part of something so special.

Write A Book In A Day

On Wednesday, 16 students in Years 7-9 participated in the “Write a Book in a Day” competition. The day involves students committing to the writing of a children's book over a 12 hour period, between 8am and 8pm. Students have to plan, write, edit and illustrate a 3500-5000 word book as part of a team.

Besides volunteering to be part of the competition, the participants have also given up their own time by selling raffle tickets and snacks to students at lunch to raise money for ‘The Kid’s Cancer Project’.

I am very proud of the commitment of the students involved and also the manner in which they participated in each aspect of the competition. What they have been able to achieve in 12 hours has been beyond expectations.

Congratulations and thanks to all the students involved.

Stage 4 - Annabel Roberts, Sophie Wykes, Gop Kaewket, Emmanuel Dequina, Charlie Ryan, Peter Daly, Jim Nugent, Halle Tolhurst.

Stage 5 - Leah Potter, Summah Gersbach, Kora-Rose Smyth, Caitlin Cummings, Lily Roberts, Charlotte Bell, Milly Wykes and Seana Byrne.

Mr John Nugent
Teacher

9/10 IT Timber Dartboards

Our elective students finished off their dartboards recently. Students learnt the importance of accurate cutting, joint construction and gluing up a frame square. New tools included the router to recess the plywood backing. They learnt how to attach hinges for their doors, which they found out isn’t as easy as it looks. They finished off their dartboards with chalkboard paint, Cricut stencilling and applying corkboard to the back for protection. Well done.

Mrs Tammy Nugent
Teacher

On Monday, our Year 5/6 students travelled to Bathurst to visit the Goldfields as part of their History unit, exploring how historical sources present perspectives on the past.

Students had a wonderful day immersed in a variety of activities, including visiting the museum, panning for gold, making damper and exploring the blacksmith workshop. They also took part in other hands-on experiences that gave them a glimpse into what life was like during the Gold Rush.

Ms Hannah Pace
Teacher

Mass

BBQ Lunch

Teacher V's Students Games

Our Friday canteen welcomes parent helpers and all money raised from our canteen goes into supporting our students. If you are able to volunteer your time please email our canteen manager Kacee Ryan with details of your availability.

k.ryan7@bth.catholic.edu.au

Cybersafety Sessions For Parents

Off the back of a very successful parent webinar around cybersafety, CNA has sponsored the following events for students to view. Please add these dates to your calendar for the Cyber Safety Project Virtual webinars which are running:
Ollie Online Year K-2 Thursday 23rd October 9:15 - 9:45 or 12:30 - 1:00pm (two possible live sessions)
Adventures Online Year 3/4 Thursday 23rd October 10:00 - 10:30 or 12:45 - 1:15pm (two possible live sessions)
Digital Defenders Year 5/6 - Wednesday 15th October 9:30 - 10:15am or 12:30 - 1:15pm (two possible live sessions)
Thriving Online Year 7 - Monday 13th - Friday 17th October (on demand for the week)
My Place in a Digital World Year 8 - Monday 13th - Friday 17th October (on demand for the week)

CCSP Parents and Carers Conference

We are thrilled to advise that TICKETS ARE NOW ON SALE for our 25 October CCSP Parents and Carers Conference! And we wanted you to be the first to know!

SUPPORTING FAMILIES: WORKING TOGETHER IN A MODERN WORLD

This special one-day event will bring Catholic school parents together from across NSW to explore how we can support and strengthen families in a rapidly changing world. With thought-provoking keynotes, breakout sessions and opportunities for connection, it’s set to be an amazing day.

Find out more about the program, speakers and session details on our website:
ccsp.schoolzineplus.com/2025-conference

Secure your ticket now via Eventbrite:
https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/supporting-families-working-together-in-a-modern-world-registration-1363786414879?aff=oddtdtcreator

We look forward to welcoming you to this milestone event as we celebrate, reflect and look to the future of Catholic education and school + family partnerships!

When: Saturday 25 October 2025
Where: Novotel Parramatta, Sydney
What time: 8:30am – 3:30pm