Friday 15 August 2025 T3W4

Our Vision

Principal's Message

Dear St Mary’s families,

This week we participated in our school NAIDOC. This year the focus of NAIDOC was to emphasize the achievements of the past while looking towards a future shaped by the strength of young Indigenous leaders, the vision of communities and the legacy of their ancestors. We proudly came together as a school to embrace Aboriginal culture with a day combined with reflection, activities and celebration. It was wonderful to see members of our local community and our families coming along to support our NAIDOC activities. Thank you all!

Students at St Mary’s have had a busy few weeks with opportunities to attend live theatre performances in Dubbo and represent our school in sporting events including athletics, the Goodooga Indigenous games, the soccer gala day and Don Green Cup events. I would like to thank our St Mary’s staff for supporting our students to access these events which allow them to participate in rich experiences beyond our school.

St Mary’s have engaged in a 3 year partnership with Gotcha4Life’s Mentally Fit Program, where students, staff and parents will all have the opportunity to take action to embed mental fitness across the whole school community. Our mental fitness is our capacity to navigate life’s ups and downs, foster a sense of connection and belonging, and seek help when needed. Last week the program was launched with parent, staff and student sessions. More information in this space soon.

For the duration of term 2 2026 I have been given the opportunity through the CEDB to take some Principal’s enrichment leave. This leave is offered to allow principal's the opportunity to reflect and learn from experiences linked to education beyond our school. Details about the staffing cover during my leave will be available at the beginning of new school year.   

“Never stop learning because life never stops teaching.”

Thank you for being the biggest supporter of your child’s education.

Kind regards,

Mrs Leanne Clarke
Principal

Diary and Important Dates

Week 5

Monday 18 August: 8.50am K-10 Assembly in Hall / PSSA Touch

Tuesday 19 August: Years 5 and 6 Primary Praise & Worship Dubbo

Wednesday 20 August: 11.30am Book Parade

Thursday 21 August: Secondary Diocesan Athletics

Friday 22 August: Primary Diocesan Athletics

Week 6

Monday 25 August: Maranatha Visit 

Tuesday 26 August: Taste of Secondary & Electives Information Evening 5.30pm

Wednesday 27 August: School Photos

Thursday 28 August: 

Friday 29 August: School Newsletter

Religious Education News

NAIDOC Liturgy

We began NAIDOC on Wednesday with a Liturgy in the school hall, attended by students from K-10 and guests from the wider community. To mark the beginning of this special day, students, staff, and visitors participated in an Aboriginal Smoking ceremony led by Uncle Billy Stanley, which provided cleansing, healing, and spiritual renewal. Uncle Seaun Stanley then welcomed us to country. The beautiful liturgy focused us on how the depths of the spirit runs through Aboriginal culture, from an ancient past to present generations. The NAIDOC theme, The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy, was showcased by past and present stars of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, including within our school, giving great hope to future generations.

The liturgy embraced the spirits of the Aboriginal Dreamtime. We gave thanks for the Spirit of God’s presence in the Aboriginal communities since their beginning and God’s love for all. Connections to Earth, Fire, Water and Air set the scene for a reflective ceremony involving students. Our Aboriginal students proudly led the readings and prayers during the liturgy. Well done to all.

Mary of the Cross MacKillop

Last Friday was the Feast of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop. 

With many of the school away on school activities, our remaining year 7-10 students participated in a small but meaningful Mass to celebrate Australia’s only saint. Thank you to our students for your respectful participation and especially the student readers: Leah Potter, Hunter Hall, Annabel Roberts, Sophie Wykes, Charlie Ryan, Peter Daley and Hayden Smith. 

Born in 1842, she is also a cofounder of the Sisters of Saint Joseph at the age of 25!

Mary had a difficult childhood, but saw it as the cross she had to bear. Instead of despairing about her circumstances, she said:

My Cross is my portion. It is also my sweet rest and support. I could not be happy without my Cross. I would not lay it down for all the world could give. With the Cross I am happy, but without it, would be lost.

Mary is known for her saying, “Never see a need without doing something about it”. Are we able to place our difficulties aside to still see the needs of others and act on them?

Sacrament of Confirmation - Early Notice

Students in year 5 (or older) who want to make the Sacrament of Confirmation are notified that the date of the Sacrament in St Patrick’s Church, Wellington, is Saturday, October 25. Please look out for further dates and information in the next few weeks regarding enrolment and preparation requirements.

Mr Christopher Stevens
Leader of Ministry and Mission

School Information

St Mary’s Book Parade

St Mary’s families are invited to attend the annual St Mary’s Book Parade which will be held in the school hall next Wednesday 20 August at 11:30am. We encourage all students to come dressed as a character from a book and to enjoy a special performance by our Year 10 students.

Taste of St Mary’s /Elective Information Evening

St Mary’s invites families of Year 5 & 6 students as well as families of Year 8 & 9 students to attend our ‘Taste of Secondary/Elective Information Evening’ to be held in the school hall from 5:30pm on Tuesday 26 August. 

School Photos/School Uniform 

Our annual school photo day will take place on Wednesday 27 August. Students are asked to come dressed in their full winter uniform on this day. It is important that all students have the correct uniform items.

With the exception of sport days, all Kindergarten to Year 10 students are to wear their full winter uniform while at school, including the correct maroon school jumper, school tie (small navy cross tie for Secondary girls) and black school shoes. If your child is unable to wear the correct full uniform on a given day, please send a note to their classroom or Pastoral Care teacher.

 Mr Allan Jones
Assistant Principal

Learning Matters

K-2

‘Every classroom has the power to honour legacy, and inspire young change-makers during NAIDOC week.’ Kylie Captain.

Students this week participated in NAIDOC activities on Wednesday. Classes were asked to create a door display on an influential person highlighting their journey and what they have accomplished in their lives. Kinder chose Kev Carmody, famous for his song Little Things Big Things grow and Christine Anu who is a famous actress from the Torres Strait Islands. 1/2 R were inspired by Jessica Mauboy, a runner up in 2006 Australian idol, inspired by her use of singing and acting to share Aboriginal and Torres Strait islanders heritage and her work with the Indigenous Literacy Foundation. 1/2C were keen to discover that David Ngunaitpani is the face on our $50 note, famous for being a preacher, inventor and author and that his most notable invention was the modern shearing hand piece which he designed and patented. 

‘Reading gives us a place to go when we have to stay where we are.’

Next week we launch into our love of books with our annual book parade. K-2 teachers are super excited to be dressing up as their favourite characters and we look forward to seeing all the wonderful characters our students choose who will arrive in our classrooms, inspiring our learning for the day.

Last week K-2 visited the theatre and watched the amazing performance of “Imagine” by Alison Lester. A superb day with lots of fun was had by all as we interacted with the bright, colourful and joyous performance. 

Students also participated in the Soccer Gala day in Dubbo which  was a bit fresh out and about, but students played well and had fun.

Ms Kellie Rich
K-2 Leader of Learning

Year 3-6

“Beetle” Excursion

Year 3 and 4 students had the opportunity to go to Dubbo on Friday to watch the play, “Beetle”. Getting to visit places like the DRTCC is a great way to support our students with a focus on English and Drama. Students thoroughly enjoyed the play and also the opportunity to have lunch and a play in the park.

NAIDOC 2025

In light of the wonderful NAIDOC celebrations on Wednesday, the following is a poem written and performed by Grace Sharp, a proud Aboriginal student in Year 4. Well done Grace, and to all the students who participated so enthusiastically throughout the day.

Dinawan

A funny sound,
like a night club beat.
Wild and aggressive,
it stomps its feet.

Soft fuzzy feathers,
like a bale of hay.
A bit like an ostrich,
but a lot more grey.

A soft bush breeze,
disappears in a flash.
The deadly Dinawan,
impossible to catch. 

Mr John Nugent 
3-6 Leader of Learning

Year 7-10

Taste of Secondary

On Tuesday 26 August we are inviting all year 6, 8 & 9 Students, Parents and Carers to our school hall. Year 6 will be given information about secondary schooling, followed by taster lessons with our secondary teachers. Meanwhile Year 8 & 9 students will be given explanations of electives and have the opportunity to talk about subjects on offer and what they are interested in. They will then choose which electives they will be undertaking in 2026!

Year 9 & 10 Excursion

This year our students will be completing an Industry tour of Wellington and Dubbo regions with lots of amazing opportunities including a university visit, Little Big Dairy Co, Grain corp, Taylor Made buildings, Royal Flying doctors and Bodangora Wind farm tours as well as an overnight stay at Taronga Western Plains Zoo “ZooSnooze”. More information will be coming shortly to parents and students. We are looking forward to this amazing opportunity!

Assessment Tasks

Lots of Assessment tasks are due towards the end of this term. This is a time to check your Assessment booklets and allocate time to complete these tasks at home before the due date.

Mrs Tammy Nugent 
7-10 Leader of Learning

Sport News

Soccer Gala Day

Well done to all our K-6 students that played in the Soccer gala day in Dubbo. We had to leave early because of the rain coming in but all our students played to the best of their ability all day.

Thank you to parents, students and helpers who coached and refereed during the day. This was appreciated.

St Mary’s WINS the Don Green Local Derby Cup

Congratulations to all students who represented us at the Don Green Local Derby Cup on Thursday. St Mary’s have now retained the trophy won last year. Students from both schools played with excellent sportsmanship all day and set a great example. Thank you to Wellington High for hosting this year's Carnival.

Primary and Secondary DIO Athletics

Next week we have both Primary and Secondary Athletics Carnivals at Barden Park in Dubbo. Please remember your child has to be registered on the CSNSW Website or they cannot complete on the day. 

Mr Alistaire Thompson
Sport Teacher

School Wide Positive Behaviour for Learning SPB4L

SPB4L Focus- Use Technology Appropriately

A reminder that our current SPB4L focus is ‘Use Technology Appropriately.’ This  aims to remind students of the importance of responsibly using devices, such as mobile phones, chromebooks and ipads, in a way that is safe and complies with the school’s rules and expectations. Students were praised for the way in which they have cared for their chromebooks and were provided with information about ‘digital footprints’. We encourage all families to regularly have conversations about the appropriate use of technology, particularly as new laws around the use of social media platforms come into effect later this year.

The 'Children and Social Media Survey', conducted in September 2024, revealed that 84% of children aged 8 to 12 had used at least one social media or messaging service since the beginning of the year. This was despite being under the age limit of 13+ (https://www.esafety.gov.au/research/children-and-social-media)

 Mr Allan Jones
Assistant Principal

School Fees Reminder

Payment Reminder – School Fees

We kindly remind families that some school fee accounts remain outstanding. If you have not yet made your payment, we would appreciate your attention to this matter at your earliest convenience.

If you are experiencing difficulties or require a payment plan, please don’t hesitate to contact the school office — we are here to help and happy to discuss flexible options to support you.

Thank you for your ongoing support and cooperation.

Library News

Last week, we celebrated students' reading achievements for Term 2, with our Golden Book Trophy winners -Year 3 and Kindergarten, enjoying a casual clothes day and special choccy treat. Our Term 2 Renaissance top readers were also rewarded with a special lunch in the library that made them all feel very happy!

To help get all students motivated and eager to read more, this term classes were asked to work together to come up with a class reading goal. They then listed the actions they needed to follow in order to achieve their goal and lastly came up with a class reward for if they achieve their set goal. Classes will be presenting their goals and giving us a quick update on how they are progressing, at the Book Parade next week.

Next week is Book Week! Woohoo! 

As part of celebrations our K-5 classes will be visiting the Wellington Library to take part in some Book Week activities. Due to this, we won’t be having regular library lessons, so borrowing and favourite book sharing will have to be on hold until Week 6. 

Our main event-  St Mary’s Book Parade. Will be held on Wednesday August 20, 11.30am in the school hall. We would love for parents and friends to join us. Little Saints and K-10 students are invited to dress up as one of their favourite book characters for the day and to bring a book to enjoy with their buddies. This may be the book they are dressed up from or another favourite book. 

It’s going to be BOOKTASTIC- I can't wait!!

Mrs Hayley Jones
Librarian

Taste of Secondary & Elective Information Evening

Tuesday 26th August (from 5:30pm)

Year 6 students are invited to come along and learn about the opportunities in Secondary at St Mary’s.

Year 8 students will be able to attend an information session explaining the range of elective choices that they will have in 2026.

Parent Helpers - Documentation required

Documentation required for parents/carers transporting students in private vehicles to school events, helping in classrooms, school canteen or on site school events.

If you are using your own vehicle to transport students to an organised school event, you must show your drivers licence and proof of motor vehicle registration to the school office staff the day prior to the event.

All parents/carers assisting with supporting students in any area of the school (on site) or transporting students to events must have a current declaration for working with children form completed.

This form can be collected from the school office.

NAIDOC Day

NAIDOC 2025

This year's NAIDOC theme The next generation; Strength, Vision, Legacy was ignited across our whole school. Classes decorated their classroom door showcasing an influential Aboriginal person. Students researched their person and with some creative craft brought their classroom door to life with people like David Unaip, Archie Roach, Jessica Mauboy, The Rainbow serpent, Cathy Freeman, Vincent Lingiari. 

Wednesday was NAIDOC day St Mary’s, Wow!! What a day of celebration of Aboriginal culture. 

Thank you to Uncle Bill & Uncle Shaune for our Welcome to Country & Smoking ceremony. 

Mr Stevens provided a heart felt NAIDOC Liturgy with our Catholic faith and Aboriginal spirituality together. This truly set the tone for what was a spectacular day. 

Students then broke into Kinship groups to participate in Cultural learning, a local Dreamtime story, Weaving with Aunty Mel McNaboe of Minhi Creations, clay modelling, TIG Games, Cooking Bush Tucker, Cultural Kahootz, Binjang Yoga, our community lunch with Curry & fried scones invited families to join in the day. Thank you to WACHS family health team for joining our day and providing the sausage sizzle for lunch. 

To complete our day with our NAIDOC Talent show, students brought their Deadly talents to the stage.  Our Miimi Birrang students opened the NAIDOC Talent show with their Cultural Dance, with some of the primary students. There was singing, acting, dancing and poems. Our students showed great courage in sharing their talent with our school, and together our school embraced them. Our talent show winner was Jack Sears with his singing of “ I want it that way.”

Mrs Sears & Miss Hodges are attending the Regional AECG meeting in Dubbo this week to continue to bring positive Aboriginal education outcomes, not just to our school but the Wellington community. 

Jo Hodges (Danielle Sears)
Aboriginal Education Officers

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Don Green Cup

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Western Athletics Carnival Dubbo

Last Tuesday, students from Year 2 to Year 6 proudly represented St Mary’s at the Western Athletics Carnival in Dubbo. They participated in both track and field events, giving their best effort in every competition. Our students demonstrated pride in their school and displayed excellent sportsmanship throughout the day. Many of our students achieved top placings across the track and field events and will now progress to the Diocesan Carnival in Dubbo on Friday 22nd August. A special mention goes to Lily and Jasper, who were named Junior Girls and 11 Years Boys Age Champions for the day. Congratulations on this outstanding achievement! A big thank you to the parents who assisted with travel and cheered on our students. We wish all our competitors the very best of luck at the next level of competition.

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Soccer Gala Day

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Goodooga Games Miimi Birrang

Aboriginal Education 

Term 3 has given us lots to celebrate at St Mary’s Wellington.

Last week some of our Miimi Birrang students travelled to Goodooga NSW with Mrs Sears, Miss Hodges & Mrs Clarke to participate in the Goodooga Central school Indigenous games. This is a yearly event the school has been hosting for over 11 years. The event welcomed 700 students from schools from all over NSW, bringing together many remote and rural schools from primary & secondary.  

On Wednesday night there was a Disco at the school with the local PCYC then on Thursday was the TIG games. All of the students were placed in teams and learnt traditional games designed to challenge children's physical ability. All of the games were similar to those we know well such as Oz tag, netball, volley ball, hockey. 

Miss Hodge’s team the Echindas come home winners of the Pool A division. 

Jo Hodges (Danielle Sears)
Aboriginal Education Officers

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Beetle - Even the smallest voice matters

What a wonderful experience Stage 2 enjoyed today.
Students travelled to the Dubbo Regional Theatre and Convention Centre to watch a charming, nostalgic and uniqely Australian show called Beetle.
Beetle is a tale of resilience and hope which reminds young audiences that there's an important place in the world for all of us. Students also enjoyed a visit to Victoria Park for lunch.

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Imagine

Our K-2 students travelled to Dubbo last Thursday to watch "Imagine" at the Dubbo Regional Theatre. An amazing show which entertained and engaged our students.

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Sandpit Fun

We have a new sandpit area in the Primary section of our school which students are loving.

Maranatha House Visit - Year 9

Year 9 Marantha Visit  11-8-2025

The theme for the Year 9 visit to Maranatha House Aged Care Facility last week was 'Cats and Dogs Art and Craft'. The Year 9 students demonstrated remarkable maturity during the painting activity and with the residents. The students showed care and sensitivity in first demonstrating the activity and then leading the residents into engaging with the materials, offering encouragement and prompting them when necessary. They tried various colours and techniques to create artworks that the residents were proud of, while engaging in meaningful conversations. Well done, Year 9.

Mr Stevens and Mrs Newman

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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

Squadron Energy

St Mary's is proud to announce Squadron Energy is a sponsor of our upcoming Shrek production and for the purchase of our new rugby kits.

Information Flyers