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

Reading is the gateway for children that makes all other learning possible. Barack Obama.

Dear St Mary’s families,

What an amazing few weeks we’ve had at St Mary’s where our school spirit has shone. Our annual Book Parade allowed us to celebrate reading in a fun way and we were entertained with our Year 10 play focusing on the children’s book, Willy the Wimp. St Mary’s staff participated in a CPR course and teachers reviewed our school NAPLAN data which will inform our school teaching and learning direction moving forward.

Congratulations to all students who represented our school in the Diocesan Athletics carnivals and Touch Football trials, with a number of students progressing to the next pathways. This is a huge achievement and we celebrate the sports opportunities that our students are able to access.

We’ve had a focus on secondary with a well supported Taste of Secondary and Elective evening and the local Don Green Cup and Rumble in the Jungle inter-school sport events. These sport events are a wonderful way of building relationships with our local Year 7-10 students across schools.

Mr Nugent will be attending the Australian Council for Educational Leaders NSW Award ceremony tonight. Mr Nugent is our school Literacy coach and our Diocese is receiving an award for the impact that our Literacy coaches are having in our schools, developing student writing capacity. We are extremely proud to be part of this program and of the accolades that it is receiving.

We are excited to be presenting our St Mary’s SHREK performance next week. Make sure that you come along and be part of this amazing production, showcasing our students and their amazing talents.

Kind regards,

Mrs Leanne Clarke
Principal

Diary and Important Dates

Next Pupil Free Day will be Friday 5 September

(Staff Development Day)

Week 7

Monday 1 September:

Tuesday 2 September: Shrek Dress Rehearsal

Wednesday 3 September:

Thursday 4 September: 10.30am Shrek Matinee Performance and 6pm Opening Night

Friday 5 September: Pupil Free Day/Staff Development Day

Saturday 6 September: Confirmation Enrolment Mass and Information Session

Week 8

Monday 8 September: Maranatha Visit | Father's Day Liturgy & Breakfast | Year 10 ValId Test

Tuesday 9 September: SCR Pyjama Day

Wednesday 10 September: Year 9/10 Overnight Zoo Snooze | Secondary DIO Rugby Gala Day

Thursday 11 September: RUOK Day

Friday 12 September: School eNewsletter | K-2 Royal Flying Doctor Service Excursion in Dubbo | Polding Athletics

Religious Education News

Christmas Art

Year 5 and 6 students have been busy this year preparing for the diocesan Christmas Story Art Competition. The Competition and following Exhibition have become a much-loved tradition in the lead up to competing with other students from the Archdiocese of Sydney and the Diocese of Wollongong.

Encouraged to create artworks and written reflections on Advent and the meaning of Christmas from their studies in their Religious Education classes, Year 5 and Year 6 students begin working on their entries in Term 2. Five of the best Year 5 artworks and five of the best Year 6 are chosen to represent St Mary’s and compete in the Diocesan competition. Congratulations to the following students:

Year 5 Year 6
Phoenix Brindley Stephanie Frogley
Brodie Frogley Olivia Potter
Frankie McGuire Ellie Heywood
Jasper Telfer Caylee Johnston
Jack Stevens Pippa Horton

The Exhibition will be held in Bathurst on Friday, September 12, where diocesan winners will be announced.
St Mary’s winners will be attending the Exhibition.

Christmas Art

Last year, there was a significant change to the Sacrament of Confirmation, with Bishop Michael McKenna indicating that students in year 5 are now to be taught the Confirmation program at school. Families of students in Year 5 or older may now register their child for the Sacrament of Confirmation. Parents of Year 5 students may hold their child back from receiving the Sacrament this year if they feel they would benefit from another year of maturing.
The Sacrament of Confirmation will be celebrated in Wellington on Saturday, October 25.

Important Enrolment Information: For candidates wishing to make their confirmation, there will be an enrolment Mass and meeting on Saturday, September 6, at 5:00 pm. Could candidates please attend this Mass to begin the enrolment process and receive important information at the meeting following Mass, regarding the Sacrament and the preparation process. For those parents who cannot attend this enrolment Mass, there will be an enrolment meeting at school on Monday afternoon, September 8 (time to be advised).

It is important that candidates meet the preparation requirements for the Bishop to confirm them. This includes:

Enrolment Mass and meeting
Celebration of the Eucharist - attendance for the preparatory masses (including enrolment)
Lessons at school during class time,
Information sessions after some weekend Masses.
A path of significant events occurring throughout the preparation time (e.g. Spirit Day)

Father’s Day Breakfast

Advance warning of the Father’s Day breakfast on Monday (8 September), following Father’s Day. Gather from 8:15 am in the COLA behind the hall. Celebrating Fathers - Dads, Grandads (great!), Stepdads and father figures. Join us for breakfast. The breakfast on Monday will include a short liturgy finishing at 9:00. We look forward to seeing you there. Happy Father’s Day on Sunday, September 7.

For catering purposes, please register your attendance and numbers on this Form:

https://forms.gle/FonFbZcn4WGnqiXw9

Mr Christopher Stevens
Leader of Ministry and Mission

St Patrick's Parish Sacramental Calendar 2025

School Information

Taste of St Mary’s /Elective Information Evening

Thank you to all Year 6 and Year 8 families who joined us on Tuesday evening for the ‘Taste of Secondary and Elective Information Evening’.

Year 8 students will have the opportunity to nominate for their preferred elective subjects during the coming weeks. Elective information booklets will be available through the Compass newsfeed or in hard copy upon request.

Uniform

Thank you to all families that ensured the full winter school uniform, rather than the sport uniform, was worn on school photo day this week. A reminder that students are expected to wear their full Winter uniform during Term 3, with sport uniform to be worn on their sport/PE days only. 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.

Shrek Preparation

The St Mary’s production of ‘Shrek’ will take place during Week 9, with performances on Tuesday (dress rehearsal) and Thursday (Matinee and Evening performances). Please be aware that all K-6 students have a class item that will be performed during each presentation. Students will require simple costumes with information about these shared through our Compass newsfeed.

Mr Allan Jones
Assistant Principal

Learning Matters

K-2

‘Today is the day to learn something new.’

It was so nice to see K-2 book characters come to life last week for our book parade. K-2 classrooms were alive with many different characters, from witches to wizards, Where’s Wally, Pug the pig, hungry caterpillars, vets and many, many more. Reading with our buddies was also a highlight.

1/2R has been joined over the past 4 weeks by Ms Ashleigh Parkes completing her University teaching placement. Ms Parkes has enjoyed her time with 1/2R and we would like to wish her all the best as she continues with her teaching degree.

Students in K-2 will be heading off to the RFDS on Friday 12 September. Notes will be on Compass next week. Please be aware that all areas of the note need to be completed in order for it to be finalised on compass.

Ms Kellie Rich
K-2 Leader of Learning

Year 3-6

Taste of Secondary Night

On Tuesday night a number of Year 6 students from St. Marys, along with some students from other schools, had the opportunity to attend a “Taste of Secondary” night. Parents and students were provided with some information about the opportunities available at St. Mary’s in our secondary school environment. They then participated in a range of “taster” lessons to showcase some of the different settings and learning styles found in 7-10. Thanks to Mrs Nugent, Mr Jones and Mrs Clarke for all their efforts preparing for the presentation. Thanks also to Mr Stevens and Mrs Milgate who, along with myself, ran the “taster” lessons.

Diocesan Athletics

Last Friday, a number of our students from Year 2 to Year 6 travelled to Dubbo to compete in the Bathurst Diocese Primary Athletics carnival. All the students competed to the best of their ability and displayed great sportsmanship on the day. Three St. Mary’s students qualified to represent Bathurst Diocese at the upcoming Polding trials, to be held in Newcastle at the end of Week 8. Congratulations and best of luck to Mia Stevenson who qualified for discuss, Lily Nugent who will run the 200m and compete in long jump, and Noah Whale, who will compete in discuss, shot put and long jump.

Mr John Nugent
3-6 Leader of Learning

Year 7-10

Taste of Secondary Night - Elective Night

On Tuesday night a number of Year 8 students from St. Marys attended the “Taste of Secondary-Elective” night. Parents and students were provided with some information about the electives available at St. Mary’s in our secondary school environment and what to expect in each area of study. A big Thank you to our school captains Brydie and Ella for speaking about their elective choices and what they enjoyed at St Mary’s. Thanks to Mr Jones, Mrs Clarke, Mr Stevens, Mrs Milgate, Mrs Sears and Mrs Hodges for all their efforts preparing for the presentation. Thanks also to Mr Thompson, Mr Doherty, Mrs Hughes, along with myself, for setting up the display tables.

Diocesan Athletics

Last Thursday, a number of our students from Year 7 to Year 10 travelled to Dubbo to compete in the Bathurst Diocesan Secondary Athletics carnival. All the students competed to the best of their ability and displayed great sportsmanship on the day. Thank you to Parents and carers for arranging travel and cheering them on!

9/10 Industry Tour Excursion

Parents and carers of 9/10 students should now have a compass event to approve and a separate Risk Management form to manually sign from Fletchers international. Can these forms please be returned to myself or Mr Doherty. We are looking forward to our overnight stay at the Zoo and lots of future career opportunities.

Mrs Tammy Nugent
7-10 Leader of Learning

Sport News

Primary and Secondary Diocesan Athletics

Well done to Primary and Secondary students who competed at the Bathurst Diocesan Athletics Carnivals in Dubbo last week. All students put in a huge effort and displayed great sportsmanship.

Congratulations to Lily Nugent, Mia Stevenson and Noah Whale who have progressed to the NSW Polding Trials in Newcastle.

Rumble in The Jungle

Well done to all students who participated in the Rumble in the Jungle sporting event against the Molong Central Bears. All games were played with excellent sportsmanship and exceptional skills displayed.

NSW Polding Touch

Well done to Evie Whiteley and Stephanie Frogley who represented us in the NSW Polding Touch Team at the NSW PSSA Touch Championships in Dubbo. Polding finished undefeated in the pool rounds but were narrowly beaten in the Semi Finals by Sydney North.

A huge congratulations to Evie Whiteley who has gained selection into the U12 Girls NSW Touch Football Team to play in Ballarat in October. Well done Evie and good luck.

Mr Alistaire Thompson
Sport Teacher

Rumble in The Jungle

SPB4L Focus- Use Technology Appropriately

Our current SPB4L focus, ‘Use Technology Appropriately’ will finish up at the end of Week 8. During this term students have been reminded 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. 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.

Cub Credits Shop

Year 3 - 6 students are encouraged to earn as many Cub Credits as possible throughout the week through excellent behaviour and work application. These can then be spent at the Cub Credits shop, which is regularly updated with new items. The Cub Credit Shop is open each Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday during lunch.

Mr Allan Jones
Assistant Principal

Shrek

St Mary’s is thrilled to bring the swamp to the stage with our production of Shrek!

Our talented students have been rehearsing with passion, perfecting their lines, songs, and dance moves, while filling rehearsals with laughter and excitement. Behind the curtain, students have also been busy crafting bold and creative props and set pieces that will make you feel like you’ve stepped right into Far Far Away!

Performance times:

Tuesday 2 September at 1:00pm – Dress rehearsal (a sneak peek!)
Thursday 4 September at 10:30am – Matinee
Thursday 4 September at 6:00pm – Evening performance

Bring your family and friends along for an ogre-sized celebration of fun, music, and magic to the performance that best suits you. All of our students’ hard work and teamwork will shine in this spectacular show. Entry is just a gold coin donation – cheaper than a trip to Duloc!

Library News

Book Week 2025- Wow! So much fun and excitement all around books and a shared love of reading. Students enjoyed visits to the Wellington library, Buddy reading sessions, competitions and of course the highlight the Book Parade.

Town Library Boook Week Visit

Year 10 did an amazing job with this year’s play based on the book ‘Willy the Wimp’ by Anthony Browne. From Gorilla gangs busting through doors, minions running across the stage to hilarious aerobics instructors, Year 10 certainly entertained the crowd. Thank you, Year 10 and to Mr Nugent for all his help and hard work in making the play happen.

Book Week Year 10 Play

At our Book Parade, I was very excited to announce that this year I applied through Dymocks Children’s Charities for a book grant for our school library. Dymocks Children’s Charities is a national not-for-profit organisation dedicated to improving literacy across Australia. For 25 years, they have been fostering a love of reading and providing access to quality books. Their core belief is that children who read regularly and have access to engaging books achieve better educational outcomes and lead healthier, happier lives. They have granted our school a library book refurbishment, with $10,000 worth of books, which is absolutely amazing and we can’t thank them enough!! I got a bit choked up sharing this news at the parade. I was overwhelmed when they told exactly how much money they were gifting to us, well beyond anything I expected and I know how extremely valuable this will be for our students. These books have already started to arrive, it’s like Christmas in the library at the moment. I can’t wait to get them on the shelves and into the hands of students to read and enjoy as quickly as possible.

Dymocks Books Donations

As part of Book Week celebrations an array of Radical Reader awards were handed out to students. These awards are awarded for excellent work in all different areas of literacy. Congratulations to Amelia, Braxton, Maeve.H, Arthur, Pippa.H, Flynn, Cooper.P, Ileyana, Angeline, Grace.W, Toby, Makenzi.G, Ella.H, Connor, TG, Lillian & Marrakai.

I also presented some special awards for students who gave up their time to help out with the Book Fair. A big thank you again to Vincent Reid, Hannah Justin, Weston Dearmer and Eden Brindley.

I was also very excited to announce and hand out awards for our Book Week ‘Grug’ competition. I know I always say this but the judges had a very hard time selecting the winners of this competition, there were so many clever designs entered.

Congratulations to our 3 first place winners:
Reyansh for Grug learns how to be a DJ
Maeve.D for Grug becomes a pirate
Elijah for Grug becomes president

Congratulations to our 3 second place winners:
Alice for Grug goes to Ballet
Phoenix for Grug joins a gang
Maeve.H for Grug turns into a mermaid

Congratulations to our 3 third place winners:
Harper for Grug cooked a carrot cake but can’t find a carrot!
Josie for Grug learns to paint
Georgia.M for Grug works at the Reject Shop with my mum

Lastly, Congratulations to our 3 highly commended winners:
Dominic.S for Grug plays in the mud
Ruby for Grug does his first Calvin Klein ad
Mrs Whale for Grug goes to Troll World.

Grug Competition Winners

At the end of the parade I announced that for the remainder of this term I will be running a ‘Book Muster’. For every overdue book students return they will receive a ticket, to go into the draw to win a $20 Rebel or Readings Cinema voucher. There is one to be won in K-6 and one for 7-10. So, round up all those lost books and herd them back to the library for a chance to win!

A HUGE Thank you to everyone for their support and excitement around our Book Week celebrations. Our school office was transformed into Oz, silver brumbies and giraffes were transported to school in horse floats and we even had lambs and puppies join in the parade. Thank you to Mr Jones for again doing an awesome job as our MC and all the staff who dressed up, danced along and helped out with making Book Week such a book-tastic time for our students. The students looked fabulous in their costumes and were so excited to parade up to the stage and show them off! Thank you to all our parents and friends who made it along to the parade and cheered students on- absolutely amazing school spirit.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!

Book Parade

Monday 25th August a very kind Year 8 class visited Maranatha. We had a mix of games and fun which included some Father’s Day activities in preparation for the first Sunday in September. It is always fun when some of the Maranatha residents are able to win a game over our young students. Well done to everyone.

Louise Hennessy
Community Wellbeing Program Manager

Taste of Secondary

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

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

Information Flyers

Parent Line

CEDB Attendance Information for Parents

2026 Enrolments

Catholic Education Diocese of Bathurst eNewsletter

Friday 29 August 2025 - T3W6 Newsletter