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

If everyone is moving forward then success takes care of itself. Henry Ford.

Dear St Mary’s Families,

As we come to the end of term 2 we celebrate the achievements of each and every one of our students.

Congratulations to our Year 3 students who participated in their reflection day and First Holy Communion. This is a significant step in their faith journey which was supported by Father Carl.

Our students all achieved their personal bests at our annual athletics carnival and were outstanding in the way that they participated and supported each other.

Striving for excellence was again reflected in our students this week at the Wellington Eisteddfod where all of our St Mary’s entries were rewarded with deserved 1st places. Credit to our dedicated teachers for your preparation of our students for these performances. Many St Mary’s students also competed in individual sessions and we commend them for their achievements also.

At our end of term assembly we came together and acknowledged excellence in learning and are looking forward to the opportunity to connect with our families early next term to check in with you on the progress that your children are making during parent/teacher conferences.

We wrapped up the term with some very energetic socials. K-2 held a daytime social and Year 3-10 socials were in the evening. Great school spirit and friendship connections were evident at all socials.

Congratulations to Mrs Brien who was accredited as a proficient teacher recently. Year 6 celebrated this special achievement by presenting Mrs Brien with a lovely bunch of flowers.

We were saddened to hear about the passing of Sr Joanne Healy, who was an Ursuline Sister residing in Wellington and was associated with St Patrick's Parish and our school for a number of years. Please remember Sr Joanna in your prayers.

Wishing you all a safe and restful holiday break. We can’t wait to see what awaits us in our St Mary’s community next term.

May God bless you every day and every moment.

Mrs Leanne Clarke
Principal

Diary and Important Dates

School resumes Monday 21 July 2025

Next Pupil Free Day will be Friday 5 September

Week 1

Monday 21 July: Term 3 Commences | Assembly in the quadrangle at 8.50am

Tuesday 22 July: School vaccination catch up

Wednesday 23 July: Primary Touch Gala Day Dubbo

Thursday 24 July: Regional Touch Dubbo | Visit by Bishop Michael McKenna

Friday 25 July: DIO Netball Gala Day

Week 2

Monday 28 July: St Mary's Bookfair | Year 10 Visit Maranatha House 2pm

Tuesday 29 July: St Mary's Boofair | Parent Teacher K-6 Conferences

Wednesday 30 July: St Mary's Bookfair | Parent Teacher 7-10 Conferences | P & F Meeting 5.30pm

Thursday 31 July: St Mary's Bookfair

Friday 1 August: School Newsletter

Religious Education News

The Sacrament of First Holy Communion

Congratulations to students who made their First Holy Communion recently. They were very respectful during the Mass and presented beautifully. Thank you also to Mrs Sharon Frogley and Mrs Kelly Wykes for their work in preparing these children for the Sacrament. We continue to pray for these children that their journey into their Catholic faith is a rewarding one, and they grow in their love for Jesus.

Diocesan Religious Education Test

Each year, our Year 6 students participate in the Diocesan Religious Education test. The test covers the learning content throughout primary school. It was good to see that the results for Year 6 were on par with the Diocesan averages. Congratulations to the following students for their outstanding achievement.

Certificates of Credit are awarded to Evie Whiteley, Geordie Mason, Elijah Hawkins, Bella Cummings, Ellie Heywood, and Flynn Feringa. Certificates of Distinction to Olivia Potter, Stephanie Frogley, Pippa Horton and Caylee Johnston. Thank you to Mrs Hannah Brien for revising and preparing these students in the lead-up to this test.

Vale Sr Joanna Healy

Last week, we lost one of our last remaining nuns in Wellington, Sr Joanna Healy, who was an Ursuline Sister. She had lived in the Wellington community for the past 25 years and worked in the central west (and beyond) for a much longer time. Sr Joanna devoted her life to God and to doing his work throughout the world; working with young families, with women, in health, in parishes, in school, in spiritual direction and in advocating for the poor and marginalised. Our community is better for having had Sr Joanna’s presence. We pray for her soul, and we pray too for her good friend, Sr Marjorie Fitzgerald, for her loss. Sr Majorie is a Sister of Mercy.

Sacred Heart Mass

Last week, we celebrated Mass in the Church with Year 7-10 students for the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. The students were very reverent, thinking about how much they are loved by Jesus. Thank you to Mr John Nugent and Mrs Tammy Nugent for preparing the student readers for Mass. Thank you also to those students who volunteered to read and participate in the offertory procession.

Mr Christopher Stevens
Leader of Ministry and Mission

St Patrick's Parish Sacramental Calendar 2025

School Information

K-10 Semester One Reports

K-10 Semester One Reports will be released through Compass this Friday 4 July. We would like to congratulate students on their efforts in class and assessments during Term 1 and 2. A message will be shared through the Compass News Feed when these reports are released which will include instructions on how to access your child’s Semester One Report for 2025.

Parents/carers can request a paper copy of their child’s Semester One Report through the school office.

Parent/Teacher Conferences Term 3 - Save the Date

Term 3 Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held in Week 2 of Term 3. The school will be trialling a different format for these conferences, taking place on 1 day with extended hours (3:30pm - 7:00pm).

K-6 conferences (Tuesday 29th July) - in the hall

7-10 conferences (Wednesday 30th July)- in the hall

Note: All interviews K-10 will be held in the school hall this time with teachers positioned around the hall space. Conference bookings will be open to parents and carers at the beginning of Term 3 and can be made through Compass.

Please be aware that Mrs Brien will be on leave during this time. You will be notified of an alternate day for Year 6 conferences early in Term 3.

Mr Allan Jones
Assistant Principal

School Wide Positive Behaviour for Learning SPB4L

SPB4L Focus- ‘Responsible use of Technology’

A new SPB4L focus will be launched early in Term 3 to assist students to understand their responsibilities in regards to the use of technology at school. The ‘Responsible use of Technology’ focus will look at student chromebooks, Ipads and desktop computers as well as providing reminders of the school’s expectations around the use of mobile phones. We encourage parents to continually have conversations with their children around the safe and responsible use of technology, both at school and at home.

Mr Allan Jones
Assistant Principal

Learning Matters

K-2

‘Adventure is out there - let’s go find some together.’

As Term 2 draws to a close K-2 teachers would like to congratulate students on the amazing and high quality work they have produced this term. We have enjoyed many adventures together as we ventured into the world of fairy tales and nursery rhymes, exploring stories from ancient cultures and learning about dreamtime stories and how our Aboriginal people have communicated through stories over time.

Congratulations to all of our K-2 students on your amazing performance at the Wellington Eisteddfod coming first with our poem. Also congratulations to those students who had solo and group entries in dance, music and speechl.

Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday. We look forward to seeing all your beautiful faces again in Term 3.

Ms Kellie Rich
K-2 Leader of Learning

Year 3-6

Wellington Eisteddfod

Congratulations to our Year 3/4 and Year 5/6 verse speaking choirs who both competed in the verse speaking sections at the Wellington Eisteddfod this week. Both classes performed extremely well and each won their sections. Both groups had a bit of fun with their poem selections which made the experience very enjoyable. Thanks to all of the staff in Years 3-6 for their time and preparation of the students.

Bell Shakespeare

We are fortunate this week to have had Bell Shakespeare coming to St. Mary’s to perform the play, ‘Such Sweet Sorrow’ for our Year 5-10 students. Bell Shakespeare is a widely regarded drama group who have been to St. Mary’s before and the students loved their previous performance. The play was a great introduction to the drama units being studied in secondary classes next term.

Mr John Nugent
3-6 Leader of Learning

Year 7-10

Apprenticeships and SBATs

Thank you to Alison O’Brien from “Busyatwork” Bathurst for speaking to our year 10 students last Thursday. Unfortunately a lot of students were absent on the day, if interested in these opportunities please speak to Mrs Nugent for more information.

Lovebites

Thankyou to Ruth Brown our school counsellor for leading this year's Lovebites session with year 10. On the day they were given the knowledge and skills to build and maintain respectful relationships, foster the ability to think critically and challenge harmful attitudes & promote problem solving and communication abilities, including when and how to access support.

Wellington Eisteddfod

Congratulations to all of our students who entered this year's Wellington Eisteddfod. I would like to make special mention to Mr Doherty and the Year 7 & 8 music students who performed in the secondary choir. Well done on your 1st place trophy!

I would like to wish everyone a happy and safe mid-year break and look forward to your return Monday 21 July.

Mrs Tammy Nugent
7-10 Leader of Learning

Bell Shakespeare

Sport News

Athletics Carnival

Age Champions
8 Ned Frogley and Greta Comiskey
9 Henry Wright and Ivy Telfer
10 Ari Ryan-Lousick and Lily Nugent
11 Jasper Telfer and Brodie Frogley
12 Primary Geordie Mason and Stephanie Frogley
13 Primary Henry Donovan
12 Secondary Hunter Hall
13 Darcy O'Donnell and Halle Tolhurst
14 Patrick Angell and Annabella Brown
15 Riley Smith and Seana Byrne
16 Lucas James, Jacob Spargo-Long and Brydie Chandler

Well done St Mary’s on your participation and competition at our school Athletics Carnival. Thank you to all of our awesome volunteers and staff who assisted on the day which contributed to making the day a great success.

Congratulations to Xavier House for winning on the day and all of our age champions.

Polding Touch Football Trials

Congratulations to Evie Whiteley, Steph Frogley, Sophie Brown, Ruby Mace and Will Carney for your participation in the Polding Touch Football trials this week. This is a great achievement.

Congratulations to Evie Whiteley and Steph Frogley on making it to the NSW Polding Team and to Ruby Mace for making the Possibles and Probables.

School Fees

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.

Year 6 End of Term Wrap Up

Year 6 WOW WORK!

What an incredible semester it’s been in Year 6! Our students have been working exceptionally hard planning and publishing their work.

We started our English unit with the powerful novel Rabbit, Soldier, Angel, Thief by Katrina Nannestad, before exploring the inspiring story of Vincent Lingiari and the Wave Hill Walk-Off. These rich stories sparked thoughtful discussions and became the foundation for a range of impressive student writing, from creative diary entries, formal letters, informative texts and even our very own picture books!

Mrs Hannah Brien
Teacher

Year 7 & 8 Mandatory Technology

A-MAZE-ing

During the first half of Semester One students used a program called Tinkercad to design a maze. Students firstly drew a maze on paper and uploaded it to the program. Secondly they were given a square template and had to change their name and the interior walls. Lastly they were to use the skills they had learnt to make a new and unique maze. The end results were cowboy boots, tractor, seashell, cat, cars, dog, love heart and lots of other creative mazes that either took a marble or ball bearing. Our 3D printer was running day and night for a total of over 200 hours. The longest print was Johannah’s rabbit maze taking 14 hours to print and the quickest Lina’s square maze which only took 2.5 hours. Well done to all of our students who successfully designed and printed a maze.

Mrs Tammy Nugent
Teacher

Year 7 & 8 Mandatory Technology - Textiles

The last half of Semester One students learnt the basics of tie-dyeing and sewing to create a unique pair of boxer shorts. Students learnt basic stitches on the machine such as straight stitch to create seams and zig zag stitch. They then spent time learning different tie dye techniques such the bullet, swirl and fold before choosing their own colours to dye their boxer shorts. They then used the overlocker to stop the edges from fraying and sewed up their boxer shorts. I hope you enjoy looking at their final product.

Mrs T Nugent
Teacher

Library News

Thank you to all students who have shared their favourite books in library lessons over the last two weeks and throughout Term 2. Next term’s timetable will be shared at the beginning of Term 3.

Next term is my favourite time of the year, it's ‘Term 3, Let's Read’. We kick things off with our Book Fair in Week 2, July 28 -31. Please support our Book Fair and help us continue to buy books for our library for another year. The Book Fair is a great way to encourage students with their love of reading and every purchase made earns money for our school to spend on books and resources.

Another important date to mark on the calendar for next term, is our Book Week Parade which will be held in Week 5- Wednesday, August 20.

Radical Reader Awards

At our assembly on Thursday I was thrilled to hand out a large bunch of Radical Reader Awards. These awards are nominated by teachers, and it was fantastic to see so many recognised for their efforts in all areas of reading. A big congratulations again to Henry.H, Herbert, Summer, Thato, Audrey, Reagan, Maggie, Angus, George, Harry, Brodie, Oliver, Ryan, Bella, Seini, Peter and Caitlin.

Renaissance Reading

There has been a huge effort by most students with Renaissance Reading in this first half of the year and I would like to congratulate you all. It's great to see students reading everyday and best of all, finding books they love. This year I have continued to use our ‘Read To Survive’ display, using F1 cars to show classes how they are tracking with their reading throughout each term. It was a very close race for Term 2, coming right down to the line. In the end Year 3 were our Term 2 season champions. Congratulations, Year 3! Hold that Golden Book Trophy high, I know how hard you have all worked for it. Next term you will be receiving a special casual clothes day and treat. Congratulations to our overall champions, our top Renaissance Readers for Term 2- Liya, Rupert, Jack O'L, Maeve, Hannah, Frederick, George, Frankie, Geordie, Olivia, Paddy and Lochlan. Last but definitely not least, congratulations to our Mini Golden Book Trophy winners- Kindergarten. Well done, Kinder. A special treat and casual clothes day soon for all of you!

Our Term 3 Renaissance competition kicks off tomorrow. Please encourage students to be reading over the holidays. The town library has a great collection of books, as does our online library- SORA. Students can use SORA to access e-books, audiobooks and other resources. To access SORA, Simply go to https://soraapp.com/ When asked for your school please put ACEN (Australian Catholic Education Network) You will be asked to do this twice, Students then log in using their normal school email account details. Many of the books on offer on SORA are also on Renaissance. So please remind students whenever they finish reading ANY book to jump on Renaissance and see if there is a quiz to complete.

Mrs Hayley Jones
Libraian

Maranatha House Visit - Year 4

Year 4 headed to Maranatha on Monday 30 for a lovely visit. This term we have been encouraged by the elderly to continue to share craft activities. So on Monday we shared learning how to paint with a cotton wool ball. Everyone showed learning something new is fun no matter what your age is. And as you can see from the picutres so creative with beautiful results. Well done to such a kind and considerate Year 4 and Steph and Evie from Year 6 who came as mentors.

Louise Hennessy
Community Wellbeing Program Manager

K-10 Assembly

Years 3-6 Social

Breakfast Club

The Breakfast Club in our K-2 area is open every morning. A huge thank you to Mrs Sears, Mrs Whale and the K-2 students who help run this amazing breakfast program for us.

Pictured below are James and Ned doing an awesome job with the butter and spreads while Grace and Farrah worked the toasters.

Great job everyone!

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