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Dear Parents, Guardians and Community,
A quiet week at school this week! Last week was a big one with the 180th Celebrations, Book Week and many other things happening, so a bit of quiet time is good.
The main thing happening this week is our Father's Day breakfast put together by our Parents and Friends.
A prayer for Fathers
God, our Father
Bless these men,
that they may find strength as fathers.
Let the example of their faith and love shine forth.
Grant that we, their sons and daughters,
may honor them always
with a spirit of profound respect.
- Author Unknown
National Catholic Education Commission Conference Exhibition Buildings September 4-7. Every four years, Catholic Educators come together in a National Conference. Due to Covid restrictions, this is in fact the 2020 conference which kept on being delayed. Charlotte Lipnicki and I will be representing the school at this event. Our Student Charism Team will be attending on Tuesday with Brittany Rickman for the Cathedral Mass and our School Captains will be part of the event on Wednesday as they give out gifts to some of the guest speakers. https://ncec2022.edu.au/ The theme for this year's conference is "The future is listening."
Cecil St: I had a further meeting with Hobson City Bay Council last week to discuss the roadworks on Cecil st. All is still set to begin in mid September. The school crossing will be removed from the entry of the school and moved to the corner of Cecil st and Parker st with a raised crossing. The corner of Cecil St and Parker st will also be developed with more planting and footpath to make it safer for crossing. Cecil st will be a one way street with a possible 'kiss and go' drop off zone in front of the school.
A reminder that if your child is unwell please do not send them to school. It is spreading across our classrooms and then other families end up with children being kept at home. Thankfully our Covid numbers have really dropped, but we have many students with coughs and colds.
Our Fabulous Fair. Thank you for all the generous donations for Our Fabulous Fair. It is looking to be a great event for the community. Remember to let the organisers know how you can help to make this event successful.
God Bless and have a great Father's Day.
Anthony
St Mary's Families Supporting Each Other
Financially: Did you know that families often financially donate to support other families. This may come in the form of offering to pay for another families school fees, camp fees or other costs. We cannot give money to another family directly, however we can use that money to supplement their school fees, camp fees etc.)To support another family in our school, use our normal bank account with a reference;
ST MARY'S FAMILY SUPPORT DONATION
Bank Account BSB 083 347 Account Number: 658206494
Second Hand Uniform Shop: Many families donate old uniforms to our second hand shop. These second hand uniforms are either resold or donated to families in our school.
Book Exchange: Did you know we have a book exchange near the entry of our school? Many families use this to donate and swap books.
St Mary's Parish School Building fund (Tax Deductable) You may also choose to support the school by making a donation to the St Mary's Parish School Building Fund. All donations to this fund are tax deductable. Funds can only be spent on a set criteria which include building maintenance, repair, replacement or a new building. BSB: 083 347 Account Number: 153900034
Faith News - School and Parish Connections
Father’s Day
Wishing all the fathers and father figures at St Mary’s a Happy Father’s Day.
We look forward to seeing you at the Father’s day breakfast and Mass.
Children will be able to sit with the dads or significant males during the Mass.
The Year 4 children will have a role in the Mass and need to sit either in the pews near the school entrance to the Church or in the first few pews of the church. Reserved signs will be on the seats.
Way of the West
Another Amazing Effort!!
Father Greg and the Asylum Seeker Resource Center would like to extend their thanks to the St Mary’s School community for their continued generosity and support.
Once again, the donations received this year have been overwhelming.
What a tremendous effort!
Important dates to Remember for Term 3
Event |
Date |
Time |
Where |
Fathers day Mass |
Friday 2nd September |
9:15 am |
Church |
Seniors Mass Year 6 |
Friday 2nd September |
11:30 |
Church |
Important dates to Remember for Term 4
Event |
Date |
Time |
Where |
First Advent Liturgy Parents Welcome |
25th Nov |
3:00 |
Church |
Prep 2023 Welcome Mass |
27th Nov |
10:30 |
Church |
Second Advent Liturgy Parents Welcome |
2nd Dec |
3:00 |
Church |
Feast of the Immaculate Conception |
8th Dec |
9:15 |
Church |
Third Advent Liturgy Parents Welcome |
9th Dec |
3:00 |
Church |
End of Year Mass |
15th December |
TBC |
Church |
P&F Association Meeting - the next meeting has been re-scheduled for Monday 5th September for 7pm via Zoom. This will be a quick meeting to discuss the events for Term 4. If you would like to join in, please email secretary@smwilliamstown.catholic.edu.au for the Zoom access code.
Fair Donations - this week’s theme is Buy-a-Bottle items. These can be dropped into the donations box in the school office. What types of bottles are we looking for?
Sauces- Soy sauce, chilli sauce, BBQ sauce, chocolate sauce, fancy sauces
Cordials - like fancy cordials or drink flavourings,
Oils - olive oils, avocado oils, salad oils,
Vinegars - balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar
Wines - non-alcoholic wines, Chinese cooking rice wine, unwanted gifts of wine.
Others - lotions, anything which you think would make a surprising gift
The only stipulations are that they need to be unopened, within date and in a glass bottle.
Father’s Day Stall - The Father’s Day stall was held last Friday and saw over 500 gifts purchased for the special men in the St Mary’s community.
A big thank you to those who volunteered on the day namely Katherine Goode, Amy Frendo, Annie Lowres, Claire Beckton, Jenny Jovanoski, Michelle Mattina, Nicole Rowan and Yolanda Andrews.
We also had a beautiful donation from Fran Power (Maya from Prep L’s mum) of Hemp Co Australia beard oils, which were snapped up by the children and no doubt will be enjoyed by some lucky dads and grandads. Thanks so much Fran!
All fathers and significant father-type figures are invited to the Father’s Day Breakfast on Friday 2nd September in the school hall, starting at 8am. After breakfast, Mass will be celebrated in the church. To help reduce waste, please remember to bring along your keep-cup.
Photographs for the Father’s Day Breakfast picture display of kids with their Dad can be emailed to secretary@smwilliamstown.catholic.edu.au before 31st August. Due to work commitments, no photos can be accepted after that date. Thanks for your understanding.
Footy and Fairies Fun Day - will be on Friday 9th September. To celebrate the upcoming footy finals season, children can come to school dressed in their favourite team colours, favourite sports code (think soccer, lacrosse, athletics etc). This year instead of a gold-coin donation, we are collecting family-sized blocks of chocolates and bags of lollies for the school fair.
BREAKING NEWS - family sized chocolate bars are currently half-priced at the major retailers…perhaps pick up a few extra to donate to the school fair!
The next 2nd hand uniform shop will be scheduled for Wednesday 7th September, from 8:30-9:30am in the hall, and fortnightly after that. In addition, uniforms can still be ordered at any time by emailing Sherrine and Meagan at uniformspf@smwilliamstown.catholic.edu.au
What’s happening in 3rd Term?
This is just a snapshot of what the P&F Association has planned for the third term
Date |
What’s happening |
Friday 2nd September (8.00am) |
Father’s Day Breakfast and Mass (School Hall then Church) |
Monday 5th September (7.00pm - 7.45pm) |
P&F Association Meeting (Online) |
Wednesday 7th September (8.30am - 9.30am) |
2nd Hand Uniform Sales (School Hall) |
Friday 9th September (All day) |
Footy & Fairy Fun Day |
St Mary's Fabulous Family Fair
Woohoo the Fair is 10 WEEKS AWAY!!
We have been busy getting all the stalls organised. We are so pleased to share the different stalls with you so you can get excited too!
School holidays are a great time to get together donations, so make sure to read through our list to see where you can help.
How can I help?
We are seeking help in organising a coffee machine. Also, if anyone is a talented baristas who is available to help on the day, please get in contact.
Large donation pledges for sausages, bread, coffee beans, lettuce, sliced tomatoes and cucumbers. Can you or someone you know help us?
Please email fair@smwilliamstown.catholic.edu.au
Thanks again to everyone who’s dropped donations into the office. We are still currently collecting not only for the Lucky Dip Stall but also for: Buy A Bottle, Second Hand Books, Puzzles and Games.
We desperately need Raffle Items, so if you can please provide anything for an indulgent food hamper, pamper goods, sporting items etc we would love to hear from you. Thank you to all the families that have already pledged or donated for the Raffle.
Reminder there is NO Trash and Treasure stall this year. Thank you!
What we are collecting for the remainder of this Term?
Buy-a-bottle - anything in a glass bottle can be donated, must be new/not opened of course. We aim to collect 250 bottles of sauces, vinegars, cordials, wine, non-alcoholic drinks, or glass bottles such as oil diffusers or body lotions. The only stipulation is a glass bottle not plastic.
Books, Board Games and Puzzles - these are the only second hand items that we will be needing but they should be in good condition and for board games and puzzles they must have all the pieces. We are not accepting second hand toys this year because there is no trash and treasure stall.
Lucky Dip - Seeking donations of empty or full glass jars, donations of unused (new) toys are also welcome for some special prizes. If you have some leftover party items that you didn't get a chance to use please send those in, bags of lollies (unopened) beauty products etc. We love all the marvellous creations that are coming in.
Raffle - If you have any items that you want to donate for the Raffle please drop those off at the Donations Box at the front office. These need to be items that are in gift giving condition. We will be making up a range of raffle hampers. Also if anyone is looking to donate a major prize please email fair@smwilliamstown.catholic.edu.au
The next meeting is scheduled during the school holidays so there won't be any reminders. Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday 20th September at 7pm and will be via zoom. Please email fair@smwilliamstown.catholic.edu.au if you would like to join.
Many thanks
Jemima
P&F Association