Dear Parents,

This week is Book Week for us at St Mary’s!

Book Fair

The Book Fair is set up in our Library and students have already compiled their wish list!. Some are quite long! Under current Level 3 restrictions parents may enter the school to view and pay for any items by  booking a time (contact the front office staff 69491270) preferably before or after school. Parents will need to wear a mask, QR code on entry, and show proof of their double vaccination status. Our front office staff can also assist if you are not able to get in to school this week. Just give them a call for more information. Thank you for your understanding.

Book Week Parade

Our parade of book characters will be held this Friday at 9:00am. Some students have been waiting for the opportunity to dress up since as their favourite character for months. It is always a fun celebration of literature and Ms Murray, our Librarian, will  let us know the winners of this year recipients of the Children’s Book Council Australia awards. 

End of Year Dates

With some restrictions easing, but not all, our end of year dates have had to be changed. Our awards evening is not permitted so we have adjusted to the following.

Thursday 9 December  Thanksgiving/Graduation Mass at 10am in the Church. Parents of Year 6 students permitted followed by a morning tea.

                                          then

Awards Day at 11:30am held outside and we will record the Awards Day for parents to view at a later time for their convenience.

Whilst not ideal, this arrangement meets NSW Gov’t guidelines and still permits us to celebrate our students achievements for 2021. Once again, thank you for your understanding in this matter.

Have a lovely week everyone.

Jannine

Aiden’s Baptism

Congratulations to Aiden on receiving the sacrament of Baptism on Sunday who has been welcomed into God’s family. We pray for Aiden:

May he walk forward, cleansed of sin, 

embraced and loved by the Father. 

May Aiden follow the leading of the Lord Jesus Christ, 

guiding his path.

                                                   Amen

The Vinnie Christmas appeal runs annually with the theme this year: ‘no child should be born into a world without hope’, a great focus on what has been quite a challenging year for us all.

A record number of families are unemployed this Christmas. They are struggling to meet the rising cost of living and are going without life’s essentials. In fact, more than 116,000 Australians are experiencing or are at risk of homelessness because they can no longer afford the cost of living. Since the pandemic, more and more families are struggling to put food on the table, pay household living expenses and keep a roof over their head. 1 in 8 Australians are living in poverty - 1 in 6 of these are children (Poverty in Australia, ACOSS/UNSW Report, 2020).

Families are invited to please give generously to our St Vincent De Paul Christmas Hampers with donations of non-perishable food goods. Baskets are located in classrooms for students to place their items into. 

Your kindness can make a difference to people in need in our community this Christmas. 

Melissa Hotham - Religious Education Coordinator