St Mary’s Catholic Primary SchoolCnr Byng and Park Street / PO Box 8007 ORANGE NSW 2800

Ph: 6362 7926stmarysorange@bth.catholic.edu.auwww.stmarysorange.catholic.edu.au

7th October 2021 Term 4 Week 1

Our VisionWith Jesus Christ as our inspiration and guide,

St Mary's Catholic Primary School Orange is a Professional Learning Community that works in collaboration with family, church and community to celebrate high levels of learning for all.

Twenty-Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time (YearB)Mark 10:17-30

Jesus was setting out on a journey when a man ran up, knelt before him and put this question to him, ‘Good master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: You must not kill; You must not commit adultery; You must not steal; You must not bring false witness; You must not

defraud; Honour your father and mother.’ And he said to him, ‘Master, I have kept all these from my earliest days.’ Jesus looked steadily at him and loved him, and he said, ‘There is one thing you lack. Go and sell everything you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ But his face fell at these words and he went

away sad, for he was a man of great wealth.Jesus looked round and said to his disciples, ‘How hard it is for those who have riches to enter

the kingdom of God!’ The disciples were astounded by these words, but Jesus insisted, ‘My children,’ he said to them, ‘how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.’ They were more astonished than ever. ‘In that case’ they said to one another, ‘who can be saved?’ Jesus

gazed at them. ‘For men’ he said, ‘it is impossible, but not for God: because everything is possible for God.’

ReflectionThis Sunday's readings confront us with the need to make choices in life, choices for God. They also remind us that no significant choice is without its price. However, if we make the right choice, we are assured that we will be richly rewarded.We all want to be happy in life. We just don't always know which doors to open, and how far to enter them. We need wisdom for that. The more options that are open to us, the more difficult it is to choose, but choose we must. To choose one option is to relinquish the others. The young man in the gospel wanted eternal life. Surely there is nothing more worthy than that. However, the price he was asked to pay was more than he had expected, and he went away saddened. To choose is to face the consequences of the word of God, and sometimes this is as sharp as a two-edged sword.One of the mysteries of faith is the incomprehensible generosity of God. We choose wisdom instead of all of the good things of the world, and we receive these good things along with wisdom itself. We are asked to relinquish all of the things that we value, and we get them back a hundredfold. We are invited to take a step into the unknown. We are told that we will not fall. However, we are never sure of this until we take the step and discover that we have not fallen. God demands so much, but gives so much more.

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Thank you to all the wonderful students and families who participated in the St Mary's Sleepout for the Homeless. As a community we were able to raise over $3000. Your selfless act of giving up your comfortable bed for the night and your generous fundraising has certainly made a difference in people's lives!Congratulations!!

From the Principal:

Dear parents and carers,

What a beautiful start to the term we have had! The children have come back with smiles and chatter, bringing with them a wonderful energy. The teachers have commented on how settled and ready for the term the students are. Our grounds look magnificent due to the plentiful rain we have had and the hard work that our groundsman Matt puts into it. Even the chickens seem to have a spring in their step.

Before the holidays the children planted an array of vegetables and bulbs in the garden patch and they have been delighted to see these tiny seedlings come to life.

As well our our D&T shed, which will go in over the summer holidays, we have also found some money in our budget for a new cubby house for the Infants playground. This will provide our younger students with wonderful opportunities for creative play. Our aim we these improvements is to provide a wide range of options for students at lunch time to allow children to really enjoy their playtime.

This term’s calendar is already very full. Some of the planned events are still contingent on whether or not we remain under Category 3 for Lockdown Orders. This category means that we can’t have parent meetings and non-essential staff on site. We are really hoping to have our Kindergarten orientation night for parents and our usual end of year celebrations with full parent participation. We will let you know as the weeks unfold how these events will look.

Thought for the week:

‘Nothing ever seems impossible in the Spring, you know.’

L.M. Montgomery

Kindergarten orientation

This term we have planned four opportunities for our 2022 Kindergarten students to visit their new school as well as a parent information night on Thursday 18 November 6:00-7:00pm (if restrictions ease). A detailed letter will go out to new and existing parents next week with the details, but for now here are the dates for Kindergarten transition:

● Thursday 21 October 9:10 - 11:00● Thursday 4 November 9:10 - 11:00● Thursday 18 November 9:10 -11:00● Monday 13 December 9:10 - 11:00 Meet your teacher

Hats in Term 4

Please note that it is compulsory at St Mary’s for the children to wear their hats in Term 4 to protect their skins. Students who don’t wear hats will not be allowed to play out in the sunshine, and they will stay under the shelters. Hats are often the first item of the uniform to go missing so please name/rename your child’s hat with their name and class so that lost hats can be returned to their owners. Note please that we do not encourage children to borrow hats from lost property as this is a matter of hygiene.

Drop off and Pick up

Could I please remind parents and carers when dropping and picking up your children that you observe the conditions of Level 3 restrictions:

● Please maintain personal distance from each other● Wear a mask and use the QR code if you are entering the school grounds ● Please leave the grounds as soon as possible once you have collected your

child● Please refrain from allowing your children and toddlers to use the

playground equipment.

I know we are all desperate to return to life as normal, and it will happen. For now we just need to maintain our vigilance around public health orders until we hear any different.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend when it arrives.

Kind regards,Gayle Stratton

CHART OF 1ST CONTACT FOR PARENT COMMUNICATION

WHO DO I TALK WITH?

PARENT / SCHOOL COMMUNICATION DIRECTORY

YOUR CHILD OTHER CONCERNS

SPECIAL EVENTS

SCHOOL POLICY

SCHOOL FEES

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

TEACHER IN CHARGE

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

FINANCE OFFICER

CLASS TEACHER

PRINCIPAL: Gayle Stratton

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL: Rachel Cranney

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION COORDINATOR: Glenn Corben

PRIMARY COORDINATOR: Sally Curran

FINANCE OFFICER: Nicole Downey

It is essential to ring and make an appointment with any of the personnelconcerned. This will ensure full and undivided attention. 02 63627926

PRINCIPAL PRINCIPAL

PRINCIPAL PRINCIPAL ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

PRINCIPAL

Kindergarten Blue News

It has been such a fun week reuniting with friends and learning face to face with teachers! There has been lots of excitement in the classroom and out on the playground. We are enjoying wearing our summer uniform and the beautiful sunny spring days!

In Science our topic for this term is Wild Weather! We went outside and looked at the beautiful sky and the amazing cloud formations. We have also been looking at the weather report in the newspaper and the different symbols which are used to tell us what the weather will be like each day.

In Religion we are thinking about all of God’s wonderful creations. We have been going outside and exploring the wonderful things he has given us in our school environment.

Kindergarten Blue News

We love reading in Kindergarten Blue so we have been very excited to start off the term with the book Hattie and the Fox by Mem fox. We are very clever in identifying capital letters, full stops, exclamation marks and speech marks. It’s lots of fun deciding which voice to use for the different characters in the story! We also created some awesome artworks of Hattie the hen.

We are super clever in Maths! We have been revising half and whole and folding shapes to show our understanding. Hands on maths is a great way to learn.

We are doing Dance for sport this term and we are AMAZING! Kindergarten Blue sure know how to rock those moves!It is so fantastic to be back at school having fun and learning together!

School Uniform

Term 4 is approaching very quickly and you may have a new uniform on your mind. With lockdown restrictions, we will be processing new uniforms next term as there is a two week allowance for children to remain in their winter uniform.

Uniform orders made this week and through the holidays will be available for collection on Tuesday 5th October. Please use flexi-schools to order online. If you order the wrong size, please be assured that we will swap it for you. This will be to reduce any last minute rush at the end of term.

Our summer uniform consists of

Sun Safety

School hats are to be worn by all children in the playground during Term 1 and Term 4 when a “No Hat, No Play” policy applies. This includes Sport & P.E. times as well as school/class excursions. Children are encouraged to also wear hats during Term 2 & Term 3. For hygiene reasons, children are not to wear hats that do not belong to them.

Sports UniformNavy polo shirt with logoNavy shorts White socksJoggers

For BoysSchool blue short-sleeve shirtGrey shortsGrey socksBlack shoes

For GirlsPink checked dress White socksBlack shoes

SPORTS UNIFORM FOR NEXT WEEK

Kindergarten TUESDAY Year One FRIDAY Year Two FRIDAY

Year Three TUESDAYYear Four FRIDAYYear Five MONDAYYear Six MONDAY

Important Information about afternoon pickup

The Bus Company has approached the school asking that cars DO NOT park in the no parking section in front of the school. The buses cannot exit the bus bay if the cars are parked there. Parking in this area draws a fine of $272.00.

Thank you for helping to keep our school community safe.

Dear Families,

In Week 2, St Mary's will be celebrating Book Week! We encourage the children to dress up on Thursday the 14th of October. Due to restrictions there will not be the usual whole school parade or the book fair.

The theme this year is 'Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other Worlds. So perhaps you can think of characters such as; mermaids, vikings, monsters, witches or pirates!

Thanks, Mrs Powell

Scholastic Bookclub has a digital edition.Follow the link

below to browse for Christmas.

Click Here