St Mary's Bulletin

On Sunday morning, our two ToM teams met at school and performed their long and short term solutions to problems set by the ToM committee. Both Teams prepared for their performance over the past few weeks, unaided by adult help or guidance. The judges were most impressed and will forward their conclusions to both teams in due time.

It was wonderful to have a huge crowd of Dad’s and Grandparents at our Father’s Day Prayer Liturgy and sausage sizzle brekkie Tuesday morning. It was great to see most of the students dressed as their dads. Well done to Mrs Mac and the Year 6 leaders for organising engaging days like our ‘Dress like Dad Day’. Extra vote of thanks to Mrs Riethmuller for organising the morning and the staff who turned out to help serve the breakfast.

As part of Catholic Education Western Australia's ongoing commitment to supporting schools in the delivery of Consent and Respectful Relationships Education (CRRE), CEWA is seeking feedback from parents and carers about their information and support needs in this area. Grounded in the Catholic understanding of the dignity of every person and the call to support the integral human development of each child and young person, this work affirms the importance of forming students to recognise, respect and uphold the dignity, safety and wellbeing of themselves and others. Parents and carers, as the primary educators of their children, play a critical role in shaping children's understanding of relationships, respect, safety and wellbeing.

To ensure future parent resources and engagement opportunities are relevant and responsive, CEWA has developed a short survey to gather parent perspectives, questions and areas of interest relating to consent and respectful relationships education.

The survey will:

• Gather information about parents' current understanding of consent and respectful relationships education.

• Identify topics parents would value further information or support with.

• Inform the development of future parent-facing resources and engagement opportunities.

• Support CEWA and schools to strengthen partnerships with families around student wellbeing and healthy relationships.

The survey should take approximately 5 minutes to complete and responses are anonymous. Survey link:

https://forms.office.com/r/TV8EfHb55U

Thank you for supporting this important initiative and helping ensure that future parent resources reflect the needs and priorities of our school communities.

For further information, please contact Karen Pertile, Respectful Relationships Project Officer, at karen.pertile@cewa.edu.au or Tim Wong, Child Safe Lead, at tim.wong@cewa.edu.au

Today we held our Faction Athletics Carnival. Thank you to Mrs Crees, our staff and the many wonderful volunteers who made the day run smoothly. Congratulations to Salvatorians faction for taking out the shield this year and to all the students who gave it their best today!! Please stay tuned for next weeks Newsletter for the full write up and all the photos from the day!!

A reminder that our Parent & Caregiver Surveys are due back by the 18th of September. If you haven't had time to fill one out yet, we have posted a new Audiri post today. Please click on the link in the post and complete a survey. Your feedback helps the school prioritise school improvement efforts, allowing for continuous school growth.  

Children are independent individuals who need both…

stable foundations: ‘roots’

and

independence: ‘wings’

Kahlil Gibran

God Bless,

David Hamersley

On Tuesday, 1st September, the school was buzzing with excitement as students, fathers, and grandfathers gathered for our annual Father's Day Liturgy in the hall. Following the liturgy, guests enjoyed a delicious sausage sizzle breakfast and the opportunity to spend quality time with their children.

It was wonderful to see so many fathers and grandfathers in attendance, making the morning such a special occasion. This year, students also had the opportunity to dress up as their dads, which brought plenty of smiles and laughter to the celebrations. We thank all the fathers and grandfathers who joined us and helped make the event such a memorable success.

Our Year Sixes ran two competitions on the day to raise money for families in need, raising a total of $131.20. 

The Winners of the Father's Day colouring in Competition are:

Pre-Primary - Gigi C

Junior - William H

Intermediate - Isabel D

Senior - Gabe T

And the Best dressed winners:

1st - Darcy A

2nd - River O

3rd - Willow M

On Thursday the Kindy Dads were treated to an afternoon of fun and challenges that kept them entertained all afternoon. They participated in a selection of  Minute-to-win-it challenges including: Keepy uppy; Bottle flips; M&M races and the floor is lava. 

They also decorated some biscuits, did some paintings and shared some story books together, all while the Dads donned their amazing new hats, handmade by their children!!

I've started collecting items to send to the beautiful people in Tanzania with the help of the Retuno E Maa Foundation I will send a sea container when I have enough items to send. If you have anything you would like to donate that would be amazing. Second hand or new, everything can be used.

Some items that will be loved are:

• Clothes in good condition (no underwear except bras)
• Socks matching with no holes
• Linen
• Shoes in good condition
• School supplies
• Bikes & scooters in any form as they can be fixed
• Balls - netball, soccer, football, basketball, tennis
• Bread & Cake tins
• Craft items like wool, crochet & knitting needles, beads, sewing supplies

Items can be dropped off to Cockies Ag

Jasmin 0427823357

Cockies Ag

Mitchell Street

Merredin

St Mary's School is part of the "Containers for Change" program. Please see the poster below for all the details. If you require a green bag to collect your cans, these are available from Mrs Riethmuller at the school.

Enrolments for the October and summer school holiday programs are now open. Spots are limited and enrolments will close earlier at venues that are fully booked. Enrol now to secure your child’s place! 

Are you planning for your child to attend Year 7 at Merredin College in 2027??

Please ENROL NOW!!

Applications can be found on our website

For further queries you can call administration on (08) 9041 7520 or at Merredin.College@education.wa.edu.au