Newsletter 15 December 2023

Principal's Message

Friday 15 December 2023 - Term 4 Week 10

Dear Parents and Carers,

This Wednesday, we celebrated our annual awards day here at school. For my final newsletter as Acting Principal, I thought I would include my speech, in which I thank our students, their families, and our staff for the wonderful year.

With immense pride and joy, we celebrate the culmination of a year filled with hard work, collaboration, creativity, and unwavering dedication from every corner of our school community. This is a special occasion to acknowledge and applaud the remarkable achievements of our students, and we extend our heartfelt congratulations to those who are receiving awards today. Your excellence in both learning and attitude is truly commendable.

However, let us all remember that today is not solely about recognising a select few. It is a celebration of each and every one of you—our students—who contribute to the vibrant tapestry of St Augustine's. Whether or not you find yourself receiving an award today, you are all invaluable members of our school community. We are fortunate to witness your growth year after year, and it is a privilege to be part of your primary school education journey.

Each of you brings a unique combination of talents and strengths, making our school a richer and more diverse learning environment. We sincerely thank you for what you bring to our community, and we encourage you to continue embracing your individual gifts.

My message to you is simple: keep working hard, share your gifts with others, practice them, and take pride in who you are and the strengths that God has gifted you with.

As we finish the 2023 school year, I must congratulate all of our students for our wonderful year together. To our families, we express our heartfelt gratitude for trusting St Augustine’s to educate and guide your children. 

Our school is blessed with an incredible staff who are wholeheartedly committed to guiding and nurturing each of you. Their dedication to helping students work hard, be good people, and achieve great things is truly commendable. We extend our deepest gratitude to our outstanding staff members for their professionalism and the positive impact they make on our school community. I thank you all so much!

This year, in Mr Watt’s absence, I have been privileged to be the Acting Principal of St Augustine’s, so today, I would like to particularly thank Mrs Michelle Scott, Assistant Principal Learning and Teaching and Mrs Dominique Montford, Acting Assistant Principal Mission and the entire Leadership team and office staff for supporting me, making sure I am where I need to be and picking up the many things that I missed, dropped or fumbled along the way. I thank you for your unwavering support and commitment to our school. You have been amazing sounding boards and wise counsel, and I truly thank each of you. 

Today, we welcome our Principal, Mr Watts, back to St Augustine’s and wow, have we missed you. We have missed your integrity, compassion, wisdom and, dare I say, humour, and we look forward to having you back here in 2024. As Mr Watts approaches the stage, let us collectively show our appreciation for his wonderful work guiding our school community and the Mount St Pat’s Dorrigo school community towards excellence. Thank you, Mr. Watts, and thank you to all members of our St Augustine’s family for making this year of learning and growth outstanding. 

On behalf of our dedicated staff and students, we extend warm wishes to you all for a joyous Christmas and an abundance of health and happiness in the coming year. 

Thank you

Kind regards,

Naomi Loader

Acting Principal 

Term 1 Dates 2024

Year 1 -6 first day of Term 1 2024 is Wednesday 31 January 2024

Kindy Best Start interviews will be from Wednesday 31 January 2024 - Tuesday 6 Febuary 2024.

Kindy 2024 first day of Term 1 2024 is Wednesday 7 January 2024

New sports uniform available now!

I would like to thank the Uniform Committee, who worked with Mr Watts last year and earlier this year to finalise a new sports uniform and a jacket. We are thrilled to announce that these are now available for purchase through Cabas Drapery. We will phase out the old sports uniform over the next two years and aim for all students to wear the new sports uniform at the commencement of 2026. 

We have limited stock of the existing sports shirts for sale through the School Office at a discounted price of $15.

 Please note that the existing jumpers remain an option to purchase, and the Soft Shell Jacket (attached) is optional for the cooler months (available February 2024). Both of these can be worn on any day. 

Year 6 2024 keepsake sports shirts will be offered to Year 5 to be ordered early next term.

Playground extension is open!

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St Augustine's 2023 Awards Day

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Faith and Mission News

Advent Art Year 3

Advent Calendar for Families

You may wish to use the attached Advent Calendar as a family over the month of December as we wait and prepare for the coming of Jesus.

Parish Luncheon

On the 3rd Wednesday of each month, a social parish luncheon is held in the Curran Centre at 12 noon. Everyone is welcome to come along and meet some other parishioners and have a chat. A plate to share is welcome, but not essential. Pop in for a quick cuppa if you don’t have time to stay for lunch.

Dominique Montford - Acting Assistant Principal Mission
Maria Woods - Leader of School Evangelisation

Nativity Liturgy

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SJPC Choir - Christmas Concert for students

Years 3, 4 & 5 were treated to an amazing concert by the SJPC Choir in Week 9. It was wonderful to see so many past St Augustine's students performing as part of such a talented ensemble and to see them continuing with their passion for music and the arts in high school. The St Augustine's Choir sang a series of songs in reply - just beautiful! Many thanks to Jon Baldwin and SJPC staff for making the performance possible - our students (and staff) loved every moment!

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Learning and Teaching

Year 5 $20 BOSS Market Day

Year 5's $20 BOSS Market Day was an amazing success!

Students raised an astounding $2,294.15 for their nominated Charities!!! 5 Yellow made a whopping $850, with the "Queens of Yum", "In a Hurry, Eat a Curry" and "Dingle Dangle Jewellery" teams raising the most overall. Many thanks to all those families, students and staff who supported our budding entrepreneurs! Students presented 'cheques' to representatives from their nominated charities during Week 10:

5 Yellow - Mission Australia

5 Red - RSPCA

5 Blue - Pete's Place

5 Green - Legacy Coffs Harbour

$20 Boss Market Day

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Merry Christmas from Mini Vinnies

Our Mini Vinnies Christmas giving was in full spirit again this year as the gifts were brought forward during the Nativity celebration on Tuesday morning. Our school community once again came together in magnitude to support others less fortunate in our area. We are always so proud of our beautiful school community, but no more than at this time of the year. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. As Mr Leon Walsh said at the time of accepting all of the beautiful gifts and the big cheque on behalf of St Vincent de Paul, "This will make Christmas much better for many people than they thought it was going to be."

The Mini Vinnies teachers would also like to take the opportunity to thank all of the children who have been part of the Mini Vinnies team this year. We love what we do and it truly is our Catholic faith in action. We look forward to more wonderful work next year with more fabulous children.

Merry Christmas.

Year 6 Camp

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Sport News

St Augustine’s Representative Swimming Trials 

On the 1st December, 46  students attended the St Augustine’s Representative Swimming Trials at the Coffs Harbour War Memorial Olympic Pool. Congratulations to all of the competitors on their outstanding efforts. The top 2 competitors in each event will now form the St Augustine’s Swim Team which will compete at the Clarence Zone Athletics Carnival in Maclean on Monday the 26th February. 

The following students were also presented with their age champion medallions at the completion of the carnival. Congratulations to the following swimmers: 

Junior Boy Age Champion: Benjamin Burton 

Junior Girl Age Champion: Hope Mengel 

11 Year Boy Age Champion: Finnley Johnson 

11 Year Girl Age Champion: Ariana Yaya 

Senior Boy Age Champion: Noah Keshk 

Senior Girl Age Champion: Pippa Keshk 

Congratulations also to the following swimmers who now hold new records:

Finnley Johnson - Boys 100m Open Freestyle (1.14.74)

Cohen Straw - 12 Year Boys 50m Freestyle (33.20)

Pippa Keshk - Senior Girls 50m Backstroke (38.45) and Senior Girls 50m Butterfly (36.08)

Lismore Diocesan AFL Trials (BOYS) 

Nominations are now open for the Lismore Diocesan AFL Trials which are to be held on Friday the 23rd of February 2024 at Lower Fisher Park in Oliver St, Grafton. Any boy who plays representative AFL who will be in Year 5 or 6 in 2024 is eligible to nominate. An email has been sent to parents via compass with information and a link for nominating your child. The trials for girls are held separately at a later date. 

St Augustine's Golf Day Registration

To register for the St Augustine's Golf Day click on the link below.
The entry form is on the 2nd page.

Notices