Newsletter 14 March 2025

Principal's Message

Friday 14 March 2025- Term 1  Week 6

Dear Parents and Carers,

Thank You for Your Patience

I want to express my sincere gratitude for your understanding and patience during our recent closure due to Cyclone Alfred. The decision to close was made by the Catholic Schools Office based on advice from the NSW Government, ensuring the safety of our students, staff, and families. We appreciate your support during this time and are glad to have everyone back safely.

Kindergarten 2026 Enrolments Now Open

Enrolments for Kindergarten 2026 are now open and will close on Friday, 16 May. If you know any families who may be interested, please encourage them to visit our website and follow the enrolment links. There is no need to rush, as places are not allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Instead, applications are carefully considered against our enrolment criteria.

Best Wishes for Year 3 & 5 in NAPLAN

We wish all our Year 3 and Year 5 students the very best in their upcoming NAPLAN tests. These assessments in literacy and numeracy provide valuable insights into each child’s progress against national standards and help us improve our teaching strategies.

Fee Assistance Available

A reminder that fee assistance is available for families in need. It is means-tested, so if you require support or are experiencing cash flow issues, please contact the Fees Office on 6653 1655. 

Big Banana Waterslide night cancelled

Unfortunately we couldn’t re-book the evening due to a clash of dates, so we will try again next year. All families that have paid will be refunded in the next two weeks.

Homework Challenge Update (Years 3–6)

The Homework Challenge for students in Years 3–6 is progressing well. Due to the recent school closure, we have adjusted the schedule slightly. Every child is expected to participate, as this is a great opportunity to build strong foundational skills. We encourage all families to dedicate time to this—it’s a wonderful way to support your child’s learning for the future.

Grace and peace,

Peter Watts

Faith and Mission News

Ash Wednesday 

The season of Lent began on Wednesday 5 March with special liturgies. Due to the weather, our Ash Wednesday liturgies were held in cohorts. The students were very reverent during these liturgies as they received the ashes to remind them of God’s great love and forgiveness.

 First Reconciliation

The Sacrament Reconciliation will be received for the first time  by the candidates on Wednesday 26 March between 4:30pm and 5:30pm. We keep these students and their families in our prayers as they come to experience God’s forgiveness in this special way.

First Eucharist 

The preparation for First Eucharist will take place early in Term Two. The dates for First Eucharist are 21 and 22 June. Families will choose the Mass they would like to attend at the Passover evening on Wednesday 4 June at 6pm.

Confirmation

Although the students won’t begin preparing to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation until next term, we ask that you fill in this GOOGLE FORM to enrol your child if you wish for them to receive the Sacrament this year.

LENT

Lent is a special time in the Christian calendar when people prepare for Easter by praying, fasting, and doing good deeds. It lasts for 40 days and helps us grow closer to God. During Lent, we remember the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert, where he prayed and made sacrifices. It’s a time for us to think about how we can be kind to others, help those in need, and improve ourselves. Many people give up something they enjoy or do something extra, like helping at home or being kind to others, to show love and thankfulness to God.

Celebrating God’s Forgiveness

Over the next few weeks, some of our senior students have the opportunity to receive the sacrament of Reconciliation on a Wednesday afternoon in the church with Fr Joe and Fr Joy. Almost 60 students received this healing sacrament last Wednesday. Understandably, some felt nervous in the lead up, but afterwards the smiles and sense of peace was almost palpable. What a beautiful sacrament!

Project Compassion Appeal 2025

The theme of Project Compassion 2025, "Unite Against Poverty," encourages everyone to work together to help those who are struggling with poverty. It reminds us that by showing kindness and caring, we can make a big difference in the lives of people who need help. When we unite, we can create a better world where everyone has a chance to live a happy and healthy life.

During Lent we encourage our students and families to come together in solidarity with the world's poor to help end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity. Together, we can make a difference. 

Project Compassion boxes went home last week. Please give generously and return the boxes to school by the end of term.

Water Drop Appeal

Many communities in vulnerable areas struggle due to lack of fresh water nearby. So St Augustine’s school is again aiming to help by raising funds to install a water tank near their homes. If you are able to help, return the water drop (decorated and /or with your name on it) with $5 to the school office. This water drop will be added to our display at school and the money collected will go towards buying a water tank for a needy community.

Parish Luncheons

Next Wednesday 1G will attend the Parish Luncheon and enjoy the company of the many parishioners who will be there. This event is held on the third Wednesday of every month and everyone is welcome. 

Naomi Loader - Assistant Principal Mission
Maria Woods - Leader of School Evangelisation

Project Compassion

Pastoral Care

Happy Families School Membership

Happy Families School Membership

St Augustine's is now subscribed to the Happy Families School Membership! Owned and run by Dr Justin Coulson, one of Australia’s leading parenting experts, the membership offers a wealth of parenting education and resources.

We will regularly share resources available through our membership with you, including Insight Articles and Webinars. You can also access your resources at any time using the below URL (unique to your school) and password.

URL & PASSWORD

https://schools.happyfamilies.com.au/login/stapsch
PASSWORD: happystapsch

We recommend bookmarking this link. You should only need to put the password in once and the site will remember you.  

INSIGHTS ARTICLES 

A new Insights article is released weekly during the term and we will include these with the school newsletter. Insights articles are written by Dr Justin Coulson and other leading experts and provide parenting education and support for a wide variety of traditional and contemporary parenting challenges. You can also access 300+ previous Insights articles on our school’s URL. Please see attached for this weeks insights article. 

K-2 Parent Storytelling 2025

FIREFLY Arts Festival - Wed June 25

SAVE the DATE!

News from the LARC

The NSW Premier's Reading Challenge is now open and St Augustine’s Primary School is excited to be participating!

Students in Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 will experience 30 books at school to complete this challenge.

Students in years 3-6 are encouraged to independently read and record 20 books to complete this challenge. This can be done electronically or on the PRC recording sheet.

Year 1 - Brelsford Park Excursion

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Year 6 Team Building Day - Stoney Aqua Park

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Sport News

Diocesan Winter Sports Trials 

Congratulations to Sonny Dent who attended the Diocesan Winter Sports Trials in Hockey last week and was selected to represent Lismore Diocese at the Polding Winter Sports Trials.  Well done Sonny!

We wish the following students the best of luck at the Diocesan Winter Sports Trials to come:

• Ariana Yaya (Girls Football)
• Darby Wall, Vinnie Ambrosini, Jack Tyler (Boys Football)
• Hope Mengel, Prabpreet Kahlon, Poppy Warren (Netball)
• Ollie Chiswell, Vinnie Fensom, Cannon Glover, Luke Goddard, Kobe Lindsay and Lachlan Speirs (Rugby League)

Diocesan Swimming Trials

Well done to our swim team who competed at the Diocesan Swimming Trials in Murwillumbah last week.

Congratulations to our Relay Teams -

1st - Senior Girls (Hope Mengel, Alahni Kirkaldy, Poppy Warren, Ariana Yay)

2nd - Senior Boys (Riley O’Brien, Hugh Morgan, Ben Wilson, Finnley Johnson)

Congratulations also to our swimmers who have qualified for individual events at the CPS Swimming Championships: 

Stella Dobson, Billy Turner, Finnley Johnson, Ariana Yaya, Hugh Morgan and Hope Mengel who was also awarded 11 Year Girl Diocesan Age Champion Runner Up and to Josephine Nealand who was awarded Junior Multiclass Age Champion Runner Up.

Years 2-5 Swimming Program

Students were treated with some sunshine at the pool during their first sessions of our Swimming Program this week.  Well done to all students for their exemplary behaviour and efforts in the pool. We look forward to seeing your progression in swimming skills and water confidence over the next few weeks.

Rugby Union 

We were very excited to get Rugby training underway yesterday! Just a reminder to parents to please make sure you are on the What’s App groups for communication purposes. Contact the following managers if you are not yet on the group.

U8’s (Players turning 7 or 8) Candy Butcher (Temporary) 0438 427 670

U9’s (Players turning 9) Heath Murphy  0428 638 763

U10’s (Players turning 10) Graeme Doyle 0412 452 927

U11’s (Players turning 11) Dan Burbridge 0449 594 140 

U12’s (Players turning 12) Paul Butcher 0488 650 129 

CANTEEN NEWS

Canteen Roster

Week beginning 17 March 

• Monday - C Williams 
• Tuesday -   K Hunn, M & M Black   
• Wednesday - S Rowan 
• Thursday - V Paul 
• Friday -  W McLean, C Rose, B Symons

Week beginning  24 March

• Monday - M Mainey
• Tuesday -   M & M Black  
• Wednesday - S Rowan, Amy 
• Thursday - B Symons  
• Friday -  W McLean, C Williams, R Felton 
  

Notices