20 September 2024
FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Some of our Year 6 students led us in prayer at this morning’s Assembly with this beautiful prayer:
Dear God,
Be with us today.
Fill our hearts with joy.
Fill our minds with learning.
Fill our classrooms with peace.
Fill our lessons with fun.
Fill our friendships with kindness.
Fill our school with love.
We have been blessed to see so much evidence of these gifts this week; the joy and fun of the school discos, the love and joy of sharing learning at our Learning Showcases, and the kindness shown by our Year 6 leaders in peer group activities today.
Congratulations to Eli Stitt who received the Walk Worthy of God Leadership Star at Assembly today. According to his teachers, he’s a wonderful leader and an ‘absolute legend’ according to his peers.
Wishing our Year 4 and 5 students and teachers a wonderful camp next week.
Margaret Ryan
Acting Principal
UPCOMING EVENTS
Term 3
- Monday 23rd September - Clarence Regional Public Speaking Competition
- Monday 23rd - 24th September - Year 4 Camp
- Monday 23rd-25th September - Year 5 Camp
- Friday 27th September - Presentation of Term 3 Effort awards
- Friday 27th September - Last Day Term 3
Term 4
- Monday 14th October - Pupil Free Staff Development Day
- Tuesday 15th October - First Day of Term 4
- Monday 21st October - 2025 Kindergarten Parent Information Session
- Friday 1st November - Outdoor Family Fun Night - NEW DATE
WHAT'S THE BUZZ?
End of Term Assembly
Term 3 Effort Awards will be presented at Assembly on Friday 27th September. Parents and carers are most welcome to attend.
Vacation Care at MHOC OSHC
MHOC Vacation Care have put together an exciting calendar of events for the upcoming school holidays; there’s something for everyone!
Check out the program at the end of this newsletter for more information.
Year 3-6 Sports Day in Term 4
All children in Years 3-6 need to wear their sport uniform on Thursdays next term due to Elective Sport.
Aboriginal Students' Cultural Experience
For the last three years, our Year 6 Aboriginal students have been invited to take part in a cultural experience with students from Mosman Preparatory School. The purpose of the event is for our students to share their knowledge of culture and country with Mosman Prep students. Yet again, our children had a wonderful time.
LOVING LEARNING
MHOC Public Speaking Finals
On Tuesday morning, we held the finals of the MHOC Public Speaking Competition. The entrants were from Years 3-6 and their speeches were all very impressive.
Year 3: Laila Summers, Addison Heinke, Betty Moore
Year 4: Pearle Desic, Ned Rapley, Indiana Mitchell
Year 5: Layla Verbruggen, Olivia Cheney, Ivy Meehan
Year 6: Mosa Strydom, Georgie Bowden, Ted Wright
In some very close judging, one winner was chosen from each grade and they will now present their speech at the Clarence Regional Public Speaking Competition to be held at SJPC on Monday. Congratulations to all of our finalists and best of luck on Monday to Ted, Ivy, Indiana and Betty.
Learning Showcases
There were smiles all around this week as children shared their learning with parents, grandparents, siblings or buddies at this week’s Learning Showcases.
Amy Martin
Acting Assistant Principal
Learning & Teaching
FROM THE MISSION DESK
Peer Groups
Today in Peer Groups, students focused on the meaning of self-love. Our Year 6 leaders explained to their peer groups that self love means loving yourself because God made us all special and unique. When we love ourselves, we are saying, “Thank you, God, for making us who we are.” The session ended with this beautiful prayer:
Dear God,
Thank You for making me special and unique.
Help me to see how amazing I am, just like You do.
Teach me to love myself, so I can share Your love with others.
Thank You for all the gifts You've given me.
I am grateful for who I am.
Amen.
Kindergarten Class Mass
On Tuesday, our Kinders attended Mass for the first time without their Year 6 buddies and they were fabulous! Their teachers were so proud of the way they respectfully prayed and sang. Fr Joy read the Gospel, Luke 7:11-17. He explained to the children that Jesus cares deeply for those who are hurting and can bring hope in hopeless situations. His love and compassion show us that God is with us in our hardest times. Well done, Kinder!
Class Liturgies
It was lovely to begin our Learning Showcases this week with a class liturgy. What a beautiful way for students, teachers, and parents to come together in a moment of shared reflection. Thank you to all of those who attended.
Pete’s Place BBQ
Each school holiday, our staff run a volunteer lunch for the homeless, providing meals to those in need within our community. This initiative reflects our school's commitment to service and compassion.
If you would like to contribute to the BBQ, we welcome donations of food, soft drink or cooking supplies (paper towel, tomato sauce, oil etc). Your generosity will help us continue this important work. Donations can be dropped off at the school office leading up to the holidays. Thank you for your support!
Little Wings Update
We are happy to report that Mary Help of Christians has donated another 405 containers to Little Wings, which equals $40.50. Don’t forget to save all of your bottles over the holidays to bring in next term. Thank you for your kindness and support.
Term 3 Class Masses
All parents are welcome to attend our weekly Tuesday Mass at 9:30am. These class Masses are held at MHOC Church, Sawtell. Please see the timetable below for Term 3.
Tuesday 24th September - No Mass this week
Amber Biddle
Assistant Principal
Mission
Toni Fletcher
Leader of
Catechesis
MHOC SCHOOL COMMUNITY FORUM
Pre-Loved Uniforms
We have lots of size 10-12 girls' uniforms available in the pre-loved uniform shop. If you need to order pre-loved uniforms, please click here.
Outdoor Family Fun Night - New Date
We have a new date for our Outdoor Family Fun Night - 1st November, so mark it in your calendar. Let's hope we have better weather this time.
Bingo
Parents, MHOC's BINGO team urgently requires 4 additional volunteers. Being a BINGO volunteer is a fantastic way to assist and support various MHOC projects that are funded by BINGO. The best aspect of this volunteer opportunity is that you will only need to dedicate 3 hours, once every 5 weeks, making it easy to coordinate with your busy schedule. With more volunteers on board, we can distribute the work evenly, making the task smoother and less stressful for everyone. Be a part of our team and help us make a positive difference in our school community.
Sign up now by texting Gemma on 0404340494.
The rostered teams for the next few week's Bingo are:
- Thursday 26th September - team no. 4 (Donna's team)
- Thursday 3rd October - team no. 5 (Meg's team)
- Thursday 10th October - team no. 1 (Gemma's team)
Jo Melinz
SCF President
SPORT NEWS
Polding Athletics
How impressive is it that we had 7 students representing Lismore Diocese at the Polding Athletics carnival last Friday! Congratulations to Frankie Barreto Gunn, Lacey van Hoeck, Diezel Fell and Gabrielle & Sophie Laurie who all made finals.
Special mention goes to our long jumpers, Sonny Diacono (1st), and Layla Verbruggen (2nd). Sonny and Layla will now represent Polding at the State Athletics carnival in Term 4.
Best of luck to this pair!
Barney Barseelar Cup
The Barney Barselaar Cup was a fantastic day out for the Mary Help of Christians soccer team, with the weather perfectly complementing the action on the field. Our team played with great grit and determination, securing 1 win from 3 hard-fought matches. The skill level displayed was truly impressive, but what stood out even more was the sportsmanship and respect shown towards their teammates and opponents alike.
A special shoutout goes to Archie, who was a rock in defense, earning himself the MHOC Player of the Day. Amberley also deserves a huge mention for her incredible 40-metre goal, scored with an enormous right-foot kick. We also want to thank our captains, Layla, River, and Toby, for leading the team with such positivity and strength from the front. Well done, team!
Roller Hockey
A couple of our MHOC parents, Jeremy and Elise Cox, are running a Roller Hockey session every Friday on the basketball court from 4-5pm. Children need to bring their own roller skates or blades, a helmet and pads (and a hockey stick if they have one).
Beach Footy Clinics
NRL North Coast is running some Beach Football school holiday clinics around our area. It sounds like a lot of fun. Families can register via this link.
Rebecca Bennett
Sports Coordinator
Geraldine Hourigan
Sports Administrator
CANTEEN NEWS
Canteen Helpers
Parent and grandparent volunteers are always needed and welcome. Please phone the school, complete this form or email sawp-canteen@lism.catholic.edu.au if you can spare some time in the canteen.
Lisa Mangan
LIBRARY WHISPERS
Polly and Aubrey both volunteered to be in the 'Hot Seat' for the first time. Hot Seat is when a student gets to sit in front of the class during library and talk about the book they’re reading. Both of them have been reading funny books, so we all enjoyed hearing about all the crazy stuff that was happened in the stories. And as often happens, I had a bunch of students wanting to borrow from the same series.
These three want to read all the days of the week!
Rachael Hewitt
Librarian
OSHC
As we conclude Week 9 at Mary Help of Christians OSHC, we are thrilled to share an abundance of exciting activities that have engaged our students in meaningful play and learning experiences.
This week, our nature play area has been enhanced with the addition of new diggers, allowing children to create roads and pathways, fostering creativity and teamwork. In addition, our innovative rocket launcher activity has brought an element of fun and exploration to outdoor play.
Sensory activities have taken center stage, with children enthusiastically engaging in making their own playdough and slime, providing rich opportunities for tactile exploration. Our energetic sessions of Just Dance have also continued, promoting physical activity and self-expression.
In Before School Care, educator Tom introduced a fun game of touch football, which was met with great enthusiasm. We are excited to continue this initiative, encouraging teamwork and active play among our students.
We would also like to remind families that our Vacation Care bookings are still open, but spaces are filling up quickly. Upcoming highlights include an Indonesian Dance Performance and Workshop, as well as the much-anticipated Adams Wildlife presentation. Additionally, we are excited to see everyone embrace their creativity for our Disney Dress-Up Day!
Thank you for your continued support, and we look forward to another wonderful week ahead!
Laura McDiarmid
OSHC Coordinator
NEWS FROM OUR PARISH
Parish News
We are delighted to announce that Father Joy will be at the Parish Office every Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday.
Pop in at 10.30am for a chat and a cuppa at morning tea. Everyone is welcome.
Sacramental Program
The Parent Information Sessions for our upcoming Group 25 intake for the Children’s Sacramental Program begins this Friday 20th & Sunday 22nd September.
There is still time to sign up by visiting this link.
AXIOS
Baptism
The Sacrament of Baptism is available to those requesting it. Please ring Jennifer at the Parish Office (66583544) or talk to Amber Biddle, Liz Watts or Margaret Ryan at school if you have any questions. Alternatively, if you wish to register for Baptism, there is now the option of an online request form .
Parish Website , E-bulletin & Facebook Page
For all the latest news from our parish, check out the Parish website or subscribe to our new e-bulletin which can be sent directly to your inbox each week. Why not sign up today by entering your details in the sign up box on the Homepage or Contact page of the website!
And don’t forget to check out our FaceBook page
Carolyn & Marja
COMMUNITY NEWS
