24 October 2025
FROM THE PRINCIPAL
What a wonderful week it’s been!
On Monday evening, we held our 2026 Kindergarten Parent Information Night. It was lovely to see so many new and familiar faces and to welcome everyone into our beautiful school community. One of the highlights of the evening came from our current Kindergarten students, who shared some wonderful words of wisdom about starting “big school.” Their advice is guaranteed to make you smile!
We also welcomed our first group of 2026 Kinders on Thursday. There were lots of happy faces as they spent time with their 2026 Kindergarten teachers, Mr Calvin Wigg, Mrs Donna Dennis and Mrs Emma Pell. The children also loved meeting their Year 6 buddies, who will help guide and support them as they begin their school adventure next year. We’re looking forward to welcoming our second group of Kinders next week.
Today at our whole school assembly we formally farewelled Mrs Ryan. We thank her for the care and dedication she has shown during her time here and for embedding the love of Christ into every corner of our school community. We wish her every blessing as she begins the next chapter.
We are very excited to celebrate All Saints' Day next week! Don't forget, our Year 3 and Year 4 students are invited to dress up as their favorite saint. We can't wait to see their creative costumes!
Warm Regards,
Amber
Amber Biddle
Acting Principal
UPCOMING EVENTS
Term 4
- Tuesday 28th October 6.30pm- Sacrament of Reconciliation Parent Information Night
- Thursday 30th October & Thursday 20th November - Kindergarten Orientation Group 2
- Friday 31st October - All Saints Day Celebrations - Years 3 & 4
- Monday 3rd November - 5th November - Year 6 Camp
- Thursday 6th November & Thursday 27th November - Kindergarten Orientation Group 3
- Friday 14th November Year 5 Leadership Retreat
- Tuesday 18th November - SJPC Year 7 Transition Day
- Monday 24th November - Carol Light Carol-singing Competition 10am
- Thursday 27th November - SJPC Year 7 Orientation Day
- Friday 5th December - Big Banana Waterslide Night, 6pm
- Monday 8th December - Friday 12th December - K-2 Water Safety Program
- Wednesday 10th December - Year 6 Graduation Mass and Dinner
- Monday 15th December - 2026 Awards Ceremony, 8.50am
- Wednesday 17th December - MHOC Christmas Concert, 12pm
- Wednesday 17th December - Last day of Term 4 for students
WHAT'S THE BUZZ?
Kindergarten Orientation #1
We have begun to welcome our 2026 Kinders to ‘big school’. What a lovely morning we all had. We can’t wait to meet the rest of our 2025 Kinders in the next couple of weeks.
Farewell Mrs Ryan!
Today we formally said goodbye to Mrs Ryan at our whole school assembly. The best part? A flash mob to Dancing Queen with the whole school joining in…unforgettable!
Sacrament of Reconciliation - Parent Information Night
A big shout-out to our Year 2 Reconciliation candidates! They, along with their teachers and classmates, are exploring the importance of forgiveness and what the Sacraments mean. They will receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation with Father Joy on either Wednesday, November 19th, or Thursday, November 20th. Our Reconciliation Parent Information Night will be held on Tuesday, 28th November at 6.30pm in the Year 2 classroom.
Socktober
We can’t wait to see your colourful, creative and fun socks on Wednesday next week! Please donate a gold coin for Catholic Mission’s work in Zambia.
LOVING LEARNING
Year 3 Excursion
This week Year 3 went on an exciting (and fun) excursion to the Botanic Gardens and Yarrila Place. We were blessed with perfect weather. The excursion provided students with the opportunity to explore nature, have real life experiences using their mapping skills, and learn about the history of Coffs Harbour. Students worked on real world mapping activities to identify and locate human and natural features of their local environment. Students had opportunities to explore how environments can be represented in map form, and also examined a wide variety of maps and their different features. It was a wonderful day of learning out and about in our beautiful community.
Iluka Chess Tournament Recap!
Our Chess Team travelled to Iluka on Monday and played a sensational match against some skillful opponents. They showed brilliant focus and strategy, narrowly missing out on the win in a true thriller. We are very proud of the team and their dedication, as well as the outstanding coaching from Mr Madden. The future of chess looks bright at MHOC!
Year 5
Year 5 has launched our new PDHPE unit, 'Community Connections,' where we are exploring the powerful link between personal health and community wellbeing.
Students started by creating personal Word Art representing their unique gifts and values. We are now using that foundation to build outward, exploring how a healthy, safe and active lifestyle enables us to connect better with others. We are also making a strong connection to our faith, discussing why caring for our mind and body is an act of stewardship that enables us to better serve our community.
Brendan Murphy
Acting Assistant Principal
Learning & Teaching
FROM THE MISSION DESK
Liturgy of the Word with Year 5
Our Year 5 students had a wonderful time celebrating a Liturgy of the Word with Communion on Tuesday. We were privileged to have Mr Greg Ryan lead us in prayer. A few eagle-eyed students even spotted Mrs Ryan quietly joining us in a back pew!
Mr Ryan taught us that to be prepared, we must always keep our lamp of faith lit. This light not only shows us the right direction but also helps us identify opportunities to serve and assist others.
Following the liturgy, everyone enjoyed a lovely morning tea, which was a great opportunity for the students to spend some relaxed time together.
Families are always warmly invited to join us for all our class Masses —we love having you celebrate with us!
Stage 2 All Saints Day Celebrations
We're looking forward to celebrating All Saints' Day next week! This is a special day where we honour all the saints, both the well-known and those who have inspired us throughout history. As All Saints Day falls on a Saturday this year, we will be celebrating at school on Friday, 31st October.
To mark this occasion, our Stage 2 students (Years 3 and 4) are invited to dress up as their favourite saint for the day! We can't wait to see the wonderful, creative costumes from students, their teachers and other staff members. These costumes don’t need to be elaborate or expensive - lots of items around the house can be used to represent your chosen saint.
We are also excited that our parish priest, Father Joy, will be visiting to see all the wonderful saintly costumes!
We will be sharing a special morning tea for all Years 3 and 4 students to celebrate this special feast day together. More information, including ideas for costumes, will be sent to parents of Years 3 and 4 students via Compass today.
It’s going to be a fun and meaningful day, and we look forward to seeing the spirit and creativity of everyone in Years 3 and 4!
The Month of the Rosary: An Invitation to Prayer
As Mrs Biddle mentioned in her last newsletter, October is a beautiful time—it's traditionally known as the Month of the Holy Rosary.
The Rosary is a wonderful, simple form of prayer. Think of it as a powerful yet gentle meditation. As we say the prayers, we're invited to quietly reflect on important moments in the lives of Jesus and Mary. For many of us, the rhythm of these ancient prayers helps to quiet the mind and draw us closer to God.
To share in this tradition, Mr Murphy, Mrs Biddle, and I—Mrs Fletcher—would be absolutely delighted if you could join us this Friday, October 31st, in the staff room, immediately following the school Assembly. We'll simply "say a decade" together.
Please know that no experience is necessary! We will be there to guide you through every prayer. We’ll have Rosary beads available for you to use, or please feel free to "Bring Your Own Beads" (BYOB)!
We really hope you can join us for this special moment of reflection.
What’s happening in Year 3?
Year 3 students used iMovie to record themselves praying the Our Father.
Students spent time analysing the words of the prayer, to deepen their understanding of the meaning behind the prayer.
They then used their iPads to film scenes from nature, and in iMovie they overlaid recordings of their voices either reciting or singing the prayer.
Save the Date
Our Parish/School-led Mass will be held on Saturday, 15th November at 6pm at Sawtell Catholic Church. Please join us for a pizza dinner afterwards. We hope you can join us for this special celebration with our parish community.
MHOC Sacramental Program
We are excited to announce that registration is now open for students to prepare for the Sacrament of Reconciliation! This is a foundational step in your child's faith journey, usually followed by Confirmation (Year 3) and First Holy Communion (Year 4).
Who Can Register?
- Children in Year 2 (who will prepare during class time).
- Baptised students in Years 3-6 who have not yet received Reconciliation (who will have intensive preparation sessions at school).
- Children in Year 2 and above from other schools in our Parish (who will be supported by a Parish Companion).
Eligibility
To participate, your child must be:
- Baptised in the Catholic Church.
- In Year 2 or above.
Key Dates and Actions
- Register Now: Please complete the MHOC Parish Sacramental Journey - Enrolment Form before 8 am Monday, 20th October.
- Certificates: Submit a copy (scan/photo) of your child's Birth Certificate and Baptismal Certificate to pastoral@mhocsawtell.org.au or drop them off at the Parish Office. (Baptismal certificates are not required if baptised at MHOC Sawtell).
We look forward to partnering with you on your child's spiritual development!
If you have any questions, please contact Toni Fletcher, Acting Assistant Principal Mission, at toni.fletcher@lism.catholic.edu.au or call the school office.
Term 3 Class Mass Roster
All parents and carers are warmly invited to join us for our weekly class Masses at Sawtell Catholic Church at 9:30am. We’d love for you to stay afterwards for a cuppa and some morning tea. It's a great chance to catch up and connect with others in our school community.
Tuesday 28th October - Year 6
Tuesday 4th November - Year 1
Tuesday 11th November - Year 4
Tuesday 18th November - Year 2 and Sacrament of Reconciliation students
Tuesday 25th November - Kinder & Year 6
Tuesday 2nd December - Year 3
Tuesday 9th December - Year 5
Wednesday 10th December 5 pm- Year 6 Graduation Mass
Toni Fletcher
Acting Assistant Principal
Mission
SPORT NEWS
PSSA Athletics
Our superstar athletes travelled down to Homebush for the PSSA athletics carnival on Wednesday. Competing at this level is a huge achievement, with these girls progressing through the following channels to get here! Unreal!
Layla jumped in the 12-13year girls long jump and performed extremely well jumping a whopping 4.51 (which I believe is a PB) and finishing overall 12th in the state in her age group.
Frankie competed in the 11yrs girls 800m, finishing with an excellent time, finishing 4th in her heat and 22nd overall in the state.
We are so proud of these amazing athletes, representing MHOC & Polding on the big stage and doing us proud! Well done girls!
Elective Sport
Thursday saw 260+ 3-6 children boarding buses to head off to their selected sport. Children sweated and raised their heart rates, carved up the whitewash, jumped and flipped, hit the cover off many a golf ball, got some big bites, had fun & learned lots. We are looking forward to the next 7 weeks of fun at elective sport!
NSW Rugby Clinic a Huge Hit!
Our students were buzzing with excitement on Monday afternoon as NSW Rugby visited to run a fantastic free skills clinic for our Years 3-6 boys and girls!
The afternoon was jam-packed with fun, engaging drills that focused on core rugby skills like passing, catching, and evasion. The coaches from NSW Rugby were energetic and encouraging, creating a fantastic atmosphere that had every student involved and grinning from ear to ear. It was brilliant to see so many students giving it their all, showing off some surprising talent—we may have a few rising stars of the game in the making!
The feedback has been phenomenal; the students absolutely loved the session and are already asking when they can have more lessons!
A massive thank you to all the dedicated NSW Rugby coaches who made the afternoon so incredibly successful and memorable for our students. We hope to welcome them back again soon!
Rebecca Bennett
Sports Coordinator
Geraldine Hourigan
Sports Administrator
MHOC SCHOOL COMMUNITY FORUM
Free Online Program to Support Children’s Mental Health
Are you a parent, grandparent, carer or other adult living in a regional, rural area, or supporting a child aged 10–13 who has unmet mental health needs? Southern Cross University is offering a free online education program designed to help you better support the mental health needs of the children in your care.
The program includes flexible online learning and a weekly 90-minute group session led by experienced mental health clinicians. It has been co-designed by parents, carers, teachers, and children’s mental health experts.
Participants will also be contributing to valuable research that aims to strengthen community responses to children’s wellbeing. Those complete the program and the survey at the end will receive a $50.00 voucher.
To learn more or express interest, please email Professor John Hurley at john.hurley@scu.edu.au.
Jo Melinz
SCF President
CANTEEN NEWS
Volunteers
We are looking for more volunteers on Thursdays. If you are able to help, please contact the school office.
NEWS FROM OUR PARISH
Baptism
The Sacrament of Baptism is available to those requesting it. Please ring Jennifer at the Parish Office (66583544) or talk to Amber Biddle or Toni Fletcher 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
COMMUNITY NEWS
