30 May 2025
FROM THE PRINCIPAL
It was an exciting day on Monday as we celebrated Mary Help of Christians Feast Day here at school. From peer groups to art activities, sausages and cakes as well as a beautiful liturgy, it was a wonderful way to acknowledge our special connection to Mary. Mary Help of Christians, pray for us.
We've had so much talent on display this week! From our 3-6 choir singing beautifully at the Coffs Harbour Choir Eisteddfod to our Dance Club students wowing us with a preview of their upcoming eisteddfod performances, it has been wonderful to experience the joy that dance and music brings.
This week is National Reconciliation Week and our children participated in a moving Reconciliation Walk prepared by Aunty Kelly and our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. We were invited to reflect, pray, and walk together in the spirit of healing and unity. Together, we pray for the courage to work together to create a future where all people are treated with dignity and respect.
Congratulations to Cleo Ellem who received the Walk Worthy of God Leadership Star this morning. Her teachers say that she always tries her best and her happy and positive attitude is infectious.
Warm regards,
Margaret
Margaret Ryan
Acting Principal
UPCOMING EVENTS
Term 2
- Monday 2nd June - K-2 Athletics Carnival
- Tuesday 3rd June - Canteen Red Day
- Tuesday 3rd June Mass Year 1
- Wednesday 4th June - Family Reading Night 5.30-7pm
- Thursday 5th June - World Environment Day
- Friday 6th June - Dance Eisteddfod
- Monday 9th June - Long Weekend
- Monday 16th June-Year 4 Learning Showcase
- Tuesday 17th June-Year 2 & Year 5 Learning Showcases
- Wednesday 18th June-Year 3 & Kindergarten Learning Showcases
- Thursday 19th June-Year 6 & Year 1 Learning Showcases
- Monday 30th June - 4th July - NAIDOC Week Celebrations
- Monday 30th June - Dental Van Visit
- Friday 4th July - Presentation of Term 2 Effort Awards
- Friday 4th July - Student reports available in Compass
Term 3
- Monday 21st July - Staff Development Day (pupil-free day)
- Tuesday 22nd July - first day of Term 3 for students
- Tuesday 22nd - Friday 25th July - Book Fair
- Friday 25th July - Grandparents’ Day
- Monday 22nd - Wednesday 24th September - Year 5 Camp
- Monday 22nd - 23rd September - Year 4 Camp
WHAT'S THE BUZZ?
Choir Eisteddfod
On Tuesday, 140 talented vocalists Years 3 to 6 attended the Coffs Harbour Choir Eisteddfod. Both of our songs, 7 Years and Believer, were performed with incredible energy and the joy of singing was visible on every MHOC student's face. Not only were we the biggest choir the competition has ever seen, we also received a Highly Commended award for our efforts. We are incredibly proud of these superstars and how beautifully they represented our school. A special thank you to Mrs Morgan for preparing our students for this event.
K-2 Athletics Carnival
Fingers crossed for good weather for our K-2 Sports Carnival here at school on Monday. See the Sports News section below for details.
Save the Date: Grandparents’ Day – Friday, 25th July
Mark your calendars for one of the most beloved events of the year; Grandparents’ Day! We’ve got lots of exciting activities planned and we’ll be sharing more details soon. We can’t wait to celebrate with you!
LOVING LEARNING
Sorry Day and National Reconciliation Week
On Monday, we reflected on National Sorry Day. This is an important time to acknowledge the strengths of the Stolen Generation survivors and reflect on how we can play a part in the healing process for our people and nation.
We celebrated National Reconciliation Week with a powerful display of student leadership and commitment to truth and reconciliation. Students from Years 4 to 6 led a Reconciliation Walk that served as a meaningful moment of reflection, education, and unity. Their efforts helped foster a deeper understanding of our shared history and inspired a collective commitment to healing and lasting change.
National Reconciliation Week reflects the ongoing connection between past, present and future. Bridging now to Next calls on all Australians to step forward together, to look ahead and continue the journey as one.
A Love of Learning in Art – Marine Life & Conservation Focus
Over the past term, our students have been immersing themselves in the world of marine life and conservation through art. Inspired by artists like Courtney Mattison, they have created jellyfish paintings, marine landscapes, and coral reef sculptures that highlight the beauty and fragility of our oceans. In an exciting collaborative effort, they are now building a large jellyfish sculpture using recycled plastic ice cups from our canteen waste! This impressive piece will be entered into a marine eco-art competition and exhibited at Coffs Central Shopping Centre from Tuesday, July 1st to Sunday, July 20th, 2025. As we prepare for this event, we are also looking forward to celebrating World Ocean Day on June 8th, 2025, a perfect opportunity to reflect on our oceans' importance and the need for their conservation.
Brendan Murphy
Acting Assistant Principal
Learning & Teaching
FROM THE MISSION DESK
Feast Day Celebrations and Mass
We celebrated our school Feast Day on Monday. This special day is always a highlight on our school calendar, and this year was no exception!
Year 6 - GLOW Retreat
On Wednesday, our Year 6 students headed off to GLOW Retreat, a special day that brought together Year 6 students from local Catholic schools for a fun faith experience.
The retreat was a great chance for our students to step out of their usual routine and enjoy something a little different. Throughout the day, they took part in prayer time, small group sessions, and plenty of interactive activities that helped them reflect, connect, and grow.
There was a real buzz in the air as students made new friends, shared stories, and explored what it means to live their faith every day
A huge thank you to the team who put the day together. It was one our students won’t forget in a hurry!
Peer Groups
To celebrate our Feast Day, students participated in peer groups to learn about Mary Help of Christians, our school’s patron. Together, they talked about how Mary helps and guides us. Students then decorated flowers with messages about how they can be helpers like Mary.
Mini Vinnies Flood Appeal
Mini Vinnies Supporting the NSW Flood Appeal
Our MHOC Mini Vinnies group is encouraging students to bring in donations next week for the Vinnies NSW Flood Appeal. Funds raised will help provide food, clothing, hygiene packs, and emotional support to those affected by the recent floods on the North Coast.
Vinnies continues to support these communities long after the waters recede, helping people rebuild their lives with care and compassion.
Donations can be handed to class teachers throughout the week. Every contribution makes a difference.
— MHOC Mini Vinnies
First Holy Communion
Congratulations to Charlotte Miller and Addison Heinke from Year 4 on receiving their First Holy Communion last Sunday
Term Two Class Masses
All parents and carers are warmly invited to join us for our weekly class Masses at Sawtell Catholic Church. 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 3rd June - Year 1
Tuesday 10th June - Year 3
Tuesday 17th June - Year 5
Tuesday 24th June - Year 6
Tuesday 1st July - No Mass
Save the Date
Our Parish/School led Mass will be held on Sunday, 15th June at 9:00am at Sawtell Church. We hope you can join us for this special celebration with our parish community.
Amber Biddle
Assistant Principal
Mission
Toni Fletcher
Leader of
Catechesis
SPORT NEWS
Diocesan Cross Country Carnival
Making MHOC proud as always, our little athletes came out of the Diocesan Cross Country carnival with some incredible times and results. The following students placed top 8 in their respective races, earning them a spot on the Diocesan Cross Country team to compete at the Polding Carnival in June.
Extra special congratulations goes to Lacey Van Hoeck, who (once again) won her race and was crowned Diocesan Age Champion! What a superstar!
Congratulations:
Lacey Van Hoeck, Sophie Van Hoeck, Eli Fernie & Frankie Barreto Gunn
K-2 Athletics Carnival
Our prayers have been answered; sunshine has prevailed and we can forge ahead with our K-2 athletics carnival on Monday! We’re excited to see the talents of our little athletes and have some fun with our novelty events.
Information has been sent out to our K-2 families via Compass, inviting them to the morning age races and to enjoy fruit break with us before we head off for our novelty events.
Sports uniform should be worn. Coloured house shirts are optional and the canteen will run as usual.
We can’t wait! Hope to see you there!
Rebecca Bennett
Sports Coordinator
Geraldine Hourigan
Sports Administrator
LIBRARY WHISPERS
This week we’ve been celebrating Reconciliation Week in the library by reading some of the beautiful Aboriginal books we have in our collection. It’s been lovely to see how engaged the students are and all the discussions that have come from reading them.
We have an exciting week next week with two authors visiting as part of the Bellingen Readers and Writers Festival. The author coming on Tuesday is R.A Spratt who writes a number of series’, including Friday Barnes, Nanny Piggins and The Peski Kids. Her books are really popular with a number of our students, who are counting down the days til they can meet her! She’ll be speaking with Years 4,5 and 6 about the building blocks of storytelling.
The other author coming is Felice Arena who is best known for his Specky Magee and Sporty Kids books. He’s also written a lot of historical fiction for upper Primary which he’ll be talking about with the upper grades. He’s also started writing picture books which are so much fun to read aloud that the students from all grade levels have enjoyed them. He’ll be talking to Years 2 and 3 and doing a mini drawing workshop with them as well as Years 5 and 6 where he will be presenting “Back in Time on an Epic Adventure”.
Both those and other authors will be at the Book Warehouse at various times next week if you’re interested in taking your children. More information can be found on the Bellingen Readers and Writers Festival website.
Scholastic Bookclub catalogues have gone out this week. Bookclub orders close on Friday 13th June.
Rachael Hewitt
Librarian
OSHC
This week, the sun finally returned, and we made the most of it! The children enjoyed active games on the field and basketball court, reconnecting with nature through outdoor play and exploration. Indoors, we kept creativity flowing with bingo, arts and crafts, and painting.
Outdoor games supported physical development and teamwork (3.2, 2.1), while time spent in nature encouraged curiosity and connection to the environment (2.4). Bingo promoted focus and number recognition (4.3), and creative activities like painting and craft allowed children to express themselves and build confidence (1.3, 5.3).
A joyful week of sunshine, movement, and creativity at MHOC OSHC!
Jemma
Laura McDiarmid
OSHC Coordinator
HABITS OF MIND AWARDS
Term 2 Week 5
Kinder | Reuben Hanger, Amelia Maddison, Joel Ferguson, Scarlett Hennessy, Maeve Macfarlane, Amos Johnson, Evelyn Hinshaw, Stella Heriot |
Year 1 | Kaia Rozyn, Julian Jonathan, Emily Borra, Louisa Preece |
Year 2 | Paxton van Hamond, Henry Dean, Stevie Felstead, Kamiyah Geary Roff, Tahlia White Keevers |
Year 3 | Tessa Chape, Zahlie Fell, Maddisyn Why, Indi Verbruggen, Arley Kennedy, Alexa Wills |
Year 4 | Axel Telford, Curtis McCarthy, Ben McPherson, Theo Whitehill, Quinn Rozyn, Max Kennedy, Tyler Bergs |
Year 5 | Jackson Wood, Cheyse Blair, Joshua Gibson, Ollie Brandon, Mackenzie Carson, Nate Little |
Year 6 | Rupert Morgan, Ivy Walmsley |
CANTEEN NEWS
Canteen Red Day
Order now on Flexischools!
Lisa Mangan
Canteen Manager
NEWS FROM OUR PARISH
AXIOS
It was wonderful to have some sunshine and dry grass to run around on this week.
We will finish in week 8 this term with last date being 18th June.
Axios will resume in week 2 of term 3 – 30th July.
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
MHOC SCHOOL COMMUNITY FORUM
Council of Catholic School Parents
Check out these free webinars!
Parent Assembly Conference
This filled up quickly but it's still worth adding your name to the waiting list if you are keen.
Jo Melinz
SCF President
COMMUNITY NEWS
