A child’s journey through school has the potential to be filled with plenty of ups and downs; joys and challenges. A question many of us struggle with as parents is when to reach out and contact the school if issues or concerns arise. In my experience, when families, teachers and school leaders work together to address issues thoughtfully, respectfully and compassionately, most situations can be easily addressed before they become a major challenge. This is helped by positive relationships in which all parties feel valued and respected.

Catholic School Parents Australia has developed a website that provides a wealth of resources and practical ideas to help families form a better understanding of how to grow the partnership between home and school. The website includes a discussion about the following tips you might consider when deciding how to respond to an issue that has occurred for your child:

• The more promptly an issue is dealt with the better the likelihood of an effective outcome.
• The classroom teacher should usually be the first point of contact – going straight to a member of the leadership team could erode the trust of your child’s teacher.
• Make a mutually convenient time to meet with the teacher.
• Avoid becoming emotional or confrontational.
• Be open-minded as you may not have all the facts.
• Accept that a teacher may not have an immediate response but that you are beginning a conversation which will lead to a solution.
• Keep your child’s interests at the centre of the conversation.
• If the issue is unresolved by the classroom teacher, then you might approach a member of the school leadership team and explain the steps already taken/attempted.
• The Principal or a member of the senior leadership team usually should be involved if the matter relates to whole-of-school policy or practice.
• The Principal or a member of the senior leadership team should always be involved if there is any question about the safety of your child.

This is just a brief summary of some of the great information provided on the website. If you are interested in finding out more, you can access the resources via the following link.

God bless.

Angela Myles

This week we held the third session of our ‘Bright Beginnings’ program for families who may wish to send their child to St Matthews for Kindergarten in 2025. Once again, our groups have been well attended by new and existing families, who use this time as a way to join our wonderful school community, meet the staff involved in the program and participate in a range of activities in different spaces within our school grounds.

Mrs Atkinson, who facilitates this program, has done an amazing job in preparation for this time at St Matthews and liaises with daycares and preschools in order to ensure we are able to support all students starting Kindergarten in 2025, and their families. The final ‘Bright Beginnings’ session will be next Wednesday 19th June, with Enrolment Forms due by Friday 28th June.

With the cold weather upon us and multiple layers of clothing being worn at school, we strongly encourage families to check that clothing is clearly labelled. Our office staff do a great job returning items to students over the course of each week but face the challenges of multiple items each day without names. If your child has lost any items of clothing recently please ask them to visit the Lost Property area at the front of the school.

Justin Yeo

Gospel of Mark

In this week’s Gospel we hear the great story of the Parable of the Mustard Seed. It is a story that is shared in most RE classes at some point and one that allows for us to try to understand what the Kingdom of God is like. It asks us to pause and reflect on the things we do to build the kingdom through our efforts with our thoughts, words and actions that can make a huge difference in our world.

Jesus said to the crowds, ‘What can we say the kingdom of God is like? What parable can we find for it? It is like a mustard seed which at the time of its sowing in the soil is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet once it is sown it grows into the biggest shrub of them all and puts out big branches so that the birds of the air can shelter in its shade.’

What is the best, small action you can take today to build the Kingdom of God?

St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal

Our Value for Term 2 is Compassion. It just so happens to coincide with our annual St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal.

President of the St Mary’s Conference of SVdP Carol Jones shared this with us:
Since June 2022 to May 2024, we at St Mary’s Conference have assisted over 200 families with care and support, we have also assisted 50 new clients whose ages range from 16 to 85 years. As a result of the ongoing support from the St Matthews Community we were able to assist the needy within our community.

Students have been asked to donate an item(s) from the list if they are able to:

As part of our St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal, we will be hosting a Years 5-12 Vinnies School Sleepout. The school community will come together in solidarity and give up one night in a warm comfortable bed to help raise funds and awareness about homelessness and disadvantage in our very own backyard.

Students are strongly encouraged to raise money for the Winter Appeal using the fundraising link. They can click 'join sleepout' so that others can sponsor them as well!

Ross McKeown

Leader of Mission

Rugby 7s State Cup - Sydney

Last Friday, eleven Year 5 and 6 students attended the Rugby 7-a-side State Cup, hosted by Rugby NSW, at the Waratahs training complex in Sydney. They played against other schools from around the state, with the excellent support of one of our parents and coach Rod Loneragan. The team played four games on the day, winning one and losing three by narrow margins. They finished 8th out of 14 and did themselves proud. The boys met a few NSW Waratahs players as well.

Thank you to all the families who supported them.

John Freebody

Teacher

Creative Arts Club - Rock Band Performance

Last week 25 students from Years 3-6 rocked it out in the Primary Gym for the students and parents. This was a culmination of practice and hard work on many instruments including guitars, drums, keyboards, vocals, glockenspiels, boomwhackers and bells. They performed the songs 'Seven Nation Army' and ' Youngblood'. Thank you to Mrs O'Sullivan and families for their support of the club. We are so proud of our little rockers.

The attention now moves to our modern dance fun sessions on Wednesday mornings. All students from Year 3-6 are invited starting from 8:30am each week.

Creative Arts Club Coordinator

Last week, Year 4 had an extraordinary opportunity to visit Mudgee Gallery and experience the powerful exhibition 'Guwayu: For All Time.' This exhibition showcases the remarkable works of some of Australia's most renowned First Nations artists, including Tony Albert, Nicole Chaffey, Jo Clancy, Lorraine Connelly-Northey, Karla Dickens, Blak Douglas, Fiona Foley, Amala Groom, Aleshia Lonsdale, Juanita MacLaughlan, Danie Mellor, Vincent Namatjira, Joel Sherwood Spring, Jason Wing, Maddison Wing, and Judy Watson.

The visit was more than just an art viewing; it was an invaluable opportunity for our students to gain deep insights into the challenges and injustices faced by Indigenous Australians throughout our history. The artwork provided a profound reflection on these themes, sparking curiosity and thoughtful discussions among the students.

Guiding us through this impactful journey was Michael Bourke, whose informative and engaging tour brought the exhibition to life. His expertise and passion for the artworks provoked many questions from our eager students, fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation of Indigenous art and culture. This visit has left a lasting impression on our students, inspiring them to learn more about and respect the rich cultural heritage of Indigenous Australians.

Our Year 4 students returned with a greater appreciation for art and a heightened awareness of the historical and ongoing struggles faced by First Nations people. It was indeed a memorable and enlightening experience for all.

Year 4 Class Teachers

To support the busy start and end to our school day, we remind families of a number of strategies put in place that reduce the impact to traffic along Lewis Street and also provide a safe environment for our students. We are currently experiencing issues with the impact on traffic and reinforce with families the need to abide by the processes we have in place. The strategies are supported by Mudgee Police and the Mid-Western Regional Council (MWRC), therefore we ask all families to be aware of the following in the Drop Off & Pick Up Zone:

• Family names displayed on the dashboards of cars in the afternoon.
• Parents and guardians remain in their cars at all times, no exceptions. If you child needs help entering or exiting the car, or needs a hug to say farewell in the morning, please park and support them away from the zone in front of the school.
• If your child is late to pick up in the afternoon, please do a lap and join the end of the queue.

Our school social media pages are an important source of information and reminders about upcoming events in our school and Parish community.

Flexischools is St Matthews Catholic Schools preferred way to order from our canteens. The cut-off time is 9am, please allow yourself enough time to complete an order. An order can be placed the night before or even days in advance.

Orders that are phoned through via reception after 9am will be offered a simple sandwich, a drink and snacks only. No Hot Food will be offered. Credit Card details must be provided at the time, no exceptions. This ensures no further follow up for payment is required.

If parents are experiencing issues with Flexischools, please contact Flexischools directly using the Parent Help Line Number- 1300 361 769 (8am-12pm)

1. Introduction to Flexischools
2. How to Register with Flexischools
3. How to Place an Order (Canteen)
4. How to Place an Order (All Services)
5. How to Top Up Your Flexischools Wallet

Please let your child know if they are having a lunch order and what they are having. Some of our younger students are accidently throwing out their “tokens”. They need the token to redeem any frozen item/slushie/special that may have been ordered for them.

Breakfast Menu

Birthday Bucket & Classroom Cupcakes

Alicia Cowden

Primary Canteen Manager

EFTPOS only, no cash.

Enjoy the convenience of online shopping. Save time and energy by ordering your uniforms online in six easy steps:

1. Go to midford.com.au
2. Select St Matthews Catholic School from the Online School Shops tab
3. New users to click the ‘Register New Account’ button
4. Start the registration process by selecting St Matthews Catholic School from the drop-down menu and add the unique school pass phrase: “Matthews1912”
5. Add your personal information, create a username and password
6. Order the items you need, select pick-up in store/deliver to school.

If you have any queries please contact the uniform shop directly:
Phone: 0439 442 509 or Email: st.matthews@midford.com.au

Parents and Carers of new or existing students enrolled in St Matthews can apply for free school bus travel with Ogden's Coaches for every route (except Botobolar and Cudgegong which is serviced by Booth's Bus Service)

• free school travel is available for Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 students no matter how close or far away they are from school.
• if students are not eligible for free bus transportation they can still ride on the bus by paying a fare or by purchasing a book of 10 tickets or a term/annual pass from the Ogden's Coaches office.
• students who changed address or schools must update existing details through the NSW Transport online portal
• if you are unsure whether or not your child has a current bus pass, please contact our office.
• to travel on our bus service, students must present their bus pass to the bus driver morning and afternoon.

Apply for student bus passes through the Ogden's Coaches website

Select ‘Schools’ tab in top header then select ‘Apply for a New Pass'

Fill in the application form for each child and you will be notified of eligibility via email from Transport NSW. Bus passes will be distrubuted by post to students home address.

Ogden's Coaches - Mudgee

(02) 6372 2489