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Dear St Anne’s Community,
We are delighted to report that the College has enjoyed a positive and purposeful start to the 2025 school year. Our school newsletter is issued fortnightly on odd weeks throughout the term. As well as showcasing our student learning, fortnightly issues include messages from the principal, the Religious Education Coordinator, the staff, our Community Council, and from the wider community. The newsletter is published to Compass and the website on issue week Thursdays.
Open Classrooms and Information Evenings
It was great to see the community come together for this important opportunity to meet the staff leading the learning for your children this year and to catch up with old and new friends. Thank you to the staff for hosting and thank you to the Year 7, 10 and 11 staff for the informative presentations at the Information Evenings. Special thanks to Noeline Williams and students helpers for the bar-be-que.
Swimming Carnival
St Anne’s is very fortunate to have access to such an outstanding aquatic facility and the students certainly made the most of the opportunity to compete at the Swimming Carnival. We were delighted that so many members of the community were able to join us to support the swimmers. Thank you for your support! The highlights of the day were the high levels of participation by the students, and the way they encouraged each other to participate and to give their best for their team.
Special thanks to all the parent helpers, helpers from the community and the staff for making the day run so smoothly.
Healthy Harold
The Primary children were excited to see the Life Education Healthy Harold van arrive at St Anne’s. The sessions were as entertaining and inspiring as always. We very much appreciate the highly effective way these important messages on health and wellbeing are conveyed to the children through this program. We look forward to Health Harold’s next visit in 2027.
The Knock On Effect
Students in Year 9- 12 also had the opportunity to attend an important and impactful session this week, The Knock on Effect. The NSW Blues and Sky Blues have joined forces to support the Knock-On Effect campaign to tackle road safety in NSW. The theory behind the presentation is that while a knock-on may seem like a small mistake on a footy field, it can have dramatic consequences on our roads. The students learnt about the leading causes of accidents that lead to hospitalisation and death. We encourage parents to find the time to have a conversation with the students about the presentation.
De Boos Street Proposed Changes
Some of you may be aware of the proposed changes to De Boos Street parking. Please pop by the Office if you would like to learn about the proposed changes.
School Community Council
The first meeting of the St Anne’s Catholic College Community Council was held this week. It was a pleasure to meet and plan for the year with this dedicated, enthusiastic and generous group of parents. There will be some positions available on the Council and we invite all parents, and especially new parents to consider they may be able to contribute their time and expertise to the service of the school. Please watch this space in the next issue of the newsletter for more information.
Playground Games
Primary and Infants students are very much enjoying a range of new experiences available for play each day. From books for those who may be keen for some quiet time to chalk to foster creativity, balls, games and opportunities for imaginative play, the children are excited to have a wide range of choices. Thanks to the staff for their enthusiasm in arranging these play opportunities for everyone.
In conclusion…
It is a pleasure to report to you all on the busy, vibrant and start to the year we have enjoyed at St Anne’s. The highlight has been how quickly and effectively the students have settled into their learning and the way they seize opportunities beyond the classroom to contribute to the life of the school. I congratulate all students and staff on the positive start to 2025! Thank you parents and carers for all your help and support too!
With best wishes,
Louise Grant
Principal
PRAYER FOR THE HEALTH OF POPE FRANCIS
Lord God, shepherd and guide of all the faithful,
look kindly upon your servant Pope Francis,
whom you willed to preside over the Church as her shepherd.
May he bear this illness in union with the suffering of your Son Jesus for the salvation of the world.
Guide the doctors and nurses who are caring for him.
By your divine grace, restore him to health.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen
Thank you to the parents of Sacramental children for 2025
Thank you to those parents who made the meeting last week to discuss all of the changes to the sacramental timetable and plans for 2025.
A reminder that parents who were unable to make that meeting and all future correspondence regarding sacraments must now go directly through the parish office to Father Alex Osborne or the parish secretary Virginia. Please assist us in keeping communication streamlined by using the parish email: temora@cg.org.au or the parish phone number 69772104.
First Eucharist preparations are underway
Please keep the Year 4 candidates for First Eucharist in your prayers whilst they are preparing for the Sacrament of First Eucharist (Communion) in Week 8 of this term, Sunday 30th March.
New additional Parish Mass
Father Alex Osborne our new parish priest has very generously added an additional Sunday evening 5pm Mass to each weekend. This was done to enable busy families to attend mass on a regular basis without having to remember whether they were up to a Saturday or Sunday mass for the weekend. Please support Father Alex’s efforts to help build up a strong, vibrant parish community by taking your family to mass.
This year our school focus is on the theme of ‘Curious and Critical Thinkers’. We know that being open and receptive to learning new things and showing curiosity about the world around us, creates so many amazing opportunities for growth. Being critical is simply evaluating all that we take in, being discerning enough to seek out truth and to make sense of what we have learned. We also trust that our own personal faith will hold us in good stead by remembering that God is with us throughout it all.
Students in Year 9- 12 recently attended a session with the NSW Blues and Sky Blues to support the Knock-On Effect campaign. This campaign is aimed at tackling road safety in NSW. The Students took alot away from this session.
Week 2
Kinder: Riley Steinhardt, Tilly Maguire
Year 1: Hugo Keith, Emmaline Allen, Hudson Miller
Year 2: Olivia Purcell, Darcy Maguire
Year 3: Paddy Wallace, Kash Tahapeehi, Olivia Perry, Zoe Sinclair
Year 4: Isabella Irving
Year 5: Alice Reid, Mack Oliver, Alexy Balon
Year 6: Evie Cooper, Clancy Gibbs
Back to School
Dear Parents,
With the beginning of term one, schedules are starting to get very busy again and it’s a lot on us as parents, and it’s even more on our kids. Take this article as permission to rest! Monitor how your kids are going and if you are observing that post-school restraint collapse happening more than just occasionally, it is time to scale things back.
Here’s some tips to help make late afternoons more peaceful when your child is exhausted from school:
Expect kids to fall apart – Your child might hold it all together and be on their best behaviour at school and then the minute they get home they go off the rails. This is NORMAL behaviour. Your child works so hard to follow all the rules and have so many social interactions that they need to let it out at some point.
Plan for downtime – School days are draining, and your child needs to rest. When you notice a pattern of after-school meltdowns, clear their afternoon/evening schedule for the week where possible. Postpone the playdates, skip the supermarket visit after school, and go straight home and let your child unwind.
Have a healthy snack ready – Your child might not eat enough at school. Drinking and eating are social in nature, and children just tend to snack until they are comfortable. Be prepared for their HANGRY side to come out and be ready with a nutrient dense snack.
Don’t take it personally – You’re probably so excited to see your child/ren at the end of the day to give them a hug and find all about what they got up to at school. Then you pick them up and they are tired and limited in what they want to share, making you feel disappointed or rejected. It’s not about you, give them space, time, rest and food.
Sensory play – Draw a bath with lots of bubbles and their favourite bath toys. Or put on some calm music and let them relax with kinetic sand play. They will love it, and it will help them decompress.
A favourite book in my house (for those in junior primary school) is by Author Jane Godwin and illustrator Anna Walker. They have created a delightful picture book all about families’ busy lives. It’s called ‘Today We Have No Plans’ - a busy week, a slower day brings time to dream and time to play.
Ongoing concerns about back to school anxiety
If your child is showing signs of difficulties with adjustment beyond the first few weeks of school term, such as:
- physical symptoms like stomach aches, headaches or nausea
- trouble sleeping
- changes in appetite
- changes in behaviour
- expressing not wanting to go to school
They may be experiencing anxiety.
If you have concerns about your child experiencing back to school anxiety, remember to make some quiet time together and ask open-ended questions – for example, ‘How are you feeling about starting/going/being back to school?’ This gives your child a chance to share their thoughts, feelings and anything that’s worrying them.
Listen closely and acknowledge your child’s feelings. For example, ‘I can see why you would be worried about starting in a new class. I know that lots of kids feel anxious about making new friends.’
Remember, school is a major part of your child’s life, so try to see things from their point of view and don’t dismiss their worries, even if they seem small or silly to you. You don’t need to have all the answers or be able to fix things. Instead, the most important thing is that your child believes they can overcome their feelings of anxiety and knows that you’re there to help them through it.
For more information on how to support your child through back to school anxiety and where to go for professional support talk to your child’s class teacher as the first point of contact or see the following article on the Emerging Minds website:
Below is the school counselling referral link:
https://mccg.my.site.com/housing/s/school-referral-form
Rebecca McCarthy
Student and Family Counsellor
St Anne's Central School Temora - Monday, Tuesday
McAuley Catholic College Tumut - Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
Marymead CatholicCare Canberra & Goulburn
P. 02 6162 6106
PO BOX 3167 Manuka ACT 2603 | mccg.org.au
NSW SCHOOL VACCINATION PROGRAM
In 2025 the following vaccines will be offered:
In Year 7, students are offered free vaccines for diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (whooping cough), (dTpa) and human papillomavirus (HPV). In Year 10, students are offered the meningococcal ACWY vaccine.
Vaccination will only be provided at school if consent has been received.
If your child is in Year 7 or Year 10, you can give consent online for their routine school vaccinations.
How to Provide Consent:
- To complete online consent for your child’s school vaccinations, visit the School Vaccination Program online consent portal (https://engage.health.nsw.gov.au/engage)
- For detailed steps on how to provide consent, please refer to the NSW Health webpage
How to Provide Consent (https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/immunisation/Pages/online-consent-school-vaccination.aspx).
- Follow the steps to log in to your existing ServiceNSW account. This is the same account you may already use to renew your driver’s licence. If you don’t have a ServiceNSW account, refer to https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/services/myservicensw-account/how-to-create-an-account to create an account.
- Update or confirm your personal details in ServiceNSW as required.
- Complete the School Vaccination Consent Form for your child/ren. You will need to:
- Enter your child’s personal details
- Provide the Medicare card details for you and your child
- Read the linked Parent Information Sheet and privacy statement. Translations are available in 28 languages please refer to the NSW Health webpage https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/immunisation/Pages/school_vaccination_language.aspx
- Provide consent.
If you or your child do not have a Medicare card, have poor or no internet access or you are unable to complete the online consent, ask your child's school for a paper consent form.
If you need assistance, please contact Albury Public Health on 02 6053 4800 press option 2.
The benefits of providing consent online:
- SMS notification three days before the clinic to remind you of the vaccination day
- easily update your child’s details
- receive SMS and/or email notifications when vaccinations are given
- faster upload of vaccination records to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR).
For more information on routine school vaccinations, please visit www.health.nsw.gov.au/schoolvaccination.
If you require information in your language, please visit www.health.nsw.gov.au/immunisation/Pages/school_vaccination_language.aspx
St Anne's have been very lucky to receive donations from the Temora Community Centre 'Back to School ' Drive. These supplies have been kindly donated by the Temora community to be distributed as needed throughout the year. We would like to thank the Community Centre and the wider community for your generous support.
