Term 2 Week 10 2024

Principal's Message

‘We do whatever it takes to lead the way in Love, Learning, Faith, School Spirit, Sport & Community’

Dear families and friends,

I wish you all a safe and happy holiday.  I would like to thank staff and students for such a great first half of the 2024 school year.  Yet again, we as a school have put our kids first and foremost and ensure they are getting the very best out of us.  The learning has improved out of sight and I am so pleased with everyone's effort and commitment.

I'm looking forward to the great opportunities and experiences we will share together again in Term 3.  We will return to school on Monday 22 July.

Take care
John O’Brien

Assistant Principal's News - Mission

Term 3 will look a little bit different for me as I will be heading off to be the Acting Principal at St Joseph's Coraki for the first 8 weeks. I will be returning back to SMP after this to continue in my role as Assistant Principal Mission. In my absence, Mrs Irvine will take on my position to lead the school with Mr O'Brien and Mrs Wilde. Whilst I am quite nervous about being a principal at any school, let alone a brand new school to me, I am really looking forward to the opportunity and challenge to give it a go. Please keep me in your prayers, I think I will very much need them!!!

Family Mass
A big thank you to all of the students, parents and staff for joining us for our termly combined Family Mass with the College. This was one of our biggest Family Masses we have had and there were many comments on how there was such a warm and welcoming feeling to the celebration. A big thank you to all members of our school choir and to Mr Smith and Mrs Simpson for leading them on the night.  Also, a shout out to our readers who contributed to the Mass; Isabel de Wit, Jessel Dibley, Valentina McDonald, Henry Simpson and Isabella MacMahon.

School Jackets Update
These should be ready to be handed out in Week 1 of Term 3. We will let everyone know as soon as they arrive.

Another order will be done in late October in preparation for 2025 year.

$500 Casino RSM Club Sporting Scholarships 
The annual Sporting Scholarships that are sponsored by the Casino RSM Club are once again available for athletes in our school who have demonstrated proven results and been identified by club coaches as having above average potential in their chosen field. The application has been sent out on Compass a while ago and all nominations were due by Thursday 4 July.

Charlie Cox Beef Week Cup
Congratulations to all of the 120-odd students who represented SMP at the 2024 Charlie Cox Beef Week Cup. This event was once again a raging success. The goal of the CCBWC is to bring together all of our local primary schools in the Casino area for a day of competition, healthy rivalry and friendship between students who they may or may not know. The day is in honour of one of the greatest, if not the greatest, Casino citizen and sports volunteer, Charlie Cox who tragically passed away close to 4 years ago.  Charlie was involved at some stage in a lot of our local primary schools and was also famously a much loved mayor of Casino plus held many other volunteer roles in our community. 

A big thank you to Casino Netball and the Casino Cobras Soccer Club for opening their canteens and allowing us to borrow some of their resources on the day as well as to our parent coaches on the day; Luke Barber, Bel Moroney, Amber Randall and Laini Garsden.

A special shout out to the following teams that were crowned champions on the day and the students who were named as the Best and Fairest for their grand final; Stage 3 Rugby League (Toby Makejev), Stage 2 Boys Soccer (Harrison Myers), Stage 3 Boys Soccer (Lachlan Allen-Preece), Stage 2 Netball (Bobbi Grissell) and Stage 2 Rugby League (equal champs - Marcos Barber). Well done also to our Stage 2/3 Girls Soccer (Larah Kenny) and Stage 3 Netball teams that were runners-up.

Term 3 Dates for the Diary

• 13 August - Sacrament of Confirmation Retreat Day (9:00-1:45pm) & Celebration of the Sacrament (6pm)
• 15 August - Assumption Mass (combined with SMCC) - time TBC
• 16 August - Student of the Month Assembly
• 29 August - MinniVinnes Sleepout (5:00pm →)
• 6 September - Years 1 & 2 Prayer Service in the church (1:00pm)
• 13 September - Kinder, Years 5 & 6 Prayer Service in the church (1:00pm)
• 13 September - Three Sixteen Youth Group
• 14 September - Family Mass (5:00pm)
• 18 September - First Eucharist Reflection Evening (6:00pm)
• 20 September - Years 3 & 4 Prayer Service in the church (1:00pm)
• 22 September - First Eucharist Celebration (9:00am)
• 27 September - Student of the Month Assembly

Sam Irvine
AP Mission

Assistant Principal's News Teaching & Learning

ICAS- Last chance to register

Registrations for ICAS testing close on Monday 29 July.

If you would like to register your child for any of the ICAS Assessments please follow these steps.

1. Go to Parent Portal here: https://shop.icasassessments.com/pages/pps
2. Enter our school’s access code – ZMX113
3. Enter your child’s details, select the tests you would like to purchase, and proceed to payment. 

   The dates for the test this year are:

   Subject	Date of Assessment
   Writing	6  August 2024
   English	14  August 2024
   Spelling Bee	19  August 2024
   Mathematics	28 August 2024

Newcastle Permanent Maths Competition
This year we will be offering a place in the Newcastle Permanent Maths Competition to any student in Years 5 and 6 who have achieved above the 75th percentile in their standardised Maths testing so far this year. This online, annual competition gives Year 5 and Year 6 students from across regional NSW the opportunity to test their numeracy and problem-solving skills.  If your child is eligible to take part, you will receive an email to let you know. This competition will take place on Wednesday 31 July and will be facilitated by the Teaching and Learning team.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me. 

Premier's Reading Challenge
The Premier's Reading Challenge closes on Friday 23 August. Those students in Years 3-6 who are hoping to complete this challenge need to make sure they are logging their books online.  If your child is taking part, but unable to log their own books, please list all the books they have read and send them in to see me so I can log these books for them.  Once the books are logged, you do not need to do anything else. I will validate all entries at school for everyone. Happy Reading!!

Felicity Wilde
AP Teaching & Learning

K-2 Instructional Leader

Exciting News

Little Learners' Transition to School Program Begins!

We are thrilled to be commencing our Little Learners transition to school program, starting on Friday 2 August.  This program is designed to help our future 2025 Kinder students become familiar with the staff and their new school environment, easing their transition into the school community.

Program Details:

• When: Every Friday, starting 2 August (unless otherwise notified)

Program Outline & Times:

• 8:45am: Little Learners arrive, collect a name badge and play in the Kinder playground.
• 9:15am: Little Learners gather and move to their classroom spaces with a teacher. Students will eat their packed fruit and participate in a variety of planned activities.
• 10:30am: Little Learners are collected from the Kindergarten playground.

For Parents:

While the children are enjoying their classroom time, parents are invited to stay for tea, coffee and biscuits. This will be a great opportunity for you to meet other parents and build connections within our school community.

Our teachers are very excited to meet our Little Learners. We hope to see you there!

Karen Faber
K-2 Instructional Leader

Leader of Faith

Sacramental Information

Confirmation

Thank you to all families involved in this sacrament who were able to return the required form by today.  If you have not done so, please return to the School Office by Friday 26 July (Week 1).  Important dates and times leading up to and including the sacrament can be found below.

 First Communion

Students who made their First Reconciliation earlier in the year, will prepare for their First Communion which will take place late next term. Important dates and times leading up to and including the sacrament are listed below. More information will be sent home early in Term 3.

Karen McDonald
Leader of Faith

Sport News

In Week 9, Thomas McCormack travelled to Sydney to play in the state championships as part of the Polding team.  Tom's team made it to the grand final, with Tom playing exceptional football. Although his Polding team was defeated, Thomas has been selected to be part of the NSW squad and will head back to Sydney during the holidays to attend a camp, hoping to be selected for the final NSW team.  Congratulations, Tom, on such an outstanding achievement!

In Week 10, three SMP students—Jaxon Williams, Toby Makejev and Thomas McCormack—headed to Forbes to trial for the Rugby Union Polding Team.  All the boys put in an amazing effort. Congratulations to all the boys who played with such school spirit and pride. Special congratulations to Tom McCormack, who has progressed to the next level.

As Mr Irvine mentioned earlier, our CCBWC was a fantastic day filled with community spirit and fun.  Our SMP students participated with enthusiasm, showcasing school spirit and pride through their words and actions. A big thank you to everyone who helped make the day a success.  I'm sure everyone is looking forward to next year's event. 

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All students who have progressed to Zone Athletics have received consent information via Compass. Zone Athletics will be held on Thursday 1 August at Woodlawn.  Students have been provided with the events they have qualified for and an event program for the day. Please note that any student competing in the 1500m events will need to organise private transport as the event is held early in the morning before our bus departs from SMP.

Nikki Hammond
Sports Co-ordinator

Student of the Month ~ 4 July 2024

Birthdays

Happy birthday t0 Ivy Farr Vienna Johnson Jordan Hooper Kai Amey Isobel Law Andrew Brooks Thomas Cruickshank William Wells Heidi Handford Zahli-Rose Marks Paityn Taylor Hunter Pokarier Riley Richards Jade Pirlo Ledger Gould Harper Dhu Felix Makejev Sebastian Hogg Laisa Vakararawa Jaxon Williams Louis Armstrong Elaina Underhill and Josephine Williamson who have recently celebrated their birthday, and to Vann Hines Lukas Wells and Cooper Jung who celebrate tomorrow.

Community News

Casino Indoor Sports Stadium is hosting school holiday basketball clinics.  See the attached flyers for information.