Dear Parents and Carers,

It was a pleasure to welcome so many Mums, Grandmothers, and special people in the student’s lives for the Mother’s Day Breakfast and Liturgy last Friday. The beautiful sunny morning made this event even more enjoyable as the students celebrated their mums and enjoyed the delicious breakfast. Thank you to Noelene Williams for coordinating breakfast, her husband Kevin for the BBQ, and the staff who made the early start at school to ensure all was prepared for this special community event.

After breakfast, we all made our way to the Church for the Infant’s Mother’s Day Liturgy. A true celebration of motherhood, the liturgy included heartfelt prayers, stunning singing, entertaining readings and buckets of joy as our youngest students led the school in a fitting tribute to St Anne’s Mums and Mums everywhere. Congratulations to the students and special thanks to the staff for the thoughtful preparations and program.

St Anne’s Community Council

Thank you to members of the Exec of the Community Council for all their ongoing support for St Anne’s! The recent Democracy Sausage Sizzle - the first of its kind in Temora - attracted lots of interest, and will help both the Church and the School with fundraising. Thank you to the parents who helped on the day and to families who supported this initiative! Special thanks to the French Bakery for donating the bread; so very kind and generous!

Secondary Wellbeing Day

Thank you to Kristy Wallace and Ryan Kemp for designing and delivering an outstanding Wellbeing Day last Thursday. The students thoroughly enjoyed being challenged to identify ways we can strengthen even further the positive school culture we enjoy. The students also had the opportunity to experience mindfulness and to explore empathy, discuss how social pressure can impact on our wellbeing and the importance of surrounding ourselves with positive people. The day concluded with an incredible Dance Off. Well done to all the students for participating in the day with enthusiasm and commitment!

In Conclusion…

This week we welcome Graham Wright to St Anne’s to work with the Secondary Staff on Wednesday. Graham is a very well known and respected educational consultant who has worked with numerous schools and systems and we are very pleased that he has agreed to work with St Anne’s as we develop Stage 6 at the College. By providing support and guidance in data analysis, Grahan seeks to empower educators to navigate the complexities of educational assessment and evaluation effectively. Through his work, Graham aims to foster a culture of continuous improvement within schools, where every decision is guided by a commitment to student success and holistic development. We look forward very much to working with Graham.

Just a reminder that Winter Uniform is to be worn by all students from this coming Monday 19th May.

Finally, we encourage families with children due to start Kindergarten in 2026 to complete the application form as soon as possible

With best wishes,

Louise Grant

Principal

St Anne’s catholic College

Principal’s Prayer:

A Prayer for Pope Leo XIV

Lord, source of eternal life and truth, give to your shepherd a spirit of courage and right judgment, a spirit of knowledge and love. By governing with fidelity those entrusted to his care, may he, as successor to the Apostle Peter and Vicar of Christ, build your Church into a sacrament of unity, love and peace for all the world. Amen.

Statement from Archbishop Christopher Prowse on the election of Pope Leo XVI is available here.

Praying the Rosary 

If you have noticed your child bringing home a set of Rosary beads, or if they have spoken to you about praying the Rosary, it is because for the Month of Mary. Classes are learning how to pray the rosary. In the Catholic Church the month of May is celebrated as the month of Mary. We have invited the students to join staff at the Grotto a few days a week 

National Careers Week

National Careers Week is a nationwide initiative aimed to help students discover potential career paths, connect education with future employment possibilities, build stronger networks between schools and businesses, and showcase the changing world of work and emerging industries.

As a part of this initiative students from Year 10 enjoyed participating in Golden Fields Water Careers Day, an interactive experience exploring the diverse career options on offer. Years 9-12 attended the Temora TAFE Careers and Volunteers Expo to explore work and study options available both locally and beyond. Additionally, on Friday during homeroom all secondary students will be participating in a careers exploration activity suited to their year level. Parents and carer’s can support their child career discovery journey by having meaningful conversations about their strengths and interests, helping them navigate the many pathways available while connecting your own network to their career exploration.

Student GEM Booklets

Each student has a GEM reward booklet. Students can be awarded a GEM at anytime throughout the day by a teacher, that sees the TRP key principles being displayed in the classroom or playground. The student is recognised for their behaviour, eg being kind or empathetic, that they can be awarded a GEM to stick into their booklet.

Each week these GEM’s are added to a tally towards house points and at the end of the week the points of each team are added at assembly and awarded with the trophy for the week of the winning house in GEM points.

Once a student has completed a GEM booklet, they are awarded with a Principal’s award at an end of term assembly and given a hot chip lunch to celebrate the positive behaviour alongside the winning house team with the most GEM points. This is an active way to use our TRP key principles throughout the school.

TRP Throughout the school and into the community.

Research and TRP data shows that when wellbeing is embedded as part of our school culture, there are incredible long term results.  Implementing TRP and the GEM principles from school into the community and our home life has a huge impact.

We can have simple conversations at the dinner table, in the car or anytime of the day.

Parents/carers play a crucial role in sharing this language for several reasons:

Improve family wellbeing

Create consistent language

Foster positive school-home relationships

Positive in the community.

Here are some examples using our GEM chats we can share this communication.

Bookclub Orders will be closed on Thursday Morning (15th of May). Thank you to everyone who orders these books, it is great to know the student's are reading at home.

Next Wednesday, 21 May 2025 it is the National Simultaneous Storytime event. For those who have library on that day, we will be reading  and doing activities related to the chosen book. This year the book chosen by The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) is:

The Truck Cat by  Deborah Frenkel.

National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS) is held annually by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA). Every year a picture book, written and illustrated by an Australian author and illustrator, is read simultaneously in libraries, schools, pre-schools, childcare centres, family homes, bookshops and many other places around the country. Now in its 25th successful year, it is a colourful, vibrant, fun event that aims to promote the value of reading and literacy, using an Australian children's book that explores age-appropriate themes, and addresses key learning areas of the National Curriculum for Foundation to Year 6.

Kinder: Eadie R, Summer W, Jock T

Year 1: Hugo K, Stella B, Leo D

Year 2: Jackson B, Liliana V, Reed G, Ellie F

Year 3: Hunter C, Evie S, Leo J

Year 4: Flynn G, Ivy D, Evelyn T, Ruby C, Harrison P

Year 5: Jackson P, Samuel M, Rosie W

Year 6: Rosie M, Noah S, Will T

Year 7 : Dallas Gibbs - working conscientiously in French. Brooke Gilchrist  - Accuracy when creating sentences in French. Hannah Pham  - Great fluency in her writing in French. Paige Reardon  - Improved accuracy when spelling new vocabulary in French.

Year 8 : Jadah Cotton - Her positive contributions to our Secondary Wellbeing Day. Ava Derrick - Excellent involvment in small group discussions. Harvey Drumore  - Exellent involvment in small group discussions. 

Year 10 : Lily Gibbs  - For developing her use of 'show don't tell' in her Heywire story. Jonte Reid  - Being a positive role model to others during Secondary Wellbeing Day.

Year 11: Lizzie Cooper  - Exceptional labeling of key themes, characters and techniques in English. Matilda Reardon  - Her conscientious work ethic in English and her consideration of others.