Student Wellbeing

SPORT

Netball Gala Day

Last week the primary girls travelled to Mudgee for the St Matthews Netball Gala Day. It was a fun day combining with our friends from St Michael’s to play netball and make new friends. The teams were very competitive and cooperative throughout the day. It was exciting to see the players skills improve as the day went on. The Yr 3 team was lucky enough to be managed by Mrs Brennan from St Michael’s throughout the day.  Thank you to Mrs Buckle, Mrs Kelly and Ms Statham for training and managing the teams. It was great to see so many parents and grandparents come along to watch the girls. We appreciate your support.

Canteen Helpers Required

Please email the school office if you’re able to help in the canteen on a Tuesday or Thursday between 10 - 2.00pm. We will be putting a roster of volunteers together to help Emma in Term 2. 

P&F Update

The P&F have decided the following events will occur in 2025:

• Tea Towel Fundraiser Early Term 2 
• Labels Fundraiser Term 2
• Henry Lawson BBQ - Saturday June 7th
• ‘A Night at the Races’ - Gulgong RSL Sat 20th September
• All Hallows P&F Bazaar - Friday 31st October
• Various raffles Mother’s Day and Father’s Day 

The Uniform Shop will be open every Tuesday at 8.30am - 9.15am

Next meeting will be held next Wednesday 9th April at 3.30pm.

Easter Hat Parade

This Friday we will be holding the hat parade at 9.15am as soon as the bell rings so families are able to watch. Students will head to class, put their things away and come straight out for the Hat Parade. We will be joined by our friends from Happy Days.  Children will make their own hats at home and bring them in on the day to wear. We will keep you updated with details as the end of the term draws closer.

Uniform Policy - Reminder

As we head into Term 2 I thought I would remind you of our uniform policy. 

Boys Winter Uniform -  Grey Pants, Light Blue Long Sleeved Shirt, Tie, Grey Socks, Black Shoes or Boots (Whole shoe must be black and no other colours), School Bucket Hat, Maroon Jumper or Navy Jacket. 

Girls Winter Uniform -  Maroon Pants or Pinafore, White Shirt, Tie, White Socks, Black Shoes, Maroon or White Ribbons, School Bucket Hat, School Bucket Hat, Maroon Jumper or Navy Jacket. 

Sports Uniform - School Sports Uniform, White Socks, Sports Shoes, Blue Jumper or Navy Jacket.

All uniform items must be clearly labelled with full name or initials clearly marked on the clothing item. 

Hair 

Hair should be neat and tidy at all times. Shoulder length hair should be tied back and not in the eyes. Radical/Trendy haircuts such as mullets/ mohawks etc or colours which may cause the student to be the object of ridicule are not permitted. If in doubt the school should be contacted before the child’s hair is cut. Jewellery

Jewellery is not part of the uniform. Students may wear small stud or sleeper earrings only and there may be occasions during sport where these must be removed for safety sake. One bangle or signet ring is permitted. Costume jewellery is not appropriate for wearing at school. 

Make-up and Nail Polish are not to be worn at school. 

Merit Awards - Week 9 Term 1

Kinder:  Ella, Reggie

Year 1:      

Year 2:     Bella, Bailey

Year 3:    Jacob, Kurt

Year 4:    Willow, Emma, Reid, Miller

Year 5:    Jett, Ivy, Liam

Year 6:    Noah W, Noah T, Frank, Ethan

Halos:     Jack Bi, Emma, Albert, Zion, Reid, Olivia, Ruby T, Hamish, Georgia, Alex

Winter Uniform

We will have a two week transition into Winter uniform at the start of next term. 

Students need to transition into their Winter uniform including tie by the Monday of Week 3 at the latest. We don’t want students mixing and matching the summer and winter uniforms together. Please contact the office if you have any questions regarding the uniform changeover. The Uniform Shop will be open Tuesday mornings and if you need other times please private message the P&F facebook page.

R.E. Matters

The theme for 2025 is…

All Hallows - People of Hope  
2025 is a Year of Jubilee!

‘Holy’ means "set apart." Christians set apart an entire week - Holy Week - to recall the events surrounding the suffering, death, and Resurrection of Jesus. 

Holy Week begins this Sunday with Palm Sunday and is the last week of Lent, when we follow Jesus from Palm Sunday, the Sunday of the Passion, to his death on Good Friday in preparation for his rising from the dead on Easter Sunday. On Monday the classes followed the story of Holy Week in our Holy Week Liturgy.  This year the source for the Stations of the Cross comes from the illustrations by Aboriginal artist Richard Campbell of Jesus’ Journey through the Dreaming – or what is usually referred to as - the Stations of the Cross. The students were very reverent, attentive and able to move through the events of Holy Week in a  prayerful and reverent manner. Thankyou to parents and grandparents who were able to join us for this special time.

Special Days in Holy Week.

Palm Sunday: The Sunday before Easter is known as Palm Sunday. It celebrates Jesus' triumphal arrival in Jerusalem for the Jewish festival of Passover.

Holy Thursday:  The Last Supper and the betrayal by Judas. During the meal Jesus took bread and wine and shared them with his disciples. The Last Supper was probably a Passover meal – the meal which Jewish people share together to celebrate the time when God delivered Moses and the people from slavery in Egypt.

Good Friday: The arrest, trial, crucifixion, death and burial of Jesus Christ. On Good Friday, Christians remember the day when Jesus was crucified on a cross.

Holy Saturday, the Sabbath on which Jesus rested in the grave.

As we draw closer to Easter we may look back and see just how far we have come in the last six weeks through our Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving

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Fifth Week of Lent

The life-changing work of Caritas Australia is only made possible by the unwavering generosity of our supporters and the dedication of our local partners on the ground.

Our partners are the true heroes, working tirelessly on the frontlines every day to transform lives and build brighter, more hopeful futures for their communities.

This term we have been focusing on ‘Unite against poverty’ via Project Compassion. It is now time to return your Project Compassion box that each family received at the beginning of Lent.

This year our classes also came up with fun fundraising ideas to help out Caritas Australia. Thankyou to  the Yr 5/6 students for their effort with Cakes for Caritas,  K-2 who are holding the Egg Guessing competition and Yr 3/4 who will be ‘filling the bucket’ on Friday with coins donated for mufti day.  

So far the school community has raised $310.80. All money raised will be sent to Caritas to help them continue their work in poorer communities around the world. Thank you for your donation.

Easter Mass Times

Gulgong:  St John Baptist Church

Good Friday  18th April - Passion of the Lord  3.00pm

Holy Saturday 19th April  - 5.00pm

Mudgee - St Mary's Church

Holy Thursday Mass  Lord's Supper 17th April -  6.00pm

Good Friday Stations of the Cross - 18th April - 10.00am

Good Friday Passion of the Lord - 3.00pm

Holy Saturday 19th April - 6.00pm

Easter Sunday 20th April - 7.30am & 9.00am

RE BOOKS

This week I was lucky enough to see the wonderful work being done in our student’s Religion workbooks. The understanding, creativity and thoughtfulness in responses was outstanding. Thankyou to the students for sharing your work. 

Letter from the Principal - Brad Toole

Dear Parents and Carers

We have made it to the end of a very busy Term 1. Everyone is exhausted including myself, the staff and students and everyone is ready for a holiday. Enjoy the time over the holidays with your family and friends. 

ANZAC Day 

ANZAC Day will be on Friday of Week 2 in the upcoming holidays. We will be marching as a school community with other members of the community and the Gulgong RSL sub-branch. We will need to meet together at 10.15am near the library.
Students must be in Full Winter Uniform including tie. 

**Please note our first day at school in Term 2 will be Monday 29th April. 

Have a great holiday everyone and we look forward to seeing you at ANZAC Day then when school returns on Monday 28th April.

2025 Sacramental Program

These are the important dates for our Sacramental Program this year.  If you know of any family whose children are Catholic and attend another school who would be interested in having their children receive the Sacraments, please do not hesitate to pass this information on.  We are happy to assist any child wishing to make their Sacraments.  Please contact your child's teacher or Ms Statham (REC) if you have any questions or want to know more about Catholic Sacraments.

A meeting for parents/guardians of children making their Confirmation will be held on Wednesday 14th May 2025 at 3.30pm in the school library.

Students in Year 6 who will be making their Confirmation this year must have a parent attend this meeting please.

Confirmation will be held on Sunday 22nd June 2025.

Year 6 CHRISTIAN LIVING CAMP

The Year 6 students will take part in a Christian Living Camp during Week 2 of next term - 7th - 9th May.  Through this camp the children will be given experienceand opportunities to:

• Help develop sound christian attitudes and values
• Mix and share with others of the same age group
• Grow in their own self-awareness and sensitivity to others.

We attend the camp with students from St Michaels Dunedoo, Sacred Heart Coolah, St Johns Baradine and the Assumption School Bathurst.  Notes have been sent home to Year 6 families.

If you have not completed the on-line registration through NSW Sport & Rec (link was emailed on Monday), we ask that you do this as soon as possible.  The link will close on 16th April.

If you have not completed and returned the Medical & Consent form, we ask that you complete this by the end of this week please.  This camp is a highlight for our Year 6 students each year and they are very excited that it is nearly here.

Project Compassion

Thank you on behalf of Caritas Australia for the money raised this Lent through Project Compassion boxes at school and at home.  Caritas Australia's annual Lenten fundraising appeal brings thousands of Australians together in solidarity with the world's poor to help end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity. 

Could you please return your family's Project Compassion box to the school office by Tuesday next week to allow us to send the money off to Caritas before the end of term.

An important part of the All Hallows Mission Statement says that All Hallows is a ' A Catholic school community that demonstrates outreach and participates in activities".  Each year we participate in the Project Compassion program with money raised going to Caritas Australia for their work in bringing hope to those in need.  During the next two weeks there will be extra opportunities to help Project Compassion.  Students have come up wth ideas to raise money for Caritas and we are excited to work together onthese ideas.  Today, "Cakes for Caritas" was held.  There is also a Guessing Competition being held at recess each day until the Easter Hat Parade and for a gold coin donation, students are able to wear mufti on the last day of school for this term.  All funds raised from these willgo to help those families Caritas Australia helps each year.  Thank you for your generosity.

In the fourth week of Lent, the Project Compassion story features Irene from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Irene is a 25-year-old single mother of two boys living in DRC. Despite experiencing extreme poverty, she has become a skilled seamstress and can now support her children’s education with her income.

“With the earnings from this job, I can not only buy my own clothes but also for my family members… Regarding the children I send to school, there are my orphaned nephews from my late brother. I make sure to provide for all their needs," Irene said.

▶️ Watch Irene’s story here: https://vimeo.com/1051013799

🙌 Support Project Compassion today: www.caritas.org.au/project-compassion 

CCSP 30th Anniversary Celebration - Dr. Justin Coulson evening @ SJC

The Council of Catholic School Parents NSW/ACT (CCSP) is excited to celebrate its 30th anniversary, marking three decades of support for Catholic school communities in NSW and ACT.

As part of this milestone, CCSP is taking renowned presenter Dr. Justin Coulson on a tour to visit rural and remote locations to engage with parents and carers. St Johns College is proud to be one of the hosting schools for this special event, which will be held on Tuesday, 6th May 2025.

We would like to extend this invitation to the Catholic schools and families within our Diocese and region. Attached, you will find a flyer with further details about the event. We kindly request that you share this information with your school community through your school newsletters and Compass.

To register for the event, guests must use the registration link provided in the flyer via 123tix. Please note that the event is not listed as a public event on 123tix, so this link is essential for registration.

Annual Improvement Survey

I would like to inform you that our school will be asking all parents, students and staff to complete the Annual School Improvement Survey. The Surveys will be distributed to all staff, parents and Yr 5-12 students on Thursday 8th May (Wk 2, Term2).

These surveys enable all members of the school community to have a voice. We do take note of all comments written as they are valuable insights from key stakeholders of the school. The comments and data provides information about how well the school is operating, highlighting areas of strengths and those that may need revision. Overall, the data collected from the surveys provide highly valuable information that directs the school's future planning for continual improvement. 

NB: This is an initial 'heads up' message and will be followed by reminders as we near the Survey date.

Regards,

Brad Toole

Catholic Education Benefits All Australians

Catholic schools are Australia’s largest non-government education provider, delivering choice, affordability, and value for all.

With the election coming up, parents might be interested in finding out more information by going to https://ncec.catholic.edu.au/2025-federal-election/. There is a great short video explaining how school funding works.

Noticeboard

Wellbeing

This week's tip is focussing on keeping your own mental health as a top priority. Taking care of your mental health is just as important as taking care of your physical health. 

ANZAC Day March

ANZAC Day will be on the last Friday of the holidays. We will be marching as a school community with other members of the Gulgong  community and the Gulgong RSL sub-branch. 

We will need to meet together at 10.15am near the town library. Students must be in Full Winter Uniform including tie. 

**Please note our first day at school in Term 2 will be Monday 28th April.

Canteen Helpers Required

Please email the school office if you’re able to help in the canteen on a Tuesday or Thursday between 10 - 2.00pm. We will be putting a roster of volunteers together to help Emma in Term 2. 

Emma will also be away on Thursday the 4th of April. If there are any volunteers to run the canteen that day please let me know.

Term 2 - Winter Uniforms

In Term 2 we transition to our Winter Uniforms. All students have a two week transition period into Winter Uniform and must be in complete Winter Uniform including tie by Monday of Week 3 next term.