NATURAL DISASTER

It goes without saying that this week has been a tough one for many people and will be for some time to come. Firstly, our thoughts and prayers go out to the many people in our community who are suffering at this time with their homes, work and livelihood affected by the extreme weather event and the flooding associated with it. You will all know someone affected and no doubt many will assist with the immediate support and clean up efforts in the coming weeks. 

We thank all families for patience and understanding as we have worked across our Parish schools to ensure the safety of students and staff. All decisions are made with the information available at the time, including local emergency services. We appreciate that keeping children at home was not easy this week, but staff have also been on hand for those who really needed to come onsite.

There will be a further meeting of leaders on Sunday across our region to assess the current situation and communication will be forthcoming as soon as possible afterwards. St Peter’s is in a fortunate position, as apart from some rooves with leaks in the extreme rain and trees being monitored for safety, the school is in much better shape than others. We look forward to being back to our regular routines soon.

Please continue to pray for the rain to stop and all of those affected to remain safe. 

MISSION

FIRST HOLY COMMUNION

On Monday, all of Year 4 gathered together for a First Holy Communion Retreat. Students from the MacKillop Year 10 Youth Ministry class helped facilitate the retreat, where we joined together in song, prayer and learning to help prepare our students for their First Holy Communion. Unfortunately, the wild weather cut short our celebrations, but we still enjoyed our time with our high school peers. Congratulations to the Year 10 Youth Ministry class, who led with passion, flexibility and service.  Please hold the students undertaking their First Holy Communion and their families in your prayers.   

TELL THEM FROM ME SURVEY !!

We invite our parents and carers to complete the Tell Them From Me (TTFM) Partners in Learning survey via this link:  

Tell Them From Me - Parent Survey Link

The survey will be anonymous and will take approximately 10 minutes to complete. The Survey closes on Friday 30th May.

Our school goal is to have over 200 families complete the survey. The information you provide will be used to maintain our commitment to working together in partnership to further improve student learning and wellbeing at St Peter’s.

Each survey entry will receive a coffee voucher and go into the draw to win some fabulous prizes including $600.00 of boutique wine, a $100.00 impacts prints voucher and a $50.00 canteen voucher. You can enter your name into the prize draw by writing your name on the clipboard in the office or email amanda.thomas@lism.catholic.edu.au to enter your name and receive your coffee voucher at the end of the three week period (it’s an honesty based system). 

YEAR 5 CELEBRATION OF THE WORD

MOTHER'S DAY EVENT FEEDBACK

Thank you to those who took the time to offer some feedback about our recent Mother’s Day celebration. We had 93 responses out of approximately 500 guests, allowing us to somewhat gauge the event's success. We also had some face to face feedback that we appreciated. Here is some of the positive feedback we received:

Spending quality time with children – Many appreciated the chance to connect with their child, see them at school, and share activities together.

Games and interactive activities – Mothers enjoyed playing games like hula hooping and ball games with their kids.

Timing before school/work – The early morning schedule made it accessible for working parents, which was widely appreciated.

Atmosphere and sense of community – The relaxed, fun, and welcoming environment fostered a strong sense of belonging.

Breakfast and choir performance – The acai bowls, fruit cups, and coffee van were popular, as was the choir performance, which added a thoughtful touch.

We appreciate these kind words and are so pleased we were able to provide a joyous and inclusive celebration for our community.

We also understand there is always room for improvement, so we welcome constructive feedback as we evaluate and plan for future events. Some of this includes:

Reduce noise and crowding – suggestions for quieter areas, better sound management, or smaller, more spread-out gatherings (e.g. classroom-based or staggered by year level).

More inclusive and structured activities – suggestions included craft or classroom activities, a variety of games, and more interactive, meaningful experiences to engage both mums and children, especially those with sensory sensitivities.

Better food and drink logistics – requests were made for more food options (including for kids), clearer food service processes, and additional coffee vans to avoid long wait times.

Clearer communication and organisation – some attendees wanted more information on the schedule and activities ahead of time, and felt some parts were disorganised or confusing.

Parking and timing adjustments – many working mums appreciated an early start, but others suggested slightly later times, staggered entry, or parking solutions to ease congestion and access challenges.

In planning for community events, we try hard to consider the different circumstances of our families, so each year we try to do something a little different so that particular groups, such as working parents, are not always excluded. Thus, sometimes we have Mother’s Day during the school day, sometimes before school, sometimes across both, and vice versa for Father’s Day.

In future planning, we are very happy to include some quieter activity options (there was chalk drawing and portrait drawing near the office on the day) to ensure inclusivity. With a growing school population, crowds and noise in the broader playground area are inevitable. On a regular school day, we have structured play activities open for students seeking a quieter, more structured activity, and we will certainly look at including these options in future celebrations. 

We were pleased to collaborate with MacKillop College, with their senior food technology class preparing and serving breakfast. We offer them congratulations and thanks for a job well done!

The Two Frogs and MAD Coffee vans visit our school each Tuesday and Friday during term time, so the coffee van was not a special addition to our celebrations, more a happy coincidence. 

Once again, we appreciate the feedback offered and will continue to work hard in planning for and providing community events at St Peter’s. We love welcoming our families in the gate, and know our students love it as well!

LEARNING

CONGRATULATIONS

da VINCI DECATHLON STUDENTS

On Thursday 15th May, 16 of our stage 3 students travelled to St Columba Anglican School, Port Macquarie, for the Mid North Coast Regional da Vinci Decathlon. Throughout the day, students worked collaboratively, to solve various challenges across a range of academic disciplines, including; Science, Creative Producers, English, Ideation, Mathematics, Engineering, Art and Poetry, Cartography, Code Breaking and Legacy.

Twenty-seven teams, from schools across the Mid-North Coast, were in attendance on the day and our students performed admirably. In particular, placing second in Ideation, fourth in creative productions and fourth in cartography. Overall, placing 7th and 8th in this event. 

All of our students displayed exemplary behaviour and represented our school community with distinction. A huge congratulations to our participants.

YEAR 2 HISTORY EXCURSION TO TIMBERTOWN

Last Friday, our Year 2 students enjoyed an exciting excursion to Timbertown, accompanied by their RFF teachers and Indigenous Education Worker Leanne Parsons. The day was full of rich, hands-on learning experiences that brought history to life!

As part of their History unit, students explored the importance of preserving the past. They discovered how stories and artefacts from long ago can teach us valuable lessons and help us understand how people lived in earlier times. From visiting a gold panning shop to exploring historic buildings, riding the steam train and seeing steam-powered machinery, students were immersed in the stories that history can tell us.

It was a fun and meaningful way to connect classroom learning with real-world experiences—one that sparked plenty of curiosity and great conversations.

ALIA NATIONAL SIMULTANEOUS STORYTIME 2025

The Truck Cat

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 many different settings 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.

Students at St Peter’s were excited on Monday morning to see our library display celebrating this year’s chosen book, “The Truck Cat” written by Deborah Frenkel and illustrated by Danny Snell. Unfortunately due to the extreme wet weather and school closures, students were unable to participate in the livestream simultaneous reading event which took place at midday on Wednesday; however, there will be opportunities next week for students to watch the recorded reading and also participate in learning/craft activities associated with the book. There will also be a number of other titles by the author and illustrator available for students to enjoy.

WEEK 10 AUTHOR VISIT

Kate and Jol Temple - Tuesday 1st July

Book Offer: 

Please click on the link below to access a flyer containing details about how to order Kate and Jol’s books before our upcoming author visit. When placing orders, please follow the steps carefully as outlined in the flyer, including our school name (to avoid postage costs) along with your child’s name and class. These books will be personally signed by the authors themselves and available for collection on the day of the event.

Kate & Jol Temple Book Offer

NATIONAL FAMILY READING MONTH

One Week To Go !!!!

We now have one week remaining of National Family Reading Month (NFRM) and it has been fantastic to hear that students are making the most of the rainy weather by spending time reading together with their families! 

We would love to see some pictures of families enjoying NFRM together, so if you would like to share a picture for inclusion in our school newsletter, please email it through to Mrs Ayres (amanda.ayres@lism.catholic.edu.au) by 1st June 2025.

Please remember to continue to mark off your reading log each day throughout May after completing your daily family reading session (at least 10 minutes) and submit your completed (and signed) reading log to Mrs Ayres at the school library at the end of the challenge, between the 2nd-5th June to redeem your exclusive reward. Good luck for a strong finish!!

WEEKLY BORROWING

Amanda Ayres