From the Principal - Mrs Janelle Heffernan

A very belated welcome back our students and families for Term 2. I hope that everyone had a great holiday and found plenty of time to rest and relax. We look forward to a very busy and productive Term Two with many events and lots of learning planned!

Traditionally, May is the month when we remember, celebrate and thank Mary, the mother of God, in a special way. During his 26 year pontificate, John Paul II frequently reminded us that the month of May is, in a particular way, dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God. In their reflection on the significance of Jesus’ passion, the Church fathers understood that when Jesus, dying in agony on the Cross, said to John, “This is your mother”, he was not merely entrusting Mary to John’s care, but also to making Mary the spiritual mother of all followers of Christ. In Mary’s life on earth we see a strong woman, the author of the Magnificat, who was willing to embrace motherhood as a vocation from God in all its joys and sorrows. Every mother will know exactly, the meaning of the prophet Simeon’s words to Mary, when Jesus was presented in the temple in Jerusalem: “A sword will pierce your own
heart”. She was with Jesus at every important moment of his life: from his conception, his birth in Bethlehem, during his public ministry, at his crucifixion, and with the disciples on Pentecost Sunday, when the Holy Spirit came down upon them.
In following the footsteps of Jesus, and in the richness of the Christian tradition, we find in Mary the perfect mediator between mankind and God, in who we can confide our most private thoughts and deepest fears, asking her intercession in the confident
knowledge that Jesus will hear her, as happened at the Feast at Cana. During this month of May, dedicated to Mary, we are encouraged to pray to her to intercede on our behalf.

Tell Them From Me

As you are aware, we are currently surveying our staff, students and families on different aspects of school life at St Carthage's. 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 Carthage’s Primary School. The surveys are an important part of our whole school evaluation and planning process.
The survey is anonymous and will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. You can access the parent survey on your computer or mobile device by using the URL below:
 
www.tellthemfromme.com/gz75d

The survey will remain live for a couple of weeks and we encourage you to participate. Your input is very valuable in assisting us in formulating our goals for our Annual and Strategic Plans.

We currently have 32 parents/carers who have completed the survey.
Our goal is to have at least 50% of our families complete the survey. 
We encourage you to take some time to complete this survey.

St Carthage's Feast Day

Wednesday 15th May, was the Feast of St Carthage. St Carthage is the Patron Saint of our parish and our school. Bishop Doyle and the Presentation Sisters who established our school 139 years ago decided that the Cathedral School of our Lismore Diocese should be named St Carthage‘s in honour of a great Saint who was an inspirational leader and a great teacher. St Carthage, whose name is also given as Mochuda, was born of a good family, in what is now County Kerry, Ireland, about the year 555. Mochuda’s father was an important man in the village so he was given everything that he wanted or needed. When he was young, a group of priests were walking through his village singing songs of praise and he was so fascinated that he followed them to the monastery gates. A while later he decided to join this group of priests and was ordained as a priest in 580 when he was thirty years old. Mochuda was very close to his head priest and took his name, Carthage. Later on young Carthage founded a monastery for young priests and he lived there for forty years. Carthage was an inspirational church leader who set up a monastery that attracted 1000 young men to the priesthood. He set up a school that produced many excellent scholars and the school became famous around the country for encouraging a love of learning.
Later in life, Carthage was consecrated Bishop of Lismore, Ireland. He died on May, 14th 637. After his death, the church and school were named St Carthage’s in his honour.

Mr Tickle organised a very meaningful and interactive celebration for our students to learn more about St Carthage. This was followed by a disco in the afternoon.

Open Night

We had another very successful Open Night last week. We had many families come along for a tour and to learn more about our great school! The enthusiasm and positive feedback from prospective families was testament to the staff and students who were there.

Kindergarten Enrolments 2026

Parents of children who are ready to start school in 2026 are asked to go onto our school website, click on the Enrol Now tab and complete the online Enrolment Application to begin the enrolment process.

It is important that our existing families put in an enrolment application for siblings who will start school next year.

Please pass on this message to family and friends who are intending to enrol children in Kindergarten next year. Children must turn five by 31st July 2026 to be enrolled in Diocesan schools.

Mother's Day

We hope that all mothers, grandmothers and mother figures had a lovely day on the 11th May.

Thank you to the many mums who came along and shared the Mothers’ Day breakfast with us. It is always a great event and it is an opportunity for us as a staff, to say thank you to our mums and significant mother figures of our students. It was lovely to see families socialising together and enjoying a meal. 

I hope you enjoyed your Mother’s Day gifts that the children took great delight in choosing!

ANZAC Day

Thank you to the many students who participated in the ANZAC Day March during the holidays. The number of students who participated was outstanding, particularly in the wet weather, and the respectful manner in which they did so is to be commended. As a school, we believe it is very important to support the wider community on this day, to show our appreciation and give dignity to those who have worked so hard, some even losing their lives, to bring peace to our world. I thank our students for giving up their time to represent our school at such a significant event. Thank you also to our parents for making it possible for the children to be present on these occasions. We have received many compliments and all students were a credit to their families. Once again, thank you to all students, families and teachers who were able to support our participation in this very important community event.

School Community Group - save the date

Our next School Community Group Meeting will be held on Tuesday evening - 10th June at 5.30pm. Everyone is welcome.

School Reports and Interviews – advance notice

School Reports will be sent home in Week 9 and interviews with teachers will be held in Week 10. We will again be using the online booking format for Parent/Teacher interviews and more information will be sent home and a reminder on how to book these interviews electronically as the time draws closer. 

Professional Learning Days

Thank you for your support of our Professional Learning days. 

We have 4 Professional Learning days left for 2025;

Friday 4th July - (Term 2 Week 10)

Monday 21st July (Term 3 - first day)

Friday 26th September (Term 3 - last day)

Monday 13th October (Term 4 - first day)