It has been a joy to welcome our Primary students back and it has been such a beautiful start to the school year. Pope Francis has declared 2025 to be a Jubilee Year with an overarching theme of HOPE. In the Catholic Church a Jubilee Year only comes along once every 25 years. The frequency has changed over time: at first, they were celebrated every 100 years; later, in 1343 Pope Clement VI reduced the gap between Jubilees to every 50 years, and in 1470 Pope Paul II made it every 25 years.

A Jubilee Year such as this one can be seen as an opportunity to reset… and perhaps to look at life with fresh eyes. As a staff, the lens through which we are seeing with fresh eyes this year is one of connection. We know that when students have a sense of connection and belonging in their school community they are more likely to be engaged and focused on learning. Teachers have been using the opening lessons of the year to begin explicitly building connections with students and setting the tone of their classrooms. It has been wonderful to walk through classes in these early days of the term and see everyone settling in so well.

This year we are rolling out our updated Uniform Policy. I am very grateful for the large number of parents, staff and students who engaged in the review process we held last year. The feedback we received was incredibly helpful and enabled us to refine the policy and also clarify the implementation processes around it. Overwhelmingly, the feedback indicated that our community places a high value on the uniform expectations we set and there is an eagerness to maintain the high standard of presentation we see from our students. There are a few components of the policy that we have adjusted and we have also had very productive conversations as a staff regarding how we can implement the policy in the most fair and equitable way possible, with a strong emphasis on taking a relational approach that always maintains the dignity of students in the process. Please take some time to read the updated policy which is included for your reference.

Welcome back to all families, both new and existing to what promises to be another exciting year. Our students are settling into school routines well and displaying enthusiasm about the year ahead, with many already participating in the varied clubs and extracurricular activities available each week.

Our Welcoming Liturgy and Leaders Commissioning in Week 2 was the first formal event, led by Fr Owen and Leader of Mission Ross McKeown. The leadership structures at St Matthews allow for all students, particularly those in Year 6, to develop skills that we know will continue to support them throughout their lives.

From the Commissioning, we proudly presented badges to the following Year 6 students:

School Captains: Bonnie and Braiden 

Vice Captains: Andie and Braxton 

Leaders of Partnerships:

SMW- Eleanor 
Social Justice- Patrick 
Arts- Eloise 
Sport- Evie 
Environment- Gus
SRC- Barnaby

O'Connor
Carmelina and Jack

Ozanam
Lauren and Rory

MacKillop
Daisy and Malik

Romero
Ella and Baxter

Drop Off & Pick Up Zone

Thank you to those families who have begun using the NAME SIGN for Pick Up in the afternoons that was sent home in Week 1. This strategy has been very successful in locating your child quickly and reducing the wait line in front of the school for other families. Providing a safe environment for our students and reducing the impact on other community members using Lewis Street is always our priority in the morning and afternoon rush.

We remind families that if your child is unable to enter or exit the car independently, that you park and assist them away from the Drop Off / Pick Up Zone.

The maximum stopping time in this zone is 2 minutes between 8:30 and 9:30am in the morning and 3:00 and 4:00pm in the afternoon. There is now new signage to assist, displayed by MWRC.

For those families in the past that have been caught in long queues on Lewis Street in the afternoon, we strongly recommend that you arrive closer to 3:20pm for a much quicker pick up.

Justin Yeo

St Matthews Way Value - Term 1

Excellence should be exemplified by consistently and intentionally improving upon oneself day after day. Excellence is important and we need to understand that it does not necessarily mean competition, but simply improving upon oneself consistently.

What action of your family’s life could be improved, even if it was something minor?

Some examples may include:

• Listening
• Kindness
• Sharing
• Giving
• Helping
• Reassurances
• Positivity

Parish Mass

Each week, starting from Week 3, our Primary grades will be given the opportunity to attend a parish mass. These will generally be on a Thursday morning at 9:10am. Our students take on a role at the mass and families are more than welcome to attend.

Sacramental Program

St Matthews will once again support the Parish-led Sacramental Program for students in Years 3 and 6 who wish to receive the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Communion (Year 3) and Confirmation (Year 6).

The Sacrament dates are:

• Confirmation- Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd June 2025
• Reconciliation- Tuesday 2nd September 2025
• FHC- Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th November 2025

If your child is not Catholic or has missed a Sacrament and would like to receive the Sacraments please contact the Parish office or School. SMCS has previously assisted in the formation and preparation for children to receive any of these.

Ross McKeown | Leader of Mission

Polding Basketball Trials

Angus, Ella, Bonnie and Rory are attended the basketball trials in Tamworth during week 1. They all had a wonderful time and competed showing great sportsmanship.

Congratulations to Angus who made the Polding Team.

Rugby Program

During sport this week, students from Year 5 and 6 participated in a Rugby Program facilitated by Central West Rugby Development Officers and supported by our local Mudgee Wombats.

The sessions were designed to foster and promote skills and values relating to Rugby Union. The students thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to showcase their skills and learn a few more along the way. A great initiative by Mudgee Wombats!

Primary Swimming Carnival

What a fantastic day we had at our Primary Swimming Carnival! We are incredibly proud of our students for demonstrating outstanding sportsmanship, cheering on their peers, and embodying the values of St Matthews Way throughout the entire event.

A huge thank you to our parents and teaching staff—your support and involvement are invaluable in making this day such a success. It truly is a combined effort from students, parents, and staff, and we appreciate everyone’s contributions.

We will be announcing the students who will be progressing to the next level by the end of the week—stay tuned!

Thank you once again for a wonderful day of teamwork, encouragement, and school spirit.

Peta Swain | K-6 Sports Coordinator

Mentor Groups

Internet Safety Day

Last Tuesday was Internet Safety Day. Internet safety day is a global day of action bringing communities, schools, organisations and families from more than 180 countries together to raise awareness of online safety issues and work towards a safer internet.

The internet is a huge part of life. It opens a world of opportunities, but also comes with risks, especially for young people.

• 70% of Australian adults have had at least one negative experience online
• 45% of kids aged 8-17 have been treated in a hurtful or nasty way online

Our commitment at St Matthews to demonstrate Excellence, Respect, Compassion, Courage and Service should extend to our time online. Here at St Matthews we will continue to incorporate online safety into our conversations and our practice. 

You can help your children safely navigate the online world by taking some basic steps to reduce the risks. For tips and information for both students and families, visit the eSafety website

Matthew Cassidy | Primary Wellbeing Office

Annie Mort | Librarian

We are now taking names for private tuition lessons in various instruments.

Lessons are offered by accredited musicians either during the day (Years 2 – 6) or after school.

The school has several instruments available for hire for beginners at $75 per term.

Instruments (Flute, Clarinet, Saxophone, Trumpet, Trombone) are recommended for students according to their physical size – usually late Year 4 or Year 5. Starting earlier than that results in bad habits, mostly due to holding the instrument incorrectly.

Please email me with an indication of your interest or if you have any questions.

Gavin Tipping

St Matthews Music Teacher

Years 3-6 students are invited to join the creative arts club, where we focus on fun activities in the areas of music, drama and dance.

This term, we are focusing on music with a fun Drumbeat program.

There will be before school and break 2 sessions.

John Freebody & Katana O'Sullivan | Primary Teachers

We are delighted to invite you to our upcoming Term 1 free webinars for parent and carers. These are great opportunities to up your skills so that you can support your child's learning at home and at school. Can't wait to see you online!

SchoolSpeak 101

A free online webinar for parents and carers. Presented by Mary Ryan, Head of Professional Learning, CSNSW

Learn the basic language of school so that you can better engage with your child’s school and learning:

• Learn the lingo so you can talk the talk – handy definitions
• Find out what’s new in the new curriculum K-12
• Ask questions and chat with Mary

Two sessions offered:

Tuesday 25 February 12:30-1pm, click HERE to register

Wednesday 26 February 7:30-8pm, click HERE to register

Dream Big

A free online webinar for parents and carers of primary school-aged students
Presented by Beyond

Help your child find their passion and pathway:

• How to encourage curiosity, creativity and confidence in your child
• Practical tips on introducing the idea of careers early
• Helpful resources

Wednesday 5 March 12:30-1pm, click HERE to register

Algorithms and Adolescents

For parents and carers of upper primary and secondary school students

Presented by eSafety Commissioner team

Find out about the rewards and risks of recommender systems for young people

Wednesday 19 March 7pm–7:30pm, click HERE to register

The school drop-off pick-up zone on Lewis Street is a helpful option for many families when it is used correctly. To help drivers comply with the parking conditions of the zone on school days, Council have wrapped additional signs to the parking posts to remind families of the maximum 2-minute stopping time.

Overstaying traffic in the afternoons is preventing the zone to flow safely and impacting access to the pedestrian crossing and intersection.

If children require longer than two minutes to exit the school and buckle themselves securely inside the car, the driver should park elsewhere and enjoy the short walk. Passengers with an accessibility permit have longer. If children are not available when you arrive at the pick-up zone, please return later.

These signs are a road safety initiative to ensure the school zone runs smoothly and safely for everyone.

For more information, visit Parking rules on the NSW Government website.

Samantha Cecchini | Road Safety Officer - Mid-Western Regional Council

St Matthews has a Smartwatch and Mobile Phone Policy that was produced through consultation with parents, staff and students. This policy is in place to protect all students at St Matthews with regards to privacy, child protection and limiting distractions whilst in the learning environment of our school.

For our students, Smartwatches are any wearable device that is able to receive and/or send messages, receive and/or make phone calls or have access to the internet.

● Students in Primary are not to bring personal mobile phones or smartwatches to school unless permission from the Executive Principal has been successfully sought by parents who have outlined the health, safety or personal reasons that justify the student being in possession of a mobile phone or smartwatch. In this instance, unless instructed otherwise, mobile phones and/or smartwatches should be handed in to Student Services at the start of the day and collected at the end of the day.

● Students using mobile phones and/or smartwatches outside of this policy will have them turned off, confiscated, and delivered to Student Services where they will be stored securely. Students are responsible for collecting them at the end of the school day. Repeat offenders will not have devices returned until a parent/carer comes to collect it. If a student’s device is confiscated after 1:40pm, it will remain at the office until the end of the next school day.

If you need to speak to your child at any time during the school day, please contact the front office. Alternatively when children collect their phone or smartwatch at the end of the day, they will be able to use it for messages or changes to afternoon plans.

Justin Yeo | Head of Campus

Flexischools is St Matthews Catholic Schools preferred way to order from our canteens. The cut-off time is 9am, please allow yourself enough time to complete an order. An order can be placed the night before or even days in advance.

Orders that are phoned through via reception after 9am will be offered a simple sandwich, a drink and snacks only (No Hot Food will be offered, so please do not ask). Credit Card details must be provided at the time, no exceptions. This ensures no further follow up for payment is required.

If parents are experiencing issues with Flexischools, please contact Flexischools directly using the Parent Help Line Number- 1300 361 769 (8am-12pm)

1. Introduction to Flexischools
2. How to Register with Flexischools
3. How to Place an Order (Canteen)
4. How to Place an Order (All Services)
5. How to Top Up Your Flexischools Wallet

Please let your child know if they are having a lunch order and what they are having. Some of our younger students are accidently throwing out their “tokens”. They need the token to redeem any frozen item/ slushie/ special that may have been ordered for them.

How to Cancel a Flexischools Order

• From the Order icon on the bottom navigation bar, select the student whose order you'd like to cancel.
• On the relevant order, select the ..... icon to expand the available options.
• From here, select "Cancel Order"
• Tap yes to confirm. Your order will be cancelled and the funds will be returned to your Flexischools wallet.

If you are unable to cancel an order, it may have already been processed by the Canteen Staff (order lables are printed each day at 9:05am) You will need to contact the school office and request the order is held for another day. Please do this as a matter of urgency.

• If hot food has been heated, we cannot keep this food for another day, it will be forfeited.
• If fresh food has been prepared, we can keep it until the following day unless it has been sent out in the lunch tub, in which case it will be forfeited.
• Any snacks and drink items can be provided on another day, providing they come back to the canteen (if they have gone out in the lunch tub)

As a birthday treat for students, the canteen is offering a Birthday Bucket or Classroom Cupcakes.

Birthday Bucket

A bucket of frozen Quelch Sticks will be delivered to your child’s class for them to share and enjoy with their class.

Available Monday to Friday, 7 days notice is needed.

Order and Pay via Flexischools - $18 (enough Quelch Sticks for the whole class)

Classroom Cupcakes

A platter of Cupcakes with vanilla icing and rainbow sprinkles will be delivered to your child’s class for them to share and enjoy with their class.

Available Monday to Thursday, 7 days notice is needed.

Order & Pay via Flexischools - $32 (enough cupcakes for the whole class)

Alicia Cowden / Primary Canteen Manager

EFTPOS only, no cash

Enjoy the convenience of online shopping. Save time and energy by ordering your uniforms online in six easy steps:

1. Go to midford.com.au
2. Select St Matthews Catholic School from the Online School Shops tab
3. New users to click the ‘Register New Account’ button
4. Start the registration process by selecting St Matthews Catholic School from the drop-down menu and add the unique school pass phrase: “Matthews1912”
5. Add your personal information, create a username and password
6. Order the items you need, select pick-up in store/deliver to school.

Phone: 0439 442 509 or by email

Ally Lusty | Uniform Shop Manager