Commencing this week with Ash Wednesday, Lent is one of the five seasons of the Catholic liturgical calendar, along with Advent, Christmas, Easter, and Ordinary Time. Lent is a time of preparation for Easter and is a solemn period centered on prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

Lent offers an opportunity to look at what clutters our life and to identify those things that can get in the way of what really matters - to let go of distractions and perhaps be rewarded with the gift of a new perspective and a greater sense of purpose.

In his Message for Lent 2025, and in line with the theme of the Jubilee Year, Pope Francis invites all of us to “journey together in hope," and to take the opportunity of the upcoming Lenten Season to ask ourselves whether we are truly willing to respond to God's call to change our lives, or in the language of the St Matthews Way - to answer the call to be more.

The Pope is urging us to reflect on the way we live each day and to ask ourselves if we are living a truly life marked by love, compassion and generosity of spirit, or instead being held back by fear, hatred and hopelessness. Pope Francis reminds us that this Lent, God is asking us to examine whether in our lives, in our families, in the places where we work and spend our time, we are truly walking together with others - are we listening to them and resisting the very human temptation to become self-absorbed and to think only of our own needs.

As I mentioned in an earlier newsletter this term, the Jubilee Year can be seen as an opportunity to reset. As a staff, the lens through which we are striving to see 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 used the opening weeks of the year to begin explicitly building connections with students and setting the tone of their classrooms. As the Season of Lent commences, we are called to reflect on the idea that relationships are like a garden. The early weeks of school are about planting seeds—introducing ourselves, finding common ground, and creating a welcoming environment. But if we stop tending to those relationships, they don’t grow. Our real goal isn’t just connection—it’s belonging. And belonging isn’t achieved in a single moment or a single lesson; it’s reinforced through ongoing, intentional actions. This not only applies to how we connect with our students, but also to the relationships we develop with you as parents.

Perhaps we can use the season of Lent as a reminder to keep looking for day to day opportunities to strengthen those connections with one another.

God bless.

Angela Myles

Join Caritas Australia's Project Compassion in 2025

This Lent, Caritas Australia's Project Compassion invites you to Unite Against Poverty and take action to make a lasting difference.

Caritas is the Catholic Church's international aid and development agency in Australia. We are committed to working alongside the most vulnerable and addressing the imbalance of power by including the people affected in the decisions impacting their lives.

This week each family should receive a Project Compassion box from school. We ask for these to be returned in the last week of term.

To make a donation online, please use the following links to the Primary or the Secondary donation page. A receipt can be sent to your email, donations over $2 are tax deductible.

We only ask you to donate what you can and once a donation is made, continue to use the weekly stories for discussions amongst your family and sharing of gratitude and humility for the wonderful community that we are a part of.

Shrove Tuesday: The word ‘shrive’ means to absolve. During Lent we are asked to seek forgiveness. It’s the last day before the season of fasting and reflection begins, so traditionally, Christians have used it as a time to confess sins, seek absolution, and prepare their hearts for Lent.

Ash Wednesday: The ashes placed on our forehead, symbolize the dust from which God made us. This day begins the season of Lent. 

Ross McKeown | Leader of Mission

We are so excited to announce that tomorrow is... Dollar Match Day!

That means every donation made ONLINE for Project Compassion will be DOUBLED!!!

Dollar Match Day will start at 10am (AEDT) and will run until $50,000 of matched funds are reached - so make sure you act fast!

Donations will be matched up to $500 per individual donation. Individual donations over $500 will not be matched.

It will be the perfect chance to boost St Matthews fundraising for Project Compassion.

Last week Wednesday our K-10 students celebrated the life of their House Patron, Eileen O'Connor, founder of Our Lady's Nurses for the Poor in Sydney's Eastern suburbs. To this day their work is still carried out.

Fr. McGrath said she devoted herself to the service of the poor, sick, debilitated, distressed, and dying despite suffering from a severe spinal injury as a child, a heart condition, and tuberculosis. Eileen O'Connor chose to follow Jesus' mission and offer her energies to build the kingdom through service to others.

The students celebrated a liturgy before enjoying a fun afternoon with their fellow House members, enjoying games, a doughnut, and an ice block!

Ross McKeown & Belinda Redden | Leaders of Mission

St Matthews Garden Club shines at the 2025 Mudgee Show!

After a successful 2024 at the Mudgee Show, we were nervous but hopeful as we entered this year’s competition. Our dedicated young gardeners have worked tirelessly, and their efforts were proudly showcased once again.

This year, our cherry tomatoes stole the show, winning first place and our zucchinis impressed the judges, earning second place. While our beetroots faced some tough competition and didn’t place this year, we are still incredibly proud of the care and dedication our students put into growing them.

Rebecca Ferguson | On behalf of the Garden Club

At the Catholic Education Diocese of Bathurst, we are committed to fostering the academic, spiritual, and personal growth of every student. Each year, the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is undertaken by students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. Students will participate in tests for writing, reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar, and punctuation) and numeracy.

Why NAPLAN Matters

NAPLAN reflects key areas of literacy and numeracy, foundational to lifelong learning. Conducted annually for Years 3, 5, 7, and 9, it assesses skills in reading, writing, spelling, grammar, and numeracy. While not the sole measure of ability, it offers a snapshot of progress and helps students build resilience under test conditions.

The Value of NAPLAN data

For parents, NAPLAN data highlights your child’s strengths and areas for growth. For teachers, it informs targeted strategies to meet individual and class needs. On a broader scale, NAPLAN helps our schools:

● Identify trends and evaluate teaching methods

● Allocate resources effectively

● Enhance educational outcomes collaboratively NAPLAN has been scheduled for Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 in Week 6 of this term.

The details are as follows:

Wednesday 12th March: Writing

Thursday 13th March: Reading

Thursday 13th March: Conventions of Language

Friday 14th March: Numeracy

Your child will need to have the following items for testing:

● Plug-in/ wired headphones - no airpods or similar (wired supplied at a cost to families)

Working Together for Your Child:

NAPLAN is just one tool among many. Our schools approach it with a supportive mindset, encouraging students to do their best while emphasising their broader talents. Open conversations with your child about NAPLAN’s purpose can foster confidence, and regular communication with teachers ensures we are collectively supporting their learning.

Please be assured that your child is well prepared for NAPLAN, as the work that they complete across all of the subject areas is ample preparation for these assessments, and there is no need for them to undertake additional study. Our key message is that these tests are diagnostic in nature, providing your child and their teachers with a snapshot of where they sit on the learning continuum for numeracy and literacy and identifying the skills and areas where your child can experience future growth. It would be appreciated if you could reinforce this message with your child in your conversations at home.

The following links will provide support for your child/ren in preparing for the online nature of these assessments and also answer any questions you may have.

The Public Demonstration Site is available to see the types of questions, tools, and functions used in the NAPLAN tests.

Further information about NAPLAN is available on the NESA website

Catholic Schools NSW welcomes the agreement to fully fund government schools in NSW

Catholic Schools NSW welcomes today’s announcement between the NSW and Commonwealth governments that provides clarity and certainty on school funding for government schools in NSW.

The new agreement plugs the funding gap between the NSW Government and the Commonwealth government, ensuring that government school students receive full funding based on a standard amount per student, known as the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS).

Dallas McInerney, CEO of Catholic School NSW, welcomed the breakthrough.

‘This announcement provides clarity and certainty on school funding for government schools in NSW, and it’s reassuring to know that every student in the state, no matter the school they attend, will be appropriability funded. The Catholic sector has always supported the full funding of the government schooling sector because no child should miss out.’

‘School funding is not a zero-sum game. Individual schools and each school sector, Government, Independent and Catholic, do not lose funding at the expense of one another.’

‘Publicly available acquitted funding data from the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) shows despite today’s announcement, government funding per student is still more for government schools, which is the best like-for-like comparison for school funding. This funding ensures Australia’s school system is one of the most equitable in the OECD, and this injection of funding for the government sector will continue to support the mixed model of school provision.’

Total government funding per student in NSW by sector in 2023:

Tell us about your experiences as a Catholic school parent and what you'd like to know more about. We value every parent's thoughts and opinions.

CCSP would like to know how involved/engaged you feel you are in your child's learning at a NSW/ACT Catholic school, how connected you feel in your child's school, and your thoughts on how schools could enhance family-school partnerships.

This data informs our parent learning program and provides us with valuable information about how our dioceses and schools are engaging with families.

Thank you so much for taking time out to give us your feedback.

Please click the link to go to the survey.

Mrs Christina Trimble | Executive Director of Schools

Centacare runs an Out of School Hours Care Centre (OSHC) at our Primary Campus. At the moment, they provide services to supervise students after school and they also run a fantastic school holiday program. Centacare has recently updated their enrolment platform to make the process easier for families.

If you are interested in enrolling your child with our OSHC program you can start the process by filling in the required information via the following link:

St Matthews OSHC Enrolment Enquiry Form

If you would like to express interest in the provision of a Before School Care service, please use the comments section in the form to indicate your interest. There would need to be an adequate number of enrolments in the before school service before this could be a viable option, so if it is something you need for your family, please take a few moments to complete the form.

If you have any questions or would like to visit the OSHC centre and see their beautiful facility, please do not hesitate to contact us by email or on 0492 802 671.

If you used our Stop Drop and Go Zone  you may have noticed the presence of some staff from the Midwestern Regional Council.

As you know, we communicate with you regularly about the importance of using this drop off and pick up zone appropriately. The flow of traffic works most effectively for everyone when all those accessing the zone abide by the traffic regulations. This includes adhering to the 2 minute limit on stopping.

Staff from the council will continue to be a regular presence in our afternoon pick up zone in order to ensure we are all using the system as is intended. I understand this may be frustrating for some families, however, in the long run, we are confident it will result in a more streamlined pick up process for everyone.

Please be aware:

• Cars should not be parked in the pick up zone until children are ready to be collected at the end of the day. This means that arriving at 3pm and waiting in the queue until your child arrives 15mins later is not an option. Our advice to all families is to wait until 3:15pm or later to enter the pick up zone. That allows time for students to leave classrooms and make their way to the front of the school.
• If you are waiting for your child for 2 mins or more, you will need to lap around and join the queue again.
• If your child requires some support getting into and out of the car, staff are available to assist, or you may want to consider the option of parking elsewhere and walking to meet them at the gate instead. 
• Parents and guardians must remain in their cars at all times, no exceptions.

Please note: The fine for stopping in this zone for more than 2 minutes is $227 and the driver also incurs 2 demerit points.

Angela Myles | Executive Principal

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.

Primary Students:

● 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. Afternoon messages are called through to classes at 2:40pm.. 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, orders can be placed the night before or even days in advance.

How to set up your Flexischools account

• 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.
• 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)

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)

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.

If you have any queries please contact the uniform shop directly:
Phone: 0439 442 509 or by email

Ally Lusty | Uniform Shop Manager