Listed below are some important dates.

This week marks National Child Protection Week 2025. This year’s theme, “Every Conversation Matters: Shifting Conversation to Action,” is about taking the next step beyond dialogue—turning meaningful conversations into real change at individual, community, and national levels. I would like to thank CatholicCare who have planned and delivered parent and carer workshops this week on supporting children to navigate peer conflict. Thank you to those parents and carers who were able to attend the workshops.

All parents and carers are warmly invited to join Year 2 White and Year 2 Blue for their class Mass on Tuesday 23 September at 10:00 am in our School Church. Year 6 White will be attending.

We are excited to invite all grandparents, parents and special family friends to our annual Grandparents Day celebration on Friday 26 September.

To begin the day, we welcome everyone to join us for a light morning tea and refreshments in the school hall starting at 10:45 am.

Following morning tea, our special Liturgy will begin at 12:00 pm under the school's COLA. This is a special time for us to come together in gratitude and reflection. Please bring a picnic chair as there will be limited seats. 

After the liturgy, we invite our guests to visit their grandchild’s classroom to see all the wonderful work and artwork students have created throughout the year. This is a fantastic opportunity for students to share their hard work and for grandparents to get a glimpse into their day-to-day learning. Classroom visits will conclude at 1:30 pm. 

If you wish to take your child home at this time, please be sure to sign them out with their classroom teacher.

We look forward to seeing you all there for this special celebration!

As we approach the end of Term 3, we would like to inform you that from the beginning of Week 9, students will have the option to wear either their full summer uniform or their full winter uniform. This choice is available until the end of Term 3.

Please be aware that students must wear all elements of either the summer or winter uniform. Mixing and matching items from both uniforms is not permitted. For example, wearing a winter shirt with summer shorts is not an option. This policy ensures consistency and neatness in our school community.

Starting in Term 4, all students will be required to wear their full summer uniform.

We appreciate your cooperation in helping us make this a smooth transition for everyone.

Please find attached information for our Reconciliation and Eucharist 2025 Combined Program. The parent meeting for this program will be held this term in week 10. Parents (no students) are asked to attend one of the information session in order to register your child for the program.

Parent Meeting:

• Wednesday 24 September at 7:00 pm

or

• Thursday 25 September at 1:00 pm

The Sacramental Program is as follows:

1. Students registration by way of a PARENT MEETING
2. At-home family led WORKBOOK ACTIVITIES
3. Attendance at WEEKLY MASS after which we will meet in the church with teachers and catechists for a CONVERSATION SESSION to support the workbook activities
4. A PARISH LITURGY to receive the Sacrament

The PARENT meetings are a vital part of the program. We will be giving details of the program, taking enrolments, distributing workbooks and providing support where necessary.

Please bring the following with you:

• Your child’s Baptismal details (including a certificate if they were baptised in another parish)
• A $40 contribution per workbook (payable by cash or card) to help cover program costs

A huge congratulations to our Under 12 and Under 10 girls’ netball teams who competed in the NSWCPS Netball Carnival on Tuesday, 2 September at Penrith.

The day was a great success, and all the girls played with fantastic skill and sportsmanship. Their hard work and dedication truly shone on the court. We are incredibly proud of their efforts and the way they represented our school.

Thank you to the coaches and parents for their support on the day.

Over the past six weeks, Harry Houghton (Year 6) has been carving his way through a remarkable journey of snowboarding competitions, representing both St Anthony’s and the Wollongong Diocese with pride.

Harry first travelled to Perisher to compete in the Northern NSW/QLD Interschools Snowboarding Championships, where his strong performances earned him qualification for the NSW/QLD/ACT Championships. Competing at a consistently high standard, Harry once again excelled and secured his place at the Australian National Interschools Championships held at Mt Buller, Victoria.

At the Nationals, Harry took on the very best — the top 50 snowboarders in his age group from across Australia — in both the Snowboard Giant Slalom and the Boardercross events. Competing against students enrolled in full-time Snowsports programs, Harry rose to the challenge, showing incredible skill, determination, and composure. His results were outstanding, finishing 10th in Australia overall.

Beyond his impressive results, Harry represented our school with positivity and sportsmanship, celebrating the achievements of others as much as his own. His efforts are a wonderful achievement and a source of great pride for the St Anthony’s community.

Congratulations, Harry — we are all inspired by your talent, resilience, and humility on the national stage!

St Benedict's Catholic College will be holding its Orientation Day for 2026 Year 7 on Friday, 21 November.

St Anthony's is simplifying school life! 

We're excited to announce the launch of Flexischools for online Lunch & Uniform Orders with cashless payments. Please note that Kellie will still be taking traditional orders at the Canteen for those who wish to still order lunches this way.

No more scrawling orders on paper bags , or holding out until the uniform shop is open

Enjoy the ease and convenience of managing school orders and payments anytime, from any device. 

Simply download the app or register online here www.flexischools.com.au/parents (or scan the QR code in this post).

Students are still able to order via the old system and the online ordering is optional. Please note orders are only available for lunches and drinks and all snacks, ice blocks etc will have to be ordered over the counter. 

If you order online and your child has Gluten Free or Allergies, please hand their orange lunch bag to Kellie in the canteen in the morning.

Don't forget the cut-off time for canteen orders is 8:00am daily, so if your Lunch Order is for Monday, the cut off would be 8:00am on that Monday. We encourage you to order in advance to ensure your child doesn’t miss out! 

Lighten your mental load and embrace Flexischools today! 

Please read the FSG/PDS and TMD at www.flexischools.com.au/legal and consider if the service is right for you. Issued by InLoop Pty Ltd (trading as Flexischools). Fees and charges apply. Any advice given is general in nature.

It is critically important that all students arrive at school, ready to learn on time each and every day. The school day begins at 9:00 am and increasingly there are a significant number of students arriving after this time. Consistently arriving late to school impacts student learning and just 10 minutes a day over the course of year potentially equates to 6 school days.

It is the same for early pick-up. Increasingly, the office is inundated with parents and carers from 2:15 pm requesting early departure from school. Our school day concludes at 3:15 pm and as such, without a legitimate reason for leaving early, all children should remain at school until the end of the school day.

While it is understood that there is often little choice in times available for important appointments on either side of the school day, this reminder is for the habitual late arrivals and early leavers. It is not okay to frequently request early departure from school for convenience reasons.

The Education Act (1990), states that school attendance is compulsory for all students over the age of 6 years. Current research confirms that student absenteeism has a significant impact on learning achievements and success, not to mention confidence. It is more often than not the case, that students who are challenged by their learning are those who are consistently arriving late, leaving early, or have high levels of absenteeism.

Please see our new canteen menu which includes a new range of gluten free options.

We now have online lunch orders and if you would like to order, simply download the app or register online here www.flexischools.com.au/parents (or scan the QR code in this post).

Wildflower Holistic Services - Principal Psychologist Alexandra McCarthy

Sacramental Programs

Religious Education is a priority in Catholic schools. It provides the knowledge and understanding of the Catholic faith and outlines what is needed to live a Catholic life. Sacramental programs are Parish based, Parish coordinated, family focused and school supported.

Each year the Sacraments of Penance, Eucharist and Confirmation are celebrated in the Parish.

A Parish based program caters to the needs of all participants. In this way children from all schools receive the same preparation for each sacrament.

The Parish based, family focused approach to Sacramental programs is widely used throughout Australia as the preferred approach. This approach acknowledges the important role of parents and families in the whole preparation process. Parents are the first educators of children in the faith and traditions of the Catholic Church. Parents involvement in Sacramental preparation is crucial in shaping the values and attitudes of each child. So it is vital, for the continual spiritual growth of the child, that the families involve themselves in the Sacramental life of Parish.