Welcome back! I hope you and your family had an enjoyable break.

During Week 2 of this term (Thursday 8 May) all families will receive email communication asking you to complete our Annual School Improvement Survey.

The purpose of this survey is to provide all stakeholders in our school community with an opportunity to share feedback on the operation of our school. Your survey responses are collected, collated and used to provide us with information regarding where things are going well and to also identify areas where we may need to improve or develop. This is an important process that all schools in our Diocese participate in each year and data gathered via the survey is one of the things we use to guide our annual improvement plans for the following year.

One of the challenges we have with this survey each year is that we generally only have a small proportion of our parent community complete the survey. This means that the data we receive does not provide an accurate reflection of our strengths and challenges. We deeply value the feedback you provide and I personally read all comments made. As a Senior Leadership Team, we closely analyse the data and use the insights gained as a guide to future planning and to identify potential areas for growth and improvement.

I would be incredibly grateful if all members of our school community could take a few moments to contribute to the process when the link arrives in your inbox next week.

God bless
Angela Myles

Welcome back to all families. I begin with a thank you for the large number of students who were able to join the school community for our ANZAC Day march through the streets of Mudgee. As a town, we are encouraged by the respect shown from all members of our Mudgee community and it was a proud moment to see our students from Kindergarten to Year 12 march so proudly and respectfully through our main streets.

We have a number of special events during the first half of this term, beginning with our Mother’s Day breakfast and celebration on Friday May 9. After breakfast in the morning all guests are welcomed into our school Gym for a Liturgy and Students of the Week Awards.

The following week we celebrate Catholic Schools Week, starting on Monday May 12. We begin with a Liturgy in the morning followed by ‘Open Classrooms’ where parents and families are invited into classrooms to watch a lesson taught by our teachers. Lunch in the playground straight after and then a farewell to all families present. Other events take place throughout the week as we celebrate being one of 1759 Catholic schools in Australia.

Change to Winter Uniform in Term 2

As we move towards the colder months, we inform families that the change to our full school winter uniform will begin on the first day of Week 3 next term, Monday 12th May. During Weeks 1 and 2 students may wear their full summer uniform or full winter uniform. Please also remember to clearly label all jumpers and jackets to assist us in returning items that are misplaced.

Justin Yeo

St Matthews Way Value: Term 2

This term we are asked to answer the call to build on our persistence and resilience to enable us to embrace challenges.

As we begin the term, we pose the question: How can I step out of my comfort zone to live like Jesus in his mission to heal the sick, feed the hungry, and comfort the lonely, demonstrating care for all people. He also taught his disciples to help others and serve those in need.

Easter

Easter is widely considered the greatest season in the Christian liturgical year, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus. It's a time of joy, renewal, and hope.

Confirmation Journey

Please ensure you are in contact with the Parish if you have any questions and are completing the home booklets and mass attendance requirements.

Ross McKeown | Leader of Mission

For many years we have celebrated Mother's Day in our school community with a beautiful High Tea. This event was successful for such a long time due to the hard work and commitment of several key staff. In particular, Mrs Annie Mort has been instrumental in preparing for, organising and facilitating this event and she was the driving force behind its long term popularity and success. Mrs Mort has made the decision to transition to being a part-time librarian this year and thus, she has also decided it is time to step back from being the organiser of this significant school event. As a school, we are incredibly grateful for the creativity and passion that Mrs Mort shared with us through this event each year and I wish to publicly acknowledge and thank her for all the time and energy she has gifted to the mothers in our community.

With Mrs Mort stepping away from organising this event and, following much consideration that included some consultation with our Parents & Friends Association, we have decided to take our Mother's Day celebration in a different direction this year. We hope that this change will enable more families to be part of and enjoy the celebration in a relaxed environment.

Please RSVP by Wednesday 30th April via the link.

We look forward to welcoming you to our first Mother's Day Breakfast on Friday 9th May at the Primary Campus

This Mother's Day the P&F are pleased to advise that we will return to the traditional Mother's Day Stall by offering unique and high-quality products sourced from local artisans and farmers.

While you may notice an increase in price to $10, this change allows us to bring you:

Fresher, Handcrafted Products - From locally grown flowers to handcrafted gifts, you're getting the best of what our community has to offer.
Supporting Local Businesses - Your purchase helps small businesses, farmers, and artisans in our area, keeping our economy strong and vibrant.
Sustainability - By sourcing locally, we reduce our environmental impact and ensure a more sustainable future for everyone.

If you wish to support the P&F Mother's Day Stall, payment can be made via the Compass portal. You will need to 'opt in' to this event, and follow the steps to process the payment. Alternatively, you are also welcome to send $10 cash with your child on Friday 9th May.

We would love some Dads to help run the stall. If you could spare some time on Friday 9th May between 9:30 and 11:40 please present at the front office when you arrive.

Thank you for being a part of this P&F event and for supporting local this Mother's Day! We are excited for your child/ren to choose a gift that will bring joy to all the Mums in our community.

St Matthews P&F

Liturgy, Open Classrooms and Lunch

10:40: Liturgy begins in the Primary School Gym - Liturgy will be presented by Year 3
11:10: Open Classrooms (watch the learning in action)
11:40: Lunch (if you would like to order lunch to enjoy with your child/ren, please order via Flexischools)
12:10: Farewell Families

Primary School Photos will be on Thursday 15th May 2025

Please find attached instructions for booking school photos. A small number of envelopes will be available from the school office for those families who are unable to purchase online.

We are pleased to once again offer sibling photos for families with children at both campuses. More information regarding this will be communicated to families close to the date. The cut off for sibling photos will be 12am midnight Monday 12th May.

At St Matthews, we take great pride in our school and the appearance of our students, and we insist that their uniform is neat and tidy for school photos. Full winter uniform must be worn, no sports uniform. Winter shirts should be tucked in and ties properly done up. A reminder that a our Uniform Shop is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the school term for any items you may need.

If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact the school office.

Cindy Freeman | Head of Campus Assistant - Primary

The Creative Arts Club would like to invite students in Years 3-6 to join our club for some drama during term 2. We will focus on "magic mime" and famous movie scenes.

John Freebody & Katana O'Sullivan - Teachers

The Catholic Education Commission asked the Australian Labor Party, Liberal National Coalition, the Australian Greens and key Independent candidates to provide their response to our priorities for Catholic education:

1.  Funding certainty for Catholic schools
2.  Support for faith-based schools
3.  Sector-neutrality
4.  Addressing disadvantage
5.  Early childhood education

Overall, they scored:

✅ Australian Labor Party
✅ Liberal National Coalition
❌ Australian Greens
? Independents (supported by Climate 200)

See the full scorecard and read their full responses via Federal Election Scorecard

National Catholic Education Commission

Carer Gateway is a government funded service supporting unpaid carers. We support carers of all ages, from children as young as seven to adults and retirees. Our aim is to make the caring role a little easier by offering practical advice and support to carers to ensure they can continue in their caring role.

We support people caring for friends or family who have challenges due to disabilities, mental health, chronic illnesses and being frail aged.

For more information, please visit our website

Maggie Dent's live event 'Girlhood' 

For parents and educators of girls birth to 12 years.

For the event overview and tickets, please click here

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.
• There are several students in Years 5-6 who are not coming to the canteen to collect their lunch orders. It is not the responsibility of the canteen staff to find students to hand out food.
• 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)

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.

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

Ally Lusty | Uniform Shop Manager