Principal's Panorama

“...Love each other as I have loved you....” John (15:12-17)

Welcome to the end of Week Six!

You know, One of the great privileges of being Principal is having the opportunity to step into classrooms and see our young people and skilled helpful adults, living well and learning well. 

This week, I have been lucky enough to witness some truly amazing learning happening right across our school.

In Early Stage 1, our youngest learners have been exploring the Old Testament story of Moses, learning that God is always with us and learning that the Bible is sacred Scipture!

Our youngest learners created their own scrolls (see below) to help them remember and to demonstrate that in the time of Jesus not many people knew how to read or write and that the leaders in the temple would have read God’s word from scrolls that were carefully handed down generations.

What a beautiful way to deepen their understanding of the Bible as the Church’s Sacred Scripture while bringing their learning to life!

In Stage One, there was some wonderful writing underway as students developed literary descriptions about fish. It was fantastic to see our Stage One learners see the differences between how a description of 'something' in an information report is VERY different to a literary description.   

Learning that a description in an information report uses clear, factual details to inform the reader objectively about a real topic while a literary description uses creative, emotional language to create a vivid picture in the reader's mind.  The task certainly required them the be thinking carefully about their vocabulary and how descriptive language can help a reader create a picture in their mind!

Meanwhile, Stage 2 mathematicians were busy exploring fractions. I loved hearing how they have progressed in their mathematical thinking.  I am looking forward to seeing the discussions and problem-solving taking place in Week 7 as students  continue to develop their understanding and explained their thinking.

And then there was Stage 3 — WOW! Students were using landscape images as inspiration for literary descriptions, creating vivid pictures through their choice of language. The vocabulary, imagery and creativity evident in their writing were simply AMAZING. It was wonderful to see our older students experimenting with language and recognising the power that carefully chosen words have to transport a reader to another place.

From Scripture and storytelling, to descriptive writing and mathematical thinking, there has been such a wonderful breadth of learning happening across our classrooms this week.

Yet, what stood out most? 

It was seeing young people engaged, challenged, creating, thinking and sharing their learning with others. 

These are the moments that remind us that learning is so much more than completing a task. It is about curiosity, connection, growth and discovering what we are capable of.

What a joy it is to see our young people flourishing in their learning!

Reminder about the "Survey My School" perception survey 

Thank you to the 28% of parents/carers who have completed the 'Survey My School' questionnaire.  The satisfaction survey is the same survey that has been completed annually in every school in the Diocese for the past number of years, sometimes known as the "My School Survey" or the "Happy School survey"; it is an anonymous survey to help the schools and system drive strategic improvements.

The data is collected via email survey and is collated by the "Survey My School" Team (external to the Diocese), the data (numerical and comments) is then sent to Armidale Catholic Schools so that the data is completely unidentifiable to specific families/children. 

Finally the data is entered into the Data Ecosystem so that educators, system leaders, principals etc. can see the data for each question and use this to direct their Annual Improvement Plan etc for the following year.  

If you have not complete it yet, please head to  your emails and search for an email from: info@surveymyschool.com.au via research.net

The survey closes on Wednesday 2nd September!

Brain Olympia

WOOOWWW such wonderful news about our students who have now made it through to the final in Tamworth on the 15th of September! See the write up HERE.

Announcement of Stage Two Term Four Educator

I am delighted to announce that Libby (Lockwood) McHugh will return to St Mary of the Angels School, Guyra full time in Term Four!

As Mrs Ahumada and Mrs Williamson, head off for their Maternity Positions, Libby has very graciously accepted the classroom teaching position in Stage Two full time for Term Four. Although our Stage Two are blessed to have her in Term Four, Libby is expected to return to her substantive leadership position at St Mary of the Angels for the commencement of the 2027 school year.

Notice of AGM and Election of the Executive Committee

 We hereby provide notice of the School Advisory Council Annual General Meeting which will be held on at 6:00 pm on November 2nd 2026. 

Current Members:

Ex-officio Members

Principal: Zoe Nugent

Parish Priest (Administrator): Father Stephen O’Shea

2026 SAC Members:

Chairperson:   Mitchell Hope

Secretary: Jeanice McCosker

Staff: Eleisha Outridge

General Committee Member: Penny Furphy

General Committee Member: Rita Williams

General Committee Member: Josephine Cruickshank  

Nominations for general committee roles will be called through the school newsletter and COMPASS and/or on the school website at least fourteen (14) days prior to the Meeting.  A nomination form will be provided with this call for nomination and will also be available from the School. Please note there will be  one general commitee role available for nomination and all executive positions (Chairperson and Secretary) will be up for re-election (annual basis).

Summer Uniform – Looking Ahead to 2027

A reminder that as we prepare for Term 4, students will return to wearing our summer uniform. 

We ask families to take some time over the coming weeks to check that uniforms still fit comfortably and that students have the items they need for the warmer months.

A reminder that 2026 is the final year of our transition period to our new school uniform. We have deliberately allowed families time to transition gradually, recognising the cost involved in replacing uniform items and allowing existing items to be worn while they were still serviceable.

From the beginning of 2027, our new school uniform will be implemented in full, and all students will be expected to wear the advertised uniform which can be purchased through Alinta.

As we reach the end of the transition period, we will also be reviewing our second-hand uniform supplies. 

• Older uniform items that no longer match our current uniform will be removed from circulation and donated, 
• while current uniform items that remain in good condition will be retained in our second-hand clothing pool for families to access.

We encourage families who have outgrown current uniform items in good condition to consider donating them to our second-hand pool. 

This is a wonderful way of supporting other families in our school community while also reducing unnecessary waste.

Thank you to our families for your support throughout the transition. Wearing our school uniform with pride contributes to our young people’s sense of identity, equality and belonging and helps us present ourselves as one school community.

Zoe Nugent

Principal