30 July 2025

Principal’s Report

Welcome Back to Term 3!

Welcome back to Term 3! We hope the break provided a chance to rest, recharge, and reconnect. As we step into this new term, we’re filled with a renewed sense of energy, purpose, and hope. A fresh start brings fresh opportunities—to learn, grow, and support one another in our shared journey.

This term holds special significance as we prepare to celebrate a remarkable milestone in Week 7: 150 Years since the arrival of the Sisters of Mercy in Singleton. Their legacy of compassion, education, and service continues to shape our community in profound ways. We look forward to honouring their contribution with gratitude and joy.

Let’s embrace Term 3 with open hearts and minds, ready to make it a term of meaningful learning, strong connections, and memorable moments.

A Note on Newsletters and Communication

We’d like to acknowledge the sporadic nature of our newsletters last term, which was due to ongoing staff shortages in our office. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused and appreciate your understanding during that time.

We’re pleased to share that newsletters will return to a regular fortnightly schedule this term, ensuring consistent updates and celebrations of our school community.

Please also remember that Compass remains our primary platform for important communication. Whether it’s notices, event details, or urgent updates, Compass is the most reliable and up-to-date source of information for families and staff.

For those new to St Catherine’s or for those who need a refresher, here is how to access our school calendar:

Via Web Browser

On your home page opening Compass select the calendar icon at the top of the page.

On the next page, you will see:

• A list of calendars available under your log in. Make sure these are bold/highlighted when you want them to be displayed.
• Your child’s daily timetable.
• School/Year groups events.
• A Category filter for different events. Generally, leave this as ‘All Categories” to see relevant information.

Via the Compass App

1. Select the Calendar Icon at the bottom of the page

2. Select the view you require:

               a. Specific calendars, or term and holiday dates

               b. Daily or Monthly View

Celebrations for 150 Years.

Our Celebrations for 150 Years since the Sisters of Mercy commenced education in Singleton is coming up in Week 7 of this Term (Aug 31 – Sept 5). Please see later in the Newsletter for further information about this exciting event!

David Crawford
Principal

Student Spotlight

Mila Lynch

Congratulations to Year 7 student Mila Lynch who is the successful recipient of Singleton Physiotherapy & Allied Health's 2025 Talented Athlete Sponsorship Program.  As part of her sponsorship Mila will receive access to a range of treatments and support from Singleton Physiotherapy & Allied Health such as VALD Performance Testing, Physiotherapy, Exercise Physiology plus access to Strength and Conditioning Classes.

In announcing Mila as the recipient, Singleton Physiotherapy & Allied Health issued the following statement:

🌟 Welcome Mila Lynch to our 2025 Talented Athlete Sponsorship Program! 🌟

We’re thrilled to welcome Mila, a passionate 12-year-old swimmer and netballer, to the Singleton Physiotherapy Talented Athlete Sponsorship Program!

Mila competes at state level in both swimming and netball, representing NuSwim at major championships and Singleton Netball Association at the NSW Junior State Titles for three consecutive years. 🏊‍♀️🏐

Her dedication is next level — training six days a week, often starting her mornings at 3am to travel to Newcastle for elite swim squad sessions, all while juggling netball training and local competitions. Her ultimate dream is to compete at the 2032 Brisbane Olympics! 🔥

We're proud to support Mila as she chases her short- and long-term goals with determination and heart. Watch this space — she’s just getting started!

Mila's progress and achievements will be featured on Singleton Physiotherapy & Allied Heath's social media pages. Well done Mila, we are looking forward to seeing where this wonderful opportunity takes you!

• Is your child excelling in an activity outside of school? We would love to hear about it and share it with our College Community. To be featured in ‘Student Spotlight’ please send an email with the details including a photo to gina.kellner@mn.catholic.edu.au.

Upcoming Events

• Please note that these dates and times are subject to change and that all efforts will be made to communicate this through the College communication platforms.

Term 3

Awards

Primary

Primary students are acknowledged for both academic achievement and effort, and for positive contributions to the life of the College. Teachers individually award Encouragement Awards (white awards) to students throughout the term. Students accumulate these awards to achieve higher levels of recognition. If your child receives the following number of awards, please send them in to Student Services for recognition of the next level of awards. 

4 Encouragement Awards         =        Merit Certificate
4 Merit Certificates                    =        Certificate of Excellence
3 Certificates of Excellence        =        Certificate of Distinction

Students also earn ‘Gotchas’ for exhibiting Positive Behaviours for Learning.

Distinction

Excellence

Merit

Kindergarten

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

Year 6

Ministry & Religious Education News

Welcome to Term 3!

As we begin Term 3, we extend a warm welcome back to all our families and students. This term is filled with joy, celebration, and opportunities to grow in faith and community.

A Joyful Celebration of Grandparents

Last week, we were delighted to host our annual Grandparents Day – a truly special occasion that brought together generations in a celebration of love, faith, and family. The day began with a beautiful K-6 liturgy led by Years 1 and 2, where students gave thanks for the wisdom and guidance of their grandparents. This was followed by classroom visits and a picnic lunch in the sunshine, allowing families to share stories, laughter, and quality time together. Thank you to everyone who attended and helped make the day so memorable.

NAIDOC Week Celebrations

Last week, we also celebrated NAIDOC Week, honouring the history, culture, spirituality, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Our college came together for a meaningful gathering led by our Aboriginal Education faculty, followed by a variety of activities that encouraged reflection and respect for the rich traditions of our First Nations peoples and built on student knowledge and understandings. Our aboriginal Education students did a spectacular job at leading and assisting our wonderful speakers and visitors who facilitated the activities. This day was a valuable opportunity for students to engage meaningfully with the theme and message of NAIDOC 2025.

Outstanding Religious Literacy Results

A heartfelt congratulations to Levi Proctor for achieving First Place in the Diocesan Religious Literacy Test! This is a fantastic achievement and a testament to the dedication of both students and teachers. Special recognition also goes to Year 8 Blue, who achieved the highest class average in the test across the diocese—well done!

A reminder that Year 6 Religious Literacy assessments will be held in Week 7. We encourage students to approach this with confidence and prayerful preparation.

Vinnies Winter Appeal

This week we will finalise our Vinnie’s Winter Appeal for collection by our local St Vincent de Paul Society. Donations of blankets, beanies and other warm clothing, as well as non-perishable food items ie tinned soup, spaghetti, etc., can be placed in baskets in primary classrooms, the primary and secondary libraries, or the college foyer up until Wednesday 6 August. These items will assist families in need in our local community. St Catherine’s is a main support of this work and all donations are very gratefully received and will certainly make a big difference to those doing it tough this winter.

150 Years of Mercy Celebration

We are thrilled to be celebrating 150 years of Mercy in our community this term. The celebrations will begin with a Parish–College Mass on Sunday 31st August, and will include a number of exciting activities in our college throughout the week. A notification outlining some of the events will be sent through in the coming days — please keep an eye out for this.

Parish Sacramental Program

The Parish Sacramental Program for the Sacraments of Confirmation and Holy Communion is now underway. We ask for your prayers for the students preparing to receive these sacraments. The celebration will take place with Bishop Michael on Sunday 21 September at 4:00pm. All are welcome to attend and share in this sacred milestone.

We look forward to a meaningful and faith-filled Term 3 with our college community.

Blessings,

Leanne O’Brien and Meagan Edwards
Religious Education & Ministry Leaders

NAIDOC Day Celebration

The Next Generation: strength, Vision & Legacy

St Catherine’s had a wonderful and meaningful day celebrating NAIDOC. We had visitors from as far as Sydney to be with us and be part of the special event. We started with the whole school ‘Gathering’ with our wonderful dance group ‘Puwampi Unti Kunarr’. Mrs O’Brien read the ‘Dadirri’ (a devotion of deep listening and spiritual awareness) Aunty Lisa spoke about our Aboriginal students and their love of culture. Aunty Lisa also addressed the challenge of racism within our community, she stated that we need to support our families and students to confront racism and to be proud of who we are. Special facilitators and Aboriginal students ran six separate cultural workshops. The day was inclusive and lots of fun. The Aboriginal Education Team would like to thank all the participants, students, staff as well as the special guests that gave us their free time to run the cultural workshops.

Mr Edward Bennetts

Leader of Learning (Aboriginal Education)

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Dio Netball Gala Day

On Tuesday of Week 2, we were up bright and early to head down to Newcastle for a great day of netball against other schools in the Diocese. With four teams competing from Years 7 to 12, there was plenty of action across all courts.

The competition was strong, but our girls gave it their all, showing determination, teamwork, and a positive attitude throughout the day. Win or lose, every game was played in great spirit, with lots of encouragement and support from the sidelines.

It was a fun and rewarding day, and all players should be proud of how they represented the school.

Science & Engineering Success

On Tuesday 29 July, a team of 31 Stage Three students went to the Science and Engineering Challenge Day. Our students were split into eight teams and participated in various challenges. They created wind turbines, completed a communication challenge using light signals, built planes, built eco-habitats, built bridges, completed a fish trap puzzle and a job juggle puzzle. We were competing against five High Schools from the Upper Hunter and our students won three out of eight of the challenges! Congratulations to all students involved!

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Canteen

Canteen Staff

Uniform Shop

The uniform shop will continue to operate using appointments and a drop-in system. The appointments are for uniform fittings for families who need to try on uniforms and drop-ins are for families who know what they need to purchase or are picking up orders. 

For your convenience, the uniform shop is located on site. Due to the construction works taking place at the moment,  access to the uniform shop is via the front office until further notice. 

Opening hours throughout the school term are as follows:

Tuesdays

08:30am - 11:30am By Appointment
01:30pm - 03:30pm Drop In

Thursdays

08:30am - 11:30am Drop In

Fourth Saturday of the month

09:30am - 11:30am Drop in
11:30am - 01:30pm By Appointment
(during school term only)

Alternatively, uniforms can also be ordered online and delivered to your child’s classroom (primary) or student services for secondary. 

For appointment bookings and online orders please visit:

Carley Vaughan
Uniform Shop Supervisor

Parish

All Parish news and events can be found on the website:

As always, we welcome you to Mass in St Patrick’s Church, Singleton, St Brigid’s Church, Branxton, St Catherine’s Church, Greta and St Paul’s Church, Glendonbrook. For Mass times, please click on the link below to take you to the Parish Calendar:

Fr Thomas Chirackal
Parish Priest

St Catherine's Celebrates 150 Years

Community Notices

Upper Hunter Conservatorium Music Lessons

The Upper Hunter Conservatorium of Music guitar teacher based in Singleton has spots available for students interested in learning how to play the guitar

Casey Smith is well respected and can accommodate students immediately.

For further enquiries please contact the Conservatorium on 65414888 OR admin@uhcm.com.au

Online enrolments are via the link below:

Student Enrolment Form