Newsletter 15 August 2025
Principal's Message
Red House wins the K-2 Carnival for 2025
Harmony Day at St Augustine's
Friday 15 August 2025 - Term 3 Week 4
Dear Parents and Carers,
This week we pause to reflect and celebrate a significant event in our Catholic faith — the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, honouring the moment when Mary, the mother of Jesus, was taken into heaven, body and soul. As our spiritual mother and model of faith, Mary inspires us to live with love, humility, and trust in God. We gathered as a school community at Mass today to mark this beautiful feast, giving thanks for Mary's unwavering ‘yes’ to God's call and praying for her guidance in our own lives.
Wishing Our Sporting Stars the Best!
Excitement is in the air as we cheer on our rugby teams competing in the Rugby Finals tonight – we’re so proud of all your hard work and dedication. Many thanks to our wonderful volunteer coaches who have taken on roles with the boys and girls, and turned up week after week, quite often in the rain. We’re also sending our best wishes to our amazing team participating in the Chris Gangemi Cup at Hunters Hill on Monday. We know you’ll represent our school with great sportsmanship and spirit! This year marks the end of Paul Butcher's involvement in St Augustine's Rugby, as his youngest, Nate, heads off to High School. I’d like to offer my sincere thanks to him for his passion, organisation and commitment over many years - it truly has made a positive impact on many students and we will miss having him around.
Book Week Parade – Next Wednesday!
Get those costumes ready! Our much-loved Book Week Parade will be held next Wednesday, 20 August. This year’s theme is "Reading is Magic". We can’t wait to see our students and staff dressed as their favourite book characters and to celebrate the joy and wonder that reading brings into our lives.
Colourthon – Find Your Sponsors!
Just a friendly reminder to help your children find sponsors for our exciting Colourthon fundraiser! Funds raised will go towards installing shade sails over the boats area on the playground – a much-needed improvement for sun safety and comfort. We encourage students to ask aunties, uncles, grandparents, work colleagues and neighbours to support this great cause. The Colourthon is organised by our dedicated Parent Community Forum, and we are so grateful for the energy and enthusiasm they bring to enhancing our school environment.
As always, thank you for your continued support and the many ways you help make our community vibrant, faith-filled, and connected. Wishing you all a restful weekend and a blessed week ahead.
Grace and peace,
Peter Watts
Faith and Mission News
Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
This morning we attended Mass to celebrate the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. On this day, we remember that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was taken body and soul into heaven at the end of her earthly life. We honour Mary because she is our spiritual mother and a great disciple of Jesus. The students offered prayers to Mary, asking her to intercede for us. This means that she talks to Jesus for us about our prayers. An Icon of Mary was placed before the altar along with the prayers the children wrote. This icon will be hung in the LARC as a reminder to ask Mary to intercede for them.
At school, a statue of Mary that used to be in St Brigid’s Catholic Church in Burringbar (now decommissioned) was placed in the rose garden. As the students walked past, they asked Mary to pray for them. ‘Mary, Mother of God and our Mother - Pray For Us’
St Augustine’s Feast Day
We will be celebrating the feast day of our patron saint on Thursday, 28 August and Friday, 29 August. Our celebrations will begin on Thursday with a liturgy at 9am, followed by the Colour-Thon on Friday.
Parents and friends are welcome to join us for the liturgy and Colour-Thon.
St.AY n Glow
St.AY n Glow is a lunch club for Year 6 students where they develop youth ministry skills and their faith. Run by Christa Morrow, the Youth Coordinator in our parish, the students are working on making videos. We are excited to see what they create!
‘Pilgrims of Hope’
Many classes have begun their ‘pilgrimage’, working through the activities on the poster below. This pilgrimage will take almost all year to complete and we look forward to sharing some of the experiences that bring us closer to God.
Naomi Loader - Assistant Principal Mission
Maria Woods - Leader of School Evangelisation
St Augustine's Colour-Thon 2025
On Friday, 29 August, we will be holding our annual Colour-Thon! This exciting event will see students walking as many laps as they can around the school oval over approximately an hour and a half — all while raising funds for the St Augustine’s Parent Forum. With colour, music, and plenty of fun, it’s sure to be one of the highlights of the year!
Fundraising and Prizes:
Each student will create their own online sponsorship page through Chuffed.org, joining their class team to help raise money.
- Class Prize: Awarded to the class that raises the most funds. Colour-bomb Mr Watts!
- Individual Prizes:
- The highest individual fundraiser will win an incredible Coffs Harbour Family Variety Pack, valued at over $400.
- Prizes will also be awarded to the next five top fundraisers.
- Best-Dressed awards will go to standout individuals or groups in each cohort.
Getting Started:
To create your child’s online fundraising page, use the link below and follow the attached instructions:
Once the page is set up, students can begin collecting sponsorships by sharing their personal fundraising link with family and friends.
If you need any help setting up the page, please don’t hesitate to contact the school for support.
By sponsoring a student in our Colour-Thon, you’re directly supporting the Parent Forum’s ongoing efforts to improve facilities and opportunities at St Augustine’s. Thank you for your support — we can’t wait for a colourful and successful day!
BOOK WEEK 2025 - Save the date
Book Week is coming soon! We will be celebrating Book Week on Wednesday 20 August (Week 5) with a parade at 9.10am. All students are invited to dress up as a character from a book. Please don’t spend any money on your costume, use items you already have at home or get creative and use some cardboard and paints etc to create a costume. You do not need to have the book that you are from.
Pastoral Care
Short Courses that may interest you:
ADHD: This short course was developed with the help of Parents for ADHD Advocacy Australia (PAAA). This course is aimed at supporting the parents and carers of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Other people may also find it helpful, such as other relatives, teacher assistants, and teachers.
Autism: This short course is directed at parents and carers of children with autism. Other people may also find it helpful, such as other relatives, teacher assistants, and teachers.
Parents of children who’ve been identified on the autism spectrum have been interviewed to identify the issues that concern them the most. This is reflected in the videos throughout this short course.
Please find more information about the courses on the OLT platform linked here.
K-2 Parent Storytelling 2025
Week 5 - Kindy
Week 6 - No reading Colourthon
Week 7 - No reading Fathers Day
Week 8 - Year 2
Week 9 - Kindy
Fathers Day - SAVE THE DATE!
Dear Fathers and Father-like Figures,
You are warmly invited to join us in celebrating Father’s Day at St Augustine’s School on Friday, 5 September 2025. Students, Dads, family and friends are encouraged to wear their favourite sports apparel or team colours for the day.
Program for the Day:
- 7:30–8:30 am – Father’s Day Breakfast (Sausage sanga & cuppa, near the canteen, supplied by the school)
- 9:00 am – Whole School Liturgy (top area)
- 9:45 am – Learning Journeys (visit your child’s classroom)
- 10:55–11:40 am – School Lunchtime (Dad’s BYO lunch)
- 12:00–1:00 pm – Rugby “Friendly” – St Augustine’s Vs MHOC (field)
Extra Father’s Day Fun
- Mini Vinnies Father’s Day Raffle – 3 prizes to be won! Choose your lucky number on the raffle board for $5 each (cash only). The draw will take place at the Week 9 assembly on Thursday, 18 September. All proceeds go towards the SVDP Christmas Appeal.
- Father’s Day Stall – On the afternoon of Friday, 5 September, students will have the opportunity to purchase a gift for $5 each (organised by the Parent Forum).
We can’t wait to share this special day with you!
Happy Families
Anxious
Helping Your Child Navigate a World of Worry
It's heartbreaking to see our kids struggling with anxiety. The statistics paint a stark picture: anxiety disorders are on the rise, affecting approximately one in seven primary school children and one in four adolescents. We see our kids burdened by fears and worries, their confidence fading, and sometimes even experiencing panic attacks. As parents, we desperately want to help but often feel lost or unsure of what to do.
Anxious: Helping Your Child Navigate a World of Worry offers a lifeline. In this presentation, Dr Justin Coulson will unpack what anxiety looks like in children and provide you with simple, practical strategies that are both clinically proven and easy to implement at home.
Empower yourself with the knowledge and tools to support your child's emotional wellbeing and help them build resilience in the face of anxiety.
Anxious: Helping Your Child Navigate a World of Worry
Wednesday 20 August, 2025
7pm AEST
Register for reminder emails and will be sent a link to watch the session live:
Sport News
Term 3 2025 | ||
Week 5 | ||
Sun 17 - Fri 22 Aug | National Hockey Championships | Bendigo |
Mon 18 Aug | Chris Gangemi Cup - NSW CPS Rugby Union State Final | Hunter’s Hill |
Fri 22 Aug | Year 3-6 Elective Sports | Various |
Week 6 | ||
Tue 26 Aug | Diocesan Athletics | Coffs Harbour |
Tue 26 Aug | Netball NSW Schools Cup | Port Macquarie |
Week 7 | ||
Mon 1 Sep | Barney Barselaar Football Cup | Woolgoolga |
Wed 3 Sep | Zone Football and Netball Knockout | Yamba |
Fri 5 Sep | Rugby Friendly | St Augustine’s School |
Week 8 | ||
Fri 12 Sep | NSW CPS Athletics | |
Fri 12 Sep | Year 3-6 Elective Sports | Various |
Week 9 | ||
Fri 19 Sep | Year 3-6 Elective Sports | Various |
Week 10 | ||
Wed 24 Sep | Diocesan Football and Netball Knockout | Grafton |
K-2 Athletics Carnival
Last Thursday the rain held out for us and we were thankfully able to hold our K-2 Athletics Carnival. It was a sea of colour across the field as Red, Gold, Blue and Green ran, jumped, threw and cheered enthusiastically at every event. The students were incredibly kind and supportive of each other and all tried their very best. I’m sure their heads all hit the pillow without a fight that night. A huge thank you to all of the families and friends who came to support us on this very special day. Congratulations to Red house for lifting up the winning shield at the end of the day in a very close finish!
Elective Sports
Today our Year 3-6 students wrapped up their third week of Elective Sports! We love hearing about all of the exciting adventures.
CANTEEN SPECIAL Wednesday 20 August
Yogurt, Fruit Muesli Bowls
Recess ONLY $3.00 Year Kindy -1 will be delivered to classrooms, Year 2-6 to be collected from canteen.
Orders due by 9am Tuesday 19 August on Flexischools.
CANTEEN NEWS
Canteen Roster
Week beginning 18 August
- Monday -C Williams
- Tuesday - M & M Black, K Hunn
- Wednesday - C Jones
- Thursday - J Murphy, D Kelly
- Friday - W McLean, K Cochran, Hana
Week beginning 25 August
- Monday - B Rae
- Tuesday - M & M Black
- Wednesday - B Symons
- Thursday -
- Friday - W McLean, L Lawler, C Williams
Notices
Livable, Family and Relationship services
Delivering free government funded workshops for parents and caregivers, under The Department of Social Services.
Please find attached their catalogue and website link for workshops they deliver.
https://livable.org.au/events
