Term 3, Week 6

What's On This Fortnight

Principal's Message

The past two weeks have held many opportunities for celebration, faith formation, and learning across our school. From sacred moments to spirited performances, our community has truly been alive.

Feast of the Assumption

We gathered as a whole school to honour our namesake on the Feast of the Assumption, with a deeply moving Mass led by Bishop Michael McKenna. His presence and words reminded us of Mary’s courage and faith, inspiring us to live with compassion and purpose. The mass was a beautiful reflection of our Catholic identity, and a moment of unity and reverence for all.

Formation Opportunities: Growing in Faith

Spiritual formation continues to be a cornerstone of our mission. Year 5 students participated in Emmanuel Worship, engaging in praise and reflection that deepened their connection to God and one another. Meanwhile, our Year 3 students will attend a Eucharist Retreat Day on Friday; a day of preparation, prayer and joyful anticipation as they move toward receiving the sacrament, as some of our students already have. These experiences nurture hearts as much as minds.

Book Week

Book Week brought colour, imagination, and a shared love of stories into every corner of our school. Students and staff embraced the theme with enthusiasm; costumes, book parades, and classroom activities reminded us that reading is not just a skill, but a gateway to wonder. The joy on students’ faces as they explored new worlds through literature was a testament to the power of storytelling.

Bathurst Eisteddfod

Our students have shone brightly at the Bathurst Eisteddfod this week, representing our school with pride and talent! We are so very proud of all of the efforts of our staff and students this week and the preparation they have put in. We received some outstanding results over the two days!

Kindergarten - 2nd Place Verse Speaking 

Year 1 - 3rd Place Verse Speaking

Year 2 - 1st Place Choir 

Year 3 - 3rd Place Choir 

Year 4 - 2nd Place Verse Speaking 

Year 5 -  2nd Place Verse Speaking 

Year 6 - 1st Place Verse Speaking

Classroom Learning

Year 2 have recently been sharing the learning they have been engaged in. Curiosity is thriving! Our budding scientists have been exploring what happens when different materials join together and making playdough. In Mathematics, they’ve been tackling complex problems with resilience and creativity. Photos from these lessons show not just learning, but joy; proof that deep thinking and discovery go hand in hand.

Matthew Gibson 
Assistant Principal

From the Assistant Principal

Communication with School 

We encourage open communication between staff and parents regarding our students. Please note that each morning our teachers are preparing for their upcoming day and aren’t always available on the spot before school. We encourage parents to make contact via email or phone to organise an appointment with your child’s classroom teacher should you need one. 

Year 6 Mini Fete

Our Year 6 students are busy preparing for their mini fete to be held on Wednesday of Week 10. For our students to be successful, we are seeking donations of: 

• Chocolate bars for the chocolate toss
• Cakes, slices and baked goods (nut free) with ingredient lists on the day for the Cake Stall 
• Second hand items in good condition for the White Elephant Stall. 

Our community is so generous each year in donating and we thank you in advance for your assistance with this year’s event. It is a fantastic leadership opportunity for our Year 6 students. 

Matthew Gibson 
Assistant Principal

REC News: Mrs Catherine Connor

Sunday, 31st August 2025: Twenty Second Sunday Ordinary Time - Year C

Luke 14:1. 7-14  All who exalt themselves shall be humbled and all who humble themselves shall be exalted

Gospel Reflection

There is a strong theme of humility in this week’s Gospel reading. Jesus calls us to act with humility. He acknowledges that we should not act in a way that makes it seem we are deserving of special attention. Because God loves us, we are special, but God loves everyone with the same kind of love, and He wants us to act with humility and love.

Gospel Challenge

Talk to your children about humility, and why Jesus said that we should try to be attentive to the needs of others, and not always think of ourselves first. Ask your children to pay special attention to those who others may neglect, and to be nice to people even if it is difficult.

Feast of the Assumption Mass – Friday 15th August – Assumption Church

Thank you to all concerned with organising the Feast of the Assumption Mass on Friday 15th August at 12 noon. It was a beautiful Mass and a very special occasion for our school. Thank you to Bishop Michael McKenna who celebrated our beautiful Mass with the support of Fr Francis and Deacon Terry Mahoney. The Assumption Mass is a highlight of our year in honour of Mary, Assumed into Heaven.

Emmanuel Worship Workshop – 21st August

Our Year 5 students took part in an Emmanuel Worship Workshop with the other Catholic schools in Blayney on Thursday 21st August at the Blayney Community Centre. This day was led and run by the Emmanuel Worship Group. This was a fabulous faith experience for our young people and filled with fun and great learning experiences for our Year 5 students. 

Year 3 Students - Pre-Eucharist Retreat – 29th August

Our Year 3 students will take part in a pre-Eucharist retreat with the other Catholic schools in Bathurst on Friday 29th August at MacKillop College. This day is led and run by the MacKillop and St Stanislaus Year 9 and 10 students. This is a fabulous faith experience for our young people and filled with fun and great learning experiences as the Year 3 students prepare to receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist. The children will be bussed to and from this event in school time. An event item has been put on Compass to get permission from all parents for your child to attend this retreat. Please ensure you have filled out all the components for the event.

Don't Forget our Grandparents Liturgy and Shared Morning Tea: Friday 12 September

On Friday, September 12th at 10:15am the Assumption School will be holding a special Grandparents Liturgy in the Hall for all those special people in our children’s lives. Please email photos of your children with their grandparents to the school to be added to a powerpoint for the liturgy. After the liturgy Grandparents will be invited to a morning tea with their grandchild and then a visit to their grandchild’s classroom until 12:15pm classroom.

To keep connected to the Cathedral Parish please follow the link to the Cathedral Parish Bulletin.

Sacraments of Penance & Eucharist 2025

Congratulations to John who made his Sacrament of Confirmation.

Students in Year 2, Year 3 and Year 6 are prepared and ready to receive the Sacraments of Penance, Eucharist (First Communion) and Confirmation.

Now your child/children have completed the Preparation Program for their Sacrament the parents/carers can contact Cathy Brien at the Parish Office on 6331 3066 or cathy.brien@cdob.org.au for coordination of dates and times to make the Sacraments..

Please inform the school office, class teacher or myself when your child is making a Sacrament. It is also very important to have the student who is receiving a Sacrament in the Parish Mass to be at the Church at least 20 minutes before the Mass and let the priest know you are there. 

The place for children to receive the Sacrament of Penance will be organised by Cathy O’Brien.

Both the school and the Parish office can supply you with the robes for Communion and Confirmation and medal and sash for Penance. We would also love to receive photos so we can publish them in the newsletter.

Sacraments of Penance and Eucharist Process 2025

The process of booking in for the Sacraments.

1. Completed Sacraments preparation course. 
2. Obtain a Request form from Cathy Brien at the Cathedral Parish Office cathy.brien@cdob.org.au or phone 6331 3066.
3. Return the completed Request form to Cathy Brien, ensuring that all the relevant supporting documents have been attached. 
4. Cathy will then coordinate the requests with the available dates.
   

We kindly remind families to finalise their registrations with Cathy O’Brien at the presbytery and ensure all required forms and payments are completed for the Sacraments of Penance or Eucharist. Please note that 16th November is the final weekend for bookings. The following week, the Priest Retreat will take place in preparation for the Feast of Christ the King.

Please note: The Confirmation dates have all been filled for 2025. If your child missed being confirmed this year, they can take part in the 2026 Confirmations.

The Sports Arena: Mrs Alison Hanley

Diocesan Athletics Carnival

Congratulations to the talented Assumption athletes who competed at Dubbo on Friday at the Diocesan Athletics Carnival. It was a beautiful sunny day and, of the 19 students who attended, we had 5 students who will now represent the Bathurst team at the Polding Athletics Selection Trials which will be held on Friday 12th September at Hunter Sports Centre, Glendale. Well done to Harper (3rd 12yrs Girls 800m ), Thea (3rd 8-10yr Girls High Jump, Nixon (3rd 12 yr Boys High Jump), Oliver (2nd 12yr Boys Long Jump) and Archie (2nd 8-10yrs Boys Discus). 

Touch Football Gala Day

Five teams made up of students from Yr 5 and 6 will be representing the Assumption School at a Touch Football Gala Day on Thursday September 4th 2025 at Learmonth Park, which is being run by NSW Touch Football. The teams consist of 3 Stage 3 Boys teams,  a Stage 3 Girls team and a Mixed Boys and Girls team. Thank you to the parents who have completed the permission on the Compass event and volunteered to help with the running of teams on the day. 

AFL- All Girls Program

An after school program is on offer to all girls in our school aged 8 years to 12 years. Beginning on the 29th August and running until 19th September, this program will be held for 4 sessions at George Park, Bathurst. It will offer skills training in AFL and lots of fun and games.

The cost is only $15 and each participant will receive a pack with goodies and an opportunity to have a half time experience at an AFLW game (Round 5 - September 13th GWS Giants v Western Bulldogs in Canberra). Check out the flyer below to register for the program. Thank you to Will Flynn who is the AFL Coordinator for the Central West for coming to our school assembly last week to talk to us about this exciting program.

Flames Basketball Visit for Year 6 Students!

The Assumption School is very excited to announce that we are hosting a visit from the WNBL team, the Sydney Flames on the afternoon of Friday, 19th September. Members of the team will be running a 30 min session on court running drills and taking part in skill challenges with the Year 6 students followed by 30 min signing sessions. We are extremely fortunate to be able to have the Flames visit our school and promote the sport of basketball. 

Celebrating Book Week 2025

Wow! What an adventure Book Week was at the Assumption School!

We dressed up, we paraded, we laughed and sang and cheered! A great occasion was enjoyed by all and we thank every parent, grandparent, carer and friend who joined us last Wednesday. 

Our Scholastic Book Fair was the most successful for our school EVER! We sold almost $7500 worth of stock. Our School receives almost 35% return in stock and reward points that will refresh our library collection for all students, but may also be used for other teaching aids across the curriculum. Again, our students and staff thank everyone for making this possible.     

Remember: Students who read, succeed! and our Assumption family members are making this happen!

Yours in reading,
Maria Arrow
Teacher Librarian

Father's Day Events

If you have not already done so, please RSVP to our Father's Day Breakfast by Wednesday, 3 September, 2025 using the link below:

Notes have a habit of vanishing into the black hole known as your child’s school bag - Please look out for this note in your child's bag and kindly return it to school with the correct money, by Monday 1 September

Term 3: Important Dates