Kindergarten students at Our Lady of the Rosary Primary performed the gathering song, A Cross of Stars
Events were held across the diocese of Parramatta on Friday 8 August in honour of the Feast Day of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop.
Canonised by Pope Benedict XVI on 17 October 2010, Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop’s Feast Day was marked with liturgies, family events and social justice fundraisers at a number of schools and the Catholic Education office.
Students, staff and families from St Mary MacKillop Primary School in South Penrith celebrated mass at St Nicholas of Myra to remember and acknowledge St Mary MacKillop’s important work.
Students travelled to St Nicholas of Myra Church to join the Feast Day Mass and were treated to hundreds of green and yellow helium balloons decorating their classrooms on their return. In the afternoon, students came together to make a coin trail with donations going to the St Mary MacKillop Institute in East Timor.
Our Lady of the Rosary Primary, St Marys was founded by Mary MacKillop and the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart in 1880. Students celebrated a moving liturgy to celebrate the inspirational life of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop. By bringing the letters written by Mary MacKillop to life, students were encouraged to learn from her example by working, learning together and caring for others particularly those in need.
Staff at the Catholic Education office, Parramatta gathered for a liturgy with Sr Rosie Drum MGL reading the letters of Mary MacKillop and leading a prayer asking for guidance and care for students, staff and school communities.
Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
www.parra.catholic.edu.au
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16 Mar 2026
From Facebook
Congratulations to all of our students who participated in our school Cross Country! Thankfully, the cooler weather made for great running conditions. We were so impressed by the children’s stamina, determination and perseverance as they challenged themselves throughout the course. It was also wonderful to see such positive sportsmanship, with students encouraging one another and celebrating each other’s efforts. We are very proud of the way everyone gave it their best! 🏃♂️👏🌟
13 Mar 2026
From Facebook
Wow! Our library was full of keen students today, excited to read with a buddy! 📚✨ Reading together is such a wonderful opportunity for students to build confidence, develop their fluency and share the joy of stories with one another. It was lovely to see the enthusiasm, teamwork and encouragement as students supported each other in their reading. Moments like these remind us how powerful reading can be when it is shared. 💛📖
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16 Mar 2026
From Facebook
Congratulations to all of our students who participated in our school Cross Country! Thankfully, the cooler weather made for great running conditions. We were so impressed by the children’s stamina, determination and perseverance as they challenged themselves throughout the course. It was also wonderful to see such positive sportsmanship, with students encouraging one another and celebrating each other’s efforts. We are very proud of the way everyone gave it their best! 🏃♂️👏🌟
13 Mar 2026
From Facebook
Wow! Our library was full of keen students today, excited to read with a buddy! 📚✨ Reading together is such a wonderful opportunity for students to build confidence, develop their fluency and share the joy of stories with one another. It was lovely to see the enthusiasm, teamwork and encouragement as students supported each other in their reading. Moments like these remind us how powerful reading can be when it is shared. 💛📖
13 Mar 2026
From Facebook
Congratulations to the recipients of this week’s Best Class Awards! 🎉 It was wonderful to hear the children cheering with excitement as they have been trying so hard with their learning and positive learning behaviours throughout the week. 👏📚 We also congratulate our Students of the Week ⭐. We always enjoy hearing the reasons why these students have received their awards. It is a great reminder of the many ways our students demonstrate a love of learning and strive to do their very best.
10 Mar 2026
From Facebook
🎭 Year 5 Drama in Religion Our Year 5 students brought our Religion inquiry to life by creating powerful freeze frames to explore the concepts of suffering and hope. Working in groups, they used body position, facial expression, levels, and space to dynamically represent their assigned words through dramatic poses. Students drew on real-life experiences to thoughtfully connect their ideas to the meaning of suffering and hope. Their creativity, teamwork, and confidence as actors and speakers were truly exceptional. We are so proud of the depth of thinking and imagination they showed in this learning experience! Check out the montage of photos showcasing their: amazing & dramatic, team freeze-frames. ✨
10 Mar 2026
From Facebook
😍 Year 1 Time Travel Through Communication! 🤓 📰 On Monday, our Year 1 students stepped back in time during a special walk through the St Andrew’s Communication Museum. They explored a fascinating range of communication devices from different eras and discovered how people shared messages long before smartphones existed. Inspired by their museum visit, students will now use their observations and ideas to write an imaginative story about discovering a communication device. We can’t wait to read the creative adventures they come up with! ✨📜
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07 Mar 2026
From Facebook
Celebrating the things that make us who we are at St Andrew's ⭐️ Our Year 6 students have been diving deep into what makes them unique during Visual Arts. For the past few weeks, they’ve been working on their "Two Sides of Me" portraits, a creative project where one half of the canvas is a realistic self-portrait and the other is a vibrant map of their personality, hobbies, and dreams. This connects closely with our unit in Religion, where we've been exploring the Book of Genesis, teaching us that we are made in the image and likeness of God. We've loved learning about the individual traits, strengths and passions of our leaders 🖐️🎨 Check out some of their work here!
06 Mar 2026
From Facebook
Congratulations to this week’s Students of the Week and to the classes awarded the Best Class Award. It is always wonderful to celebrate the effort, perseverance and positive attitude our students bring to their learning each day. 👏🌟📚 A special congratulations also to the recipients of the St Andrew’s Awards presented at this afternoon’s assembly. We are very proud of the way these students lead by example and make St Andrew’s such a wonderful place to learn. 🌟👏😊
06 Mar 2026
From Facebook
Our 3D Print Club is always looking for something to CAD design so they can showcase their creativity and solve problems. A few weeks ago ten students designed mini awards to be handed out along with the ‘Class of the Week’ trophies, so each class has something to keep. Take a look at what Annabelle, Aya, Ava and Corey collaboratively designed for the Term 1 awards using Tinkercad!
05 Mar 2026
From Facebook
Our week of 60th celebrations continued today with a Fun Day for our beautiful students that brought smiles, laughter, and plenty of excitement! Even with the warm weather, everyone had a great day celebrating our amazing school 🤩 From the monster inflatable obstacle course to a range of fun and engaging games, there was no shortage of energy or teamwork on display 🙌 Even the teachers got in on the action and braved the heat to race around the inflatable obstacle course! 🥳 And of course, the well‑earned iceblock treat at the end of the Zing Active session was the perfect way to cool down and celebrate a fantastic day together. What a joyful way to honour 60 years of community, spirit, and learning at St Andrew’s! 💙💛
03 Mar 2026
From Facebook
⭐️⭐️⭐️Congratulations to these amazing superstars who are our Week 5 Students of the Week! They had a big week of learning and showing how hard working they are. Plus a huge congrats to our classes of the week as well! ⭐️⭐️⭐️
28 Feb 2026
From Facebook
We’ve had a colourful start to the new school year at St Andrew’s ❤️💛💙💚 This week, we set a fun fashion challenge to see how many of our teachers and staff could wear our class colours all week, and they did a great job! 👏 A fun way to begin the year together 🥳