We hope everyone has slotted back into the swing of things now that we're two weeks into Term 2. It’s certainly been a busy start but we’re loving the energy that’s filled the school already.

Dates for your diary

A couple of events to pop on the fridge calendar:

• P&F Meeting – Wednesday 14 May, 6pm in the Staff Cafe
• Parent Mixer – Saturday 24 May, 7pm at the Cricketers Arms Hotel.  Please RSVP by 17 May

We’re looking forward to seeing you there.

Mother’s Day breakfast and raffle

A huge thank you to everyone who made this year’s Mother’s Day celebrations so special. More than 300 mums and mother figures turned out for breakfast and many stayed for the liturgy.

Special shoutout to our wonderful volunteers - Priscilla Officer, Elise Grist, Claire Collins, Abbey Edwards, Nat Pelle, Lisa Logue, Hayden Cornish, Russell Collins, Belinda Weeks, Gene Mansour and Matt de Witt. Without this bunch of parents, we wouldn’t have been able to have this event.

This year we had an impressive swag of prizes for our raffle thanks to our incredibly generous donors. We are so grateful to these people (and companies), most of who are connected to our community for their contributions. Special thanks to - Dean Mantle, Amanda & Hayden Cornish from Sellars Meats, Peter & Natasha Chapman and Scott McShane from Reflections Holidays, Matt & Claudia de Witt and Pipeclay Estate Mudgee, Anchana & Matthew Kent, Leanne Player from Player Property Group, Heidi & Angus Plate, Kathryn Stewart of Kathryn Stewart Hair Artists, Ed Close from NIB, Salt Property and Merewether Hair Studio.

All raffle proceeds went straight back into putting on this lovely event to honour the mothers and mother figures in our community and we’re so grateful for the support.

• 4x tickets to the Wallabies vs Fiji rugby match, 6 July at McDonald Jones Stadium - kindly donated by Dean Mantle
• Crane family

• 2x $100 Sellars Meats vouchers - kindly donated by Amanda and Hayden Cornish
• Julie Kiem
• K Sadler

• An “Adventure Mum pack” including $100 gift voucher, cord cap, water bottle, camping mug, Outsiders maganzine and a sticker - kindly donated by Peter and Natasha Chapman and Scott McShane from Reflections Holidays
• Mavros

• A case of Rosè - kindly donated by Matt and Claudia de Witt and Pipeclay Estate, Mudgee
• Toban

• 2x $50 breakfast vouchers for Monte Cafe, Little National Hotel Newcastle - kindly donated by Anchana and Matthew Kent
• Shelby Lemus
• Erica

• 2x bunches of flowers - kindly donated by Leanne Player from Player Property Group
• Rosemary Merz
• Milou Plate

• A handcrafted leather handbag from SANCIA - kindly donated by Heidi and Angus Plate
• Lennox Bull

• A $100 voucher for Kathryn Stewart Hair Artists - kindly donated by Kathryn Stewart
• Kotula

• 4x corporate box tickets to the Newcastle Knights vs Sydney Roosters match, 14 June at McDonald Jones Stadium - kindly donated by Ed Close from NIB
• Margo and Paul Chiplin

• Hamper including a resin salad bowl, servers, bottle of champagne, two stemless champagne flutes and a candle - kindly donated by Salt Property
• Claire Collins

• A $140 voucher - kindly donated by Merewether Hair Studio
• Lennox Bull

Easter raffle – Giving back

Thanks to your generosity, we were able to donate a fantastic range of Easter goodies to our partner school at Windale. To demonstrate their gratitude the Windale team sent us a beautiful video.

Our first packing shift was so efficient, the second shift wasn’t even needed! Thank you to all who donated eggs and time, especially:

Leanne Player, Samantha Anthony, Shelby Lumas, Kate Quin, Jess Bower, Nat Butler, Elise Grist, Amanda Cornish, Amy Callinan, Joelle Bevington and Tess Hosegood.

Thank you for helping us share the Easter (egg) love.

Athletics Carnival Fun

Congratulations to all our enthusiastic athletes for a fantastic carnival day on Tuesday. The spirit, encouragement and smiles were a joy to see.

And to the amazing parents who volunteered — thank you for making it all run smoothly. Special appreciation to our Sport Committee:

Anna Graham, Renee Mantle, Karen Childs and Julian Johnson.

That’s all from us for now, here’s to a joyful, connected Term 2 ahead.