Good Samaritan Catholic Primary School Fairy Meadow acknowledges and pays respect to the Dharawal and Gweagal people past and present, the traditional custodians of the lands on which our school is built.

Dear Parents and Carers,

On behalf of Fr. Bernard and the staff of Good Samaritan I wish you a very warm welcome back to the 2025 school year.

It was such a pleasure to see the students enter the school with happy smiles and greeting their teachers and friends with such enthusiasm. This is certainly testament of the supportive and caring culture at Good Samaritan.

I would like to extend my sincere gratitude for the beautiful welcome I have received from staff, families, children and parishioners. As parents, you should be very proud of the way the children have engaged with me and answered my many questions. I feel privileged to be in the role of Principal and am looking forward to working with such a wonderful community.

I also extend a warm welcome to all the new families who have joined our school community in 2025, especially those parents who will commence the journey with their child at Good Samaritan for the very first time. We also welcome our new staff members; Miss Caitlin Morgan, Mr Jacob Bow-Smith, Miss Kahlia Ferguson and Miss Bianca Aylett.

I would like to acknowledge the work of our teachers and administration staff over the school vacation period in preparing learning and teaching programs, resources and the classroom environment to ensure a positive start to the year.  I extend my gratitude and appreciation for their professionalism and passion in this regard.

This year Pope Francis has proclaimed a Holy Year of Jubilee, a once in 25-year event. The 2025 Jubilee is centred on the theme “Pilgrims of Hope.” As His Holiness so beautifully expressed it: 

"We must fan the flame of hope that has been given us, and help everyone to gain new strength and certainty by looking to the future with an open spirit, a trusting heart and far-sighted vision”.

I look forward to sharing the many Jubilee events with the community throughout the year and encourage all students to take up this opportunity to grow in their learning and faith, to increase their sense of belonging, help others feel they belong, and to be actively and passionately engaged in all of school life. 

2025 Staffing 

School Buildings Update

Throughout the January pupil vacation period Good Samaritan underwent some maintenance work including:

• Establishment of shading over the sandpit area

• Drainage and gutter cleaning  

• Planting of trees and updating of the Benedict Barn Area.

We  express our gratitude to the Catholic Education Properties Team for organising the work over the pupil vacation period. 

The next part of the Master Planning will involve the commencement of a 3.7 million refurbishment. This project is in the initial design phase and community consultation will be an integral part of this project. We look forward to sharing the initial plans and hearing your feedback at the first Parents and Friends AGM on Monday 17th February at 6.30p.m

Thank You

A big thank you to our wonderful Parents and Friends executive who supported the Kindergarten “Tea and Tears” catch up this morning. It was a lovely opportunity to meet with new and existing families. A special thank you to Emma Douglas who provided beautiful care packs for our parents and Maddi Zevallos for the scrumptious slices.

Sincerely,

Pauline Chrostowski

PARISH CONTACT DETAILS:

General enquiries

Lumen Christi Catholic Parish, Wollongong 

Diocese of Wollongong 

PO Box 874 (36 Harbour Street)

Wollongong NSW 2500 Australia

Ph: (02) 42 110500

Email: wollongong@dow.org.au

Web: www.lumenchristi.org.au

Office hours: Monday to Friday (9:00am–1:00pm)

Click here to view the Parish Mass Times

Safer Internet Day Tuesday 6 February 

Tuesday 11 February, Good Samaritan will recognise Safer Internet Day. The students will engage in activities to learn about the importance of playing it safe and fair online. This will be used in conjunction with establishing the routines and procedures that make iPads an effective tool for learning in Years 3-6.

Students in Years 4-6 are not required to bring their iPads to school until Week 3, Tuesday 11 February.

The eSafety Commissioner is offering a series of free parent webinars across the year. The term 1 webinar offers tips for parents about how to socialise, learn and have fun online safely. You can access more information about the webinars below:

eSafety Webinars https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/webinars

iPads:

iPads will not be required in Years 3-6 until 11 February. This is to allow teachers to establish the classroom procedures and expectations regarding the iPads for learning. Parents are asked to ensure that iPads do not  come to school until this date.

Students in Year 3 as well as new students will engage in an iPad Bootcamp on 11 February so will receive their iPads on this day. 

Grade Newsletters

Consistent and accurate communication between home and school allows for a positive relationship to develop and be maintained. The school will continue to publish a weekly newsletter to keep the community informed about the activities within the school.

In addition, each grade will publish a grade newsletter at the beginning of each term. This newsletter will highlight the planned learning to take place for the term. In addition, grades will be able to highlight key dates, remind parents about school and grade expectations.

A link to a Google Form will be included in the grade newsletter which will be sent out in Week 2. We invite all parents to take the time to complete this form. This form is to gain any further information from you to help your child's teacher this year to support them to reach their full potential. Please provide any specific details or information about your child.

Within this form there will be an option to request a face to face or phone meeting with your child’s class teacher.

Kindergarten teachers will send a grade newsletter in Week 4 once the students have had time to settle into the school routines. 

Catherine Hailstone