In a wonderful example of community spirit and togetherness, students from four Blue Mountains primary schools came together recently for a special Mountains Encounter retreat focusing on what they’ve done and can do to help ensure everyone in society has equal rights, opportunities and is treated fairly.
Students from the Faith In Action (FIAT) teams at St Finbar's Primary Glenbrook, St Thomas Aquinas Primary Springwood, St Canice's Primary Katoomba, and Our Lady of the Nativity Primary Lawson gathered at St Finbar's for the afternoon retreat which, over the past few years, has brought considerable benefits to both students, their schools and the wider community.
Students reflected on what they’d learnt throughout the year and their involvement in social justice initiatives such as Project Compassion, food drives and volunteering for Vinnies and Jesuit Refugee Services.
Mountains Encounter, overseen by Lauren Maund, Director of Catholic Identity and Mission, aims to strengthen bonds among students while offering them opportunities to explore their faith through various enriching activities. Students took part in team-building exercises, faith formation workshops, and reflections centered on the Advent season. The main message was to encourage students to embrace their roles in carrying forward Christ’s mission of service and unity.
One of the highlights of the event was the traditional sausage sizzle dinner where students got to share a meal while learning about each other and their different communities in the Blue Mountains.
The retreat was more than just a gathering, it was a demonstration of how schools in the Blue Mountains are living out their faith through action. Their dedication to social justice and building community proves that living your faith can make a real difference in our world.
Photo Gallery
Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
www.parra.catholic.edu.au
-
22 Jul 2026
Little Learners - School Readiness Program
Little Learners is St Caniceโs Schoolโs fun, free, play-based school readiness program designed for children aged 3.5โ5 years who will be starting school in the next 1โ2 years.07 Aug 2025
St Canice's Brekky Club
All students are invited to join the St Canice's Brekky Club. Brekky Club will now run on Thursdays โ 7th, 21st, and 28th August.
-
02 Sep 2026
From Facebook
๐ Celebrating Our Incredible Teacher Aides! ๐ Today, St Caniceโs came together to acknowledge and celebrate the incredible work of our wonderful Teacher Aides! ๐ Our Teacher Aides make such a valuable contribution to our school community each and every day. Their patience, kindness, encouragement and dedication help our students to feel supported, confident and ready to learn. ๐โจ From supporting learning in the classroom to building meaningful relationships with our students, their impact reaches far beyond what we see each day. Thank you for everything you do! We are so grateful for the care, compassion and commitment you bring to St Caniceโs. ๐๐๐ #StCanices #TeacherAides #SchoolCommunity #ThankYou #MakingADifference02 Sep 2026
From Facebook
๐ Book Week โ From an Idea to a Published Book As part of our Book Week celebrations last week, Ms Sally worked with our students to explore the exciting process of writing and publishing a book. Ms Sally was able to share her own experiences as an author, drawing on her knowledge of writing and publishing her own books. This provided our students with a wonderful opportunity to learn what happens behind the scenes when a book is created. Students explored the many stages involved in bringing a book to life, including: ๐ก Coming up with an idea โ finding inspiration and developing an original concept. โ๏ธ Building the story โ creating characters, setting, beginning, middle and end. ๐จ Creating illustrations โ considering how pictures can enhance and support the story. ๐ Working with an editor โ understanding the importance of feedback and making changes to improve the writing. ๐ Putting the book together โ bringing the words and illustrations together to create the finished product. ๐ Testing, changing and improving โ learning that authors rarely get everything right the first time and that editing, refining and persistence are an important part of the creative process. ๐ Publishing โ discovering how a completed manuscript becomes a published book that can be shared with readers. The students were encouraged to see themselves as authors and creators, learning that every great book begins with an idea and develops through creativity, persistence, collaboration and a willingness to make improvements. We are very grateful to Ms Sally for sharing her experience and passion for writing with our students and for giving them an authentic insight into the journey of becoming a published author. What a wonderful way to celebrate the magic of stories and the joy of reading and writing during Book Week!
MORE NEWS
02 Sep 2026
From Facebook
๐ Celebrating Our Incredible Teacher Aides! ๐ Today, St Caniceโs came together to acknowledge and celebrate the incredible work of our wonderful Teacher Aides! ๐ Our Teacher Aides make such a valuable contribution to our school community each and every day. Their patience, kindness, encouragement and dedication help our students to feel supported, confident and ready to learn. ๐โจ From supporting learning in the classroom to building meaningful relationships with our students, their impact reaches far beyond what we see each day. Thank you for everything you do! We are so grateful for the care, compassion and commitment you bring to St Caniceโs. ๐๐๐ #StCanices #TeacherAides #SchoolCommunity #ThankYou #MakingADifference
02 Sep 2026
From Facebook
๐ Book Week โ From an Idea to a Published Book As part of our Book Week celebrations last week, Ms Sally worked with our students to explore the exciting process of writing and publishing a book. Ms Sally was able to share her own experiences as an author, drawing on her knowledge of writing and publishing her own books. This provided our students with a wonderful opportunity to learn what happens behind the scenes when a book is created. Students explored the many stages involved in bringing a book to life, including: ๐ก Coming up with an idea โ finding inspiration and developing an original concept. โ๏ธ Building the story โ creating characters, setting, beginning, middle and end. ๐จ Creating illustrations โ considering how pictures can enhance and support the story. ๐ Working with an editor โ understanding the importance of feedback and making changes to improve the writing. ๐ Putting the book together โ bringing the words and illustrations together to create the finished product. ๐ Testing, changing and improving โ learning that authors rarely get everything right the first time and that editing, refining and persistence are an important part of the creative process. ๐ Publishing โ discovering how a completed manuscript becomes a published book that can be shared with readers. The students were encouraged to see themselves as authors and creators, learning that every great book begins with an idea and develops through creativity, persistence, collaboration and a willingness to make improvements. We are very grateful to Ms Sally for sharing her experience and passion for writing with our students and for giving them an authentic insight into the journey of becoming a published author. What a wonderful way to celebrate the magic of stories and the joy of reading and writing during Book Week!
02 Sep 2026
From Facebook
๐โจ A Very Special Thank You! โจ๐ A huge thank you to Tohby Riddle, our wonderful local author and illustrator, for generously donating a selection of books to our school library! ๐๐ We are so grateful for your kindness and generosity. Our students love exploring these wonderful stories and illustrations, and we are thrilled to add them to our growing library collection. Thank you, Tohby, for helping us inspire a love of reading and storytelling in our students! ๐๐ #ThankYou #LocalAuthor #LocalIllustrator #LoveReading #SchoolLibrary #StCanices
29 Aug 2026
From Facebook
Dear Families, A friendly reminder that we host our free Little Lyrebirds Playgroup every Wednesday morning here at St Caniceโs! Our playgroup is open to children aged 0โ6 years and their carers, and everyone is welcome. Itโs a wonderful opportunity for children to play, explore and make new friends, while families connect with others in our community. ๐ฟ Every Wednesday | 9:00amโ10:30am ๐จ Indoor, outdoor and sensory play โ Morning tea included ๐ต And often our wonderful Ms Frazer and students join us for a special sing-along! If you know a family with young children who might enjoy joining us, please feel free to pass this information on. We would love to welcome them to Little Lyrebirds! Warm regards, St Caniceโs Primary School
28 Aug 2026
From Facebook
๐ข Week 7 Information Dear Parents and Carers, Please see the attached information for the upcoming Week 7. We hope you have a wonderful week ahead! ๐ Thank you for your continued support of our St Caniceโs community. ๐
28 Aug 2026
Our schools are cracking the reading code
Do you remember how you learned to read? For a vital skill that is linked to all other learning, itโs surprisingly difficult to explain how to go about learning it.
26 Aug 2026
From Facebook
๐โจ Symphony of Stories โ Book Week 2026! โจ๐ โA book is like a garden, carried in the pocket.โ โ Dolly Parton ๐๐ธ Today, St Caniceโs came alive with the magic of books as we celebrated Book Week with our wonderful theme, โSymphony of Stories.โ ๐ถ๐ Our students and staff embraced the joy of reading, bringing their favourite book characters to life in a spectacular parade! From colourful costumes to creative characters, it was wonderful to see our school community celebrating the stories that inspire, delight and spark our imaginations. ๐ A huge thank you to our families for helping make the day so special. โค๏ธ Every story has a rhythm, every book has a voice, and together they create a beautiful symphony of stories! ๐ต๐ #BookWeek2026 #SymphonyOfStories #StCanicesKatoomba #LoveReading #BookWeek #StoriesBringUsTogether
25 Aug 2026
From Facebook
๐ Congratulations to our Voice of Youth participants! ๐ Congratulations to all of the students through the Blue Mountains who participated in todayโs Voice of Youth Cluster Finals, held at St Finbarโs in Glenbrook. ๐ค๐ We are incredibly proud to announce that our Year 6 representative, KC, was awarded the Social Justice Trophy for her inspiring speech, โEqual Rights, Equal Future.โ ๐๐ What an incredible achievement, KC! Your passion, confidence and commitment to social justice have made our school community very proud. ๐โจ๐๐
25 Aug 2026
From Facebook
๐ Fatherโs Day Celebration โ Thursday 3rd September ๐ Dear Parents and Carers, You are warmly invited to join us for our St Caniceโs Fatherโs Day Celebration on Thursday, 3rd September, from 8:20am โ 9:20am. We look forward to welcoming the special fathers, grandfathers, stepfathers and father figures in our studentsโ lives as we celebrate together. We hope you can join us for this special morning! ๐
25 Aug 2026
From Facebook
๐ฟ Little Lyrebirds Playgroup is on tomorrow! ๐ฆ Weโd love to see you at Playgroup this week! ๐ Join us tomorrow, Wednesday 26 August, from 9:00amโ10:30am for a welcoming and relaxed space for children aged 0โ6 years and their carers. โจ Indoor & outdoor play ๐ Sensory play โ Morning tea included ๐ A friendly space to connect and play ๐ No cost to attend! Come along, meet other families and enjoy a morning of fun and connection at Little Lyrebirds Playgroup. We canโt wait to see you! ๐ฆ๐ฟ
25 Aug 2026
From Facebook
๐โจ Book Week Parade โ Tomorrow! โจ๐ A friendly reminder that our Book Week Parade is tomorrow, Wednesday 26 August, from 8:45amโ9:15am in the Hall. ๐ญ Come dressed as your favourite book character and get ready to celebrate our love of reading and stories! We canโt wait to see all the wonderful costumes! ๐๐ซ
25 Aug 2026
From Facebook
โ Parent Cafรฉ Meeting โ Tuesday 1 September Our next Parent Cafรฉ Meeting will be held on Tuesday 1 September at 2:00pm, with the option to attend in person at school or online via Microsoft Teams. The meeting will focus on: ๐ Student learning data and progress ๐ Student wellbeing ๐ Tell Them From Me survey results If you have any discussion items or questions you would like included on the agenda, please email them to stcanices@parra.catholic.edu.au by Friday 28 August. The Microsoft Teams link and further information are available via your Compass Parent Portal. We look forward to hearing your feedback and working together to support the learning and wellbeing of our students.
20 Aug 2026
Six Habits That Help Children Develop a Love of Reading
Book Week is a celebration of stories, imagination and creativity, but helping children love reading isn't just something that happens during one week of the year. The good news? It doesn't take expensive resources or hours of extra time. Often, it's the small, everyday habits that make the biggest difference.
19 Aug 2026
From Facebook
๐๐ถ BOOK WEEK PARADE โ WEDNESDAY 26 AUGUST! ๐ถ๐ Book Week runs from Saturday 22 to Friday 28 August, and we are so excited to celebrate with our annual Book Week Parade next Wednesday, 26 August, from 8:45โ9:15am in the Hall! ๐ This yearโs theme is โจ Symphony of Stories โจ. Click here to find out more about the theme: https://youtu.be/wz-psnQnUmQ We encourage our students to come dressed as a character from a favourite book. If they have a copy of the book their character has stepped out of, they are welcome to bring it along too! ๐ Some children love to connect with the theme, some choose to represent age-old favourites, and others like to keep us guessing! As the video suggests, our Book Week Parade is sure to be a wonderful symphony of characters! ๐ญ๐ต Parents, carers and families are very welcome to come along and enjoy the parade with us. Younger siblings are also very welcome! ๐ The Book Week Parade will coincide with Little Lyrebirds, and we look forward to welcoming our Little Lyrebird visitors and their families to this special morning. We hope you can join us for this super-popular annual event as we celebrate the joy, imagination and magic of books! ๐๐ซ #BookWeek #SymphonyOfStories #BookWeekParade #StCanices #LoveOfReading #LittleLyrebirds
13 Aug 2026
From Facebook
๐ณ๐ฅ Breakfast at St Caniceโs! ๐ฅ๐ All St Caniceโs students are invited to join us in the Hall on Thursday 20 August, from 8:20amโ8:40am, for breakfast together! Weโre also looking for parent volunteers to help out on the morning. If youโre available to assist, please complete the Google Form sent to you via your Compass Parent Portal. We look forward to sharing breakfast, good food and a great start to the day together! ๐ #StCanices #BreakfastTogether #SchoolCommunity #ParentVolunteers