It has been 100 days of schooling like no other for this year’s Kindergarten class of 2020!
As parents dropped their little ones off at ‘big school’ for the first time earlier this year after much excitement and anticipation, with their shiny shoes, oversized uniforms and the promise of learning and new friendships, no one could have predicted what was to come in those first 100 days of school.
At St Matthew’s Primary Windsor, Kindergarten teacher Alicia Madden said it has certainly been an unusual start to the year for new students settling into school life.
“The first year of schooling for 2020 Kinder students, has been like no other year. They just started to get comfortable, learn about how to be at school and make friends when COVID happened,” Alicia said. “It was challenging teaching Kindergarten through online learning and not being able to see them face to face and give them instant feedback. Many students in the class still didn’t even really know each other.”
According to the students though, chances to share new learning with family members was a popular perk of the COVID lockdown.
“I liked practicing my sight words with my Mum,” said Kindy student Alexa.
“Reading at home with my Mummy was the best part,” added Blake.
Since returning to school, Alicia said the experience is still not yet back to normal for students who have had to miss out on a number of important events traditionally held throughout the year including Grandparents Day, assemblies, excursions and even extra time with their friends as their parents used to chat during drop off and pick up.
“I do believe when this is over, Kindergarten will be able to really see what an uninterrupted year of schooling is like,” she said.
She paid particular tribute to the way teachers and parents have worked together in those first 100 days to support the children.
“I was conscious that they still didn't even know all the children in the class in the early stage, but the parents did such an amazing job and were very supportive and committed through such a challenging time,” Alicia said.
And what did the Kindy students think of their first 100 days? Most agree it has actually been great!
“I was a little bit nervous to begin with but now I have made friends so I feel better,” said Kindergarten student, Tora.
“I like having fun with my teachers,” Oliver said.
Most of all, they said being at school, learning and seeing their friends was the best part about Kindergarten.
“I can definitely say that these students have done an amazing job at settling into school and being the best learners they could possibly be,” Alicia said. “I am very proud!”
Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
www.parra.catholic.edu.au
-
28 Dec 2025
From Facebook
👨🏼🎓 👩🏻🎓 The Year That Was - Year 6 2025 👩🏻🎓👨🏼🎓 As we farewell our wonderful Year 6 students, we look back on a year filled with big moments, big memories, and big hearts. From camp adventures and gala days to Voice of Youth, author visits, sports carnivals, and countless moments of teamwork and laughter — this year has been packed with experiences that helped you grow, shine, and step into leadership with pride. There have been a lot of “lasts” for our leaders of the school, but what a way to finish — ending your primary years on a true high here at St Matthew’s. We are so proud of the learners, leaders, and young people you have become. As you head off to high school and begin this exciting new chapter, remember to always let your faith guide you, your kindness lead you, and your courage carry you forward. Good luck on your next adventure, Year 6 — you will always be part of our St Matthew’s family. Love Mrs Hudson, Miss Xavier, Ms Woods, Ms Edwards and Mrs Liso 💙💛
27 Dec 2025
From Facebook
🚌 🏕️ The Year That Was - Year 5 2025 🏕️ 🚌 What an incredible year it has been for Year 5! From day one, this wonderful group of students set the bar high with their hard work, kindness, and enthusiasm. We’ve shared countless classroom jokes, tackled challenges with determination, and celebrated so much learning growth together. Their progress this year has been huge, and we are so proud of everything they’ve achieved. One of our biggest highlights was our unforgettable camp to Collaroy, where students pushed themselves, supported each other, and shone during our team-building adventures. Whether it was the Teamwork Challenge, high-energy Laser Tag, courageous Rock Climbing, nerve-testing Abseiling, or soaring down the Flying Fox, Year 5 showed cooperation, bravery, and incredible team spirit. We also loved our excursion to Camden, where students learned about Australia’s early settlements and deepened their understanding of our history. We had special artworks on display at Windsor RSL to showcase our reflections on Remembrance Day. Along the way, we enjoyed some well-earned rewards too — from hot chips to pyjama days — celebrating goals met and effort shown. Our High School Taster Day at Bede Polding gave students a glimpse into the exciting years ahead and showed just how ready they are for new challenges. Above all, this year was filled with fun, friendship, success, and unforgettable memories. Year 5, you are a wonderful bunch of kids and you made every day a joy. We can’t wait to see what amazing things you achieve next! Mrs Seymour, Mrs Taylor, Mrs Palacios, Mrs Roy and Miss Barker 💙💛
More News
28 Dec 2025
From Facebook
👨🏼🎓 👩🏻🎓 The Year That Was - Year 6 2025 👩🏻🎓👨🏼🎓 As we farewell our wonderful Year 6 students, we look back on a year filled with big moments, big memories, and big hearts. From camp adventures and gala days to Voice of Youth, author visits, sports carnivals, and countless moments of teamwork and laughter — this year has been packed with experiences that helped you grow, shine, and step into leadership with pride. There have been a lot of “lasts” for our leaders of the school, but what a way to finish — ending your primary years on a true high here at St Matthew’s. We are so proud of the learners, leaders, and young people you have become. As you head off to high school and begin this exciting new chapter, remember to always let your faith guide you, your kindness lead you, and your courage carry you forward. Good luck on your next adventure, Year 6 — you will always be part of our St Matthew’s family. Love Mrs Hudson, Miss Xavier, Ms Woods, Ms Edwards and Mrs Liso 💙💛
27 Dec 2025
From Facebook
🚌 🏕️ The Year That Was - Year 5 2025 🏕️ 🚌 What an incredible year it has been for Year 5! From day one, this wonderful group of students set the bar high with their hard work, kindness, and enthusiasm. We’ve shared countless classroom jokes, tackled challenges with determination, and celebrated so much learning growth together. Their progress this year has been huge, and we are so proud of everything they’ve achieved. One of our biggest highlights was our unforgettable camp to Collaroy, where students pushed themselves, supported each other, and shone during our team-building adventures. Whether it was the Teamwork Challenge, high-energy Laser Tag, courageous Rock Climbing, nerve-testing Abseiling, or soaring down the Flying Fox, Year 5 showed cooperation, bravery, and incredible team spirit. We also loved our excursion to Camden, where students learned about Australia’s early settlements and deepened their understanding of our history. We had special artworks on display at Windsor RSL to showcase our reflections on Remembrance Day. Along the way, we enjoyed some well-earned rewards too — from hot chips to pyjama days — celebrating goals met and effort shown. Our High School Taster Day at Bede Polding gave students a glimpse into the exciting years ahead and showed just how ready they are for new challenges. Above all, this year was filled with fun, friendship, success, and unforgettable memories. Year 5, you are a wonderful bunch of kids and you made every day a joy. We can’t wait to see what amazing things you achieve next! Mrs Seymour, Mrs Taylor, Mrs Palacios, Mrs Roy and Miss Barker 💙💛
26 Dec 2025
From Facebook
📚 🧪 The Year That Was - Year 4 2025 🧪 📚 This year in Year 4 has been exciting, fun, and full of learning and love! Students grew in confidence as they explored new ideas, tackled challenges, and celebrated their achievements together. To look back now and see how far they have come, individually and as a group, is truly amazing! From day 1 our classroom buzzed with curiosity; from creative writing and hands-on science to big math moments and reading adventures. Some stand out highlights would have to be our science incursion day where we got to learn more about forces and participate in some seriously fun experiments as well as our 190 year celebration evening where we performed the greatest ever 90’s dance mix and really shone with our choreography and “have a go” spirit! We celebrated Mrs Battye with a baby shower she’ll never forget and got to meet beautiful Isla when she brought her in for a special visit. Along the way, friendships blossomed, teamwork strengthened, and everyone brought something special to our class community. We laughed, learned, supported one another, and created memories that will stick with us for years to come. It has truly been a year where hearts and minds have grown side by side. Thank you Year 4 for being the incredible people you are. We can’t wait to see what Year 5 and 2026 holds for you! Mrs Stockman, Mrs Worrall, Ms Ridge, Ms Samuels and Mrs Richards 💙💛
24 Dec 2025
From Facebook
🍃 🪩 The Year That Was - Year 3 2025 🪩 🍃 What an incredible year it has been for Year 3 in 2025! We’ve had a year filled with fun, learning, laughter and so many moments to be proud of. Our students worked hard to reach their goals, showed resilience when things felt challenging, and built beautiful friendships that made each day brighter. Some of our standout memories include dancing the night away at our school’s 190-year disco celebration, exploring the outdoors and connecting with nature on our excursion to Brewongle, and the excitement of finally being able to take part in the sports gala days. We loved bringing stories to life during Book Parade and discovering new ways to create and learn with our Chromebooks. We always loved reward days when we landed our parachutes and were so proud to celebrate some of our students making their first Reconciliation. Year 3, you have grown so much, both individually and as a team. We are incredibly proud of everything you’ve achieved and the joy you’ve brought to our classroom this year. Here’s to an amazing 2025! Mrs Brand, Mrs Baldock, Mrs Hulett, Mrs Bugeja, Mrs Osmond and Ms Samuels 💙💛
23 Dec 2025
From Facebook
🌳 🏏 The Year That Was - Year 2 2025 🏏🌳 What an amazing year 2025 has been! We spent the year celebrating milestones, recognising your achievements, and sharing wonderful stories with friends. Together, we created new memories, cherished friendships, and had so much fun learning along the way. We went on an exciting excursion to Nurragingy Reserve, played dancing games, cricket and AFL, and filled our days with unforgettable moments that made our classroom a special place to be. This year, you learned to embed Scripture into your daily lives, showed kindness to others, and faced challenges with a positive mindset. We are so proud of how you lived out our St Matthew’s values each day. Now, it’s time for your next big adventure… Year 3! �We are so proud of everything you have accomplished, and we know you will continue to shine. Well done, Year 2! Ms Stalenberg, Mrs Midolo, Mr Dodds and Miss Bass and Miss Gardner 💙💛
22 Dec 2025
From Facebook
🏫✏️ The Year That Was - Year 1 2025 🏫✏️ This year, our Year 1 students have shown wonderful growth as focused and enthusiastic learners. They have developed strong learning routines, listened carefully during lessons, and demonstrated increasing independence in the classroom. Throughout the year, students set personal and learning goals and worked hard to achieve them, showing persistence, resilience, and pride in their progress. Most importantly, our Year 1 students consistently tried their best and embraced new challenges with a positive attitude. They supported one another, celebrated successes, and remembered that learning is fun. It has been a joy to watch them grow in confidence, curiosity, and capability over the year. Well done Year 1, you should all be very proud of your efforts! Mrs Moulton, Miss Britton, Miss Sneddon, Mrs Burns and Miss Azzopardi 💙💛
21 Dec 2025
From Facebook
⭐️ 🌎 The Year That Was - Kindergarten 2025 🌎 ⭐️ As our Kindergarten students have completed their very first year of school, we celebrate the incredible growth, curiosity and joy they have shown as learners. Throughout the year, they have explored new ideas, built friendships, discovered their strengths and embraced every challenge with enthusiasm. Their confidence has blossomed as they learned to read, write, problem-solve and wonder about the world around them. We are so proud of all they have achieved this year and look forward to watching them continue to shine as lifelong learners. “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 Mrs Peare, Mrs Mitchell, Mrs McGee, Mrs Thomas, Miss Gardner and Mrs Cutajar 💙💛
20 Dec 2025
From Facebook
20 Dec 2025
From Facebook
⭐️ 👨🏫 Principal’s Afternoon Tea 👨🏫 ⭐️ Congratulations to our Principal’s Award recipients for Term 4 who enjoyed an afternoon tea with Mr Ticehurst on Tuesday. We are very proud of all their achievements.
19 Dec 2025
From Facebook
🏅⭐️ 2025 End of Year Liturgy and Award Ceremony ⭐️🏅 We would like to thank all of those who gathered with us on Wednesday to celebrate the outstanding achievements of our students this year. Congratulations on your fantastic efforts. Special thanks to the following guests for presenting awards to our students: ⭐️ Mr Tim Vane-Tempest ⭐️ Mr lan Jordan ⭐️ Mr Les Sheather ⭐️ Mr Mike Creed
14 Dec 2025
From Facebook
⭐️ Faith in Action Awards - Term 4, Week 9 ⭐️ Congratulations to our learners who put their Faith in Action this week, by letting their light shine.
13 Dec 2025
From Facebook
✈️🪽Flying High Awards and Wings - Term 4, Week 9 🪽✈️ Congratulations to this weeks Flying High Award and Wing recipients. These learners have consistently demonstrated how to be Safe, Respectful, and Responsible Learners.
13 Dec 2025
From Facebook
🏆 Principal Awards - Term 4, Week 9 🏆 Miss Horley on behalf of Mr Ticehurst is proud to recognise this week’s Principal award recipients, who have demonstrated positive learning habits and maintained a growth mindset. We celebrate their achievement and consistent effort, to strive for their personal best.