From the Principal 

Dear Families

Welcome back to Term 3.  It is great seeing everyone refreshed, recharged and ready to go.  Whilst the holiday weather wasn’t great, it has been wonderful watching the students play in the winter sunshine at recess and lunch this week.  We warmly welcome Lavinia, and her mum Kate and dad Harley to our St Mary’s family and know that everyone in Year 4 will look after them and make them feel most welcome.  This week, we have had some visitors through our school teaching and working with the leadership team and their feedback has filled me with pride.  Each person took the time to let me know how welcomed they felt at our school and how delightful, well mannered and respectful our students were. Together with you, our families we have worked hard and continue to work hard to ensure that our community lives our School Norms of  Be Safe, Be Responsible and be Respectful. I love these proud Principal moments! 

We have an exciting Term ahead of us, with our production Pirates Past Noon being a highlight. I cannot wait to celebrate this event and know that everyone is learning and growing as they work towards this highly anticipated performance.  Jes Earle, our Education in Faith Leader and Performing Arts Leader is currently in Rome, in preparation to mentor teachers attending the pilgrimage to World Youth Day in Lisbon Portugal.  We look forward to learning about her experience.  Father Jerome is also going on this pilgrimage as one of the chaplains.  If you would like him to take any prayer intentions, especially for the young people in your life, please drop in the box in the front of the side chapel or let the parish office know via email. We wish them both safe travels and know that their shared experiences will deepen our own faith formation on their return. 

NAIDOC 2023 

NAIDOC week, which fell in the holidays and has been a learning focus this week, allows our community to learn more about our First Nations People, in particular concentrating on learning the role Elders have played and continue to play within this rich heritage, as they lead families and communities.  Over the holidays I visited Lume - Connection, which was born from an idea to celebrate First Peoples' art and music and give back to their artist communities.  Within the brushstrokes and melodies of their art and music, this landmark experience tells the story of our country’s rich and enduring cultural history.  I highly recommend seeing this and it is highly engaging for adults and children alike.  It is currently at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.  ​This learning and awareness of Elders marries well with our preparation for Grandparents and Special Friends day next Friday 21st July.  Everyone is welcome to join us at mass at 9:15am, then visit us in our classrooms afterwards.  This will then be followed by a well deserved cup of tea or coffee in the Community Room. 

During this Mass, Father Jerome will bless our Student Representative Council badges and then at the conclusion of Mass these will be presented to our Semester Two SRC students.

Josh Burns MP visit on Friday 21st July

In addition to our special morning next week, Mr Josh Burns will be visiting us to discuss the upcoming referendum on the Voice.  Mr Burns is a Federal member of Parliament for Mac Namara.  He is also chair of a Parliamentary Joint Committee of Human Rights.  We look forward to hearing from him as he visits each class.  We also have the chance to ask lots of questions, which our students are very good at!  Families are most welcome to join us and have a chat with Mr Burns.  

New Enterprise Agreement 

Towards the end of last Term a new enterprise agreement covering teachers across most of the Catholic schools in Victoria, including ours, has been approved and is in effect. 

The new agreement delivers several positive changes for both our dedicated staff and the overall functioning of our school, including improved pay and employment conditions. One key aspect of this agreement is the inclusion of new time-in-lieu provisions, which will enable our teachers and support staff to accumulate additional time off when they are required to work more than their regular 38 hours per week which might include overnight camps and supervision at evening and weekend activities. 

This change is a recognition of the considerable extra work our teachers are asked to do and will enhance their work-life balance and well-being. 

However, implementing these changes will mean that students will finish up a couple of days earlier than usual, on Friday 15 December.  This will limit any disruption to students throughout the year and enable our staff to avail themselves of their earned time off during the holiday season, rejuvenating themselves for the upcoming year.

The changes to time-in-lieu will also require us to make some adjustments to an additional student free day this term and next. We are currently looking at the calendar and will communicate these dates shortly. 

We sincerely appreciate your understanding and support in this matter. By prioritising the well-being and work-life balance of our dedicated staff, we are fostering an environment that promotes excellence in teaching and learning.

If you have any questions or concerns about the new enterprise agreement or the revised finishing up date, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. 

Thank you for your continued partnership as we strive to provide an outstanding education for our students. 

Year 3 & 4 Camp 

In a fortnight our Year 3 and 4 students will be attending camp at Lake Dewar Bacchus Marsh on Wednesday 26th July to Friday 28th July.  Maureen McDonald, as our Camp Coordinator, is working hard as we prepare to go away.  The staff attending are, Miss Paula, Mrs Abiad, Aoife McGuinness, Maureen McDonald, Ms Melissa and myself. Anthony will be acting Principal in my absence.  We can’t wait to share our camp photos and experiences with the community.  We look forward to our student and family camp meeting next Wednesday 19th July at 3pm in the Year 4 classrooms. 

Sharing our learning 

Another exciting initiative this Semester is sharing our learning with the community in the newsletter.  Please read the Prep B Classroom section of this newsletter to celebrate our clever Prep students.  Our Year One students will share their learning in our next newsletter.  So much exciting and engaging learning happens each day and we want to share this with our community. 

Cake Stalls 

We are also re-introducing our Cake Stalls, which was a St Mary’s tradition pre COVID.  Our first stall is being organised by our Year 6 families on Monday 17th July 3:15pm -3:45pm at the Top Gate.  All money raised at this stall will go directly towards the Year 6 Graduation celebration at the end of the year.  Our Years One to Five Cake Stalls will raise money for equipment to be used in our Zen Zone. This will give our students more activities at recess and lunch time.  We are excited to continue this tradition and know that our community will support each other in our amazing St Mary’s Primary School way. 

Sadly we farewell Charlotta in Year 5, as her family returns to the United Kingdom.  Whilst she has only been here for a short while, we have loved having her and wish her the very best with her rhythmic gymnastics career.  We also wish the Bartels family;  Evelyn, Delphine, Theordora, John and Juliet all the best as they move to New Zealand.  I have really enjoyed getting to know each of them and thank them for their support of me. Thank you for all that you have brought to our community and please pop in to visit us, when you visit Melbourne. 

We have so much to look forward to this Term and together in partnership with each of you, it promises to be action packed! 

Take care and wishing God's blessings and peace upon each of you. 

Mrs Cathy Ferrari