From the Principal...

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Please see the Education in Faith section of this newsletter for some wonderful feedback from our recent Senior's 'FUN-RAISER'

Please see theWellbeing section of this newsletter for some student celebrations - St Mary's Futsal champions and information on a fundraising campaign to support children with epilepsy.

🎅 **Save the Date – Christmas Carols Evening!🎶

Get ready to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year with our annual Christmas Carols Evening! 🌟

Join us for a joyful night filled with music, laughter, and community spirit as our students share their favourite festive songs. 🎤🎵 Bring along your picnic rug, family, and friends, and enjoy a magical evening. ✨

📅 Date: December 10

🕕 Time: TBA📍 

Location: School Grounds

There’ll be plenty of Christmas cheer; we can’t wait to come together as a school community to celebrate the joy of Christmas. ❤️

Save the date and stay tuned for more details! 🎄🎶

ROSSMOYNE RUMMAGE

The Rossmoyne Rummage was an outstanding success, bringing together our school community in a vibrant celebration of generosity, creativity, and school spirit. 🎉

🙏 A heartfelt thank you goes to the organising committee for their incredible efforts, and to everyone who lent a hand on the day — whether running stalls, donating delicious cakes and treats, or providing books, toys, and other treasures that found new homes. 

We’re thrilled to announce that our Mermaid Scarecrows took home Best in Show at this year’s Scarecrow Competition!  This is the second year in a row we have won this competition!!  A huge congratulations to Robyn and to everyone who helped create and display our wonderful, imaginative entries. Your creativity, teamwork, and community spirit truly shone through — and the judges agreed!  Thank you to everyone who supported us — what a fantastic result! 🌊✨

The aroma of the sizzling sausages filled the air as the sausage sizzle proved to be a delicious hit, while the students' concert and dancing performances captivated the crowd, bringing smiles and applause from all who attended.

It was a day full of laughter, connection, and celebration — a true reflection of the warmth and spirit of the St Mary’s community.  Events like this remind us that our school is alive and active in our community!

SENIOR'S CAMP - A Huge Thank You!

Our Senior Students had an absolutely fantastic time at camp — an experience filled with fun, learning, lasting memories (and a fair bit of mud!!).

A heartfelt thank you goes to Riley Graydon, Simi Riley, Tania Calabrese, Mark Barnes and Amanda Gill, for their incredible dedication and for putting in the long hours to make it all happen. 🙏

Camp is a fabulous opportunity for our students, and it’s only made possible by the commitment and care of our teaching team. Taking on 24 hours of supervision is no small task — it’s a big ask, and we are so grateful for the enthusiasm and energy our staff brought to the experience.

A huge thank you to all the students who attended camp! Your behaviour was excellent, your manners were outstanding, and your positive attitude and enthusiastic participation made the experience truly brilliant for everyone — including the staff!

You were also incredibly kind to me on overnight duty by settling quickly — saving me from pacing the cabins all night armed only with a torch and instant coffee! 😴☕🔦

You should all be very proud of the way you represented yourselves and your school. Well done! 👏

Thank you to everyone for making camp such a special and successful event!

CANOEING & RAFTING

MUD RUN

FLYING FOX

YARNING CONFERENCE

On Tuesday last week, our Grade 5 students attended this year’s Yarning Conference, which focused on Truth-Telling about Aboriginal history. Students listened with great respect to guest speaker Travis Lovett, who led the Walk for Truth 2025 and shared powerful stories about culture, leadership, and connection to Country. 

We were honoured when Travis presented us with a message stick to bring back to our school community.

As part of their learning, the students created posters reflecting their understandings of truth-telling and reconciliation. These will be displayed outside Darebin Libraries, sharing their voices and messages of respect with the wider community.

STAFFING

I’m pleased to share that I will be continuing in my role as Lead Principal, leading both the St Joseph’s and St Mary’s school communities in 2026.

I am incredibly grateful for the support of the staff, students, and families at both schools. Your trust, collaboration, and shared commitment to our students make this work so meaningful.

I look forward to continuing our journey together, strengthening the connections between our communities, and building on the great work already happening in both schools.

Thank you for your ongoing support — I’m excited for what lies ahead! 

Jason Caruana continues his leave this term and is missed by students and staff. I will inform the community when I know more details about Jason’s return to work.  In his absence, Michael Archer has taken the class and is doing a great job ensuring continuity of learning.

2026 CLASS PREFERENCES 

It’s amazing that we are once again at the time of the year when we are beginning our discussions for structures for 2026.  An important component of this is the regrouping of our classes. 

When determining new classes, we consider the following: 

❏ a balanced number of students with social, emotional and academic needs 

❏ an appropriate mix of student role models and class leaders 

❏ a balanced number of boys and girls 

❏ student friendship circles.  (Students will complete a friendship circle on which they will nominate three people with whom they would like be with in 2026.  Teachers will talk to the students about choosing people who they work well with and who support them in their learning).

Please make an appointment with me if you wish to discuss any concerns you may have that may impact your child/children’s class placement for next year. This may include particular social nuances with other students or any other extenuating circumstances that might impact your child's class placement. 

Please be aware that this is not an opportunity for ‘teacher shopping’ and to discuss a preference for a teacher, but rather an opportunity to share genuine concerns about your child’s learning environment for 2026.  I am currently finalising the staffing schedule for 2026 and will share this with you once it has been confirmed.

If you are not intending to return to St Mary’s in 2026 please contact the office as soon as possible

SCHOOL CLOSURES REMINDER...

Please note the school closure days for this term:

• Monday, Nov 3 – Cup Eve

• Tuesday, Nov 4 – Melbourne Cup Day (Public Holiday)

• Wednesday, Nov 5 – Staff Professional Development Day Focus: Education in Faith

• Friday, Nov 28 – Staff planning day – 2026 preparation.

CHILD SAFE STANDARDS

Over the next few weeks I’ll continue to highlight the Child Safety Standards and share how we, as a school community, actively promote a safe environment and prioritise the wellbeing of all our students.

Child Safety Standard 5 

At St Mary's we create an inclusive and respectful environment that values every child’s identity, background, and experiences. We recognise that each student’s safety and wellbeing are influenced by their individual circumstances, including culture, language, ability, gender, religion and family context.

Staff model respect and understanding of different cultural and social backgrounds in all interactions with students and families.  Individual Education Plans (IEPs) or support plans are developed in partnership with students, families, and support services when required. Adjustments are made to teaching, communication, and participation to ensure all students can engage safely and fully in school life.

Child Safety Standard 6

Our school ensures that all people working with children and young people are suitable, capable, and committed to upholding child safety and wellbeing. We prioritise recruitment, induction, training, and ongoing support practices that reflect our strong child safety culture.  The school’s leadership team actively promotes a child-centred culture, where child safety is a shared responsibility across all roles.

All staff, volunteers, contractors, and external providers must hold and maintain a valid Working with Children Check (WWCC) or Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) registration.  Reference checks and pre-employment interviews include specific questions about child safety and wellbeing attitudes and behaviours.  Position descriptions and advertisements clearly state the school’s commitment to child safety and the expectations of all adults in maintaining a safe environment.

Staff receive regular professional learning on recognising and responding to abuse, mandatory reporting obligations, and strategies to build safe and inclusive relationships with students.  Leaders model and reinforce child safe behaviours and provide guidance on maintaining professional boundaries.