From the Principal...

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ICT AWARDS - a message from Marita Canning

Thank you Marita for providing our students with this opportunity - such a wonderful achievement!!

STAFFING NEWS

As we approach the end of the school year, we find ourselves saying goodbye to several valued members of our staff. Each of these individuals has contributed in meaningful ways to our school community, bringing their expertise, commitment, and care to the work they do every day. While farewells are never easy, we are grateful for the impact they have made and for the time we have shared together. 

⭐After ten years of dedicated service to St Mary’s, I announce the resignation of Amanda Gill from her role as Deputy Principal and Learning Diversity Leader.

Amanda has made an extraordinary contribution to our school community. Her leadership, commitment, and deep care for students and staff have shaped St Mary’s in countless positive ways. At various times she has stepped in to steady the reins with confidence and compassion, and for this we are truly grateful.

Under her leadership, our approaches to learning diversity have strengthened significantly, ensuring that every learner feels seen, supported, and valued.  Her passion for inclusive education and her ability to see the unique gifts in every student have enriched our learning environment in profound and lasting ways.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to Amanda for her outstanding service and the lasting impact she has made. We wish her every blessing as she embarks on the next chapter of her journey.

⭐ This term we also say a warm farewell to Jennifer Smith. Jennifer has accepted a position at a school closer to home, which will make a big difference to her daily commute from Brighton to Thornbury.

We are deeply grateful for Jennifer’s leadership in Literacy, and for the way she has grown and strengthened our practices across the school. Her care and compassion for students has been evident every day—not only for the children in her own class, but for students across our entire community.

Jennifer will be greatly missed, and we are truly thankful for the time, talent, and heart she has shared with us. We wish her every success in her new role and are grateful to have had her as part of our team.

⭐ We also say farewell to Stephanie Sutherland, who returned to us this year after parental leave. Stephanie has accepted a position closer to home, a decision that will make life much easier as she juggles the needs of her three children with the demands of commuting to Thornbury each day.

We thank Steph for her dedication, her warmth, and the positive impact she has had on our students and staff. She will be greatly missed, and we wish her all the very best as she begins this new chapter. Good luck, Steph — and thank you for everything.

⭐ Annie Smart, who will be commencing parental leave at the end of this term. Annie has been a fabulous addition to our staff this year, bringing energy, dedication, and a warm spirit to everything she does.

We wish Annie and Matt all the very best as they begin this exciting journey into parenthood. We look forward to welcoming her back in the future and can’t wait to hear all about the newest member of their family!

⭐ Lizzie Sahlstrom has confirmed that she will not be returning to St Mary’s. She has made the decision to extend her parental leave and will be transitioning into full-time study. We thank Lizzie for her contributions to our school community and wish her all the very best in this next chapter of her personal and professional journey.

⭐ Mark Barnes has tendered his resignation, and Raj Jindal will be finishing with us at the end of her current contract in 2026. We sincerely thank both Mark and Raj for their wonderful contributions as Learning Support Officers. They have supported many of our students with care, patience, and a genuine commitment to helping them learn and grow.

⭐ Office structures will change next year, as current enrolments no longer support two office staff.  Loretta will be moving to a full-time role, and Mandy will be leaving St Mary’s to take up a position at St Joseph’s.  Mandy’s calm and welcoming nature at the front desk and around the office will be sorely missed.  We are so pleased that we can keep her “in the fold” and continue to see her around the community. We sincerely thank Mandy for her dedication, hard work, and the positive impact she has had at St Mary’s.

🌟 As mentioned in our last newsletter we welcome Sophie Griffith to our team this term.  Sophie will work throughout this term for one day each week to help prepare students for our upcoming Christmas Concert.  Sophie brings a rich performing arts background and will be working with each class on Wednesdays to develop and rehearse their performances.

🌟 We are delighted to also welcome Allegra Brown to our team!  Allegra will be teaching Prep and brings a strong background in Performing Arts.  She is passionate, enthusiastic, and full of energy, and we are excited to have her join us. We look forward to the creativity, enthusiasm, and joy she will bring to our students and school community.

🌟 At this stage, Jason Caruana will continue on leave, and we will keep families informed of any updates as they arise.  In the meantime, we are pleased to announce that Michael Archer will be returning in 2026 to support our school community. We appreciate everyone’s understanding during this period of transition and look forward to welcoming Michael back next year.

I will share the full staffing structure in the next newsletter, so everyone will have a complete overview of our team for the upcoming year.

Next year we will have:

1       prep class

1       1/2 class

2       3/4 classes

2       5/6 classes

School Advisory Council News...

As one of the incentives of our newly established School Advisory Committee (SAC), the St. Mary’s SAC team are excited to announce that we will have a new look sports polo as part of the 2026 school sports uniform.  

The new polos won't be available until Feb/March next year, so students will commence the year wearing the original house coloured polos.  Once available, we will transition to the new design.  

Students may choose to wear the original house coloured polos (or a t/shirt in their house colour) on the school sports day.

The current style sports tops will no longer be available to purchase through Academy Uniforms, but if you need one for the start of 2026 we will provide one (at no cost) from the supply of pre-loved uniforms.  

Stay tuned for availability of this new design in Feb/March 2026!

Welcoming Our 2026 Preps

Last week, we had the pleasure of welcoming our 2026 parents to St Mary’s for the Prep Information Evening. It was wonderful to introduce them to our school and begin sharing what life in Prep will be like.

Next week, our Prep Orientation sessions will be held on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, giving our new preppies a chance to explore their classrooms, meet their teachers, and start this exciting new chapter.  We can’t wait to see the joy, curiosity, and energy they will bring to our school community!

2026 CLASS PREFERENCES 

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

🎓GRADUATION ASSEMBLY

This year, we will be hosting a special Graduation Assembly which will be held on Thursday, 11 December at 2:30 pm. During the assembly, we will farewell families who are leaving the school, presenting them with a gift to remember their time at our school, and share celebrations with our Grade 6 students.

We warmly invite everyone to join us in celebrating and honouring our 2026 graduating class! 🎉

In addition, all are welcome to attend our Graduation Mass on Friday, 12 December at 5:00 pm, as we give thanks and celebrate this special milestone. ⛪✨

🎶Performing Arts - Christmas Concert🎭

🎅 **SAVE THE DATE

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. ✨

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

📅 Date: December 10

🕕 Time: TBA📍 

Location: School Grounds

SCHOOL CLOSURE REMINDER...

• Friday, Dec 05 – 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 9 

At St Mary’s, we ensure that any one-to-one interactions between an adult and a child are conducted in open areas or within clear line of sight. We also stay up to date with current online safety issues, drawing on expert advice from both government and non-government organizations, including the Office of the eSafety Commissioner and eSmart Schools. In addition, we actively promote activities that connect our school and community while raising awareness to prevent bullying and violence, such as participating in the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence.

Child Safety Standard 10

At St Mary’s, we are committed to keeping children safe from abuse and harm.  We regularly review and update our child safety policies and procedures, ensuring they reflect best practice and current legal requirements.  Our staff, volunteers, students, and families are actively engaged in understanding and applying these policies.  We maintain detailed records of meetings, recommendations, and actions taken to improve child safety and regularly allocate time in staff meetings to discuss ongoing initiatives. Through these measures, we continuously check, evaluate, and strengthen the ways we protect and support every child in our community.

Child Safety Standard 11

At St Mary’s, we have written child safety policies that clearly outline how to protect children from abuse and harm. These policies are easy to understand and are designed to be followed by all staff, volunteers, and contractors, ensuring consistency in our practices across the school.  We provide regular training and guidance so everyone knows their responsibilities, and we continually review and update the policies to reflect best practice.  By having clear, accessible policies that everyone follows, we help create a safe, supportive, and vigilant environment for every child in our care.