From Our Principal

Newsletter ~ Term 3, Week 10, 2026

Principal's Message:

Dear Parents, Carers, Families and Friends of St Mel’s Primary School,

We close today another term of enhanced, focused, deliberate and engaging learning at St Mel's Primary School. I am so very impressed with the continued manner in which our children and Staff Team have embraced the various elements of the CESL Magnify low variance and knowledge rich curriculum (& school) approach in support of enhancing student learning, development and growth. Our continued commitment to implementation fidelity and alignment across all year levels has continued to enhance each individual student's experience of school learning in our community.

As a multifaith, multicultural Catholic school community, established and influenced in the 'charisms' of the Mercy Sisters (school), Sisters of Divine Zeal (kindergarten), Scalabrinian Priests, Sandhurst Priests, Rogationist Priests (more recently) and decades of lay teachers, bringing their expression of 'lived faith', we are also genuinely enriched by the various religious and cultural influences of our broadly diverse school community. We are ONE school community comprised of many rich traditions all working towards improved educational, social, spiritual and wellbeing goals for each child enrolled in our care.

Thank you all for your contribution, small or large, to the ongoing development of your children and the wider population of children in our Education Community. I wish you all a safe, enjoyable and restful break from the busyness of school learning and look forward to our final term for 2026 to follow.

Magnify Sandhurst' 

Every Student - Every Teacher - Every School - Every Day!

2027 Enrolment:

We continue to welcome and meet with parents and/or carers interested in enrolling their children in our lovely school. 

Families still yet to present for enrolment and/or complete the required documentation are reminded to do so by completing ONLINE enrolment forms via our school website now:

www.smshepparton.catholic.edu.au

Building Project Commences:

This week our students and staff have completed the exit from the Year 3 to Year 6 Learning Suites and relocation to their temporary location for the last term of the year. I am very pleased to report that the move to these temporary spaces has been a great deal of work over many days, however, our students and Staff Team have accomplished this needed relocation in a calm, orderly fashion, whilst focussing on their important school learning program.

I especially commend the Year 5 Pastoral Group, who in addition to completing their relocation at the end of last week, also supported students in younger year levels and/or assisted in the moving of 'communal' furniture from the Year 3 to Year 6 rooms to the hall.

As our future Year 6 Leaders for 2027, I am extremely impressed in the extremely helpful, engaged and positive way in which these children assisted in the move.

As previously reported, for the duration of our building project the Pastoral Groups from the 'Uppers Learning Suites' will be temporarily based in the following locations:

                  Year 6 - Library

                  Year 5 - Performing Arts Room (Western end of Arts Portable)

                  Year 4 - STEM Learning Suite (Year 1/2 Learning Suites)

                  Year 3 - Year 2 Learning Suite

                  Year 2 - Spare Learning Suite next to Year 1

                   Hall - will be used to store furniture and resources from the above Learning Suites                                   as required.

                    STEM - will be delivered in the temporary Learning Suites.

Reports from individual teachers and support staff, along with observations of visiting colleagues from CESL Central Team indicate the children and their teachers are very settled into their new locations and learning has continued seamlessly. 

Ongoing School Facility Improvements:

We are extremely grateful to the Australian Government for providing a substantial capital grant towards these much needed improvements in support of student learning.

Our St Mel's PS community is also contributing financially to these works.

Over the past three years we have made significant improvements to our school facilities and environment:

- extensive indoor and external painting of entire school

- new carpets in Foundation and Year 1/2 Learning Suites

- ongoing grounds development & maintenance

- new Ga Ga Pit

- installation of solar panel system

- renewal of our ongoing maintenance schedule

In addition to our Year 3 to Year 6 Learning Suite refurbishment and improvement project across Term Four, our school will receive an internal and external maintenance paint over the Christmas holiday period as part of our ongoing contract with Programmed Maintenance.

Our students and staff deserve the very best facilities, grounds and learning environments we can provide.

Camp Kookaburra (Year 3 & Year 4) - A Resounding Success!

Recently our Year 3 and Year 4 Pastoral Groups, along with Cyndilee, Shane, Ayva, Jazz and Steve participated in their annual overnight camp experience. Our children were excellent!

It was heartening to experience our students engaged fully in this camp experience and enjoy the range of activites offered: Low Ropes Course, Orienteering, Flying Fox, Climbing Wall, Camp Cooking and Night Hiking. During limited free time opportunities, our children occupied themselves with a range of activities including: basketball, table soccer, checkers, Ga Ga Ball, tennis, exploring the camp and soccer. All accompanying staff, including the camp staff were very impressed by the positive manner in which our children participated in the camp experience. Well done Year Three and Four!

Parents and carers, thank you also for supporting the need for camp staff (except Steve) to take their earned Time In Lieu the day after camp. This certainly supports our available staffing requirements in support of continuing these overnight activities. Thank you.

Next year our Year 3 and Year 4 students are bound for Camp Alexandra!

ORIMA School Improvement Annual Survey:

Thank you to the parents and carers who have completed the 2026 ORIMA School Improvement Survey in support of our ongoing approach to school renewal and development. Our Staff Team, School Advisory Council and CESL Central Team use this data to inform our future planning.

Friends Igniting Reconciliation through Education (F.I.R.E.)

We are grateful to Neil and Billy (Kookaburra Fly) and Michael Chisholm (CESL Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Education Team) for supporting our 2026 F.I.R.E. Carrier Commissioning Ceremony on Monday this week. 

 F.I.R.E. Carriers are students and staff who share a passion for learning about First Nations culture and history and are committed to sharing this knowledge, promoting Reconciliation within and beyond the school community. A FIRE Carrier promotes respect, fairness and inclusion for First Nations Peoples. 

The F.I.R.E. Carrier program began in 2009 as an initiative of the Aboriginal Catholic Ministry to support reconciliation in Victorian Catholic Schools. The FIRE Carrier Program was officially launched in the Melbourne Diocese and in the Sandhurst Diocese 2010. The program moved across to the Opening the Doors Foundation in 2022.

https://www.openingthedoors.org.au/fire-carrier-program

Kyabram Fauna Park Excursion (Foundation):

Our Foundation students along with Julia, Rachael, Breanna Makin (Go Tafe Trainee) and Steve travelled to the Fauna Park in Kyabram to experience a range of animals in their zoo habitats last week. Our children were fortunate to see a range of Australian animals, birds and reptiles active in their surroundings up close. Favourite animals seen included kangaroos, which we could hand feed, lizards, snakes, long necked turtles (Yorta Yorta Totem) and the non-Australian, yet very cute Meerkats!

Our children enthusiastically and positively participated throughout the day's excursion with a few 'sleepy heads' imitating the very sleepy koala we saw earlier in the day, on the bus ride home. The Kyabram Fauna Park has a Family Day on this Saturday for anyone looking for a low cost and fun day out with the family tomorrow:

https://www.zoo.org.au/kyabram/whats-on/events/family-fun-day/

Student Disco & Supporters' Day:

Our children have enjoyed these two end of term activities this week.

We are grateful to DJ Zac from GV Discos for stepping in for our ill school principal at the decks this year and our St Mel's Parents and Carers Social Group for organising the disco.

This was a wonderful opportunity to dance the afternoon away in our Year 3/4 Learning Suite prior to the building works to commence in the school holidays.

Our annual Supporter's Dress Up, Coin Line and Netball Game was also a success today and fabulous way to end our term of school learning. Thank you for everyone involved in the success of this day of fun and fun-draising for Catholic Mission Australia. Our Year 6 students are also commended for the manner in which they facilitated the Supporters Day Activities and played in the Students v Staff Netball Game.

Staff Cultural Learning Day - First Day of Term Four (School Closure Day)

As previously shared, our school will be closed on this day, as our Staff Team will be involved in an Aboriginal Perspectives Professional Learning Day.

St Mel's Uniting Outside School Hours Care operating from our OSHC room and hall.

Parents requiring this service on the first day of Term Four are advised to book in now.

2027 St Mel's Kinder Enrolments: [REPEAT]

Parents and carers with children to commence at St Mel's Kindergarten are advised to enrol now for next year. Independently judged as best local kindergarten, the St Mel's Kindergarten offers a wonderful early years program for pre-school children. Places will fill quickly and parents and carers are advised to contact Kinder Enrolment Officer Leah via:

                    Phone: 0439 336 014

                    Email: scececenrolment@ceosand.catholic.edu.au

                    Website: www.stmelskindergarten.weebly.com

Staffing Update

• Robyn Banfield (Visual Arts Teacher), Maria Makin (Administration Officer) and Chris Munari (PE Teacher) have been enjoying their respective periods of Long Service Leave recently. We look forward to their return in Term Four.
• Mary Jo DeRose (LSO) is on leave the last week of Term Three and first week of Term Four.
• Steve Hicks (Principal), Tammy Mills (LSO), Annalei Moon (Year 5 Teacher), Cassie Waack (LSO), Lily Beer (PE Teacher), Charlotte Wilson (Year 2 Teacher) and Elisabeth Rodriguez (Wellbeing Officer) have experienced periods of ill health over the past fortnight.
• Danae Napier has required leave days over the past two weeks.

I am grateful for the ongoing support of part time teachers, classroom relief teachers and our senior leaders for their support in 'filling the void' when teachers have been absent to ensure our learning programs continue unimpeded by these absences.

St Mel's Uniting Outside School Hours Care - Vacation, Student Free Days and Before School Care: 

NOTE: Registering your child/children in St Mel's Uniting Outside School Hours Care can take up to a week to process, given the documentation required.

Parents and carers are recommended to register NOW if there is a possibility of using this service at any time this year. Once registered, children are booked in via the registration app.

Parents and carers seeking more information or wishing to register children for Vacation Care are directed to contact Uniting Vic Tas directly by:

             Phone: 1800 183 103

             Email: earlylearning@unitingvictas.org.au

St. Mel's Uniting School Holiday Care:

The St Mel's Uniting Outside School Hours Care service offers an exciting and interesting program for the school holidays. Students can be booked in from one day through to all days of the program. Further program information will be available closer to the next holidays.

Please find attached the Program for the coming School Holiday Break:

School Dates:

Please check the Upcoming Dates & Events section of the newsletter regularly.

Did you know? ~