From the Principal 

sDear Families

Yesterday we celebrated All Saints, a Holy day of obligation, with the whole school gathering for Mass. This month we remember our loved ones who are no longer with us and all that they brought to our loves.  We thank God for giving them to us and remember them fondly and with sadness. 

Second Prep Orientation

On Tuesday we had our second Prep Orientation session.  The Year 4 students helped with some learning activities, as they will be Prep buddies next year.  It was great to see that several of the new Prep students knew the Year 4s from our kinder visits this year. These are the children with siblings already at St Mary’s Primary School.

World Teachers Day

We had so much fun last Friday when the teachers left and some new students joined us for World Teachers/Staff Day. The cards, letters, drawings and flowers from the students were loved by their teachers and teaching staff.  We enjoyed a delicious morning tea by Louisa and Kasia on behalf of the P & F.  Thank you Louisa and Kasia!

Italian Day

Tomorrow is Italian Day and we can’t wait to experience the activities that are planned and see the outfits and masks. This day is always a highlight and our lunch of pizza and gelato is a favourite. Thank you to Signora Vozzo for her organisation, supported by Mr Speranza. 

The day will commence with the much loved fashion parade and a musical showcase from each year level. Parents and friends are encouraged to attend between 9:00am and 10:00am.

Storage Furniture

A school not too far away has relocated one of its campuses. They have kindly given us some storage shelves and cupboards for our learning spaces.  These were delivered last Friday.  We thank the wonderful team of cleaners and movers, enabling the furniture to be moved into their new homes.  A huge thank you to Charmaine, Jade, Kasia, Craig, Trinity, Liz V, Anthony and Daniela.

Planning for 2024

Next year, we are offering two multiage Year 5 and 6 classes. Each class will consist of approximately 10 boys and 15 girls. We believe this model will support the social and emotional development of our senior students, whilst also best meeting their educational needs. We are proud of our quality teachers at St Mary’s Primary School. Together with members of our Leadership Team, our teachers will continue to collaborate for planning and assessment purposes. In these sessions, data is analysed to ensure every student is taught at point of need and growth is occurring. This facilitated planning approach has been instrumental in our improvement agenda to develop consistent and best evidence-based practices across the school.

In this model, the Year 6 students will continue to celebrate their milestone moments, for example: Confirmation, Graduation, Year 7 Transition, Student Leadership Portfolios and Year 1 Buddy program.  The Year 5 students will continue to have NAPLAN, the Prep Buddy program and their own leadership preparation for Year 6.  Within this model, the year levels will have regular Year 5 and Year 6 time.

Fete - Saturday 18th November 

Please keep this date free to join us at our school fete. To the many that are helping to organise this, we are all really looking forward to it. Please read the Parents and Friends News to learn more. 

Take care and wishing God's blessings and peace upon each of you, as we continue to pray for peace, peace in our hearts, peace in our school and peace in our world.

Mrs Cathy Ferrari

Please note that our Carols date has been moved to Tuesday 12th December 5:00pm.