Principal's Report 

Dear Parents, 

In our last newsletter for the year, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for what has been an amazing year at Mackellar. We have seen, heard and taken part in so many wonderful events this year, it would impossible to list them all .  

What is also impossible is to think of having these events without the support of all of the dedicated staff, coupled with the amazing parent community we have working together to make every student's time special. On behalf of us all - thank you. 

As the year comes to a close, next year is well and truly in our thoughts. At Monday's assembly, we will welcome our 2026 student leaders to their respective roles as we wish them all the very best for the year ahead. 

As is the case each year, it is also time to say goodbye, or see you soon, to some staff. At the end of this year we say farewell to Wendy Allen who will work at Reservoir West Primary School from 2026.  Wendy has done an amazing job over the past two years, we have no doubt she will fast become an asset at her new school. 

We say 'see you soon' to Maria Tomanoska who will be taking 2026 as a year of leave before returning in 2027. To both of these fantastic teachers we say thank you and best wishes for next year and beyond. 

2026 will also be a year of welcomes and welcome back. We welcome Tamara Bonnici to our staff as an Early Years Teacher supporting grades prep and one. You may know Tamara from working in our after school care program. We also welcome Emma Ramadan, a social worker who will be at Mackellar three days per week. Finally we welcome back Tracey Ngo to our teaching team. Many of you know will know Tracey from her work here over many years. 

Next week students will be informed of their teacher for next year, which room they are in and where to use the toilets. As many will know, the toilets near the gym are set for a revamp. This will happen throughout term one, so students in grades three and four, or when using the gym, will need to use alternate toilets. 

Another change will be where students line up. From 2026, students will leave their bags outside in designated areas and line up outside in the mornings. Over the summer break, markings will be painted on the concrete to assist. This change will help in making our morning routine smoother, and in keeping hallways clear, and students outside where the yard duty teachers are. 

As we head into the last weeks of the year we say goodbye to our 2025 grade 6 graduating class.  What a great bunch of students they have been. They will be having their graduation ceremony on Monday December 15 from 6pm and I already know they will do an outstanding job. A big thank you to Kerry Pasharis and Maria Tomanoska for choreographing this for us all. 

Finally, those who celebrate Christmas, I hope this is a very special time of year for you. Our Christmas concert will be next Monday in place of assembly where we will sing Christmas carols, dress up in Christmas attire and donate gifts to those less fortunate. Thank you to those who  donated gifts to our appeal, and to the St Vincent's for distributing these gifts for us. 

Remember, the last day of school finishes at 1:30pm with the office closing at 2pm. Have a most wonderful summer break, and we look forward to seeing you all ready for 2026. 

Kind Regards, 

Simon McGlade

Principal