Dear Parents and Families,

We have passed the halfway point of the term, as amazing as that seems! The Preps have had their first full week, and March and Autumn have commenced. Coming up in March are so many great activities, including District Swimming, Sushi Days, School Photos, Catholic Education Week, our Saturday Open Morning, the Year One Level Mass, the 2027 Prep Parent Information Night and our whole school Athletics Carnival. The last week of the term will also be when we hold our Learning Conversations, draw our Easter Raffle and celebrate the Easter Tableau before the holiday break. With this much scheduled, we definitely need the long weekend break this weekend to be primed and ready for it all!

Special acknowledgement this week to the PFA Team, for organising a fantastic Pizza dinner after the Prep Welcome Mass. Everyone enjoyed catching up together and the pizzas were excellent! We particularly thank our PFA, including Joel, Jonathan, Kristy, Karen and Michelle, as well as our pizza assistants ~ Lucy, Trish, Vanessa and Joiebelle. We also thank Gary for setting up.

Next week, the Year Three and Five sudents will participate in the NAPLAN assessments. We wish them well, knowing that this is only one piece of the data which shares achievement and progress in learning. Please be sure to have Year Three and Five students to school ON TIME, as once the test commences, they cannot just join in and must then complete it at a separate time.

LENTEN REFLECTION ~ Making Quiet Time for God

Lent begins with an invitation — not to do more, but to slow down. It’s a chance to make quiet time for God, even on the busiest days. No special prayers or perfect words are needed — just a quiet moment to be aware of Him. It’s in these moments that God’s presence can be felt most clearly, giving us strength, peace and hope.

Setting aside time for God helps us see what really matters. It gives us space to think clearly and act with kindness. These moments can make a real difference as we move through Lent. May this Lenten season help us grow closer to God and to one another.

Have a wonderful LONG weekend, drive safely and enjoy the break!

Best wishes,

IMPORTANT UPDATES

CAMP

Thank you to our Year 5 and 6 students for their participation and behaviour at Camp Rumbug recently. They took on the challenges and 'had a go' at all the activities, even when they felt out of their comfort zone. Some of the staff also enjoyed the giant swing, mud run and flying fox! For some students, it is not the activities which challenge, but the overnight stay away from home. It was great to see the students work through this and realise that they could do it, and would have so much to tell when they returned home.

These activities are 24/7 care and support for the students. I am so appreciative of the staff who attended and whose energy and support was pivotal to the students having a fabulous time ~ Neesha Valvo, Sean Martin, Brady Mulcahy, Lauren Scarfo, Teresa Michelangeli, Robyn Vorster, Elaine Mullins, Lil Mosbauer, Alya D'Souza, Lauren Addati, Emma Castles, Fiona Henderson, Stella Crawford and Kate Sanford.

NEW SIGNAGE

We have some new signage around the perimeter of the school to ensure our name and presence is visible. It looks great and we hop, along with the large mesh sign on Lower Plenty Road, that it attracts parents in the community to enrol.

PARKING

Four parents won the SMOT SPOT Prize at the end of last year, granting them a parking position in the yard at Pick Up Time, where the Kiss and Drop operates. I kindly ask that you ensure you leave these places free so that the parents can park in their designated spot. To assist with this, the four parents have been provided with a 'SMOT Spot Permit', which they will display on their car dashboard. That way, everyone knows who can be there.

Please be careful when you park in the streets around the school as two hour restrictions apply. We cannot assist if you receive a fine from the Council.

LOYOLA STUDENTS

We have had a lovely group of ten students from Loyola College assisting in classes this week as part of their Christian Service program. This is a non-paid experience which encourages them to 'give back' to the community. Some of our students previously attended St Martin's, so it is lovely that they want to come back again! We thank them for their efforts this week.

ENROLMENT FOR 2027

Weekly Tours are occurring and our Year Six students are doing a magnificnent job taking visiting parents on a tour of the school. The next days in this process are the Open Morning which is to be held NEXT Saturday, 14 March, from 9.30-11.30am, and the Information Session on Monday 23 March from 7-8.30pm in the GECCO.

REPORTING

Later this term on Monday 30 March from 1.30-6pm, we will hold Learning Conversations for all Levels P-6. These have a twofold purpose - the teacher/s will inform you of your child's latest assessment results and areas to focus upon (goals) and your child will talk to you about specific work they have completed and their goals for Term Two. These meetings will be of ten minutes duration. Students will be dismissed at 1pm.

Teachers are always available to meet with you prior to and following this interview, if you wish to discuss your child at ANY TIME. Should you need to make the teacher aware of any issue/s for your child, during the year or particularly if anything has changed over the holiday period, please make an appointment with them to do so next week. We will send home written reports at the end of Terms Two and Four.

ASSEMBLIES

Our Assemblies this term will be held on 16 and 30 March. Please join us on Top Yard at 8.50am. All students are to wear their hats for Assembly.

This is weather dependent, so please watch for any changes advised through Compass.

PFA FUNDRAISING

The focus of the PFA fundraising this year is the replacement of the Senior Adventure Playground. As you can imagine, this is a costly enterprise, so we are gearing all our fundraisers to this. The students will have input into the components to be included, so we want to be able to get as much for them as we can.

We are aiming for a $100,000 AMAZING play space!

Please help us to get there across the year by sharing our fundraising activities at work, with friends and with your extended family. Some of them may also make lovely gifts!

This week, you received your Entertainment Book (app) information. This is one of the easiest and most beneficial fundraisers a school can do, especially in March when we receive DOUBLE FUNDS FROM THE SALE OF EACH APP! Once you have the app, the savings will more than pay for the outlay, with meals, deals and entertainment options to suit all ages. As well as purchasing your own app, please send the details to family and take it to work to encourage others to support us now - no time to waste, March is the month for double benefits!

CONFIRMATION - PARENT AND CHILD WORKSHOP

It was lovely to see the Confirmation candidates and their parent at the Parent AND Child Workshop on Monday night. This time of preparation is so important - we encourage you to engage in regular conversations with your child regarding their selection of a sponsor, the saint's name they select, and the gifts and fruits of the Spirit you see in them.

We also thank our presenter, Jacqui Giuliano, an experienced educator and presenter in the Religious Education field, who will also be leading the Parent and Child Eucharist Workshop.

YEARS 3-6 DISTRICT SWIMMING

Congratulations to the 28 squad of swimmers who attended the District Carnival last Monday. Thanks to Brady Mulcahy, Fiona Henderson and Cristina Grande for supporting the students while Peter Koulaxizellis, our PE Teacher, was marshalling on the day. We have some swimmers who will go on to the Division Level ~ Congratulations!

ATHLETICS CARNIVAL

The next large scale event is our Athletics Carnival, held on Tuesday 24 March. Following this, the students from Years 3-6 who achieve excellent scores/times will go on to the District Athletics Carnival, prior to the end of the term.

2026 SCHOOL PHOTOS

The date of our school photos is Tuesday 17 March. Please note this in your diaries and be sure to book your Sibling Photo PRIOR to the day. You have already received your child's personalised envelope for preordering.

CANTEEN UPDATE

Following the change to the Canteen, we wanted to let you know that the new time for lunch orders is working well, as is the 15 minutes to eat at that time of the day. The students eat their lunch then, which in turn provides them with better energy for their learning. Thank you to Madeleine for making this change possible.

SCHOOL ADVISORY COUNCIL

The first meeting of the SAC for 2026 will take place NEXT Thursday, 12 March at 7pm in the Seminar Room. We welcome Laura Polidori to the Council this year, and still have one place available for any parent who is interested.

The School Advisory Council is seeking some new members. So what does the SAC do?

The SAC is the body which advises on matters concerning the school. It can assist with school promotion, provide information to the school community and skills and perspectives on matters of interest to our parents. You may have a particular skill set which will help on the SAC, or be interested in learning more about our programs and initiatives. Everyone is welcome to apply for a two year term, which will be decided by Fr Michael and myself if we have more applicants than positions. The SAC meets twice a term for approximately 1.5 hours. Please read the Expression of Interest information.

MACS FAMILY SURVEY - Have your say on school choice

Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) is inviting families to take part in a short online survey about school choice and your experience as a MACS family.

The survey is being conducted in partnership with education research specialists Edified and focuses on the perspectives of current MACS families. It explores:

what influenced your choice of school
what matters most to your family now
what supports satisfaction, belonging and confidence in your school

Your feedback will help MACS better understand what families value most and will inform future planning and decision-making for Catholic education.

The survey takes approximately 10–15 minutes to complete and can be taken anonymously. All responses will be confidential and will only be used for the purposes of this research.

As a thank you for your time, families who complete the survey may choose to enter a prize draw to win one of five $100 eGift Cards, redeemable across more than 100 in-store and online brands. Entry to the prize draw is optional and managed separately from survey responses. Full prize draw terms and conditions are available here: https://www.edified.com.au/post/macs-parent-survey-prize-draw

Your voice matters. By sharing your experience, you are helping shape the future of Catholic education for current and future families.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MACSFAMILY

If you have any questions about the survey, please contact Community Engagement and Growth at ceg@macs.vic.edu.au.

Thank you for your time and contribution.

Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools

School Photo Day