Principals News

Dear Families,

Three weeks into term and already school life is picking up a pace, as demonstrated by the events shared in the pages of this newsletter. Our Year 3-6 students participated in lawn bowls at the Hampton RSL as part of their P.E. lessons with Miss Jones. Thank you to Miss Jones for organising this opportunity.

Our Year Six sustainability team completed this term’s waste audit with Miss Nichols and a representative from SERES. These leaders will be working alongside our SRC this year in working towards achieving our second star as a Resource Smart Sustainable School.

There has been excitement in the air as Miss Del Castillo placed clues around the school ground as to the title of our 2022 school musical production, to be held later in the year. After a big reveal today to students, parents can find further information from Miss D in this newsletter.

We also had a film crew onsite filming a virtual school tour, with some of our incredibly talented Year Six students featuring in speaking parts alongside footage of other students learning across different classrooms, to help advertise our upcoming Open Days for 2023 Prep enrolments. Under the direction of Miss Del Castillo (Miss D), these students really shone and were so professional when shooting their scenes and using a teleprompter! Testament to what excellent school leaders they will be in 2022. 

Meanwhile our current Preps celebrated their 10th day at school!

Thank you to parents for attending the Parent Teacher Conversations last week on zoom. It was a valuable opportunity not only for you to meet your child’s new class teacher and for them to meet you, but also so that the teacher could gain some further insight into each student as a young person as they begin the year together. 

Student Representative Council (SRC)

This week each class has voted and elected an SRC representative for their class.

Why does St Mary’s have an SRC?

• We elect SRC reps from every class to get opinions from students of all ages.
• When we meet as an SRC we will talk about things which are important to students in our school.
• The SRC helps teachers to understand the issues that are important to young people.

What are the benefits of being an SRC representative?

• Become more confident in public speaking, presenting and communicating with others.
• Learn how to lead and work with others, and how to learn from mistakes
• Have the opportunity to represent the views of your friends
• Have a voice in improving the school from a students point of view

I’m pleased to announce that the SRC representatives for Semester 1 are:

Prep W:  Elena F

Prep G:  Toby M

Year 1A:  Amelia R

Year 1W:  Miles M

Year 2S:  Levi N

Year 2W: Dean G

Year 3K: Catherine S

Year 3M: Mauricio S

Year 4L:  Lucy D

Year 4S:  Sean M

Year 5D: Giselle C

Year 5T: Zale A

Year 6: Jasmine R and Nicholas A

Parents and Friends Committee Meeting

Our first PnF meeting for the year will take place next Friday 25th February at 9am in the Imagination Garden. All parents are automatically members of the P&F and I encourage you to get involved by coming along to meetings when you can, volunteering for a role, such as a class representative, or simply volunteering for any events that your year level is allocated. At the first meeting, key events and roles for the year will be discussed. The P&F is a vital fundraising arm of the school, which we rely on to help maintain buildings, grounds and equipment, as well as organising social events for parents. If you are unable to attend the meeting but would still like to get involved, please do not hesitate to contact the PnF Coordinator, Melinda Currie pnf@smhampton.catholic.edu.au

Open Days

Please spread the word and ensure prospective families are aware of our two Open Days, on Tuesday 15th and Wednesday 16th March and again on Tuesday 5th and Wednesday 6th April.  Our parents and students remain the greatest advocates for our school and we are grateful for your support in promoting our school community.

School Fee’s and Levies

Statements of School Fees and Levies for the 2022 school year will be emailed out to families by 28th February.  If you do not receive your statement by this date, please contact the office to arrange a copy.

Payments can be made the following ways:

• Direct Debit Transfer set up from your bank account
• Electronic Funds Transfer set up from your bank account
• Credit Card Payments for monthly, bi-monthly or end of term payments (complete the Credit Card Payment Plan attached below and return to the Office)

If you intend to take up a regular credit card payment plan, please return your completed form no later than the 11th March. Please note if you have previously had a direct Credit Card payments set up you will still need to submit a new form for this year.

Families who are setting up their own regular payment via EFT please advise the Office so it can be noted.  If you are not setting up a payment plan for school fees, please make full payment by Friday 8th April 2022.

St. Mary's endeavours to make Catholic education accessible to all. If you are experiencing financial hardship and have any difficulties in paying fees, I encourage you to contact Wendy in the office to make an appointment to speak with me. Please be assured that such matters are treated with the strictest confidence. 

Matthew Sweeney

Principal

principal@smhampton.catholic.edu.au