Current News

Dear Families,

There have been quite a few significant events over the last two weeks -

Mather's Day Stall
Victoria Police (Senior Constable Jac) speaking to Years 3-6 about Staying Safe Online
Confirmation Commitment Masses
Confirmation Reflection Day (Visit by Father Andrew)
Sacrament of Confirmation
Census/NCCD Audit (Canberra)
School community developing our Matrix for Positive Behaviour for Learning
Celebrating the Wonderful Women in our Holy Family School Community
Victorian Registrations and Qualifications Authority Audit (VCEA)
School Camp preparation for our students in Years 3 and 4

Significant Women In Our School Community

As a Catholic primary school, we joyfully celebrate the mothers and mother figures who enrich the lives of our children and our community each day. Mothers are a precious gift from God, nurturing children with love, faith, compassion, and guidance. Through their care and dedication, they help shape the hearts and minds of young people and support them to grow into kind, confident, and faith-filled individuals.

Mothers are often the first teachers of faith, showing children the importance of prayer, kindness, forgiveness, and love through their everyday actions. Their encouragement and support help children feel safe, valued, and inspired to do their best.

We also recognise and give thanks for the many special women in our community — grandmothers, carers, aunties, guardians, and family friends — who lovingly support and nurture our students. Their presence strengthens our school community and reflects the spirit of love and service that lies at the heart of Catholic education.

As a school community, we are grateful for the countless ways mothers and mother figures contribute to family life, school life, and the wellbeing of our children. We celebrate them with thankful hearts and pray that God continues to bless them with joy, strength, and peace.

We hope you had a wonderful weekend with friends and family!

It was wonderful sharing Monday morning with you.

Victoria Police Supporting our Year 3-6 Students

We are grateful for the ongoing support provided by Victoria Police to our school community. Through their positive engagement with our students, families, and staff, Victoria Police help create a safe, caring, and respectful environment where children can learn and thrive.

Visits from local police officers provide valuable opportunities for students to learn about personal safety, community responsibility, and the important role police play in serving others. These interactions help build trust, confidence, and positive relationships between young people and the wider community.

As a Catholic primary school, we value partnerships that promote wellbeing, inclusion, and care for others. The support of Victoria Police reinforces the importance of respect, kindness, and working together to keep our community safe. We thank the officers who generously give their time to connect with our students and model service, leadership, and compassion.

Sacrament of Confirmation

Last week, we proudly celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation with our students and their families. This special occasion was a meaningful milestone in the faith journey of our young people as they received the gifts of the Holy Spirit and strengthened their commitment to living as followers of Jesus.

We congratulate all students who received the Sacrament and thank our families, staff, parish community, and sponsors for their support and guidance throughout the preparation process. The reverence, joy, and maturity shown by our students during the celebration reflected the strength of our faith-filled community.

We keep our newly confirmed students in our prayers and ask the Holy Spirit to continue guiding them with wisdom, courage, kindness, and faith as they grow in their relationship with God and others.

MACSEYE

Change is happening at Holy Family School!

At the end of this term Camp Australia will no longer provide Out of School Hours care for our students. MACSEYE will take this service over at the beginning of term 3.

Learning, fuelled by curiosity

At MACSEYE, we inspire a love of learning, celebrate joy and wonder, and spark curiosity in every child.

We offer outstanding kindergarten and Outside School Hours Care (OSHC), grounded in best practices and research in early childhood education, with a foundation in Catholic values and social teaching.

We work in partnership with schools, parishes, and the wider community to support children and families every step of the way.

Through this strong integration with schools and the community, we help children transition smoothly from kindergarten to primary school and seamlessly between school and OSHC and home.

Our programs are informed by Catholic values, providing a consistent and supportive experience for every child.

Our vision is simple: we want every child to be empowered so they can contribute to a thriving, resilient, and compassionate society.

We nurture the whole child—intellectually, spiritually, emotionally and physically.

In line with our commitment to quality, we adhere to the National Quality Standards and the approved curriculum frameworks for Early Childhood and School-Aged Care in Australia and Victoria.

MACSEYE is a subsidiary of Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools.

Please register for an Information Session.

Child Safe Standards

The Child Safe Standards are a set of 11 requirements that organisations must follow to create a culture and environment that is safe for children. These standards aim to prevent, respond to, and report child abuse by requiring organisations to implement policies, procedures, and practices that put children’s safety and well-being first. They were developed in response to inquiries and recommendations from Royal Commissions and aim to drive cultural change within organisations that provide services or facilities for children.

At Holy Family our staff revisits one Child Safe Standard each month.

This intentional focus on one standard helps our school maintain it’s compliance requirements and continue to build a child safety culture.

Our staff have discussed and explored the first 4 standards to ensure we provide a Child Safe Environment.

Organisations establish a culturally safe environment in which the diverse and unique identities and experiences of Aboriginal children and young people are respected and valued.
Child safety and wellbeing is embedded in organisational leadership, governance and culture.
Children and young people are empowered about their rights, participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously.
Families and communities are informed and involved in promoting child safety and wellbeing.

In our previous newsletter, a report was written about the findings from our Term One Bullying Surveys. These surveys are conducted Prep to Year 6 each term and followed up with one to one chats between our Wellbeing Leader and the student who says they were bullied or the stduent who was named as the bully. Please keep in mind that we are proactive in this space.

The Australian Human Rights Commission defines bulying as -

What is bullying?

Bullying is when people repeatedly and intentionally use words or actions against someone or a group of people to cause distress and risk to their wellbeing. These actions are usually done by people who have more influence or power over someone else, or who want to make someone else feel less powerful or helpless.

Bullying is not the same as conflict between people (like having a fight) or disliking someone, even though people might bully each other because of conflict or dislike.

The sort of repeated behaviour that can be considered bullying includes:

Keeping someone out of a group (online or offline)
Acting in an unpleasant way near or towards someone
Giving nasty looks, making rude gestures, calling names, being rude and impolite, and constantly negative teasing.
Spreading rumours or lies, or misrepresenting someone (i.e. using their Facebook account to post messages as if it were them)
Mucking about that goes too far
Harassing someone based on their race, sex, religion, gender or a disability
Intentionally and repeatedly hurting someone physically
Intentionally stalking someone

I am pleased to say that our survey results for Term One were -

Prep-Year 2 0% bullying reported
Year 3-4 3% bullying reported
Year 5-6 3% bullying reported

It is important for parents to remember that there is always two sides to a story and to be open to listen to and consider both sides. I will always phone/email parents if incidents occur and follow up on your concerns.