Principal Announcements

Thank you to all of our parents and guardians for your ongoing support throughout Term 1. It has been a very busy and rewarding term for both students and staff, and we truly appreciate the effort and commitment shown by everyone in our community. We are especially grateful for the way you have embraced and supported our 90th year events and celebrations on Founders’ Day—these have been a wonderful highlight of the term.

We wish all members of our community a very safe, peaceful, and happy Easter break, and we look forward to welcoming you back for Term 2.

Principal’s Announcements

Teach Well Professional Development Day

On Monday 23rd February, our teaching and LSO staff participated in a highly valuable Teach Well Professional Development Day, generously sponsored by Westpac and Teach Well. We were pleased to come together with colleagues from St. Joseph's Primary School Numurkah and St. Mary's Primary School Rushworth for a day of shared learning and collaboration.

Throughout the day, staff engaged deeply with the Ochre Education resources, building their understanding of how students learn best, particularly how the brain works and how novices acquire new knowledge. The professional learning focused on strengthening our use of high-impact instructional strategies, including effective checking for understanding and implementing a range of full participation techniques to maximise student engagement. Staff also worked on intellectually preparing, adapting and refining the Ochre Education resources to suit the diverse needs of our classrooms. This collaborative approach ensured that the learning was practical, relevant and immediately applicable.

It was a productive and energising day that will continue to strengthen our teaching practice and support improved learning outcomes for all students.

ANZAC Day

Families are warmly invited to join our community in commemorating ANZAC Day at the Mooroopna Cenotaph. The march will commence at approximately 8:45am on Saturday 25th April 2026, beginning at the former Mooroopna Water Tower in McLennan Street (Watt Road Bridge), and will proceed east towards the Cenotaph. The commemorative service will begin at approximately 9:00am.

We encourage our students (in school uniform) and families to attend this important community event as we come together to honour and remember those who have served.

School Production

Thank you to our parents and community members who have taken the time to ask questions regarding our end-of-year celebrations, particularly the Christmas Concert and School Production to mark 90 years of St. Mary’s. We appreciate your interest and support, and these matters have been carefully considered by our Leadership Team.

We are pleased to confirm that our 90th Anniversary School Production will go ahead on Thursday 26th November. This promises to be a very special event for our school and school community. We will provide further information regarding ticketing in Term 2.

In place of the traditional Christmas Concert, and similar to arrangements in 2025, students, lead by staff, will have the opportunity to participate in the Mooroopna Carols, which will include a St. Mary’s carols performance. Additionally, in the final three assemblies of the year, each class will share Christmas Carols as part of the Advent prayer.

Our usual Christmas Concert format will return in 2027. We sincerely thank our community for your understanding and support as we celebrate this significant milestone. These special 90-year celebrations involve considerable organisation, preparation, and the commitment of both staff and the wider community, and we are grateful for your continued support.

A Reminder About Bringing or Collecting Creatures 

We kindly ask that families do not allow children to bring bugs, lizards, spiders, or other small creatures to school. Students will also be reminded not to collect them at school. Recently, some students have become upset when these animals have been brought into the classroom or collected on the yard, particularly when they are not handled safely or respectfully. We want to ensure that all students feel comfortable and that living creatures are treated with care. We appreciate your support in reinforcing this message at home. Thank you for your cooperation.

Birthdays, Celebrations and Allergy Awareness

As outlined in our Parent Handbook, we have a number of students with severe allergies. To help us maintain a safe environment for all children, we ask families to support the following guidelines:

• Please do not send obvious nut products to school in your child’s snack or lunch (e.g. peanut butter, Nutella, Snickers or Picnic bars). 
• Birthday treats brought to school should not include cakes, chocolate or lollies. A single lollypop is considered a suitable option and will be given to the child at the end of the day. 
• Please encourage your child not to share food. This is a rule we reinforce regularly at school. 
• Encourage your child to wash their hands after eating. This supports good hygiene and helps prevent the spread of allergens. 

We appreciate your support in helping us keep all students safe and well. Thank you for your cooperation.

The Orange Door

Our school cares about the safety and wellbeing of our students and their families.  Sometimes things at home or in a relationship are not OK or families can be worried about the wellbeing of their children or young people. 

The Orange Door can help you to get the support you need, quickly and easily. It’s free and you don’t need a referral. The Orange Door can help families. They provide support for concerns with parenting, relationships, and family violence. 

The Orange Door is a free intake and assessment service for: 

• families requiring support for their child or young person’s wellbeing or development  
• families needing parenting support  
• young, isolated, or unsupported families 
• individuals and families experiencing family violence 
• adults using family violence 
• young people using violence in the home.  

If you contact The Orange Door, they can help by: 

• working with you to identify the help and support you need 
• supporting you with the wellbeing and development of your child or young person 
• helping you make a safety plan if someone is making you feel unsafe 
• connecting you to services that can help like counselling, accommodation, mental health and drug and alcohol services, parenting support groups, services for children, financial help, or legal assistance 
• supporting you to access funding for basic living expenses and some other costs 
• supporting you to change abusive or controlling behaviour. 

Each Orange Door location across Victoria has their own phone number and email. Students and their families can also visit their local Orange Door in person for support, Monday to Friday, 9am - 5pm for support. No appointment is needed. 

To find your local service, see: The Orange Door – Support near you. 

How schools connect with The Orange Door -

Our school might talk to a student and/or their family about The Orange Door.  We might encourage them to contact their local Orange Door to get advice and help if needed.  Ideally, a student and/or their family will get in touch with The Orange Door to seek advice and support.  

Sometimes, schools might make a referral to The Orange Door without the student or their family’s knowledge or consent.  Schools will do this if: 

• informing a student and/or family increases the risk to their safety or wellbeing 
• not linking a student to support increases the risk of their safety and wellbeing. 

You can learn more about: 

• The Orange Door and how they can help you and your family here. 
• how our school keeps our students safe by reading our Child Safeguarding Policy and our Child Safety Code of Conduct

Good News!

Grade 5/6 Camp

Last week, our Grade 5 and Grade 6 students had an incredible three-day camp experience at Rose’s Gap. Being away from home requires resilience, courage, and a willingness to step out of your comfort zone, and our students showed all of these qualities and more.

We congratulate all students on their excellent participation and engagement throughout the camp activities. A special thank you also goes to the staff who attended and organised this valuable learning experience, ensuring it was both safe and memorable for everyone involved. Well done to all!

Easter Bonnet Parade

We congratulate all our students for their fantastic participation in this year’s Easter Bonnet Parade! It was wonderful to see so many creative and innovative designs that entertained and amazed us all.

A special thank you to our families for their support in helping bring these wonderful creations to life. 

We also extend special congratulations to Meg Brown for her wonderful work as MC, guiding the event with enthusiasm and charm.

Community News

Holy Week Liturgy

Tomorrow, Thursday 2nd April at 12:30pm in the Marian Centre, our students will bring the Easter story to life in a beautiful and moving liturgy. Their reverence and thoughtfulness truly capture the spirit of Holy Week. A special thank you to our dedicated staff, especially Ms. Carroll, for the time and effort put into preparing this special event. To our parents, families, and community members—thank you for joining us and for your ongoing support of our school.

We look forward to sharing this meaningful celebration with you.

St. Mary’s 90 Years Production – From Humble Beginnings – Let Your Light Shine

This year we are having a School production on Thursday 26th November. Please read the parent/guardian letter sent 2 weeks ago for all the exciting details to celebrate our 90 years. 

St. Mary’s Alumni

As part of our celebrations for this year, we would love to hear from St. Mary’s Alumni – past staff, community members and students. We would love to hear about your past experiences of St. Mary’s. If you are willing to be involved please contact the school office on 5825 2858 or email at office@smmooroopna.catholic.edu.au

Reminder's

St. Mary’s Open Day – Wednesday 29 April

We warmly invite families and members of our community to attend our upcoming Open Day on Wednesday 29 April, beginning at 11:45am.

The day will commence with a welcome in the Marian Centre, followed by guided tours of the school led by our wonderful Student Leaders, who will proudly showcase our learning spaces and share what makes St. Mary’s such a special place to learn and grow.

As 2026 marks 90 years of St. Mary’s, we also extend a special invitation to our alumni to join us for this occasion. It will be a lovely opportunity to reconnect with the school and celebrate the rich history of our community.

We look forward to welcoming families, friends, and past students as we celebrate all that makes St. Mary’s a vibrant and thriving school.

📢 Enrolments for 2026 close 31st May – don’t miss this opportunity to secure your place!

End of Term 1 and Term 2 dates

• Term 1 ends on Thursday 2nd April at 2:20pm
• Term 2 begins on Tuesday 21st April (Monday 20th April is a school closure day)
• Saturday 25th April – ANZAC Day commemorations at the Mooroopna Cenotaph – the march begins at 8:45am from the former Mooroopna Water Tower in McLennan Street.

Before School Supervision

Please note that all students that arrive at school prior to 8:30am must fill out an application via the link below. For new and casual before school arrivals, please complete prior to 4:00pm each day to enable student lists to be updated for the following morning. I appreciate everyone's understanding and cooperation regarding this.

Before School Supervision

Principal’s Awards

 23rd March – no awards due to Student Free Day

 30th March – Daniel Sibio 

This week’s Principal’s Award is presented to a student who consistently demonstrates strong engagement in all learning areas, making the most of every opportunity in the classroom. He follows our classroom routines exceptionally well and sets a positive example for others. Congratulations, Daniel!

Attendance matters!

Every minute matters. This is a simple statement, but a true one. For every minute a child is at school they learn. For every minute they are absent they not only miss out on they not only miss out on learning, but they also lose some previous learning.

Ms V’s Inspirations

“Let everything you do be done in love.” 

1 Corinthians 16:14

“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” Desmond Tutu

“Let your light shine before others.” – Matthew 5:16