Dear Parents,

The days are passing very quickly now, with so many things to hold and finalise before the end of the year. When December begins, we all look forward to the break that is soon to come.

I hope you can come along NEXT Monday morning to enjoy some Maths games with your child/children from 8.50-9.50am as part of our Mega Maths Day. There are a number of activities prepared for the students to complete across the week, and we thank Renee Loprevite, our Maths Leader, for organising this, and our incursion the following week for the whole school. A great way to sum up the year!

COLOUR RUN

As we were unable to hold our Family Fun Day, our emphasis now moves to the final fundraiser of the year, our Colour Run, TOMORROW. The funds raised from our PFA activities this year will contribute towards a new Adventure Playground for the 3-6 students. The students LOVE this event ~ a chance to complete a circuit around the school and change from white or black t-shirts to a rainbow of colours, as the coloured flour is aimed at their t-shirt. There are two different time slots:

P-2 1.10-1.40pm

3-6 2.35-3.05pm

The students need to seek sponsors for this event and can also win prizes dependent on the level of money the raise. We also need a LOT of helpers from our parent community for this event, and we always get them as it's so much fun to squirt the dye.

MEGA MATHS DAY

Parents are invited into their child's classroom on Monday 24 November 8.50-9.40am to play Maths-related games with their child/ren.

Parents are asked to sign in at their child's classroom and exit via the Office as the back gates at Dobson Avenue and Lewellyn Grove will not be open.

PUPIL FREE DAYS

Our final Pupil Free Day for the year is Monday 1 December. If you need OSHC, please register your interest with MACSEYE through Adrian.

PREP 2026 - ORIENTATION SESSIONS

Our Orientation Sessions are all done! It's been lovely to see the children settle into school life and to spend some time with the parents to guide them through the start of the year.

Our Prep Teachers for 2026 are Andrea Getson and TBC, Jessica Lynch and Meaghan A'Hearn.

We also thank Michelle Don Paul, Kristy Gillen, Karen McCann, Kate Kelly and Louisa Green for their AMAZING work to set up and decorate the GECCO and organise the food for the new Prep parents last Friday night. A fabulous night was had by all.

2026 TRANSITION SESSION

The students will have time with their new teacher/s on the day allocated for the following year's Transition session - Monday 15 December. Parents will be informed about their child’s class for the following year on that same day. No changes will be made after this day. Class teachers for the following year will be made known to families via the final School Newsletter in December.

STUDENT ASSESSMENT DAYS AT THE START OF 2026

The staff return to school on Tuesday 27 January. The students return on either Wednesday 28 or Thursday 29 January to take part in some assessments with their teacher/s. A Compass event will be shared with families. Students attend only one session, and every effort will be made to group siblings on the same day.

ITALIAN DAY

Many thanks to Brooke Di Muzio and to the parent Pizza Helpers for a fabulous Italian Day recently. The students enjoyed the chance to dress up in the Italian colours or as someone famous from Italy. They then participated in the performance or the pasta making, before enjoying their pizza and gelati. Learning a language is a great life skill!

CAROLS

As mentioned previously, there will NOT be a Carols night this year as we had our Performance this year.

We warmly welcome parents to come and join us for the End of Year Thanksgiving Mass on the last day of school, Tuesday 16 December at 9.15am. Our new Leaders will be announced after the Mass.

NURSING HOME VISITS

Our Year Three classes have been visiting the Nursing Home across the road and spending time playing games with the visitors and chatting. This is an excellent outreach to our wider community, and brings the generations together. Perhaps the students might make a card for the final visit before Christmas.

ABC MUSIC PERFORMANCE

On Monday 24, Tuesday 25 and Thursday 27 November the students who learn a musical instrument at St Martin's with the ABC Music Teachers will hold their concerts from 2.15-3.15pm in the GECCO. We know you will look forward to a great show!

SAC MEETING

The final SAC Meeting for 2025 will take place on Monday 24 November at 7pm. As we have members who are concluding their term or moving on in 2026, if you are interested in a role as a Parent Rep on the SAC, please email me to express your interest by Friday 5 December 2025. The attached letter explains the role and membership of the SAC. Six Meetings are held across the year, after hours from 7-8.30pm on a night to be confirmed which suits members to attend.

PFA AGM

On Wednesday 26 November from 6.15pm-8.30pm, please come and join the PFA for the Annual General Meeting in the Seminar Room, where the Committee roles for 2026 are decided and ideas for the events and fundraisers start to be discussed and scheduled. This meeting is open to all parents, including our new 2026 Prep families. All attendees will go in to a draw to win a great door prize, please read the PFA section of the Newsletter for further information.

Drinks and nibbles will be offered to extend our thanks to the Committee for a fabulous year!

'SMOT SPOT' -YOUR OWN PARKING SPOT

This year there are FOUR spots (kiss-and-drop spots) to be won. Don’t miss out on your chance to have your very own reserved “SMOT SPOT” car park at pick up time for the entire 2026 school year!

Purchase your raffle tickets at https://smotpfa.weebly.com by Wednesday 10th December. Thank you for your support.

YEAR 6 GRADUATION

Booking information for the Graduation Dinner was shared via Compass. Our other Graduation dates and activities are as follows:

Monday 8 December - 9.15am Graduation Mass in the Church and 6.30pm Graduation Dinner at the Manningham Club

Tuesday 9 December - Many secondary schools hold their Year Seven Orientation on this day

Wednesday 10 December Year Six Big Day Out to Funfields

Tuesday 16 December - End of Year Mass 9.15am and the Final Farewell on Top Yard immediately following this.

YEAR FIVE LEADERSHIP PREPARATION

The Year Five students will present their speeches next week for the role/s in which they are interested. The Leaders (teachers with roles in assisting the students) also attend the presentations, following which a formal vote is held. We wish the students well with their speeches!

The announcement of the 2026 Year Six Leaders occurs at the End of Year Thanksgiving Mass on Tuesday 16 December at 9.15am.

BAPTISM

If your child has not yet been baptised, please consider whether you would like to celebrate this sacrament prior to them reaching the sacramental years.

Please contact the Parish Office on P: 9401 6338 to arrange this with Fr Michael.

ALTAR SERVER TRAINING AND THANK YOU DINNER

Year Three students and higher are invited to train as Altar Servers, with a training session on Thursday 27 November at 5pm in the Church followed by a BBQ dinner. This is a wonderful service for our school and Parish Masses, so we hope that many students will train in readiness for 2026. Please book with Sr Maria or the Parish for this event.

GOSPEL REFLECTION

The Feast of Christ the King is the last Sunday before Advent begins. Why this focus now?

The gospel of Luke is underlined by a message of hope for those who are afflicted, outcast and poor. In Sunday's gospel, the message and ministry of Jesus are directed specifically to these lowly ones. The significance of the role played by the poor is highlighted by the framing of the whole narrative in this gospel: the birth of Jesus is celebrated by shepherds and his death is accompanied by criminals. Shepherds and criminals – two classes of people on the absolute fringe of society; not dignitaries or wise men from afar – are witness to the birth and death of Jesus.

This gospel with Jesus on the cross is... a clear indication that the Kingdom of God that Jesus has worked to bring about is a kingdom of inclusion and welcome.

Have a wonderful weekend! God bless.