Dear St Mark's families,

I hope you are finding the new format of the online newsletter easier to read and access. The new newsletter platform allows us to gather statistics on how many families read the newsletter and even the most popular pages...the average time spent reading our newsletter is 4 minutes and almost 2/3 of our readers access the newsletter from a mobile device. This is useful data to us and we aim to make our fortnightly newsletter informative for our families but also a platform to share with all the community the great things that happen at St Mark's. Please keep reading and encourage the other St Mark's parents to click on the newsletter when it is sent directly to their email and spend some time looking through each page.

Congratulations to the Grade 3 students who received the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time on Wednesday the 3rd of September. It was a lovely celebration led by Fr Colin. Many thanks to the families who prepared the children so well, to our Religious Education Leader Ms Dorothy Mash, and our 3/4 teachers Ms Emma Crotty and Ms Isobel Javier for ensuring it was a memorable occasion. Thankyou to the staff members who attended in support of the children, the families and their colleagues. See the Religion page for more about this event.

It was great to see so many fathers, grandfathers and special males at our recent Fathers Day celebration. The Morning Tea was delicious and the clever and enjoyable assembly led by our 1/2's was a highlight. It was lovely to witness the St Mark's blessing on all the men in attendance who do so much in our students lives. Thankyou to all who assisted in making this morning so special. Thanks also to our KM@SMAT and the volunteers who ran the Fathers Day Stall. From all reports, the dad's and grandfathers loved their gifts!

ABC Music Concert

St Mark's definitely has talent! What a wonderful end of term concert it was for the ABC Music students students last Friday. It was fitting that they were supported by their wonderful music teacher Pez for the last time. Pez has been an asset to our extra-curricular ABC Music program over many years and we are all sad to see him leave. Pez has left a little momentum in our school library that some students may be interested in borrowing next term.

Dear St Mark's staff and school,

I'm so grateful to have been here the past years. Thankyou for making me feel so welcome and part of the community. I deeply admire the culture that has been fostered at St Mark's...the experience here has played a big role and motivation I feel to take the next step into classroom teaching. I thankyou for that.

Best wishes,

Pez

Term 3 comes to a close, tomorrow at 1:00pm. It has been a very busy and productive 9 weeks with many learning opportunities for everyone. Some of the highlights of Term 3 have been celebrating the Sacrament of Confirmation and Reconciliation, the Family Disco, Italian Day Celebrations, Book Week Dress up, Celebration of Grandparents, Hoop Time Basketball, Book Fair, Grade 6 Volleyball, District Athletics, ABC Music Concert...not to mention all the great learning that has been occuring in the classrooms and beyond. We would like to thank everyone for what they bring to St Mark's. We are truly blessed to be part of such a vibrant and dynamic community.

See the KM@SMAT page for more information about our Family Fun Day coming up next term. The KidsMatter team have been working hard to secure market and food stalls, rides, entertainment, fun activities for the children and provide a great community day out for all.

Early in Term 4 we will be calling out for volunteers to help on the day!

MACSSIS Family Survey

Closes this Friday 19th September

43 families so far have completed the survey - a record for us!!

But we would love to hear from more families.

In 2024 we had 40 families participate in the survey - it would be great to get more!

Your input contributes to shaping the ongoing improvement of our school.

Click below to access the survey - use your family pin that was provided in the MACSSIS email on Monday September 1st.

Division Athletics Carnival - congratulations to the following students for competing in the Division Athletics Carnival at Meadowglen International Athletics Track, Epping last Friday:

Christina (LA8) - 12/13 girls 200m race

Grace (LA9) - 9/10 girls Long jump

Luca (LA7) - 12/13 boys High jump

These students made it through to Divisional level after qualifying through their events in the District Championships earlier in the term. We are very proud of them. Thankyou to our Sports Co-Ordinator Daniela Lazzaro for preparing the children so well. Thanks also to the parents for your support in taking the children to and from the event.

Footy colours assembly - Thursday 18th September

We are looking forward to seeing all the AFL team colours at our end of term assembly tomorrow at 9:00am. The students have been asked to bring a gold coin and all funds raised will go towards improving the Guinea Pig enclosure. At the assembly we will also hear from our 5/6's about their creative experience at ACMI and recognise the Week 9 Learners of the Week.

Summer Uniform in Term 4

All students are to wear Summer Uniform from the commencement of Term 4, Monday 6th of October. Uniforms are available for purchase from

PSW at 71 Potter Street, Campbellfield Contact: 9768 0344 or online

Please see the Office Reminders page for the uniform items and pricelist.

Hats are to be worn in Term 4.

Second-hand uniform - There is still a large collection of un-named uniform items in the family lounge. Some of these may belong to your child and they have ended up in lost property, unclaimed. Tomorrow is the last chance for families to take any of these items for a gold coin donation. After 1:00pm Thursday it will be all packed up and donated.

Please see the OSHC updates and news page in this newsletter for information about the YLV upcoming Holiday Program during the T3 holidays. Bookings are also still available for this Friday 19th September as it is a pupil-free day. Book in online at https://ylv.com.au/book/

Chicken care over the holidays - thankyou to Anika & Holly and Zelia and their families for volunteering to check in on Coco our chicken over the school holidays.

2025 School Fees & Curriculum Levies - 2025 Fee Statements have been sent home to each family this term. Please contact the Office if you have not received yours and a new one will be sent to you. I encourage all families to consider setting up a Direct Debit to ensure all Fees and Levies are paid on a regular basis and can be paid off by early Term 4. Families experiencing hardship are welcome to contact Peter so that together you can explore confidential financial support arrangements.

Intentions for 2026 - It's hard to believe that we are currently in the process for planning our class structures for 2026. To assist, we need to know if any students (other than Gr 6's) will be leaving St Mark's at the end of 2025. If your child will not be returning to St Mark's in 2026 can you please inform Peter in writing as soon as possible.

There are lots of events happening over the September holidays, see our Community News page for the school holiday activities on offer in our community. Enjoy the spring weather and warmer days with your families! We look forward to seeing you in Term 4 for another great term of learning.

Miss Claire - Acting Principal and Learning & Teaching/Literacy Leader

claire.white@smfawkner.catholic.edu.au

‘The St Mark’s Catholic Primary School, Fawkner Community promotes the safety, wellbeing and inclusion of all children.’

St Mark’s Catholic Primary School respectfully acknowledges the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation, who are the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we live, learn, work and play. We pay our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging.

Playgroup