Dear Families,

Congratulations to our Year Six students who have been outstanding leaders of our school and will be completing their journey at St. Mary’s with our Graduation Liturgy and Celebration next Thursday evening, commencing at 6pm. We wish them every success as they transition to secondary school in 2023. To the families leaving our community in 2022; we thank you for your many and generous contributions and hope you take fond and proud memories of your time in our community. We look forward to seeing you in the years to come and hearing of each student’s journey in secondary school.

A special thank you to Mrs Mandy Lemons, Mr Max Reid and Mrs Toni Nichols, for their positive influence on the Year 6 students in their final year of primary school and preparing for their graduation. Thank you also to the team of Year Five parents, who have worked with the Year Six teachers in organising the graduation celebrations. At such a busy time of year, your support is greatly appreciated. Our community is blessed to have such dedicated, passionate staff and families. Our children are the ultimate benefactors of the these strong relationships and partnerships.

Semester Two Student Reports

Semester Two Reports have been released today through the Nforma portal. Parents will have also received an email today from Nathan Eddy with instructions on how to access reports. Over the past few weeks, Nathan and I have had the opportunity to read the many student reports which overwhelmingly celebrate academic and social-emotional growth. Many hours go into the report writing process and I trust that this will provide an accurate indication of your child’s progress, supporting the feedback provided by your child’s teacher throughout the year.

Year 1-6 2023 Moving Up Day

Next Tuesday, there will be a ‘Moving Up’ orientation session for students in Years One-Six in 2023, during which they will spend time with their new classroom teachers and classmates. Over the past few weeks we have invested a significant amount of time and thought into the classes for next year to ensure the optimum learning environment for all our students. All teachers have worked closely together to do a comprehensive handover of student information in readiness for the next school year. There are a number of factors taken into account when children are placed in a class, considering the many social, emotional and academic needs of each child. Class lists will not be changed because parents have a preference for one class or another. I would ask that parents trust our professional judgement when dealing with these matters.

Generally, children are excited about joining a new class and the prospect of new beginnings. Sometimes there are anxieties or even disappointments about not being with a particular friend or in a particular class. As parents and teachers, it is important that we model a growth mindset. This is powerful for children as it helps them to see that even in uncertainty, we can be resilient and grow. We want children to build the skills to be able to manage change with a growth mindset.

Staffing 2023

I am pleased to announce the St Mary’s Staff for the 2023 school year. As outlined in the previous newsletter, we farewell Lisa Biffin, Thomasine Cook, Wendy Lambert, Lucy Levett and Sarah Rigney and thank each of them for their enormous contribution to our community. Next year we welcome Ewelina Podgorska, Sam Sullivan and Yang Song as new staff to St Mary’s. The staffing process for next year has included the appointment of a new Leadership Team for the next three years, who will play a key role in our School Review in 2023, as part of our four-year School Improvement Cycle as well as leading our school in the key areas of Student Wellbeing, Inquiry and Religious Education, Literacy and Maths, Learning Diversity and STEM.

Placing teachers with classes is a considerable process, with a key factor being the creation of effective teams of teachers, given that as a school community, our teachers collaborate together within and across level teams to such a high degree, in order to maximise students’ academic and social-emotional learning outcomes. Students will meet and spend time with their new teachers during their orientation session on Tuesday and will also receive a photo card with information about the staff who will be working with them next year so that parents are informed.

St Mary’s Staff 2023

Leadership Team

Principal: Matthew Sweeney

Deputy Principal & Student Wellbeing Leader: Nathan Eddy

Learning Diversity Leader: Allison Werrappah

Inquiry & Religious Education Leader: Evelyn Whatmore

STEM Leader: Max Reid

Literacy & Maths Leader: Kelly Moxon

Classroom Teachers

Prep P: Ewelina Podgorska

Prep W: Annie Walker

1WB: Allison Werrappah (Mon, Thurs-Fri) Louise Bohan (Tues-Wed)

1A: Stephen Athaide

2S: Edward Simpson

2W: Catherine Wensley

3K: Kylie Smith

3M: Anna Mannion

4G: Vanessa Gooden

4S: Amelia Scott

5CF: Julie Cochrane (Mon-Tue, Wed even weeks), Elise Fisher (Thur-Fri, Wed odd weeks)

5S: Sam Sullivan

6L: Mandy Lemons

6RN: Max Reid (Mon-Tues, Thurs-Fri) Toni Nichols (Wed)

Specialist Teachers

Literacy Intervention: Kelly Moxon

Art / Wellbeing Teacher: Daliah McLoughney

Mandarin: Yang Song

Performing Arts: Veronica Del Castillo

Physical Education: Nicole Jones

Sports Coordinator: Sam Sullivan

Learning Support Officers

Year 1: Georgie Benvenuto

Year 2: Marie Hird

Year 3: Helena O’Sullivan

Year 4: Tayla Kent

Year 5: Michelle Perpina & Claire Robinson

Year 4-6: Sarah-Jane Clarkson

Administration

Office Administrator: Renae Robinson

Office Administrator: Georgie Benvenuto

Business Manager: Bronwyn Burroughs

Sausage Sizzle Lunch

The PnF will be providing a special Sausage Sizzle Lunch next Thursday 14th December.

Year Sixes Last Day and Graduation

Thursday will be the last day for Year Six students. There will be a Guard of Honour on the main playground at 3pm. The Graduation Liturgy will commence at 6:00pm in St Mary's Church. The Graduation Celebration will commence at 7pm, with a disco in the hall for the students and drinks and nibbles for parents in the Imagination Garden.

End of Term 4

The Last day of Term for Prep-Year 5 students is next Friday 15th December, with school concluding at 1pm. Our End of Year Liturgy will be at 12pm in St Mary’s Church. Parents and carers are most welcome to attend.

This will be the final newsletter for the 2022 school year. On behalf of the staff, I wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season. We look forward to seeing you in the New Year.

Matthew Sweeney

Principal

principal@smhampton.catholic.edu.au

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