Principal's News
Dear SMCM Community, Wominjeka!
2025 School Fees
Families who choose a Catholic Education for their children commit to paying school fees which make up the shortfall received in Government funding between State and Catholic schools. The costs of running a school constantly increases and we want to provide the highest quality learning and teaching possible. We have increased the fees for next year to ensure the school can continue to cover the increase in expenses and interest rates. SMCM has increased our fees by the smallest possible amount. In 2025 the approximate cost of school fees for a family with two children is $78.00 a week.
There are three main fees payable by families
School Fee (per family):
The School Fees for 2025 will be $2,070, increasing by $70 from 2024 or 3.5%. The reason for this increase is noted below:
- From a practical perspective this will assist with the ongoing increased costs of running the school; electricity, water, gas, rates, increased expenditure in ICT, cleaning and maintenance of our buildings.
- We have aligned our school fee increase with the Government’s Capacity to Contribute score for SMCM. The Capacity to Contribute score measures the ability of families enrolled in a non-government school to financially contribute to their school’s fees and expenses.
Student Levy (per student):
The levies provide the funding to allow SMCM to implement and support programs to ensure we are continuing to educate the whole child in a personalised and stimulating manner. The per student levy for 2025 will be $545 which assists payment for;
- excursions and incursions, bus transport, interschool sport
- consumables, photocopying and all stationery items including books, pencils, scissors, glue, paper, textas etc
- curriculum resources including library books, student Chromebooks and iPads, art supplies, STEM materials, sports equipment, online subscriptions eg. Sunshine Online, Matific, SMART Spelling, Seesaw
Capital Building Fund (per family):
In 2025, the Capital Building Fund will be $200, increasing by $100.
This contribution to the school capital fund has been reviewed for 2025 to support the cost of the various school building improvements, including the installation of glass partitions to transition our open learning spaces to more flexible spaces. This capital levy will also support the upcoming construction of our Stage 4 building, which includes six new learning spaces. This $6 million project is partly funded by the $3.6 million Capital Grant awarded in 2024. This project is due to commence in September 2025.
The 2025 Fee Schedule is available to view below and will be sent home with the students in the coming weeks along with the related forms for completion before the end of this school year. Annual accounts for school fees and levies will be sent out at the start of the school year, whereas the camp levy will be sent prior to the camp dates when attendance and costs are confirmed.
The opportunity for any family wishing to attend SMCM for a Catholic education will not be hindered by financial hardship. As always, we encourage any family, current or future, who experiences financial difficulties in the short or long term, to contact us. In particular, holders of Health Care Cards are encouraged to make themselves known, confidentially, as there are additional funding concessions available for these families.
We send condolences to Courtney, Margaret, Elijah and Isaac (Reimagine Homegroup) on the passing of Courtney's father last week.
We send condolences to Pat, Belinda, Tiana (Sutherland Homegroup) and Catia (Einstein Homegroup)on the passing of Pat's father this week.
We keep you in our thoughts and prayers during this sad time.
We look forward to seeing all families at next week's learning conversations.
Claire
Principal
claire.pitcher@smcmeppingnth.catholic.edu.au
