Dear Parents, Families and Friends,

We hope the holidays offered a chance to rest, recharge, and stay cosy despite the chilly, wet weather. It’s been a joy to welcome the students back and hear their stories, from relaxed days at home to adventurous outings, rain and all!

Everyone has returned with renewed energy, ready to dive into a new term of learning. Term 3 promises to be a busy and exciting one, with classroom projects, preparation for Energy Breakthrough, and some favourite dress-up days on the horizon.

We’re excited for a term that encourages curiosity, creativity, and connection. Here’s to making it a memorable one together!

Parent night - Jared Cooney Horvath

An email was sent earlier this week outlining the valuable learning opportunities provided by the Diocese of Sandhurst in partnership with Educational Neuroscientist Dr Jared Cooney Horvath. Our first parent session will take place next Tuesday from 5:00pm–6:00pm at St Mary’s School.

These sessions are aimed at adults, and we encourage each family to have a representative attend. By doing so, we can strengthen the partnership between home and school, and provide greater clarity around some of the teaching practices we use at St Mary’s to support student learning.

For all meetings, the teaching staff and the principal will be present if you have questions.

Session 1 Stress, Tech and Sleep Tuesday 5th August 5:00-6:00pm at St Mary’s School

Session 2 Surviving Study Tuesday 19th August 5:00-6:00pm at St Mary’s School

Session 3 Brain Development Tuesday 9th September 5:00-5:40pm (offered online)

Awards Assembly next Friday

Students will welcome family and friends to join us for a special St Mary MacKillop Liturgy, where we will come together in prayer and reflection to honour the life and legacy of Australia’s first saint. Following the liturgy, we will hold an awards assembly to celebrate the achievements and efforts of our students across various areas of school life. This is a wonderful opportunity to acknowledge those who have demonstrated our school values and made positive contributions to our learning community.

School Advisory Council

Our next School Advisory Council meeting will be held on Tuesday, 26th August at 6:00pm. We thank our Council members for their ongoing commitment and contribution to the life and direction of our school community.

NAPLAN Results 2025

Hard copies of 2025 NAPLAN results will be available today and sent home with your child. Please check their bags.

YEAR 6 NAPLAN OPT-IN RESULTS

This year, our school chose to take part in the NAPLAN OPT-IN Assessment, which focuses on two key areas: Science and Civics & Citizenship. While the results are not officially included in the NAPLAN data collections, we’re pleased to share that our students performed at the Australian average in Civics and Citizenship. Even more impressively, all our students achieved results above the national average in Science, much to the delight of one very happy Science teacher!

If you haven't already listened to any CESL podcasts, I encourage you to take the time to listen to the following:

Inside the first semester of Magnify Sandhurst

From the rollout of evidence-informed programs like MultiLit, Ochre and Classroom Mastery to the introduction of Steplab and the new Source of Life curriculum, this episode unpacks what’s working, what’s changing and what’s coming next.

Kind Regards,

Leaders' Lens