Dear families,

Last Wednesday was Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Liturgical Season of Lent, and as a school community we attended the 9.00am mass. Lent is a special time of the year when we prepare for Easter by thinking about our own life. On Ash Wednesday, we were marked with a cross of ashes on our foreheads to remind us that sometimes we do not act as we should. During Lent we try to do good things for others. We try to go without the things we want for ourselves. By doing this we are trying to be better people. By doing this we are standing beside our brothers and sisters who live in poverty and injustice. By doing this we are working for a fairer world for all. During Lent we tell God and each other that we are sorry and we want to be more like Jesus.

Our challenge as parents and educators is to provide the example to the young people in our lives that will encourage them to live a faith filled life.

Once again this year we encourage families to donate in support of Project Compassion.

St Mark’s Enrolment Tours for 2027 Prep Students – This year we will once again be offering personalised School Tours in February, March and April for families wishing to enrol their children at St Mark’s for Prep 2027. Please tell your family, friends and neighbours to contact the Office on 8335 4100 to arrange an Enrolment Tour. It’s very important that current St Mark’s families advise the office immediately if you have a child starting Prep in 2027 so that the school can determine how many places are available for new families wishing to enrol their child at St Mark’s next year. Enrolment Applications for Prep 2027 close on April 30th, 2026.

2026 Student Leadership @ St Mark’s - 2026 Student Leaders will be announced at Assembly on this Friday February 27th at 9.00am. At this Assembly all the Year 6 leaders will take their pledge of leadership and be presented with their Leadership Badges.

COMMUNICATION AT ST MARK'S

The beginning of the new school year brings with it many opportunities for families to meet with teachers at Getting to Know You meetings and through attending the Year Level Information sessions held over the past two weeks.

Classroom teachers have provided their email addresses for contact and Seesaw can also be used to send a short message to your child's teacher. Email and Seesaw are most effective for the short and concise messages that need to be communicated.

Please request a time to meet with your childs' teacher if you feel a more lengthy exchange of information is needed. While we value these reciprocal partnerships and aim to ensure there is opportunity for shared decision making and open communication, the nature of a teachers work day means that they are not always available all of the time.

Teachers are not available on Tuesdays or Wednesdays after school as Professional Learning Team meetings are held on these days. Depending on their work days, teachers can be available to meet by prior arrangement for a short time after 8:30am in the mornings and other agreed times during school hours.

In the instance that you ever do need to send a message to your child's teacher, be mindful of a teachers right to disconnect outside of their work hours. St Mark's staff are not required to monitor or respond to electronic communication outside of school hours. We understand that there are times when important messages need to reach staff before the start of the school day and you only have the evening or early morning hours available to do this (due to your work or personal circumstances) but please consider using the schedule send function in your email platform or save to email drafts for a delayed send at a more reasonable time.

PSG's meetings for all students who have ILP's are scheduled to be held throughout Weeks 7-9 of this term. Please be on the lookout for the link to School Interviews to book for your child's PSG.

Assemblies - Please join us for assembly in the Hall each Friday morning beginning at 9am. Please note, Term 1, 2 & 4 Assemblies will be held on Friday mornings at 9.00am, while Term 3 Assemblies will commence at 2.50pm.

Newsletters - our iNewsletter is our major means of communication with parents, so please ensure that you take the time to read it. The newsletter is published every second Wednesday. A link to the online newsletter is uploaded onto the school’s website and sent out on Seesaw and the Audiri App. For environmental reasons, we distribute the newsletter electronically, rather than paper format.

Please email Lisa or Ange in the office (admin@smfawkner.catholic.edu.au) with your email address and they will add you as a direct subscriber.

SM Fawkner Audiri App - we expect all members of our school community to download the St Mark’s Audiri App. The App is a great way for us to disseminate information to parents in a speedy, safe and effective way. It is available in both Apple and Android. Search for “SM Fawkner” in the App Store. The LogIn Name and Password is available from the Office.

Child Safety at St Mark's

As Catholic educators, we have a moral, mission-driven and legal responsibility to uphold and actively promote the wellbeing and safety of every student entrusted in our care. Our commitment to the protection of students is enabled in nurturing, respectful and safe communities where the uniqueness and sacred dignity of every young person are celebrated, and they can flourish in their learning and development.

Below is a short overview of what the Child Safe Standards are, how they are designed to help keep children and young people safe and what schools governed by Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) are doing to prioritise and achieve this.

The Victorian Child Safe Standards are a set of 11 minimum requirements that all organisations working with children must meet. These standards are designed to:

Prevent child abuse and harm
Make child safety a shared responsibility
Support the wellbeing of all children, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and children with disabilities
Promote the participation and empowerment of children and young people

These standards apply to all school staff, volunteers, contractors, and anyone working with children in schools. Throughout 2026 all MACS schools will focus on one standard over 11 months through staff briefings and sharing information to parents via the newsletter to ensure continued awareness.

Child Safe Standard 1

NAPLAN 2026 - National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy tests are conducted annually by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority for Grades 3, 5, 7 and 9 students. These tests, along with all written and verbal information provided by the school, provide valuable information about student progress.

Once again this year NAPLAN will be conducted in March. Implementing NAPLAN earlier in the year enables us to access valuable data to guide strategic planning for future learning and teaching here at St Mark’s.

Our Grade 3 and 5 students will complete the assessments on the following days;

Writing on Wednesday March 11th,

Reading on Thursday March 12th,

Language Conventions on Friday March 13th and

Numeracy on Monday March 16th.

It is important that all Grade 3 and 5 students keep regular school attnedance in the weeks leading up to the assessment period and are in attendance and on time on these days. Please reach out to me or your child’s teacher if you have any questions or concerns regarding NAPLAN.

To view the NAPLAN Public Demonstration site - click the button below

Uniform reminder - the uniform items shown below have been phased out. Please ensure your child is in the updated uniform. Please let us know if you have having any issues purchasing the new uniform items from PSW. See the Uniform page of this newsletter for more information.

God bless,

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