From the Principal...
Newsletter December 08, 2025
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Please see the Wellbeing Section of this newsletter for information about the new Social Media restrictions that will be in place from December 10.
The way they were... Prep 2019
🎓 GRADUATION ASSEMBLY 🎓
This year, we will be hosting a special Graduation Assembly which will be held on Thursday, 11 December at 2:30 pm. There will be much to celebrate and acknowledge at this Assembly, including:
😢 Farewelling families who are leaving St Mary's and presenting them with a gift
to remember their time at our school
📜 Presenting our six 2026 awards recipients
🎥 Power Point presentation sharing special memories of 7 years at St Mary's
💭 Student Reflection presented by our School Leaders
💭 Parent Reflection
We warmly invite everyone to join us in celebrating and honouring our 2026 graduating class! 🎉
If this is your last year at St Mary's we hope that you will be able to join us to receive your parting gift...
In addition, all are welcome to attend our Graduation Mass on Friday, 12 December at 5:00 pm, as we give thanks and celebrate this special milestone. ✨
SCHOOL ADVISORY COUNCIL (SAC) NEWS... Introducing Our New Building Fund – A Fully Tax-Deductible Way to Support Our School’s Future
Together with the St Mary's SAC, we are excited to announce the launch of our School Building Fund, created to support the ongoing improvement and development of our learning facilities. All contributions to this fund are fully tax-deductible, making it a wonderful opportunity for families and community members to invest directly in the future of our students.
Funds raised will go towards current and future building projects, ensuring our school continues to provide inspiring, modern, and flexible learning environments. Next year, the School Advisory Council (SAC) will be exploring plans to develop a dedicated STEM and Digital Technologies learning space. This purpose-built area will give students access to innovative tools, hands-on experiences, and technology-rich learning that prepares them for the rapidly evolving world around them.
Your support—big or small—goes directly toward creating this new learning space that will benefit students for many years to come. It’s a great cause that strengthens our school community and enhances the educational opportunities available to every child.
We warmly invite you to consider contributing to the Building Fund. Again, all donations are fully tax-deductible.
For a full explanation and additional details, please see the link below.
Thank you in advance for helping us continue to grow, innovate, and build for the future at St Mary's.
STAFFING 2026
It is with great pleasure that we welcome Claudia Young to our staff. Claudia will be teaching the Grade 1/2 class next year. Having recently relocated from NSW, she is an experienced teacher who brings a wealth of knowledge, energy, and enthusiasm to our school community. We are delighted to have her on board and look forward to working with her in the year ahead.
LEADERSHIP STRUCTURE
Principal Mary Kearney
Deputy Principal/R.E. Leader Michelle Cameron
Learning and Teaching Leader Sharen Maguire
Learning Diversity Leader Tania Calabrese
Maths Leader Sharen Maguire
English Leader TBA
Wellbeing Support TBA
(Mental Health & Wellbeing Leader)
CLASS TEACHERS
Prep Allegra Brown
Grade 1/2 Claudia Young
Grade 3/4 Cassandra Phokos
Michael Archer
Grade 5/6 Simi Arora
Riley Grayden
SPECIALISTS
Visual Art Sharen Maguire
Digi Tech Marita Canning
Physical Education David Witchell
Italian Tania Calabrese
LEARNING SUPPORT OFFICERS
Poppy Brennan
Vivane Lacey
Sarina Leptos
Eileen Martoccia
Olga Pettinella
Tracey Phegan
Michelle Ray
OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR
Loretta Marazzato
MOVING UP DAY
On Monday, December 15, we will be holding our 'Moving Up Afternoon', where the children will meet their teacher and classmates for 2026. After this session, your child will bring home a note with details about their teacher for the upcoming year.
🎅 CHRISTMAS CAROLS & CHRISTMAS MARKET 🎅
Get ready to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year with our annual Christmas Carols Evening this WEDNESDAY Dec 10! 🌟 Bring along your picnic rug, family, and friends, and enjoy a magical evening. ✨
The afternoon/evening will begin at 5:00pm with our last 'End of Term' Market for the year, and it's going to be Christmas-themed! Come along and shop for fabulous gifts, enjoy our regular sausage sizzle and immerse yourself in the festive cheer.
We look forward to seeing you there to celebrate the season with us!
Further Accolades for Our Young ICT Award Winners! 🏆💻
We are thrilled to share more exciting news about our Young ICT award-winning students! Their innovative Umbrella Helmet STEM project has now placed 2nd in the Nationals—an outstanding achievement on the national stage.
As a result of their incredible success, the students will be receiving an additional $150 eGift card as a prize. Lucky them! 🎉💳
Congratulations to our talented students for their creativity, hard work, and dedication and thank you to Marita Canning for making it all possible!!
Their achievement continues to make our school community proud!
CHOIR NEWS...
Last week our choir visited the Thornbury Kindergarten and performed a song from Moanna. They were ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT - special shout-out to the members of the choir who did a solo performance!
Our school choir has enjoyed a fantastic year, thanks to the incredible dedication and leadership of our students. This has been a completely student-led initiative, and the results have been nothing short of inspiring.
A huge well done and thank you to Henry, Abbey, Chloe, Maeve, and Ruby, who have taken the lead throughout the year—organising rehearsals, selecting repertoire, and guiding the group with creativity and confidence. Their commitment has helped the choir grow in both skill and spirit.
I am extremely proud of what they have achieved.
Bravo to the entire choir for a wonderful year of music! 🎶
ST MARY’S HAS A STREET LIBRARY
Located on Mansfield St is our new street library. Thanks to the P & F who purchased the library from some of the profits from last year’s Rossmoyne Rummage. We wanted to give back to the community and create something for both our students and local children in the area.
Students were asked to enter a design for us to paint. We congratulate John J from Grade 2 whose design was chosen. The under the sea design also linked in nicely with our scarecrow entry.
Thanks to Ms Tania for assisting with the organisation of our street library, and to Ms Poppy for assisting with the painting of the library with various students at lunchtime.
It was recently installed by Daniel Latina (Father of Leo) and some very keen Grade 4 students who loaded it with books ready to be taken.
We encourage you to visit the street library and to take some books to read at home or to put books into for other children to enjoy.
Important Start-of-Year (2026) Information 📅
Please note:
- Prep Children only will commence on Wednesday, 28th January.
- Children in Grades 1–6 will attend in small groups over Wednesday 28th and Thursday 29th to allow teachers to conduct beginning-of-year assessments.
- The whole school (Prep–6) will be onsite from Friday, 30th January.
We thank families for their support as we begin an exciting new school year!
FINAL THANK YOU...
As we reach the end of the year, I want to extend a heartfelt thank-you to all our St Mary’s families for welcoming me so warmly. Your support has made my first year here such an enjoyable and rewarding one, and I have truly loved getting to know you all.
I also want to acknowledge our outstanding students. They are amazing young people—kind, generous, and so very welcoming—and it has been a privilege to work with them each day. I have thoroughly enjoyed this year and feel very fortunate to be part of this community.
I would especially like to thank each and every member of the St Mary's staff for their professionalism, their dedication to the craft of teaching and their commitment to the children in their care. Their patience is unending, their enthusiasm contagious and their desire to provide the best education for our students is to be commended.c
Thank you to Amanda Gill and Michelle Cameron, whose support in their roles at Deputy Principal is greatly appreciated. Your guidance and dedication have truly made a difference, and I am so grateful for everything you have done.
Thank you to Sharen Maguire for her leadership in Learning and Teaching. Your hard work and commitment have made a significant impact on our students' growth, and we truly appreciate all you do. Thank you also to Tania Calabrese for her unwavering work in the realm of Wellbeing and for providing guidance, support, and a positive environment that has truly enriched our school community.
I would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all members of the newly formed School Advisory Council (SAC). Your willingness to take on this important commitment demonstrates a remarkable passion and drive for St Mary’s, and your support is greatly appreciated by our whole school community.
A special thank you goes to Ryan Fort for assuming the role of Chair. I am grateful for his sage advice and unwavering dedication to St Mary’s, which has been invaluable in guiding the Council’s work. With this strong leadership foundation, we are well-positioned to continue strengthening our community partnerships and ensuring St Mary’s remains a place where every student can thrive.
Thank you to all SAC members for your commitment, insight, and tireless efforts in helping St Mary’s continue to thrive.