From Our Principal
St Mel's is a proud Catholic Education Community, striving, learning
and achieving together through Christ our light.
Newsletter ~ Term 1, Week 4, 2026
Principal's Message:
Dear Parents, Carers, Families and Friends of St Mel’s Primary School,
Thank you to the parents and carers who have offered their condolences, prayers and well wishes to member of our Staff Team and the educators of St Mel's Kindergarten following the very sad and unexpected death of much loved and long-serving Kindergarten Educator Jo Selwood at the beginning of this week. Jo has been a much respected and highly capable Kindergarten Educator for 25 years within our St Mel's Education Community and supported the early years development of generations of young learners. We continue to keep Jo's husband, Ray, two children, Cody and Bree, grand daughter Charlotte and extended family, in our thoughts and prayers, along with Jo's kindergarten and school colleagues and all who came to know Jo as an educator and friend. May her soul rest in peace!
At time of writing, we have not received any further information and will share funeral arrangements when known.
Opening School Mass:
Those able to attend our celebration of the Eucharist in celebration of our new year of school learning will no doubt be still speaking of this beautiful Mass. Our children participated so reverently and respectfully, joining in the responses and carefully selected songs (many from our friend Andrew Chinn). So lovely to have our singing led by a very enthusiastic mixed age choir of students and a very special refelctive song shared by our Foundation students after communion. At the end of our celebration we commissioned our Year Six Leaders, presenting them with badges signifying their Leadership Team. Well done to all our children for a beautiful Mass celebration. Thank you to the parents, carers and parishioners able to join us.
Shrove Tuesday & Ash Wednesday:
Our annual Shrove Tuesday Pancake Bake Fundraiser for CARITAS was a great success with over 500 pancakes cooked for the enjoyment of our students, staff, parishioners and students and Educators from St Mel's Kindergarten. Thank you for those able to join us, including Fr. Ruel, Marg and Maree from the St Mel's Parish.
On Wednesday we again gathered in our parish church for a prayerful Mass to mark the beginning of LENT. Our children were invited to receive the cross of ash on their foreheads or receive a blessing during the ceremony as a visible sign of our Lenten commitment to PRAY, FAST and ALMS GIVE across the season of Lent.
Ramadan:
We also keep in mind our Muslim families who have commenced the season of Ramadan on Ash Wednesday evening this year. These two seasons often overlap and this year commence on the same date. During Ramadan, people attend the mosque, pray, seek to do noble deeds, alms give and fast during daylight hours. There is such similarity between our two religions at this special time of Ramadan and Lent.
Magnify Sandhurst'
Every Student - Every Teacher - Every School - Every Day!
Members of our Staff Team have been involved in a series of online training sessions and face to face professional learning days focussed on strengthening our implementation of MAGNIFY across the school.
We will continue to increase our knowledge and hone our skills in support of our students learning, development and growth.
Apology Breakfast & Ceremony - Friday 13 February 2025:
Thank you to the children, parents and carers who joined Year 2 teacher Charlotte Wilson and myself at this special annual event last Friday.
This year's breakfast gathering signified the 18th anniversary of the National Apology to Australia's First Nations people for the losses experienced and continually being experienced as a result of the injustices to the 'Stolen Generation'.
An important event for our school to be represented at as we continue to work towards true reconciliation with our indigenous brothers and sisters.
Get To Know You Interviews:
Monday 23 February
Tuesday 24 February
A reminder to book your interview time slot via SIMONeverywhere (PAM) prior to next week. These are important opportunities for students, parents/carers and teachers to meet to discuss children's learning growth and development.
Capital Development Grant Success:
I am pleased to announce success with our application for a Capital Grant for a project due for completion this year.
'The delegate of the Minister for Education under the Australian Education Act 2013 has approved an Australian Government Capital Grant of $879,990 to assist your school with the refurbishment of six open plan General Learning Areas and associated break out spaces.'
This Capital Improvement Project will significantly improve our six open plan General Learning Areas currently used by our Year 3 & 4 and Year 5 & 6 Learning Communities.
The project includes retro-fitting these learning areas with operable doors / walls to significantly enhance these spaces to improve student learning minimising noise, distraction, etc... The project includes creating break out areas for intervention support and other learning groupings.
Our Year 3, 4, 5, and 6 Pastoral Groups will be able to operate within a separate learning environment from other year levels and have the ability to open the spaces for combined learning activities and gatherings in support of student learning, development and growth.
Our school contribution towards this project will be $20 000.
(Which we are also very grateful for, given the other projects our community has self funded in recent years e.g., painting school, new carpet in Year 1/2 and grounds development).
We are very grateful to the Australian Government and the Victorian Catholic Block Grant Authority (BGA) for supporting our application for this project which will significantly improve our learning environment in support of improved outcomes for our students.
Our architects have been informed and the next stage of planning currently underway.
School Lunch Orders - Lockwood Road Takeaway:
A reminder our school lunch orders are Thursday and Friday weekly.
NAPLAN - Year 3 and Year 5 Students:
Our Year Three and Year Five students will participate in the 2026 NAPLAN assessment period from Wednesday 11 March until Friday 20 March.
We wish our students and teachers in these year levels all the very best as they prepare for this annual assessment period.
Enhancing Catholic School Identity SURVEYS:
In support of our continued growth, development and improvement as a school community I invite our parents and carers to complete the ECSI Surveys that have been sent out this week. We look forward to receiving feedback from our community in support of our school's rich Catholic Identity, within the contect of our multi-cultural and multi-faith family population.
SIMONeverywhere (PAM) - Update Your Email & Phone Number:
Parents and carers are advised to ensure your current email address and mobile phone numbers are accurate on the SIMONeverywhere portal. This is our main way of communicating with parents and carers ie school emails, text messages, etc...
School Arrival Time: [REPEAT]
A reminder the entrance gates open from 8:30am each morning.
End of Day pick up should be completed as early as possible after 3:20pm (and by 3:40pm).
Parents / carers seeking to access to the St Mel's Uniting Outside School Hours Care in support of early drop off or late pick pick up, please refer to the information contained in the newsletter. Thank you for the ongoing support with these times.
St Mel's Primary School Shepparton FACEBOOK: [REPEAT]
Our school FACEBOOK page can be located HERE!
We have introduced this FACEBOOK presence as a way of publicly celebrating our school community and providing regular updates and information regarding our school.
The St Mel's Primary School Shepparton FACEBOOK page is not a mode of communicating with our school. Face to face, phone and/or email communication fulfills that role.
A reminder that the school's NEWSLETTER is our main source of updating parents, carers and community, with reminders sent via email and SiMON EVERYWHERE (PAM).
St Mel's Uniting Outside School Hours Care - Vacation, Student Free Days and Before School Care:
- 2025 & 2026 School Vacation Program - This was a HUGE success, with many families accessing the service over the school holidays. The program of activities was exceptional!
Before School Care - has recommenced, though with LOW numbers.
The viability of continuing the Before School Care is being closely monitored.
Continued low need for this service may mean a discontinuation of Before School Care for the future.
- Outside School Hours Care - has recommenced
- Student Free Days - across the year!
NOTE 1: Before School Care comes with a yummy breakfast!
Check out the menu...
NOTE 2: Registering your child/children in St Mel's Uniting Outside School Hours Care can take up to a week to process, given the documentation required.
Parents and carers are recommended to register NOW if there is a possibility of using this service at any time this year. Once registered, children are booked in via the registration app.
Parents and carers seeking more information or wishing to register children for Vacation Care are directed to contact Uniting Vic Tas directly by:
Phone: 1800 183 103
Email: earlylearning@unitingvictas.org.au
School Dates:
Please check the Upcoming Dates & Events section of the newsletter regularly.
Catholic Education Podcasts: [REPEAT]
Keep up with the latest MAGNIFY updates by subscribing to the following Catholic Education Sandhurst podcasts:
Grounded in Science of Learning, Maginify Sandhurst focusses on how the brain learns best, how literacy and numeracy are best taught, and how calm, predictable
classrooms can maximise learning time for every student.
This podcast explores the big ideas and how everyday moments shape learning in our
schools, from the latest research and evidence based learning and teaching practices to
real stories of students, parents, carers and educators. What matters in Catholic
education?
Best wishes for the term of school learning ahead.
Stephen 'Steve' Hicks
Principal
Did you know? ~
