From the Deputy Principal
Mr James Millane
Celebrate Learning Expos
This Term, our school celebrated student learning through three vibrant expos, each showcasing the exploration of Energy through the lens of the Physical Sciences.
Prep students investigated the forces of 'Push and Pull' and had fun playing a game and showing off their spinning tops that they made.
Years 1 and 2 students investigated 'light and sound', experimenting with shadows, reflections and vibrations to discover how energy moves and changes.
Years 3 and 4 explored 'heat' and its transfer, using hands-on experiments to observe how different materials conduct or insulate thermal energy.
Years 5 and 6 students delved into 'electrical energy', designing and testing circuits to understand how energy is transferred and transformed. Each stage's expo highlighted curiosity, creativity and scientific thinking in action.
Vision for Instruction
Next Term, we are excited to invite parents to participate in two hands-on Masterclasses designed to showcase how our school is implementing the Vision for Instruction (VFI) as part of Catholic Education’s approach to high-impact teaching and learning. These sessions will give families a firsthand look at how we structure our Literacy and Numeracy blocks, with a focus on clear learning intentions, evidence-based strategies and engaging, purposeful tasks.
Parents will see how we are creating consistent, high-quality learning experiences that challenge and support every student. It’s a great opportunity to better understand your child’s learning journey and how we are enacting the VFI every day in our classrooms.
Tuesday 12th August - Literacy VFI Parent Sessions
Tuesday 19 August - Numeracy VFI Parent Sessions
Cyber Safety
As children in Years 4, 5 and 6 grow in independence, many begin to engage more frequently in group chats and online gaming conversations. These platforms can offer positive social interaction, but they also come with challenges such as peer pressure, misunderstandings and exposure to inappropriate content. Open and ongoing communication at home is essential, by regularly talking with your child about their online experiences, you help them develop critical thinking, resilience and respectful digital habits. Encouraging honest conversations builds trust and ensures your child knows they can come to you if something online makes them uncomfortable.
To support our students in this important area, we will be having a visit form Senior Constable Emma Ryan from the Prahran Proactive Policing Unit on Friday 25th July to discuss positive communication and 'Cyber Safety' issues with our senior students.
4-Square Competition
This week, excitement is building across the school as we head into the grand finale of our End of Term Four-Square Competition! After weeks of friendly matches, skill-building, and lunchtime showdowns, students from all year levels are ready to battle it out in a fun and energetic display of sportsmanship and teamwork. Four-square has brought students together across Grades, promoting fair play, resilience and active participation. The finals promise fast footwork, quick thinking and lots of cheering from the sidelines. What a fantastic way to wrap up the Term!
NAIDOC Week
NAIDOC Week, which takes place during the first week of the school holidays, is a time to celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Although we won’t be at school during this important week, we look forward to honouring NAIDOC Week together early in Term 3 through classroom learning, prayer and community activities. It is a valuable opportunity for our school to reflect on the richness of the world’s oldest continuing cultures and to deepen our commitment to reconciliation and respect.
Student Awards
Congratulations to the following students who received awards at recent assemblies:
| Paul T | 3T | For working responsibly at his own pace, ensuring that all tasks reflect his best efforts. He takes great pride in everything he produces. Well done, Paul! |
| Jack H | 2J | For his recent efforts to listen carefully during whole class discussion and instruction times. |
| Athira N | 4M | For representing St Mary's School in a very responsible manner at our Kinder visit. You interacted gently with the Kindergarten students showing kindness and care. I was very proud of you Athira. |
| Sheihka G | 5/6M | For your ability to always respect others both inside and outside the classroom. |
| Roman B | 3T | For being a responsible learner all Term, ensuring he gets all tasks completed on time and improving his writing every day. Excellent work Roman. |
| Sebastian D-R | 5/6L | Congratulations Sebastian, this semester you have shown responsibility by completing learning tasks and engaging in all activities both in the classroom and in your leadership role. |
Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD) On School Students with Disability
As stated in the NCCD Guidelines,
“Approved authorities and their schools must notify students and parents, guardians, carers or associates to ensure that all involved in the NCCD are fully aware of the data collection, its purpose, legislative basis, to whom NCCD data will be disclosed, and that
assurance activities may be conducted by the department in relation to the NCCD data (Department of Education 2025, p. 18).”
Please note that our school is currently preparing to complete the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD). It counts the number of students who receive additional adjustments or “help” at school because of a disability.
Parents can refer to the fact sheets below for further information.
Please refer to the NCCD Portal for translated versions of the document.
Community Calendar
The 2025 community calendar can be found on the Calendar page but we encourage all families to connect to the School’s Google Community Calendar.
Please also see link to our Google Calendar.
If you wish to add this calendar to your personal device, you can use the following ical link: