Dear Families,

Welcome to our final newsletter for the year.

We had a wonderful celebration on Saturday 29th November to farewell Father Joseph and the friars from our parish. Thank-you to those staff and families who were able to attend. The Franciscan order has been part of Springvale/Dingley parish for 50 years and whilst it was a lovely celebration it was also tinged with sadness with the ending of such a long and positive relationship.

Our swimming lessons are well underway for our P - 4 children and organisation for 2026 has been finalised. We had a very successful transition session on Tuesday and welcomed 66 new foundation students. 2026 staffing arrangements are outlined below.

Our Year 6 students were treated to a wonderful night of music, dancing friendship and fun along with some yummy pizza, cake and and a few special treats. Thank-you to Leanne and her wonderful group of Year 6 parents who made up the disco committee and organised and supervised a wonderful event for our year 6 students.

As this is our final newsletter for the year I would like to take this opportunity to thank the dedicated and hard working staff of St Mark's for a wonderful year of learning. The support of our families and the wonderful efforts of our students certainly enhance the vibrant and supportive community that St Mark's is.

I wish you all a very joyful and peaceful Christmas and New Year and encourage you and your family to participate in the Christmas litrugies at St Mark's/St Joseph's Parish.

School ends for all students on Monday 15th December at 1.30 p.m. Our end of year school Mass will be celebrated at 9.15 a.m. on Monday 15th December - followed by our end of year assembly and you are all very welcome to attend.

Team Kids will be running a holiday program commencing at 1.30 pm. on Monday 15th December - please book directly with Team Kids if you need to use this service.

The first day of school for all students in 2026 will be Monday 2nd February at 8.50 a.m. Gates open at 8.30 a.m. Foundation students finish at 12.30 p.m. whilst all other year levels finish at 3.20 p.m.

Beginning of the Year Assessments:

Please ensure you book in for your child's 2026 beginning of the year assessment, as per the booking form that was sent home today.

New SAC Members Needed!

If you are interested in being more involved with your child's school but can't get to day time events then please consider becoming a member of the School Advisory Council.

The group meets 6 - 7 times in the year on a Tuesday evening from 7.30 - 9.00 pm. The purpose of the group as determined by the MACS board, supports the overall governance of MACS schools as it ‘is to give consideration to, and advice on, important school matters in order to support the principal and the strategic interest of the school’ (Working Together in Mission p. 18). The School Advisory Council provides a forum for discussion and discernment, where parent voice and community perspective are available to inform and support the decisions made by the principal and parish priest as the custodian of mission for the good of school and parish where students’ wellbeing and outcomes are paramount.

If you are interested in becoming a member of the SAC please email Frances on principal@smdingley.catholic.edu.au and I will send you an information pack outlining the roles and responsibilities of the SAC team.

Congratulations:

Well done to Leo who has spent months and months growing his hair in order to donate it to the "Hair with Heart" Charity to help sick kids. If you would like to donate to "Hair with Heart" and support Leo's great work please go to https://hairwithheart.variety.org.au

St Mark's 3D Christmas Creations!

This term in STEM, students from Foundation to Year 6 took on an exciting design challenge! Using Tinkercad, each class created their very own 3D-printed Christmas ornaments. Students explored digital design skills, experimented with shapes and colours, and brought their ideas to life through our 3D printer.

We’re proud of the creativity and problem-solving shown by all our young designers. You can see a selection of their finished ornaments hanging on the Christmas tree in the front office. Be sure to stop by and check out their wonderful work!

Class structures and Staffing for 2026:

STAFF POSITIONS 2026

Classroom Teachers:

Foundation B Bernadette Bouvier - Level Leader

Foundation M Courtney Michael

Foundation R Miranda Ryan

Year 1 D Rob De Marco

Year 1 E Kylie Ellis

Year 1 PD Louise Pigott/Bianca D’Cunha

Year 2 CF Colleen Costante/Chrissy Flanagan

Year 2 K Candice Karam

Year 2 L Jane Lancaster - Level Leader

Year 3/4 BM Ali Marantz/Holly Bartley

Year 3/4 D Vanessa Dillon

Year 3/4 K Chris Karalis

Year 3/4 M Natasha Marshall - Level Leader

Year 3/4 N Nerissa Derwort

Year 5/6 F Liana Francese

Year 5/6 M Kieran McGuinness

Year 5/6 P Nick Parker - Level Leader

Year 5/6 S Angela Stuart

Year 5/6 VJ Victoria Vieceli/Deanna Johnson

Specialist Staff:

Japanese (F-6) Nikki Ishikawa

Visual/Media Arts (F-6) Michaela Kim

P.E. (F-6) Grace Amerena

Performing Art (F-2) Gaye Bolst

Performing Art (3-6) Olivia Connolly

SAKG Tammie Siegert

STEM (F-2) Tammie Siegert

STEM (3-6) Karen Barker

Leaders/POLs:

D.P./Wellbeing/R.E. Andrew Davies

Learning Diversity . Gillian Johnston

Literacy Leader Carolyn Hunter

Maths/IT Leader Ellis Warrener

Learning and Teaching Leader Angela Stuart

Learning and Teaching - Data. Nick Parker

MHiPS/FIRE Carrier Leader Sheridan Bredin

(Mental Health in Primary Schools Leader)

Intervention:

Literacy Carolyn Hunter

Maths Ellis Warrener

Maths/Literacy Bernadette Crothers

Leadership Release:

5/6 Nisha Hehar

5/6 Louis Naidoo

Level Leaders Release. Bianca D'Cunha

Learning Support Officers:

Michelle Ades

Lara Bates

Malia Callaghan

Melissa Cook

Laura Ferris

Angela Footit

Rose Gallucci

Kelly Lewis

Cathy McKenna

Karen Melnjak

Jemima O’Toole

Claudia Papatsikas

Crystal Saggers

Library Administrator:

Gina Zammit

Office Administrators:

Melissa Angerosa

Danni Hambidge

Gina Zammit

Principal:

Frances Matisi

Congratulations:

Congratulations to Noha, who was the very worthy recipient of the Stella Costantino award, that is given every year to an exiting Year 6 parent who has served St Mark's generously during their time in our community. Noha has certainly done that by being a tireless member of our School Advisory Council for approximately 6 years, and serving on many other school and parish committees and organisational bodies. Thank-you Noha for your very valued contribution to St Mark's over the years.

Social Media restrictions for all primary school students:

From 10 December 2025, the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024 will require social media platforms to:

prevent children and young people under 16 from having a social media account
deactivate or freeze existing accounts held by people under 16.

Delaying access to social media protects the health and wellbeing of young people and gives them extra time to build real world connections and digital literacy skills.

The responsibility will be on the social media platforms, not parents, carers, children or schools, to implement these new restrictions.

Most popular social media platforms will be age restricted. These include Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), Reddit and YouTube.

Messaging services and online games, as well as apps and platforms that support health and education, can still be used.

How to help under 16s prepare for the change

Parents and carers play an important role in supporting their children to be safe online.

To help get under 16s ready for the social media minimum age requirements, you can go to the eSafety website to learn more about the social media age restrictions and find tips on how to talk about social media age restrictions with young people.

What the change means for our school

At our school, all age-restricted social media platforms are blocked for student use on the school network.

To keep up to date about the new social media age restrictions, visit the eSafety website and subscribe to their newsletter.

Handcrafted Products by Tiffany Murray

One of our parents, Tiffany Murray, has beautifully displayed a selection of handmade products in the glass cabinet located in the office area. These items are available for purchase.

If you're interested in viewing or buying any of her creations, please feel free to take one of her business cards, which can be found in front of the products inside the cabinet.

Parent's Association