When I sat down to write this week’s newsletter, I was genuinely blown away by just how much has happened across our school over the past fortnight. The list of special moments, opportunities and achievements seemed to be never-ending.

It really is a great reminder of how lucky we are to be part of such a wonderful community. Whether it is our students getting involved and giving things a go, our staff going above and beyond, our families supporting everything we do, or members of the wider community contributing to our school, there is always so much happening at St Mary’s.

Weeks like this remind me just how special our school is and how fortunate I feel to be a part of it.

As we begin to wind down towards the end of term, thank you to everyone who continues to contribute in so many different ways. It certainly does not go unnoticed.

Battle of the Boots

What an awesome day our annual Battle of the Boots football match against Hampton Primary was! While we didn’t get the win on the day, it was fantastic to see our dads and staff proudly representing St Mary’s in front of a bumper crowd, dominated by St Mary’s families. It was another great example of the strong community spirit we have at our school.

The event raised just over $19,000, an incredible result, with $2,000 donated to our three local kindergartens – Hampton Community Kindergarten, Helen Paul Kindergarten and Holy Trinity Kindergarten. The remaining funds will support some exciting playground projects at St Mary’s, which we look forward to sharing more about as the year progresses.

A special thank you to Peter and Gerry for their outstanding organisation of the event, supported by Sarah K, our P&F President, and to Belinda and Briony, two of our amazing Year 5 mums, who absolutely dominated the barbecue!

A huge well done also to Maeve, Sheena, Finn, Aoibheann, Aida, Luna and Marnie, who showed some fantastic entrepreneurial spirit with their bake sale, making an impressive $333 profit on the day.

Finally, thank you to the very talented Amanda McBride, Prep and Year 2 parent, for capturing so many brilliant photos from the day.

It is such a big day on our school calendar and there was so much to celebrate. Thank you to everyone who came along and helped make it such a success.

Book Week

It was fantastic to see our school come alive on Monday as we celebrated Book Week 2026 – Symphony of Stories.

This year’s theme celebrates the way stories, like music, can bring people together, spark imagination and take us to new places. It was wonderful to see so many creative costumes and, most importantly, our students sharing in the joy of books and reading.

Thank you to our families for getting behind the day and helping make it such a fun celebration for our students.

Book Swap

One of the highlights of Book Week was the launch of our Swap a Book, Give a Book initiative, led entirely by our amazing Year 6 student leader, Zara.

Working in conjunction with One Two Three Read to Me, Zara developed, organised and delivered the initiative, resulting in approximately 3,000 books being donated to support children and families in need. An incredible effort for such a worthwhile cause.

Congratulations to Year 5D, who donated the most books as a class and will enjoy a pizza party to celebrate their generosity, and to Elise, who was our highest individual contributor.

Most importantly, a huge congratulations to Zara for bringing this initiative to life from start to finish. A brilliant example of leadership in action.

School Choir

A big congratulations to our school choir, who recently visited Ellenora Calvary Aged Care Home to perform for the residents.

The students sang This Little Light of Mine and Count on Me, and it was such a lovely experience for everyone involved. The choir did a wonderful job, and there was plenty of appreciation from the residents – including some very welcome Tim Tams as a special reward!

Thank you to Mrs Mel Cajili for coordinating the choir and to Mrs Michelle Perpina for attending and supporting the students on the day.

Father's Day Festivities

A big thank you to all of our dads and special friends who joined us for our Father’s Day breakfast and liturgy on Friday. It was fantastic to see such a well-supported event and a wonderful way to celebrate the special men in our St Mary’s community.

Thank you to Lainie, Dean, Ben, Greta, Rachel, Abul, Renee and our Year 2 P&F team for coordinating the morning, including the Father’s Day stall, toasties and all the other little touches that made the day so special. Shout out to Tim Arnold for putting on the coffee and providing the BBQ and Amanda McBride for doing photography. We look forward to sharing some photos soon!

Thank you also to Mr Ed Simpson, Mrs Hatzi and Mrs Buckingham for preparing and leading our beautiful liturgy with our amazing Year 2s.

It was a great day and another lovely celebration of our St Mary’s community.

Footy Colours Day

It was great to see everyone proudly wearing their team colours on Friday as we celebrated Footy Colours Day and looked ahead to the AFL Finals.

On a personal note, I’m still coming to terms with the fact that September won’t feature any more Magpie action! To make matters worse, I also lost a bet and had to proudly (not really) wear a Bulldogs scarf today. A deal is a deal!

It was another fun day at St Mary’s and great to see so much colour, friendly rivalry and footy spirit around the school.

Scholarship Raffle East Timor

At Wednesday’s assembly, we were fortunate to welcome Heather McGrath from Sacred Heart Parish, who spoke to our students about this year’s scholarship raffle supporting students in East Timor.

Heather shared the story of five university scholars who will be supported through the initiative and the difference this opportunity can make, not only for the students themselves, but also for their wider communities.

Raffle tickets will be sent home today, with some wonderful prizes on offer. Tickets are $5 each or $20 for a book, with all proceeds going directly towards supporting these students as they continue their university studies and develop skills that will have a lasting impact in their communities.

Aladdin Jnr

Our Aladdin Junior production is fast approaching, and excitement is certainly building!

Our evening performance is nearly sold out, while tickets are still available for the matinee performance. If you would like an early glimpse of the show, or have grandparents, friends or younger children who would love to come along, the matinee is a great opportunity to be part of it.

It promises to be a fantastic celebration of Performing Arts at St Mary’s, and we can’t wait to see our students take to the stage!

Term 4 Uniform Expectations

It is hard to believe we are already heading back towards the warmer months, with plenty of spring in the air!

As we begin Term 4, a reminder that students will return to summer uniform. This includes short-sleeve shirts for boys and girls, summer dresses for girls, black leather school shoes, and PE uniform as normal.

School hats will also be compulsory from the first day of Term 4, and we will be strictly enforcing our No Hat, No Play policy.

Please make sure your child has the correct St Mary’s school-branded hat, available from PSW. No other hats are permitted to be worn at school.

We encourage families to use the next few weeks and the school holidays to make sure all uniform items, particularly hats, are ready for the start of Term 4.

End of Term

With our Aladdin Junior production taking place on Thursday evening, a reminder that Friday 18 September will be the final day of Term 3.

School will operate as normal on Friday, however, as scheduled, students will finish at 1:00pm. MACSEYE will be available for families who require care following the early finish.

We also understand that, following a very big production day and evening, some students may need a slower start on Friday or may benefit from using the day as a rest day. The day at school will be kept light, and families are welcome to make the decision that best suits their child.

If your child will not be attending school on Friday, please let their classroom teacher know in advance so we can plan accordingly.

Thank you for your support as we finish what has been a very busy and exciting Term 3.

Steele

Important Dates