Dear Parents and Families,

The first few weeks have flown by! Although the mornings are a little fresh, this is the last month of Winter and we can start to see signs of spring in the plants, with small shoots forming, just waiting for the sun. In the meantime, keep those coats, gloves and scarves handy!

ART AND STEM SHOW - COMING SOON!

You're Invited!

Our Art & STEM Show is just around the corner, and we warmly invite all families to come and celebrate the amazing creativity, imagination and innovation of our students.

Come and explore a wonderful display of artwork and STEM projects created by students from across the school. There will be something for everyone to enjoy!

Dates & Times

Thursday 10th September: 3:20 pm – 5:00 pm
Friday 11th September: 3:20 pm – 5:00 pm

Monday 14th September: 10:00 am – 6:00 pm

Location: The GECCO

We are incredibly proud of our students' efforts and can't wait to share their wonderful work with our school community.

We look forward to seeing you there!

FIRST EUCHARIST MASSES

The first of our Eucharist Masses was celebrated last weekend, with the students showing reverence for the importance of the sacrament. They participated and demonstrated a wonderful maturity, which made their parents and the school staff so proud of them!

The list of students for this weekend of Masses is below. We wish all students and their families a special and memorable day.

Ellie B, Hazel C, Florence C, Leon C, Kira D B, Max D, Isabella D, Dominic G, Aurora M, Harper M, Liana M, Mia M, Marco P, Sebastian P, Aston P, Michael P, Jacob P, Louis R, Liviana S,

Saskia T, Jack V, Senara W, Senudi W, Nikola W, Liam Z, James Z.

PREP 100 DAYS OF SCHOOL

The Preps celebrated in style last week, as the centre of attention for reaching the 100 Days milestone! Most dressed up as the age with some beautiful extras - pearls and handbags, braces and walking sticks. The enjoyed creating Fruit Loops necklaces and a crown for the day, as well as decorating a 100 cookie.

Thank you to our amazing team of teachers and LSOs for the work they have done to build the confidence and skills of our Preps.

PREP - YEAR TWO STUDENTS EXITING IN THE AFTERNOON

We want to ensure that the students are collected safely at the end of the day. We ask you to wait near where your child's class lines up in the morning, so that teachers are fully aware of who has collected each student at the end of the day. We ask that you do not stand in the walkway under the verandah so that the Preps and Year 1s and 2s can easily walk to their dots. Please start this process from tomorrow. Thank you.

JUNIOR TOILETS PROJECT

Behind the barricade, progress is occurring! The tiling has been completed and the floor too. Everything just takes a little longer to dry in this weather!

Thanks to our Novcon team for their work so far.

We look forward to the new, brighter toilets being completed in the next two to three weeks!

PLAYGROUP - Up and running!

What a fabulous start to the Playgroup, with nine of our own parents getting together with their preschool aged children for a chat and play on the first morning. This week, twelve parents attended.

Come along and see all the fantastic toys which have been donated!

Please note that as the Playgroup is held on school grounds, parents must have a current WWCC to attend.

Thank you to those of you who have generously donated toys and items for the Playgroup. This will continue to build over time.

BASKETBALL COMPETITION

Our Year Five and Six Basketball Teams participated in the Hooptime Competition on Monday. It was great to hear that the matches were so close, and played with great respect. Although the teams do not progress to the division level, we were proud of all our players. Thank you to Peter Koulaxizellis and Christine Porter who supported them, along with their parents on the day.

ATTENDANCE AND HOLIDAYS

Thank you for reading about the changes to the Attendance Policy which began from the start of the term. Particular thanks to those who have sought approval from me if going on holiday during term time. If you need access to the documents, they are on our website and can also be found here:

CSPV Re-ESTABLISHED

Catholic School Parents Victoria – Supporting Families in Catholic Education

Catholic School Parents Victoria (CSPV) has been re-established to strengthen the voice of parents and carers in Catholic education across Victoria, recognising parents as the first educators and key partners in their child’s learning, wellbeing and faith journey.

CSPV is guided by a Council of parent representatives from across the state, ensuring that the diverse perspectives of families in Catholic schools are reflected in its work and advocacy.

We invite you to explore the CSPV website at www.cspv.catholic.edu.au where you will find a wealth of information and resources to support your parenting journey within Catholic education, including guidance on wellbeing, faith, learning and key issues impacting families. You can also subscribe via the website to join the CSPV community, receive the quarterly newsletter and be invited to upcoming events.

You can also connect with CSPV on LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook to access valuable insights, updates and practical resources.

Together, we can continue to strengthen the partnership between families, schools and the wider Catholic community.

SYNOD

What is a synod? It's a consultation.

The purpose of the Synod is to help shape the evangelical and missionary priorities for the Archdiocese of Melbourne for the years ahead.

WHAT ARE WE CONSULTING ABOUT?

Our consultation will focus on the three themes identified by the Archbishop:

• Young Discipleship

• Missionary Leadership

• Formation and Participation.

Three theme papers have been prepared to assist in focusing on the themes.

At the conclusion of each theme paper, there are prompt questions for reflection. Responses to these questions can be uploaded via the QR code which can be found at the end of each paper. Alternatively, feedback can be emailed to: Synod2026@cam.org.au.

All responses from this consultation process need to be uploaded by August 21st. The second and third Theme Papers are shared here for you to read and provide your own feedback.

EVENTS OVER THE COMING TWO WEEKS

Fri 7 Aug - Mass for the Feast of Mary of the Cross MacKillop at 9.15am

- ISS vs Heidelberg PS

- Year Four Excursion to the Museum

Sat 8 / Sun 9 Aug - First Eucharist Masses at 5.30pm and 10am

Mon 10 Aug - 4GH Class Mass at 9.15am

Thurs 13 Aug - SAC Meeting 7pm in the Seminar Room

Fri 14 Aug - Mass for the Feast of the Assumption at 9.15am

- ISS vs Viewbank PS (Away)

Mon 17 Aug - 8.50am Assembly

- National No Bullying Week

- Year Three Parent & Child Reconciliation Workshop 5-6.30pm in the GECCO

Tues 18 Aug - First Aid in Schools Program

Thurs 20 Aug - 2.30pm Calvary Care Visit - 3BC

Have a wonderful weekend! God bless.

IMPORTANT UPDATES

ENROLMENT FOR 2027

Tours continue this term, with our Year Six students doing a magnificent job taking visiting parents around our school.

Upcoming Tour Dates for Term Three are as follows:

Tuesday 11 August, Friday 28 August and Tuesday 8 September

Please make a booking for a tour through the Office. All Tours commence at 9.30am.

In Term Three, we invite our Prep 2027 students to a Library Session and a PE/Games Session to help them get to know others who are coming to Prep in 2027 and to see the school spaces. It's a lot bigger than Kinder!

The Library Session is on Wednesday 2 Sept at 2.40pm

The Games/PE Session is on Wednesday 16 Sept at 2.45pm

ASSEMBLIES THIS TERM

Our Assemblies for Term Three will be held on Mondays - 17 August (Wk 6), 24 August (Wk 7 - Book Week Parade), 7 September (Wk 9).

Please join us on Top Yard at 8.50am.

PFA FUNDRAISING

The focus of the PFA fundraising this year is the replacement of the Senior Adventure Playground. As you can imagine, this is a costly enterprise, so we are gearing all our fundraisers to this. The students will have input into the components to be included, so we want to be able to get as much for them as we can.

We are aiming for a $100,000 AMAZING play space!

Please help us to get there across the year by sharing our fundraising activities at work, with friends and with your extended family. Some of them may also make lovely gifts!

SCHOOL ADVISORY COUNCIL

Here are the current SAC members.

The SAC is the body which advises on matters concerning the school. It can assist with school promotion, provide information to the school community and skills and perspectives on matters of interest to our parents. You may have a particular skill set which will help on the SAC, or be interested in learning more about our programs and initiatives. Everyone is welcome to apply for a two year term, which will be decided by Fr Michael and myself if we have more applicants than positions. The SAC meets twice a term for approximately 1.5 hours. Please read the Expression of Interest information.

CLASS MASSES

Please check the list below for your child's Class Mass. Your child's teacher/s will be in touch prior to the Mass, but please also note this date. There can, at times, be changes to these dates, if Fr Michael has a funeral to preside over.

Term 3	Class

Friday 7th August - Mary MacKillop Mass (school)	6RV
Monday 10th August	4GH
Friday 14 August - Feast of the Assumption (school)	6BM
Thursday 20 August	3CJ
Thursday 27 August	4CJ

Term 4	Class
Thursday 8 October	2MT
Thursday 22 October	2JB
Tuesday 27 October	PJL
Thursday 5 November	2AD
Wednesday 11 November - St Martin of Tours Feast Day (school)	6EM
Tuesday 17 November	PGO
Thursday 19 November	PMA

2026 MACSSIS Survey