Newsletter ~ Term 1, Week 8, 2026

Principal's Message:

Dear Parents, Carers, Families and Friends of St Mel’s Primary School,

As we head towards the end of our first term of school learning for 2026 we have a good opportunity to reflect on the engagement of our children in their respective learning journey and their participation at school. The recent 'Get To Know You' interviews provided an opportunity to set new goals for future learning, which should have provided a renewed focus for our learners.

With less than two weeks of school learning to come, we look forward to our children engaging fully with the curriculum, continuing to learn, develop and grow right up until the holiday break. Of course, as our young learners draw ever closer to the holidays in these next two weeks they become a little more tired, needing to make the most of their downtime (ie Lunch and Recess) at school, after school and weekend periods.

Best wishes Week 9 and Holy Week to follow as we focus especially on the Easter Story and its significance in our lives.

Lent & Supporting Project Compassion:

A reminder to continue to add donations to the Project Compassion boxes and start sending these back to school over the next two weeks. We look forward to providing a total of funds raised in this annual fundraising activity. Visit https://www.caritas.org.au/ to view many of their amazing projects made possible through the generousity of our families and families across Australia supporting this Lenten fundraising effort.

Sacramental Journey:

Please continue to keep our parish's children currently engaged in their Sacramental journey in your thoughts and prayers as they meet in family groupings focussed on Confirmation & Eucharist.

Converge on The Goulburn:

This annual event occurs this Saturday at Lake Victoria. A family friendly celebration of our First Nations and multicultural communities. 2pm to 9pm Saturday 21 March 2026.

Albanian Harvest Festival:

On Sunday 29 March from 11:00am to 5:00pm our local Albanian community will celebrate their annual Harvest Festival at the Queens Gardens, Shepparton. This event was developed over 25 years ago to celebrate Albanian culture and help local Albanian families connect. It is a celebration of Albanian culture, rural produce and its people.

Harmony Day:

It was wonderful to see our children, families and staff wearing their dress, colours and cultural finery to school in celebration of national Harmony Day today.

We have such a rich tapestry of cultures and religions making up our Catholic school community. So wonderful to celebrate the diversity, our differences and similarities.

Magnify Sandhurst'

Every Student - Every Teacher - Every School - Every Day!

Next Tuesday we have a visit from MulitiLit and Catholic Education Sandhurst Learning and Teaching representatives to view our Foundation to Year Two Literacy programs being delivered. This is our second visit in support of our implementation of MAGNIFY.

Specialist Program Changes for Next Week:

Our specialist program for next week has been changed to accommodate the School Closure Day and MultiLit / CESL visit.

Next week our students will have PE, The Arts and STEM as follows:

Tuesday - Foundation and Year 5/6

Thursday - Year 3/4 (as usual)

Friday - Year 1/2

Please remember to have your children in Sports Uniform on the correct day.

The usual Specialist Days will resume for the last week of term.

Ongoing Capital Improvements:

In keeping with our planned cyclical maintenance and capital improvement plans our Foundation Learning Community carpet will be replaced, and extended, with quality carpet tiles over the Easter school holiday break. We look forward to the completion next capital improvement project which will increase the carpet space in this area.

Hamilton Street Entrances:

Keep an eye on the entrance ways from Hamilton Street which will also receive a well needed facelift in coming weeks. I look forward to completion of this grounds improvement project which has been on our list for some time.

Ga Ga Pit:

We are currently in negotiations with our builder to have our new Ga Ga Pit installed over the approaching school holiday break. The excitement is growing as the school holidays draw every closer.

Staffing Update:

I will be away next week with colleagues at the Victorian Catholic Primary School Principal Association conference. This conference is held every two years and will be my first conference, given I did not attend my first year here as principal.

NAPLAN - Year 3 and Year 5 Students:

We congratulate our Year 3 and Year 5 children on their involvement in the 2026 NAPLAN assessment period.

Enhancing Catholic School Identity SURVEYS:

Please aim to complete your survey by the school holidays.

Check you emails for the information sent our a few weeks ago.

We are seeking responses from right across our parents and carers in addition to the Year 5/6 students and broader Staff Team.

Last Day of Term One - Holy Thursday:

School finishes at 2:20pm on Thursday 2 April for the Easter school holiday break.

Please be conscious of this earlier finish time in the last week of term.

Fruit Break: [REPEAT]

A review of our current Fruit Break Process is underway. Fruit break was originally introduced to provide children with a mid morning snack of fruit / veg during the peak two hour morning block to provide a burst of nutriants to support engagement.

The idea is that children have a small nutritious snack whilst they continue to engage in the learning activity / session.

In support of Fruit Break, we ask our parents and carers to ensure their children are provided with SMALL nutritious a fruit and/or veg snack, preferably in a small container, that can be quicky retrieved, consumed and put away during the fruit break time.

We are aiming to increase time on task and decrease lost learning time by ensuring Fruit Break is not a break from instruction, learning and/or engagement.

School Closure Day - Wednesday 25th March: [REMINDER]

As per previous advice, our school will be closed for a Staff Professional Development Day and an upgrade of our school network and phone systems. Plans are being made for our Staff PL Day to be facilitated offsite. A reminder, there will be no school for students on Wednesday 25 March and the Out of School

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.

Did you know? ~

Breakfast Club Sponsors

Thank you to Bakers Delight City & Plaza, who sponsors our St. Mel's Breakfast Club!