Last Day of Term 3

Friday 18th September- 1pm dismissal

Dear Parents/Carers,

MACSSIS surveys

On Monday, families were sent a letter with a link to complete the annual School Improvement Surveys.

The survey is open from Monday 31 August and needs to be completed by Friday 18 September 2026, and we would like as many families as possible to complete it.

This data , as well as data collected from students and staff, forms part of our annual action plan.

As of this afternoon, our response rate from parents is only 9% which is 15 families from a possible 166 surveys sent.

We would truly appreciate you taking the time to complete it.

Father's Day/Special Friend

We look forward to seeing our dads/special friends tomorrow morning at school. You are welcome to join Running Club from 8am, grab a coffee in the quadrangle, then join your children in their class/es from 9-9:30am.

LSO Apprciation week

This week we are celebrating Teacher Assistant Week (what we call Learning Support Officers). We truly appreciate all that these staff members do for our students to support their education and wellbeing. A lovely morning tea was had by all!

Staffing News

Mrs Di DImovski will be on Long Service Leave for the last two weeks of this term. Ms Julia Sheehan will be replacing Di in Year 4.

Welcome back next week to Mrs Pejic who has been on long service leave for the past 6 weeks. I'm sure she will have many stories of her travels to share!

While Mrs David is away, 2MK will be taught by Mrs Grabau on a Wednesday morning and Ms Dell'Aquila for the afternoon.

Student voice and initiative

Congratulations to Cooper Shelley who took the initiative to write a letter to the Member for Chisholm, Dr Carina Garland to request assistance for some new sporting equipment. Not only did Cooper secure $200 from the member, but also some donations from John from Ashburton United Soccer Club. Well done Cooper!

Dear Dr Garland,

My name is Cooper Shelley. I am a Year 6 student and the School Captain at Holy Family Primary School in Mount Waverley.

I am writing to you as the Federal Member of Parliament for Chisholm to ask whether you may be able to provide financial assistance to support our school. Please see the attached letter, which provides further information about the reason for my request.

Any assistance you may be able to provide to Holy Family School would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for taking the time to consider my request and I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards

Cooper Shelley

Dear Cooper,

Thanks kindly for your letter, Carina has asked me to make contact with you on her behalf.

Carina would be happy to make a small cash donation of $200.00 towards the purchasing of new sporting equipment.

Book Week

What a fabulous start to last week with our annual Book Week parade. Thank you to our Library Leaders who led our assembly and to families for taking the time to help your children dress for the occasion!

Lyn White Visit

Lyn White visited the Grade 6 students on Monday 24th August to talk about the book Spirit of a Crocodile. She is a consultant editor, who has extensive experience as a primary school teacher-librarian and EAL teacher. In 2010, Lyn completed postgraduate studies in Editing and Communications at the University of Melbourne and she is passionate about children's literature and has great expertise in engaging students and teachers with quality texts. Lyn’s work with refugee children motivated her to create the acclaimed Through My Eyes series of books set in contemporary war zones. She went on to create and edit the Through My Eyes - Natural Disaster Zones series set around international and Australian disasters.

Lyn talked about the book, Spirit of a Crocodile which is “An inspiring story of courage, resilience and hope, set in the Torres Strait Islander community as climate change threatens culture, tradition and connection to place, co-written by Michelle Scott Tucker and proud Torres Strait Islander creator, actor, producer and director Aaron Fa'Aoso. It has these achievements:

SHORTLISTED: 2026 Australian Book Industry Awards, Book of the Year for Younger Children

SHORTLISTED: 2026 CBCA Book of the Year, Younger Readers

SHORTLISTED: 2026 Karajia and Environment Awards for Children's Literature

SHORTLISTED: 2026 Margaret and Colin Roderick Award

SHORTLISTED: 2025 Children's Book Prize, Queensland Literary Awards

HIGHLY COMMENDED: 2025 Prize for Children's Literature, Victorian Premier's Literary Awards

Lyn was incredibly engaging as a speaker and talked about the writing and editing process of producing a novel. We were very fortunate to have Lyn present to our students. Interestingly, Lyn is also part of the Holy Family community, as her granddaughter is in Prep this year! Thank you Lyn for your time, your knowledge and teaching us about the writing process. We look forward to seeing you around the school and saying hello again!

Year 4 Excursion to Scienceworks

On Thursday 27th August, Year 4 students went to Scienceworks and it was really fun. One of my favourite activities was participating in the Wheelchair Race. Two players sat on fake wheelchairs and spun the wheels, racing around the track to see who came first place. It was a great school trip.

Ethan Trieu

We also went to the Planetarium and learned about the seasons and the equator such as the earth’s tilt. Another one of my favourite sessions was learning to code a robot. I discovered that you need to be very specific with the instructions.

Eleanor Barnetby

Operation Safety Blanket — Mini Vinnies Blanket Drive

Step Into Prep

We look forward to seeing everyone at our next session which will be held in the STEAM room with Mrs Davis tomorrow morning.

We enjoyed sharing the winner of the CBCA Young Readers Book of the Year with our kindergarten children who will be joining Holy Family in 2027.

Footy Day

Next Friday we will celebrate 'Footy Day' on the last day of term 3. Students may wear footy colours on that day.

Holy Family Playgroup

'Holy Family Playgroup' is continuing!

Please phone our office to book in 9807 3300.

If you have a Working With Children Check and would like to go on a roster to help out please email office@hfmw.catholic.edu.au

Enrol Now

Enrolments for 2027 are strong. Please go to our website and download the enrolment form. Don't miss out!

https://hfmw.catholic.edu.au/

2027 Classes

Please notify the office if your family will not be returning to Holy Family in 2027.

office@hfmw.catholic.edu.au

Term 3 Soft Plastics

Wishing you a wonderful weekend,

Eithne King (Deputy Principal)

Term 3 Dates

September

Fri 5 Magnificent Men in Our Community Morning (Father's Day Celebration)

Fri 5 Step Into Prep- STEAM session

Sun 6 Father's Day

Fri 11 District Basketball (Year 5 and 6)

Fri 11 Special lunch day

Wed 16 District Athletics (Year 3-6)

Thurs 17 School Disco - Year Prep-3 (5:30-6:45pm), Year 4-6 (7-8:30pm)

Fri 18 End of term mass 9:15am, Assembly 12:30pm

Students may wear Footy Colours

Term 3 concludes (1pm)

Term 4 Dates

October

Mon 5 Term 4 commences

Wed 7 Divison Athletics

Thurs 15 Division Basketball

Fri 16 Year 1/2 Camp Day

Thurs 22 Prep transition session 1

Wed 28 Prep Information Night 7pm

Thurs 29 Prep transition session 2

Fri 30 World Teachers Day

November

Mon 2 School Closure day (staff TIL day)

Tues 3 Melbourne Cup day holiday

Thurs 5 Prep excursion

Tues 10 Prep transition session 3

Wed 11 Remembrance day

Thurs 12 Visual Arts Showcase

Fri 13 Closure day- staff professional learning

Thurs 19 Prep transition session 4

Fri 20 Year 6 District Fun Day

Thurs 26 Prep transition session 5

Fri 27 School closure day- 2027 planning

Mon 30 Swimming program begins

December

Dates to be published in the next school newsletter

Holy Family School

In Faith, We believe, We belong, We learn, We grow

LEARN September 3rd 2026 · 03 Sep 2026

In this issue