Principal Report

There has been a really positive feel around St Mary’s over the past few weeks. It is certainly a busy time of term, but the little pockets of sunshine have been a welcome addition, and it has been great to see the students outside enjoying themselves and working hard in the classrooms.

Our Peer Obs writing intensive has also been a big success, and I have loved seeing so many eager students visit my office, proud to share their writing. I’ve even had to order a new batch of Principal Award stickers to keep up!

Thank you, as always, to our families for your ongoing support of the school and everything happening across our community.

Welcome New Students

This week and next, we are excited to welcome two new students to St Mary’s. Zoe and Lucinda will both be joining Year 3M.

We wish the girls and their families all the very best as they begin their learning journey at St Mary’s. We are very excited to have you as part of our community!

NAPLAN

Once again, St Mary’s has achieved some outstanding results in the recent NAPLAN testing. Families can head to the NAPLAN page of this newsletter for a more detailed look at our results.

Most pleasing is the continued confirmation that our teaching and learning program is delivering excellent outcomes for our students. We are incredibly proud of the way our students continue to perform and the hard work of both students and staff.

Battle of the Boots

A reminder that our annual Battle of the Boots is on this Saturday 22 August. We are looking forward to a fantastic afternoon, with our kids’ matches getting underway from 1:00 pm, followed by the much-anticipated dads’ game.

We would love to see plenty of St Mary’s families there supporting the players and enjoying the day. Battle of the Boots is also an important fundraiser for our school, so please get down and be part of what is always a great community event.

There are some great items up for auction following the game!

Peter Daicos personally signed authentic jumper, including authentic signed photos of Nick & Josh Daicos.
Taylor Swift personally signed authentic photo.
Lionel Messi personally hand-signed authentic collector’s card.
Patrick Cripps personally hand-signed authentic collector’s card with replica Brownlow Medals.
Dustin Martin personally hand-signed authentic collector’s card with replica Brownlow Medal.
Michael Jordan personally hand-signed authentic collector’s card with replica NBA singlet.

Aladdin Jnr

Our Aladdin Junior production is coming together beautifully, and excitement is certainly building as we move closer to the big performances later this term.

Dress rehearsals will begin next week, with a number of full rehearsals also taking place at school over the coming weeks. Please refer to the separate communication sent via nForma for details regarding costume and dress requirements for each year level.

We cannot wait to see all the hard work come together on stage!

There are limited tickets available for the evening performance.

MACSIS Survey 2026

Each year, our school community participates in the MACSIS (Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools Improvement Survey). The survey provides families with an important opportunity to share feedback about their experience of our school.

The 2026 MACSIS survey will open on Monday, 31 August and remain open until Friday, 18 September. We ask that one person from each family takes the time to complete the survey during this period.

Your feedback provides pivotal information that helps our school identify areas of strength, plan future goals and guide school improvement initiatives. We greatly value the voice of our families and encourage every family to participate.

Further information, including how to access the survey, will be provided when the survey opens. Keep an eye on your email for your individual survey link.

After School & Holiday Golf Program

We are excited to share details about our upcoming Term 4 After-School Golf Program, as well as an exclusive holiday camp discount for all St Mary's students!

Term 4 After-School Golf Program

Our Term 4 program will continue on Mondays after school from 3:30 PM to 5:00 PM on school grounds. It’s a fun, games-based program suitable for all skill levels.

• Enrolment Link: https://events.humanitix.com/game-on-after-school-golf-st-mary-s-primary

September School Holiday Golf Camps

Give your child a fun, skills-based experience these school holidays! We have programs running across Cheltenham Golf Club, The Furrows @ Kingston Heath, and GolfStudio Mordialloc.

• Special St Mary's Offer: Get 10% OFF any holiday camp booking using the code stmarys at checkout (valid before August 24th).

• Holiday Camp Enrolments & Info: https://collections.humanitix.com/game-on-junior-golf-academy

Spots are strictly limited, so please book early to secure your child's spot.

Parent-Teacher Meetings

Bookings are now open via nForma for Parent-Teacher Meetings on Tuesday 8 September from 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm.

Meetings will be held in classrooms and will run for 10 minutes. Please book one interview time per child.

Students will remain at school as normal until 3:15 pm and will be supervised while meetings take place. If your interview is before 3:15 pm, you are welcome to collect your child afterwards and sign them out through the office.

If this date does not suit, please contact your child’s teacher to arrange another time.

Year 1 interviews will be held separately, as previously communicated.

Chickens

We are very lucky to have chickens visiting Year 2 this year! Over the next two weeks, students will learn all about chickens and help care for them as part of their learning.

We have also set up a live webcam so families can check in on the chickens from home. You can access the livestream here: https://sites.google.com/smhampton.catholic.edu.au/chickenlivestream/home

Thanks

Steele