Learning and Teaching

Australian Mathematics Competition Results – Year 3 – 6

We are excited to have received the preliminary results from the Australian Mathematics Competition. We are now waiting for the certificates to arrive and look forward to celebrating our learners' achievements.

Learners who achieved a Distinction or Credit award will receive their certificates at a school assembly. Families of our Distinction and Credit award winners will be contacted and invited to attend the assembly. Learners who achieved a Proficiency or Participation award will receive their certificates within their year level classrooms.

Our learners achieved the following results:

Year 3

4 Credit awards
15 Proficiency awards
9 Participation certificates

Year 4

4 Distinction awards
9 Credit awards
20 Proficiency awards
1 Participation certificate

Year 5

1 Distinction award
11 Credit awards
20 Proficiency awards
3 Participation certificates

Year 6

7 Credit awards
24 Proficiency awards
1 Participation certificate

Congratulations to all learners who participated in the competition. We are incredibly proud of their effort, perseverance, and achievement. We look forward to recognising these learners when the certificates arrive next term.

Australian Mathematics Competition (AMC) Early Primary – Year 1 and 2 – New opportunity

St Mary's Primary School is excited to be participating in the new Australian Mathematics Competition (AMC) Early Primary for learners in Years 1 and 2.

This competition introduces younger learners to the problem-solving and mathematical thinking that has made the AMC a highly regarded competition for many years. Participation is free in 2026 as part of a pilot program.

The competition will be held online between 12 and 23 October 2026. To allow time for registrations, families must indicate their child's participation via the Compass event by Thursday 1 October 2026.

The AMC Early Primary is designed to be accessible for younger learners, while still providing opportunities for challenge. Some questions contain a literacy component, requiring learners to carefully read and interpret information. More difficult questions may also involve multiple steps, encouraging learners to apply problem-solving strategies, think logically, and persevere when faced with unfamiliar problems.

Useful preparation at home may include:

Practising age-appropriate number puzzles.
Completing simple pattern-recognition activities.
Working on mental addition and subtraction.
Playing logic and sequencing games.
Practising shape and spatial puzzles.
Reading simple graphs and tables.
Solving short mathematical word problems.
Drawing pictures or diagrams to help understand a problem.
Learning to try another method when the first approach does not work.
Checking answers carefully.
Becoming comfortable completing simple problems independently on a computer or tablet.

This is an opt-in event. If you would like your child to participate, please complete the registration through Compass by the due date.

If you do not wish for your child to participate, an alternative learning activity will be provided at school during the competition.

We encourage all Year 1 and 2 learners to take part in this exciting opportunity to challenge their mathematical thinking, develop their problem-solving skills, and have fun with mathematics.

ICAS English and Mathematics

We are currently waiting for the ICAS English and Mathematics certificates to arrive. We are hoping to present these at the Week 3 assembly.

Families will be contacted via Compass with further details.

All learners who participated in these competitions will receive a certificate in recognition of their involvement and effort. Congratulations to all learners who took part in these events.

Sport Update

2026 Athletics Postponement

Due to unforeseen circumstances and the continual postponement of the 2026 Athletics Carnival, a decision has been made to cancel the 2026 Athletics for Year 3-6 learners. These learners have attended the Interschool Athletics and some have progressed to Division Athletics, providing ample opportunities to practise and compete in track and field events. Foundation to Year 2 will have an athletics day on Friday 16th Oct (Term 4, Week 2) from 11:45am – 1:25pm, with a focus on athletics events.

The St Mary’s House Athletics trophy will be awarded to the house with the most points based on the F-2 carnival this year. Age Group Champions for 9/10yo, 11yo & 12/13yo will be awarded based off data from the Interschool Athletics Carnival. Both achievements will be handed out at assembly in Term 4, Week 3.

Year 1

The Year 1 learners have been busy completing their Inquiry learning for this term. As part of our investigation, we became young entomologists, researching insects and creating carefully designed habitats to support their needs. We are incredibly proud of our learning and cannot wait to share our discoveries and creations with you at our Inquiry Expo this Friday.

As we reflect on the term, we are also celebrating the wonderful growth our learners have demonstrated across a range of assessments. Towards the end of the term, all Year 1 learners completed their Writing Fluency Assessment, which measured how many letters they could accurately write within 30 seconds. It has been fantastic to see learners' confidence, stamina and writing skills continue to develop throughout the year, and we are very proud of their achievements.

This term, all Year 1 learners also completed a Phonics Check, providing an opportunity to showcase the decoding skills they have been developing in the classroom. This assessment measures learners' ability to read words of increasing complexity and apply their phonics knowledge to unfamiliar words.

We have been thrilled to see so many learners confidently transferring their phonics skills to new words and different contexts, demonstrating their growing independence as readers. Their enthusiasm for learning and the progress they continue to make are wonderful to see, and we are extremely proud of all they have achieved this term.

Year 6

Today, our Year 6 learners proudly presented their learning at the annual Year 6 Expo. Throughout the term, students have been exploring countries from around the world, developing an understanding of culture, traditions, geography, and what makes each nation unique.

Families and visitors were treated to an impressive display of student work, including creative dioramas, engaging presentations, cultural crafts, and even some delicious international cuisine. Highlights included traditional Sri Lankan cooking demonstrations, a variety of crafts inspired by different cultures, and a beautifully made New Zealand pavlova!

The Expo was a wonderful celebration of learning, creativity, and curiosity. Students demonstrated not only their knowledge of different countries but also their appreciation for the diversity that makes our world such a rich and fascinating place. We are incredibly proud of the effort, enthusiasm, and confidence shown by all students as they shared their learning with the wider school community. Well done, Year 6!