Principal's News

Dear Parents and Families,

Amazingly, we are already in the second half of the term. There are a number of activities planned to finish off the term, with information about each student's progress through the Student Learning Conversations, and some fun through the Father's Day Stall, the Art and STEM Show and Footy Day.

BOOK WEEK ACTVITIES

We look forward to welcoming our parents to the Book Week Parade that will be held on Monday morning. Book Week is an exciting time for our students and parents. Please read the Library News section in this newsletter for further information.  

COMING SOON - OUR ART AND STEM SHOW

A WARM INVITATION...

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 and 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! 

GRAND OPENING - JUNIOR TOILETS COMPLETED!  

Today, if not wet, the P-2 students will have a look at the refurbished toilets, so they can see the changes and talk through the different aspects.

This will happen before the Grand Opening on Monday morning at the end of the Book Week Parade.

A representative from Novcon will be with us for this Grand Opening so we can say thank you to them for their work in creating this amazing transformation. 

Here's some Before and After photos:

RECONCILIATION - COMMITMENT MASSES

This weekend, our Year Three students are attending Mass to make their Commitment to prepare for their First Reconciliation. The Masses when this can occur are Saturday 22 August at 5.30pm or Sunday 23 August at 10am. We look forward to seeing all Year Three students and families there.

Thank you to those who attended the Parent and Child Workshop on Monday this week. It was a fabulous way to commence the program.

STUDENT LEARNING CONVERSATIONS - BOOKINGS

Our Term Three Student Learning Conversations will be held on Monday 14 September. There are no classes that day, but all parents are expected to attend across the day to meet with the teacher/s to discuss their child's learning. 

SLCs are of 15 minutes duration and are held in the classrooms.

Please check the Compass news feed for information and booking details.

FIRST EUCHARIST MASSES - THANK YOU!

Our First Eucharist Masses were beautiful celebrations and we would like to thank all those who made them special, including:

• Fr Michael for guiding the children through their Commitment and Preparation Masses;

• The Year 4 teachers for preparing the students for this sacrament - Megan Gravell, Rachael Hutt, Holly Mansie and Chloe Jones, and special thanks to Jamie Atherton, our Acting Religious Education Leader, for his support in the preparation with the teachers. We also thank Marita Anderson, our previous REL, for preparing the Masses;

• Sr Maria and the catechists for preparing the children from the Parish;

• Office staff for the preparation of the certificates for the children;

• The wider group of St Martin’s staff for their attendance to support the students and their colleagues

• The altar servers, sacristans, commentators, musicians and singers (Marg, Mira, Helen, Rob and Justin), PowerPoint creators and operators, and all those from the school and Parish who assist with the organisation and Mass;

• Parents and families for your support throughout the preparation time and on the First Eucharist Mass day;

And a very special thank you and congratulations to the children for their preparation and attitude towards this special occasion. May God bless you always.   

PLANNING FOR 2027

Supporting our staff while planning for the future

Currently, all Catholic schools are working through planning and budgeting activities for 2027 to ensure we are well placed to support our staff, students and school communities in the coming year. This includes looking at how we can accommodate the changes likely to flow from a new Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA) with school staff.

We recognise the significant financial pressures many households are facing, and we are making a conscious effort to ensure these costs are not passed on through significant fee increases.

We will continue to keep our parent community informed throughout this process. As always, our focus remains on maintaining strong school communities and continuing to deliver a high-quality Catholic education for every student.

HATS

From 1 September, all students are required to be wearing their hats at school. This is the Sunsmart policy, so please find your child's hat over the next two weekends, so you are ready for this change. Hopefully, this action brings on the warmer days we are looking forward to!

ILLNESS

There are a number of classrooms with students away at the moment. If your child is unwell, could I please ask that you allow adequate time for their illness to have passed before sending them back to school. Not only do ill students spread their germs, but they often don't last the day if they come back too soon, and we then have to call you to collect them.

TRAFFIC SAFETY ON BOTH STREETS

Silk Street ~ There will be a Traffic Count in Silk Street in the coming months to gather data about the amount of traffic using the street. In addition, the faded yellow lines near the School Crossing will be re-painted. Again, the dangers being noted are speed, cars backing out of driveways, and the blocking of driveways preventing residents from entering or exiting their driveways. Council is very aware of the lines of cars to enter the carpark in the afternoon, and will book cars who disregard the signed rules.  

Dobson Avenue ~ As you leave the school grounds, it is expected that you will crawl out through the gates so that children can cross to the marked crossing / footpath to meet their parents. It is critical that you follow the signed restrictions in these surrounding streets and do not park across residents' driveways.

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. 

KINDER AND CHILD CARE VISITS

This week, we have had three classes of children visit from Interlaken Kinder, to help the children get used to the size of a school. They had a story in the Library and a play on the equipment in the Junior playground. Thanks to Zhou and Helen for organising this. 5BM will visit Interlaken later this term, as the future Buddies of some of these students, to see their Kinder and read some stories with the children.

We also had some visitors from Kool Kids on Monday, who walked down to school and back to the centre after a story and play here too. 

The Kinder /Early Childhood connection is so important when the children transition, and it's wonderful to be developing closer ties to our local feeder kinders/centres.

CALVARY CARE VISIT

 Yesterday, the 3BC class had their second visit to the Nursing Home just past the Community Centre car park, to see their new friends and play some card games together. The Year Threes don't have in-school Buddies; they are matched to these clients.

ASSEMBLIES THIS TERM 

Our Assemblies for Term Three will be held on Mondays - 24 August (Wk 7 - Book Week Parade), 7 September (Wk 9). Please join us on Top Yard at 8.50am. 

PLAYGROUP - Up and running!

What a fabulous start to the Playgroup, with high numbers of our parents getting together with their preschool aged children for a chat and play on the first morning. 

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.

CSPV Re-ESTABLISHED

Catholic School Parents Victoria – Supporting Families in Catholic Education

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.

EVENTS OVER THE COMING TWO WEEKS

Mon 24 Aug - Book Week Parade

Thurs 27 Aug - Year 3 and 4 Dance Classes

Fri 28 Aug - ISS vs Macleod College (Away)

Mon 31 Aug - School Closure Day - Staff Professional Learning

                        - MACSSIS Surveys begin

Wed 2 Sept - Father's Day Stall in the GECCO

                       - 5BM visiting Interlaken Kinder

                        - 2027 Prep Story Time in the Library

Thurs 3 Sept - Year 3 and 4 Dance Classes

                         - Kool Kids visiting

Fri 4 Sept - 2.30pm Dads in P-2 - Classroom Visits

Sun 6 Sept - Father's Day!

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:

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

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.