Dear Students, Parents, Carers and Families

As we approach the end of the term, many of us naturally start to think about the year ahead. However, I always remind myself and others to focus on the present, as there’s still so much learning and excitement to enjoy this year. Year 6 students, in particular, have their Graduation to look forward to, along with end-of-year excursion and celebrations. Term 4 is always a memorable time filled with milestones and achievements. It is also a time when I see students truly start to flourish. In my recent classroom visits, I have been inspired by the growth and enthusiasm in our students. It is always exciting to watch the progress our students make as they prepare to wrap up another fantastic school year.

Staffing 2025

I am very pleased to introduce six newly appointed teachers to our school who will commence with us next year: Katherine Whyte, Paul Wilson, Casey Foord, Natasha Janzerli, Suhayla Ekhlasi and Georgia Kristalyn. They collectively bring a range of very strong capabilities to our school. In welcoming new staff members to our school, we also farewell a few staff members: Sharon Maine, Garry Galloway, Timothy Turner and Steve Watling. I thank them for all their efforts and wish them all the best for the future. Erminia Foley and Anna Banovic will be taking personal leave in 2025.

Our Teaching Teams for 2025 are:

Foundation Team:

Madeleine Rosewall and Jaclyn Phoon

Year 1 Team:

Natasha Janzerli and Mistu Lodh

Year 2 Team:

Casey Foord, Monika Ren and Emma Butler

Year 3 Team:

Cheyenne Po-Ching and Daniel Suisted

Year 4 Team:

Andrew Tomazos and Katherine Whyte (Learning Specialist)

Years 5 and 6:

Jessica Warner, Suhayla Ekhlasi and Georgia Kristalyn

Specialist Team:

PE – Paul Wilson, Performing Arts – Emma Butler, AUSLAN – Alyson Nicholson, Visual Arts and STEAM – Nancy Walker

Tutor Learning Program:

Robert Tolliday and Paul Wilson

Special Morning Tea for Parent/Carer Helpers

The Maramba staff would like to offer our sincerest thanks to all the parents, volunteers, carers, grandparents and special friends that support our school in a variety of ways every year. On Tuesday, December 10 (10.30am - 11.30am), we will be holding a morning tea as a ‘thank you’ for helping out throughout the year. It will be held in the staffroom. If you have volunteered, but are unable to attend, please accept our thanks for the wonderful support given to the school. We know parents take on many roles and we value the shared participation and involvement. Thank you for helping out in running breakfast club, canteen, the school production, activities, working bees, excursions, stalls, gardening, graduation and other fundraising activities.

Please RSVP here if you are attending:

https://forms.gle/jynGxgn46XD1cxvS6

A big shout out to Dragana Savic, Oliver's mum, who made a very generous donation to the school. The quality products you have provided the school will help us in our fundraising efforts. Thank you!

School Council Meeting

Our final School Council meeting of the year will be held on December 10th. I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation to all our School Council members for their dedication, time, and support throughout the year. A special thank you goes to Scott Pestana, Scott Bennetts, Raelene Anderson, Claire Huijser, Wendy Reichert, Adam George, Rebecca Cheung, Stephanie Sharp, Erminia Foley, and Sharon Maine.

In particular, I would like to extend heartfelt gratitude to Scott Bennetts, who will be stepping down from his role at the end of this year as his children transition to a new school. We thank him for his contributions and wish him all the best in the future.

Christmas Raffle

FOM are running a Christmas Raffle!

Ticket books have been sent home with your child/ren.

All tickets must be returned to the school by Wednesday 18th December.

When returning sold tickets please ensure all ticket stubs have been filled out and are sent back to school with the money in an envelope or zip lock bag (eg).

QKR ticket sales will close 4pm Wednesday 18th December.

Good luck everyone!

2025 Lunch Time Clubs - Request for Donations

Our Lunch Time Clubs program is set to become a vibrant and exciting feature of our school’s break times in 2025. We have an experienced and passionate Physical Education teacher joining us full time next year who will run regular sports activities with the different year levels. We will also run a LEGO and Hot Wheels cars club so we are requesting donations from the community. If you would like to donate any LEGO or Hot Wheels cars and track sets, can you please bring them to the School Office before the 20th December 2024. We thank you for your continued support and generosity.

With a variety of clubs and activities, we will be able to offer our students numerous opportunities to explore new interests, develop skills, and discover hidden talents. Whether they are passionate about art, sports, music, or reading, our lunchtime clubs provide a creative and supportive environment for students to thrive, make new friends, and enhance their personal growth. We are excited to see how these clubs will empower our students to engage in meaningful, fun, and enriching experiences!

Here are some photos from yesterday's art and craft lunch time club:

Foundation 2025

We have enjoyed three transition sessions with our

2025 Foundation students who have been fantastic in settling in at school.

We look forward to continuing to get to know our future 2025 Foundation students and families.

Future 2025 Foundation sessions

Thursday 19th December 2:30-3:15pm. This will be the meet your 2025 teacher session.

Transition 2025

As 2024 comes to a close, we start looking ahead to 2025. Next year, we will welcome a new cohort of Foundation students while bidding farewell to our Year 6 students from 2024.

End of Year Celebrations

In the final week of school the 2024 Year 6 students will participate in a range of activities to celebrate their final year of primary school:

Monday December 16th Big Day Out
Tuesday December 17th Movie Day
Wednesday December 18th Graduation Day
Thursday December 19th Disco
Friday December 20th Final Assembly

Our final assembly will be Friday December 20th at 9am in the Gym.

During the assembly, there will be some Christmas songs sang by students in:

Foundation
2W
Year 3
Year 4

We will also be drawing the Christmas raffle. Don't forget to buy your raffle tickets :)

Our Year 6 students will have a special farewell at 1:00pm on 20 December 2024.

Year 1 Excursion

On Wednesday December 4th Year 1 students visited the Cranbourne Botanical Gardens. Students participated in the Shared Country program where they:

Learnt about First Peoples tools and Indigenous plants
Used ochre to make paint, stamp handprints and draw significant symbols
Enjoyed a taste of native bushfood tea

Students had the opportunity to explore the gardens and see all the amazing native plants. They enjoyed their lunch in the sun and then explored Kid's Backyard and Woodlands Picnic Place, where they played on the playground and explored the nature around them. The students were very excited when a wallaby hopped on by.

Assemblies and Newsletters

Please see the schedule below for our assemblies and newsletters:

School Newsletter	Whole School Assembly
Friday, 6th December	Thursday, 12th December
Friday, 20th December	Friday, 20th December (Special Assembly at 9:00am)

2025 Key Dates

Curriculum Day 1	28 January
First day of school for all students in Yrs 1-6	29 January
First day of school for 2025 Foundation students	30 January (9am - 12pm until 7 February)
Foundation students start full time	10 February
Getting to Know You Parent Teacher Interviews	11 and 12 February (3:30pm – 5:30pm)
Whole School Photos	26 February
Curriculum Day 2	7 March
Common Professional Practice Day	9 May TBC
Curriculum Day 3 – Assessment and Reporting	10 June
Years 5 and 6 Camp	4 August until 6 August
Curriculum Day 4	28 November
Term 1 dates	29 January – 4 April
Term 2 dates	22 April – 4 July
Term 3 dates	21 July – 19 September
Term 4 dates	6 October – 19 December

Enjoy the weekend everyone!

Kind regards,

Moniba Ehsan and Stephanie Sharp

Principal and Assistant Principal

Birthdays

Happy Birthday to the Students and Staff who will celebrate their birthdays last and this week.