From the Principal 

Dear Families 

Welcome back to Term 3. It is great seeing everyone refreshed, recharged and ready to go. I am sure some of the children have grown in the last fortnight. We have an exciting and action packed Term ahead! Tomorrow is always a highlight where we celebrate Mass and enjoy sharing our learning and learning spaces with our grandparents and special friends. Our Semester 2 Student Representative Council (SRCs) students will also be presented with their blessed SRC badges, in front of the Parish and School Community.  We look forward to seeing many of you tomorrow and those that can’t be present we will say a prayer for you at Mass and will be thinking of you. Mass is 9:15am and then we look forward to our special visitors, visiting our learning spaces. This will then be followed by a morning tea for our visitors in the Zen Zone. 

Whilst NAIDOC week was celebrated in the holidays, we will be celebrating it next week. Each year the resources available to support this important week grow as we endeavour to strengthen our indigenous perspective and understandings as individuals, communities and as a nation. I had the privilege of being in Central Australia for NAIDOC Week this year and learnt a great deal about the heart of Australia and the importance of Uluru, Kata Tjuta and Kings Canyon. On one walk we came across Cycads, which are ancient plants that resemble palms or ferns. I felt as though I was back in the time of the dinosaurs and could imagine that where I was standing would have been a very deep sea bed. The ripples from the water were engraved into the ancient rock forms. 

On Monday, Miss Tovey and I are visiting the YMCA  Camp at Phillip Island to prepare for our Years 3 and 4 adventure on Monday 15th September to Wednesday 17th September. Camp is such an important part of the school year, where students learn so much about themselves and others, whilst being in the fresh air and experiencing new and challenging activities. It gives each student the opportunity to develop independence and resilience, all while having loads of fun. We can’t wait to share more with you as the term progresses. 

Thank you to many of you for purchasing cakes at our Cake Stalls. Over the holidays our dedicated Librarian technician Ms Kat made several purchases for our library. Ms Kat is across what students enjoy reading, what series need updating and what new books we require. The Wednesday Library Club is a vibrant hub of book lovers each week. We thank Kat for the energy and passion that she gives to this important resource for the whole community. 

Our major focus this term is on our school production Imaginarium. At St Mary’s Primary School we really value the arts and our production is the culmination of Performing Arts, Visual Arts, Physical Education (for the dance moves) and Italian, working closely together of course supported by all our staff. Each student has tried on a  t-shirt for sizing and will then create their own costume in Visual Art this Term. The staff are also designing their own stage outfit. For the duration of the term please read the Imaginarium section of the newsletter for more information and fortnightly updates. Assemblies this term, will showcase a Year Level or combined Year Levels as we prepare to perform in front of an audience, instead of the weekly Year Level showcase of learning. This is learning in a creative and performing space. It was a delight working with our hosts this week, Davide and Hugo, as in Semester Two, the Year 6s are a well oiled machine and the three of us prepared for assembly efficiently and the boys brought many ideas to the meeting, to engage the students. We look forward to Davide and Hugo’s twist on musical statues! Of course all families are very welcome to share our Friday assemblies with us from 3:00-3:25pm, upstairs in the Flexispace. Our Years 5 and 6s will be the first cohorts to be in the  spotlight.  The Year 6 Community Leaders; Davide, Jay and Zelie met with me at recess on Wednesday, as they plan their first Kahoot Club for Years 3 and 4 next Friday recess.  To see the Year 6 students actively leading their portfolios embodies the student leadership model of which we are really proud.

Learning and Teaching - Vision for Instruction 

Under the direction of Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS), we continue to use evidenced based and best practice models to ensure optimum learning opportunities and experiences for each student under our care. This term, we are offering sessions to give you the opportunity to learn and experience first hand what Vision for Instruction looks like at St Mary’s and how teaching looks and feels like for your children. Please put these dates in your calendars. 

Vision for Instruction - Literacy on Tuesday 12th August 3:45pm - 4:30pm

Vision for Instruction - Numeracy on Tuesday 19th August 6:00pm - 6:45pm

Further information will be sent out soon. We are hoping to offer childcare, to allow as many to attend as possible. We are really excited to be offering you this learning and teaching initiative. 

On Tuesday  the NAPLAN tests were sent home to families with a child in Years 3 and 5. We look forward to analysing the data from NAPLAN to inform our learning and teaching planning for 2025 Semester Two and 2026.  If you have any questions please call the office.

By tomorrow each Year Level will have received their Term 3 Overview. Please read this, as it explains what is happening this term, important dates and events that will be happening. In this way you can support your child’s learning and may have an area of expertise that could be shared with your child’s class. We love it when families are able to visit our Year Levels and share knowledge and experiences with the children.  

We thank Mrs Bernadette Dowling, for working in Year 1, whilst Miss Raffaele is travelling overseas. We are blessed to be working alongside such an experienced and passionate educator.  Mrs Dowling knows our students so well and has fitted in seamlessly as she always does at St Mary’s. Miss Raffaele returns later next week.  

Finally, our Year 6s have a special term, whereby several of our students will be making their Sacrament of Confirmation. All students learn about this in class and those wanting to undertake the Sacrament have the opportunity to attend a Family Faith Night led by Father Jerome, Mr Millane and our Years 5 & 6 Teams and a special Reflection Day.  The Sacrament of Confirmation will be celebrated on Wednesday 10th September at 6pm, in the Church. 

Take care and wishing God's blessings and peace upon each of you. 

Mrs Cathy Ferrari