Dear Families

I can’t believe this is our last newsletter for this year! It is beginning to feel a lot like Christmas in our foyer. Please pop in to lift your festive spirits.

We thank the P & F for contributing to our KABOOM day last Wednesday. The weather just held off for us to enjoy all the activities and have lots of fun with Luke and Ben. A few minutes after our last rotation the heavens opened.

Last night our amazing choir led by Mrs Mensen, performed at the St Mary’s College Carols. Together with their parents we felt so proud of them. We can’t wait for our carols next Tuesday and I am hearing whispers that a special visit may be popping in…..

Year 6 Graduation Preloved Toy and Book Stall

On Friday 6th December 3:00 - 3:30pm, please support our students as they raise funds towards their graduation evening. Lots of exciting toys and books have been dropped off to the office already. There are many bargains to be had.

Our Year 5 Leadership Program is well underway and I only wish I could attend each session where our families have kindly shared their leadership journey with our students. The students have heard many perspectives and from people in various roles. Thank you to the work that goes into presenting to our students, as they prepare to lead our community next year. Speeches will be on Tuesday 10th Dec 9:00am in the Berchmans building. We know our Year Three and Year Four students will be a supportive and respectful audience.

P & F update

At the conclusion of Mass on Tuesday 17th December Louisa was so excited to let me know that $17,000 has been raised this year. Thank you so much to everyone in the community for contributing to this and all proceeds go directly to our Zen Zone garden. You will all agree the area is stunning to the eye and really lifts our school community. It is wonderful seeing all members of our St Mary’s family using it.

2025 Planning Day

Thank you for allowing us to meet and plan together as a whole school staff last Friday. Our curriculum leaders' professionalism, engaging presentations and expertise in their fields set a road map for next year with an explicit teaching and learning improvement agenda with students being taught at their point of need, and opportunities for all students to grow their hearts, hands and minds.

Our 2024 Preps

It is delightful to see the confidence and independence in our Preps as they finish their first year of school. I had an early Christmas present last week when I had some special visitors. I will treasure my new clock and hope that it keeps me on time!

We also have a mountaineer amongst us, Theo very proudly shared his expertise with his peers yesterday. Miss Erica, Mr Speranza and I loved learning all about it, perhaps one day he will be in the Olympics!

Congratulations to our Rhythmic Gymnastic Champion

Our very own Maylissa recently competed in the Rhythmic Gymnastics State Competition level three:

* Individual Freehand - silver medal

* Individual Rope - silver medal

We congratulate Maylissa for being the overall bronze medal winner, a huge achievement!

Shared Stories

I have been involved in Share Stories for well over a decade now and I never cease to be amazed with what is produced by Peter and Mim Farrar and the many school students who contribute to the Shared Stories Anthology each year. The students below should feel incredibly proud of their written and artistic work and celebrate that they are now a published author. These students will be presented with a certificate and a copy of their own Anthology of Courage this Friday at assembly.

We congratulate:

Prep	Year 1	Year 2
Carter	Boyd	Hugo
Oran	Paige	Harrison
Eleanor	Alba	Orison
Robert	Radhe	Camyra
Mischa	Cooper	Roman
Yelyzaveta (Lisa)	Lheon	Sunday
	Arno	Paul
	Ellie	Audrey

Year 3	Year 4	Year 5/6
Anthony B	Alex	Ava
Polly	Christopher	Zelie
Olivia	Mia	Allegra
Daniel	Annabel	Huy
Anthony L	Orion	Poppy
Francesca	Sammy	Willem
Rory		Jay
Max		Lavinia
		Anna
		Olivia

Students Christmas Cards

Students have drawn beautiful Christmas drawings which have been made into Christmas Cards. They are for sale - a pack of 14 for $10 or $1 each. Thank you to Ms Borgese and Ms Perri for organising these.

Tuesday 10th December

Year 5 Leadership speeches 9:00am

Carols at St Mary's College under the sails- 4:45pm for a 5:00pm start - wear a touch of Christmas

Thursday 12th December

Up Day

On Thursday 12th December 9:15 - 11:00am our students will be meeting their teachers for next year and some new students. Our Year 6 students will be continuing their preparation for Graduation at this time.

Graduation Mass and Celebration

On the evening of Thursday 12th December our Year 6 students will participate in their Graduation Mass starting at 5pm. This will be followed by the more formal part of the evening. Then the families will gather in the Zen Zone for further celebrations. Thank you to Katie, Anoushka and Kellie for leading the organisation of this event. Our staff will also be in attendance and we thank them all for their part in the journey of our graduating students.

Friday 13th December

Announcing of our 2025 Year 6 Leaders and Blessing of our Community Landscaping Project

Our senior student leaders will be announced at Blessing of our Community Landscaping Project (Zen Zone). This will be followed by a celebratory sausage and icy pole.

Monday 16th December

Year 6 Big Day Out

We look forward to hearing about this day, where our students will be visiting ACMI and having lots of fun!

Tuesday 17th December

9:15am - Whole School End of Year Mass followed by farewells, thankyous and in our Nano Nagle tradition, we will be announcing the Year 6 winner of the 2024 Nano Award and the Dame Jean Macnamara Award - an award bestowed upon a Year 6 female student who has demonstrated exceptional excellence in STEM subjects. The Year 6 students will pass on the lanterns of leadership to our Year 5 students in the Ceremony of Lights.

At 12:50pm we will have a guard of honour to farewell our Year Six students

At 1:00pm the students will be dismissed for the end of Term 4 2024

Schools should be centres of formation says Pope

In my principal communications last week I came across this message from Pope Francis. It really spoke to me and made me reflect upon my role as the leader of our faith -filled community, as together in partnership with families we work tirelessly to be a school community who ‘grows’ students to think big, have aspirations and strive for the best in themselves and importantly those in the world around them. This year has been a lived example of this, with our faith at the centre.

“Culture and education must go hand-in-hand to form students into agents of social change driven by hope, Pope Francis said last week. 'There is no need for educational models that are mere "achievement factories" without a cultural plan that enables the formation of people capable of helping the world turn over a new leaf by eradicating inequality, endemic poverty and exclusion', he told participants in a plenary assembly of the Dicastery for Culture and Education.

The assembly focused on the theme, 'Let Us Cross to the Other Shore'. 'The world does not need sleepwalking repeaters of the status quo', he said, 'but new choreographers, interpreters of the potential within humans, new social poets'. Pope Francis said that schools, universities and cultural centres must teach people 'to desire, to stay thirsty, to have dreams' rather than to 'passively accept' the current state of the world.”

Leaving Families

We farewell some of our Year 6 families, who are finishing their St Mary’s journey this year. I am aware that each of you have done much over the years and thank you for this. We farewell the following families and wish them all the very best:

Adlam, Alatrach Bou Faour, Badenoch, Brazenall, Lai, Lamaro Romeo, Lucas, Phan and Stephens.

Again we as the St Mary’s Primary School family have achieved so much this year and should feel immensely proud. There have been too many highlights to list each one, but each of you will remember your favourite(s). The success of this year can be attributed to everyone helping. I would like to thank everyone for supporting our community in so many varied ways and this has all contributed to giving our students the best opportunities that we can.

We thank Father Jerome for working with us and for being my constant support and colleague. Thien and Jes in their Parish roles also support our school in so many ways for which we appreciate very much. Mr Speranza, words cannot express our gratitude for all that you have done over the last three years. You have left an imprint on each of us and this has been done in your caring, calm and respectful manner and always with a hint or a lot of humour. We wish you all the best.

To our Leadership Team, you are the best! Mrs Borgese, Mrs Le Hunt and Mrs Mason, each of you have continued to lead your curriculum area with professionalism and hard work.

We wish Ms Aoife McGuinness all the best as she travels abroad and look forward to hearing her teaching stories. We thank her for her hard work over five years and strong relationship building with our community. We thank Ms Denise Santamaria for working with us over the last two years and sharing her passion for teaching with each of us. To Mrs Kylie Marks, thank you for coming to our rescue in the second semester and delivering a great physical education program, you will be missed. Mrs Jes Mensen begins Maternity Leave and we can't wait to meet your new family member in March. Thank you for your expertise and guidance in supporting our community in faith formation, song, music, performance and ICT skills.

Erica, it is my pleasure working with you and your calm and gentle manner each day. Thank you for your support and guidance. Kat thank you for Fridays in the office, these days are always action packed and your energy and sense of humour are much appreciated. To the staff, each of you makes working here a delight. We constantly push each other to do our best and be our best for the students and their families.

To Claude, our leaving School Advisory Council Chair, thank you for the last four years of constant support and gentle guidance. Hywell, Ruth, Jacqui and Craig we thank you for the hours you have given the school and myself, as we endeavour to provide the best head, heart and hand educational experience for our students.

To the amazing P & F committee, where does one begin.... To each of the class reps and those who supported the reps, you make each event the success that they have been. To our Met Gala committee, you pulled off an amazing community event! A special thank you and acknowledgement for Louisa and her leadership of the P & F over the last two years. Louisa's energy and passion for the school is contagious. To everyone in our community who shovelled soil, filled skips, planted, carted, helped with child care and cooked sausages, what an achievement our Zen Zone garden is! Please enjoy the fruits of your hard work.

Thank you to each family for their support of our school and my leadership. To our beautiful students, your chats with me around the school, visits in my office to share learning moments and proud achievements, confidently hosting assembly and much more, makes me feel that I have the best job in the world, thank you!

Finally, our prayers and thoughts are with families, who have unwell family members at the moment, who have lost loved ones during the year, and/or have extended families a long way away.

May each of you have the gift of faith, the blessing of hope and the peace of God’s love at Christmas and always.

He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Please find the 2025 dates for the school year on the calendar page.

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

Mrs Cathy Ferrari