St Mary’s Communication

St Mary’s recognises that effective communication is crucial to successful

partnerships with our families. We are committed to having constant and regular

communication and an openness to share both our successes and challenges. We encourage our families to also stay in constant communication with their child’s teachers sharing what is going well and what might be improved.

In all first instances families are to go to their child’s classroom teacher. Your child’s classroom teacher interacts with your child daily, observes their social and emotional wellbeing and will be informed of any concerns or incidents that may have occurred during the school day. St Mary’s has a multitude of communication platforms which serve to keep our community well informed.

Modes of Communication

1:1 Meetings

Parents are welcome & encouraged to contact the school office or teacher to arrange mutually suitable times for meetings
All meetings with families will be held in meeting rooms and sign in at the front office is required
In prearranged circumstances and with the consent of staff and families, meetings may be held online
Face to face meetings are preferred to discuss any concerns, issues & changes to an individual’s information
Minutes of meetings will be taken and provided to all parties in attendance

Email

Parents are welcome to email teachers for minor communication and operational content.

All teachers will provide their school email addresses at regular times throughout the year.
Emails are checked and responded to within 48 hours, Monday - Friday
St Mary’s staff will actively use emails between the hours of 8am -5pm, Monday - Friday during the school terms.
Emails with inappropriate and defamatory content may not reach our staff inboxes due to filters and may not receive a response

Parent Code of Conduct

All parents on enrolment at St Mary’s are expected to commit, adhere and sign St Mary’s Parent Code of Conduct

Pick Up & Drop Off Procedures for St Mary’s:

Drop off is to be no earlier than 8:30am.

The gate at the Bus drop off will be open at 8:20am to accommodate those students arriving by buses only.
Bus travelers will be supervised and seated in the auditorium until 8:30am when playground yard duty begins.
All other external gates will open at 8:30am with staff starting active duty.
One teacher will be in a shared community class area at 8:30am on active yard duty. One staff member per year level will be on duty, wearing a vest. This will allow our students to unpack and get ready for their day.
Families with work hours that do not align with drop off times will need to make alternate arrangements or engage in before school care.
Classrooms open at 8:30am.
Families of children walking, scooting and cycling, please ensure they only leave home with enough time to arrive at school at 8:30am.

Pick Up at the end of the day:

St Mary’s end of day dismissal bell is at 3:05pm
External gates will open at 3:00pm to allow families to meet their child(ren) in the playground / classroom entries
Car Pick Up - Parents are to remain in cars and children to get in promptly and independently
Car pick up families have a 2 minute timeframe to collect your child(ren)
If your child is not present or ready at car pick up, families will be asked to do a lap to ensure we are not blocking public roads
No families are allowed to remain stationary in Bridlington Ave, blocking public roads and traffic flow
Families are encouraged to park, walk to a designated area within the school to meet your child(ren)
Families are to use the marked crossing on Bridlington Ave and Wilkinson Drv to ensure the safety of all

SCHOOLS OUT

Please contact Schools OUT if you are needing before or after School care.

NEW UNIFORM PROVIDER & CHANGES

St Mary’s current and only uniform supplier is Hip Pocket Echuca!

St Mary’s is so excited to see our new uniform slowly emerging in our school grounds. The feedback from our families has been overwhelming and more importantly our children are sharing that they are warm and comfortable. The new designs are clean, streamlined in colour and simple! We encourage you all to visit the Hip Pocket staff for all of your uniform needs.

Families have a 12 month window for our roll over period of wearing some old uniform and purchasing new once your child needs it. Behind the scenes St Mary’s is exploring sustainable options of how to disperse and reuse old and unwanted uniforms. We will keep our families informed of options as this unfolds.

St Mary’s new school uniform has been exceptional in meeting our needs and welcoming our families into Hip Pocket. While we are in this roll over phase please send your child in activity and weather appropriate St Mary’s uniform. St Mary’s has strived to be flexible in providing its new uniform and ensure comfort, cost and convenience.

Our new winter uniform is as follows;

BOYS

St Mary’s Polo

Navy Pants / Track Pants

White socks

Complete black shoes / runners

Rugby Jumper

Sports jacket

St Mary’s Beanie

Girls

St Mary’s Polo

Navy Pants / yoga / Track Pants

Navy tunic / skirt - with navy tights

White socks

Complete black shoes / runners

Rugby Jumper

Sports jacket

St Mary’s Beanie

Sports

St Mary’s Polo

Track pants / yoga pants / sports shorts or skort

White socks

Runners

Rugby Jumper

Sports jacket

St Mary’s Beanie

HIP POCKET ECHUCA

173 Pakenham St, Echuca VIC 3564

(03) 5480 1027

Community News

After School Activities