Dear Families,

I hope everyone is managing to work around feelings of exhaustion with the World Cup Soccer, Netball World Cup, World Swimming Championships and some close AFL games thrown in as well, at the moment! Watching the Matildas and Diamonds has been so exciting and gives inspiring role models for our students. Fingers and toes crossed for the Matildas as they play France this Saturday.

On Monday we held our own fun mini Football Fever Day. On short notice Mr Anthony Speranza, Mrs Daniela Borghese, Sonia (mother of Brie) and our Year 6 Sports Leaders Brie and Wilson gave us a day to remember. Daniela and Sonia sourced goal nets and even organised a visit from a famous Spanish chicken mascot. Contrary to popular belief amongst the students I was NOT the chicken… I have learnt so much about soccer since joining the St Mary’s family and even differentiate by saying football (soccer) and footy (AFL).

HOOP Time

Our Senior students represented our school magnificently at Hoop Time last Monday. I was delighted to hear that they were all superstars, showing great teamwork and really looked out for each other. This year we sent an additional team, to give more students a Hoop Time experience. This opportunity would not have been possible without the organisation from Mrs Angela Mason, Miss Aoife McGuinness and Mr Simon Addicoat. We thank Mr Justin Buttieg, Mrs Kat Reade and Mrs Mason for attending on the day. In particular we were heavily reliant upon parent support. Giving our students these opportunities is so important and we cannot do it without you. We thank the following parents who assisted with the smooth running of Hoop Time:

Joe (Alec's Dad) - coach

Alan (Indie's Dad) - referee and assistant coach

Anouska (Anna's mum) - scorer

Jenny (Leo's mum) - scorer

Thanks to the many parents who came to cheer the St Mary's teams.

National Science Week

Scheduled for next week, National Science Week promises to be a captivating experience for our students. Last Term our Faith Based Inquiry centered around science aligned with the curriculum and next week, the students will be exploring the contributions that scientists and scientific thinking has given and is giving to our world.

Australian Mathematics Competition (Catherine Le Hunt - Maths Leader)

St Mary’s had eleven students enter into the Australian Mathematics Competition last Thursday, 3rd August. We are very proud of these students and as a school who prides itself on educating students for an ever changing world concur with what, Nathan Ford CEO of The Australian Maths Competition states:

‘Our vision is to develop a nation of creative problem solvers, and we believe Maths is the most effective way to get students there. Maths isn’t just about times tables and formulae. It’s about the process of finding creative solutions to problems. Maths develops resilience, persistence, confidence, and creative thinking in students.’

St Mary’s Trivia Night

Two weeks ago, a fantastic night was held at the St Mary’s Trivia Night. I was sad to miss it but due to a heavy cold from camp I had to rest up. So many people contributed to make it the success it was and of course teams rolled in to set up and pack up the following day. The children's art pieces were created with our very own artist in residence Mrs Rosemary Perri. We thank her for sharing her talents with us. We love walking around the school and seeing the students’ work adorning our corridors, learning spades and foyer. Thank you to the generosity of our families with the funds raised and all of the proceeds go towards our landscaping project.

Lake Dewar Discovery Camp - thank you to our Year 3 and 4 families

Our Year 3 and 4 Camp was a highlight with many photos shared on Seesaw. The staff are always so appreciative of our care packs on arriving back at school. To have a meal ready to go for our families is magic! I must say the Ferrari family enjoyed our pack enormously. As we traverse through the exciting events of the past weeks, we pause to acknowledge the vibrant energy and collective efforts that define our St Mary’s school community.

World Youth Day Update

Last week, I received a message from Father Jerome who has met His Holiness, the Pope in Portugal, whilst being a Chaplain for 'World Youth Day'. We look forward to hearing more about this once-in-a-lifetime encounter on his return. Jerome continues to keep our community in his prayers, as we keep him in ours.

Prep 100 Day

One of my favourite days on the calendar is happening tomorrow, a special milestone - Prep 100 Day! We invite all of you to join us in celebrating our younger community members as they mark their 100 days at school with a joyful parade at 9:00am. Each year, I never ceased to be amazed by the growth in confidence, independence and learning that occurs for our Prep students.

St Mary's College Partnership: Building Connections Through Reading

Our partnership with St Mary's College is flourishing. The power of reading is connecting our Year 1 students with Year 11 Social Justice Leaders, fostering a sense of community and collaboration. Through this partnership, we reinforce the importance of shared learning experiences that extend beyond the classroom.

2023 Book Fair Alert: Colouring Competition and More

Get ready for our upcoming Book Fair, an event that ignites the love for reading among our students. A special thanks to Janelle Adams for organising an exciting colouring competition due by Tuesday 15th August. Your creative efforts will add to the vibrancy of our Book Week. Mrs Angela Mason in her work as Literacy Leader has partnered with our Year 6 Curriculum Leaders to create a fantastic Book Week for our community. Read the Around the School page to learn more about this student-led initiative.

Delicious Success: Cake Stalls for a Cause

Our Cake Stalls have been a delightful success and we're grateful for the Year 5 students' effort. Next Monday the Year 4 students will take the reins. Your support whether by baking or buying, contributes to our Landscaping project - a beautiful transformation for our school environment.

Greetings from Fiji

As Mr Anthony Speranza enjoys his family holiday during long service leave, our thoughts are with him. We look forward to his return, reinvigorated and ready to continue nurturing our vibrant school community and thank him for all that he brings to our St Mary's family. I would like to thank our Leadership Team Mrs Daniela Borgese, Mrs Catherine Le Hunt and Mrs Angela Mason for sharing the Deputy Principal roles in his absence. Of course in Anthony’s meticulous manner, we have been left with many detailed notes!

Feast Day of Saint Mary MacKillop and the Feast of the Assumption

Our whole school will gather to celebrate Mass next Tuesday 15th August 9:15am for the Feast of the Assumption. This is an important date within the liturgical calendar and everyone is warmly invited to join us. Ms Jes Earle returns to school next week after attending 'World Youth Day' in Portugal and we look forward to having her share her journey with us. On Tuesday of this week, we celebrated the Feast Day of Mary MacKillop, our Australian saint with the theme of Be Fierce for Fair, as we use her as a role model to us all.

Stay Chat and Play

Stay, Chat and Play on Wednesday mornings at 9:00am continues to be well attended. Yesterday we were delighted to welcome some families who will join our Prep cohort next year. Please know that everyone is welcome.

St Mary's College Assembly

Our Year Six Faith & Social Justice Leaders and Community Leaders together with our Prep - Year 5 SRC Leaders attended St Mary's College for their whole school assembly this morning. The assembly was a celebration of Catholic Education at St Mary's College (formally known as CBC and Presentation College). Our student leaders presented our school with pride and showed attentiveness and interest throughout the assembly and are to be congratulated.

Year 4 Kinder Visits

Our successful Year 4 Kinder visit program continues this term, with our students working in partnership with the children at Stonnington Kindergarten and Papillio Kindergarten. We are very proud of our students as they have embraced this initiative. Building connections to our wider community is an important part of who we are as a St Mary’s community.

National Day of Action against Bullying

Whilst Friday 18th August is a Student Free Day, this important day of action and empowerment against bullying will be explored in classes in the lead up to Friday 18th August and in the week following.

Welcome to our ACU Pre-Service Teachers

You may have seen some young eager staff members around school. We warmly welcome Luke Blain (Yr 4 Mc D), Esther Gardner (Yr 3P) and Shari Virgona (Prep B) to our St Mary's community. Together our students with Mrs Maureen McDonald, Ms Paula Incretolli and Mrs Daniela Borgese are supporting these ACU students in their final year of their studies in education. We look forward to working with them.

Looking ahead:

Book Week commencing Monday 21st August with the theme of Read, Grow, Inspire.

2023 Book Week launch

Movie Night on Wednesday 23rd August 5pm , please go to the Parents and Friends page for information about this exciting event. Through our Student Representative Council (SRCs), all our students have been invited to choose and vote on the movies being shown. This year we are offering; The Lorax (G) and Zootopia (PG)

Student Free Day on Friday 18th August

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

Mrs Cathy Ferrari

From St Mary's Parish

Message from the Parish - Fr Jerome Santamaria