Dear Families

Our prayers continue for the members of our community and their extended family who are directly impacted by the floods in Victoria and New South Wales. This weekend my family attended a wedding in Rutherglen and we saw first hand the flooding in many local towns.

In the education sector words such as thriving, flourishing, vibrant and connected are constantly referenced in aspirational terms. Yesterday epitomised all of these adjectives and more. An enormous thank you to the many many people who supported our school. In the morning we were a hive of activity with parents and carers giving time before work and during the day to help Anthony move furniture from the hall to the truck, to be used by students in the Bua Province, Fiji. Around 9:00am we had people signing in to help sew buttons on some amazing Year 2 creations, in Art. We hosted another successful Stay, Chat and Play morning and on driveway duty before school I was discussing the Parent Soccer match to be held later that day. After a day of four seasons in one day, we had a fantastic parent soccer match with lots of fun and impressive soccer skills on display. The onlookers had as much fun as those playing. As the leader of this community and working in partnership with parents/carers, staff and students I am so proud to be working alongside each of you as we create our vibrant, energetic and inclusive St Mary's Family.

Last Tuesday we had a wonderful evening welcoming our Prep 2023 parents and carers. Kasia, Louisa and Amy organised our catering and introduced themselves to our new families. Father Jerome, myself, Anthony, Paula, Daniela and Catherine as members of the Leadership Team, together with our Student Leaders; Ivy, Emelie, Jake and Leo attended. The highlight of the evening was our Student Leaders sharing their memories of starting in Prep at St Mary's, accompanied by their Prep photo. These confident and engaging senior students stole the show!

Now that the weather is hopefully warming up we would love to see you at our popular Running Club. It is a great way to exercise and have fun every Thursday morning. Please join us next week. Thank you to our staff and parents who oversee this each week.

Tonight we have our final School Advisory Council. (SAC) meeting for the year. We thank Donna Martin for chairing the meetings and Father Jerome, Anthony Speranza, Ben Merlin, Angela Clelland, Claude Lam and Richard Arthur for their guidance, wisdom and support throughout the year. If you are interested in learning more about being a member of the SAC please read the Around the School section of the newsletter.

Tomorrow we are really looking forward to our Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony by Uncle David from the Boonwurrung Land and Sea Council. This week our Indigenous focus has been evident throughout the school, culminating in our celebration tomorrow afternoon. Please join us at 2:00pm and enjoy this prayer shared at our staff meeting by Miss Jacquie.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Justice / Resources / Prayer Resources / Aboriginal Blessing

Aboriginal Blessing by Brooke Prentis

May our footsteps, on these ancient lands,

remind us of creation and connectedness, in our search for truth.

May the Gum Tree, from its roots to its branches,

remind us to dig deep and reach high, in our action for justice.

May the Eagle, who soars in the sky,

remind us of the power, in our call for love.

May the expanse of the lands and seas, of the sky and stars,

remind us of God’s timing in our faith in hope.

May the Holy three, Creator Spirit, Lord God, Papa Jesus,

remind us of community.

So with grace, mercy, and peace, go in truth, justice, love and hope.

This Aboriginal blessing can be used as a prayer, blessing or benediction.

If you are using please acknowledge Brooke Prentis as the author/writer.

Please make sure that you are driving carefully and adhering to the road rules when dropping and picking up your children. The safety of our children is paramount at all times. Please do not do U Turns near the pedestrian crossing and if parking near Westbury Street and Dandenong Road please do not park on the corner.

If you have not had the pleasure yet, please visit our Art Showcase. The children's work will brighten up your day and it is really interesting to see the skill progression from Prep to Year 6 as you walk throughout the school. The creative works will be up for the next few weeks, so please come in before or after school to enjoy them.

Please put Saturday 26th November in your calendar for our State Election Sausage Sizzle. On this day we are making and selling egg and bacon rolls, sausages, cakes and drinks. Even giving an hour of your time will benefit our school community. The funds raised will go towards creating our landscaped plans for the school grounds. This project will be executed over the next few years and features areas such as a native plant gardens, a dry creek river bed, a kitchen garden and an out door learning spaces. Lots of fun was had at our last election so please come down and enjoy the fun.

Finally it is with sadness and a sense of privilege that l announce the retirement of our beloved Miss Paula at the end of this year. Paula Incretolli has worked with a few school communities through out her education journey. Paula began at St Mary's Primary School as an emergency teacher with her young family. Over the years she has filled many roles. Her passion has always been Literacy and many, many children and their families stop Paula to this day and thank her for teaching them to read. Paula is a life long learner and this was highly evident as she moved to online teaching and utilising technology to support her students and their families with remote learning last year. Throughout the years she has been a Reading Recovery Teacher, Curriculum Leader, Learning Diversity Leader, Literacy Leader, Classroom Support Teacher and a Gifted and Talented Teacher and this year has seen her teaching in Year 6 and leading the school in the area of Literacy.

Paula has a great sense of fun about her and her laughter can often be heard ringing from the staff room. In the last two years, I have enjoyed her performances at the school camp talent shows, getting involved in our special days and dressing accordingly. Paula is often creating ways to lift staff morale with fun activities. At the same time Paula is very caring of all around her and quietly will give you a kind word or gesture when it is most needed. On a personal level, I would like to thank her for supporting me in principalship and helping me to understand the St Mary's community. The moments I enjoy the most is when we both roar with laughter and thankfully this happens often. We will farewell her later in the Term with more information about this in the next newsletter.

It’s not every day that you get to meet your heroes! Siena and Olivia in Year 3 were lucky enough to meet the Matildas including Sam Kerr last Sunday following their 4 - 0 win over Sweden. The entire Matildas squad made a surprise appearance where the Under 8s and Under 9s Girls Brighton Soccer Teams were participating in a skills session. Siena and Olivia had the chance to have a kick with the girls, sign autographs and take photos. It was a wonderful opportunity to share their passion for soccer and meet such terrific role models. We all look forward to cheering on the Matildas at the Women’s World Cup next year.

God Bless each of you,

Cathy

Community