PREP

Not long to go now, everyone! Elissa, Gemma, Ava, Alyce and I would like to say a heartfelt thank you to all the Prep families for a wonderful year. Your support and commitment to your child’s learning has been amazing and has certainly helped things run smoothly here at school.

We are so proud of all the Preps and the growth they have shown this year. We wish them all the very best for an amazing year as Grade 1s.

We would also like to wish everyone a very safe and happy Christmas, and a restful New Year. We look forward to seeing you all again in 2026.

We have some exciting events happening over the next week.

Friday 12th – Water Fight on the Oval. Prep and Grade 1 students will battle it out on the oval from 12:00–12:45pm. Students need to bring a change of clothes to put on after the water fight (casual clothes are fine). Please also pack dry socks and underwear, and a plastic bag for wet clothes.

Tuesday 16th – Disco (12:00–12:45pm). Prep to Grade 2 students can let loose and boogie on the dance floor.

Wednesday 17th – Carols on the Courts (12:00pm). The stage will be set for this year’s Christmas extravaganza! Families are invited to attend and share in the Christmas joy. Students are encouraged to wear a touch of Christmas.

Thursday 18th – Fun Food Day. On the last day of term, students can enjoy some yummy Fun Food during the first break. Please remember to send a lunchbox for second break.

Liza Alexander lalexander@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

Elissa Rodger erodger@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

GRADE 1

As our Grade 1 year comes to a close, we are thrilled to share that Move Up Day was a wonderful success! The students enjoyed meeting their new teachers yesterday and are buzzing with excitement for the year ahead.

Over the next few days, student books will be coming home. If possible, please send an extra bag with your child to help them carry everything safely.

A reminder that Friday the 12th is our much-anticipated Water Fight Day! With a forecast of 29°C, we ask that children arrive with sunscreen applied, bring a hat, a towel, a spare set of clothes for afterward, and a spare bag for wet items. Water guns, buckets, cups, and other reusable water play items are welcome — however, NO WATER BALLOONS please.

We wish all our families a safe, happy, and restful Christmas and New Year break. Thank you for your ongoing support and for trusting us with your wonderful children. We have loved watching them learn and grow this year and wish them all the very best for Grade 2!

Warm regards,

The Grade 1 Team — Bec, Judy, Leah & Paula

Leah Martin lmartin@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

Rebecca Murray rmurray@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

Judy Carr jcarr@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

Paula Parish pparish@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

GRADE 2

Welcome to our final newsletter for 2026. How the year has flown!

We’d like to start this newsletter by congratulating our amazing Year 2 students. We have had a jam-packed year of learning and growing, and they have proven to be the most dedicated, resilient and hard-working students. We are all so, so proud of them. As the students move on to Year 3, we will always cherish the friendships, humour and sense of community that we have developed as a group.

We have lots coming up, so here are some dates and events to add to your already busy calendars at home!

Thursday 11/12 – We all had a great time at our water fight today; thank you for supporting this fun event!

Friday 12/12 – Ballarat Wildlife Park.

Please send your child to school in full school uniform (sports uniform is also acceptable). Ensure they have comfortable walking shoes and their hats. It would be extra helpful if students came to school with sunscreen already applied. We will have sunscreen with us to reapply throughout the day. If your child has their own sunscreen, please pack it in their school bag. Extra snacks would also be handy on this day. It’s going to be a hot day, so shorts and a full drink bottle of water, please!

Monday 15/12 – Tenpin Bowling.

Students will walk to the Colac Tenpin Bowling alley at 9:30am. We will return to school during first break. A normal lunchbox and school uniform are required on this day.

Tuesday 16/12 – Disco Day.

12 midday on the courts. Students wear their school uniform on this day.

Wednesday 16/12 – Carols on the Courts.

Carols will begin at midday on the courts. Students are encouraged to come in Christmas-themed dress-up.

Thursday 17/12 – Last Day of School.

Students will enjoy fun food on this day. We will also be watching a movie in class that morning with some popcorn. Please still pack a lunchbox as normal.

As we come to the end of this wonderful year, we want to express our deepest gratitude to you, our Year 2 families. Your support, encouragement, and partnership have meant so much to us. Thank you for trusting us with your children, for cheering them on, and for working alongside us throughout every busy, joyful, and sometimes challenging moment of the year.

It has been a privilege to teach your children and to watch them grow into confident, capable, and caring learners. We truly appreciate everything you do, and we are so grateful to have shared this year with you.

Wishing you all a safe, relaxing, and joy-filled holiday season.

Emma Roberts eroberts@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

Matt O'Dowd modowd@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

Amanda Delorenzo mdelorenzo@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

GRADE 3

We have begun collecting our Grade 3 Secret Santa gifts, and we want to ensure that no child misses out. If you are unable to purchase a gift, please let Deb or Jade know confidentially so we can assist. Please have all wrapped and clearly labelled gifts handed in by Monday 15th December.

As many families know, we had a few unexpected changes to last week’s excursion due to updated requirements around waiver forms. Thankfully, we were able to secure a very last-minute booking at BOUNCE, as well as a visit to the Bunjil Playground.

Although still lots of fun, we quickly discovered that Bunjil Playground was covered in mosquitoes, which wasn’t ideal. However, the students showed amazing flexibility and positivity throughout the day. They were exceptionally well-behaved at BOUNCE, especially considering how busy it was. We shared the space with the Year 9s from Trinity, which was a little overwhelming at first, but the Grade 3s settled in beautifully. Some even had the wonderful surprise of spending time with their Grade 6 buddies.

We are now gearing up for a jam-packed schedule next week, and we look forward to finishing the year with plenty of fun and celebration.

Dates to remember:

12/12 - Water Fight

16/12 - School Disco

17/12 - Carols on the Courts - 12 noon

18/12 - Assembly at 10:15am, Fun Food straight after assembly, Finish school at 3:15

Jade, Deb, Mel and Ali

Jade LoRicco jloricco@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

Deb Holland dholland@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

GRADE 4

It’s hard to believe we only have one week left together in Grade 4! Time really does fly when you’re learning, laughing and losing your pencils.

Today we say goodbye to Matt as he heads off for his final five days of parental leave for 2025. He’ll be spending some well deserved time with Gemma and little Clementine, who we’re sure will keep him just as busy as Grade 4.

A huge congratulations to our Grade 4s for their fabulous efforts during Learning Conversations last week. As teachers, we were thrilled to celebrate every student’s growth, hard work, and proud moments with their grown-ups; there were smiles all around.

Thank you to all the families who joined us for the End-of-Year Mass and Grade 6 Graduation. It was a beautiful and heartfelt evening as we farewelled some incredible leaders.

We’re heading into a very busy final week so please keep an eye on Class Dojo for reminders. Here’s what’s coming up:

Friday 12th December – School Waterfight

Years 3–5 will battle it out from 12:45pm. Students may bring a towel, a dry change of clothes, and a water pistol. No water bombs, please

Tuesday 16th December – Disco on the Courts

Grades 3–6 will be busting out their best moves from 12:45pm with DJ Jade on the decks.

Wednesday 17th December – Carols on the Courts

Families are warmly invited to join us from 12:00pm as we celebrate the Christmas season with performances. Each year level has been rehearsing a lot.

Thursday 18th December – Fun Food / Last Day of School for 2025

Matt Absalom mabsalom@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

Maegen Potter mpotter@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

Susie Scott sscott@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

GRADE 5

Wow, we can’t believe it’s the end of the year already!

Our Year 5 students have shown incredible growth, resilience and independence. Their dedication to achieving their counting goals, mastering their times tables, improving their reading fluency, consistently completing their homework and diary routines etc has made a remarkable difference in their learning. Everyone has grown and improved in so many ways outside of the classroom too; some people have developed their social skills, or improved their leadership skills ready for Grade 6 or have excelled in various sporting fields. We are so proud of each of our students and their individual achievements, and we hope that they are proud of themselves too. We are excited to see them step into 2026 as the leaders and role models of our school and we just know that they are going to do a fantastic job at leading the school next year.

Move Up Day on Tuesday was a real highlight, with the Year 5s absolutely loving the chance to meet their new Prep buddies. The joy on their faces said it all!

We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all our Year 5 families for your support throughout the year. Your children have been truly amazing and we could not have achieved all we have, without the great support of our parents and families; we have been truly blessed this year with you all helping us work together to make these kids the best they can be!

As we wrap up the year with lots of Christmas fun, we wish everyone a safe, restful and happy holiday break.

Rachel Downard rdownard@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

Rachael Cahill rcahill@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

GRADE 6

What an incredible year we have had with our Year 6 students! We enjoyed a wonderful evening at Graduation last night and have loved spending the past few weeks reminiscing about each student’s journey through Primary School. On Tuesday, the students participated in their Secondary School Transition Day and had a fantastic time exploring what lies ahead. We are looking forward to celebrating the year with a fun day out at Adventure Park tomorrow. We would also like to extend our sincere thanks to all parents and families for the support you have provided, both to your children and to us as teachers, throughout the year. Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a safe, happy New Year.

Jess Downard jdownard@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

Jodie Hassett jhassett@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

Katie Monaghan kmonaghan@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

The Marian News

Issue 19 · 11 Dec 2025

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