Friday 29th November ~ Issue 37
PARISH PRIEST: Fr Patrick Mugavin PRINCIPAL: Mrs Terrielynn Groves
SAC CHAIRPERSON: Mrs Joyce Nedziwe CHILD SAFETY OFFICER: Ms Tania Stevens
Child Safety Statement
School Values
Treat others the way you would like to be treated.
Respect Our School - Hormati Sekolah Kita
Do Your Best - Lakukan Yang Terbaik
Help Others to Succeed - Bantu Teman Untuk Berhasil
Important Dates
Term 4
Friday 6th December - Assembly
Friday 6th December - Christmas Parade @ 6pm
Tuesday 10th December - 2025 Orientation Day ~ Prep - 6
Friday 13th December - Junior Athletics Carnival (Prep - 2)
Friday 13th December - Semester Two reports sent home
Sunday 15th December - End of Year School Mass and Gr 6 Graduation @ 10.30am - please bring a small plate of food to share
Wednesday 18th December - Last day for students
ADVANCE NOTICE
Wednesday 29th January - First day of 2025 school year for Gr 1-6
Thursday 30th January - First day of 2025 school year for Preps
Tuesday 11th February - PUPIL FREE DAY - all staff at Structured Literacy PD
From the Principal
Dear Families,
There have been great scenes of celebration over the last couple of weeks, as students and staff have shared amazing learning progress. From Prep to Gr 6, there have been impressive gains made by our students. Well done to students, staff and families! Staff are also working very hard after school and on weekends to complete student reports. I would like to acknowledge the incredible amount of work that goes into these reports. I am greatly enjoying reading about the amazing growth the students have made in all aspects of school life.
Our Christmas Parade is just one week away! We are so fortunate to have an amazing group of volunteers who are steering us towards another great event. Please consider how you can contribute to this year's parade and support our school - it's not too late! Also, please support those local businesses who are supporting our school through the raffle - Christmas shopping is a wonderful opportunity to do this!
The following week, on Sunday 15th December, we will gather as a school at St Mary's Church, 10.30am, to give thanks for the wonderful year we have had and to farewell our Gr 6s. It will be great to see everyone there! Students will sit with their families and wear their school uniform. Please bring a small plate of food to share after Mass.
On Tuesday of next week we will be cheering on our Gr 6 girls who, with coach Chris Minney, will be representing our school at the State Basketball Championships for schools. Our 3/4 girls also made it to this level but are sadly not attending. Congratulations to both teams!
Have a wonderful weekend, shared with those you love,
Terrielynn
Catholic School Culture
MASS TIMES – 2024
Hamilton: Saturday 6pm and Sunday 10.30am
Dunkeld: Sunday 8.30am
Glenthompson: Sunday 8.30am
Penshurst: Sunday 8.30am
First Week of Advent This coming Sunday, 3rd December, is the First Sunday of Advent. Veronica Lawson explores some of the major themes of Advent that come from this Sunday’s Gospel - To Stay Awake! And Having Eyes Wide Open.
Advent is about recognising our tendency to be less than vigilant and even to turn away when our presence is most needed. It is about allowing the grace of God to take hold in our hearts, keeping us watchful for the sake of those on the edge and for the sake of a regenerated Earth. Most of us would agree that our Earth communities are in crisis. We need to be alert to causes as well as to consequences so that the cycles of violence might eventually be broken. Our gospel asks no less of us. As I look up from my writing, I see the magpies in the yard, ever alert, rarely asleep, ready to protect their territory and their young. The creatures of the earth can remind us that “eyes wide open” is the proper stance for gospel people as well as for birds or black swans. Blessing We are looking for God in our world. Amen |
Learning and Teaching
School Wide Positive Behaviours
School Wide Positive Behaviour Support is: A multi-tiered framework for establishing the social culture and behavioural supports needed for a school to achieve behavioural and academic outcomes for all students.
For the next two weeks at St Mary’s we are working with our students on the following:
RESPECT - Use kind words
SAFETY - Keep hands and feet off other
RESPONSIBILITY - Make the most of the learning opportunities in the last few weeks.
Library News
As we are fast approaching the end of the year, all Library books need to be returned to the Library as soon as possible please. Time to check bookshelves, behind couches and under beds for those sneaky books that have been hanging out at your place for the last few months! We will not be borrowing from the Library over the next few weeks in Library lessons, as all resources will need to be back for stocktake. Thank you very much for your assistance in this.
Tania Stevens
Icy Poles
As we are in Term 4 and heading into the warmer weather, our Grade 6 Student Councillors will once again be selling icy poles at lunchtime on Fridays. These will be $1 each and will be sold each Friday until the end of the term. Our SRC has decided to support Standing Tall Mentoring Program with the proceeds.
Assembly Award Winners
Award winners from our assembly last Friday were Maddy Joseph, Angus Blake, Dean De Jager, Genelia Mariam Dennies, Harper Gillies, OJ Mandiringana, William Ferguson, Paddy Kearney, Mya Lowin, Eron Eldhose, Elaine Joseph, Naithan Joemon, Harley Kenny and the Grade 5/6 cohort who were all displaying the value of Respect Our School. Congratulations! We are very proud of you all.
Holiday Office hours
Please note our school office will close Wednesday 18th December @4pm for school holidays, and reopen Wednesday 29th January 2025 @ 8.30am.
Bus Travellers - Town and Country
A green bus form was sent home last week for you to please fill out and return ASAP. This will then be collated into 2025's bus roll. If you have not returned the completed bus form for your child by the end of the term, we cannot guarantee bus travel at the start of 2025 as it is a duty of care that we know how your child is getting home.
Thank you for your continued support of the School Country Bus Program throughout the year. Please see below key information regarding 2025 bus travel arrangements for the School Country Bus Program.
2025 travel offers
Families of Country bus travellers (not the town buses) have been emailed travel offers today from the Student Travel Assistance Portal for bus travel in 2025. Families have until 14 December 2024 to accept travel offers for 2025.
- if you have changed address or school and your travel offer is incorrect, you will need to decline your travel offer, update your address in your profile (if required) and then submit a new travel application
- accept offers prior to the expiry date.
Bus service waitlist
Where bus services have reached capacity, some students have been placed on a waitlist. The Student Transport Unit reviews the waitlist every day and when a seat becomes available, the system will automatically email a travel offer to families. Priority of access is given to eligible students.
Term 4 travel
Applications for travel in Term 4, 2024 are closed to prepare for 2025. Any families seeking to submit a new travel application for Term 4, 2024 should contact the School Bus Coordinator at the coordinating school for an adhoc travel pass.
Contact
Families requiring assistance with STAP (including requests to change their allocated bus service/stop) can email: schoolbus@education.vic.gov.au
Sports Catch Up
Saturday Morning Netball
Saturday Morning Netball concludes this Saturday. Grade 5-6’s are playing at 9:30am, and our Grade 3-4’s are on the court at 10:30am.
Well done to all of our students who have done a fantastic job in representing our school throughout the season. You have all come so far with your skills and enjoyment of the game. A thank you also to all of our wonderful coaches, umpires, scorers and supporters who have attended and assisted throughout the term. Your efforts and dedication to our teams is appreciated by all!
Grade 3-6 Swimming Carnival
What a great day we have had at the Monivae pool today! A huge congratulations to all students who participated so brilliantly during their events. I would like to thank our staff and families who assisted with a variety of roles throughout the day. We cannot run these events without you!
Results will be posted in next week’s newsletter.
Grade 5-6 State Hooptime
We have 6 eager students in the All Star Girls competition who will be attending this event on Tuesday. Thank you to all of our families who are travelling to Melbourne, and those who are taking other students to the event. Thank you also to Ben Causer and Pat Sherlock, who will be scoring for our team. Good luck girls!
Junior Athletics Carnival
This will be held on Friday 13th December at St. Mary’s. We will begin at 11:30am, and it will finish at approximately 1:30pm. Families are welcome to attend this event, and our Grade 6 students will be running each event. There is no help required from families for this event.
Dates for your Diary
Saturday Morning Netball: Concludes this Saturday @ Pedrina Park
Grade 5-6 State Hooptime: Tuesday 3rd December @ State Basketball Centre, Wantirna South
Junior Athletics Carnival (Prep - Grade 2): Friday 13th December @ St. Mary’s
Latham Wishart
lwishart@smhamilton.catholic.edu.au
Parent Access Portal (PAM)
PAM was released today - you should receive an email from St Mary's Student Portal. Please follow the instructions to log in.
This is the same computer software staff use here for day to day reporting. Monivae College also use this platform with their parents. At the end of each year I would send out physical copies of the consent forms you will see on PAM, but this will now replace those and will bulk upload your answers to me. Much more streamlined! There is also an indepth medical form for you to please complete and upload any medical documents you might have - asthma plan/anaphylaxis etc.
Shannon Smith
PAM link is also on our Website below
Wellbeing
Child Safety - Digital Reputation ~ SchoolTV
What kids do and post online, the sites they visit and the things they say is permanent. This digital footprint denotes their digital reputation and there’s nothing to stop someone from saving and storing that information about your child.”
Dr Michael Carr-Gregg
With the news that the ban on social media for children under 16 passed through the Senate last night, it is a good time to revisit this edition of SchoolTV. It talks about the different types of social media, as well as what a 'digital reputation' is and why it is important to discuss this with our children. The link for this edition is below.
Tania Stevens
Leadership and Stewardship
School Fees
At our School Advisory Council meeting on Wednesday 28th November 2024, an increase in school fees for 2025 was approved. In order to meet our increasing costs and provide the learning programs that we do, it was agreed to raise the fees by 3.0%. This calculates to the following:
Family fee $1315 (remains the same per family)
Capital fee $255 (increase of $47 per family)
Student fee $300 (increase of $9 per student)
Please note that our fees only make up the difference between the Government (Federal and State) funding we receive and the amount the Government determines as the cost of educating a Primary student. Fees do not mean that we have extra money in our budget to expend on additional resources.
The Family Fee Assistance scheme will be available again in 2025. Families who qualify for the scheme will pay $520 per annum for primary school tuition fees. The discounted fee covers tuition and capital fees only. It does not cover additional charges such as camps, student fees, and excursions.
In 2025, the due date for school fees will remain at 30th June, 2025. The due date does not apply if you have a regular payment plan in place.
If you have any queries regarding school fees or funding, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Helen O'Brien
2025 Planning
Our 2025 homeroom teachers have been appointed. What a team!
Prep - Madeleine Bell and Erin Wolfe
1/2s - Adam Nankivell, Rachael Edwards and Mharni Gordon/Rebecca Kearney
3/4s - Lisa Schurmann, Latham Wishart and Catherine Egan/Kate Plush
5/6s - Ellen Whyte, Teagan Wishart and Chris Minney/Leroy Perez
Next week I will be working on which teams our LSOs will be in.
We have also made two other very important appointments. Bec Sherlock will return to us for two days a week in the role of Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader. This is a new position in our school which is funded by our governing authority DOBCEL. We have also appointed Casey Rook to the role of Library Manager. Congratulations to both Bec and Casey!
Community Engagement
St Mary's Christmas Parade
THE DAY IS NEARLY HERE! Thank you, thank you to everyone who has helped in any way - we are so appreciative!
● All classes are preparing for the Christmas Parade. Students should arrive and meet their classroom teachers in the grounds of Gray St Primary School at 5.45pm. Please make sure that students come dressed in their costumes ready to parade (or as per the information provided by teachers).
● Following the parade, students will remain with their teachers outside the PAC until collected by a parent. Please make sure that you collect your child promptly and notify their teacher before they leave the area.
● If you are rostered on to help before or during the Parade, Mrs Groves will meet your children at the front of the PAC just before 5.30pm and walk the group down to meet their class group at the starting point.
Don’t forget to sell those raffle tickets! They are due back at school on Monday 9th December.
Money raised this year will go towards establishing a school kitchen which will support the amazing work that is happening in our garden.
If you have any queries or concerns, please contact us here at school. Thanks!
Community Events
