Friday 4th April 2025 ~ Issue 10

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 2

Monday 28th April - First day of Term 2

Monday 28th April - Open Day

Thursday 1st May - Step Into Prep

Friday 2nd May - Assembly

Thursday 8th May - Step Into Prep

Thursday 8th May - Spend the Day at Monivae (Grade 6 students)

Monday 12th May - Mother's Day Celebration at school

Friday 16th May - Assembly

Monday 26th - Friday 30th May - Catholic Education Week

Wednesday 28th May - Friday 30th May - Gr 5/6 Camp - Warrnambool

Friday 30th May - Assembly

Wednesday 4th June - School Photos

Friday 13th June - Assembly

Friday 27th June - Assembly

Friday 4th July - Last day of Term 2

PUPIL FREE DAYS IN 2025

Tuesday 22nd April - Religious Education PD - Hamilton

Wednesday 23rd April - Whole School PD - English Curriculum - Horsham

Thursday 24th April - Numeracy PD - Hamilton

Wednesday 14th May - Whole School PD - Diocesan Strategic Plan - Horsham

Friday 19th September - Structured Literacy

Wednesday 17th December - Last day of the school year for students

ADVANCE NOTICE

Wednesday 17th September - St Mary's School Concert at Hamilton PAC

From the Principal

Dear Families,

The day has arrived when we farewell Lindy Cullinane! A day of such mixed feelings - so happy for her as she moves into a new time in her life and so, so sad for us. We will miss her! 

It has been one of my greatest pleasures to work with Lindy and to have her teach my own children. Not only is she an outstanding teacher but she is an even better person, bringing great joy and happiness to all those she meets. Her love of all things St Mary’s has meant that she has committed her teaching career to our place and for that we are all the richer.

We thank Lindy for all that she has been to us and wish her every happiness with whatever comes next!

In past year's we have participated in the ANZAC Day march and ceremony on April 25th. At the time of writing I have not heard from the RSL about the details of the morning, so I am unsure what this day will look like for us. Stay tuned over the holidays - if I hear anything I will send out details. It is a wonderful way for our families to come together as a school community and honour those who have given so much.

This week we have celebrated the Sacrament of Reconciliation with a number of our students. These ceremonies have been beautiful gatherings for our families, as their children continue their faith journey.

Thank you for an amazing Term 1! It has been incredibly busy and also very rewarding. The children have learnt so much! We greatly appreciate the unwavering support of our community and the outstanding dedication of our staff. We are truly blessed.

Be sure to take a moment over the coming weeks to engage in the Easter Masses at our Church, such an important time in our Catholic tradition. Ask your children to tell you about the learning and reflection they have been immersed in here at school - they will have much to tell you!

Have a wonderful holiday, shared with those you love,

Terrielynn

Catholic School Culture

MASS TIMES – 2025                                                 

Hamilton: Saturday 6pm and Sunday 10.30am                                    

Dunkeld: Sunday 8.30am                  

Glenthompson:  Sunday 8.30am

Penshurst: Sunday 8.30am

Sacramental Program

This week, our candidates have received the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Led beautifully by Fr Paddy, the students and their families have enjoyed a most meaningful ceremony.

Big Water Walk

Water is a precious resource.  Today, all students and staff took part in the Big Water Walk. Our aim for the walk was to not spill one drop of water. We were asked to think about people from other parts of the world who are walking, just as we did today, to get clean water for their families. At the end of the walk, some of the words the students used to sum it up included depressing, sad,  tiring and almost like a punishment.  It was certainly an eye opener for us! It really helped everyone to see how the money raised during Project Compassion can help others in our world. 

A big thanks to Mrs Gordon for organising this important event for us.

The Big Water Walk

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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 - Include others

SAFETY - Use your words to solve problems

RESPONSIBILITY - Try to make yourself smarter everyday

Baby News!

It is with great excitement that we let you know that Teagan Wishart and her partner Anthony are expecting a baby in early Term 3 and so is Latham Wishart and his partner Molly. What an exciting time for these families and for our school community! 

We will start advertising for Teagan's position over the holidays. Be sure to make any teachers that you know aware of this job vacancy.

Assembly Awards

Congratulations to the following students who received an award last Friday for our value, Respect Our School.  We are so proud of you!  Congratulations go to Lucas Sutherland, Oliver Hughes, Nate Wensley, Nyra Jubair, Bonnie Calvano, Emma Dunn, Jimmy Hadden, William Ferguson, Neave Dawson, Sienna Gordon, Keerthana Vipinkumar, Marcus Knight and Marcus McRae.

Sports Catch Up

Saturday Morning Netball

The six week season has come to an end, just in time for League Football/Netball to begin. 

I hope all our players had a wonderful time playing! 

Thank you to Lisa Lowin, Emily Kelson, Joshua Donnelly, Shae Outtram and Joe McKew for their support in their coaching and umpiring roles. We greatly appreciate the time and effort you gave in order for our players to have this great opportunity.

We are hopeful a Term Four season will also run this year, watch this space as the year progresses.  

St Mary’s Swifts report - Coach: Shae Outtram

What a great season for the St Mary’s & Tarrington Swifts! Some of the group had never met but they soon found their groove and played some great netball. Not only did they learn and develop their skills, they made some great new friends! Thank you to all the parents and supporters who came along each weekend, helped with scoring and cheered them on. 

Regional Swimming 

We are immensely proud of Claire, Lexi, Lucy and Nina for representing St Mary’s at Regional Swimming last week. It is an incredible feat to make it through to this high level event. Thank you to the parents who supported the girls at this event. At this level of competition medals are presented to the first three placegetters and only the winner of each event qualifies for State Championships. 

Their results are:

Lucy O - 1st Backstroke (44.63)

Claire C - 5th Butterfly 

Lexi W - 9th Backstroke & 11th Butterfly

Medley Relay (Lucy, Claire, Lexi, Nina)- 7th 

WELL DONE to Lucy who is through to the State Swimming Championships for Backstroke, and in doing so knocked off 8.50 seconds to her PB!! This is an absolute outstanding achievement! Lucy will compete on Thursday 1st May at MSAC in Melbourne. You are a superstar Lucy!

Southern Grampians District Tennis event 

We had Aubrey Lowcock represent St Mary’s at the District Tennis event last Thursday. Mrs Willder reported that all the students who participated displayed outstanding sportsmanship that all schools can be proud of. She also said that all the tennis players showed a great improvement in skill and confidence as the day progressed, and were able to provide en pointe feedback to their opponent at the conclusion of each match. Well done Aubrey for competing on the day!

School Cross Country

Our School Cross Country was a wonderful event last Friday! 

A huge thank you to everyone who came to cheer on our students, especially to those people who sat on a checkpoint throughout the day. We thank Simone, Maddie, Rohana, Lauren, Alex, Tahlia, Cara, Peta and Misty. 

The following students finished in the Top 3 for their Age Group:

A note was sent home this week with the students who have qualified for District Cross Country. 

District Cross Country **NEW DATE**

The District Cross Country at Lake Hamilton will move to Friday 9th May. This is due to the original date of Thursday 8th May clashing with the “Spend a Day at Monivae” event. 

School Cross Country Top 3 in Age Groups

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Division Athletics

We have 15 students advancing to the Division Athletics in Warrnambool on Friday 2nd May. 

Jed P - Discus

Sean N - 800m & 1500m

Marlee L - 100m, Hurdles, 200m

Lucy O- High Jump

Beau P- Discus & Relay

James N - 200m, 800m, 1500m & Relay

Owen L - Relay

Xavier L - Relay

Alaska B- 800m & 1500m 

Navvi T- Shot Put

Isabella T - 800m & 1500m

Johannah W- 100m, 800m, 1500m, Relay

Charlie M- Hurdles and Relay

Sophie U - Hurdles, 100m, 200m, Relay

Nina R- Discus, Shot Put, Relay

A note has been sent home with these students this week. We wish them all the very best and can’t wait to report on their efforts! 

SSV Team Vic Trials

We had Meki, Johannah and Nina trial for SSV Team Vic for Basketball last week in Ballarat. The girls did very well, with all three being selected to progress to the next round of trials in May. A fabulous achievement! We wish them all the very best. 

Nina is also attending the trial for SSV Team Vic for Netball in June.

3x3 School Cup

We had a team enter the 3x3 School Cup Qualifying Day in Diamond Valley on Monday 31st March. Hana, Meki, Nina and Charlie represented the school incredibly well. They were undefeated all day and won the final!! 

Game One- 18:5, Game Two 17:1, Game Three 12:7, Game Four 6:3, Game Five 21:8 and the FINAL 10:7

The girls will now progress onto the State Championships to be held on Wednesday 7th May at the State Basketball Centre. We thank the parents who highly supported the girls to participate in this event. 

Prep & Grade 1/2 Swimming Programs

Our Junior School students will swim in Term Two: 

Prep: Monday 5th May - Friday 9th May from 12.00-1.00pm 

Grade 1/2: Monday 26th May - Friday 30th May from 12.00-1.30pm 

An information note with a Parent Helper slip and the BLUE permission form was sent home last week to all Prep families. The blue note must be completely filled in due to this activity being classified as high-risk. It is due back on Thursday 1st May. If you need another copy, please let the office know. 

Grade One/Two families, you will receive further information at the beginning of next term.

Dates for your Diary

May

Friday 2nd May - Division Athletics @ Warrnambool

Monday 5th May - Friday 9th May - Prep Swimming Program

** Friday 9th May NEW DATE ** - District Cross Country @ Lake Hamilton

Friday 16th May - Division Cross Country @ Warrnambool

Monday 26th May - Regional Cross Country @ Warrnambool

Monday 26th May-Friday 30th May - Grade 1/2 Swimming Program

Elise Gordon

egordon@smhamilton.catholic.edu.au 

Learning Conversations

On Monday we completed our final evening of Learning Conversations. A huge thank you to our staff for their commitment to these meetings and to all those families who were able to attend. The partnership that we share is vital to the student's learning so we greatly appreciate your attendance.

Structured Literacy

Please see the information flyer below.

Wellbeing

Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader Role

Bec Sherlock has returned to school this year in a new role as the Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader. This is a role that is funded by our governing authority DOBCEL and provides us with the amazing resource of having a teacher who is able to coordinate our work in the area of mental health and wellbeing. Through training we are learning more about what this role looks like in schools and will share this with you as the year goes on.

Child Safety ~ Child Safe Standards

The new Child Safe Standards (eleven in total) came into effect in July 2022 and are a
vital part of what we do here at St Mary’s. But, what do these standards look like in practice? Each week, we will look at a standard in closer detail.

Standard 2 - Child safety and wellbeing is embedded in organisational leadership, governance and culture.

At St Mary’s we can see this standard in action in a variety of ways. Child safety and Wellbeing is a standing item on all of our agendas - staff meetings, team meetings and School Advisory Council meetings and this newsletter. It is always at the forefront of our mind in everything we do. We have a Wellbeing Team at school who meet fortnightly to discuss child safety and wellbeing. We have child safety slides in all classroom areas of the school so that the children know what child safety looks like here at St Mary's. Any volunteer or visitor to our school is asked to provide their Working With Children check. Our 'Safeguarding Children and Young People Code of Conduct' is signed by all staff on an annual basis and by any visitors to the school, including CRT's and contractors. There are many more things that we do that relate to this standard, but this is just a snapshot! 

More information can be found on the Commission for Children and Young People (CCYP) website - the link to this website is below.

Tania Stevens

Leadership and Stewardship

Term 2 Uniform

We usually take a week or two to swap into our full winter uniform so let's aim to be in them by the start of May. The children take their shoes off when inside during Term 2  and are welcome to bring slippers or crocs to wear inside. Don't forget that the jibbitz stay home!

School Fees

School Fees for 2025 were sent home last week.  Charges for our school camps, excursions and swimming program were added to this account.  Direct Debit forms are available from the office or if you would prefer to set up your own Direct Debit, the account details are located on the top right hand side of your fee statement.  All accounts are due by 30^th June, 2025, unless you are on a regular payment plan.

If you have any queries concerning your account, please contact me at the office or via email helen@smhamilton.catholic.edu.au

Thank you,

Helen

Community Engagement

Assembly

Our next assembly will be on Friday 2nd May at 2.55pm.

Icy Poles

The money raised from the selling of icy poles will be donated to the Royal Children's Hospital. Thank you for supporting this wonderful cause.

Spend the Day at Monivae

Grade 6 students are invited to SPEND THE DAY at Monivae College and experience a day of classes and activities on
Thursday 8th May 2025.  Please save the date and register via the link below.

Easter Egg Raffle
Our wonderful Siana Causer has organised the Easter raffle again this year. Winners were drawn today. Congratulations! Thank you to all who supported the raffle. 

A BIG shout out to Woolworths Hamilton and Trev's Bargin Emporium for their wonderful donations toward our Easter Raffle which has meant we are able to keep costs down and make more money for Project Compassion.

Garden Gurus

Community Events

Good Friday Bake Sale

The annual bake sale will be held on Friday 18th April, more details to come.
It’s a good excuse to jump out of bed, get a cuppa and stock up on some yummy treats for Easter.
Please share this information and get the word out. Come and support this awesome event and raise
some funds for the amazing Royal Children’s Hospital.
If we have any parents, grandparents or guardians who would like to bake for this day, please contact Erika on 0408 721 991.