Friday 31st October 2025 ~ Issue 33
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
Monday 3rd November - Book Fair begins
Tuesday 4th November - Melbourne Cup Holiday
Wednesday 5th November - Prep Transition morning
Monday 10th November - 3/4 Swimming
Tuesday 11th November - Prep Transition morning
Tuesday 11th November - Remembrance Day
Friday 14th November - Assembly @ 2.55pm
Friday 28th November - Assembly @ 2.55pm
Friday 5th December - Christmas Parade
Tuesday 9th December - Orientation Day
Thursday 11th December - Junior Sports Day
Friday 12th December - P/1/2 Excursion
Sunday 14th December - End of Year Mass & Gr 6 Graduation
ADVANCE NOTICE
Thursday 18th December - Last day of the school year for students
From the Principal
Dear Families,
Today is World Teacher’s Day. We take a moment to reflect on the incredible impact each and every one of our teachers makes on a daily basis. We pray in gratitude for who they are and the difference they make in the lives of our students. It is a blessing to work alongside each and everyone of our staff.
Our students have really been shining on the sporting field with our Gr 5/6 girls winning Regional Hooptime and joining our Gr 3/4 boys at the State Championships! Congratulations! And, our very talented athlete, Alaska Bremner has been named the Hamilton Junior Sportsperson for 2025! An outstanding effort! Congratulations also go to all the students who attended the Cricket Blast competition yesterday at Pedrina Park. The weather was perfect for cricket and the students had a wonderful day.
Just a reminder that Monday is a normal school day, with Tuesday being the Melbourne Cup holiday. Usually we try to have some Staff PD on the Monday but we were unable to line anything up this year unfortunately.
Some very busy weeks ahead, particularly with our Christmas Parade only a bit over a month away! A volunteer form will come out next week so have a think about what you could do to contribute to this wonderful event.
Have a wonderful weekend, 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
Prayers
Please keep a number of our families in your prayers who are experiencing illness at this time. We send our best wishes to them all.
St Vinnies
We have been approached by St Vinnies to once again donate Christmas desserts to their Christmas Appeal. We will set some tubs up near the office in early November and start taking donations. Thanks for your support!
St Mary's Video
A few weeks ago, we had Kevin Cummins from DOBCEL come to St Mary's to create a promotional video of our school. Here it is - we are sure you'll agree that it showcases our wonderful school beautifully.
Learning and Teaching
Sports Catch Up
State HoopTime
Well done to our Grade 5/6 All Star Girls who came in 1st place at Regional HoopTime on Monday!! WOOHOO!! Congratulations girls on this incredible achievement! The girls had a few close games throughout the Round Robin and ended up securing victory in the Grand Final 23-11. What a way to finish up!
We thank Casey Rook for her time, expertise and all round super coach work over the last fortnight. We also thank Tendai and Jo for scoring our Junior team and Jess, Ali and Michelle for scoring for the Senior team. We greatly appreciate your support.
This means we now have two teams participating in State Hooptime in Melbourne at the State Basketball Centre. Go Team St Mary’s!!The Junior Day is Monday 1st December and the Senior Day is Tuesday 2nd December.
Watch this space, we are very excited for our teams!!
State Athletics
We are thrilled to announce that Alaska B and Charlie M will represent St Mary’s at the State Athletics competition on Thursday 6th November, in Melbourne. This incredible achievement is a testament to their hard work, dedication, and perseverance. Both the girls are returning State Track and Field stars. Charlie will compete in the Hurdles, while Alaska will showcase her skills in both the 800m and the 1500m events. The entire St Mary’s community stands proudly behind you, Alaska and Charlie. Although the event won't be live-streamed, rest assured that our cheers and support are with you every step of the way. Congratulations, champions! You are both talented athletes and your commitment has truly paid off. We can't wait to celebrate your success. Best of luck girls!
Saturday Morning Netball - NO GAMES THIS WEEKEND
Saturday Morning Netball takes a break this weekend for the Melbourne Cup Weekend.
Just a gentle reminder - If possible, can you please let your coach know if your child won’t be playing. It has been difficult for some coaches to scramble for fill-in players at the last minute, to ensure their team can play when players unexpectedly don’t turn up.
Thank you to those parents who have been communicating with myself and their child's coach when your child cannot play. Your partnership is greatly appreciated.
District Cricket (Cricket Blast Competition)
Our five teams had a wonderful day in the sun at the Cricket Blast School Cup. The players and coaches were kept busy with back to back games played. Our students represented our school terrifically and were utterly exhausted when they returned to school! It was a wonderfully organised event, with 12 pitches needed for the superb uptake from schools in our local area. Thank you to Leanne Willder for her amazing hard work, ensuring our young people can actively participate in a fun and inclusive way. We had one team from the Boys/Mixed and one team from the Girls competition make the Semi Finals. The Girls ended up losing their Semi by just two runs! Thank you to Leroy Perez, Bec Kearney, Bec Sherlock, Casey Rook and Mel Fitzpatrick who supported the students on the day.
Grade 3/4 Swimming Program
The Grade 3/4s will swim from Monday 10th November - Friday 14th November from 12.00-2.00pm. Blue notes are now over due, we contact people individually if we are still waiting on your child’s permission note.
School Swimming Carnival
We can confirm our School Swimming Carnival for Grades 3-6 will be on Friday 21st November at the Monivae Pool. Information, a sign up sheet and a blue permission note was sent home this week.
Dates for your Diary
TERM FOUR
November
Thursday 6th November - State Athletics (Melbourne)
Monday 10th - Friday 14th November - Grade 3/4 Swimming Program
Friday 21st November - School Swimming Carnival Grades 3-6 @ Monivae
December
Thursday 11th December - Junior Athletics Carnival
Victorian Government’s Get Active Kids Voucher Program is now open! Eligible families can receive up to $200 per child to help cover the cost of sport and active recreation, including swimming lessons.Why apply?
- Up to $200 off registration or lesson fees (plus included uniforms or equipment).
- Swimming lessons are eligible under the program.
- HILAC is a registered provider, so you can redeem your voucher directly with us for your child’s swimming lessons.
- Current round: open from 15 October 2025 to 13 November 2025 (or until funds are exhausted). Vouchers must be used by 31 December 2025.
Who can apply?
Children aged 0–18 years who are listed on a valid Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card (and Medicare card). Some special-consideration categories also apply.How to apply:
- Visit the Get Active Victoria – Voucher Program page.Apply For Vouchers | Get Active Victoria
- Complete the online application form.
- Once approved, you’ll receive a voucher code.
- Bring or email your voucher to HILAC, and we’ll redeem it directly for your child’s swimming lessons.
If you need help applying or redeeming your voucher, please get in touch — we’re happy to assist.
Let’s get our kids active, confident, and safe in the water while saving on lesson costs!
Elise Gordon
egordon@smhamilton.catholic.edu.au
Book Fair
Great news - our annual Book Fair is back! It will be held next week, in the spare classroom space, next to 5/6W. A big thank you to our Library Monitors who helped to set it all up today.
The Book Fair will be open for browsing on Monday 3rd November and Wednesday 5th November, with the buying days being Thursday 6th November and Friday 7th November, both before and after school. It's a great chance to grab some Christmas gifts too!
Just like last year, we now have an option to pay via Tap and Go. You can still pay online prior to the fair, as well as cash, but this adds an extra payment option.
An invitation to the Book Fair (with information about how to pay online) was sent home this week. Please keep an eye out for this. Your children will bring home a 'Wish List' as well, after they have had a chance to browse the Book Fair.
If you have any questions about our upcoming Book Fair, please don't hesitate to contact myself or Casey Rook.
Tania Stevens
Wellbeing
Child Safety
From 10 December 2025, many social media platforms won’t be allowed to let Australians under 16 create or keep an account. The information from the eSafety Commissioner, accessed via the link below, will help you understand why, and how you can help your under-16 through the change.
You’ll find answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs), tools to help you work through it together, and links to helpful resources you can explore.
Tania Stevens
Cybersafety Sessions
Leading Senior Constable, Keleigh Flavel who works as a Youth Resources Officer with the Victorian Police, has offered to run two cybersafety sessions with our 3/4s and 5/6s. She will be at school to run these sessions on Tuesday 11th November. We look forward to hearing what she has to say.
Leadership and Stewardship
Kitchen Garden
We have been busy in the kitchen garden this week with two cooks happening! Wednesday saw our 1/2 students cooking up a storm with Lyn and Judy and today the 3/4s were busy cooking some delicious cauliflower fritters, as well as some sweet treats. Many of the ingredients were sourced from our very own garden - how wonderful! Check out one of the sweet treat recipes that were used this week, below.
Catherine Egan
Term 4 Week 4 Cooking
Icy Poles
Student Councillors are selling icy poles for $1 each on Fridays, during lunch time. This will continue each Friday, until the end of the year.
Community Engagement
St Mary's Christmas Parade
🍭We are looking for donations of pre wrapped lollies for our BBQ.
Assembly
Our next assembly will be on Friday 14th November at 2.55pm.
School Country bus travellers - not Hamilton town bus travellers
The School Bus Program will process the school bus applications towards the end of Term 4, 2025. This includes renewals of current applications and offers for new 2026 applications which will be emailed to applicants then.
