Dear families,

I begin my message today by thanking the community for your kind messages, cards, prayers and hugs upon my return to work after the passing of my dear dad, Aldo. 

Dad lived to the ripe old age of 95 and had been saying for a few years now, that he was ready to go. 

I am grateful for this incredible man I had the privilege to call my father, for the opportunities afforded to me by his hard work and dedication and ultimately for the person he shaped me to be.

It’s been lovely coming back to work. I can tell you, in all honesty, and I know many of you can attest, there’s nothing quite like children to kick you straight back into life and to help you understand and witness that no matter what, life does indeed go on.

I also take this opportunity to thank John and our leaders, who, as always, do a wonderful job of continuing the life of our school and truly give me nothing to worry about in my absence. 

Last night I had the joy of watching our Year 1/2 students and teachers have a blast of a time on their camp night. The children loved the activities organised by their teachers and it was lovely to see the teachers enjoying the moment as well.

We have secured one of our parents, Elaine O’Connor, an Occupational Therapist, to host an event focussing on how we can help our children manage the evergrowing presence of anxiety in their lives. Parents of  St Mary’s will be able to attend free of charge and child minding will be provided for your children if required. An invitation will also be extended to our neighbouring Catholic primary schools and kindergartens. See your Operoo email or the article in today’s eNews for information on how to secure your spot.

We continue to see parents driving dangerously at pick up and drop off times.

Please slow down and refrain from driving into school and neighbouring driveways to reverse during peak times. This includes the driveway on Sargood street reserved for the Waste trucks. Children’s safety must at all times be our priority. 

Yesterday’s casual clothes day for Easter donations certainly did the trick with a huge amount of Easter eggs arriving at the office. 

The raffle will be drawn on the last day of the term, next Friday 4th April at approximately 12:40. Parents are welcome to attend the draw.

School will finish at 1:30 that day. 

Please note that with Easter occurring at the end of the school holidays, Term 2 will commence on Tuesday 22 April, with the Anzac Day public holiday also happening at the end of that week; a nice easy way to slip into the new school term!

Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

Many parents have found this group to be a valuable support as they journey with their child and family, celebrating and navigating the highs and the lows. Meetings are low key. They are an opportunity to meet with other parents and share knowledge and ideas. 

We would love for you to participate in our group in 2025 and hope that you benefit from it as others have in the past.

Meetings have generally been in the staff room although we have also met in local cafes and restaurants.

We have set dates for Term 1 as

• Tuesday 1st April 9 - 10am

• Tuesday 1st April 2:30 - 3:15 pm

You are welcome to attend all meetings or just one or two. 

We are open to suggestions for times of meetings and days of the week. We are also open to suggestions as to the format of the meeting. There may be opportunities to have guest speakers and also use the expertise of the parents within our group. 

We'd appreciate it if you could complete this Google Form to enable us to know who will attend our Term 1 meetings and also to set the times and dates for our meetings from Term 2.

Kind regards

Marg Masseni (Mental Health & Wellbeing Leader)                                        

Cathy Sims (Learning Diversity Leader)

Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

The Parents and Friends Committee would like to invite all parents and guardians to our Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, 6^th of May at 7pm.

This is a great opportunity to connect with the St Mary’s school community and meet other families. The AGM will cover a brief look at last year's activities, the yeah ahead and elect parents to the roles of the committee. We will also supply a pizza supper and child minding for those needing their children looked after.

Our committee is one of friend raising and fundraising! Creating memorable experiences for our children and also social opportunities for the parents and families of St Marys. Joining the committee is a wonderful way to engage in your child’s experience at the school. We organise and provide memorable events for our children whilst raising funds to improve the school community through collaboration with parents and staff.  The meetings are held in the staff room from 7pm-8pm twice a term.

A brief description of the committee roles is listed below. You do not have to take on a formal role in the committee and do not need to attend all meetings. We encourage parents to join to offer their insights, their expertise and ideas to continue to create lasting memories, resources and facilities for our school community.

For any further queries please feel free to chat to our current president, Adele Callegari or you can email us at parentsfriends@smaltona.catholic.edu.au

We hope to see you there.

Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

Excitement is in the air as our Year 6 students have finally received their 2025 Year 6 jumpers! These special jumpers, featuring the names of all graduating students, are a proud tradition that symbolizes leadership and the final year of primary school. 

It was all smiles as students proudly tried on their new jumpers. 

We encourage all Year 6 students to wear their jumpers with pride as they set an example for younger students and embrace their final year at primary school. And a reminder that they can take it off when it is hot !!!

Check out some photos of our Year 6 students proudly wearing their new jumpers!

This week Craft Club was very lucky to receive a generous donation of crafting resources from our Parents and Friends committee. We wasted no time in getting started on using these resources to begin creating our contribution to the upcoming Mothers Day stalls.

Our crafters were enthusiastic about making thoughtful creations with our wonderful Mothers in mind. We will continue to work on our Mothers Day crafts into Term 2. 

We would also like to congratulate Aisha and Megan for their initiative in taking on the Craft Club Captain role. 

   

Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

The Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge is now open and St Mary’s is excited to be taking part!

The Challenge is open to all Victorian children from birth to Year 10 and aims to help young readers develop a lifelong love of reading.

It is not a competition; it is a personal challenge for children to read a set number of books by 5 September 2025.

Children from Prep to Year 2 are encouraged to read or ‘experience’ 30 books with their parents and teachers. Children from Year 3 to Year 10 are challenged to read 15 books.

All children who meet the Challenge will receive a certificate of achievement signed by the Victorian Premier and former Premiers.

This year, the Challenge is celebrating its 20th anniversary with the theme ‘20 years of words and wonder’ and a year of special activities. For details, follow the Victorian Premiers' Reading Challenge Facebook

Since it began in 2005, more than 4.5 million young readers have taken part and together read more than 63 million books!

To read the Premier’s letter to parents, view the booklist and for more information about the Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge, visit www.vic.gov.au/premiers-reading-challenge

To register your child, or for more info, please email me at blycke@smaltona.catholic.edu.au

Happy reading! 

Thanks 

Brenda lycke

Literacy Leader

Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage