Dear families,

Welcome back to school and to what promises to be a big final term of the year.

You will have received an update from me via Operoo on Tuesday. If you have not yet read it, please do so, as there is a great deal of new information.

To recap, here are a few bits of helpful information:

• Our School Colour Run fundraiser commenced this week. The first round of prizes will be an icy pole for the students whose class has created the most profiles by Monday morning. The winning class will be notified on Monday morning and receive an icy pole at lunch time on Monday

• Monday Subway lunches have arrived at St Mary’s! Please see the Operoo note for instructions on how to create a profile. All available Mondays have been pre-populated so you can order as far ahead as you like. Orders for each Monday are due the Sunday before by 4pm.

• After-school chess club commences this Thursday in the STEM room (senior building). Wednesday’s lunchtime incursion was well-attended and the children were ready for competition. Instructions on how to register were included in the Operoo note.

Last Sunday, I had the privilege of attending Mass at our parish, where we celebrated the official opening of the St John of God Disability Housing on the old presbytery site. Some of our very own students assisted during Mass, leading the congregation in the Our Father in Auslan. Nova, our service dog, led by Amelia, one of our LSO, also had a very special part in the service.

It was an emotional morning, with Fr Michael sharing some very personal stories of his own early life struggles with disability. You can read more about the opening here.

Over the holidays, one of our Year 3 students, Aston, travelled to Adelaide to represent Victoria in the National Taekwondo sparring competition. He came in an incredible second, securing a very impressive silver medal. Aston had trained around 9 hours per week in preparation for this competition. We are immensely proud of the determination and responsibility you have shown, Aston.

Last term, our School Advisory Council held its AGM. During this meeting, Lauren, our Chair, stepped down from the role as her youngest will move into secondary school at the end of the year.

We are now looking to fill that role and are looking to our community for support. Without a Chair, the School Advisory Council cannot run and as this team has always been a great source of advice, it would be a great shame if our community lost the opportunity to have this Council as its voice.

If you would consider being our Council Chair, it would be the perfect time to step into the role, as you would have Lauren working alongside you for the remainder of the year. If you have questions about the role, I’d be happy to answer your questions, or can put you in touch with Lauren to find out more about the role.

I am currently awaiting advice from MACS regarding the future of this Council if no one steps into the role of Chair.

Yesterday, you received an Operoo note asking you to nominate 5 friends for each of your children as we prepare for 2026 classes.  Please remember that from this list, your child will be guaranteed one of their selections. This may be the first name on their list or the last one, as we do not consider the rankings when inputting preferences.

You are asked to complete this task by next Thursday evening, after which, we will ask students to nominate for themselves if we have not received their preferences.

Today, we said goodbye to Ms Buykx, who has ended her time at St Mary's after beginning with us as a graduate teacher at the beginning of last year. We wish Ms Buykx and her husband all the very best for the upcoming arrival of little baby Buykx and for their move into their new home and suburb. 
There were many a tear shed at the conclusion of the school day today and I know that our students will miss her greatly. Ms Buykx is determined to visit before the end of the school year.

I will be taking some leave from Monday 27th October until Friday 14th November. My son will be undertaking his final Year 12 exams during this time and I’ve decided to stay home to support him. John will be acting principal during that time.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend,

Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

This week, the St Mary’s staff were privileged to participate in a two day Religious Education Conference.

Day One was spent at the St Mary MacKillop Heritage Centre, where we explored the inspiring life and legacy of St Mary MacKillop. We reflected on the many challenges and adversities she faced, and her remarkable resilience and unwavering commitment to ensuring that the poorest children could flourish despite difficult circumstances. As part of our learning journey, we participated in the St Mary MacKillop Walk, which included visits to significant sites such as Mary’s birthplace and St Patrick’s Cathedral. During the day, staff also engaged in discussions about our House Team names and explored ways to strengthen their connection to the values and spirit of St Mary MacKillop.

Day Two was facilitated by Dr Margaret Carswell, a lecturer from the Australian Catholic University. Margaret brought great enthusiasm and depth to our study of Scripture, particularly the Gospel of Luke. The day was filled with rich discussions about Scripture and the parables of Jesus, inspiring us to think deeply about how these teachings can be brought to life in our classrooms. Staff also worked collaboratively on developing a Religious Education scope and sequence to further enhance student learning.

Overall, the conference provided staff with an invaluable opportunity to engage more deeply with their faith, reflect on their teaching practice, and consider meaningful ways to connect these insights to student learning.

We look forward to sharing our learnings with the students throughout the term.

Hi families,

We are holding a School Fun Run this year. We will be raising much needed funds in the lead up to our event for our Ninja playground with a target of $25,000, so we’re asking all families to pitch in!

We are super excited to announce that we will be holding our event on Friday 21st November 2025 at School!

What is the School Fun Run?

It is an online fundraising program, where all families go home and create their own online profile. You then choose your target prizes and work towards hitting your target!  In your profile you will have a unique cyber safe link to share with your family and friends to donate to get you close to your target.

What do we need you to do?

All we need you to do this week is create an online profile at funrun.com.au. The class with the most profiles by Monday 13th October will all get an icy pole!

Also, in the second week of our campaign, keep an eye out for the Wristband Competition for a chance to win a $500 Prize Credit!

This is an inclusive fundraiser we would love you to be apart of! If you would like to come down and watch your kids run, we would love to see you there!

Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

• Chocolates are to be sold at $1 per unit, totaling $60 for the box.
• If families would like more chocolates to sell, please let the office know and this can be arranged.
• We are excited to announce that we will be using the money from this fundraiser to go towards our ninja warrior playground, that is in its planning phases. 

Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

How can you help?

There are two simple ways to support our school through the scheme:

Option 1: Donate Your Refund at Collection Points

• When you visit a CDS Vic return point, you’ll be asked if you want to donate your refund.
  
  
• Simply download the app and enter our donation code or search for our school name on the app.
  
  
• All your refunds will be transferred directly to our school account!
  
  

Our donation code is: C2000063591

You can find your nearest return point at: https://cdsvic.org.au/locations 

Option 2: Send Eligible Containers to School

• We will be setting up a collection bin at school next to 3/4W so students and families can bring in eligible containers.
  
  
• Please make sure containers are:
  
  
• Empty and not crushed
  
  
• Have the 10c eligible label
  
  
• Not broken or overly dirty
  
  

We’ll return them in bulk, and the refunds will go straight to our school for our ‘Recycle and Grow’ fundraiser. All funds raised through container deposits will go directly towards keeping our outdoor environment thriving.

Thank you for supporting our school and the environment. Let’s turn trash into treasure and make this initiative a big success!

Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

Our upcoming Book Fair will be held from Tuesday 14th October until Friday 17th October.

Students will do a walk through on Tuesday 7th October through to view available books

Times for books purchasing are as follows