Dear families,

What a wonderful and action packed week it has been at St Mary’s, filled with rich learning experiences for our students and an exciting introduction to school life for some of our future learners.

Our Year 3/4 students had an unforgettable time at Lady Northcote Camp. They enthusiastically embraced a wide range of activities including pizza making, low ropes, biking, and of course, the much loved giant swing. It was fantastic to witness their teamwork, confidence and resilience grow as they challenged themselves and supported one another. After two fun-filled days, students and staff enjoyed a well-deserved rest day. 

We were also thrilled to welcome our 2026 Prep students for their first Getting to Know St Mary’s transition session. Mrs Tucker and Ms Said planned a wonderful story and activity. Their excitement and curiosity were a joy to see. We can’t wait to welcome them back for their next visit on Thursday.

This week we recognised Red Day, led by our Wellbeing Leaders to promote child safety and wellbeing. Students proudly wore touches of red and participated in a whole school presentation and lunch, reinforcing our shared commitment to creating a safe, caring and supportive environment for all young people.

Looking ahead, please note that Monday is a school closure day followed by the Melbourne Cup public holiday on Tuesday.

Our Year 1/2 students will visit Scienceworks as part of their Toys in Motion inquiry, exploring forces, design and movement in an engaging real world setting. Our Prep students will also begin their swimming program at Sweeney’s Swim School, an important opportunity to learn vital water safety skills ahead of summer.

Next Thursday we will celebrate World Teachers’ Day, recognising the professionalism, dedication and care that our staff bring to our school each day.

We will finish the week with our annual Sports Day, always a highlight! We look forward to cheering on all of our house teams in the spirit of fun, teamwork and friendly competition.

Wishing all families a safe, restful long weekend. 


John Hein 

Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

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Term 4 has kicked off brilliantly, and as the weather begins to warm up, students can look forward to cooling down with a refreshing icy pole. Our senior student leaders will be selling icy poles for $1 each lunchtime from Monday to Thursday. 

All proceeds will go towards supporting the development of our exciting new ninja playground.

Please note our canteen will operate as usual on Fridays.

Thank you for your support in helping us make this fundraiser a success and for giving our students a fun way to stay cool this term!

Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

Students participated in a wide variety of activities, including pizza making, the thrilling giant swing, initiative challenges and mountain biking. Each activity encouraged teamwork, perseverance and confidence, and it was wonderful to see every student giving their best effort and cheering on their peers.

One of the most heart warming aspects of the camp was the strong sense of friendship on display. Students encouraged one another to step outside their comfort zone particularly on the giant swing showing courage, kindness and genuine support. These shared moments truly highlighted the incredible community we have in our 3/4 cohort.

Our campers were also very well looked after, enjoying a delicious spaghetti and ice-cream dinner followed by generous servings of pancakes for breakfast the next morning, much to their delight!

Although it may have been a late night and early morning for our dedicated staff, their commitment, supervision and enthusiasm ensured the camp was a tremendous success. We sincerely thank them for providing such a memorable experience for our students.

Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

Recently, the school has been advised by Operoo, that they will not be operating in Australia as of January 2026.

Therefore as a school we will be preparing to transition away from the Operoo platform during term 4 2025, so that we are ready to start the school year in 2026 on the nForma platform. 

There are new features in the nForma platform that allow us to move to one platform for many functions including excursion permissions, student medical details and first aid, currently on Operoo, as well as Reporting and attendance, which we currently utilise.

The first step for our school is to support you to ensure you have access to the nForma Parent Portal, then check the medical section and update as required, which we are told, will link to the first aid and permission section for excursion and camp.

We have sent an email from the nForma package to all parents, so that you are aware of the email account registered with the package via the school office system. In the interim, you can :

1. DOWNLOAD THE APP

Go to App store (Apple) or Play Store (Android) and download the nForma for parents. 

2. LOG IN using the username and password you used for accessing student reports in semester 1. 

Alternatively, choose ‘forgot password’ using the email address you registered with the office for fee statements, and set a password once the reset email arrives.

3. If you do not receive a reset email or get a message that the email address does not exist in the package, contact Tony Freeman or Kristy Talty, who can check which email address you have registered for the nForma package.

If you have issues with this process, do not hesitate to contact the school to get this process underway.

Regards
Tony Freeman
IT Leader

Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage