Friday 21st March 2025 ~ Issue 8

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

Thursday 27th March - Learning Conversations *bookings open on PAM*

Friday 28th March - Assembly at 2.55pm

Monday 31st March - Learning Conversations *bookings open on PAM*

Wednesday 2nd - Friday 4th April - Sacrament of Reconciliation

Thursday 3rd April - Farewell Assembly for Lindy Cullinane at 2.55pm

Friday 4th April - Big Water Walk for Project Compassion - 11.30am

Friday 4th April - Last day of Term 1 - 2.15pm finish

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

From the Principal

Dear Families,

The weeks are just flying by and there are only two weeks left of Term 1! Hard to believe.

Yesterday, our school community enjoyed a fantastic day at Mitchell Park for District Athletics. Our students represented us so beautifully, both with their outstanding skills and their sportsmanship. Congratulations to our three age champions, Marlee Lucas, Chilli Thomas and Kieran Ferguson!

Just a reminder that we will be having three weeks of holidays at the end of Term 1 and will start Term 2 on Monday 28th April. Staff will be participating in three days of PD the week before, as it is a short week that begins with Easter Monday and ends with ANZAC Day.

This week I sent a Seesaw message to let families know that Madeleine Bell will be returning to her full-time role as the Prep B teacher at the start of Term 2. It has been wonderful to have Madeleine in at school over the past few weeks and we look forward to welcoming her back to her position. A huge thank you to Tania, Lindy and Eliza who have all taught the Preps this term and to Erin, Renee and Kate for ensuring continuity of learning and teaching for the students. Our families have also been incredibly supportive.  What a kind and caring team we are!

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

Congratulations!

It is with great excitement that Stella in Grade 1 has welcomed her new baby sister, Rosie Alice! A huge congratulations to the Watt family! 

Sacramental Program

Preparations for the Sacrament of Reconciliation have begun, with sessions at Saturday night's Mass and weekly Zoom meetings. The Sacrament will be received in the last week of term.

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 -  Use manners

SAFETY - Make sure your choices don't make someone else unsafe

RESPONSIBILITY - Participate in everything!

Assembly Awards

Congratulations to the following students who received an award last Friday for our value, Do Your Best.  We are so proud of you!  Congratulations go to Sarah Dunn, John Ackhurst, Willow Ough, Hugo Hogan, Taylah Bremner, Aliza Wensley, Declan Boyd, Jaxon Wilson-Watt, Bethany Furze-Smith, Millie Wilson-Watt, Zoe Kuilboer, Xavier Logan, Harry Kearney, Thatcher Campbell, Felix Gallatly and James Nankivell.

Sports Catch Up

Saturday Morning Netball

This week is the last game for our Grade 5/6 Swifts team. Our other two teams have a bye before playing their last game next week.  

Round Five - 22nd March

8.30am ~ St Mary’s Swifts (5-6) vs Gray St Maroon Court 3

BYE ~ St Mary’s Mavericks 

BYE ~ St Mary’s Magic 

Regional Swimming 

We will have four students representing us at the Regional Swimming in Horsham next Wednesday the 26th March. This is an outstanding accomplishment! 

We wish Claire, Lexi, Lucy and Nina all the very best! We cannot wait to report on your day!

District Athletics

We had 46 athletes compete yesterday in the District Athletics. We had a great day on the track, with many top 5 finishes, and an equally impressive day on the field, with lots of ribbons adorning our school tent. Thank you to the students who represented St Mary’s terrifically and displayed brilliant sportsmanship. It was a damp and unpredictable day, but it didn’t stop us from trying our hardest and giving our events 110%! We are all incredibly proud of your efforts. We will have a list of top 3 results and the students who have qualified for Division Athletics in the coming weeks.

Thank you to Megan Jackson for running the 11 year High Jump. Also a very big thank you to Deb Sutherland, Casey Rook, Chris Minney, Eliza Groves and Latham Wishart for their wonderful assistance and support on the day. 

District Athletics Age Champions

Congratulations to Marlee Lucas, Chilli Thomas and Kieran Ferguson for being the age champions for their respective age groups! You should be extremely proud of yourselves, we are certainly very proud of you!

School Cross Country

Our School Cross Country will be held next week, on Friday 28th March at St. Mary’s. All students will participate around our course. The format of the day is:

Prep - Grade 2 students will be running from 10:00am - 11:00am.

9 and 10 Year Old students will be running from 11:30am - 12:30pm.

11 and 12 Year Old students will be running from 12:30pm - 1:30pm.

Dates for your Diary

March

Wednesday 26th March - Regional Swimming @ Horsham

Thursday 27th March - Southern Grampians District Tennis event @ Hamilton

Friday 28th March - School Cross Country @ St Mary’s 

May

Friday 2nd May - Division Athletics @ Warrnambool

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

Thursday 8th May - 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

Term 1 Parent Teacher Learning Conversations for students in Prep to Grade 6 will be held on Thursday 27th March and Monday 31st March between 2.30pm and 5.45pm.  This year, we have enabled these Learning Conversation bookings to occur within PAM.  You can also access the booking form through the SIMON Everywhere App. 

These bookings are now open.  Please let us know if you require any clarification on this booking system. THESE BOOKINGS WILL CLOSE ON MONDAY 24TH MARCH @ 4PM. If you haven't booked a time before this, a time slot will be assigned to you.

Please note - if you normally have a PSG meeting for your child (Grade P-4), these are being scheduled at a different time, so you do not need to book a time for a Learning Conversation.  However, the Grade 5/6 team will run their PSG meetings through their Learning Conversations, so please book a time.  Thank you.

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

Victoria’s Child Safe Standards (the Standards) began in Victoria in January 2016. They are a set of mandatory requirements that ensure organisations have systems, policies, and practices in place to keep children safe from abuse and harm in organisational settings. All children have the right to feel safe and be safe, but safety does not just happen. We all have an obligation to do the best we can to keep children safe from harm and abuse.

We discuss these Child Safe Standards regularly with our students and staff. We also have child friendly versions of the standards on display in each learning space.

I have attached some informtion for parents and carers about the Child Safe Standards.  This information is from the Commission for Children and Young People (CCYP).  This is a great website if you would like some more information - the link to this website is also below.

Tania Stevens

Leadership and Stewardship

Lifelong Benefits of Attending a Catholic School!

We're pleased to share new research based on data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey, which reveals that individuals who attended Catholic schools are likely to experience lifelong benefits in employment, general health, and overall life satisfaction.

The study highlights that Catholic schooling offers both personal and community advantages. On average, Catholic school alumni are more likely to be employed and earn higher wages compared to those who attended government schools, with wage differences ranging from 4% to 11%. Additionally, former Catholic school students are more inclined to work in public-serving industries and sectors, and they are more likely to donate to charity. The research also shows that Catholic school attendance positively influences personal health and life satisfaction scores.

Conducted by the Centre for International Research on Education Systems (CIRES) at Victoria University and commissioned by VCEA, the research adjusts for various individual and family characteristics to specifically isolate the impact of Catholic school attendance.

This evidence supports what we have likely known instinctively – that an education focused on developing the whole person leads to well-rounded individuals who are prepared to succeed, thrive, and navigate life with confidence, regardless of the path they choose.

We should take great pride in the substantial and positive impact we have on the lives of our students and families as they journey through our educational system.

Student Representative Council (SRC)

Each year we vote in a representative from each homeroom - except Prep - to be a part of our SRC. From Term 2 this group will meet each fortnight to talk all things school! It is vital that our students have a voice in what our school looks and feels like and this is a great way for that to happen.

Congratulations to -

Eleanor Hinkley 1/2E

Emma Dunn 1/2N

Janin Roll 1/2GK

Lucy McRae 3/4EP

Lachie Rhook 3/4S

Isabel Fitzsimmons 3/4W

Michael Taylor 5/6W

Lucy Outtram 5/6T

Chase Dean 5/6MP

Student Attendance

It is a legal requirement for schools to contact families if students are absent from school without an explanation. As a result, our office staff are required to contact you from 9.30am if your child is absent from school and you have not let us know. Please phone, Seesaw, use the Simon Everywhere app or email. Thanks!

School Fees

School Fees were sent home last week. If you would like to set up a Direct Debit payment for your school fees, the bank details are located on the top right hand side of your fee statement. The reference is your account number (shown on the statement) or your surname. If you have any queries or concerns or you would like help to set up a payment plan, please contact Helen at the office. Thank you.

Community Engagement

Assembly

Our next assembly will be on Friday 28th March at 2.55pm.

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 is organising the Easter raffle again this year. Tickets have been handed out to the eldest in each family. There are 10 tickets in each book and tickets are $1 each. These are due back by Monday 31st of March. The money raised will go to Project Compassion.

PAM App - Simon Everywhere

PAM has an app which you can download - this makes it an easier experience to log into and use PAM. The app is called Simon Everywhere (Simon is the software behind PAM and our user database). Seesaw will still be used for communication between staff and parents but the Simon Everywhere app will be used for all our consent forms (thank you for already completing these) booking of parent teacher interviews and other documents/forms in the future. You can also use the Simon Everywhere app to put in absences, which then pops it straight into the official attendance rolls - so no need to call/email and we dont have to follow up absences. There are many applications within the Simon Everywhere App which will be released as needed. Please have a look at the instructions attached to this message.

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.