Friday 9th May 2025 ~ Issue 12

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 2

Monday 12th May - Mother's Day Celebration at school from 1.20pm

Wednesday 14th May - Whole School PD - Diocesan Strategic Plan - Horsham

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

Wednesday 14th May - Whole School PD - Diocesan Strategic Plan - Horsham

Friday 19th September - Structured Literacy

Wednesday 17th December - Last day of the school year for students

ADVANCE NOTICE

Wednesday 17th September - St Mary's School Concert at Hamilton PAC

From the Principal

Dear Families,

Such a busy week here at school! From coming third at State Basketball, to starring at Division Athletics, to participating beautifully at District Cross Country, our students are doing us proud on the sporting front. Congratulations! What is even more pleasing is the feedback we are receiving about their outstanding behaviour. Well done!

We have also welcomed a second group of kinder students to our Step Into Prep day. This was another wonderful session, greatly enjoyed by all.

To our beautiful mums, may Mother's Day be a very special day for you. We thank you for all that you are to us and we look forward to celebrating with you on Monday at school.

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

Sacramental Program

This week, on Wednesday 7th May, the families of the candidates attended a meeting to prepare for the Sacrament of Confirmation. Following this, we will spend time together at the Saturday evening Masses learning about this sacrament. The sacrament will be received on Sunday 8th June. 

Farewell!

Sadly, we are farewelling the Jubair family, as they move to Mildura. We will greatly miss Rayan and Nyra and wish them all the best at their new school.

Prayers

We have some families who are experiencing ill health at the moment. We wrap our arms around them all. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. Two students have also lost their great grandparents. Eleanor Hinkley's great grandmother, Jenny Jansen has died recently, as has Oliver Mander's great grandfather, Bill Satchell. We extend our deep sympathy to both families.

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 - treat everyone with kindness

SAFETY - follow the rules

RESPONSIBILITY - be the boss of your learning

Staffing

At the end of Term 3, Teagan Wishart will be taking Maternity Leave until the beginning of 2026. Leroy Perez will move into her role and we are very grateful to him for providing continuity of learning for the 5/6s. We are now advertising for a part time teacher to join Chris Minney.

Staff PD

Our whole staff will attend PD in Horsham on Wednesday 14th to learn about the 10 Year Diocesan Strategy. Following this day is a two day Principals' meeting.

Assembly Awards

Congratulations to the following students who received an award last Friday for our value, Help Others To Succeed.  We are so proud of you!  Congratulations go to Jimmy Taylor, Brydie Pepper, Stella Watt, Jed Turnbull, Sadie Uebergang, Jude Murphy, Anvika Sarvothaman, Isabel Fitzsimmons, Mason Moyle, Chase Dean, Mia Foster and Rayan Jubair.

Sports Catch Up

Division Athletics

We had 15 students compete at the Division Athletics in Warrnambool last Friday. From all reports these students represented St Mary’s wonderfully. We couldn’t be prouder of each and every students’ efforts. To qualify for advancement to Regionals students must have finished in the top 6 in track events and the top 3 in the field events. The top 3 relay teams also advance. We are thrilled to say that 11 students have qualified for the Greater Western Region Championships. With several students in more than one event. This event is scheduled for Friday 10th October. Wowzers! Go St Mary’s!!

We thank Adam Nankivell for being our Hamilton District Sports Association representative at this event. We are very appreciative of his time and support.

Results

Jed P - Discus 3rd

Sean N - 800m 4th & 1500m 4th

Marlee L - 100m 4th, Hurdles 11th, 200m 5th

Lucy O- High Jump 3rd

Beau P- Discus 3rd & Relay 7th

James N - 200m 14th, 800m 10th, 1500m 13th & Relay 7th

Owen L - Relay 7th

Xavier L - Relay 7th

Alaska B- 800m 2nd & 1500m 1st

Navvi T- Shot Put 5th

Isabella T - 800m 8th & 1500m 4th

Johannah W- 100m 12th, 800m 6th, 1500m 7th, Relay 2nd

Charlie M- Hurdles 1st and Relay 2nd

Sophie U - Hurdles 3rd, 100m 3rd, 200m 3rd, Relay 2nd

Nina R- Discus 2nd, Shot Put 2nd, Relay 2nd

SSV Team Vic Trials

We had Johannah W attend the second level of trials for SSV Team Vic for Basketball on Wednesday. Well done Johannah!

3x3 School Cup

We had Meki, Nina, Charlie and Hana participate in the 3x3 School Cup State Championships on Wednesday. The girls once again played incredibly well in their pool games:

Game One 14:6, Game Two 15:4, Game Three 21:4, Game Four 21:5 and Game Five 15:86 

Their first loss of the day was in the Semi Final by 2 points, with a score of 12:14. 

However, they went on to win the Third Place Game, 11:4!! 

Well done girls!! To get a podium finish at a State event is an absolutely amazing feat!! You must be immensely proud of yourselves. We think you are champions! We thank the parents who supported the girls to participate in this event. 

District Cross Country

We have 43 students participating in the District Cross Country at Lake Hamiton today.

We thank Latham Wishart, Terrielynn Groves, Deb Sutherland and Tracy Keen for supporting these students. We wish them all the very best!

Division Cross Country is next Friday 16th May at Warrnambool. 

Prep & Grade 1/2 Swimming Programs

Our Prep students have had a busy week at the pool. We thank the incredible team of parents who assisted the students get changed after their lessons. It is a mammoth effort and your help is deeply appreciated. We also thank the staff who supported the Preps across the week too.

The Grade 1/2s get their turn in the pool Monday 26th May - Friday 30th May from 12.00-1.30pm. 

Dates for your Diary

May

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 

Wellbeing

Child Safety ~ Child Safe Standards

The new Child Safe Standards (eleven in total) came into effect in July 2022 and are a
vital part of what we do here at St Mary’s. But, what do these standards look like in practice? Each week, we will look at a standard in closer detail.

Families and communities are informed and involved in promoting child safety and wellbeing.

At St Mary's, we can see this standard in action in the way we have Child Safety as a standing item on all meeting agendas, including our School Advisory Council meetings. Each week, we have this section in our Newsletter with information for our community around Child Safety.  We also ensure that our child friendly Child Safe slides (that cover all of these Standards) are on display in all of our Learning Areas. These are discussed as part of our Learning to Learn units at the start of the year, and are often referred back to throughout the year.  The students nominate their 'Trusted 5' adults as part of our Learning to Learn units and these are sent home to families, often through the Learning Journals. Through our Monday Morning Check In Assembly, we discuss both child safety and wellbeing with the students in a variety of ways, including discussing these standards. This is just a snapshot of how we ensure we are meeting this standard here at St Mary's.

More information can be found on the Commission for Children and Young People (CCYP) website - the link to this website is below.

Each term, the eSafety Commissioner runs free Parent Webinars on a variety of topics around internet safety and the online world. The topics are listed on the flyer below.  If your would like to find out more information, including the dates available and to register, you can do so here.

Tania Stevens
tstevens@smhamilton.catholic.edu.au

Mental Health & Wellbeing

The Mental Health in Primary Schools (MHiPS) initiative is all about strengthening early support for children’s mental health and wellbeing within school communities. It aims to build greater understanding, early identification, and stronger partnerships between schools, families, and specialist services — so that every child feels supported to thrive both in and out of the classroom.
As the Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader (MHWL), my role is to enhance the social and emotional development of the students through small group activities, classroom support and guiding staff to implement whole school practices.
I took on this role because I have a passion for ensuring that all students feel safe and supported in the school environment. I believe when wellbeing is being prioritised in the school we build trust and the foundations for learning and personal
growth.
Going forward, I will work collaboratively with our existing wellbeing team, leadership, teachers, Learning Support Officers, and families. We will use evidence and research-based practices and programs within our school to embed wellbeing
into all areas of school life and learning, whilst making sure all students have a voice in creating a positive school culture.
Please if you have any further questions or queries please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Bec Sherlock
rsherlock@smhamilton.catholic.edu.au

Leadership and Stewardship

Term 2 Uniform

We usually take a week or two to swap into our full winter uniform so we are very happy for the children to wear either. The children take their shoes off when inside during Term 2  and are welcome to bring slippers or crocs to wear inside. Don't forget that the jibbitz stay home!

Community Engagement

Mother's Day

We are celebrating Mother's Day at school on Monday 12th May. This will begin with mums and special visitors joining the children at school for lunch at 1.20pm, followed by a play at lunch time. Mums and visitors are then invited to their children's homerooms for a shared activity from the end of lunch time until the end of the day. Tea/coffee and a scone will be provided by the school. We can't wait to see you all! If mums are unable to attend, please feel free to organise nana, a friend, dad, whoever might like to join us!!

Assembly

Our next assembly will be on Friday 16th May at 2.55pm.

Community Events