Welcome to Week 2,

I hope all families had a lovely long weekend.

Teaching and Learning updates

This term our Year 5/6 classrooms will be turned into our very own version of Shark Tank, but don’t worry, there will be no real sharks! In our 2025 Mini Boss project we will see students become inventors and young entrepreneurs, working in teams to dream up amazing new products. Students have a full day kick off event this Thursday with external presenters which will launch them into their term long project. At the end of the unit we aim to host an event for parents, allowing students an opportunity to present their persuasive pitches to a panel of ‘sharks’. This unit will be a fantastic opportunity to build real-world skills in communication, critical thinking, and problem-solving. Watch out, world, these kids mean business! 

Did you know at St Mary’s we offer three lunchtime clubs across the school week? Dance, Poetry and Chess! All led by three wonderfully dedicated teachers, Mr Daryl, Mr Howat and Ms Gina.

Check out some of our Dance and Chess photos! Poetry to come in our week three newsletter.

Have a wonderful week

Laura Graham

Acting Principal

Meet our Year 3/4 Teachers

Name: Michelle Ristovski

How long have you worked at St Mary’s?  This is my 8th year!

Photo: My beautiful family

What is your favourite thing about our school and especially teaching Year 3/4? St Mary’s is a wonderful school and community. I am so lucky to be able to teach 2 days in 3/4 White and share my class with Mrs McGregor. I love building connections with my students and creating interesting and exciting learning experiences and having a bit of fun in our day too. St Mary’s is a special place to work and I love coming here each day. I love it so much that I finally persuaded my daughter Estelle to join us this year. It has been so wonderful to see her fit right in and love St Mary’s as much as I do!

What’s an interesting fact about you?

My family background is Egyptian and when we have family celebrations we love to belly dance together!

Name: Karly McGregor

How long have you worked at St Mary’s?  This is my third year working at St Mary’s.  

Photo: My family celebrating on Christmas day. 

What is your favourite thing about our school and especially teaching Year 3/4? From the moment I arrived at St Mary’s, I was struck by how warm and welcoming the staff and students are. There’s a real sense of community here, with a strong focus on building a supportive and positive learning environment for everyone. I’ve been a primary school teacher for 20 years this year and have been fortunate enough to teach each year level, but Year 3/4 has always been a favourite of mine. Working alongside Mrs Ristovski this year makes life in 3/4 White a lot of fun! The Year 3/4 team is filled with such knowledgeable and passionate educators, It’s a real privilege to be part of such a committed and caring team.

What’s an interesting fact about you? A few years ago, I decided to take up surfing - maybe a bit of a midlife crisis? ? One of my absolute favourite places to surf is The Pass at Byron Bay. It’s such a beautiful spot and easily one of my favourite places in the world. 

Name: Melissa Cowan

How long have you worked at St Mary’s?  16 years 

Photo:  My Family at Christmas Time

What is your favourite thing about our school and especially teaching Year 3/4? I love working at St Mary’s School so much that both of my children were students here. The students, their families, the teachers, and all the staff make it such a wonderful place to be. Although I’ve worked at several schools throughout my career, this is the longest I’ve ever stayed at one and that must say something!

I absolutely love teaching Year 3/4. In 25 years of teaching, I’d never taught this year level before, and now I wonder why not—it’s an awesome age group with awesome kids!

What’s an interesting fact about you? Did you know that since I was a Prep student, last millennium, I’ve never missed a school morning—either as a student, a teacher, or sometimes both!  Sometimes even BOTH!!!!  That’s right—there were times when I was attending classes as a student at uni while also teaching. I really do love school, and I absolutely love learning.

Name: Stephanie King-Shipp

How long have you worked at St Mary’s? This will be my 7th year at St Mary’s.

Photo: A photo of my Family 

What is your favourite thing about our school and especially teaching Year 3/4? One of my favourite things about St Mary’s is its warm and welcoming community. It truly makes this school such a special place to be. Year 3 was my first class here, so it feels especially meaningful to be back in middle school again. I absolutely love watching the students learn, grow, and flourish throughout the year. It’s a privilege to be part of that journey and to build the strong, supportive relationships that help make it all possible.

I also feel incredibly lucky to work alongside such a dedicated and supportive staff team. Our Year 3/4 team is full of passionate, experienced educators, and I know it’s going to be a fantastic year working together to support your children.

What’s an interesting fact about you? I love all things Performing Arts. Take me out to a show and I’m happy! I enjoyed being in all of the High School Musicals and even dabbled in performing in local theatre companies (in Launceston, Tasmania). I happily enjoy watching from the audience now though.

If your child has had me before, you have probably been told that I love to sing and dance in the classroom.

Name: Kieran Condon

How long have you worked at St Mary’s? This will be my 7th year! 

Photo: A photo of our family at Tokyo Disneyland.

What is your favourite thing about our school and especially teaching Year 3/4? This will be my second year teaching Year 3/4 and I absolutely love the various personalities in the classroom, which always makes the day fun and interesting. It is particularly gratifying to see the growth our students make every single day and it is not without their amazing perseverance, open minds, and courage to be happy to make mistakes along the way. Our cohort is truly representative of the St Mary’s community as a whole, in that they are hugely supportive and welcoming. We are extremely fortunate to have parents that are so generous in their time and endorsement of what St Mary’s is to Williamstown.

To accompany this, I could not be any more glowing about my teaching team. We are the largest in the school, but seem to complement each other fantastically; from working perseveringly to ensure your children are having the best possible experience at St Mary’s, to laughing about the most silly things that just brightens everyone’s day. I’m especially grateful to share a class with Mrs King-Shipp, who is the Ying to my Yang, being not only an amazing work colleague and teacher, but also a wonderful and supportive friend.

What’s an interesting fact about you? One of my big passions in life is Leeds United F.C., located in Yorkshire, England on the other side of the world. I’ve been supporting them for 22 years, due to my grandpa passing down his own fervor and love, and it has been a whirlwind of emotions along the way. I’d love to finally visit and get to catch a game at Elland Road!

What’s happening in Year 3/4

The year 3/4 students have settled into the year with great enthusiasm, and Term 2 promises to be full of exciting learning opportunities.

In Literacy, students will explore Yirra and Her Deadly Dog, Demon by Anita Heiss, with a focus on vocabulary development, sentence construction, and writing factual recounts with attention to editing and proofreading.

In Mathematics, we will cover Multiplication, Measurement, Statistics, and Space. Students will practise times tables to 10 × 10, interpret data to create graphs, measure using metric unit and design two-dimensional maps.

Our Inquiry unit, Early Settlers, will examine Australia’s history, exploring European settlement, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and the traditions and symbols that shape our national identity.

In Religion, students will deepen their understanding of the Easter story and prepare for the Sacrament of Reconciliation through self reflections, prayer and focused lessons.

We are proud of how our students have embraced Year 3/4 and look forward to a wonderful Term 2!

From your 3/4 Team :)