What’s On This Week

Monday – School Closure Day: Mathematics
Wednesday – National Simultaneous Storytime: The Truck Cat
Thursday – Divisional Cross Country
Friday – Assembly in the Hall, 3:00pm

Upcoming Events

Thursday, May 29 – School Board Meeting
Tuesday, June 10 – School Closure Day: Faith Formation
Tuesday, June 17 – Athletics Carnival
Sunday, June 22 – Poetry Slam at Williamstown Town Hall, 1:30pm
Tuesday, July 1 – Year 5/6 Shark Tank, 6:30pm
Friday, July 4 – End of Term: School finishes at 1:30pm

Dear Parents, Guardians and Community,

It is with great pleasure and renewed energy that I return to our wonderful school after my long service leave. The time away has been both rejuvenating and reflective, allowing me to return with fresh perspectives and enthusiasm for the year ahead.

First and foremost, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to our exceptional Acting Principals, Laura Graham and Michelle Ristovski, and leadership team who maintained our school's high standards and warm community atmosphere during my absence. Their dedication ensures that our school continues to be a nurturing environment where students can thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.

Walking through our corridors once again, I have been deeply moved by the warm welcomes from students, staff, and parents. It's a powerful reminder of what makes our school community so special – the connections we share and the support we provide one another.

On Monday, we held our school closure day focusing on Mathematics, led by our Maths Leader, Rebecca Backman. Staff explored the stages of learning in Mathematics, Maths Fluency, the new Explicit Mathematics Programs in Prep to Year 2, and how to better utilise the Times Tables Rock Stars program. The feedback to Rebecca was extremely positive—staff got a lot out of the day.

Change of After School Provider

A significant change is coming to all Catholic schools: Melbourne Archdiocesan Catholic Schools (MACS) has created a new entity—Melbourne Archdiocesan Catholic Schools Early Years Education (MACSEYE). MACSEYE will be responsible for opening kinders in some schools and taking over before and after school care, as well as holiday programs.

This transition has been occurring across Catholic schools over the past year, and many have already made the change. Behind the scenes, much work has gone into ensuring a smooth transition for St Mary’s.

One of the key benefits of this change is that school holiday programs will now run on-site at St Mary’s in the future. We’ve now been officially notified that the new after school care will begin at the start of Term 3. More information will be shared soon, including how to register your children.

Attached to today’s newsletter is the official letter of notification regarding this change.

As a result, OSHClub will conclude its service at the end of this term. We sincerely thank them for their many years of service and dedication to St Mary’s School.