Dear Parents, Guardians, and Community,

As we wrap up Term 3, here is a look at what is coming up.

Mark Your Calendars

• This Friday, September 19: It's our special Footy and Fairies Day!

• This Friday, September 19: Don't forget, we have an early finish at 1:30 pm for the end of the term.

• Monday, October 6: Term 4 begins!

• Thursday, October 16: Year 5 Leadership Day

• Wednesday, October 22: Year 2 Big Day Out

What a fantastic term it has been! We have just completed our school review, which was a huge success. We have spent time looking at our data and gathering feedback, and it is confirmed that the changes we have made to our teaching approach are working. We are now seeing the amazing results of this hard work in our data and our students' NAPLAN scores.

Our Year 3 students, who have been taught with our explicit teaching model since the beginning, are especially thriving. Their average NAPLAN score is an incredible 40 points above the state average across all subjects! We couldn't be prouder of their achievements.

We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the 11 families who signed up with Blue Fit Fitness Centre. Your support has resulted in a wonderful and unexpected $1100 donation to the school. We are so grateful for your generosity and hope you enjoy your new fitness journey!

We also want to wish a fond farewell to Luna in Year 1. We wish her and her family all the best at their new school and thank them for everything they have done for our school.

Staffing Update. Elle Marioli has informed us she will not be returning to St Mary's next term as she continues to recover from her car accident. It has been a real challenging journey for Elle and she is devastated to be leaving her class. She is hoping she may be able to return with the occasional relief teacher day this year. Next year, her plan is to return as a relief teacher.

One other change, Gina Coetzee will be taking over Fridays in Prep Yellow for the rest of the year. Jenny is taking some long service leave to travel and then time to look after her grandchild. Jenny will still be teaching Art on Mondays to Thursdays.

Friendly Reminder: Term 3 concludes this Friday at 1:30 pm with an early dismissal. School will resume for Term 4 on Monday, October 6.

Finally, good luck to all the local teams still playing in the finals!

St Mary of the Cross, Pray for us.

Happy Holidays

Anthony