Dear Parents, Guardians and Community, 

Last Newsletter for the year

May the joy and peace of this Christmas season fill our hearts and homes.
As we celebrate the gift of Jesus, may we share His love, kindness, and hope with all those around us.
Bless our school community and guide us into the new year with faith, gratitude, and unity.
Amen.

Events of the Week.

• Monday December 9 10:45 Step Up Day (Students to their new classes)
• Thursday December 12 End of Year Excursion day

Upcoming Events:

• Monday December 16 9:15 am End of Year Mass
• Monday December 16 1:30pm Year 6 Guard of Honour
• Monday December 16: 6 to 8 pm Year 6 Graduation
• Tuesday December 17. 1:30pm End of School Year (Prep to Year 5)
• Wednesday January 29 2025 First Day for students.

** Guard of Honour: With high temperatures predicted for the day we may make some changes to the guard of honour and walk the Year 6 students through the school and then out the front door to avoid students standing out in the sun.

2025 Classes

Prep Blue- Danielle Mahony

Prep Yellow- Charlotte Lipnicki (Mon - Thurs) Jenny Sutton (Fri)

1 Blue- Elle Marioli (Mon - Weds) and Stephanie King-Shipp (Thurs- Fri)

1 Yellow- Judith Alves (Mon- Weds) and Kerri Gunn (Thurs- Fri)

2 Blue- Michelle Ebinger

2 Yellow- James Howat

3/4 Blue- Kieran Condon

3/4 Yellow- Melissa Cowan

3/4 White- Michelle Ristovski (Mon - Tues) Karly McGregor (Weds - Fri)

5/6 Blue- Daryl Marmion

5/6 Yellow- Angela Pezzano (Mon -Tues) and Connie Karangelis (Wed- Fri)

5/6 White- Danielle Salpigtidis

Change to Class Names in 2025

In 2025 the school will change the names of the classes from using teacher names to using the school colours- blue, yellow and white. This change and new naming system is aimed at creating a more unified and consistent identity for the students and their classes. It is also to avoid instances where teachers change and the class is identified with the ex teachers name.

Goodbye to the following Staff.

Elisa Tamburro: We say good bye to Elisa Tamburro who leaves us to focus on her health. We thank Elisa for all she has contributed to our school and wish her well for the future.

Lucy McCarthy-Hill: We wish Lucy every success with her promotion to Literacy Leader in her new school at St Margaret Mary's Spotswood. We thank her and also wish her every success.

Michael Pehm: We thank Michael and wish him all the best teaching his first class of Prep students at St Joseph's in Werribee.

Welcome to

Elle Marioli: Ellie has been with  a lot this year as one of our main relief teachers. We were excited when we were able to offer a position at the school.

Karly McGregor: It seems strange, but we officially welcome Karly, even though she has been with us since Term 1 replacing Elisa Tamburro. So an official welcome to Karly.

Congratulations to our House Captains for 2025

Congratulations to our Charism Captains for 2025

School Board 

After 8 years on the school board, Julie Carey is stepping down. Julie has made a huge contribution to our school and I thank her for her advice and leadership. We welcome Jacqui Trethowan as our new chairperson. I also thank again Marcia English and Elaine Garner who both stepped down from the School Board this year.

2025 School Board

Jacqui Trethowan - Chairperson

Father Greg Trythall - ex officio Custodian of Mission

Anthony Hockey - ex 0fficio

Laura Graham

Michelle Ristovski

Martin Griffin

Emily Cross

Cathy Adamczyk

Gabrielle Zorko 

Leischa Bracken

James McCutcheon

Some things happening in 2025

New Playground Begins: Stage one begins over Christmas with the redevelopment of the Sandpit and garden area

New Furniture Year 3/4: All Grade 3/4 classes have new furniture in 2025, arriving in Week Two in Term 1. They are traditional tables that hold two students with tubs underneath the tables

School Review: Our School Review takes place in 2025 to set our new four year plan. Most of the review takes place in Term's 3 and 4.

Jubilee Year: Pilgrims of Hope: Our Catholic Church celebrates a Jubilee year with the theme of Pilgrims of Hope. This will be a big event across the world.

2025 Closure Days

Tuesday January 28 Spelling Mastery Training (Staff Training Topic)

Tuesday March 11 Flourishing Learners - Writing

Monday  May 19 Mathematics

Monday July 21 Literacy

Tuesday June 10 Faith Formation

Monday Nov 3 Time in Lieu

Wednesday December 18 2026 Action Planning

Thursday December 19 Time in Lieu

Friday December 20 Time in Lieu

** Time in Lieu is part of the current Employment EBA for staff. Time in Lieu is set to replace overtime on School Camps and other Duties.

To our Leaving Families:

As the year comes to a close, we want to take a moment to recognise and express our gratitude to the families who will be leaving our school community. Whether your journey with us has been long or short, your contributions, involvement, and support have left a lasting impact on our school.

Your children have enriched our classrooms, brought joy to our events, and added to the vibrant spirit of our school. As you step into new opportunities and adventures, please know that you will always be a part of our extended school family.

We wish you all the best in this next chapter and hope you carry fond memories of your time here. Thank you for being a cherished part of our community.

And finally.

Can I say a big thank you to everyone for their efforts this year, staff, parents and guardians and students.

Father Greg for his Spiritual guidance and advice.

To the leadership team, Michelle, Laura, Charlotte, Hannah and Rebecca, who set the standards and support the staff in their work.

To the Teachers: Daryl, Danielle S, Angela, Connie, Kieran, Michelle R, Lucy, Elisa, Karly, Melissa C, Michelle E, James, Judith, Kerri, Jenny, Danielle M, Charlotte, Stephanie, Melissa E, Karoline and Gina. Thank for your efforts, passion and dedication.

To our Learning Support Team of Mimma, Cathy, Ana, Charlotte J, Donna, Michelle D, Kristina and Michael. Thank you for your care and efforts for the students you support you work with.

To my administration team: Madeleine, Gemma and Sherralee. Thank you for keeping the place running. The engine room of the school.

Thanks also to Helen and Deb in the library and Stephen our handy man, the place would not be the same without you.

We wish every a Safe and Holy Christmas

Anthony

St Mary’s Faith News

 School and Parish Connections

Gospel: Luke 3:10-18

When all the people asked John, ‘What must we do?’

He answered, ‘If anyone has two tunics he must share with the man who has none, and the one with something to eat must do the same.’

There were tax collectors too who came for baptism, and these said to him, ‘Master, what must we do?’

He said to them, ‘Exact no more than your rate.’

Some soldiers asked him in their turn, ‘What about us? What must we do?’

He said to them, ‘No intimidation! No extortion! Be content with your pay!’

A feeling of expectancy had grown among the people, who were beginning to think that John might be the Christ, so John declared before them all,

‘I baptise you with water, but someone is coming, someone who is more powerful than I am, and I am not fit to undo the strap of his sandals; he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fan is in his hand to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his barn; but the chaff he will burn in a fire that will never go out.’

As well as this, there were many other things he said to exhort the people and to announce the Good News to them.

The Third Week of Advent

 This week’s Advent Liturgy will be part of the

End of School Year Mass

End of Year Mass- A Special Celebration

Where - The Church

When: Monday 16th December at 9:15am

As we near the end of another wonderful school year, we invite our entire school community to join us for the End of School Year Mass, a highlight of our school calendar.

This Mass is a chance for us to come together in gratitude and celebration, reflecting on the year gone by. It’s also a particularly special moment as we bid farewell to our Year 6 students, wishing them every success and happiness as they embark on their high school journey.

One of the most heartwarming moments of the Mass is when our Preps and Year 6 students process into the church together, symbolizing the strong bonds of friendship that make our school so special.

During the Mass, we will also honor students who have demonstrated the values of Mary MacKillop in their everyday lives by presenting the Christian Leadership awards.

In addition, we will take a moment to say goodbye to staff and students who are moving on to new adventures, sending them off with our heartfelt best wishes.

Everyone is welcome to attend this beautiful celebration. While there will be reserved seating for our students, there is plenty of room in the church for families. We look forward to seeing as many of you there as possible!

Reflections from our Pilgrimage  

Assisi

This week, I am excited to share with you some highlights from our recent pilgrimage to Assisi. This sacred journey offered us a unique opportunity to reflect, pray, and listen to the Holy Spirit, discerning how God calls each of us to collaborate in His project for the world.

One of the most moving experiences was visiting the Basilica of St. Clare, where we prayed in the side chapel before the very crucifix from which God spoke to St. Francis, saying, “Go and repair my Church, which as you see is in ruins.”

In Assisi, we were also blessed to visit the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, where the relics of Blessed Carlo Acutis are exposed. Carlo, a young Italian Catholic, is an inspiring figure for today’s youth. Passionate about sharing his faith, he created a website cataloguing Eucharistic miracles from around the world and listing approved Marian apparitions. His dedication to using modern tools to evangelize is a testament to his deep love for God and the Church.

Carlo was beatified by Pope Francis on October 10, 2020, and is a wonderful example of how ordinary lives can radiate holiness. Pope Francis has highlighted him as a model for young people and all of us striving to live out our faith in daily life. It is believed he will be made a saint next year - the Year of the Jubilee.

During our pilgrimage, we were fortunate to visit the peaceful San Damiano, a church located just below the city of Assisi. This is the place where St. Francis of Assisi first sensed God’s call to live a life of radical simplicity. It was here that he rebuilt the church with his own hands, never imagining that this small act would lead to a movement that changed the course of Christianity.

San Damiano became a home for St. Clare, who developed a unique way of prayer that spread to other convents throughout Italy. It was also where Francis, near the end of his life, wrote the Canticle of Creation, a hymn of praise that inspired Pope Francis’ encyclical On Care for Our Common Home.

Walking through this sacred space, just a short distance from Assisi’s city center, we felt the deep spirit of St. Francis and St. Clare, and their call to embrace simplicity, peace, and care for creation. It was a truly moving experience, one that invites us to reflect on how we can live out these values in our own lives.

Important Dates for Term 4

CHRISTMAS MASSES at ST MARY’S CHURCH WILLIAMSTOWN  

CHRISTMAS EVE:  6PM Mass with Children Christmas Pageant

                             9PM Mass ( carols start at 8:30pm )

CHRISTMAS DAY:    9:30AM  Mass

Christmas Blessings

Fr Greg

Below is a link to Hobsons Bay Big Summer Read

Summer Reading