Newsletter Term 4 Week 3
Principal's Message
Dear Parents and Families,
Our Year 6 students and staff had a wonderful time in Melbourne last week, while this morning some very excited Year 5 students hopped on buses at 7.30 am to head to Log Cabin Camp near Ballarat for 3 days of fun and outdoor activities. You can keep an eye on the fun on our socials. We have Year 6 students participating in the T20 cricket today, and lastly, lovely news and our congratulations to Miss Scarce, Jared and big brother Louie on the safe arrival of a beautiful little boy, Alfie, last week.







Grandparents & Friends Day - Wednesday 29th October
Excitement is building as the children and their teachers finalise preparations for our annual Grandparents and Friends Day. This highly anticipated day is one of the biggest community events on our school calendar and takes place next week, Wednesday, 29th October, so we are in the midst of dance practices and costume-making in readiness for our many special visitors.
For those who are new to our school, this event incorporates both a school concert and a visit to your child’s classroom to see the great learning that happens in our school.
The classroom visits are scheduled before the performance and are a little different to Father's and Mother's Day events as once you have visited the classroom child/children remain in class with their teacher.
Families are very welcome to bring a picnic lunch to share on our grounds before the concert commences. BYO chairs are also a very good idea. As we no longer have the vacant block next door, car parking is at a premium so please allow additional time to find a parking space if planning to attend the concert only.




New OSHC Building
The St Mary’s OSHC has become so popular that we’ve quite literally outgrown our current space in the gym. After months of planning and collaboration with our architect, Brent, I’m thrilled to share that our new OSHC building officially went out to tender on Friday. The new facility will be built next to the gym, near the staff car park, and we anticipate it will be completed before the end of 2026.
The Good Kitchen
I would like to make families aware that free meals are served from the Parish Function Centre from 6 pm each Tuesday night. This is a great opportunity for the community to come together and have a meal with other people. All are welcome to attend.

Summer Uniform and being Sunsmart
As the weather heats up in Term 4, students need to be wearing their school hats when playing outside as part of our commitment to being a Sunsmart school. Please note that our full summer uniform is to be worn this term. If you are unsure of the uniform, please refer to our school webpage.

I hope you all have a great week, and I look forward to seeing many of you out in the yard or at assembly this Friday.
Kate
"Never See a Need Without Doing Something About It"
Mary MacKillop - Sisters of St Joseph Foundress
Key Dates

Monday October 20th-Friday October 24th
Book Fair
Monday October 20th-Wednesday October 22nd
Year 5 Camp
Year 3 Confirmation Parent Sessions
Monday October 20th
T20 Cricket
Tuesday October 21st
Nudie Tuesdie
Wednesday October 29th
Grandparents & Friends Day
Friday October 31st
Casual Dress Day
Monday November 3rd
Pupil Free Day
Tuesday November 4th
Public Holiday
The last day of the 2025 school year for students is Thursday December 18th.Year 1 - Year 6 students will return to school on Wednesday January 28th 2026, with Foundation students starting on Thursday January 29th 2026.

Wellbeing with Mr Doran
Child Safety Standard 4 - Families and communities are informed and involved in promoting child safety and wellbeing
RE with Mrs Davies

Sacrament of Confirmation 2025 - Year 3 and above
Beginning this week we are looking forward to welcoming our Year 3 Children (for Baptised Catholics) who will be preparing for and celebrating their Sacrament of Confirmation. Children above Year 3 who have not yet been Confirmed are also welcome to be part of the program. The program begins with attending one of the enrolment sessions this week.
Invitations have been sent directly to the families of Baptised Catholics the school has a record of. If for whatever reason you miss this invitation, and want your child to be part of the program, please contact the Parish directly via email sacramentalprogram.holyfamily@gmail.com or phone 50324144 and they can assist you.
Below are some other important dates to remember -
Enrolment Sessions- 22nd, 23rd or 24th October- (need to book in via Try-booking)
Presentation Masses - Saturday Oct 25th 6pm or Sunday Oct 26th 10.30am
Retreat - Tuesday Nov 11th
Mass Celebration - Saturday Nov 22nd 6pm or Sunday Nov 23rd 10.30am
(If any of these dates don’t suit, please contact Fr James to discuss further)
PE with Miss Clark

Regional Athletics
Congratulations to all of the students who represented St Mary's at the Regional athletics in Bendigo last week. We now have a number of students who have qualified for the State Athletics Championships in Melbourne on Thursday November 6th;
Mattaeus C - Triple Jump
Conor M - Long Jump
Aarav B - Long Jump
Joseph K - 800m
Sailor S - 100m
Judd 0 - Long Jump, Relay
Tom L - Relay
Seth T - Relay
Wilhem F - Relay


@2 Murlong Before & After School Care

The Out of School Hours Care program, @ 2 Murlong, is operating out of the gym hub and provides before and after school care for school age children in the Swan Hill area. Please express your interest via the following link;
https://prodadmin.myxplor.com/enrollment/index/dHdBOThsSW9JeHUxYTEwaHNxZlMrdz0

News from the Office
Bookfair begins this week!!
Bookfair begins Tuesday October 21st - Friday October 24th. Last orders will close on Friday October 28th.
Donations for Breakfast Club
We are kindly asking for donation of vegemite, jam and fresh fruit for Breaky Club. Donations can be left at the office.
Labelling your school items
Just a reminder to clearly label any items your child brings to school, in particular jumpers and hats. We collect a huge amount of jumpers every week, some of them brand new and they can't be returned unless they are named.

Working with Children Check
A reminder to bring your Working with Children Check with you if you are coming on to the school grounds for volunteer purposes. If you would like to apply for a Working with Children's Check, please follow the link below;
https://service.vic.gov.au/find-services/work-and-volunteering/working-with-children-check
CDF Community Fund

News from the Canteen

Happy Birthday!

Student of the Week
What's happening in 4P?
Community News
