Newsletter - 27th August 2025

Acknowledgement of Country

We respectfully acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Wadawurrung people.  It is a privilege to be standing on Wadawurrung country.  

We pay our respect to Elders past, present and emerging.  We acknowledge the contributions of Indigenous Peoples from the past, present and future who contribute to this country in which we live.  

May Indigenous Australians and non-Indigenous Australians continue to work together to educate, unite and live in peace on this land we call home, Australia.

Upcoming Dates

1st September:  SEED Day - Loreto College & St Patrick's College for Year 5 students

4th September:  Lunch orders in

5th September:  Father's and Special Friends' Breakfast, 8:30am

8th September:  Lunch orders delivered

10th September:  Damascus College Open Night for Prospective Families, 4:00-6:30pm

19th September:  Footy Colours Day.  End of Term 3.  Finish at 1:30pm

6th October:  First day of Term 4; School Closure Day - Staff PD Day

Prayer

Messages from the Principal

NATIONAL CATHOLIC EDUCATION CONFERENCE

Last week I attended the Australian Catholic Education Conference in Cairns. I am very grateful to the staff and the school community for making it possible for me to participate in this inspiring event. The conference brought together over 1,400 educators, leaders, and community members from around Australia to share insights, ideas, and best practices in Catholic education.

The Mass featured more than 1,100 students, a 400-voice choir, and participation from key Church leaders including Bishop Joe Caddy and Archbishop Mark Coleridge. There were keynote speakers, presentations, and workshops focused on strengthening faith, teaching excellence, and supporting access for all students.

Thank you again for the encouragement and support, allowing me to attend meant so much, and I learnt a great deal to bring back to our school community.

FIRST COMMUNION

Congratulations to Will, Addy, and Pat who made their First Communion at St Peter's Church, Clarkes Hill on Saturday night. This is a significant milestone on their faith journey and the parish community was very proud to celebrate this moment with them.

Thank you goes to their families, whose encouragement and support made this day possible. We also extend a deep appreciation to Fr Justin for presiding over the Mass and guiding the children through the sacred celebration. His spiritual leadership, warmth, and kindness enrich every ceremony at St Peter's and leave a lasting impression on all who attend.

May Will, Addy, and Pat continue to grow in faith, surrounded by the love and support of their families and parish community.

ATTENDANCE AND PUNCTUALITY

Your cooperation in having your child at school on time and here every day is greatly appreciated. 

• It is necessary for all students to arrive at school early, prior to 8.50am.
• If your child is arriving at the school after 8:50am, the gate will be locked and students will need to come through the office.
• Please use PAM to record full day absences prior to 8.30am so staff are aware. 
• Partial absences are recorded by Claire when students are signed in and out of the office.
• A medical certificate or other documentation may be requested where frequent absences occur due to illness.

Students can always have a play/run outside before school.  The bell will ring at 8.45am to ensure a smooth and productive start to the school day for everyone. 

BRICC RECYCLE BIN

The school now has a 10c recycle bin from BRICC, making it easier for everyone to recycle drink containers responsibly. Students have already begun using the bin, helping care for the environment and support our school's recycling initiative. Families are welcome to bring their eligible containers from home and add them to the school’s BRICC bin.

Together, our community can increase recycling rates and reduce landfill. Stay tuned for updates about how the money raised through the recycling program will be used to benefit our students and the community. Thank you for making recycling a part of every day!

FATHER’S AND SPECIAL FRIENDS' BREAKFAST  

Get ready for a fantastic morning! We're thrilled to invite all the amazing dads, granddads, and special people in your child's life to our Father’s and Special Friends' Breakfast on the 30th of August at 8.30am! 

It’s going to be a wonderful celebration, filled with delicious food, great company, and special moments that you won't want to miss. So, mark your calendars, and come join us for a fun-filled morning that’s all about honoring the incredible role you play in your child’s life.

We can’t wait to see you there!

EXCITING NEWS – ST MARY’S WILL JOIN THE MHiPS INITIATIVE IN 2026 

We are pleased to announce that St Mary's will join the Mental Health in Primary Schools (MHiPS) initiative in 2026. This important program, developed by the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and the Victorian Department of Education, aims to promote positive mental health and wellbeing in primary school students.

As part of the MHiPS initiative, our school will gain access to resources, training and a framework to support early identification and response to students’ mental health needs. The program emphasises building capacity in schools to foster resilience, emotional regulation and overall wellbeing, ensuring that all children have the tools they need to thrive both academically and socially. We are excited about this opportunity to strengthen our commitment to student wellbeing and look forward to working closely with the MHiPS team to create an even more supportive environment for our students.

MPOWER DAY FOR YEAR 3/4 GIRLS

Today our very excited Year 3/4 girls, Adelaide, Jemima and Kaezia took part in a fantastic experience at St Michael's Daylesford, accompanied by Inez. They spent the day collaborating with the team from STRIDE Education and the girls at St Michael's, participating in the MPower Girls program.

MPower Girls encourages students to talk openly about what it means to be a girl, how to be a good friend, and the challenges that can arise between individuals and groups. Throughout the day, girls worked together using creative activities like visual references, imaginative tools, and role play to discuss and resolve issues within groups. The program fosters greater confidence, assertiveness, and resilience, helping students build respectful relationships and understand themselves and others more deeply.

God Bless,

Clare

News from the Banksia Room

Another busy week with lots of learning and fun activities as we celebrated Book Week 2025.

Kaezia:  The Banksia Room and the Gumnut Room did some book tasting on Friday. We had different types of books like fiction, picture books, non fiction books and Aboriginal books. In the fiction section there was a FART CLUB book! My favorite book was ‘Your Birthday Was the Best!’ in the picture book section. The class room looked like a restaurant. It was really cool. We had book tasting posters everywhere. Jenny and Sarah and Karen were the WORKERS!! They were really funny.  I had to file a lot  of complaints because some books were in the wrong section! I feel bad for Will and Vanessa they missed out but it seems like they had fun at Damascus. THE DAY WAS SOOOOO FUN!!!!! 

Addy:  We read lots of books to see if we liked them. We had a menu that we wrote the book names in and we had a book mark to write the book names on if we want to read them again. It was so good,  but I called a complaint to the restaurant because there was a book called The Fart Club!!!!! (soo stinky,) and it was in a school, so unprofessional and the students there were so loud. I was one of them hahaha (shhh don’t tell anyone) and the teachers were the waiters. 

Jayden:  The teachers uniforms were unique. Where did you get the idea for the uniform?  The room was dazzling and it reminded me of Ratatouille which was fun.  Over all, I loved it!

My favourite book was Water Hole because of its realism in the pictures and I loved the snow leopards. They were soooooo cute!!!! 

Pat:  It was a very interesting and fun day. We sampled lots and lots of books by flicking through them and deciding if we would want to read them later. We all went around in groups at each table and tried out different genres of books.

My favourite book was called Fart Club. My favourite line was ‘Yes your majesty, soon the crack in the middle of Uranus will align with the crack in the middle of the Earth.' Funny right! 

Jemima:  In Maths we are practising our times tables. On scrap paper we draw 12 multiplication sums. We put on the timer and answer them as quickly as we can.  The teacher will tell us our time and we do it each day and try to beat our time. I beat my time by 36 second!

Vanessa:  Will and I went to Damascus on Friday.  We had PE with a teacher named Joe.  I liked  the games we played called gold child and a running game with a ball. We also had maths. We had a tour  of the school. I liked the canteen when we went past. At the end we got bags and Kelly got us an ice-cream. I liked the time we  were there.  When we washed our  hands there was a very long line. I loved the trivia we did with the school.  We had a great day. 

Gumnut Room News

Last week was Book Week and it was a really fun week.

On Tuesday we had a dress-up parade and everyone dressed up, even the teachers! Mason was a truck driver from The Truck Cat, Boston was a skeleton from Funny Bones, Genevieve was Thelma from all the Thelma the Unicorn books, Skyler was Max from Where the Wild Things Are, Rupert was Harry Potter from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and Edward was the Bont from Little Bont and the Big Secret, Kelly was a footy player from I Love Football and Louise was Rosie from Rosie Sips Spiders.

Then on Friday we had a Book Tasting and we all dressed like chefs and the tables were set like we were having a dinner party. Genevieve liked the book Europe, Edward liked Always Was, Always Will Be, Rupert and Boston liked the Minecraft book and Mason liked The Truck Cat.

This week we watched Inform and Empower and learnt all about being safe online as well as not spending too much time on devices.  It is also important to have trusted adults that can help us to stay safe online.  

Happy Birthday

Congratulations to two of our Banskia room members who have recently celebrated their birthdays.

Happy birthday to Adelaide who celebrated her 9th birthday last week.  We hope you had a special day, Addy.

Vanessa celebrated her 12th birthday on Tuesday this week.  Happy birthday Vanessa, we are sure you would have had a great day!

Dean Kite Festival

School TV - Anxiety & Young People

Anxiety is a natural and expected part of growing up. In fact, it plays an important role in helping young people prepare for challenges, stay alert to potential dangers and adapt to new situations. It can motivate them to study for a test, practise before a performance, or tread carefully in unfamiliar settings. However, for many children and adolescents today, anxiety can shift from being a helpful response to becoming intense, persistent and disruptive.

The world young people are growing up in is fast-paced and often demanding. Academic pressures, social expectations, family changes and the constant presence of digital media can all contribute to heightened stress and worry.

When anxiety is left unrecognised or unsupported, it can begin to affect a young person's wellbeing, learning, friendships and self-confidence. That's why it's so important for adult carers to understand how anxiety may present in children. Everyone experiences anxiety differently, and there's no one-size-fits-all solution.

This edition of SchoolTV raises awareness and provides families with practical strategies to help young people manage anxiety in healthy, constructive ways.

Here is the link to your Edition: http://smclarkeshill.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/anxiety-young-people-au

School TV - Free Digital Media Seminar