Newsletter - 30th April 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

5th May:  Golf session, 2:25pm-3:10pm

7th May:  Brown Hill Kinder visit

8th May:  Lunch orders due in. Brown Hill Kinder visit

9th May:  Mother's Day Liturgy and Afternoon Tea, 2pm

11th May:  Lunch orders delivered

15th May:  Wathaurung Sports Day at Llanberris Athletics Reserve

16th May:  Excursion to Loreto College for Musical Performance

19th May:  Golf session, 2:25pm-3:10pm

20th May:  Little Feet, Big Footprints Session for Year 6 Students at St Patrick's Gordon

22nd May:  Lunch orders due in

24th May:  Sacrament of Confirmation at St Peter's Clarkes Hill, 6:30pm

26th May:  National Reconciliation Week commences.  National Sorry Day. Lunch orders delivered

27th May:  St Mary's Feast Day - Celebrating the Harvest

30th May:  School closure day as staff gather for Professional Development in Literacy

3rd June:  Wallace Kinder visit

Prayer

Messages from the Principal

WELCOME

Welcome back everyone to Term 2! We extend a special welcome to Jayden, who has joined Year 3, and Rebecca Smith, our newest members of the St Mary’s community. Both Jayden and Bec have already received the warm St Mary’s welcome and are settling in well, enjoying their time with us. 

POPE FRANCIS

Last week, we were deeply saddened by the news of Pope Francis’ passing. As we reflect on his life and legacy, we remember a leader who inspired millions with his humility, compassion and dedication to justice.

Serving as the head of the Catholic Church from 2013 until his passing in April 2025, Pope Francis advocated strongly for the right to education for every child, reminding us that education is a vital hope that can transform lives and communities.

As a school community, we are inspired by Pope Francis’ call to live with kindness, courage and a spirit of service. Let us carry forward his message by welcoming others, caring for those in need, and striving to be “pilgrims of hope” in our daily lives.

STAFF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAY

Thank you to all families for supporting our school closure day last week. We understand that school closure days can provide a degree of challenge for families and we appreciate your support. Last week the staff were able to work with all other Catholic schools in the central Ballarat area to learn more about the strategic direction for Catholic education over the next 10 years. 

WALK UP CLARKES HILL

The walk up Clarkes Hill on Thursday for ANZAC Day to the Lone Pine, which was planted 20 years ago, was enjoyed by all (although there were a few complaints of sore legs). Thank you Jenny for making the commemoration so meaningful and organising the service at the top. This special event beautifully honored the spirit of ANZAC.

ANZAC DAY SERVICE

On Friday I attended the ANZAC Day ceremony at Bungaree, along with Patrick, Genevieve, Skyler and their families to honour the sacrifices of those who have served. Thank you to Patrick for raising the flag and to Skyler and Genevieve for laying the wreath.  The students were praised for their presence and doing their ‘jobs’ with such respect.

Thank you Ben, Melinda and Jess for joining us and bringing your children along. A huge thank you to Parisse Permezel from Creswick for making and donating the wreath for the students to lay. We also received a card from the Bungaree and District Historical Society to thank us for our participation.  There is no doubt we will have this on our calendar every year!

SCHOOL TOURS

I’ve been kept busy this past week conducting school tours, which excites me as I see families discovering what makes our school so special.  Please continue spreading the word about our wonderful community by commenting on and sharing our posts on Facebook and Instagram.

Your support helps us grow and welcome even more families to St Mary’s! Next week we also have the children from Brown Hill kindergarten visiting us on Wednesday and Thursday, another great opportunity for us to promote our school.

SCHOOL LEADERS

Today, I had the pleasure of taking our school leaders, Abbey, William and Vanessa, to the annual GRIP Student Leadership Conference held at Federation University’s Mt Helen campus. This conference was an opportunity for our student leaders to develop their leadership skills through practical, hands-on activities and interactive sessions focused on leading by example, generosity, and bringing ideas to life. Experiences like this not only build leadership capacity but also strengthens their commitment to serving and supporting others at our school. Well done Abbey, William and Vanessa.

WORK COMPLETED OVER THE EASTER BREAK 

During the holidays our brand new door connecting the library directly to the playground was installed and it looks amazing! Students, staff and the playgroup families alike are loving the easy access and the sense of adventure it brings. Now, our library is an even more vibrant and inviting space for everyone.

WINTER UNIFORM REMINDER

As the cold weather sets in, a reminder that a full school winter uniform should now be worn by everyone.  The following winter uniform description is taken from the 2025 Parent Handbook which can be found on the school website:

Winter Uniform:   St Mary’s Clarkes Hill checked tunic and black tights, melange grey pants, long sleeve gold polo shirt with school logo, St Mary’s Clarkes Hill woollen jumper with school logo, black shoes, grey socks, green coat with school logo.

Thank you for helping our students stay warm, comfortable and looking their best!

MOTHERS DAY

Finally, I would like to finish by wishing all the mums and important women in your lives a very happy Mother’s Day for next Sunday. Invitations went home yesterday for our celebration next Friday, 9th May at 2pm when we look forward to celebrating with the important women in our children’s lives.

God bless,

Clare

Gumnut Room News

Here's the latest news from the Gumnut Room:

Genevieve:  It has been good to come back to school to see my friends and Louise.  I missed them all! I felt really happy when I got to see everyone. 

I enjoyed walking to the top of Clarkes Hill.  When we were there we cleaned the Lone Pine area.  Then we had an ANZAC service around the Lone Pine. In the afternoon we all made ANZAC biscuits too. I shared my biscuits with my family.

Genevieve captured the walk up Clarkes Hill in this great drawing.

Skyler:  I really loved seeing Genevieve and all the people at school that I missed during the holidays.  I was really excited to come back to school and it was really fun to be back.

The best thing so far about being back at school has been going up Clarkes Hill. It was a fun walk and I enjoy walking.  I like it at the top of the hill because it gives me a good feeling to sit at the top when I am tired. It is a great view from the top of the hill. 

We walked to the Lone Pine at the top of Clarkes Hill to remember for ANZAC Day.

Boston:  I was excited to come back to school because I wanted to play with all my friends.  I wanted to get back to keep learning.  The best thing about school is the basketball hoop. 

The walk to the top of Clarkes Hill was fun, it was a long walk and it was a big exercise session for me. From the top of the hill I could see the whole world.  At the top was the Lone Pine tree and it looked cool. It was the first time I walked up Clarkes Hill and we were on Wadawurrung land. 

We made ANZAC biscuits in the afternoon and that was fun too.  Clare and Claire had a biscuit too, it was a biscuit that I made. 

News from the Banksia Room

Along with our other subjects, this week we have been studying ANZAC Day and why it is important to learn about this.

Will:  ANZAC Day is important to learn about because the soldiers went to war for us and helped us all be friends and come together.

This week we have been learning abut column graphs in Maths.  We have learnt about what a graph needs such as a title, vertical axis, horizontal axis and columns that are the same width.

Ellie: Anzac Day is important to learn about because we remember about the toughest soldiers that fought in our country.  Last week we were talking about ANZAC day. ANZAC stands for Australia New Zealand Army Corps, we did ANZAC day coloring sheets and we baked big crunchy ANZAC biscuits 

We got to take some crunchy ANZAC biscuits home.  ANZAC means we remember the soldiers that fought in war.  We all put our hands on our heart and listened to trumpets and looked in the sky.  After the war, all these poppies grew out of the deep ground and the poppies are a traditional ANZAC symbol of the war.

Emilia:  ANZAC Day is important to learn about because the soldiers from Australia and New Zealand went to war to fight for us.

Last Thursday we went for a walk up Clarkes Hill to celebrate ANZAC Day. It was a big walk. We were at the top. We listened to the last post and thought about the soldiers who fought for us and for those who died in the war.  

On top of the hill there is a Lone Pine tree. This tree has grown from a seedling from the original Lone Pine in Gallipoli.

Abbey:  ANZAC Day is important to learn about because we should respect the soldiers that have went to war,  fighting for our country

This term we have been doing spelling tests about homophones and double consonant words such as knot and not, pair and pear, break and brake.

Adelaide:  ANZAC Day is important to learn about because the soldiers risked their life for us in war. It’s very sad for everyone, especially their families. There are wars all around the world. The soldiers are so brave.

This term we have welcomed Jayden into our classroom. We also met Jemima and her brothers, Rupert, Edward and Hugo. It's so exciting for our school. They have enjoyed coming into our school.

Patrick:  ANZAC Day is important to learn about because it is history and fun to learn about.

On Friday morning I went to the ANZAC morning service at Bungree. It was cold. When we got there I saw a lot of people I know. I got to sit out the front of the crowd and raise the flag. I felt like I was very  important. There was an ANZAC poem. I wore my great grandad's medals.

Happy Birthday!

There have been some birthday celebrations amongst our students during the last few weeks.

Congratulations to Jayden, our newest school member, who celebrated his birthday on the 19th April and turned 9.  We hope you had a great day Jayden!

Our youngest students, Boston and Mason, had their birthday last Wednesday. Happy 6th birthday!  We're all sure you celebrated well.

Child Safety Information - all on website

As is stated on our Vision and Mission, our schools ‘…are committed to the safety, wellbeing and inclusion of all children and young people.’ Our procedures and policies are now in line with the 11 Child Safe Standards and can be found on the St Mary's website under the tab – Child Safety.  In an earlier newsletter, we focused on Child Safe Standards 1 and 2.  This week we feature Child Safe Standards 3 and 4.

Child Safe Standard 3:  Child and Student Empowerment

Children and young peole are empowered about their rights, participate in decision affecting them and are taken seriously.

Child Safe Standard 4:  Family Engagement

Families and communities are informed and involved in promoting child safety and wellbeing.