Dear Parents, Guardians, and Community,

Here's what's happening this week and a look at some exciting upcoming events:

What's On This Week

• Monday, June 23: 2026 Prep Story Time at 9:15 AM
• Monday, June 23 - Wednesday, June 25: Years 5/6 Showcase
• Wednesday, June 25: Year 2 attending Parish Mass at 9:15 AM
• Thursday, June 26: Years 5/6 Excursion to the MCG
• Thursday, June 26: Fire Brigade visiting our Preps!
• Sunday, June 29: Father Greg's Birthday. Let's wish him a happy day!

Upcoming Events

• Tuesday, July 1: Year 5/6 Shark Tank at 6:30 PM (Come see our budding entrepreneurs in action!)
• Friday, July 4: End of Term – School finishes at 1:30 PM
• Monday July 21: School Closure Day: Literacy
• Tuesday July 22: Start of Term 2 for students.
• Monday July 28 and Wednesday July 30: School Review 
• Friday, August 1: Entries close for the Australian Mathematics Competition ($9 entry fee)
• Wednesday, August 6: Australian Mathematics Competition
• Friday, August 29: School Disco!!! (Get ready to dance!)

School Review: Guiding Our Future

Every four years, Australian schools undergo a comprehensive review process. This vital assessment helps shape our school's future by leading to a new four-year strategic plan, which then guides our direction. Each year, we also develop an annual improvement plan, driven by this overarching strategic vision.

This year, we've been busy preparing for our school review, which is scheduled for July 28 and 30. An external reviewer will be working closely with us throughout the process.

The review has two main components:

Part One: School Registration Check

This initial part focuses on ensuring we meet all the necessary requirements for school registration. It involves a thorough examination of our:

• School processes
• Documentation
• Policies
• Child-safe practices
• Insurances
• All other essential operational elements

This part of the review is already in progress, and we anticipate its finalisation very soon.

Part Two: Strategic Plan Evaluation

The second part of the review centres on our strategic plan. We have been diligently working with the Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) rubrics. These rubrics allow us to assess our own performance against set criteria, and we then provide clear evidence to support our self-judgements. Our staff has dedicated several meetings to this process, thoroughly examining the school improvement rubrics and gathering the necessary evidence.

We evaluate ourselves across five key areas:

• Religious Dimension
• Teaching and Learning
• Leadership and Management
• Student Well-being
• School Community

During the reviewer's two-day visit, she will meticulously examine our documentation and evidence, observe classrooms, and conduct interviews with staff, students, and members of the school board.

This is a very thorough and important process that will ultimately guide the future direction of our school.

Australian Mathematics Competition

First run in 1978, the Australian Mathematics Competition (AMC) is Australia’s longest-running, largest, and most well-known maths competition for school students. The AMC features unique problems designed each year by leading educators and academics to challenge and extend students' problem-solving skills.

It has two divisions: Middle Primary (Grades 3-4) and Upper Primary (Grades 5-6), and runs for 60 minutes. This competition is designed to identify Australia's brightest maths students, so the questions are quite challenging. If you would like your child to participate, please notify the office and pay the $9 entry fee by Friday, August 1.

St Mary's School Building Fund: Last Chance to Donate!

As we approach the end of the financial year, this is a great reminder that donations to our St Mary's Parish School Building Fund are tax-deductible. Your support helps us with building maintenance, repairs, replacements, or new building projects.

Donations can be made to: BSB: 083 347 Account Number: 435931250

The deadline for tax-deductible donations this financial year is June 30. Thank you for considering supporting our school!

P&F Volunteers Needed!

A big thank you to all our families who have already signed up to help at one of our P&F events for Semester Two. If you haven't had a chance yet, please follow this link. We've even added Icy Pole Duty to the list, so there are even more ways to help out! Your support is greatly appreciated.

AFTER SCHOOL CARE.

Don't forget we have a new After School Care provider, MACSEYE, starting at the beginning of TERM 3. To enrol with MACSEYE use the following link:-

St Mary's After School Care Enrolment MACSEYE

Last Day of the term, Friday July 4th, finishing time.1:30pm

God Bless

Anthony