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This year our School Improvement Agenda for 2025 is:
- Student Voice and Agency
- Planning for Improved Student Learning - key focus on Mathematics and Reading
Gift Giving
As we approach the end of the term, we want to kindly remind everyone about our policy regarding the sharing of food and gifts. For the health and safety of all students we ask that no food items, including Christmas sweets or treats, be shared at school. This is especially important as we have students with various food allergies and we want to ensure that every child is safe.
Additionally, we understand that the holiday season can sometimes create pressure for families, particularly when it comes to giving gifts. We want to assure you that there is no expectation for students or families to exchange gifts. The holiday season is about togetherness and joy, not about material gifts. Your presence, kindness, and support are all that are truly needed.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation as we continue to create a safe and positive environment for all students. We appreciate your ongoing partnership in making our school a wonderful place for everyone.
Car Parking - Ernst Wanke Road Entrance
Last term, many families adjusted to the slight change in the time of access to the Pick Up lane each afternoon. This change means cars are required to park in car park spaces and may exit those spaces and queue to enter the Pick Up zone from 3.10pm (when the bell is heard). Over the last two weeks, this practice has happened less and less and cars are beginning to queue again prior to 3.10pm. To be fair to all (many adults enter the school early in order to park and collect students from classrooms), please enter and park in a car space and please do not queue until 3.10pm for the Pick Up zone. Failure to comply will mean you will be asked to exit the school and come in again and find a park.
Thank you to those families who always do the right thing.
Icy Pole Wednesdays
Don’t forget this term on a Wednesday at recess icy poles are available for sale from the Canteen for $1. All proceeds contribute to fundraising. If you can help please let the Office know if you can help - you will be needed from 10.30am to 11.15am.
Grandparent’s Afternoon Tea and Liturgy
We can’t wait to welcome many grandparents to our school today. My thanks to staff (particularly Lize Privitera for the beautiful liturgy and the Admin Team for all the work behind the scenes) and parents who assisted. It takes a team to organise and run such a wonderful event.
Important Dates for Term 4
- Monday 3 November - School Closure Day
- Tuesday 4 November - Melbourne Cup Day
- Tuesday 9 December - Year six Graduation from 5pm
- Thursday 11 December - End of Year Mass 9am
- Friday 12 December - Christmas Concert (during school time)
- Monday 15 December - Meet and Greet 2026 (students)
- Tuesday 16 December - Last Student day
2026
The first student day for 2026 will be :Thursday 29 January
A Message from our Sustainability Captains - Noah and Jasmine
We are not raising money for a charity but addressing a problem in our community, littering. That is why we are promoting the idea of recycling bottles.
We invite all students to do the following:
Our prize idea is a free dress day for the class with the most bottles recycled.
All Saints Day
Saturday, November 1, 2025
Matthew 5:1-12
Jesus teaches what it means to be happy.
In the Catholic Church calendar, tomorrow marks the Feast of All Saints. The saints devoted their lives to God and serve as examples of how to live holy lives, following the teachings of Jesus. In the Gospel, Jesus teaches the meaning of being blessed, or truly happy, and shares many ways to live in this happiness. One teaching is, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” The saints honoured on this feast day were peacemakers. How can peace be created and shared at home and at school?
A Heartfelt Thank You to Our Families
Grandparents and Special Friends Celebration
We warmly thank all grandparents and special friends who joined us today for our Grandparents and Special Friends Celebration. Your presence made the day truly memorable, and it is wonderful to see our students sharing their learning, laughter, and special moments with those who mean so much to them.
Rosary Prayer Gathering
We also extend our gratitude to our school community for participating in yesterday’s Rosary Prayer Gathering. Your prayers and presence created a beautiful atmosphere of reflection and faith, reinforcing the spirit of our school community. Your support and involvement are deeply appreciated, and we look forward to more opportunities to celebrate and pray together as a school community.
Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day poppies and related items are now available for purchase on behalf of the Berwick Sub-Branch RSL. The Remembrance Day Appeal raises vital funds to support current and former members of the Australian Defence Force and their families in times of need. Students can purchase items ranging from $1–$5 from the Student Reception area, managed by our Year 6 students. Parents can also purchase Poppy Appeal merchandise using the QR code provided. All proceeds will support the RSL Appeal. Merchandise is available until 17 November 2025.
Join us for a Remembrance Prayer Service during morning Prayer on Tuesday 11th November at 8-48am
Day for Daniel – Wear Red Friday 31st October 2025
Tomorrow Friday 31st October we will be recognising Day for Daniel. Students are encouraged to wear red and take part in Australia’s Biggest Child Safety Lesson to help raise awareness about child safety and personal wellbeing. We invite all students to bring along a gold coin donation to support the Daniel Morcombe Foundation Appeal. Your contribution helps continue important work in promoting child safety education across Australia. Thank you for your support in helping our students learn how to stay safe and look out for one another.
In the Discovery Centre we have been learning about ALGORITHMS, which means students get to program ROBOTS! Students in Foundation to Year 2, are getting hands-on with robotics, programming various robots to move and act according to their coded instructions. Year 1 and 2 students are also introducing loops to make their code more efficient and reduce repetitive steps.
Year 3 to Year 6 are actively applying algorithmic thinking to design and create their own interactive games and apps. They are focusing on user experience by using Google Slides to incorporate hyperlinks, effective icons, and easy-to-use buttons to connect different parts of their creations and ensure they are user-friendly.
Submitted by: Mrs Adcock
Great Work Year Fours on your Caritas Portfolio Task - you clearly understand the work of Caritas and how it supports those in need.
Well done to our Year One students - it is always a pleasure to join you for prayer in the mornings, to see you listen to the Gospel message and be able to say how this can help you be a better person.
A BIG thank you to our Sustainability Captains (Noah and Jasmine) for their ideas and work around each class contributing to a cleaner world by taking recycled goods to the recycle centres and handing in the receipts - we eagerly wait to see which class wins by bringing in the most receipts from the recycling stations.
Fantastic job Year Sixes and your buddies in Foundation on sitting beautifully and praying the Rosary Wednesday morning. You showed reverence throughout the prayer session and joined in respectfully in our special Rosary gathering. Awesome role modeling in both levels!
Parent Feedback: A Heartfelt Thank You
I’d like to express my sincere thanks to the Grade Two parents, children and whole school staff for the wonderful kindness and support shown to me and my son after his recent school injury and small surgery. Your thoughtful messages, care, and encouragement meant so much to us during a difficult time. We feel very lucky to be part of such a caring school community.’
We are a Happy Families School!
Our school is subscribed to the Happy Families School Membership! Owned and run by Dr Justin Coulson, one of Australia’s leading parenting experts, the membership offers a wealth of parenting education and resources.
We will regularly share resources available through our membership with you, including Insight Articles and Live Webinars.
This week’s Insights Articles are attached: Trusting Your Child's Natural Development (EL) & Supporting Autonomy Without Losing Authority (P & S)
Parent Session - Entitled: Raising Responsible, Respectful Kids
Wednesday 5 November, 7pm AEST / 8pm AEDT
On-demand gratification has become the modern-day norm, and our children have never known anything different. As a result, parents are noticing a clear pattern of declining levels of resilience and frustration tolerance. We naturally want them to be happy and successful, but we also recognise that a sense of entitlement can hinder their journey. While our hearts yearn to give them the world, we know it’s equally important to nurture gratitude, responsibility, and respect within their hearts.
Our children are growing up in a world defined by instant gratification. They’ve never known a time when things weren’t immediately accessible, which has contributed to declining resilience and frustration tolerance. As parents, we yearn to give them the world and shield them from disappointment, but we also know that fostering gratitude, responsibility, and respect is essential for their true happiness and success.
Entitled with Dr Justin Coulson will dive deep into the issue of entitlement. We’ll explore its root causes, its impact on our children’s development, and most importantly, we’ll equip you with practical strategies to turn things around. You’ll learn how to shift your child’s mindset from “gimme” to “thank you”, and how to foster a sense of appreciation even in an age of abundance.
In this presentation, we will navigate the challenges of parenting in today’s world and discover how to raise children who are not just responsible and respectful, but empowered, resilient, and ready to make a positive contribution to the world.
Building Independence
Building independence helps children grow in confidence, resilience, and a sense of responsibility — all vital skills for lifelong learning and wellbeing.
Research shows that when children are given age-appropriate opportunities to make decisions and take ownership of tasks, they develop stronger problem-solving skills, higher self-esteem, and greater motivation to learn (Australian Institute of Family Studies, 2022).
How Families Can Help
At home, you can encourage independence by:
- Involving children in daily routines – Let them pack their own bag, make their snack, or help with chores. Consistency builds responsibility.
- Encouraging problem-solving – Before stepping in, ask: “What do you think you could try?” This helps them think through solutions and build confidence.
- Allowing small, safe mistakes – Forgetting a hat or lunchbox once can be a great learning opportunity. Reflect together: “What might you do differently next time?”
- Praising effort, not just outcome – Say things like “You worked hard on that!” or “You figured it out yourself!” to build a growth mindset (Dweck, 2015).
Extra Tips for Families
- Create predictable routines – Children feel more confident when they know what’s expected.
- Offer simple choices – Two or three options help develop decision-making skills.
- Model independence – Let children see you organising your own tasks and managing challenges calmly.
- Be patient – Independence takes time; celebrate small steps and progress.
Independence at Every Age
These skills are important for all students, from our Foundation learners just starting their school journey to our Year 6 students preparing for secondary school.
For our older students, independence helps them take responsibility for their learning, manage time and organisation, and approach new challenges with confidence, key skills for a smooth and successful transition into high school.
Child Safe Standards
Our school is safe, student centred and animated by our school values.
We aim to Inspire Hearts and Minds.
"Children are the future of the human family: all of us are expected to promote their growth, health and tranquillity." Pope Francis 2021
MMPS Child Safe Standards - CODE OF CONDUCT
Victorian Catholic School Statement of Commitment to Child Safety (VCEA)
The updated VCEA Statement of Commitment to Child Safety - A safe, nurturing and empowering culture for all children and young people in Catholic schools, is attached to this newsletter. This statement has been updated in light of the revised Child Safe Standards coming into effect from 1 July 2022 and the supporting Ministerial Order No. 1359.
Child Safe Policies
Child friendly version of Child Safe Policy (updated April 2025)
Congratulations to our Year 6 Student Leaders on their creation of the student friendly version of the Child Safe Policy. This policy has been uploaded to our website Child Safe page and can be found in the following link https://www.marymacnarre.catholic.edu.au/child-safety-standards
Child Safe Standards and Parent use of Mobile Phones, Privacy Laws
We ask all parents to be mindful of their mobile phone usage, child safety and privacy laws when visiting our school. During such times as morning Prayer time, Mass, Assemblies and school events/gatherings, we ask parents to turn off or put away their mobile phones and to respect the privacy of all students. Photographs and video footage cannot be taken of students without parental permission. Reminders of safe mobile phone usage will be shared with the school community at morning prayer times and assemblies. On special occasions such as student awards at assemblies or student graduations, space will be made available for parents to photograph their child in a child safe way. We thank you for working in partnership with us to respect the privacy of all our students.
Child Safe Resources to support Students, Parents/Carers
- eSafety Commissioner.
- Webinars for parents and carers
- Join one of the free webinars for parents and carers.
These live webinars give parents and carers the knowledge, skills and tools to support their children to have safe online experiences.
https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/webinars
- Distressing content - Online spaces should be safe for everyone, but you may sometimes come across content that is distressing – especially if it shows extreme violence or acts of terrorism.
- The e-Safety Commissioner has key topics about what to do and how to get support and Resources for parents and carers -
- Parental controls
- The hard to have conversations
- Online safety basics
FOR FAMILIES https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/parent-resources/online-safety-for-every-family
- CCYP - Commission for Children and Young People https://ccyp.vic.gov.au/child-safe-standards/
- School TV https://marymacnarre.catholic.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news
- Multilingual videos now available on SchoolTV!
- Because wellbeing shouldn’t get lost in translation, SchoolTV has introduced a powerful new feature — multilingual videos.
- Until now, families could access written content in more than 60 languages. Now, expert-led videos are also available in Chinese, Hindi and Arabic, with more languages to be added next year.
- This new feature ensures every family can access trusted, practical guidance in a way that feels familiar, inclusive, and easy to understand.
- Explore this feature for yourself by clicking the link below to view SchoolTV content in your preferred language.
- http://marymacnarre.catholic.schooltv.me/stv-multilingual-feature
Day for Daniel & ABCSL 2025 Launch – Creating Safer Spaces for All Children
TOMORROW Friday 31 October, our school community will come together to recognise Day for Daniel, a national day dedicated to promoting child safety and raising awareness about the importance of protecting all children.
This year, ABCSL 2025 will also be launched on the same day, focusing on “Contextual Prevention” — encouraging schools and families to work in partnership to create safe spaces and safer environments for children in both online and offline settings.
As a community guided by Gospel values, we are called to ensure every child feels safe, valued, and supported.
Students and families are encouraged to wear red on the day as a sign of solidarity and commitment to child safety. A gold coin donation can be made to support the Day for Daniel Foundation, whose work helps protect and educate children across Australia.
Together, let us continue to build a culture of care and safety where every child can flourish.
A detailed letter was sent home with students outlining the learning experiences and key messages that will be explored with classes on Day for Daniel.