PRINCIPAL - Liz Jones
Our Explicit Improvement Agenda
Student Voice and Agency
Planning for improved student learning
Celebrating Student Learning
Feast Day Celebrations - Kaboom Sports
We had a fantastic whole school celebration on our Feast Day this Tuesday 8 August with Kaboom Sports and a Subway lunch. Students were amazing in the way they participated in all the fun activities on offer with Luke, Gary and Barry. We were very lucky the cold, frosty morning gave way for the sun to shine on us during our Kaboom event. Thank you to all the families who joined us in this celebration. Happy Feast Day . . .
Family Mass
Thank you to the families who participated in our Family Mass at Our Lady Help of Christians Parish last Saturday evening. It was great seeing so many Mary MacKillop families at Mass to launch our week of Feast Day celebrations. Today we celebrate our Feast Day Mass in the Allen Hall and welcome all families to join us for this very special occasion. A very big thank you to Lize Privitera for the planning and organisation of this very special week in our school calendar.
Students’ learning
Yesterday our Year 2 students went back in time at Como House, Kew as part of their History Inquiry unit. Today we are dressing up in olden day clothes during the time of Mary Mackillop when she was doing her important work throughout Victoria and South Australia. Throughout Term 3 students are engaged in a wide variety of learning activities / events including Feast Day celebrations on offer this week, AMC and Write a Book in a Day Competition, Book Week, Child Safety Week, Sacrament of Confirmation and Footy Day at the end of Term.
Brunswick Courtyard
We are very pleased to share the news of the delivery of our tables and chairs in the Brunswick Courtyard and Welcome Garden area. The photos speak for themselves in this newly created ‘outdoor’ learning space. We were fortunate to receive Government grants towards the cost of the Shade Sails and furniture to create this space. Recent monies raised from fundraising events such as the Subway Lunches and Easter Raffle have also gone towards the cost. Students have been enjoying the area, gathering for learning, eating times and during recess and lunch play times.
Planning for 2024 School Year
2024 Class Placements
Teachers will begin planning for our 2024 classes shortly. We respect and value parent input and ask that you email me – ejones@marymacnarre.catholic.edu.au, or put in writing and leave at the Administration Office, if you have information about your child that could impact on their placement for 2024. Please ensure your request is received by Friday 25 August, 2023.
Parents please be mindful of the following:
- Staff use their professional judgement and a range of information when placing students into classes. This information includes student learning progress, learning strengths, learning needs, NCCD Data, gender balance within classes and across the level to provide an optimal learning environment for ALL students.
- Parent requests are forwarded onto staff when placing students into their 2024 classes. Please note, the 2023 class teacher places students from their 2023 grade into the 2024 class groupings.
- Please be aware that your letters of request are not a guarantee of your child’s placement.
- Please note that requests made in previous years are not necessarily considered in the process. Historical information provided by parents regarding their child’s placement will need to be re-submitted if the concerns expressed in previous years are still relevant for consideration in 2024.
Requests received after the cut off date of Friday 25 August are very difficult to take into consideration. We ask parents to be mindful of our teachers’ preparation and time that goes into student/class placements which is not an easy task taking into account all the areas mentioned above.
Also, a reminder that the 'Intention to Return in 2024' eform sent out via PAM to all Foundation to Year 5 families recently, must be completed by Thursday 17 August 2023.
2024 Foundation students
We are in the process of planning for our 2024 Foundation students transition to Primary School. 2024 Foundation families have been sent information regarding their welcome interviews which will be scheduled in the coming weeks. At the welcome interview, 2024 Foundation Students and their family are provided with a Welcome Pack which includes information on our transition process, google meets, transition days, activities, and the Parent Information night (scheduled in November).
Father’s Day Celebrations
Father’s Day Stall - Tuesday 29 August / Father’s Day Breakfast - Wednesday 30 August
Our school community will celebrate our Father’s Day Breakfast on Wednesday 30 August. Information regarding the breakfast was sent to families via PAM. We ask all families attending the breakfast to RSVP via CDFpay by Monday 21 August, if they have not already done so, to ensure we can adequately cater for everyone attending. See CDFpay link below:
https://marymacnarre.cdfpay.
The timetable for the morning of the breakfast is as follows on Wednesday 30 August:
- Father’s Day Breakfast - serving bacon and egg rolls from 8.00 am - 8.45 am (please note new starting time)
- Time in classrooms with your child - prayer, Father’s Day activity from 8.45 am - 9.15 am
- Father’s Day Special Assembly - in the Allen Hall from (including Father’s Day School Community Raffle) 9.15 am - 10.00 am approximately
- Year 6 students will leave for camp - The Ranch, Cape Schanck at approximately 10.30 am on the morning of Wednesday 30 August.
We look forward to celebrating this very special time with our dads.
School Advisory Committee [SAC] Meeting - Annual General Meeting
Tuesday 17 October, 2023 at 7.00 pm
The Annual General Meeting of the SAC will be held on Tuesday 17 October - 7.00 pm in the Staffroom. Nomination forms for parent representative positions on the School Advisory Committee 2023-2024 are available from the Administration Office. Alternatively you can request a nomination from via email frontdesk@marymacnarre.catholic.edu.au.
The responsibilities of the SAC are to:
- promote the Catholic ethos of the school
- provide feedback on and review of school policies
- plan for the future of the school and its ability to accommodate future enrolments
- provide advice on budget planning and finance-related matters
- contribute to the selection process for the school principal (when the position is advertised)
- provide advice on the appropriate provision of faith development and Religious Education programs
- promote child safety in the school
Our current 2022-2023 School Advisory Committee comprises of the following members:
- Chairperson - Liz Jones
- Parish Priest - Fr. Brendan Hogan
- Parent Representative - Danielle Davis (Secretary)
- Parent Representative - Julie Gubbels
- Parent Representative - Stephanie Miller
- Parent Representative - Marina Valladares
- Staff Representative - Helen Fourna
- Staff/Parish Representative - Lize Privitera
Please don’t hesitate to email or make contact with the office OR a member of the School Advisory Committee if you have any questions.