School Improvement - 2025 Review

This term in Professional Learning Team Meetings on a Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon, staff are reviewing data in many curriculum areas in order to reflect on the impact of the learning and teaching goals that have been in place for the last four years. Last week, we reviewed our Religious Education data drawing on the Enhancing Catholic School Identity (ECSI) surveys and the Catholic Identity in Religious Education (CIRE) surveys. The ECSI surveys help us to understand how students, staff and families perceive the Catholic identity of our school. This review results in us being able to clearly identify where we have had impact and to also determine where we can improve. 

Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday

Next week we begin a new church season - the season of Lent. Please refer to the Religious Education section of this newsletter for more information.

Staffing Updates

This week we farewell Mrs Emily Rickard as she commences her maternity leave. We thank Emily for her work and dedication for all students at Mary MacKillop and look forward to hearing the joyous news of a birth in the next few weeks.

Learning Conversations

Please ensure you have booked in times with your child/children’s teachers to ensure your child/children can share their learning goals with you and be supported in their learning.  Bookings are made via your chld's PAM profile.

School Closure Days - Professional Learning Days for Staff

Thursday 6th March 2025 and Friday 7th March 2025

School closure days will be held on Thursday, 6th March and Friday, 7th March for professional learning days. During this time, our staff will be participating in two enriching development sessions to support their ongoing growth and best practices in teaching.

• Mathematics Professional Learning Day with James Russo: This session will focus on advancing staff knowledge and strategies to further enhance our students’ learning experiences in Mathematics.
• Religious Education Professional Learning Day: Our staff will also engage in a session focused on interreligious faiths, designed to deepen understanding and foster inclusive practices in Religious Education.

We appreciate your understanding and support, and we look forward to implementing these valuable learnings in the classroom.

Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle C

Sunday, March 2, 2025

Luke 6:39–45

Each tree is known by its yield.

In next Sunday’s Gospel reading, Jesus tells three parables to teach us about being his disciples, or followers. One parable is called A Tree Known by Its Fruit. Being a disciple of Jesus means showing love for God through words and actions, modelling Christian love, and making good choices. How can focusing on your own behaviour and making good choices help you be a good example to your friends?

Shrove Tuesday Activity – Thank you!

Thanks to all parents for promptly submitting students’ permission slips, for the upcoming Shrove Tuesday activities. Your prompt responses help ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience for everyone involved. We are looking forward to a fun and engaging day as we celebrate this special tradition together!

Ash Wednesday

This day marks the beginning of Lent, a 40-day period of fasting, prayer, and penance in preparation for Easter. During this solemn day, Catholics receive ashes on their foreheads in the shape of a cross, symbolizing mortality and repentance, with the reminder, "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return." It is also a day of fasting and abstinence, where Catholics reflect on their relationship with God and commit to spiritual renewal. While not a holy day of obligation, many attend services to begin Lent with humility and a renewed focus on prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Families and friends are invited to the Whole School Ash Wednesday Mass on Wednesday 5th March 11.30am. An invitation to attend has been distributed to families.

Logo Design Competition – Reminder: MMPS 30th Anniversary Logo Design – Deadline Approaching!

2025 marks the 30th anniversary of MMPS, and to celebrate, we’re inviting students and families to design a logo for this special milestone. The winning logo will be featured on promotional materials, publications, and newsletters throughout the year.

To enter, please submit your design, name, and class via email to your child’s class teacher by Thursday, 6th March 2025. The entry form and details can be found in your inbox or accessed through PAM.

We look forward to your creative designs!

Jubilee Year of Hope and 30th Anniversary Celebrations!

All families are invited to join us for a special evening on Thursday, 13th March 2025, featuring a lively afterschool open classroom visit, sausage sizzle, treasure hunt activity, the unveiling of the wall mural and an Andrew Chinn family concert in the evening. This event will be a wonderful opportunity for the whole school community to come together for an evening of music, food, and fun. 

An eform was sent to all families via PAM this week providing full details of the celebrations and asking for an indication of attendance.  Please ensure that you complete this eform on your ELDEST CHILD's profile by 4th March,  to assist us with catering and setup.

Mark your calendars for this memorable family event to celebrate this incredible milestone! Please see attached flyer for details. If you have misplaced your printed copy further copies are available from the school office.

Wall Mural Progress

We're thrilled to watch the mural come to life! Here are a few photos to keep you updated on its progress.

FOOTSTEPS Program

Footsteps Dance Company Incursion for Harmony Day Concert Presentation

Our students will be participating in an exciting Footsteps Dance Company incursion over the next 3 weeks in preparation for our Harmony Day Concert. This incursion will take place on:

Day 1 - TUESDAY 4TH MARCH         

Day 2 - WEDNESDAY 12TH MARCH     

Day 3 – FRIDAY 21ST MARCH (with an afternoon concert performance).

Students will have the opportunity to work with professional dance instructors to learn a special performance that celebrates the theme of diversity and inclusivity.  The Footsteps Dance Company will guide our students through dance routines that highlight the values of unity, respect, and cultural harmony, which will be showcased during our Harmony Day Concert on Friday 21st March 2025 (further details to come). This is a fantastic opportunity for students to express themselves creatively while celebrating the rich cultural diversity within our school community. We encourage families to join us for the concert to experience the students' performances and celebrate the spirit of Harmony Day together.

NAPLAN 2025 NAPLAN Information for Families

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual assessment for students in Years 3, 5, 7, and 9, providing valuable insights into students' progress in literacy and numeracy. It helps parents, teachers, and schools assess whether students are developing key skills necessary for further learning and participation in the community.

NAPLAN results provide a snapshot of individual and group performance against national standards, supporting the evaluation of teaching approaches and identifying areas for improvement. While NAPLAN is a helpful tool, it complements ongoing teacher assessments, and parents are encouraged to use the results, alongside other school reports, for discussions with teachers about their child's progress.

NAPLAN testing will take place in March, with assessments in reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation (conventions of language), and numeracy.

Please feel free to contact your child’s class teacher with any questions about NAPLAN. Please refer to the NAPLAN information for parents and carers brochure attached.

2025 SCHOOL SAVINGS BONUS (SSB)

The School Savings Bonus is a State Government initiative designed to assist families with cost-of-living pressures. Under this funding, each eligible student is entitled to a $400 bonus for application towards activity levies and uniform purchases from approved supplier. Within our school, all CSEF applicants are eligible to receive this funding. All families who have a Centrelink Health Care Card and have not applied for CSEF in the past are encouraged to contact the school office and initiate an application this year. Please refer to the below link for more information:

https://www.vic.gov.au/receiving-school-saving-bonus#non-government-school-information

CSEF

The Camps, Sports, and Excursions Fund (CSEF) offers payments for eligible students to attend school camps, excursions, or sports.If you hold a valid Centrelink Health Care Card, you may be eligible to receive $154 per student toward your child’s camps, sports, and excursion fees.

If you have not submitted a completed CSEF application and Centrelink Health Care Card for this year, please do so as soon as possible. Families receiving CSEF may also qualify for School Fee Concession rebates and the School Savings Bonus, providing additional fee relief to families.

FEES

Fee statements were sent to all families in early February. If you did not receive your 2025 fee statement, please contact the office to update your details. Families without a direct debit or Centrepay agreement are reminded that fees are due by the term due dates:

• Term 1 - 3rd March 2025
• Term 2 - 5 May 2025
• Term 3 - 7 July 2025
• Term 4 - 6th October 2025

The Year 4 students have been expressing the ways to show their Student Voice and Agency in the classroom. Here are a few things they had to share:

Student Voice (How I feel empowered with my learning)

• I like student choice because we get to choose what we prefer to write about in our narratives - Mila
• Student choice helps us to decide if we want to do the right thing or the wrong thing-during our learning and playtime -  Ella
• Student choice helps us to learn and fix our mistakes - Noah
• Student choice helps us to choose the things we want to do  in our learning - Kristian 
• We make posters in our class to show what we learn - we get to design them and work in teams to make them - Christian
  

Student Agency (How I show ownership of my learning)

• When we finish work early, we get to do something called a ‘Passion Project’. Our Passion Project is about something that you love for others to learn about your passions. We can research, plan and present this back to the class at the end of the term. This is to prepare us for Year 5 and 6 Home Study. (Ethan. C, Alex. A and Kayla) 
• To support us in our learning, we have made our own learning pits. The learning pit has positive thoughts about tasks that we might find challenging. A good learner goes in the learning pit. Different learners are at different stages, so for some of us, we might go straight across the pit and some of us might have to find ways to get out of the pit. (Joel & Fletcher)
• We made a ‘Bump it Up’ Writing Wall to help us improve with our writing. We used a rubric and marked where we thought the writing would go. During learning times, we can use the wall to check how we are going and set goals around our writing and ways to improve our writing. (Regina & Ethan. E)
• We get to do 15 Minute Writes. We are given a prompt and have 15 minutes to write about it. This helps us with our writing skills and ability to write about different things. We also get to set goals around how many words we have written in 15 minutes. (Florence)

On 3rd, 4th and 5th March, all students will be taking part in an Artist Visit by Lynton Allen in the school grounds.  The aims of the activity are to:

• Understand through visual of how pastel works
• Using a variety of materials students will be taken on an art journey through a one step at a time experience to complete 2 works of art
• Learn about the the process of doing an art piece, colours, creativity etc and learn some life skills
• It can also be a relaxing and meditative experience.

The Art session with Lynton will take place in the Art room for 1.5 hours. This information is to inform you of your child’s participation in the activity. If you have any special considerations regarding this incursion, please email Claire Giles at cgiles@marymacnarre.catholic.edu.au 

Students are to wear their school uniform on the day and will eat fruit, snack and lunch, the same as a standard school day. 

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

At Mary MacKillop Primary School, we believe that ensuring the safety of the students in our care is an integral part of who we are as a Catholic faith community. We adhere to Victorian Child Safe Standards and Ministerial Order No. 1359.  We embed a culture of child safety and the matter is taken very seriously.

MMPS Child Safe Standards

Catholic Education Commission of Victoria (CECV)

The updated CECV 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

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 Webinars. You can also access your resources at any time using the below URL (unique to our school) and password.

Unique URL - https://schools.happyfamilies.com.au/login/mmnwn

Password - happymmnwn

We recommend bookmarking this link. You should only need to put the password in once and the site will remember you.  

Dr Justin Coulson is a dad to 6 daughters and grandfather to 1 granddaughter. He is the parenting expert and co-host of Channel Nine’s Parental Guidance, and he and his wife host Australia’s #1 podcast for parents and family: The Happy Families Podcast. He has written 9 books about  families and parenting. For further details visit happyfamilies.com.au.

Here is his next Insight article, Navigating the Bullying Maze

https://marymacnarre.catholic.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news

A Special Report: The Wellbeing Barometer - 2025

The Wellbeing Barometer survey is an invaluable tool for schools, providing critical insights into the mental health and wellbeing of young people. This annual survey identifies areas of concern, highlights resilience and adaptability in students, and emphasises the importance of preventative strategies to promote positive outcomes.

Participation in this survey is strongly encouraged, as it offers a comprehensive view of students' experiences, challenges, 

and achievements. By capturing a detailed understanding of young people's experiences, the survey supports a tailored approach to enhancing their mental, emotional, and social wellbeing. It helps to identify strengths and areas for improvement, as well as pinpoint opportunities for early intervention.

The survey is part of an ongoing longitudinal study, and we encourage you to take a few moments to complete the survey for each of your children. Responses remain anonymous and should be based on your observations over the last 12 months. By working together, we can reduce the long-term impact of mental illness and make a meaningful difference to the lives of our young people for a brighter future.

We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this Special Report, and as always, we welcome your feedback.

If you do have any concerns about the wellbeing of your child, please contact the school for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to your special report:
https://marymacnarre.catholic.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/special-report-wellbeing-barometer-2025-au