Newsletter, W9, T3, 2025
Principal's Report
Dear Parents & Carers,
Welcome to our third and final newsletter for this term.
Term 3 has been particularly busy and hugely rewarding with many celebrations, events and experiences taking place, all of which contribute significantly to our holistic approach to students' wellbeing and learning.
Recently we celebrated Fathers Day with our traditional breakfast of freshly cooked bacon and egg muffins. We would like to give a huge shout out to all the fathers and special friends who came along to enjoy some hot food, a game and a chat. The impact of your willingness to be involved in our school community and the support you provide your families through this cannot be underestimated. Thank you to all the staff who helped make the occasion a success. In particular the Fathers Day committee who organised everything; Jess Baldock, Sindy Nel, Nicole Zappia and Aidan Davies.
This week we celebrated Languages Day. At St Mary’s our students study three languages; Italian, French and Spanish. On Languages Day our students participated in a variety of activities derived from each of these countries and enjoyed a special lunch of Pizza and Profiteroles. Thank you to Mikayla Simpson and Sindy Nel who generously took on the responsibility of organising the day.
We are extremely fortunate to have staff from many different countries in our school which allows us to explore so many languages and cultures. A particular mention to Ruairi Meban who teaches both French and Spanish to our secondary cohort. A talented man indeed! I’d also like to recognise Michelle Courtenay who has been doing an amazing job teaching Italian to our primary school children recently. Michelle has come to us through an agency and will return for a part of next term. After this she will move on to other places but her wonderful contribution to our school will be remembered for a long time to come. Thank you Michelle!
In addition to the two celebrations mentioned above, we have had many other events occuring. We showcased our school at the Early Years Expo at the Robinvale Leisure Centre earlier this month. It was a wonderful experience and we thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to meet many community members and chat with them about all the wonderful things our school has to offer. Our school choir made us extremely proud when they performed spectacularly at the event. Well done!
As well as the Expo we recently hosted a Best Start Play Day. This is where all the children in four year old kinder groups in our area visit a school for a play and some morning tea. This is a great community initiative that goes a long way to ensuring a smooth transition into school and we were delighted to have the children and their teachers join us here at St Mary’s.
The Play Day was quickly followed by our annual Prep Tea. This is always a fun and exciting occasion and this year did not disappoint. In fact, one Prep student described it to me as ‘the best day ever!’ The Prep Tea is the first step in our camps program, a critical part of our curriculum that supports students learning and social emotional development as they move through the school. Thank you to Leanne Chirchiglia, Jill Appleton, Jocylyn Palma, Mariska Moller, Molly Heaps and Asela Sauaki for putting together such a rewarding and enjoyable experience for the youngest members of our school.
As always, there have been a number of sporting events happening throughout the school, most notably the Secondary & Primary Division Athletics competitions in Ouyen and Mildura. Our students were stand outs at both events and we will be sending a large representative group on to the Regional finals in Bendigo from both sections of our school. Particular mention to Ja’von Costantino and Jarrod Healy who broke age records in Ouyen and Samuela Polata who won age champion. An amazing effort and well done to all!
In addition to these sporting competitions we have also recently hosted Basketball Clinics for both primary and secondary students and celebrated Sports Colours Day which gives everyone an opportunity to share their team pride, no matter what sport they follow. On Sports Colours Day we sold hot pies and sausage rolls, traditional sports day fare. $1 from each pie sold was donated to Kids with Cancer. This allowed us to combine our love of sport with a great cause, while reminding students of our obligation to care for those who are sick and less fortunate than us.
This week we held our twice yearly Parent Teacher Interviews. These are always beneficial as they provide an opportunity to connect learning at school with learning at home. It is always a pleasure to share the wonderful things your children accomplish at school with you, while sometimes offering some concerns we have. Regardless of the feedback, it is always given in the spirit of partnership and with a view to improvement which is why we genuinely appreciate the parents who take the time to make appointments to come and speak to our teachers.
A reminder to anyone who is looking to enrol a child at St Mary’s next year, regardless of the year level, to please return a completed enrolment form by the end of this term. Knowing how many students we will have in the school is critical for planning for the following year which has already begun in earnest. If you are unsure about anything at all, or have questions about our school or the enrolment process please don’t hesitate to reach out as I’m happy to speak to you. Our friendly admin staff are also happy to help in any way they can. Conversely, if you have children in Prep - Year 7 who are not returning to St Mary’s next year please let us know this as a matter of urgency also.
As you know today is the last day of term 3 which means an early dismissal time of 1.30pm for our students. Victorian buses will run from this time but please be aware that families from NSW will need to make alternative arrangements to collect their children from school at 1.30pm.
Finally, I wish you all a very happy and safe holiday and look forward to seeing you all again in term 4!
Kind regards,
Andrea Welsh
Wellbeing
Primary News
Foundation
Let us look back at this term with some photos.
Book Week
Always a fun experience and this year the parade costumes were amazing!
Responsible Pet Program
Students were taught how to approach and recognise the signs of anger and calmness in dogs. Some students were selected to practise how to approach dogs. Learning how to stand still if an angry dog approaches you, ask the owner if you can approach their dog, let the dog sniff your hand before patting and gently pat the dog on its back.
Foundation Tea
We had a play at the new playground in Robinvale, ate afternoon tea where the Secondary students eat, played in the gym, decorated biscuits to eat for dessert, coloured in chef hats which we wore while making pizzas and finally coloured in a photo frame with our parents. It was a busy day with lots of fun things happening.
We hope that all our families have a relaxing and enjoyable holiday break. See you all again at the start of term 4!
Year 1/2
What a busy term we have had! As well as arning through all the exciting event days we have had, the 1/2 students have been busy learning in the classroom as well. It has been excellent to see the range of learning that has happened.
Next Term, we will enjoy our 1/2 sleepover. All notes have been released via Simon, and we look forward to our exciting overnight stay at school. Please speak with your child's classroom teacher should you have any concerns.
The 1/2 staff wish you all a very happy and safe holidays and look forward to seeing you all in Term 4.
Year 3/4
It has been a busy and exciting term in Year 3/4! Over the past few weeks, we have enjoyed a number of special event days, we especially enjoyed Languages Day. Students were invited to wear casual clothes in the colours of Italy (red, green, white), Spain (red, yellow), or France (blue, white, red). It was a wonderful day filled with face painting, pizza, and delicious desserts!
Congratulations to all the children who represented St Mary’s with such distinction at the recent Mini Olympics in Mildura. We are so proud of you!
A big thank you to the families who continue to support their children with nightly reading and weekly homework. Your encouragement and involvement are greatly appreciated.
We wish you all a safe and happy holiday, filled with adventure, excitement, rest, and relaxation. We look forward to welcoming everyone back for Term 4!
Year 5/6
It has been an action-packed Term 3 at St Mary’s, and the last few weeks have been no different in the 5/6 unit.
We have enjoyed many fun and exciting events that have complemented our classroom learning, none more so than our Athletics Carnival. A big congratulations to all students who participated, cheered, and supported their peers throughout the day. Well done also to those who went on to represent our school at the Sunraysia South Mini-Olympics in Mildura.
In the classroom, students have been exploring how different structures from around the world have been built. Each student selected a famous building, researched it, and wrote an explanation text. This has been a fun and informative way to finish our English learning this term. Be sure to ask your child which building they have become an expert on!
A big thank you for all your support throughout the term. Your help with homework, school events, and extra-curricular activities is greatly appreciated and certainly does not go unnoticed.
We wish everyone a safe and restful holiday and look forward to an exciting Term 4, with our Melbourne Camp on the horizon! Keep an eye out for more information once we are back at school.
Secondary News
As Term 3 comes to a close, we would like to congratulate our Year 7 & 8 students on a very busy but rewarding term of learning and achievement.
We were excited to see such strong participation in the Ouyen Loddon Mallee Division Athletics. A special mention goes to all students who have now progressed to the Regional Division in Bendigo. A big congratulations to Ja'von Costantino and Jarrod Healy who both broke records. We wish them every success as they compete on Thursday 9th October.
Looking ahead, our Year 7 & 8 Camp to Warrnambool will take place in the first week of Term 4, from Monday 6th – Thursday 9th October. This camp promises to be action-packed, with a wide variety of engaging experiences designed to support both learning and teamwork.
We also congratulate our students who represented the Robinvale Euston Football Netball Club in the Grand Final games over the weekend. The Under 13 Division 1 Netballers played in a nail-bitingly close match, while the Under 14 Boys Football Team secured a fantastic win. Well done to all involved!
To finish off the term, our students enjoyed a basketball session with Back Court coach Sammy Pileggi, made possible thanks to the support of the Robinvale Basketball Association. This was a wonderful way to build excitement and skills ahead of the upcoming basketball season, and we are very grateful for the opportunity.
It has certainly been a full and productive term. On behalf of the Secondary Team, we wish all our students and families a safe, restful, and enjoyable holiday. We look forward to seeing everyone back at school on Monday 6th October, ready for an exciting start to Term 4 and the Warrnambool Camp.
Student of the Week
Last Friday, our school community came together to celebrate Footy Colours Day. Students enjoyed the opportunity to dress up in their favourite footy or sports colours while supporting a very worthy cause.
Through the generosity of our students and families, we were able to raise $200 for Kids With Cancer. This contribution will help provide vital support and care to children and families who are affected by cancer.
A huge thank you to everyone who donated and participated.
