Term 4 Week 2 | 15 October 2025

Principal - Ms Megan Pearce

Welcome back to Term 4! It’s wonderful to see our school community re-energised and ready for the final stretch of the year. Week 1 was a fantastic start, and we celebrated one of our most cherished traditions, Grandparents Day. Thank you to all who joined us for this special occasion. The joy on our students’ faces said it all!

Our Grandparents Day was a beautiful celebration filled with smiles, stories, and lots of love. It was heart-warming to see so many grandparents and special friends join us, creating memories our students will treasure for years to come. Thank you to everyone who helped make the day so special from our heartfelt Liturgy, the delicious morning tea to the thoughtful classroom activities and proud student performances.

This week we’re excited to welcome new families to our community at the upcoming Prep Parent Information Morning and Teddy Bears Picnic. While our Mini Mary’s children join in a morning of playful learning, go on a bear scavenger hunt and explore hands-on literacy and numeracy activities, parents will gather in the year 1 room to learn more about what makes Prep at St Mary’s such a special start to school life. Each child will get their own Mini Mary’s t-shirt and their very own Mini Mary’s Bear, a symbol of belonging to our St Mary’s family.

Next week our Year 5 and 6 classes head to Apex Camp at the Sunshine Coast. I am very envious! This will be an exciting experience and learning opportunity. I can’t wait to see the photos of the many adventures they will have.

As we head into the final stretch of the year, there’s still plenty happening at St Mary’s, from learning celebrations and excursions to end-of-year events that showcase how much our students have grown. I encourage everyone to stay engaged, keep up the great learning habits, and enjoy this exciting time together.

Let’s make Term 4 a joyful finish to a wonderful year at St Mary’s!

Megan

Prep 2026 Information Morning

APMI - Miss Imogen Hunt

Welcome Back to Term 4!

I hope everyone had a restful break and is feeling refreshed for the final term of the year. It was wonderful to begin the term with our Grandparents Day Liturgy, beautifully led by our Year 5 students last Friday. Their reverence and leadership created a truly special celebration of the important role grandparents play in our lives.

Reflecting on the role grandparents play in our lives

Loving God,
We thank You for the gift of grandparents
For their wisdom, kindness, and unconditional love.
Bless them with joy, peace, and good health.
May they continue to be a guiding light in our lives,
Sharing stories, faith, and laughter across generations.

Help us to honour them with our time,
To listen with open hearts,
And to cherish the legacy they pass on.
May they feel deeply loved and appreciated today and always.

Amen.

Looking ahead, Term 4 is filled with meaningful events and opportunities for our students to grow in faith and leadership:

• Year 5 Leadership Retreat – Week 4
  Our Year 5 students will participate in a retreat focused on Servant Leadership, exploring how they can lead with humility, compassion, and purpose. This will aim to develop students' skills on working together. 
• Year 6 Graduation Liturgy – Week 9
  A significant milestone for our Year 6 students as they prepare to transition to high school. This liturgy will be a time to reflect, celebrate, and give thanks.
• End of Term Liturgy – Week 9

We will reflect on the year that has been with the achievements, and moments of growth. Celebrate the journey of our students and staff throughout 2025. We will also welcome and bless our new student leadership team for 2026, as they prepare to take on their roles with compassion, justice, excellence and hospitality.

We also have our Prayer Celebration roster for this term. Please make note of your child’s class week.

Thank you for your continued support and partnership in nurturing the spiritual life of our school. Wishing everyone a joyful term ahead!

Warm regards,

Imogen Hunt

School Contact Details

Learning Support - Mrs Majella Lynch-Harlow

Learning Support  

We have had a wonderful start to Term 4.  It will be a busy and productive nine weeks which will certainly fly by far too quickly.  Our teachers have created engaging units of work across all areas of the curriculum and have planned personalised learning and adjustments for those students who have additional learning needs.  Our teachers and school officers work collaboratively to ensure that all students, particularly those with learning difficulties and disabilities, are fully supported in their learning.  

Most of our learning support intervention happens within the classrooms under the direction of the classroom teacher with the assistance of our school officers.  Our social emotional, EALD and intensive reading support programs are recommencing this week.  

LOUD SHIRT DAY – 17TH OCTOBER 2025  

Turn up the volume for kids with hearing loss! 

This Friday, we’re inviting all students to wear their brightest, boldest shirts to celebrate Loud Shirt Day – a fun and colourful way to raise awareness and support for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. 

To support this important cause, we kindly ask students to bring a gold coin donation. All funds raised will go towards providing life-changing services like speech therapy, audiology, early intervention and family support for children with hearing loss. 

Why Loud Shirt Day matters: 

• 1 in 6 Australians and New Zealanders are impacted by hearing loss 

• 1 in 300 school-aged children require assistance due to permanent hearing loss 

• Raising awareness helps build understanding and inclusion in our school and community 

At St Mary’s, we are proud to support students with different hearing abilities through: 

• Personalised learning plans and adjustments tailored to individual needs 

• Microphones and soundfield systems in every classroom to enhance listening environments  

• Audiology screenings for all Prep students to help identify any early hearing difficulties 

• Hearing screenings for other students identified by teachers or parents to further investigate and understand ongoing learning difficulties.  

Let’s turn up the colour, turn up the understanding, and make a difference together! 

ATTENDANCE MATTERS 

The Power of Showing Up: Why Attendance Matters 

At St Mary’s, we know that every day counts when it comes to learning. Regular school attendance is one of the most important factors in a student’s academic success. Research shows a strong link between irregular or low attendance and learning difficulties, especially in literacy and numeracy. When students miss school, they miss out on valuable learning experiences, social connections, and continuity in their education. 

That’s why our school sets a clear expectation: 

• All students should attend more than 90% of the time 

• Our ideal goal is for each class to reach 95% or higher 

We’re thrilled to share that all classes are currently above 90% attendance for Term 4, with Year 4 and Year 5 neck and neck at over 95%! This is a fantastic effort and shows how committed our students and families are to learning. 

Attendance Challenge Winners – Term 3 

A huge congratulations to Year 1, who won the Attendance Challenge at the end of Term 3! As their prize, they earned the right to choose our new bell song – and they went bold with “Thunderstruck” by ACDC. What a way to energise the school day! 

Keep the Momentum Going! 

Every fortnight, we’ll be celebrating the class with the highest attendance by giving them the power to choose the next bell song. The competition is heating up, and all classes are keen to be crowned the next winners! 

Let’s keep working together to make school attendance a priority. Every day at school is a step toward success – and a chance to rock out to your favourite tune! 

God bless,  

Majella Lynch-Harlow 

PE - Ms Susan McInnes

Term 4 swimming block will commence on Tuesday 11 November. A letter was sent home with the eldest child in the family yesterday. A copy of this letter is attached below. 

The Arts - Mrs Leilani Thomas

The Arts – Term 4

It’s a creative finish to the year in The Arts at St Mary’s! This term, students are exploring dance and media, discovering how movement, storytelling, and technology can work together to bring ideas to life.

Prep – Move & Make Believe
Prep students are letting their imaginations soar through pretend play, music, and movement. They’re learning to express ideas through simple choreography and playful media exploration.

Years 1–2 – Dancing on Screen
Our younger students are combining dance and film to create short choreographed pieces. They’re learning how movement can tell a story — both on stage and on screen!

Years 3–4 – Bring It to Life!
Students in Years 3–4 are blending drama, dance, and media to design lively performances. They’re experimenting with sound, visuals, and movement to make their ideas leap off the screen.

Years 5–6 – Just Dance: Create, Perform, Promote
Senior students are stepping into the roles of choreographers, performers, and producers. They’re creating their own “Just Dance”-style videos — planning, filming, and promoting their final works.

Across all year levels, students are building confidence, creativity, and collaboration as they express themselves through movement and media. I'm so excited to see what they will create!

Year Five & Six Camp

Only a few more sleeps to go until the great adventure begins!!

A reminder to parents that all medication forms need to be returned to the school office by this Friday 17 October. Any medication and/or creams etc. must be labelled by the pharmacy and can be given to Mrs Alice Short on Monday morning before the bus leaves. Anyone who needs any asthma medication must have given the school office a copy of their asthma action plan.

Please make sure your child's items, e.g. clothes, water bottles, hats etc. are all labelled.  

No electronic devices or valuable personal items are to be taken on camp.

See you all at 5:30am on Monday on the Watson Street side of the school.

October Birthdays

Flyers