Newsletter Term 3, Week 9 2022
Friday 16th September - End of Term 3 - 1.00pm finish
Monday 3 October – Term 4 commences
Dear Parents,
Well, time has flown and here we are again at the end of another term. As we look back we can see how far we have come through the year and our students, parents and teachers should be congratulated on their efforts so far.
Many families and teachers have commented on the tiredness of students since returning to normal schooling after 2 years of on and off remote learning. The holidays are a good chance to rest, relax and get ready for what is always a busy term and time of year.
As we begin to get ready for next term, we also cast our minds to planning for next year. Class planning will begin shortly and we offer this opportunity to send any requests through to me for consideration.
We also ask that if you are not returning to St Margaret Mary’s next year you let me know and we can take this into account when planning classes.
As the weather is warming up, just a reminder that hats need to be worn while playing outdoors. Please ensure you clearly mark your child’s name on them (and on all items of clothing) as they have a habit of disappearing!
A big congratulations to our students participating in the Divisional Athletics competition. Noah, Kayla, Valentina and Oliver competed in a range of events at Keilor on Tuesday the 6th of September. Noah was able to make it through to the Regional Athletics and we wish him every success for the future.
You still have time to complete the MACSSIS family survey. Our year 4-6 students and staff have completed theirs and it is a great opportunity to shape the future direction of our school. It should take no longer than 20 minutes and is valuable feedback we use to improve our school.
Please remember that students finish at 1 pm on Friday the 16th of September. There are no lunch orders on that day due to the early finish, however, students will still require a snack.
Finally, I wish everyone a happy and safe break. I hope you enjoy the AFL and NRL grand final celebrations and I will see you back in term 4, rested and rejuvenated.
Regards,
Simon Devlin
Acting Principal
Reminder
The parking on Arras Street is the for school pick up and drop off zone, please refrain from parking for longer than 2 minutes. Also please do not park over driveways.
Follow our socials for the latest learning posts from the classroom
St Margaret Mary’s students are independent life-long learners inspired by Gospel values and empowered with a sense of purpose and responsibility. They confidently engage with others and are equipped with skills to adapt to an ever changing world.
Each week, students who embody our values, apply the school mindsets to learning, work hard to improve or persevere to deliver on learning objectives are awarded a class award. The students who earned an award in the past weeks are:
Term 3, Week 8
Term 3, Week 9
Fathers Day Breakfast
Senior Sports Day
Juniors Wildlife Xposure Incursion
NRL Coaching Sessions
Division Athletics
Congratulations to all our participants in the Divisional Athletics competition. Noah, Valentina, Kayla and Oliver have done a great job representing our school. Thank you to all the parents, families and friends who have taken them down to Keilor for the day, as well as our own Kristine Messig who went down on her day off and supported them.
Thank You!
A big thank you to all of our families. We have raised almost six thousand dollars! This has enabled us to purchase a new set of in-class and take-home reading books for our Prep to Junior classes.
Middles and Seniors will also be benefiting soon with the purchase of some graphic novels for the classrooms and library.
Also a big thank you to Simone Laurie, Joan Laurie and Christine Rowe for contacting and labeling the whole set! Phew.
Stay tuned for our term 4 initiatives.
The FSG Team.
Call for new members!
Can you spare some time to help out with the FSG? We are currently looking for new members. Contact Stacey to express your interest and find out more about how you can help out.
As mentioned last week, we recently celebrated the Year 8 Science Fair and as you can see in the photos the students were very excited to present their work and engage with their families about the projects that they had undertaken. It is always an exciting time when the students lead the communications with their families about their learning and we can have families onsite, it really fosters that sense of community that we hold dear at Emmanuel.
We have also just had the Annual Arts Showcase, and look forward to seeing photos of that event in next week’s article.
As we close in on the holidays, we would like to thank all of our feeder schools for your interest and participation in our many engagement activities, such as; the Amazing Race, Grade 4 Experiences and the Year 7 Roadshows to name a few. These activities all form a valuable part of the easing of anxieties for students when they are thinking about their start to secondary school.
Please note that applications for enrolment for Year 7, 2024 closed on Friday, 19 August, 2022. If you have a child in Grade 5 and wish to be considered for a place at the College for your them in Year 7/2024, but have not yet applied, it is essential that you contact the College Registrar by emailing enrolments@ecmelb.catholic.edu.au or calling on 8325 5119 as a matter of urgency.
We hope to see you at one of our tours or our next experience event in November.
Key enrolment dates for Year 5 students in 2023 starting Year 7 in 2025 at a Catholic School.
For those parents of students who will be beginning Year 7 in 2025 at a Catholic school, please be aware of the following critical dates.
27 January 2023 – Applications will open for Year 5 students commencing Year 7 in 2024.
18 August 2023 – Applications will close.
20 October 2023 – Offers to be posted to prospective Year 7 applicants.
10 November 2023 – Final date for parents/carers to accept an offer made by a school.
School Fees
School Fees
School fee payments are to be finalised by the end of term 3 unless otherwise discussed with the school. Thankyou to all the families who have made payments towards their family school fees and levy accounts. Without this support from you, our school would not be able to run.
If you have not started to make payments towards your account can we suggest you set up via your bank account, weekly, fortnightly or monthly direct debit payments. They are a great way to work towards settlement of your account.
We accept EFTPOS over the phone, or in person at the school office and you can make direct payments into our account. Please use your family name as the reference so we are able to allocate the payment correctly.
Our bank details are:
Account Name: St Margaret Mary’s School
BSB: 083-347
ACCOUNT: 463870010
Please speak to Andrea Richards or the Office ladies if you are experiencing financial hardship.
Rugby Jumper Update
Hi Families,
Just an update regarding the addition to our uniform to include a rugby jumper.
Noones, our uniform supplier has stated that there are a few things to consider regarding the rugby jumper, those being;
They take a long time to dry due to the heavy fabric
They are not able to be tumble dried
They are quite a slim-fit which isn’t everyone’s liking
We have also been told that they are a layering piece, so on their own, not very warm.
All things considered, and at an approximate cost of $88, we need to have a minimum order of 50 to go ahead so we would like again to gauge the interest.
Please complete the survey below:
Important Dates
Trying to find an important date? Check out our updated Term Dates page.
Community Survey
Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools School Improvement Surveys (MACSSIS): 29 August - 16 September 2022
Throughout each year, we pause to listen to our students, families and staff to gauge how our learning community is travelling. This feedback is invaluable to our progress as effective school communities and is backed by evidence-based research and best practices.
One of the more important formal ways we engage and gather data is through MACSSIS, the Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools School Improvement Surveys.MACSSIS is a set of surveys that have been built specifically for Catholic Schools in Melbourne by Learning Services teams at Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools in partnership with researchers at Learning First and in wide consultation with Principals in our schools.
In 2022, students, families and staff are invited to participate in MACSSIS using our brand new, secure and purpose-built online platform. The online platform is where we will access the summary reports that visualise the results of the student, family and staff surveys.
The MACSSIS survey platform is operated by an independent supplier, ORIMA Research Pty Ltd. The platform meets with the very high security and privacy standards for handling student and school data. Participating schools are in the process of updating their privacy policy to ensure school communities are fully informed and protected. Students at our school will be provided with supervised sessions where teachers are on hand to help and answer any questions.
Families and staff can complete the survey anytime over the three-week window via an emailed link and password.
Our community’s opinions are critical to understanding how our school is performing – MACSSIS is a key data source for guiding the ongoing work to improve our school.
All participation is invited, welcomed and 100% voluntary. The surveys are not a test; they are an inclusive way to feed the work we are already doing to improve our school. Everyone has the right to refuse to participate, or withdraw from the survey at any point before, during, or after completion of the survey.
We welcome your feedback so if you have anything to contribute to the newsletter, questions about content or general feedback, please let us know.