Newsletter Term 4, Week 11 2022
End of Term - 4 Friday 16 December at 1pm
Beginning of Term 1 2023- Monday January 30th
Dear Parents,
As we come to the end of another year, we once again say goodbye to families who have been members of our community for many years.
We thank each and every family for their rich contribution to our school community and for their support of all of our children and staff.
This year we say goodbye to the following families:
The Dang family,
The Dorinko family,
The Douglas family,
The Hou family,
The Ivelja family,
The McCormack family,
The Murcia-Oyola family,
The Meehan family,
The Nashar family,
The Prior family,
The Scolaro family,
The Spierings family,
The Theodorou family,
The Thorne family,
The Patel family,
The Vakapuna family and
The Barbadonis family.
Along with these families we say farewell to the following staff:
Myanna Goetze
Megan Urlichs
Lisa Paton and
Rachael Telford
Kristine Messig our PE specialist teacher will be on leave for term 1 travelling to the USA with her family for her husband's work. Kristine will be replaced by Cait Wilson. Also, Marie Paton will be on leave. Coming into the office for Term 1 we welcome Jo-Anne Buysen.
Jo-Anne comes to us from Stella Maris PS in Point Cook where she was the Bursar / Admin person for 17 years. Jo-Anne will be working four days a week - Monday to Thursday. We have taken the decision to close the office on a Friday for the first term. Phone calls will still be taken but the office will be closed to walk-ins.
Finally, as this is my final newsletter as Principal of St. Margaret Mary’s Primary School Spotswood, I would like to say ‘Thank you!’ Thank you to everyone involved in the school over my 8.5 years - past and present students and families as well as past and present staff. Thank you also to Fr. Binh, a better boss I could not have asked for!
It has been the privilege of my professional life to have been the Principal of this wonderful school. Thank you for the experiences and memories that you have gifted to me and for the wonderful expressions of thanks and best wishes I have received from so many of you over the past few weeks. I wish you all the very best for your futures and will keep you all in my thoughts and prayers. #SMM4Life
Regards,
Andrea Richards
Principal
Farewell Mrs Richards
On behalf of the staff, I’d like to thank Andrea for her leadership over the past 8 and a half years.
Andrea has shown care and support for her staff and her passion for the education and welfare of all her students will be missed at St Margaret Mary’s. Being a Principal comes with its share of joys and challenges, all of which Andrea handles with concern and sound judgment.
We thank her sincerely for all she has done here at St Margaret Mary’s and wish her every success and God’s blessings in her journey ahead.
Many thanks,
Simon Devlin
Deputy Principal
Meet the new Principal of St. Margaret Mary’s in 2023
Two weeks ago the school community was informed that Mrs. Colleen McCambridge will be taking over the role of Principal at St. Margaret Mary’s Primary School in 2023.
Colleen is currently the Deputy Principal at St. Mary’s Ascot Vale and has worked at a variety of Catholic Schools in the Northern suburbs of Melbourne.
Colleen visited St. Margaret Mary’s to meet the staff and the students last week and she is very excited about joining the St. Margaret Mary’s community.
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.
School Staffing 2023
We say goodbye to those leaving us in 2022 and welcome to those joining us in 2023.
Student Leaders 2023
We congratulate our new school leaders for 2023.
Lifesaving Victoria
Thank you to Lifesaving Victoria for showing our grade 5 and 6 students some safety lessons in the water. It was a cold day but you couldn’t stop our students getting in the water.
Welcome Bishop Martin Ashe
We welcomed our Bishop Martin Ashe as he toured the Parish of St Joseph. Bishop Martin was able to visit classrooms and have lunch with the staff.
Congratulations Year 6s
We say congratulations to our class of 2022. You have been a fantastic group of students and it has been a pleasure watching you grow over the years. We wish you every success for your future endevours.
Senior Review
We finished off our last assembly with our traditional Senior Review.
Congratulations!
Congratulations to Cecilia F in Junior B and Swarn W. in Middle A Cecilia and Swarn had their Modern Pianoforte examination on the 2nd and 3rd of December. Cecilia got First Class Honours (95 out of 100) and Swarn got Honours (92 out of 100).
Well done to you both and to our piano teacher Kate Tyugay.
Well done Zoe!
Our very own Zoe S. won gold at the National Taekwondo Championships for the 25-28kg Red Belt Youth (10-11 year old). Not being satisfied there, later in the afternoon Zoe fought in the Black Belt division in the same age & weight group and also took home the Gold!
Zoe’s sister Grace took home the silver medal in the Cadet Black Belts 44-47kg division.
School Fees
As you would be aware it is school policy for school fee payments 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.
Currently there is $43,000 in outstanding school fees. As we are coming to the end of the year, we as a school are required to pay outstanding accounts and therefore need families to pay their fees.
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 if you are experiencing financial hardship.
Hi Families, Due to the poor weather and sodden ground we have had to change our plans for the Christmas concert. Sadly we will not be having our traditional picnic-style event however we have made arrangements for our students to still be able to perform their dances in the hall. Students are encouraged to eat prior to attending mass, as there will be no food and drink in the hall. We encourage families to be covid safe during this event.
We are looking forward to seeing you there.
District Swimming Competition 2023
The Westgate District Swimming competition is scheduled to take place on the 24th February 2023 at the Maribyrnong Aquatic Centre. The competition events are as follows: 50m Freestyle, 50m Backstroke, 50m Breastroke, 50m Butterfly, 50m Relay, 50m Medley Relay and Open Championship swim. Students will be competing in age groups 9/10 year old boys, 9/10 year old girls, 11 year old boys, 11 year old girls, 12/13 year old boys and 12/13 year old girls.
Information has gone out via Operoo to those children eligible to compete. Students who wish to compete may like to consider training over the school holiday break in preparation for team trials next year.
PLEASE NOTE YOUR CHILD MUST BE ABLE TO SWIM 50 METRES TO COMPETE IN THIS COMPETITION
If you have any questions in the meantime, please feel free to contact me.
Kristine Messig kmessig@smmspotswood.catholic.edu.au
Important Dates
Trying to find an important date? Check out our updated Term Dates page.
Christmas Mass Times
Vinnies Christmas Appeal 2022
The Vinnies Christmas Giving Appeal is back! Our Christmas Appeal this year collects both funds and gifts to provide hampers for clients in our local area that we have assisted throughout the year. If you’d like to donate to support the provision of Christmas food vouchers, please head to: https://my.fundraiseforvinniesvic.org.au/vinnies-christmas-appeal-2022/newport-conference.
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