Dear families,

As we come to the close of another wonderful year of learning, I would like to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to all staff, students, and families for an awesome year. Together, we have created a vibrant learning environment that fosters growth and development for our young learners.

I would also like to extend our best wishes to Tara Battista, Rebecca Halley, and Lindie Anderson as they embark on new adventures at their new schools next year. Your contributions to our community will be greatly missed, and we wish you all the success in your future endeavors.

As we approach the festive season, I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and safe, joyful holidays. Let’s take this time to relax and recharge for the exciting year ahead. We are looking forward to an amazing 2025 filled with new opportunities and continued success for our students.

Thank you once again for a fantastic year!

Kind regards,

Julian

Congratulations and well done to all students who were nominated this fortnight for their wonderful choices in the classroom or on the playground.  This is a weekly award and all nominted children should be very proud of themselves.  

Congratulations to the following students who were drawn out of a box of nominees for this fortnights Positive Behaviour Awards.  St Mary's have introduced this reward system to acknowledge the wonderful behaviour of students who regonise our school values of Respect, Act and Learn.

18/12/2024

Ellie Wilkinson

Judson Harrop

Macy Fulford

18th December ~ Asher Murphy

Congratulations to Asher who has shown tremendous determination and resilience recently when he mastered the art of learning to tie his shoelaces.  He practised a lot and although he was frustrated at times, he didn't give up, he persisted with his goal.

He also built a Mercedes AMG yellow convertible lego all by himself.  This lego car is designed for ages 10 years and over but he completed each step without any assistance, which wa extremely impressive.

Well done, Asher!!

18th December ~ Sailor McQuillen

Congratulations to Sailor who recently ran in an Ironkids race in Melbourne.  Sailor showed great kindness and empathy when she took it upon herself to help out a fellow competitor.  Instead of achieving her own goal, Sailor helped a very nervous little boy finish his race.  His parents were very grateful for the way Sailor took their son under her wing.

Also, Sailor has performed in her first ever singing concert.  She was extremely brave when she performed as this wa out of her comfort zone.  She did an amazing job and sang beautifully.

Well done Sailor!!

To celebrate student's achievements, we will be presenting children with Star Of The Week awards.  This is a self nominated award of something a student is proud of.  It could be something academic, sports related, or a personal achievement. Have you learnt to ride a bike?  Won 1st place in a dance competition?  Read a book by yourself?  Anything that makes you proud!

Forms can be found on the link below.

SCHOOL CAPTAINS

Anastasia Dwyer & Elke Horsford

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MACKILLP (GOLD) HOUSE CAPTAINS

 Willow Matthews & Cooper Battista

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CURRAN (RED) HOUSE CAPTAINS

Ben Murphy & Larni Burns

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CORBETT (GREEN) HOUSE CAPTAINS

Lockie Gallatly & Tex Morgan

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STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE COUNCIL

Jacinta Shoenmaekers, Chevy McMahon, Mack McMahon, Roy Wilkinson, Luke Vardy & Anushka Hollingsworth

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SPORTS CAPTAINS

Monte Loadman-Morgan, Harri Murphy, Max Roberts & Payton Robson

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GREEN TEAM

Emmanuel Rodriguez-De Groot, Percy Heinrich, Milla Battista, Lucy Foat, Estelle Chilton & Darby Howard

As the Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader at St. Mary's, it has been an incredibly rewarding experience to witness the growth and support of our students and staff over the past year. I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has contributed to fostering a positive and supportive environment, from the dedicated teachers to the wonderful support staff, and of course, our amazing students and their families. Your commitment to promoting mental health and wellbeing has made a tangible difference in our school community. I’m excited to continue this important work and look forward to further collaboration with The Resilience Project in 2025, as we continue to build resilience, gratitude, empathy, mindfulness, and emotional intelligence in our school. Together, we will ensure that mental health remains a priority, creating a safe and thriving space for everyone.  

Charmaine Wilson 

Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader

STEM Teacher 

St Mary's Primary School 

Maffra

WEEKEND MASSES

Heyfield:

Saturday    6:00pm

Maffra:

Sunday    9:00am 

Cowwarr:

1st and 3rd Sunday   11:00am

Newry:

2nd and 4th Sunday  11:00am

Dargo:

5th Sunday   12:00noon

WEEKDAY MASSES

Heyfield:

Tuesday      9:30am

Maffra:

Wednesday to Saturday  9:30am

Please find below some new initiatives at Surf Life Saving Lakes Entrance aqvailable in January.

These initiatives have been created to increase beach awareness and skills in the water, as well as how to help each other in dangerous situations. The day will consist of activities in and out of the water. By doing this we are hoping to increase overall knowledge and therefore prevent drownings in our area.

We are running two separate programs, one aimed at people who have additional needs and require additional supports, and the second a community beach awareness program which will be aimed at families.

I have  attached our flyer for you which has the QR codes to sign up and much more information, we would love it if you could possibly post it in
your newsletter/ put it up at school to spread the word to any one at your school that may holiday in East Gippsland in the summer.

One has both programs on it, and then there are individual ones if you feel one is more relevant to your students!
Kind regards,
Eden McMillan
SLSLE Club Captain