Dear families,

Next Wednesday our school will be celebrating Ash Wednesday Mass, which all families are invited to attend. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, a significant season in the Christian liturgical calendar. On Ash Wednesday, Catholics attend services where ashes, made from burned palm branches, are applied to their foreheads in the shape of a cross, symbolizing repentance. Lent lasts for 40 days, excluding Sundays, and is a period of fasting, prayer, and reflection leading up to Easter. It commemorates the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the wilderness, encouraging his followers to engage in self-discipline and spiritual growth as they prepare to celebrate the resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday. Over the coming weeks I encourage you to talk to your children about what they have learnt about Lent at school.

Next Friday the 7th of March the school will be closed for a whole staff professional learning day. Students are not required to attend on this day. Professional development days are crucial for teachers as they provide dedicated time to enhance their skills, stay updated with current educational practices, and collaborate with colleagues to best understand the needs of the students in our school. Ultimately, investing in teachers' professional growth not only benefits the educators but also enriches the learning experience for students, creating a more dynamic and effective educational environment. We appreciate families' understanding and flexibility on these days.

Please have a great weekend.

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.

21/2/2025

Mia Vardy

Zoe Hunt

Louis McQuillen

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 Swimming Sports

On the 17 of February, St Mary's Maffra had their school swimming carnival. Everyone had a go and had lots of fun. In third place was Corbett (green) with 170 points. In second place was Mackillop (Gold) with 174 points and in first place was Curren (red) with 268 points. We also had a relay race in our house colours with four people in each relay. Red house won in both relays and everyone had a go! Every house did their chants loudly and they got bonus points for cheering their teammates on.  Then the year 6s had the Vaughan Cup race and it was close, but Elke Horsford won for the girls and Ben Murphy won for the boys. We thank all the teachers and parents for coming and helping. We especially thank Miss Orchard and the Maffra pool for planning and organizing the swimming carnival.

By Luella Horsford, Milla Battista and Lexi Lawless.

Heyfield and District Swimming Carnival

On Monday the 24th, 23 students participated in the Heyfield and District swimming carnival in Sale. There were 8 different schools that participated in the swimming carnival. All 23 students returned to school with one or more ribbons. Everyone put in 100% effort in every swimming event that they were in, no one gave up and they all had a go. All the students should be proud of how they did.
We would like to thank Mrs Orchard, Tash and Miss Fixter for taking us to the swimming
carnival. We would especially like to thank Mrs Orchard for organising the swimming carnival event. Overall, out of the 8 schools St. Mary’s came in second place, 1 point behind first. Well done to everyone.

By Elke Horsford, Willow Matthews and Anastasia Dwyer.

A huge congratulations to everyone who participated in the Maffra Triathlon on the weekend. It was absolutely fantastic seeing so many St. Mary students and families participating in the event. It was an event that challenged everyone, but at the same time was so much fun. We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who participated and help us win the $500 for most entries. A huge shout out to the Riviera Triathlon Club for the donation and also to all the people who organised such a great event for our town. Well done, everyone!

Please note 2025 school fees have been issued via email.  Please check your spam.

Thank you.

School Photos 2025 – St Mary’s Primary School

Annual school photos will be taken at St Mary’s Primary School on Tuesday April 1st, 2025.  Students are required to wear full summer uniform (includes new or old uniform).

TERM 1

MARCH

APRIL

**  Please go to our school website for the full year of calendar dates.

CAMPS SPORTS EXCURSION FUNDING (CSEF)

Camps, Sports and Excursion Fund (CSEF) is provided by the Victorian Government to assist eligible families to cover the cost of camps and sporting activities.  If you hold a valid means-tested concession card, you may be eligible for CSEF.

The closing date for Camps Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) applications is 15th April 2025.

Please pick up an application from the school office if you believe you are eligible.

No need to complete a new application if you previously held an eligible concession card.  

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, Friday & Saturday  9:30am

Thursday     5:30pm

Please find attached two posters for Parks Week - Babys Day Out and Kids Day Out, two great events that will be happening on the 3^rd and 5^th of March during parks week. They will each have fun free activities for children such as jumping castle, face painting, petting zoo and more.