Dear families,

As a year winds to a close there is still lots happening in our community. Next Tuesday the students will find out their classroom teachers for 2025. The students will spend time with their new class from 11:30am until 1:30pm, getting to know their teachers.

The teachers for 2025 are:

Foundation - Mrs Serrin Stobie

1-2 - Mrs Belinda Howard

1-2 - Miss Kiah Morris

1-2 Mrs Virginia Helllings

3-4 Mrs Bree Burgiel

3-4 Miss Ebony Fixter

3-4 New Teacher

5-6 Mrs Bec Stobie

5-6 Mr Byron Sandeman

Art - Mrs Brigette Koeninger

Japanese - Sensei Jess Uldrich

PE - Mrs Chloe Orchard

STEM - Mrs Charmaine Wilson

Please be aware that there will be some staff changes as we employ new teachers toward the end of the year, you will be informed about these changes in due time. Please contact me if you have any questions.

Yesterday evening we celebrated our Grade 6’s graduating from primary school. The Mass, dinner and entire celebration was amazing and a memorable night for the graduates. Thank you to Mrs Stobie and Mr Sandeman for all of their hard work making it such a special night. Thanks to all those who helped to prepare the evening, especially Nicole Wilkinson and Lauren Gately.

On Monday is St Mary’s Feast Day. To celebrate this occasion we will hold a Mass at 9:30am in the church. At 12pm our foundation students will be leading us in our nativity play under the gazebo. This will be followed by a community picnic in the grounds where the community is invited to bring lunch and a mat or blanket to celebrate the day together. 

Please have a great weekend with your families.

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.

6/12/2024

George Trewhella

Percy Heinrich

6th December ~ Emmanuel Rodriguez-Degroot

Congratulations to Emmanuel for his outstanding achievements in Taekwondo in 2024!

Emmanuel's hard work and dedication shone through as he competed in both interclub and international competitions, consistently delivering stellar performances. His perseverance and skill led him to secure gold, silver, and bronze medals, solidifying his reputation as a top contender in the sport.

As a result of his remarkable accomplishments, Emmanuel has earned a well deserved spot at the Gippsland Sports Academy for 2025. This is a huge milestone and an exciting new chapter in his athletic journey!

Well done, Emmanuel!!

6th December ~ Percy Heinrich

Congratulations to Percy for his incredible achievement in restoring his KX85 motorbike!

Over the past 6 months, Percy took on the challenging task of bringing his bike back to life. With skill and determination, he meticulously diagnosed and repaired everything from the engine to the body, figuring out exactly what needed fixing and replacing along the way.

His hard work and persistence have paid off, as Percy now has a fully restored bike that’s ready to take on the trails and ride out in the bush. What an impressive accomplishment.

Your dedication and craftsmanship are truly inspiring.

Well done Percy!!

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.

Congratulations to the 3/4 All star Hooptime team who travelled to Melbourne last Wednesday to compete in their second round of the Hooptime competition. They played amazing and went through their rounds undefeated. They then went on to win their final 16-0 which cemented them a place in the state finals. They represented our school with fantastic sportsmanship and teamwork, and they should be very proud of their efforts. Well done girls!!

A big congratulations to both the 3/4 and 5/6 girls teams who competed in the State Hoop Time Finals in Melbourne on Monday and Tuesday.
The girls represented our school amazingly well and while they didn’t make it onto the finals on the day, they played some tough basketball against some very strong - and tall - opposition!
They should be very proud of their efforts making it into the top 20 of the state out of more than 140 teams!
Well done girls and thanks to all of the parents for driving the students down and helping to score and support on the day.

TERM 3

DECEMBER

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

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: (during Winter presbytery)

Wednesday to Saturday  9:30am

TERM 4

7th October - 18th December (3:20pm finish)

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