Dear Parents and Carers,

It’s hard to believe that school has now finished for the 2019 school year!

At the end of the school year, I can’t help but look back at the year that was and I’m always surprised by what we’ve been able to achieve, but none more so than this year. 2019 has been a school year like I’ve never experienced before and never hope to again. But if there is any silver lining to our annus horribilis, it’s that when it was needed, more than it has ever been needed before, the community that is St Martin’s showed what it was truly made of. Everyone put the needs of the students above their own. Everyone worked together to support each other. Everyone took time to step back and remember what is truly important. I will forever be grateful and proud, that during such a difficult time, we all banded together as the great community that we truly are.

I’ve thought a lot about our school and my connection with it over the last few weeks. I’ve realised that my family has had a direct connection with the school continuously for the last 50 years! My (very much older!) brother Peter started prep in 1970 followed by my sister Sally a year later. When Sally was in Year 5, I started in prep and when I was in Year 6 my aunt, Rosemary Sandham, started teaching here. Rosie had many roles including a long stint as Religious Education Leader and Deputy Principal. My first year of teaching at St Martin’s was in 2012 which was Rosie’s last year of teaching before she retired. I was teaching in the current PPV and Rosie was in the current PGR. It was pretty awesome having my favourite auntie teaching in the room next door! I don’t think there would ever have been a family gathering in that time that our wonderful school wasn’t brought up in discussions. Even during all those years between my leaving primary school and starting teaching here, I was always kept up-to-date with who was teaching here and what was going on. I guess the ‘force is strong’ when it comes to St Martin’s!

STAFFING UPDATE

A lot has happened with regard to our staff since the last newsletter!

David Portelli, our wonderful year 6 teacher of many years, has decided it’s time for a new adventure and will be leaving us at the end of the year. Our loss is Ruyton Girls School’s gain. We will miss Dave but wish him all the best in his next teaching chapter.

Gareth Voigt, our amazing senior music teacher, band teacher and coordinator and instrumental teacher has also decided it’s time for a new adventure. Gareth and his new wife, Emily, will be moving to London in the new year. Everyone will miss Gareth but we know this is an adventure that he and Emily cannot pass up and we wish them both well as they start their expat life.

Excitingly for us, Stephanie Laws and Elliot Westbury will be joining the St Martin’s staff in 2020. Stephanie will be replacing Dave as a classroom teacher and Elliot will be replacing Gareth in his many roles. Students will have met Elliot last week and Stephanie’s class met her on Monday during change-over afternoon.

I’m not leaving St Martin’s but I am taking leave in 2020. 2019 has been a very big year, to say the least, and I’ve decided to take 2020 as a year to focus on completing my MBA (thanks to Dane, who convinced me to start it this year and then called me an idiot for listening to him!) and to give me some time just to breathe. I plan to be back refreshed and raring to go in 2021. Marita Anderson will continue as Deputy Principal and Religious Education Leader. Marita has been an outstanding support for me this year and I know she will offer both continuity and support for Jacqui next year. Brendan Ooi will also continue in his role as Digital Technology Leader next year. He has also taken up the challenge of his new role this year with much vigour and success and will continue to do so next year.

STAFF LINE UP FOR 2020

Our staff line up for 2020 is as follows:

Principal: Jacqui Marshall
Deputy Principal & REL: Marita Anderson

Prep Team:
PGR: Andrea Getson & Dinesha Rajasingam
PPV: Lisa Philp & Donna Vincent
PVL: Leslie Van Loggerenberg

Year 1 Team:
1B: Laura Bumpstead
1F: Claire Forbes
1LB: Laura Butler

Year 2 Team:
2C: Michelle Cameron
2OC: Emma O’Malley & Karen Crimmins
2T: Melanie Theirjung

Year 3 Team:
3C: Melissa Campbell
3JC: Kris Jordan & Jo Collier
3MT: Lilia Mosbauer & Sandra Tieppo

Year 4 Team:
4T: Adele Truefeldt
4TC: Tess Cosgrave

Year 5 Team:
5C: Aaron Connolly
5L: Stephanie Laws
5V: Neesha Valvo

Year 6 Team:
6AM: Jamie Atherton & Jo Maloney
6W: Gareth Wells
6ZW: Terry Zacharakis & David Witchell

Specialist Teachers:

Library: Chloe Jones, Emma Kent & Martine Klaic
PE: David Witchell
Italian: Maria Mandarano & Steve Domini
Music: Mary-Anne Kos & Elliot Westbury
STEM: Brendan Ooi
Art: Lisa Cherubin & Emma Kent
Literacy Intervention: Dinesha Rajasingam & Carmel Chubb
Maths Intervention: Sandra Tieppo

CLASS LISTS 2020

We have worked extremely hard on the class lists and whilst we know we can’t please everyone, we believe we have done our very best. Students have had an orientation session with their teacher for 2020. I know the teachers were excited about meeting their new students on Monday, I hope the students were too.

2020 STUDENT ASSESSMENT SESSIONS

Year 1 - 6 Assessment Sessions (students attend ONLY ONE 3 hour session)

● Wednesday, 29th January (either 9am-12noon or 12.30pm-3.30pm);
OR
● Thursday, 30th January (either 9am-12noon or 12.30pm-3.30pm)

Notification of your child’s session time has been placed on COMPASS, please provide consent to confirm your child's attendance.

2020 SCHOOL START DATES

● Years 1-6 students commence formal classes on Friday, 31st January

● Prep students start school on Monday, 3rd February 8.45am-1.00pm (half days only this week). Please click here for further information regarding Prep 2020 students.

BOOK LISTS 2020

Click here for items that students will require for next year, please note this information has also been placed on the Compass Newsfeed.

STUDENT REPORTS

Student reports were published on Compass last Friday. Thankfully this was a relatively smooth upload, although we have had one class receive their reports in two parts. Parents of students leaving the school will have until 20th December to ensure they have downloaded their child’s reports. I am uncertain when rollover will officially occur, but once it has, you will no longer have access to your child’s compass data. Please ensure you print your reports using a laptop or desktop computer.

CAROL’S NIGHT

Last Thursday we held our bi-annual Carol’s Night. Thanks to Mrs Mary-Anne Kos and Mr Gareth Voigt (our Music Teachers) along with Sandra Tieppo and classroom teachers for organising the night. It was a fun night that everyone enjoyed immensely.

GRADUATION MASS and GRADUATION DINNER

On Monday we said goodbye to our Year 6 students. It was a big day for the students as they celebrated their Graduation Mass in the morning with their families, had a rousing farewell on the top yard at 1pm and then partied the night away at the Graduation Dinner. Thanks to Marita Anderson for organising the Mass and Veronica Castles and the Year 6 Parent Reps for organising the dinner. I was not able to attend but I’ve heard a lot of comments from parents about how wonderful the night was.

END OF YEAR WHOLE SCHOOL MASS

Yesterday we celebrated our End of Year Mass. It’s always a special Mass where we get to celebrate the year that was and look to the future. During the Mass, our 2020 School Captains, Vice-Captains and RE Captains were announced.

2020 School Captains: Hannah W & Luca F

2020 Vice-Captains: Maya K & Zach A

2020 RE Captains: Lily A & Connor Mc

Congratulations to our new Captains.

Our House Captains, Band Captains and Choir Captain will be announced during the Beginning of Year Mass next year.

I hope over the festive season and during the long summer break that everyone has a chance to relax and recharge. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy and safe New Year.

And for the last time in 2019, "How fortunate are we to belong to such a great community!"

Take care,
Megan Williams
Acting Principal

Advent has two parts. The first portion the First Sunday of Advent until 16th December is preparation for the second coming of Christ. The second portion from 17th to 24th December directly prepares us for the commemoration of the first coming of Christ, Christmas.

On the third Sunday of Advent, called Gaudete Sunday, we light the rose-colored candle, and Fr Michael will preach about joy and blessings. This is a time for us to pray and reflect on the things for which we are grateful.  On Sunday, all three purple candles along with the pink candle will be lit.

On Christmas Day all five candles are lit. We light the white candle as a celebration of Jesus’ birth.

Year 2 students go to LegoLand

Thursday 5th December was a day to remember in Year 2! We went to LegoLand in Chadstone. We visited as a part of our Forces unit in Inquiry to explore how you can use Lego to create moving objects. We went on rides, participated in a 4D cinema, raced lego cars and had some workshops to learn how gears work. Seeing forces in real life made us think about how they are all around us.

Thank you to all the staff and parents who helped us on the day. What a great ending to the year!

Claire Forbes
Year 2 Teacher

Congratulations and Thank You to the amazing Choir for their magnificent singing this year! We finished the year with 40 members which was fabulous. We have shared a year of lunch times of laughter, jokes, tears and hard work and it was beautiful to see the results of this in all performances.

They have shown dedication and maturity in attending all rehearsals, learning new songs and developing a spirit of service and giving, getting along with different age groups and using their beautiful gifts of singing to serve the people of the whole parish school community and in leading the congregation in many Masses throughout the year, special Feast Day celebrations and concerts.

It was a privilege for us to perform beautiful songs when the Archbishop Peter Comensoli came to bless the new Mercy Building. He commented on how wonderful the choir sounded, particularly the Taize chant “Bless the Lord My Soul”.

The Choir enjoyed singing Christmas Carols at the Rosanna Views Aged Care and spreading Christmas cheer with a spirit of giving for the residents who are our neighbors, even to those who were not able to come out of their beds. The students gave out little gifts of Christmas baubles and candy canes to the residents and the air was buzzing with joy.

We have had a wonderful year learning new songs and also exploring new repertoire such as “What a Wonderful World” and “Singing in the Rain”, ABBA songs, The Greatest Showman and other classics.

I thank the Choir, in particular the Choir Captain Gabriella (6AM), and senior students, for helping the younger choir members and for their encouragement, organization and enthusiasm.

I thank Gayle Carazza and parents Kim Yarwood and Meg Nicholls for all their support and supervision on our carols excursion.

Thank you to Thomas (6AM) for his gift of helping with church slides and music on lap top, Mr David Portelli for accompaniment on his guitar, and also to Ariel (6P) for enhancing Masses with her delightful Cello playing.

Thank you to Fr Michael, parishioners, and staff for your ongoing support of the important work the choir does in bringing untold blessings to the community.

We look forward to hearing the choir singing at the Year 6 Graduation Mass and End of Year Mass next week.

Enjoy a relaxing holiday ready for a new year of singing!

Rosanna Views Aged Care Choir and Band Carols

 Archbishop Peter Comensoli Blessing of the Mercy Building 

The Parents and Friends Association would sincerely like to thank our fabulous St. Martin families for their support throughout the year. This support may have been in various ways such as contributing funds to fundraising activities including snow cones days, sausage sizzles, and donut day, or attending PFA events including the Shrove Tuesday Picnic, Mother’s and Father’s Night and Gala Ball. Thank you also to those that generously gave up their time to help with the Mother’s and Father’s Day stalls, Disco and Colour Fun Run. We appreciate your ongoing support and volunteering of your time to help provide these events for our children and families.

We would like to express a big thank you to the following people for their contributions during the year:

- Sam R & Lianna S for co-ordinating our Easter Raffle

- David H & Cam W for organising a wonderful night for our Father’s Night

- Ruth S & Lisa J for the fantastic service they provide our families with the second hand uniforms

- Meg & Marita for their ongoing support and guidance over the year

- Veronica, Patsy, Mary, and Karen for their assistance. We really do appreciate all the extra work you do to help behind the scenes with our fundraising activities

- Gary & Matt for their help setting up with the Stalls, Disco and Colour Run.

- Bianca & Anna for supporting our Parent Class Representatives throughout the year and hosting the Prep Welcome Dinner in November

- A big thank you to all our Parent Class Representatives as well, your hard work in keeping classes informed, organising year level social events and gifts is much appreciated

- Ambra, Mel and Dale for organising the Mother’s Social Night and the spectacular Gala Ball

- Michelle for being our Secretary and also being involved with just about every PFA event during the year

- Carla our wonderful Treasurer

- All of our current and outgoing PFA members during the year; Michelle, Carla, Bianca, Anna, Chris, Jamile, Ambra, Mel, Dale, Sally, Liz, Louise, Kate and Belinda

- Dane, who was always supportive and who’s vision for the school was to foster community, which we have tried to carry on

- Finally we would also like to thank the community of St. Martin of Tours. In the week following Dane’s death it was our hope to support the teachers who were phenomenal in supporting the children despite their grief. We were overwhelmed by the quantity of food that was prepared with love and delivered each morning to the GECCO. The quantity was so great that we were able to package it up for the staff to take home and feed their families. Underlying Dane’s vision for the school was the opportunity to foster community. That sense of a supportive community was truly evident that week.

The Colour Run was a highlight event of the year. It was an idea suggested by Dane in November last year. We received so much positive feedback about how much fun the kids (and parents) had, and we also raised over $7,000, which is an amazing result. This puts our fundraising total for the year at over $28,000!

Fundraising money this year was used to purchase Fountas and Pinnell literacy sets to support guided reading and new furniture for the Mercy building. Funds raised from the Colour Run will be used to purchase storage facilities and equipment for the Play Pods in the new year, we look forward to this addition to the playground in both the junior and senior play spaces.

We would love to see some new members join us in 2020, if you are interested in joining the PFA or being on our Happy Helpers list, please get in touch: pfa@smrosanna.catholic.edu.au

Wishing all families, staff and the St Martin of Tours community a very Merry Christmas and a happy and safe New Year.

Kate Kelly and Belinda Pryse
Co-Presidents
St Martin of Tours School Parents and Friends Association

The items on the book list must be supplied by parents.
Please ensure each item is clearly named and ready for students to bring on the first day of school, Friday 31st January.

Rosanna Library partnership with St Martin's

Monday 2 December– Friday 31 January During Opening Hours

Banyule Storyline Treasure Hunt. Jump on the train during the summer holidays and discover our rooms full of stories! Visit Ivanhoe, Rosanna and Watsonia Libraries by train and join in the Treasure Hunt at each branch. Ages 7+ Ivanhoe, Rosanna and Watsonia Libraries

Rosanna Library Tuesday 7 January 6.00pm–7.00pm
House of Stories: The Bedroom Bring a stuffed animal friend to listen to bedtime stories and leave them to have a toy sleep over at the library. Collect them next day to hear all about their adventures.

Rosanna Library Friday 10 January 10.30am–11.30am BOOKINGS REQUIRED.
House of Stories: Floor Plan Create a floor plan then code the Spheros to zoom around it. Bookings essential. Ages 7+

Rosanna Library Monday 13 January 2.00pm–3.00pm
House of Stories: Lounge Room Make and decorate a lounge chair from a box and relax! Enjoy some stories from the Storybox Library – an online collection of fantastic books read aloud by celebrities. Parents can even find out how they can access Storybox for free from home! BYO cardboard box big enough to sit in.

Rosanna Library Wednesday 15 January 2.00pm–4.00pm BOOKING REQUIRED
House of Stories: The Second Bedroom Experience the wonder of dreamtime stories in 3D through the magic of VR and craft. Ages 7+

Rosanna Library Tuesday 21 January 2.00pm–4.00pm
NGV Kids on Tour 2020 Supported by the NGV Kids Summer Festival. NGV Kids on Tour is a National Gallery of Victoria initiative that offers children and families throughout regional and metropolitan Victoria the opportunity to engage with art through a range of free hands-on activities and workshops.
Each of our library branches has different activities from the NGV Kids on Tour including KAWS, Alexander Calder, art games and more.

A huge “Thank you” to all who have contributed to our St Vincent de Paul conference over the past year. Your response to the Winter Appeal and the current, wonderful generosity of the donations to the hampers are just so heart-warming.

We deliver toys and hampers to many families. Your gifts will be treasured by these people as most of those we visit do not have sufficient income to buy special food and Christmas presents. Be assured, we see many excited little faces when we make our deliveries and the parents really welcome the hampers. This brings home the true meaning of Christmas to us all.

Thank you for enabling this to occur and may the blessings of Christmas be with you all.

PREP 2020 FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Monday 3rd February - Prep students commence Term 1, finishing school at 1pm.

Prep parents Tea and Tissues morning 9am -10am

PREP 2020 SCHOOL DAYS AND TIMES

Monday 3rd February - Prep students commence Term 1, finishing school at 1pm.
Tuesday 4th February - Prep students finish school at 1pm.
Wednesday 5th February -NO SCHOOL for Prep Students. 
Thursday 6th February - Prep students finish school at 1pm.
Friday 7th February - Prep students finish school at 1pm.

Monday 10th February - Prep students attend school from 8.45am to 3.30pm, except for Wednesdays.
During the month of February Prep students do not attend classes on Wednesdays ie 5th February, 12th February, 19th February and 26th February, as Prep teachers conduct Prep student assessments.

Monday 2nd March - Prep students commence FULL school week days.

Visit our Event Calendar for more events and information   

PLEASE CHECK YOUR COMPASS NEWSFEED AND CALENDAR FOR CHANGES AND UPDATES TO OUR SCHOOL EVENTS

Year 1 - 6 Assessment Sessions (students attend ONLY ONE 3 hour session)
Notification of your child’s session time has been placed on COMPASS, please provide consent to confirm your child's attendance.

Wednesday 29th January (either 9am-12noon or 12.30pm-3.30pm);
OR
Thursday 30th January (either 9am-12noon or 12.30pm-3.30pm)

Friday 31st January Years 1-6 students commence formal classes

Monday 3rd February Prep students start school on 8.45am-1.00pm (half days only this week). Please click here for further information regarding Prep 2020 students

Prep Parents Tea and Tissues Morning 9am 

Tuesday 11th February Confirmation Information Evening 7pm GECCO

Saturday 15th February or Sunday 16th February Confirmation Commitment Mass

Tuesday 25th February Shrove Tuesday

Wednesday 26th February Ash Wednesday Whole School Mass 9.15am

Saturday 29th February Prep and Year 6 Buddy Family Welcome Mass 6pm

Thursday 5th March School Photo day Students to wear Summer Uniform

Monday 9th March Labour Day Public Holiday

Saturday 21st March Year 5 Weekend Mass 6pm

Thursday 26th March Parish and School Carnival

Friday 27th March Last day of Term 1

Term Dates 2020

Term 1: 29th January - 27th March

Term 2: 14th April - 26 June

Term 3: 13th July - 18th September

Term 4: 5th October - 18th December (TBC)

WEEK 9

PGR Olivia for her fabulous attempts at writing all of the letters she can hear in her writing and for being a friendly classmate.

Braxton for always being so happy and enthusiastic in all of his learning at School and for always trying his best.

PPV Kayleigh for enthusiastically sharing her surfing and gymnastics news.

PVL Evan for making great progress with his high frequency words.

Jack for excellent progress with his reading this semester. Well done!!

1B Scarlett W for always showing an enthusiasm for learning and being a kind and respectful classmate.

1LB Rafferty for being a respectful and considerate student who is always eager to help others. Fantastic effort Rafferty!

1Mc Neve for making wonderful progress on her reading this year. She has worked hard to improve her decoding and comprehension and is reading aloud clearly and confidently. Well done Neve!

2C

2CB

2F

3JT

3MT Christie for being a wonderful and supportive team member. We have loved working with you and so have the students.

4C

4TC

4ZM Noah B Greatest students of 2019

5AO Mia for being creative in writing tasks and using up-levelled vocabulary. You have listened carefully to feedback from your teachers and applied it to your writing. Keep up the super work.

5CW

5T

6AM Meg - for the creative flair she brings to designing her Graduation crest. You are amazing!

6P To everyone in 6P - for finishing up your final year at SMOT so well!

WEEK 10

PGR Thomas for always trying his best to be the best learner that he can be. Super effort!

James for giving things a go when they are challenging and for being such a happy and friendly classmate.

PPV Henry for his positive attitude towards school work and work habits.

PVL Sofia for making great progress with her letter formation and sentence structure this semester. Well done!

Lucas for always 'having a go' with a smile on his face. Great attitude, Lucas!

1B All of 1B for an amazing year of fun and learning!

1LB 1LB for such an incredible year with the most amazing class! I am so proud of each and every one of you and the effort you all put in to your learning! It has been an absolute pleasure teaching you all. Best wishes for Year Two!!

1Mc Blake: for making great fantastic progress with his presentations and participation in class this year. He has learned how to respond to questions from classmates and has really grown in his confidence. Well done Blake!

2C

2CB To all the fantastic children in 2CB who have been so friendly, caring, sharing and supportive of each other throughout the year. It has made our role as teachers a delight to be part of your lives and to watch you grow and blossom into the beautiful children you are. Continue to work hard and achieve your goals and remain good friends throughout your school life.

2F 2F if I could write a book about how wonderful you have all been this year, I wouldn't stop writing. You have been a pleasure to teach and get to know this year. You are all unique and important. The respect you show others is admirable and your eagerness to learn more keeps growing. All the best for Year 3, you are all champions!

3JT

3MT 3MT for all your hard work with your learning this year. You should be proud of your achievements. Thank you for sharing your stories, the laughter and funny moments. All the best in Year 4.

4C

4TC

4ZM 4ZMV Class for a fantastic year! 

5AO

5CW

5T

6AM Fleur and Lara - for their original and unique Inquiry Presentations on Solar Power. It was very entertaining!

6P

6W

OSHClub at St. Martin's operates from Monday-Friday 7am-9am and 3.30pm-6.15pm. 

Enrolment is free. All families must be enrolled to attend the program. Further information can be found at: www.oshclub.com.au

Please read the newsletter for information regarding next year. 

Message regarding Church maintenance works

During January we will be starting on the work required to fix and paint the leaking turret on the church roof and also to sand back and paint the spire of our church. And while we have the scaffolding erected within the church to tackle these jobs we will also renew the lighting on the wagon wheel as well as the spotlight to highlight our crucifix and the table of the Lord. Due to this work, the celebration of the Eucharist will be in the GECCO (our parish school hall) on the weekends of the 18th 19th and 25th 26th January.

CHILDREN’S CHRISTMAS MASS 2019

Rehearsal times below:
Thursday 19th Dec at 4pm
Monday 23rd Dec 10am 
Tuesday 24th Dec at 10am.

For any queries contact the Parish office 9457 4275 or email Sr. Maria Bui: Maria.Bui@cam.org.au

CARITAS AUSTRALIA ANNUAL CHRISTMAS CARD CAMPAIGN

This year you can help bring the gift of Water, Food and Sustainable livelihoods to families fighting poverty around the world. Be and angel of hope to vulnerable families around the world: buy a Global Gift this Christmas. No matter what Global gift you choose, you will be the angel the most vulnerable people in the world need to walk with them and transform their lives Order Global Gift cards online at www.globalgifts.org.au or call us on 1800 024 413

Volunteer to help Asylum Seeker with formal English

A mature asylum seeker with functional oral English needs help with formal written and spoken English. Anyone able to help especially someone with formal English would be appreciated. For further information Robyn 9459 4843

Dear Parents and Carers,

As we head into the last few weeks of school it is wonderful to see the Year 6 students enjoying the last few days with some of their school mates and soaking up the last of their primary school days. In the coming weeks the Year 6s will enjoy their ‘Big Day Out’, Graduation Mass and Graduation Dinner.

LEADERSHIP SPEECHES

As one group of leaders prepare to move on from our school, the next cohort looks to step up and be the leaders for 2020. Last week the Year 5 students delivered speeches to their level and teachers to highlight the qualities they would bring to a school leadership position. The School Captains, Vice Captains and RE Captains will formally be announced at the whole school End of Year Mass at 9.15am on Tuesday, December 17th. House Captains, Band Captains and Choir Captains will be announced at our first school Mass on Tuesday 4th February.

STAFFING UPDATE

Last week we wished Jess McGrath, our wonderful Year 1 teacher, best wishes as she started maternity leave. I’m sure you all remember, as well as I do, how exciting it is awaiting the arrival of your first child. Last week also saw Gareth Voigt, our fabulous senior music and band teacher, marry his partner Emily. Along with this happy news, we will also be saying goodbye to a number of staff members this year.

STAFF WHO WILL BE LEAVING US THIS YEAR

Marie Boland
Marie first worked at St Martin’s as a young teacher prior to having her own children. She returned to St Martin’s in 1981 and for almost 40 years! Marie has been on long service leave since the end of Term 2 and has decided that as much as she loves teaching and being with the students, living a life of leisure over the last five months has been quite enjoyable and she has decided to retire. It will certainly feel like a different school without Mrs Boland here next year. 

Elisabeth Viola
Elisabeth first started working at St Martin’s in 1996. In the 23 years that she has worked here, Lis has taught multiple year levels and has most recently been our Italian teacher. She isn’t retiring but is interested in travelling and exploring other options.

Eda Conte
Signora first started teaching at St Martin’s in 2001. During her time here she has been both an Italian teacher and classroom teacher. Eda has been on leave this year and, like Marie, has decided to continue living the good life away from the pressures of work! 

Heather Hobbs
Heather first started teaching at St Martin’s in 2004 as our Music Teacher. Heather has always been passionate about literacy and trained as a Reading Recovery Teacher and Teacher Intervention, a role that she loved. Heather has taken leave this year. During this time Heather has established a tutoring business named Expert Reading Tuition (http://www.expertreadingtuition.com.au/). Heather has decided to continue to focus on her tutoring business and will not be returning to St Martin’s. 

I know I speak for everyone when I wish them all the best in their next adventures. However my experience is that St Martin’s is one of those places that’s a bit like the Hotel California, you may be able to check out, but you can’t ever really leave! So while we’re sad that our four fabulous teachers have decided to seek greener pastures, I know that they’ll be seen around our school again, even if it’s just to pop in and have a chat. We hope that Marie, Lis, Eda and Heather will be able to join us during our end of year whole school Mass.

AN ARTIST AMONGST US

At our Community Prayer Service on Monday, Tarah from Year 4 was selected as a finalist in the 2019 Young Australian Art Awards. Her art works titled “Burst of Colour” and “Australian Bird Life” were selected as a finalist in the 2019 Young Australian Art Awards and were then chosen to receive the Gold Medal Award for being the runner-up in their respective sections.

END OF YEAR BAND PERFORMANCE

On Monday, Marita Anderson and I were serenaded by our wonderful band during their End of Year Concert. The Brass Ensemble played Rudolf, the Red-Nosed Reindeer, the Combined Band played Suo Gan, Battle of the Androids (an all time St Martin’s band favourite) and A Royal Christmas. We also have some very brave and talented musicians who gave solo or small group performances. Well done Gareth Voigt and all our instrumental teachers. You and the students should be proud!

CLASS LISTS 2020

We have worked extremely hard on the class lists and whilst we know we can’t please everyone, we believe we have done our very best. On December 16th all students will have an orientation session with their teacher for 2020.

STUDENT REPORTS

Student reports will be published on Compass on Friday 13th December at 5pm. I am sure it will be a smooth upload and I’m certainly not reading anything into the ominous date! Parents of students leaving the school must ensure they have downloaded their child’s reports before 19th December, as they will no longer have access to their child/children's information on Compass.

END OF YEAR WHOLE SCHOOL MASS

Parents are warmly invited to join us for our final whole school Mass which will be on Tuesday, 17th December at 9.15am. The school year officially finishes for Prep - Year 5 students at 1pm on Tuesday 17th December.

With all the happenings around our school, parents and carers are reminded to regularly check their Compass Newsfeed for updates and information.

We are St Martin's, and how fortunate are we to belong to such a great community!

Megan Williams
Acting Principal

What a fantastic day to hold our Annual Sports Carnival!
It was great to see the children go home with a ribbon and a big smile on their face.
Thank you to the parent volunteers who helped with the various activities and also the parents who came to support the students.
I would like to thank David Witchell and all our staff for their support today.
Congratulations to Sophie S and Lucas C who won the Boland Bolt.
House winners will be announced at the Community Prayer on Monday morning.

Advent begins this Sunday, four weeks before Christmas Day and is the season of waiting. Many of the words we pray and sing are full of desire, hope and expectation. We wait as the days get warmer and the school year draws to a close. The ‘waiting’ can help us to celebrate Advent too.

Fun Facts:

★ The origins of Advent can be traced back to the Church in France. In the 4th Century, the Church in France used the period before Epiphany as a time of preparation for baptism. It was called “St. Martin’s Lent” for the 40 days that started on November 11, the feast of St. Martin of Tours.

★ Advent as we know today was developed in Rome. Pope Gregory I in the late 6th or early 7th Century composed many of the prayers, antiphons and psalm responses. Many themes and ideas we now know can be traced to the Roman Advent season.

Representing hope and everlasting light, candles have been traditional symbols of Advent for centuries. On the four Sundays prior to Christmas, we light an Advent candle, with each candle corresponding to a story from the Bible. Advent candles may be placed in evergreen wreaths, called Advent wreaths. We light the white candle inside the wreath on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day to represent the birth of Christ.

Advent is a time of expectation and preparation for the birth of the Lord. The word “Advent” derives from the Latin word “adventus,” which means “coming,” and is associated with the four weeks of preparation for Christmas.

On the seven days before Christmas Eve the church prays special prayers of longing called “O Antiphons”. They call Jesus by seven titles and all begin with “O”.
The first Antiphon: O Wisdom, O Holy Word of God!

Dear Parents
As your child may have advised you, this is the last week of library classes. Students will need to return all books during their library lesson this week or by FRIDAY 29th November.
For those students in Years 1 - 6, books from their book box will also need to be returned on Friday. To ensure students keep up their classroom stamina reading we have encouraged them to bring along books from home, swap or share a book with a friend or make a visit to one of the fantastic libraries we have in our local area.
If you have any questions or are unsure of which books your child may have at home please feel free to pop in and see us.

Many thanks
Martine Klaic and Emma Kent

HELP NEEDED PLEASE!

Do you have an hour to spare to help us clean books in the library?

Fun fact: This year, we have loaned 33,865 books from our library to our school community. There are not many primary school libraries who could boast numbers like this and we hope to continue this fabulous engagement next year. Our students are reading more than ever and this can only be a great thing!

With so many books changing hands so frequently, we have found that some of the books are getting a little bit grubby and need a simple wipe to help them continue to be attractive to students for borrowing.

Therefore we are inviting any book lovers in to help us with the enormous task of wiping down all the books.

We will be holding two working bees and would love to see any parents/grandparents/community members who would be able to help us wipe down our collection.

Please join us on Wednesday 11th of December or Thursday 12th of December between 9am and 12pm. Come and go as you please!

Many hands make light work……...and it’s a great way to enjoy a chat with some other parents whilst helping out our school!

Thanks so much in advance,
Emma, Wendy and Martine

WHAT IS THE BIKE HUT? 

The Bike Hut operates out of Malahang Reserve West Heidelberg in a purpose built shed by the Banyule Council for local park users to fix their bikes, scooters and skate-boards. Bikes are also donated and given out to local residents to ride to school, work or for recreation. Young people are encouraged to learn bike mechanics and safe riding skills as they help fix their bikes.
The Bike Hut is run by committed volunteers with a keen interest in biking and supporting the community and is open on Thursdays from 3:30 - 5:00pm.

What can we do as a community?

If you have any unwanted bikes that you no longer need, St Martin’s school is collecting bikes to donate to the BIKE HUT. If you would like to donate a bike to this great service, please bring the bike to school on Friday 13th of December. The bikes will then be collected by the Bike Hut volunteers.

Dear families,

The St Martin’s Uniform Committee is excited to announce additional items will be available for order in 2020.

The committee, made up of parents and carers from our school, conducted a review of the current wardrobe options with the intention of:
- encouraging all students to be active and move freely without restriction throughout the school day
- allowing students to choose wardrobe options which they feel comfortable wearing
- maintaining an overall ‘St Martin’s look’

The additions to the uniform are welcome options, enabling students to be active and confident while respecting, acknowledging and celebrating our togetherness through our wardrobe. 

All current wardrobe options will remain with the exception of a few items (detailed below). These will be phased out over a three year transition period ending in 2022.

With this in mind, the following options have been added to the SMOT wardrobe:

Short Sleeve Blouse (Peter Pan collar)
Navy Skort
Navy Tailored Shorts
Navy Elastic Shorts (to replace grey shorts over a 3-year transition period)
Navy Long Pants with reinforced knee (to replace grey trouser over a 3-year transition period)

Blue socks with red stripe (to replace grey socks) and worn with all wardrobe options, however; white socks will remain for the short sleeve dress sports socks will remain on sports days.

Rain jacket with inner fleece

Red and Navy Long Sleeve Sports Polo (to replace long sleeve red sports polo)

We trust new and existing families will welcome this wardrobe update and will embrace our new look!

Please click here for the Academy Uniforms price list.

    

Term 4 Religious Education Dates

December
★ 16th - Year 6 Graduation Mass at 11am
★ 17th - End of Year Mass at 9.15am

SACRAMENTAL DATES 2020

Please note further information regarding the Sacrament Program will be provided in 2020.

Confirmation

★Saturday 2nd May (11:00am and 1:30pm)

First Eucharist

★Saturday 8th August 
★Sunday 9th August
★Saturday 15th August
★Sunday 16th August

First Reconciliation

★Tuesday 13th October
★Tuesday 20th October
★Tuesday 27th October

PREP 2020 FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Monday 3rd February - Prep students commence Term 1, finishing school at 1pm.

Prep parents Tea and Tissues morning 9am -10am

PREP 2020 SCHOOL DAYS AND TIMES

Monday 3rd February - Prep students commence Term 1, finishing school at 1pm.
Tuesday 4th February - Prep students finish school at 1pm.
Wednesday 5th February -NO SCHOOL for Prep Students. 
Thursday 6th February - Prep students finish school at 1pm.
Friday 7th February - Prep students finish school at 1pm.

Monday 10th February - Prep students attend school from 8.45am to 3.30pm, except for Wednesdays.
During the month of February Prep students do not attend classes on Wednesdays ie 5th February, 12th February, 19th February and 26th February, as Prep teachers conduct Prep student assessments.

Monday 2nd March - Prep students commence FULL school week days.

Thank you to the families who have returned their payment plans.

Payment plans must be completed each year. 

The options are fortnightly (20 payments) or monthly (10 payments) for direct debit from a bank account.
For credit cards, monthly payments are the only option.

The amounts on the table for payment plans do not include camp.
On receipt of the payment plans, if camps are to be included, the amount for camp will be added to the base amounts shown in the table.

Please supply email address and your mobile number. You will receive an email with confirmation of payment details.

Completed forms must be sent to the office in the envelope provided as soon as possible.

If you have any queries please email me marym@smrosanna.catholic.edu.au

Mary Milione
Bursar

WEEK 7

PGR Micah for being enthusiastic towards his learning and for always trying his best.

Mia for sharing her interesting ideas and thoughts during discussions and for accepting new challenges in her learning.

Jack for having a go at stretching out new words in his reading and writing and for making good choices when working in the classroom.

PPV Harry for working so hard on his reading and writing this year. Well done Harry!

PVL Sachin for being a pleasant and caring classmate in Prep VL.

Ethan for being a kind and respectful member of Prep VL.

1B Ava for always being focused and using expression when reading aloud.

1LB Mikaela S for showing fabulous improvement in both Reading and Writing. Mikaela has grown in confidence in her learning ability and consistently tries her best in each learning task. Amazing work Mikaela!

1Mc Madeleine for making wonderful progress on her reading strategies this year. Well done Madeleine! You should be very proud of yourself.

2C

2CB Edie for the positive approach she displays in class and the continued improvement she has shown in her school work. Also the friendly and caring attitude she demonstrates towards others in our class.

2F Joshua H for always bringing a smile to the faces of your peers. You always know how to help people enjoy their day. Keep smiling!

3JT Lachlan for an engaging comic strip of the Wedding at Cana.

3MT Anika for all her efforts and hard work in Reading and Mathematics as she has made amazing gains to her learning this semester.

4C 4C for getting into the spirit of Spirit Week!

4TC

4ZM Jamie S greatest students of 2019!

5AO Maya K for her persistence during challenging Math tasks. Maya you have shown you have a growth mindset towards Math and have pushed yourself when faced with challenges.

5CW

5T

6AM Kayla for her amazing efforts in Maths converting between Fractions, decimals and percentages. You are a champion! 6P Madison for showing great progress in her presentation skills.

6W

WEEK 8

PGR Ana for her fabulous efforts in her reading this term and for being a kind and friendly classmate.

Blake for working hard at trying to remember to use spaces in his writing and for always being a super listener.

Daisy for using lots of detail in her writing to make it interesting for the reader to enjoy and for being so enthusiastic towards her learning.

PPV Grace for always working to the best of her ability and completing neat and well presented work.

PVL Jonty for always being respectful and using his beautiful manners at all times.

Valentina for making great progress with her writing and hearing sounds in words. Well done!

1B Leo for always being encouraging toward others and for working hard to be a great listener during class time.

1LB Mia for working hard to improve the standard of her writing by adding more detail and presenting her work in a neat and clear manner. Fantastic effort Mia and keep up the hard work!

1Mc Jemima for working so hard on improving her handwriting and numbers this year. She has made amazing progress with her writing. She should be very proud of her achievements. Congratulations Jem!

2C

2CB Lucas for always applying himself well in maths to complete challenges. Also for the correct choices he has made in class and the positive effect this has had on himself and others. Well done Lucas!

2F

3JT Tommy for his effort with the drawing for his comic strip on the Annunciation.

3MT Ms. Tieppo for being an important member of 3MT and for sharing her knowledge, stories and sense of humour with the class.

4C

4TC

4ZM Xavier C Greatest students of 2019

5AO

5CW

5T

6AM Thomas and Alessia for their amazing explanations on renewable energy sources for their Inquiry Research Projects. It was informative and well written. Well done!

6P Jessica for her engaging Inquiry presentation!

6W

Visit our Event Calendar for more events and information   

Friday 29th November
★ St Martin's Carnival Sports Day

Monday 2nd December
★ PGR and PPV Class Mass

Thursday 5th December
★ Year 2 Excursion

Friday 6th December
★ Year 6 BIG DAY OUT

Monday 9th December
★ Parent Helper Morning Tea GECCO 11.10am-11.50am

Thursday 12th December
★ Carols Night

Monday 16th December 
★ Year 6 Graduation Mass 11am
★ Year 6 Students only Finish at 1pm
★ Change Over Day Prep - Year 5 students at 2pm
★ Year 6 Graduation Dinner 6.30pm 

Tuesday 17th December
★ Last day of Term 4 
★ End of Year Whole School Mass 9.15am
★ Students (Prep-Year 5) Dismissed at 1pm

PLEASE CHECK YOUR COMPASS NEWSFEED AND CALENDAR FOR CHANGES AND UPDATES TO OUR SCHOOL EVENTS

OSHClub at St. Martin's operates from Monday-Friday 7am-9am and 3.30pm-6.15pm. 

Enrolment is free. All families must be enrolled to attend the program. Further information can be found at: www.oshclub.com.au

Please read the newsletter for activity information. 

Message from Fr. Michael

Reflection on the Official Opening/Blessing of the Mercy Building.

It went well...and we named most of the people who contributed to this great learning facility. It was also fitting that the architects, builders and overseers of the building project could come and see how the Mercy Building is now being utilized. And they were visibly touched. “This is why we do our job,” said the 2 architects, “so that children can benefit from such a great building for the next 40 or 50 years!”

Reflecting on the day I felt that we appropriately honoured Mr Dane Malone, our former Principal, who put so much of his energy and drive into the project. However, it’s also important to say a big thanks, a huge thanks to Megan Williams our Acting Principal, Marita Anderson our Deputy Principal and the Leadership Team of our Parish School for how they have CONTINUED to operate the Mercy Building and indeed our whole Parish School in the spirit of Mr Dane Malone.

St Martin of Tours Youth Group - ACYF Fundraiser

1st of December we will be holding a Bake Sale after 10am Mass to raise funds for our trip to Perth for the ACYF in December.
If any members of St Martin’s school community would like to aid in our bake sale, any donations of desserts and baked goods for the fundraiser with a list of their ingredients would be greatly appreciated.

PARISH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING—SUNDAY 8th DECEMBER 2019 11.15 am in the GECCO.

Please note this date. Our Annual General Meeting will be held in the GECCO (school hall) on Sunday 8th December. All parishioners are encouraged to attend. All parish groups are invited to present a report at the AGM. This report can be a written or oral presentation on your group’s activities. Written reports should be no more than 250 words (half a page) while any presentation at the AGM should be 5 minutes or less. If you wish to present a report on the activities of a parish group, please contact or send your report to the Parish office by Wednesday 4th December 2019.

CHILDREN’S CHRISTMAS MASS 2019

SMOT Liturgy Team is calling for children to perform in the Christmas gospel play at 5pm during the Christmas Eve Mass on 24th December 2019 here at St Martin of Tours Church.
We need shepherds, wise men, a drummer boy, angels, singers from the school choir, speaker for prayers of faithful and more...All costumes provided. Parent helpers are also required to assist with rehearsals and at the 5pm. This is a great opportunity for parents and children to be involved in their school parish and help bring the Christmas story to life! Please email Sr Maria at Maria.Bui@cam.org.au or call the Parish Office on 9457 4275

Catholic Theological College 2020 Study Options Now Available!

Graduate Certificate in Teaching Meditation:
Meditation in the Christian Tradition; Applied Meditation; Meditation and Wholeness Audit and Credit options available Contact the Academic Records Office for enrolment information and appointments. 03 9412 3309 – AssistantDean@ctc.edu.au – 278 Vitoria Parade, East Melbourne ctc@ctc.edu.au

Dear Parents and Carers,

What a great two weeks we’ve had!

I think we all enjoyed the long weekend. Term 4 is a crazy term and that four days gives everyone’s batteries a bit of a charge.

Spirit of St Martin’s Week

The short Melbourne Cup week was followed by our inaugural Spirit of St Martin’s Week. This is the third school I’ve taught at that held a Spirit Week and we definitely embraced it. It is a great circuit breaker for everyone at what is often a hectic time of the year. A time to remember why we love our school and how lucky we all are to have such a great community around us. It’s a time to celebrate and have a bit of fun! Our student leaders were excited about the concept and came up with some great ideas to add to the fun of the week.

We started Spirit of St Martin’s Week with our annual Feast Day Mass on Monday morning. Marita Anderson put together a beautiful celebration in honour of St Martin and our choir sang beautifully. We also took this time to remember our veterans, our fallen soldiers and the wars that have gone before us and to pray they will never happen again. Gabby (4TC) was exceptional as she played The Last Post and Rouse on her trumpet to finish off our moving Remembrance Day reflection.

The day continued with an enthusiastic sing-along in the GECCO at lunchtime. Not sure I’d say it was up to our choir’s standard but there certainly was a lot of enthusiasm! Tuesday saw lots of famous characters around the school along with some wacky races on the oval. Wednesday brought some interesting hair styles and a students vs teachers Netball game and by Thursday everyone was ready for a pyjama day!

Which brings us to the day to beat all days, Friday and the inaugural St Martin’s Colour Run! I’m not sure who had the most fun. Along with a lot of very happy children, seemed to be a lot of ‘older’ kids having just as much fun! A HUGE thank you to Michelle, Kate and Belinda for organising such a fantastic day for our students and also a big thank you to our parent volunteers on the day. The day couldn’t have happened without all your hard work.

Another HUGE thank you goes to Bianca and Anna for organising the Prep Welcome Dinner on Friday night. I’m sure you all remember your welcome dinners fondly. I was unable to attend but Marita Anderson tells me everyone had a great night and our new families were given a wonderful welcome to our great school community.

What’s been happening?

Even with two weeks as big as these, we also had other events on around the school:

● The preps went to the Preston Market

● 5CW celebrated their Class Mass

● 2020 preps had their 1st and 2nd transition days to school

● Year 6 parents and students were invited to a talk on ‘Puberty and Adolescence’

● 5T celebrated their Class Mass

● Combined Band performed at the Victorian School Music Festival

● Year 6 had an incursion from Metro trains’

● The Mercy building Blessing and Official Opening

Year 6 Puberty and Adolescence Night

Jamie Atherton, our Wellbeing Leader, organised for an opportunity for our year 6 parents to bring their children to an information evening about puberty and adolescence. Kate Wilde was our presenter and she had the crowd in fits of laughter, removing any discomfort surrounding the potentially awkward discussion. I think we agreed by the end of the night that everybody smells, teenagers need to shower, wear deodorant and change their clothes regularly and that both boys’ and girls’ bodies do things which are natural but they can’t control! Next year we are planning on puberty and adolescence being incorporated into parts of the curriculum for year 5 and 6 with Kate returning to run an information session for parents prior to the units, take the students for some more in-depth lessons and having a student-parent session at the conclusion. More information regarding this will be provided next year.

Yes, it has been another big fortnight at St Martin’s!

With only a month of school left this year and lots of events planned, parents and carers are reminded to regularly check their Compass Newsfeed for updates and information.

We are St Martin's, and how fortunate are we to belong to such a great community!

Megan Williams
Acting Principal

Today we were joined by Archbishop Peter Comensoli, Sherry Balcombe (Aboriginal Catholic Ministry Victoria), Anthony Carbines MP (MLA for Ivanhoe), Tom Melican (Banyule City Councilor) along with Maureen Malone, Dane’s wife, our architects from Smith and Tracey, representatives from Rayset, our builders, parishioners, parents and many others to officially open and bless our new Mercy Building.

Archbishop Peter lead the ceremony, walking with everyone through the building blessing each room and commenting on what a great learning space we have.

The Mercy Building is officially dedicated to the memory of Mr Dane Malone, and his vision for our new learning space. In true Dane style, however, I think he wanted to have a bit of a laugh with us as his plaque was lost in the mail and we had to create a temporary one for the day. Australia Post assures us they know where it is and it will be here in the next few days!

Both plaques will be mounted onto the new building near the main doors leading into the building.

A time to remember why we love our school and how lucky we all are to have such a great community around us!

On Wednesday the Preps visited the Preston Market. They had a wonderful day seeing all the many different plants and animals that we can buy from the market and eat as food on our table. They also enjoyed a pizza lunch at the local pizza shop. Yum! Yum!

On Thursday 7th of November, our Combined Band performed at the Victorian School Music Festival held at Hawthorn Arts Centre.
The VSMF invites school bands and orchestras to perform in some of Victoria’s premier performing spaces and the opportunity to work with leading music educators.
This was the first time a St Martin of Tours group has participated and were given very positive feedback from the adjudicators.

A huge congratulations to our Combined Band for their wonderful performance! We are all so proud of the work you have put in over the weeks and how well you played. Also, a big thank you to the parents who came to be part of the audience and support the band.

We welcome the St Martin of Tours community to our annual End of Year Music Concert on the 25th November, held at Marcellin College theatre at 7pm. For more details, contact band@smrosanna.catholic.edu.au

Dear families,

The St Martin’s Uniform Committee is excited to announce additional items will be available for order in 2020.

The committee, made up of parents and carers from our school, conducted a review of the current wardrobe options with the intention of:
- encouraging all students to be active and move freely without restriction throughout the school day
- allowing students to choose wardrobe options which they feel comfortable wearing
- maintaining an overall ‘St Martin’s look’

The additions to the uniform are welcome options, enabling students to be active and confident while respecting, acknowledging and celebrating our togetherness through our wardrobe. 

All current wardrobe options will remain with the exception of a few items (detailed below). These will be phased out over a three year transition period ending in 2022.

With this in mind, the following options have been added to the SMOT wardrobe and are available for viewing in the GECCO:

Short Sleeve Blouse (Peter Pan collar)
Navy Skort
Navy Tailored Shorts
Navy Elastic Shorts (to replace grey shorts over a 3-year transition period)
Navy Long Pants with reinforced knee (to replace grey trouser over a 3-year transition period)

Blue socks with red stripe (to replace grey socks) and worn with all wardrobe options, however; white socks will remain for the short sleeve dress sports socks will remain on sports days.

Rain jacket with inner fleece

Red and Navy Long Sleeve Sports Polo (to replace long sleeve red sports polo)

We trust new and existing families will welcome this wardrobe update and will embrace our new look!

Please click here for the Academy Uniforms price list.

    

We are so proud to announce that the Premiers’ Reading Challenge was another amazing success again this year.

125 Students completed the challenge.

A huge thank you to all the families who encouraged and supported their children to read so many wonderful books. It is a great achievement and will definitely have opened a magical window into the beautiful books we have in our library and beyond.

To celebrate this achievement, students were be presented with their certificates on Tuesday 19th November. The Member for Ivanhoe, Anthony Carbines congratulated them and read a special story to the students in the library.

Congratulations to all of our Premiers’ Reading Challenge Participants, we are so proud of you!

Thank you all so much for your contributions to the Woolworths Earn and Learn program for 2019. We were very successful with our collection and were able to buy fantastic sets of Science and Digital Technology equipment which will be used in the classrooms as well as in S.T.E.M lessons.
 
This has truly been a great opportunity for our school as we are able to be exposed to resources that we may not have known existed. I thank you for contributing to this fantastic program and look forward to showcasing some of the wonderful work students will be doing with these newfound technologies and resources.

Brendan Ooi
S.T.E.M Teacher

Term 4 Religious Education Dates

December
★ 16th - Year 6 Graduation Mass at 11am
★ 17th - End of Year Mass at 9.15am

SACRAMENTAL DATES 2020

Please note further information regarding the Sacrament Program will be provided in 2020.

Confirmation

★Saturday 2nd May (11:00am and 1:30pm)

First Eucharist

★Saturday 8th August 
★Sunday 9th August
★Saturday 15th August
★Sunday 16th August

First Reconciliation

★Tuesday 13th October
★Tuesday 20th October
★Tuesday 27th October

PREP 2020 FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Monday 3rd February - Prep students commence Term 1, finishing school at 1pm.

Prep parents Tea and Tissues morning 9am -10am

PREP 2020 SCHOOL DAYS AND TIMES

Monday 3rd February - Prep students commence Term 1, finishing school at 1pm.
Tuesday 4th February - Prep students finish school at 1pm.
Wednesday 5th February -NO SCHOOL for Prep Students. 
Thursday 6th February - Prep students finish school at 1pm.
Friday 7th February - Prep students finish school at 1pm.

Monday 10th February - Prep students attend school from 8.45am to 3.30pm, except for Wednesdays.
During the month of February Prep students do not attend classes on Wednesdays ie 5th February, 12th February, 19th February and 26th February, as Prep teachers conduct Prep student assessments.

Monday 2nd March - Prep students commence FULL school week days.

Thank you to the families who have returned their payment plans.

Payment plans must be completed each year. 

The options are fortnightly (20 payments) or monthly (10 payments) for direct debit from a bank account.
For credit cards, monthly payments are the only option.

The amounts on the table for payment plans do not include camp.
On receipt of the payment plans, if camps are to be included, the amount for camp will be added to the base amounts shown in the table.

Please supply email address and your mobile number. You will receive an email with confirmation of payment details.

Completed forms must be sent to the office in the envelope provided as soon as possible.

If you have any queries please email me marym@smrosanna.catholic.edu.au

Mary Milione
Bursar

WEEK 5

PGR

PPV Jack for being a great independent worker. Keep it up Jack!

PVL Jonah for always using his beautiful manners in the classroom. Well done, Jonah!
      Xavier for always remembering his manners in the classroom and on the yard. Well done, Xavier!

1B Jack D for always being a respectful and responsible student, and for always trying his best when completing tasks

1LB Sophie G for moving outside of her comfort zone in Maths by challenging herself and applying new strategies to her learning. Keep up the great work Sophie!

1Mc Loukas for being such a sweet and caring member of 1Mc. Loukas looks after his classmates and prays for them during our class prayer time. Thank you Loukas!

2C

2CB Evie for the great effort she puts into all subject areas and further improvement she has shown throughout the semester. Also for the respect she shows to others.

2F Ollie L for working hard in writing this year and making a huge improvement! What a star!
    Maisie F for being a respectful learner who works so well with others and is constantly trying to improve in writing. Fantastic.

3JT Asha P for her detailed poster on 'Liquids' when learning about The States of Matter.

3MT Chloe for working hard in reading and writing and making some amazing improvements this year. You should be very proud!

4C

4TC

4ZM Greatest students of 2019. This award is presented to Lena for developing such productive work habits and always showing a positive demeanour in class as this demonstrates good modelling for other students.

5AO

5CW

5T

6AM 6AM for all the efforts, persistence and determination you bring to your school work. What an exciting term this is - your final term of Primary School!

6P Antonio for his focus and effort in maths problem-solving sessions.

6W

WEEK 6

PGR  

PPV Zoe for being a fabulous class member who is hard working and interested in her learning.

PVL Chiara for always being a kind and caring member of Prep VL. 
       Juliet for being a good friend to others in Prep VL.

1B Amelia for working so hard to use expression when reading, and for always demonstrating respectful and responsible behaviour 

1LB Emma for showing persistence and determination with her personal learning goal to improve the overall standard of her writing by regularly seeking feedback and applying it. Amazing effort Emma!   

1Mc Harley for thinking outside of the box. Harley's ideas and perspectives are original and unique, which helps to make our learning time even more fun!

2C

2CB Felix for his enjoyment in his learning in all areas of the curriculum. Also for being a great friend to others in the class and assisting anyone who needs help, particularly with technology. 

2F Nicholas C for his hard work both at home and school to continue improving his learning with a smile on his face! You are doing amazing things! 
      Lillian M for your kindness and care for others. You always pray for those around you during prayer and are always wanting to share love around you. What a great role model you are for others!

3JT Maxwell S for his detailed poster on 'Gases' when learning about The States of Matter.

3MT Nahla for always wanting to learn and do work at home and at school. Outstanding attitude to her learning.

4C

4TC

4ZM

5AO

5CW

5T

6AM Michael for an amazing week of applying himself to all set tasks. You have worked with such focus and dedication and managed your time to complete tasks. Keep it up! 

6P Sienna for the excellent effort she always puts into her book club work

6W

Visit our Event Calendar for more events and information   

Tuesday 19th November
★ Blessing of the Mercy Building

Thursday 21st November
★ Prep 2020 Transition Morning (3 of 3) 

Monday 25th November
★ Band End of Year Music Concert -Marcellin College 7pm

Thursday 28th November
★ Choir and selected Band students- Christmas Concert at Rosanna Views Aged Care

Friday 29th November
★ St Martin's Carnival Sports Day

Monday 2nd December
★ PGR and PPV Class Mass

Thursday 5th December*
★ Year 2 Excursion

Friday 6th December
★ Year 6 BIG DAY OUT

Monday 9th December
★ Parent Helper Morning Tea GECCO 11.10am-11.50am

Thursday 12th December
★ Carols Night

Monday 16th December 
★ Year 6 Graduation Mass 11am
★ Year 6 Students only Finish at 1pm
★ Change Over Day Prep - Year 5 students at 2pm
★ Year 6 Graduation Dinner 6.30pm 

Tuesday 17th December
★ Last day of Term 4 
★ End of Year Whole School Mass 9.15am
★ Students Dismissed at 1pm

*Change of date

PLEASE CHECK YOUR COMPASS NEWSFEED AND CALENDAR FOR CHANGES AND UPDATES TO OUR SCHOOL EVENTS

OSHClub at St. Martin's operates from Monday-Friday 7am-9am and 3.30pm-6.15pm. 

Enrolment is free. All families must be enrolled to attend the program. Further information can be found at: www.oshclub.com.au

Please read the newsletter for activity information. 

St Martin of Tours Youth Group - ACYF Fundraiser

Over the next 3 weeks the Youth will be holding a Sausage sizzle and Bake Sale to help raise money for our trip to the ACYF in Perth. We will be holding a Sausage Sizzle on the 24th of November after 10am Mass on Sunday just outside the Church, and on the Sunday following on the 1st of December we will be holding a Bake Sale after 10am Mass as well. If any members of St Martin’s school community would like to aid in our bake sale, any donations of desserts and baked goods for the fundraiser with a list of their ingredients would be greatly appreciated.

Dear Friends,
You are warmly invited to attend Mass next Wednesday – 20th November 2019 at 12 noon in the St. Mary MacKillop of the Cross Chapel at Australian Catholic University, 8 Brunswick St, Fitzroy
This Mass is to pray for Persecuted Christians around the world.
There is a flyer in the front foyer of the church for further information.
RSVP not essential but gratefully received.

Message from the Archbishop

St Vincent de Paul are on the ground throughout our communities providing support in those life-giving ways that people need in times of disaster and tragedy. May I encourage our people of Melbourne and beyond to support the Vinnies Bushfire Appeal through www.vinnies.org.au

PARISH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING—SUNDAY 8th DECEMBER 2019 11.15 am in the GECCO.

Please note this date. Our Annual General Meeting will be held in the GECCO (school hall) on Sunday 8th December. All parishioners are encouraged to attend. All parish groups are invited to present a report at the AGM. This report can be a written or oral presentation on your group’s activities. Written reports should be no more than 250 words (half a page) while any presentation at the AGM should be 5 minutes or less. If you wish to present a report on the activities of a parish group, please contact or send your report to the Parish office by Wednesday 4th December 2019.

Dear Parents and Carers, Term 4 has always been my favourite term. I think there’s something about the frantic nature of the finishing up of one year and beginning to plan for the new one that has always appealed to me. This year is proving no different!

Here’s a summary of what we’ve been up to over the last two weeks.

● 5AO Class Mass
● 3JT received the Sacrament of Reconciliation
● Year 4 excursion to Western Treatment Plant
● Prep students celebrated Grandparents Day
● 33 Lucky students attended the YABBA awards
● 6AM Class Mass
● Dental Health Van visited the school
● PVL Class Mass
● Tours Students celebrated their Term 3 win with a Casual Clothes Day
● St Martin’s hosted a Junior Chess Tournament
● All Saints Day Years 3-6 School Mass

And here’s a summary of what we’ve got coming up between now and the final bell! Please remember to check Compass regularly to make sure you keep up-to-date with all the events coming up. There certainly is a lot and I’m sure you don’t miss out on anything!

SPIRIT OF ST MARTIN’S WEEK

We will start our Spirit of St Martin’s Week with our Feast Day Whole School Mass on Monday 11th November at 9:15am. Our week will finish with our PFA organised Whole School Colour Run on the afternoon of Friday 15th November. Our school leaders are busy organising other events for the week to make it a fun week for everyone. More details will follow.

BLESSING AND OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE MERCY BUILDING

On Tuesday 19th November, our whole community is invited to attend the Blessing and Official Opening of The Mercy Building. Archbishop Peter Comensoli will be performing the Blessing and together he, and Anthony Carbines, MLA for Ivanhoe, will formally open the building. We ask everyone planning on attending to be on bottom yard by 9:45am for a 10am start. Please click here for invite details.

ST MARTIN’S ANNUAL SPORTS CARNIVAL

On Friday 29th November we will be holding our Annual Sports Carnival. This year it will be held at the Beverley Road Oval, Beverley Road, Heidelberg. Activities will take place between 12pm and 3.30pm. Please note students will be dismissed from Beverley Road Oval. If you are unable to collect your child/ children please notify the school via the Compass event.

CAROLS NIGHT - SAVE THE DATE

This year’s Carols Night will be on Thursday 12th December. More details will follow.

PARENTS & FRIENDS ASSOCIATION

I would like to acknowledge the efforts of all members of the PFA this year. Please note the PFA will hold a SGM (Special General Meeting) on 19th November at 7pm followed by their AGM at 7.30pm. Information has been placed on Compass and can be accessed via the PFA website 

KEY DATES FOR YEAR 6 STUDENTS

4th December - All Chromebooks, chargers and cases to be returned to school for inspection

6th December - Year 6 Big Day Out

10th December - All Chromebooks, chargers and cases collected

16th December - Year 6 Graduation Mass 11am

                        Year 6 students farewelled by the school 1pm  

                        Year 6 Graduation Dinner

PREP 2020

Prep Teachers for 2020 will again be Lisa Philp and Donna Vincent, Leslie van Loggerenberg, and Andrea Getson and Dinesha Rajasingam. During the month of November, we shall be conducting our Prep Transition (Orientation) sessions and on Friday 15th November we will have the Prep 2020 Parent Welcome Dinner in the COMMUNITY CENTRE. This will be a great opportunity for parents to get to know one another in readiness for the next 7 years that they will share.

Prep 2020 information letters have been sent home to all our Prep families. Please read Prep 2020 News for a brief summary of dates to mark on your calendar.

2020 KEY DATES

Important School Dates for Term 1

29th and 30th January Year 1-6 Testing Days: students will be allocated a 3 hour block on one of these days
Please note further information regarding testing dates and times will be provided later in the term.

31st January Year 1-6 Classes commence

3rd February Prep students start (half days)

4th February Beginning of the Year Whole School Mass 9:15am

26th February Ash Wednesday Whole School Mass 9:15am

29th February Prep and Year 6 Buddy Family Mass 6pm

5th March School Photos (all students to wear summer uniform)

26th March Parish/School Carnival

27th March End of Term 1

SACRAMENTAL DATES

Please note further information regarding the Sacrament Program will be provided in 2020.

Confirmation
Saturday 2nd May (11:00am and 1:30pm)

First Eucharist
Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th August
Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th August

First Reconciliation
Tuesday 13th October
Tuesday 20th October
Tuesday 27th October

SCHOOL CAMPS

Please note further information regarding the school camps will be provided in 2020.
Year 6 Camp - 27th - 29th July
Year 5 Camp - 29th - 31st July
Year 4 Camp - City Experience - 13th - 14th October

With all the happenings around our school, parents and carers are reminded to regularly check their Compass Newsfeed for updates and information.

We are St Martin's, and how fortunate are we to belong to such a great community!

Megan Williams
Acting Principal

On Tuesday 19th November, our whole community is invited to attend the Blessing and Official Opening of The Mercy Building. Archbishop Peter Comensoli will be performing the Blessing and together he, and Anthony Carbines, MLA for Ivanhoe, will formally open the building. We ask everyone planning on attending to be on bottom yard by 9:45am for a 10am start.

3JT Reconciliation

On Tuesday 22nd October, the 3JT students celebrated their First Reconciliation. The beautiful service was celebrated with the help of Father Michael and Father Lenin. We thank them both for their patient and kind manner with the students.

The service was linked closely to the scripture story of The Lost Coin. The students responded enthusiastically to this gospel story through an ‘echo mime’.

The parents and families were also very supportive and made the night special for their children.

The Year 3 teachers would like to thank Marita Anderson and the many staff members that came along to support the students too.

We have had two fantastic lunchtime wellbeing sessions in the library. Last week we talked about having an attitude of GRATITUDE. Actively practicing gratitude for both children and adults can have a huge positive impact on both our brain and our lives. Gratitude has the power to shift our focus from what is lacking in our life or what is going wrong to the abundance that is already present. We have so much to be thankful for if we take time to notice, and it’s often the little things! Do you practice gratitude? There are so many ways we can do this. Sharing something everyone is grateful for around the dinner table, starting a gratitude journal or jar as well as many apps to record or photograph things you are grateful for. If you are stuck for ideas here is a great prompt for you and your family…

What are you grateful for that your body can do?

Who are you grateful for in your life and why?

What are you grateful for about school?

What part of your day are you grateful for?

What sounds are you grateful for?

What talent do you have that you are grateful for?

What beautiful things that you can see are you grateful for?

What are you grateful for about Spring?

What lesson are you grateful for?

SPRINKLING SOME KINDNESS

This week we spread some kindness and students wrote kindness/thank you notes to others. When we do this it not only fills up the receivers bucket but ours too! We also did the 10 mindful movements, which focuses on breath and movement in a fun way. Perhaps there is someone you could reach out and thank, it’s the little things that often mean so much!

On Wednesday, the 23rd of October there was great excitement at school because it was Grandparents Day! The Preps invited their grandparents to visit them at school and they were very proud to introduce their grandparents to their teachers and to show them around the school. We told them why we loved them so much, sang songs and ate lots of party food. It was a great day!!!

When we began studying the Young Australian Best Book Awards way back in Term 1, the vision was to culminate this learning with an opportunity to win a Golden Ticket to the award ceremony at Camberwell Girls Grammar. On Tuesday 33 lucky ticket holders went with Mrs Kent and myself to enjoy this wonderful celebration of reading. We had the most special day watching the ceremony and meeting many famous authors and illustrators. We even ran into Miss Yoemans and the students very much enjoyed seeing her again. Thanks so much to Kate Kelly and Sarah McDougall for accompanying us on the day. We all had a really fabulous time.

The winning books for each category were:
Picture Book: Seriously, Do Not Open This Book by Andy Lee and Heath McKenzie
Fiction for Younger Readers: The Bad Guys Do-You-Think-He-Saurus by Andy Blaby
Fiction for Older Readers: The 104 Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton
Fiction for Years 7-9: Maybe by Morris Gleitzman

Yabba Awards Recollection -By Natasha B

It was finally the day of the Yabba award ceremony. Thirty three lucky students got to leave school and go to Camberwell Girls Grammar. When we arrived we were welcomed and seated in the auditorium. We started the award ceremony with a good laugh and got to know a thing or two about the authors and illustrators. We played a few games and Noah J was lucky enough to be chosen to participate in an illustrating activity on the stage.

Eventually we went out and had some morning tea and a little run around. When we were finished we entered the Camberwell Girls Grammar gymnasium and received a card that we could use to be signed by some of our favourite authors. We were also allowed to bring some books and get them signed as well. There were raffles and giveaways. Lily A and some other SMOT students won a book.

I would like to say thank you to all of the organisers, parents and especially Mrs Klaic and Mrs Kent for making this day happen.

On the 23rd of October the Year Fours travelled to the Werribee Sewage Treatment Facility. The purpose of this excursion was to learn about how the treatment plant worked and the technology that is used in the process of the treatment of water.

All the students got the opportunity to travel on a guided bus tour of the facility. We learnt that there are 10 stages in which the water is treated and witnessed the 10 ponds that are used. We learnt that some of the water is released back into waterways after being treated and that some is further treated so that it can be reused in public gardens, for irrigation of crops, for flushing of toilets and some people even use it in their gardens. Furthermore, the Sewage Treatment Plant provides bird life with another habitat and they travel to it when water is scarce in other habitats. Talk about sustainability!

While students waited for their turn on the bus, the lovely education staff instructed students to create their own LEGO town. The students then explored how to make their town more water friendly as well as learn how to stop water wastage. The students learned many ways to help combat climate change and water wastage. Some of the ways discussed were having porous surfaces rather than concrete, collecting water in water tanks that can be reused and having more plants and grass areas in our community.

Everyone enjoyed the trip and came back with a great deal of knowledge about our precious water.

The students and staff at St Martin of Tours would like to extend their thanks to the St Martin of Tours community for supporting the fundraising efforts of the Parents and Friends Association.

With money generously donated, we have been able to purchase some beautiful furniture for our new building. This furniture offers students some choice about where they may wish to sit when learning, allowing them to be comfortable as they use each learning space.

We also purchased some beautiful new guided reading sets. These sets ensure teachers are able to target students precisely at their point of need when explicitly teaching reading.

Thanks so much to our wonderful community and to the very hard workers on the PFA. We are so grateful.

PREP 2020 FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Monday 3rd February - Prep students commence Term 1, finishing school at 1pm.

Prep parents Tea and Tissues morning 9am -10am

PREP 2020 SCHOOL DAYS AND TIMES

Monday 3rd February - Prep students commence Term 1, finishing school at 1pm.
Tuesday 4th February - Prep students finish school at 1pm.
Wednesday 5th February -NO SCHOOL for Prep Students. 
Thursday 6th February - Prep students finish school at 1pm.
Friday 7th February - Prep students finish school at 1pm.

Monday 10th February - Prep students attend school from 8.45am to 3.30pm, except for Wednesdays.
During the month of February Prep students do not attend classes on Wednesdays ie 5th February, 12th February, 19th February and 26th February, as Prep teachers conduct Prep student assessments.

Monday 2nd March - Prep students commence FULL school week days.

Term 4 Religious Education Dates

November
★ 1st - All Saints Mass at 9.15am
★ 11th - St Martin of Tours Feast Day Mass at 9.15am

December
★ 16th - Year 6 Graduation Mass at 11am
★ 17th - End of Year Mass at 9.15am

SACRAMENTAL DATES 2020

Please note further information regarding the Sacrament Program will be provided in 2020.

Confirmation

★Saturday 2nd May (11:00am and 1:30pm)

First Eucharist

★Saturday 8th August 
★Sunday 9th August
★Saturday 15th August
★Sunday 16th August

First Reconciliation

★Tuesday 13th October
★Tuesday 20th October
★Tuesday 27th October

YEAR 6 INTER SCHOOL SPORT SUMMER FINALS

On Friday 11th October, four teams from St Martin’s competed in the Heidelberg District Summer Semi Finals and Grand Finals. The children from Year 6 competed enthusiastically and achieved very good results:

GIRLS SOCCER
Semi Final – defeated Rosanna Golf Links 4-0
Grand Final – defeated Banyule PS 4-0

BOYS SOCCER
Semi Final – defeated Heidelberg PS 7-0</p.
Grand Final – defeated by Banyule PS 3-3 (Lost 3 – 1 on penalties)

BOYS SOFTBALL
Semi Final – defeated Banyule PS 8-6
Grand Final – defeated by RGL PS 7-4

GIRLS BAT TENNIS
Semi Final – defeated by RGL PS 38-34

Well done to all children on their participation throughout the Inter School Sports Program and thank you to the Year 6 teachers for their support and coaching throughout the year.

REGION ATHLETICS

On Wednesday 16th October, five children from St Martin’s competed at the Northern Region Athletics Carnival at Meadowglen Athletics Track, Epping. The children qualified for this event by placing 1st or 2nd at District and Division Level. Well done to the following children on achieving great results:

Millie H - 9th 12/13 Girls High Jump

Girls 12/ 13 Relay - 9th 4x100m (Mary B, Allegra A, Maggie M, Millie H)

Hanna W - 2nd 11 Girls Triple Jump

STATE ATHLETICS

Congratulations to Hanna W in placing 9th in the 11 Girls Triple Jump. Hanna jumped a PB of 8.91m. A fantastic achievement Hanna. Well Done!

Earlier this week the school fee schedule for 2020 were sent home to the eldest child.

Payment plans are to be completed each year, attached to the schedule is the form to complete for payment plans. Please return the completed form to the office in the envelope provided.

The payment options are fortnightly for 20 payments or monthly for 10 payments for direct debit from a bank account. For credit cards, monthly payments are the only option.

The amounts shown on the table for payment plans do not include camp. On receipt of the payment plans, if your child will be going on camp, the amount for camp will be added to the base amounts shown in the table.

Please supply email address and mobile number as I will email you with confirmation of these amounts. 

For families paying fees via instalments the amounts are due as per dates listed in the schedule. Camp is in addition to instalment amounts (as per table) and must be paid prior to your child going on camp.

If you have any queries please email me: marym@smrosanna.catholic.edu.au

Mary Milione
Bursar

WEEK 3

PGR Sofia B for writing lots of different ideas in her story writing and for being a great buddy during reading groups.

Maxwell for having a go at more challenging tasks when encouraged to by Mrs. Beautiful.

PPV Kirra for trying hard with the correct formation of her letters.

PVL Jonty for his excellent writing on our new dotted thirds.

Milana for her excellent writing on our new dotted thirds.

1B Kathleen for always being a beautiful listener and for always showing enthusiasm for her learning.

1LB Evelyn for demonstrating persistence and focus with her learning by using feedback to improve the overall standard of her work. Fantastic effort Evelyn!

1Mc Eliza for being a top listener in 1Mc! Eliza uses eye contact, actively listens to the speaker and clarifies if she needs to before working. She also gives great feedback to her classmates after their Show and Tell presentations which shows how well she is listening to their talks. Well done Eliza!

2C

2CB Nikola for his great effort he put into his school work and in particular his most recent writing piece. Keep up the good work Nikola!

2F Mitchell L for sharing your talents by being brave and playing guitar for us. You rock!

Leon K for working hard to be a great leader in the classroom. You are a good role model for others. Well done!

3JT Addison O for her beautiful reflection on, 'What is Forgiveness?'

3MT Cohen for reflecting on the message in the 'Lost Coin' and making a personal connection of when he lost something. Jaydon for explaining the four stages of Reconciliation and linking the process to a personal experience.

4C Andrew F for trying really hard and persisting in his work.

4TC Ava D for always displaying a positive attitude and setting a great example for her peers.

4ZM Matthew P for settling back in after the school holidays with another great challenging book. Mr Bambuckles 'Remarkables'.

5AO Natasha for making a conscience effort during writing tasks to add more detail and uplevel her word choices.

5CW

5T

6AM Michael for applying himself to his Explanation writing about the life cycle of a butterfly. It was well planned and drafted and you tried to use lots of different language features.

6P Lucas O - for a great start to our term 4 book club sessions.

6W

WEEK 4

PGR Sofia L for being a kind helper to everyone in Prep GR and for having a go at using new letter patterns in her wonderful writing.

Zayn for asking questions when he needs help and for stretching out new words in his writing by himself.

PPV Gibreel for his great oral reading and decoding of unfamiliar words.

PVL Josie for being a kind and caring member of Prep VL.

Charlie for being a kind and respectful member of Prep VL.

1B Tia for her amazing effort in reading and writing this term.

1LB Jake for working hard to build the standard of his writing by applying feedback to his work through editing and adding words to improve his sentences. Keep up the great work Jake!

1Mc Joshua for showing fabulous improvement in his confidence, explanations and volume when presenting his Show and Tell on his family background to the class. Well done Josh!

2C

2CB Luke H for always sharing his ideas and always trying his best to complete all set tasks. Well done Luke!

2F Luca V for working hard in reading and writing and making some amazing improvements this year. You should be very proud!

Lia M for your kindness to others demonstrated through compliments. You always have something lovely to say about people in our class. Thank you!

3JT Ethan M for consistently filling in his, Take Home Reading Diary.

3MT Zach P for his work ethic and the growth he has made to his learning this semester. Great work Zach.

4C

4TC Marko for becoming a more active contributor to our class discussions and starting the term off with a great attitude to his learning.

4ZM Ryan H ‘Greatest Students of 2019 Awards’- This award is presented to Ryan H for developing such productive work habits and always showing a positive demeanour in class as this demonstrates good modelling for other students.

5AO Harry, for his excellent contributions to read aloud sessions. You were able to make text to self connections and clarified the meaning of new words accurately to your peers.

5CW

5T

6AM Paris for just being you and bringing your happy and bubbly personality to school each day to share with our class.

6P Ava for her excellent Inquiry work when investigating circuits.

6W

Visit our Event Calendar for more events and information   

Monday 4th November
★ School Closure Day 

Tuesday 5th November
★ Melbourne Cup Public Holiday

Wednesday 6th November
★ Prep Excursion

Thursday 7th November
★ 5CW Class Mass
★ Prep 2020 Transition Morning (1 of 3) 
★ Combined Band Performance at Victorian School Music Festival

Monday 11th November
★ St Martin of Tours Feast Day

Thursday 14th November
★ 5T Class Mass
★ Prep 2020 Transition Morning (2 of 3)

Friday 15th November
★ St Martin's Colour Run (PFA Event)
★ Prep 2020 Welcome Dinner Community Centre

Monday 18th November
★ SCHOOL CLOSURE DAY

Tuesday 19th November
★ Blessing of the Mercy Building

Thursday 21st November
★ Prep 2020 Transition Morning (3 of 3) 

Friday 29th November
★ St Martin's Carnival Sports Day

Monday 2nd December
★ PGR and PPV Class Mass

Wednesday 4th December
★ Year 2 Excursion

Friday 6th December
★ Year 6 BIG DAY OUT

Thursday 12th December
★ Carols Night

Monday 16th December 
★ Year 6 Graduation Mass 11am
★ Year 6 Students only Finish at 1pm
★ Change Over Day Prep - Year 5 at 2pm
★ Year 6 Graduation Dinner 

Tuesday 17th December
★ Last day of Term 4 
★ End of Year Whole School Mass 9.15am
★ Students Dismissed at 1pm

PLEASE CHECK YOUR COMPASS NEWSFEED AND CALENDAR FOR CHANGES AND UPDATES TO OUR SCHOOL EVENTS

OSHClub at St. Martin's operates from Monday-Friday 7am-9am and 3.30pm-6.15pm. 

Enrolment is free. All families must be enrolled to attend the program. Further information can be found at: www.oshclub.com.au

Please read the newsletter for activity information. 

MEMORIAL MASS ON THURSDAY 7th NOVEMBER AT 7.30 PM in the Church. Followed by a cuppa in the GECCO.

We welcome you, your relatives and friends; all who have lost loved ones over the years, to this Special Memorial Mass. For further information please contact the parish office on 9457 4275 or Sr. Maria by email: Maria.Bui@cam.org.au. If you have lost loved ones during 2019 please contact us ASAP, as we would like to remember them by name at the memorial mass.

FEAST OF ST MARTIN OF TOURS 11th NOVEMBER

The celebration will take place on Sunday 10th November at the 10:00am Mass.

ST MARTIN of TOURS VIETNAM TRIP

Join us on a cultural and spiritual journey of Vietnam.
Departing 10 March 2020
Visiting Ho Chi Minh, Bao Loc Orphanage and Convent, Dalat and Hoi An
Please contact Deana Thomas, Hello World ph: 9852 0200

LOYOLA COLLEGE COMMUNITY CAROLS & FOOD TRUCK NIGHT

Sunday 1st December 6:00pm to 9:00pm
Live Music from 7:15pm Christmas Carols 7:45pm to 9:00pm
Old Loyola Roundabout (Entry via Bungay Street)

Dear Parents and Carers,

We’ve had a busy start to Term 4 with a lot of events happening around the school:
•Year 3 had a Chemical science incursion
•Year 6 had an Electrical circuits incursion
•PFA held their monthly meeting
•Year 6's started their ‘final countdown’ by sitting for their Graduation photo
•Year 1’s went on an excursion to the Chinese Museum
•St Martin’s PFA Gala Ball was held
•We’ve started the process of getting ready for our review in 2020
•Year 4 City Experience overnight camp
•3MT received the Sacrament of Reconciliation
•Prep to Year 6 learnt about dental health in preparation for the Dental Health Van visit later this month
•6W celebrated their Class Mass
•Year 1 Social and Emotional Learning Incursion
•Year 1 Level Mass will be on Saturday night (19th October)

GALA BALL

Thank you to the Gala Ball organising committee Melanie, Ambra and Dale. Once again they have put in a monumental effort to create such a memorable night for everyone to enjoy. Australia’s Got Talent and Dancing with the Stars had nothing on the talent that was on show on the microphone and the dance floor late in the evening. A fun night was had by all.

CAMP

A huge thank you to David Witchell (Camp Organiser), our Year 4 teachers and other staff members who attended the Year 4 City Experience sleepover on Tuesday and Wednesday. It was a great experience for the students.

RECONCILIATION

Congratulations to our Year 3 students in 3MT who received the Sacrament of Reconciliation this week. The students in Year 3JT will receive theirs on Tuesday. Thank you to our Year 3 teachers for preparing our students and also to Marita Anderson for leading the teachers and organising the evenings.

NO HAT NO PLAY

A reminder that all students MUST WEAR A HAT at break times and during PE classes for the remainder of the term. Students are also encouraged to wear sunscreen to school and bring sunscreen to school to reapply before going out to play.

CLASS LISTS 2020

Teachers are in the process of organising classes for 2020, they need to take a broad view and consider the needs of all students. It is our intention to provide well-balanced class groupings for 2020. To achieve this, we must consider the academic, emotional, social and behavioural needs of all students. Teachers will draw upon their collective knowledge of the students to arrange the classes. Individual requests made by parents compromise this process and inevitably inhibits our capacity to deliver balanced classes. Therefore, parents are asked NOT to send messages to teachers in relation to the placement of students for 2020. Please rely on the professionalism of the staff to meet the needs of all students.

With all the happenings around our school, parents and carers are reminded to regularly check their Compass Newsfeed for updates and information.

We are St Martin's, and how fortunate are we to belong to such a great community!

Megan Williams
Acting Principal

3MT Reconciliation

Many congratulations to 3MT on their Reconciliation night. The students were very well prepared and their reverence was notable. The scripture passage of “The Lost Coin” was the focus for our service. Father Michael was assisted by Father Lenin during the night. Many thanks to the parents, families and relatives that came to support the Year 3 children. As part of the service, some students read their heartfelt reflections about forgiveness. We wanted to share them with you.

Lilia Mosbauer and Sandra Tieppo.

Forgiveness is special. It’s like carrying the cross but when you’re forgiven you feel free. When you’re carrying the cross of guilt, you may feel imprisoned or you might want to hide in a hole. Forgiveness is when you come out, say sorry and the grey clouds turn away. -Ruby B

Forgiveness means a lot to me. It takes the heavy weight off my heart and replaces it with a brand new one. When someone forgives someone else, they make peace together and they rejoice. When I am forgiven I feel free from the heavy weight and happy. -Ruby A

Forgiveness is a good thing. When you are forgiven you start again and become closer to God. Being forgiven you feel a big weight getting off you. It is a beautiful feeling to be forgiven. -Juanito

Forgiveness is a wonderful feeling. When you forgive or are forgiven, you feel relieved and free but if you don’t then you will feel heavy and stressed. When I forgive I feel relieved and light. -Emily

Forgiveness is when you have made a bad choice and you go away from God but when you say sorry, God will let you back into his heart. I feel like I had a weight taken off my chest. Zak

This week the Year 4’s attended their City Experience Overnight Stay. The purpose of the experience was to encourage students to foster independence and prepare them for camp in their Senior Years. The day began with much excitement as all year 4’s met on Bottom Yard. Then as a year level we all walked to Rosanna Train Station.

The first stop was check-in at the CYC Youth Camp in Collins Street. The students were amazed at their comfortable hotel facilities. Next we walked to have lunch and a play at the playground at Birrarung Marr. Later we walked to Melbourne Aquarium and went into our small groups to explore it. We learnt about all the different sea creatures and the important actions the Melbourne Aquarium are doing to sustain our precious sea life and ecosystems.

In the evening, the students were treated to a delicious meal and dessert. We finished off our long day watching a movie and enjoying a cup of hot chocolate.

The following day we went to Polly Woodside for a couple of hours. The students discovered what the cargo ships and transport ships were like during the Early Settlement Years and experienced some of the activities that the crew did, for example, scrubbing the decks.

Overall the camp was an amazing experience. The students were a fantastic group that enjoyed every moment of it. They cooperated and supported one another.

A big thank you to Mr Witchell for organising another fantastic camp experience. Thank you to all staff that attended too (Mrs Klaic, Mr Witchell, Mr Ooi, Carmel, Mr Zac, Miss Cosgrave, Miss Valvo, Miss Bumpstead and Miss Campbell).

Last Friday the Year Ones went on an excursion to the Chinese Museum and Chinatown.

We learnt lots about Chinese culture and celebrations. We had lots of fun catching the train into the city and exploring Chinatown too.

We are excited to share with you that the SMOT library were one of two winners of the Children’s Book Council Australian Victorian Branch Book Week Competition.
We submitted the following two photos to share our library Book Week display and creative challenge competition.
The prize was a voucher to buy more fabulous books for our ever growing library. Thanks to everyone who helped by participating so wonderfully in our Book Week Activities.

Way back in February, we introduced the Year 4/5/6 students to the Yabba Awards. Yabba stands for the ‘Young Australian Best Book Awards’ and they are nominated and voted for by children only.

You can read more information about the Yabba awards here.

The students studied the awards and many made nominations for the 2019 awards. They then went about their business reading the nominated books as the year progressed. It is now time for the 2019 Yabba awards to be presented and SMOT were lucky enough to secure some tickets to the awards. Many of the nominated authors will be there to meet the students and answer any questions they may have.

In order to get a Golden Ticket to the Yabba awards, the students had to read some of the nominated books and write a small review on each one. They also had to write a letter to the library staff explaining why they would like to attend the Yabba Award Ceremony. The Ceremony is on Tuesday the 29th of October.

We would like to congratulate the following students who earned a golden ticket to attend the award ceremony. 

If your child is on this list, please expect a Compass Notification. 

Sign Language Club -A student instigated initiative!

A fabulous new initiative has been running in the library on Tuesdays at lunchtime. Some of our talented Year 5 students have taken it upon themselves to set up a ‘sign language’ club.
The children gather in the library and each week teach other interested students how to communicate using AUSLAN (Australian Sign Language).
We are so proud of our students for using their own initiative to provide such a wonderful opportunities for others in the school. Here are some pictures of a session in action.

This term Wednesday lunchtimes will have a wellbeing focus.

Students who wish to come along will have the opportunity to learn and participate in activities focusing on gratitude, growth mindset, flow and kindness.

We will also be finishing our session off with a relaxing meditation. We look forward to seeing lots of students in the library for our first session next week!

Boomerang Bags

Just a friendly reminder that if your child has come home with a grey bag containing Library Books, that they have borrowed this bag from the Library.
These bags are our ‘Boomerang Bags’ that we keep as spares so that anyone who has forgotten their Library bag can still borrow.
Please return any of these bags that you find at home as we have none left!

Term 4 Religious Education Dates

October
★ 19th - Year 1 Level Family Mass at 6pm
★ 22nd - 3JT Reconciliation at 7pm

November
★ 1st - All Saints Mass at 9.15am
★ 11th - St Martin of Tours Feast Day Mass at 9.15am

December
★ 16th - Graduation Mass at 11am
★ 17th - End of Year Mass at 9.15am

GIRLS STATE SOCCER FINALS

On Friday 6th September, the St Martins girls’ soccer team played in the SSV State Finals. The girls had qualified for this event by winning at District, Division and Region Level.
The state finals were made up of the top 8 teams in the State and were put into 2 pools of 4. The girls played 3 games and played exceptionally well against great opposition.

Game 1 defeated Camberwell PS 2-0
Game 2 lost to Girton Grammar 0-1
Game 3 lost to St Christopher’s 0-2

The girls placed 5th in the State which was an amazing achievement. Thank you to Mr Zac on his great coaching and thank you to all of the parents for their support and transport of the girls. Most of all congratulations to all of the girls for their fantastic season.

BANYULE DIVISION ATHLETICS CARNIVAL

On September 18th, a large number of children from St Martin’s competed in the Banyule Division Athletics Carnival. The children qualified for this event by finishing top 2 in their particular event at District Level.

Congratulations to the following children who represented our school on this day: Riley F, Charlie C, Mia B, Millie H, Mary B, Hanna W, Lachlan B, Zac P, Ace B, Luke D, Dean C, Sophie S, Maggie M, Allegra A, Oliver S, Sam F, Xavier C, Charlie M, Alyssa C, Olivia N, Sienna S, Erica B, Lucas C, Henry B, Gabriella B, Gabby B, Will B and Xavier S.

Well Done to the following children who gained a first or second placing and have now qualified for the Northern Region Athletics Carnival on October 16th.

Hanna W - 11 Girls Triple Jump
Millie H - 12 Girls High Jump
12 Girls 4 x 100m - Maggie M, Allegra A, Millie H, Mary B

SUMMER INTER SCHOOL SPORT

On Friday 11th October, 4 teams from Summer Inter School Sport will compete in the Heidelberg District Semi Finals and Grand Finals. Good Luck to the following teams:

Boys Soccer
Girls Soccer
Boys Softball
Girls Bat Tennis

JUNIOR HOOP TIME REGION FINALS

On Tuesday 8th October, the Grade 3 and 4 Boys and Girls Teams competed in the Junior Hoop Time Regional Finals at the Mill Park Basketball Stadium.

The girls team played 6 games. They won 3 and lost 3 and finished in 5th place which was a great effort. Well Done to Gabby B, Olivia N, Olivia B, Adi O, Emmy H, Sienna S and Caitlyn F. Thank you to Steve Bird for his coaching on the day.

The boys team played 4 games. They won 2 and lost 2 and also finished in 5th place. Well Done to Andrew F, Ryan H, Zac P, William W, Sam F, Aidan A and Noah B. Thank you to Glenn Forrest for his coaching at both District and Region Level.

Families paying school fees via instalments please finalise remaining fees immediately.
If you have any queries in relation to your school fees please email: marym@smrosanna.catholic.edu.au
I am in the office Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Mary Milione
Bursar

WEEK 1

PGR: Prep GR for a great start to Term 4!

PPV: Prep PV here's to a fabulous last term together!

PVL: Joshua for being a kind and caring member of Prep VL.

Willow for making good progress with her handwriting and letter formation.

1B: Joshua D for always sharing his ideas and thinking during class discussions, and for using his learnt spelling strategies in his writing.

1LB: Poppy for displaying enthusiasm and being a fantastic active listener on the Year One excursion to the Chinese Museum. Well done Poppy!

1Mc: Leonardo for expressing himself so clearly and thoughtfully when writing his prayer of forgiveness. Well done Leonardo!

2C:

2CB: Alandra for settling in well to Term 4 and being a great friend to her classmates.

2F: Finn R for being a responsible learner and putting his best effort into using Onomatopoeia in his writing. Fantastic! 

Felicity B for applying her reading knowledge both at school and home and demonstrating this through her reading journal. Well done.

3JT: Finn P for his creativity in writing the story, 'Lost' for Writer's Notebook.

3MT: Luca C for his enthusiasm and ICT skills when completing his Science Incursion Reflection.

4C: James J for being a friendly member of the class and his great ideas shared during Reading Time.

4TC: Dion S for being a caring and helpful friend to others.

4ZM: Jamie S for working hard on developing his cursive writing and finally getting his pen license.

5AO: Rochelle for settling well into St Martin of Tours and 5AO. We are so pleased to have you as part of our community.

5CW:

5T: Heidi B for being a caring and helpful friend to others.

6AM: Taylah for bringing all her ideas and input to class discussions and new topics. We love your contributions!

6P: Riley P for his excellent effort and attitude in his first game of softball.

6W:

WEEK 2

PGR: Prep Gr for being fabulous learners!

PPV: Angus for his enthusiastic approach to story writing. Well done Angus!

PVL: Jana for her great enthusiasm and effort during Writing Time.

Roderick for his extremely imaginative and creative drawings. Super-duper artist!!

1B: Mietta for her enthusiasm for learning and for always completing tasks to the best of her ability.

1LB: Chloe B for using feedback to improve her writing by focusing on editing and presenting it in a clear and neat manner. Fantastic effort Chloe!

1Mc: Grace for displaying her enthusiasm for learning through her excitement to learn new things and practise what she has learned. Keep it up, Grace!

2C:

2CB: Indianna for her great attempt at Narrative writing this term. Well done Indi.

2F: Chloe A for applying her reading knowledge both at school and home and demonstrating this through her reading journal. Great Effort!

Ava C for being a helpful team member by offering your time to anyone who needs help. Awesome!

3JT: Domenico for accurately recalling his times tables!

3MT: Alice for her reflective response to 'What is forgiveness?'

4C: 4C for being an amazing group on camp. Supporting and being friendly to one another.

4TC: 4TC for being excellent explorers on our excursion and for helping to make camp the best one yet!

4ZM: Kaleb S for settling back into Term 4 with a great attitude towards his learning and starting to raise his hand after thinking about his possible answers.

5AO: Max for demonstrating a good understanding of the scientific process. You were able to explain what occurred in your experiment and the science behind it. Keep up the great work!

5CW:

5T: Elena S for her effort in reading time and throughout the Yabba competition.

6AM: Gabriella for consistently working hard and remaining focussed in all curriculum areas. You are always working to the best of your ability! Keep it up!

6P: Armand for becoming a more active contributor to our class discussions and starting the term off with a great attitude to his learning.

6W:

Visit our Event Calendar for more events and information   

Saturday 19th October 
★ Year 1 year level Mass 

Monday 21st October 
★ 5AO Class Mass  

Tuesday 22nd October
★ 3JT Reconciliation 
★ Year 4 Excursion

Wednesday 23rd October
★ PREP Grandparents Day 9am-11.30am

Thursday 24th October
★ 6AM Class Mass

Monday 28th October 
★ Prep VL Class Mass
★ Dental Health Van Week

Tuesday 29th October
★ 'Tours' Students Casual Clothes Day - 'With a Touch of Red'

Friday 1st November
★ All Saints Day Whole School Mass  

Monday 4th November
★ School Closure Day 

Tuesday 5th November
★ Melbourne Cup Public Holiday

Wednesday 6th November
★ Prep Excursion

Thursday 7th November
★ 5CW Class Mass
★ Prep 2020 Transition Morning (1 of 3) 
★ Combined Band Performance at Victorian School Music Festival

Monday 11th November
★ St Martin of Tours Feast Day

Thursday 14th November
★ 5T Class Mass
★ Prep 2020 Transition Morning (2 of 3)

Friday 15th November
★ St Martin's Colour Run (PFA Event)
★ Prep 2020 Welcome Dinner Community Centre

Monday 18th November
★ SCHOOL CLOSURE DAY

Tuesday 19th November
★ Blessing of the Mercy Building

Thursday 21st November
★ Prep 2020 Transition Morning (3 of 3) 

Friday 29th November
★ St Martin's Carnival Sports Day

Monday 2nd December
★ PGR and PPV Class Mass

Wednesday 4th December
★ Year 2 Excursion

Friday 6th December
★ Year 6 BIG DAY OUT

Thursday 12th December
★ Carols on the Hill

Monday 16th December 
★ Year 6 Graduation Mass 11am
★ Year 6 Students only Finish at 1pm
★ Change Over Day Prep - Year 5 at 2pm
★ Year 6 Graduation Dinner Dance  

Tuesday 17th December
★ Last day of Term 4 
★ End of Year Whole School Mass 9.15am
★ Students Dismissed at 1pm

PLEASE CHECK YOUR COMPASS NEWSFEED AND CALENDAR FOR CHANGES AND UPDATES TO OUR SCHOOL EVENTS

OSHClub at St. Martin's operates from Monday-Friday 7am-9am and 3.30pm-6.15pm. 

Enrolment is free. All families must be enrolled to attend the program. Further information can be found at: www.oshclub.com.au

Please read the newsletter for activity information. 

SUNDAY 3RD NOVEMBER 10:00 AM MASS

Archbishop Peter Comensoli will be celebrating mass here at St Martin of Tours. We invite our parishioners, family and friends to join us for mass. After mass there will be tea and coffee served in the GECCO.

MASS FOR ALL SOULS ON SATURDAY2nd NOVEMBER 8:30 am Honouring the memory of the ones that we have loved. During the month of November, a Memorial Book will be provided, where the names of deceased loved ones can be written.

MEMORIAL MASS ON THURSDAY 7th NOVEMBER AT 7.30 PM in the Church. Followed by a cuppa in the foyer. We welcome you, your relatives and friends; all who have lost loved ones over the years, to this Special Memorial Mass. For further information Please contact the parish office on 9457 4275 or Sr. Maria by email: Maria.Bui@cam.org.au.

RCIC (Rite of Christian Initiation of Children)

We warmly welcome anyone interested in finding out more about the Catholic Faith for your children/grandchildren. For further information regarding RCIA/RCIC please see Fr. Michael or Sr. Maria. Alternatively, contact the parish office on 9457 4275 for an appointment.

Dear Parish School Parents,

I am writing to you on behalf of the Baptism Team with an urgent request. Our Parish Baptism Team is in need of new members. Many of our current members have been serving our young parents for ten or more years. However, even for these dedicated people, family commitments, work life and life in general must come first.

For many of you the faith journey of your children began here in St Martin of Tours Parish, guided by a member or members of our Baptism Team.

The Baptism Team are very committed to preparing the parent, their children and godparents for the baptism, ensuring that all their needs are met. The Baptism leaders remind parents that by baptising their children in our parish they become part of our catholic parish community.

As a new member of the Baptism Team you will be partnered with an experienced member of the team. You will follow this person as they prepare families for their presentation and baptism. Once you feel confident and well prepared you will be partnered with another team member and placed on the roster. Ideally you will be involved twice a year, occasionally you will be asked to assist another team member.

We ask that some of you who were fortunate enough to benefit from the care and attention of our Baptism Team will volunteer your time and goodwill by becoming our newest team members.

Sincerely,

Fr Michael and Baptism Preparation Team

St Martin of Tours Parish’s Annual Children’s mass will be held on Sunday 27th October at 10:00am.
Students of St Martin's are warmly invited to attend with their families.
Any children who would like to participate in the mass are encouraged to contact Sarah Gittins via email: wspr.gittins@bigpond.com a.s.a.p.
Ideally Children will also be available to attend children’s liturgy this Sunday 20th October for a rehearsal.
We look forward to welcoming the families of St Martin’s to our annual Mass.

Dear Parents and Carers,

Over the past fortnight we have celebrated many wonderful activities at St Martin’s:

★ Reconciliation Commitment Mass weekend

★ 2C celebrated their class Mass

★ Open Classroom Afternoon enabled students to display their Inquiry learning

★ St Martin’s students and families enjoyed their delicious donuts

★ St Martin’s Chess Club students competed in a Chess Tournament

★ Prep to Year 6 students participated in the PFA run School Disco

★ Students participated in the Division Athletics Carnival

★ Students participated in our annual Footy Day activities and parade

I congratulate all the students for their efforts and progress this term and thank the teachers and support staff for their continual hard work and dedication.

CEMSIS Parent, Student and Staff survey

CEMSIS surveys help inform the ongoing improvement of schools across the Archdiocese of Melbourne. Whilst it is voluntary we do ask parents to participate in the survey, please note the survey closes today Friday 20th September. 2019 School Improvement Surveys – Family Survey

School Disco

On Tuesday the school was abuzz with students keen to demonstrate their disco moves under the beaming colours reflecting from the disco ball hanging from the GECCO ceiling, bopping away to their favourite tunes. A big thank you to Belinda, Kate, Michelle, Anna and all PFA helpers who volunteered their time in providing such a wonderful experience for our students.

I would especially like to thank the parents who have assisted in so many ways from the work of the Parents & Friends Association, Parish Education Board, volunteers in classrooms, and in general all those who consistently put themselves forward for the benefit of the children. Our staff are very appreciative of your efforts and I encourage parents to continue their involvement next term and beyond.

Principal Appointment

As a community, we would like to congratulate Ms Jacqueline Marshall upon her appointment as Principal of St Martin’s school commencing in Term 1, 2020.

School Closure Days

Monday 4th November is a school closure day.  Tuesday 5th November is Melbourne Cup Day (Public Holiday).
Monday 18th November is also school closure day. Staff will have a professional development day with Deb Vietri regarding Inquiry Learning. Please note OSHClub will operate on this day. 

Term 4 looks to be just as busy as this one, we strongly urge parents and carers to check their Compass Newsfeed for updates and information.

We are a blessed community, we are St Martin’s.

Marita Anderson
Acting Deputy Principal

Many thanks to all the parents, grandparents and extended family that joined us on the Open Classroom Afternoon.
The students across the school displayed their Inquiry learning in so many different ways.
It was a great opportunity to see the process of inquiry in action and the students’ creative responses.
They were all so proud of their work and articulated their learning so well.

St Martin’s students enjoyed the wonderful spring day participating in Foot Day activities run by our Year 5 students and supporting their teams in the Footy Day parade.  

Term 4 Religious Education Dates

October

★ 15th - 3MT Reconciliation at 7pm

★ 19th - Year 1 Level Mass at 6pm

★ 22nd - 3JT Reconciliation at 7pm

November

★ 11th - St Martin of Tours Feast Day Mass at 9.15am

December

★ 16th - Year 6 Graduation Mass at 11am

★ 17th - End of Year School Mass at 9.15am

In partnership with Rosanna Library the following events are running this school holidays at our local library.

Marble Run

​Monday 23rd September, 11.00am-12.30pm Use different materials to make ​a marble run. We have lots of space, so let's see how far we can make it stretch around the library.

Lego Photo Frames

Monday 23rd September - Friday 4 October, 3.00pm-5.00pm Build your best space creation and have it photographed for the Window of Fame.

Statements of fees for the third and final instalment have been issued. Please finalise fees by Friday 20th September 2019.

A reminder to families that we can not take credit card details over the phone for payment. Please use the remittance advice on your school fee statement or pay the fees via internet transfer, bank details appear on the top right hand corner of the statement.

Any queries in relation to fees please email: marym@smrosanna.catholic.edu.au

Mary Milione
Bursar

WEEK 9

PGR Poppy H for using spaces in her writing and for being eager to contribute to all of our class discussions.

Luke for adding interesting detail to his writing and for demonstrating more persistence with challenging tasks.

PPV Kirra for 'having a go' at writing some High Frequency Words in her story writing.

PVL Zara for being a kind and respectful friend to others.

Harly for trying so hard with his Reading and for making a good improvement.

1B Jude for working so hard on his information report and inquiry project and for being a caring friend to everyone in 1B.

1LB Maddison for writing an excellent information report. Her hard work has shown through her effort when recording her ideas clearly and adding more detail to improve the meaning of her sentences. Amazing work Maddison!

1Mc Giaan for showing great improvement in her reading strategies. She has made wonderful gains in her decoding this term. Well done Giaan!

2C Priscilla for outstanding efforts with her learning and for being a kind and compassionate member of 2C.

2CB Cara P for being an enthusiastic learner and sharing knowledge with others.

2F Tristan D for being keen to contribute in the class and sharing your knowledge with others. Well done!

3JT Rayaan for working productively on his Inquiry topic of 'Whaling' and producing an informative poster about the issue.

3MT Olivia for her effort and concentration in researching her Inquiry questions.

4C Alexandre L for working really cooperatively and using his creative ideas during Inquiry time.

4TC Darcy, for having a growth mindset towards all his learning. You are a positive role model to your peers. Keep it up!

4ZM Oscar M for a great day of chess winning four out of seven games. Well Done!

5AO Harry for showing persistence when writing his information report. You worked hard to write and publish a written piece.

5CW Ethan for expecting more of himself from all areas of his schooling.

5T Ryan E for helping the teacher during sport and displaying good sportsmanship.

6AM

6P Jessica for her creative garden design ideas.

6W

WEEK 10

PGR Prep GR for a fabulous term of fun learning together. Such superstar Preps!

PPV To all of Prep PV for a fabulous term of awesome learning. So proud of you all!

PVL Isabella for stretching out words and sounds when Writing.

David for making an improvement with his decoding skills when Reading.

1B All of 1B for their amazing hard work this semester!

1LB Toby for showing persistence and determination when faced with challenging tasks in class, particularly in writing. Fantastic effort on building your problem solving skills Toby!

1Mc Finn for applying his word attack skills when reading aloud. Finn has made a determined effort to make meaning when he reads and is becoming a stronger reader for it. Awesome job, Finn!

2C Lukas V for his growth mindset and terrific persistence with his writing.

2CB For a fantastic term 3 filled with great support, appreciation and assistance for each other. A wonderful effort!

2F For another incredible term together. I love how respectful, inclusive and genuine you all are. What a team!

3JT Zac-K doing an amazing job at recording home reading in his reading diary.

3MT Alyssia for her persistence in researching her Inquiry questions and summarising the information into her own words.

Zak C for a well written information report on 'Vultures'. Lots of detail and interesting facts were included.

4C Alex for his enthusiasm shown for his learning demonstrated during the Year 4 Inquiry Showcase.

4TC Olivia N for taking pride in her work by taking her time to ensure that it is neat and detailed. Well done!

4ZM Molly P for your persuasive writing piece on 'why children should play sport' you followed your plan and produced work to an extremely high standard.

5AO For all of 5AO, a fantastic premiership term! Keep up the super efforts in Term 4.

5CW Oliver for confidence and poise in his preparation performance of his news report.

5T Mara S for working hard in to catch up in inquiry after her big holiday.

6AM

6P Sophie B for her helpful attitude towards her classmates.

6W

Visit our Event Calendar for more events and information   

Snapshot of Term 4 Dates 

Monday 7th October: Term 4 Commences, Students return to school

Thursday 10th October: Year 6 Graduation Photo 1pm

Friday 11th October: St Martin's Gala Ball
Year 1 Excursion Chinese Museum

Tuesday 15th October: Year 4 students leave for Camp

3MT Reconciliation 

Wednesday 16th October: Year 4 students return from Camp

Thursday 17th October: 6W Class Mass

Saturday 19th October: Year 1 year level Mass

Monday 21st October: 5AO Class Mass

Tuesday 22nd October: 3JT Reconciliation

Wednesday 23rd October: PREP Grandparents Day

Monday 28th October: Prep VL Class Mass

Friday 1st November: All Saints Day Whole school Mass

Monday 4th November: School Closure Day 

Tuesday 5th November: Melbourne Cup Public Holiday

Monday 11th November: St Martin of Tours Feast Day

Monday 18th November: SCHOOL CLOSURE DAY 

Thursday 12th December: Carols on the Hill

Tuesday 17th December: Last day of Term 4

End of year whole school Mass 9:15am

Donut Day        

We had 115 dozen Krispy Kreme donuts delivered to school for our Donut Day on Wednesday 11th September! Thank you to all the families who supported this very yummy fundraiser, we raised $1,242 from the day!

School Disco    

We held our first day time disco on Tuesday and had 370 children attend over the two breaks! The GECCO was transformed into a dancing discotheque for the day. It was a lot of fun watching the children enjoy the music and of course their Zooper Doopers and glow sticks! Some were very creative fashioning their glow sticks into jewellery, headbands and hula hoops!

Gala Ball  

The excitement is building for the Gala Ball on Friday 11th October. Please finalise ticket purchases ASAP as final numbers will have to be given very shortly as the Gala Ball is only 3 weeks away. Please click here to book your tickets.

Fundraising Update

Following our consultation with the school, we are pleased to announce that $20,000 of PFA raised funds have been allocated for the following: $10,000 for the purchase of Fountas and Pinnell literacy sets for middle/senior school. $10,000 for furniture including mobile display shelving that can be used to support the students' Inquiry units and some furnishing items for the new building.

Thank you to all parents who volunteered for PFA events this term, we value your assistance and hope you had fun helping out too.

Our next PFA meeting will be held on Tuesday 8th October at 7:30pm in the Seminar Room in the Mercy Building (new building). Anyone is welcome to come along and we look forward to seeing some new faces.

YOUTH MINISTRY

The St Martin of Tours Youth group invite you all to our Sausage Sizzle/Nibbles Fundraiser on Sunday 29th September, straight after the 10am Mass, outside the GECCO. Donations are welcome - the proceeds will enable interested youth to attend the ACYF in Perth this December. Your generosity is greatly appreciated

OCTOBER - EXTRAORDINARY MONTH OF MISSION

Pope Francis has named October an “extraordinary Month of Mission.” He encourages us to live joyfully our responsibility for the world. To honour the extraordinary nature of this celebration, Catholic Mission has planned some events. These events are aiming to deepen in people their sense of mission by taking time to reflect, discern, explore, create, experience, celebrate and pray. A brochure of these events is available at all the entrances of the church.

On the 18th of October Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) is inviting children worldwide to take part in the campaign “One Million Children Praying the Rosary.” For more information and for prayer resources visit, www.millionkidspraying.org.

LOYOLA COLLEGE COMMUNITY TWILIGHT MARKET

Sunday 1st December 2019 4pm—7:30pm Invitation to Stallholders
All stallholders will need to make a booking to register interest.
www.trybooking.com/514567 (Registration of Interest)
www.trybooking.com/BDHET (Stallholder booking)
For more information click here or call Mary PH: 0421 712 248

OSHClub at St. Martin's operates from Monday-Friday 7am-9am and 3.30pm-6.15pm. 

Enrolment is free. All families must be enrolled to attend the program. Further information can be found at: www.oshclub.com.au

Please read the newsletter for activity information. 

Dear Parents and Carers,

Over the past fortnight we have celebrated many wonderful activities at St Martin’s:
★ Year 6 students held their fundraising week
★ 1Mc celebrated their class Mass
★ St Martin’s students chose some wonderful gifts for their father’s, grandfathers and/ or special person at the Father’s Day Stall
★ Year 3- 6 students enjoyed a visit from Author Matt Stanton
★ All our students participated in a St John Ambulance First Aid training
★ Year 5 and 6 students enjoyed their camp to Phillip Island
★ 2CB celebrated their class Mass
★ Year 3 students and parents participated in the Reconciliation information evening
★ Families received a CEMSIS parent survey letter
★ Senior Band members performed at the Oxfam fundraiser event.

The lead up to the finals weeks of school looks to be just a busy we strongly urge parents and carers to check their Compass Newsfeed for updates and information.

Father’s Day Stall

The excitement on the student faces was priceless as they bought special gifts for their fathers, grandfathers and/or special person at the Father’s Day Stall.
It was lovely to witness the dialogue that went on between the students and parents who supervised the stalls as to the right gift for their special loved ones.
A big thank you to the PFA members and parents who gave up their time to buy, wrap and sell the variety of gifts to the students.

CEMSIS Parent, Student and Staff survey

CEMSIS is an annual process where schools listen to the thoughts and feelings students, families and staff have about how their school can improve.
These surveys help inform the ongoing improvement of schools across the Archdiocese of Melbourne. We ask parents to participating in the survey, please note the survey closes Friday 20th September. 
Year 4-6 students will also have the opportunity to participate in the survey over the coming week.
If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact ORIMA Research on 1800 654 585 or cemsurveys@orima.com, or Catholic Education Melbourne (CEM) at cemsis@cem.edu.au.

Year 6 Fundraising Week

Congratulations to our Year 6 teachers, Jo, Jamie, Gareth, Dave P and the Year 6 students on a wonderful week of sugar. Willy Wonka would have been jealous of the amount of goodies on offer throughout the week. I wonder how many of the students took on the characteristics of Veruca Salt, Charlie Bucket, Violet Beauregarde, Augustus Gloop or Mike Teavee? I bet our Year 6 teachers had as much energy as Charlie’s grandparents by the time Friday rolled around. Thank you to our Year 6 parents for giving the students a valuable social justice experience by providing the delicious snacks and assisting where needed, it is greatly appreciated.

Deputy Principals Conference