Dear Parents and Carers

Welcome Back to the 2025 School Year!

I hope you had a restful and rejuvenating break. As we kick off this exciting new year, we are thrilled to reconnect and look forward to all the wonderful opportunities ahead. Let’s make this year full of growth, learning, and memorable experiences!

We welcome all our new Foundation students. Seeing all the smiling faces walk through the gate on Thursday as they began their educational journey at St Mary’s was fantastic. May they all enjoy the opportunities to learn, make friends, and become integral members of our school community.

Schoolwide Expectations 

At St Mary’s, we embrace four core values in our school-wide expectations:

• Be Safe: Prioritise safety in all actions and decisions.
• Be Respectful: Treat others with kindness, consideration, and respect.
• Be Responsible: Take ownership of your actions and responsibilities.
• Be a Learner: Strive for growth, curiosity, and knowledge every day.

Together, let’s work to make our school a positive and inspiring place for all.

As we enter our third week, I want to remind parents and students that we have a school-wide expectation that school hats must be worn on the playground in Terms 1 and 4. This is one of the many ways we are committed to ensuring your child's well-being at St Mary's.

We will conduct our assemblies on a Friday during our 2025 school year. These will begin from week 4, and all parents will be notified via Class Dojo.

  This year, we celebrate Jubilee - Pilgrims of Hope. What is a Jubilee?

A Jubilee is a special year of grace and conversion involving prayer, pilgrimage and sacramental repentance, held every 25 years or during other years as called for by the Pope. Through a series of concrete rituals, acts and commitments, the goal of a Jubilee year is to inspire and encourage holiness of life among the faithful and, therefore, to strengthen the Church’s witness to God’s loving mercy in and for the world.

The word "jubilee" is derived from the Hebrew word jobel, which means "ram's horn" since it was precisely that horn used as a trumpet, whose sound indicated to everybody the beginning of the jubilee year. The book of Leviticus, in the code of holiness, is the source that tells us of the significance of the jubilee year, a year of liberation "par excellence," which is at the end of seven weeks of years, the fiftieth year.

Maria

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

TERM 1 2025

February

March 2025

April

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS

Happy Birthday to Blake Lubeck, who celebrates his birthday on 17th February.

We hope you have a wonderful day. 

SCHOOL FEES SCHEDULE 2025

Dear Parents,

I hope this letter finds you well and that you have had a relaxing break over the school holidays.

We are reaching out to provide you with an overview of the school fess for the upcoming school year, we a well as some important information about payment deadlines and available payment options.

As you may notice, there has been an increase in school fees this year. There are several tiers of school fees that are to be paid at St. Mary’s, and it is important that all parents fully understand what your payments cover.

We always strive to provide the best educational experience for our wonderful students, besides providing basic education, we try to incorporate several sports programs, camps, excursions and cultural activities into our curriculum to enhance and enrich our students’ education.

School fees are paid on a per Family basis and for this year (2025), the Family/Capital fees have been set at $1350. These fees help cover the ongoing costs of running our school. Payment for the school’s utilities, maintenance, technology, loan repayments, etc., are covered by these fees.

Student tuition Levies are designed to cover the day to day educational costs of educating your child/children. Thus, books, pencils, paper, art& craft materials, technology and sports equipment, Religious Education resources, etc., come from this levy.

Swimming, Excursions and Camp levies are set to offset the costs of these specific programs offered at St. Mary’s.

This year, we are excited to introduce our STEM Program (Science, Technology, engineering & Mathematics) and your fees helps the school provide specialized tools and books for this exciting program.

As technology is becoming more integral to our students and their education, we have invested in upgraded digital software and several online resources to meet this rising demand.

While charging fees ensures that we can provide the best educational resource possible, we also understand that some families may need assistance. Discounts are available for valid concession card holders, if you do not hold a valid concession card, please contact us to discuss other options. It is important to note that no child will be excluded from St. Mary’s due to inability to meet school fee commitments resulting from financial hardship.

The payment for school fees is due by the last week of Term 3. We kindly ask that you submit your payments by this date.

Thank you all most sincerely for your commitment to the payment of school fees and levies and please do not hesitate to contact us on 03 51825659.

Thank you,

Maria Moore

All fees and levies for the entire school year will be invoiced in February. Fees are to be paid in full by the end of Term 3. Alternatively, you can pay in equal instalments over 12 months from January to December.

Family Fee Assistance Scheme

All families in which the fee payer holds an eligible health care card or pensioner concession card are eligible to apply for the Family Fee Assistance Scheme. 

This allows for a significant reduction in your school fees. Application forms are available from the school office or click on the following link: School Fees Concession Application

For more information about concessions, please contact the school.

CSEF Assistance
This is a government assistance scheme for families with an eligible Health Care Card. Applications are available at the office or click on the following link: 

CSEF Application Form 2025

Conveyance Allowance
Victorian Conveyance Allowance is available for children who reside in Victoria and are more than 4.8 kilometres from the nearest free school bus service. Please call the office to complete an application form.

Terms of Payment for School Fees Accounts
Fees can be paid in one lump sum, by term, monthly, fortnightly or weekly. At the beginning of the year, you are asked to nominate a payment frequency eg. Weekly, fortnightly, or per term. If no payment mode is nominated it will be presumed that you will pay by the end of Term 3,  Friday, September 20th 205

There are numerous options available to pay your school fee account. Money can be received via:

• Cash, Cheque or Credit Card at school office
• Direct Debit payments to our account from your bank - direct Debit Authorisation forms are available here:

Direct_Debit_Authorisaiton_Form_2024.pdf

• Centrepay-Centrelink can deduct school fee payments before paying via your Centrelink.

Application forms are available at the school office or click on the following link:Centrepay Deduction Authority

We would ask that you consider all the payment options available to you and make a commitment to one of them. 

2025 SCHOOL FEES

Fees per Family (per annum)  

Family fee - $1170

Capital fee -$ 180

Fees per Student (per annum) 

Tuition Fee - $180.00
Swimming - $80.00
Excursion - $80.00                         

Camp Fees per Student

Year 3 & 4, Forest Lodge - $500 ($350 Camp fees + $150 food component)

Year 5 & 6, Sovereign Hill - $500 ($350 Camp fees + $150 food component)

Additional Fees  

Sacramental Program
$25.00 per student

This fee is for Catholic children who participate in the Sacraments.


Please contact Debbie at the school office if you would like to set up a payment plan for 2025 school fees. For families who already have one in place, this will continue for this year. 

Parent/Teacher/Student interviews will be held from 1:45 - 7:00 pm on  Tuesday, 25th February. 

To Book your meeting, Go to:

http://www.schoolinterviews.com.au/code/yq5xw

Or open this link in your browser: www.schoolinterviews.com.au

and enter the code yq5xw

Or scan the QR Code below

Enter your details

Select the teachers you wish to see

Select the appointment times that suit your family best

When you click FINISH your selected bookings will be emailed to you immediately. If you do not receive your email, please check your junk mail, or enter the event code again and check your email address spelling.

Update your details if the email address is incorrect.
DO NOT DELETE the email you receive. Keep it somewhere safe. You may
need to refer back to it at a later date.

REMEMBER TO ADD YOUR APPOINTMENTS TO YOUR CALENDAR - reminders will not
be sent home.
Bookings must be finalised by Tuesday, 18th February

If you need to view, cancel, change or print your bookings:
● Click on the link in the confirmation email you received after you made your bookings
● OR return to www.schoolinterviews.com.au and enter the code and the email address you used when making your bookings.

Please keep in mind that interviews are strictly 10 minutes and spaces are limited. If you require more time with a particular teacher, please arrange a separate meeting by telephoning the school on 03 51825659

SCHOOL NEWSLETTERS & INFORMATION

A primary source of communication between home and school is our weekly newsletter. This will be sent home with students and emailed every fortnight on a Friday. The newsletter is also available on our school website. https://www.stmyarram.catholic.edu.au/

All school information, updates and news are sent home on Class Dojo. 

Calendar events are also updated on our website: https://www.stmyarram.catholic.edu.au/

Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays- Summer Uniform 

Girls Summer Uniform:

• Blue check dress
• Short white socks 
• Grey Skorts
• White short-sleeved polo shirt with emblem
• Royal blue school jumper
• Black leather school shoes
• Blue/white or grey ribbons

Boys Summer Uniform :

• Grey school shorts
• White short-sleeved polo shirt with emblem
• Blue school jumper
• Grey socks, black leather school shoes or boots

Tuesdays & Fridays —Sports Uniform

Girls Sports Uniform:

• Royal blue track pants/ shorts or sports skorts
• Royal blue sports polo with emblem
• Royal blue sports jacket or polo fleece jumper
• White socks
• Sneakers

Boys Sports Uniform:

• Royal blue track pants or shorts
• Royal blue sports polo with emblem
• Royal blue sports jacket or polo fleece jumper 
• White socks
• Sneakers

School Hats must be worn at recess and lunch times in Term 1. 

Sneakers are only to be worn on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Grade 6 Students may wear their Grade 6 Polo on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

Uniform price lists are available at the school office.

HOT LUNCH FRIDAYS!

School canteen lunches are every Friday. All lunch orders are to be in by 9:00 on Friday morning. The price list is the same as 2023, please see below for details:

Hot Lunches - Price List 2023

Instructions on placing an order

Please contact the school office if you would like a price list sent home. 

CLASS DOJO

Class Dojo is a school communication platform that teachers, students, and families use every day to build close-knit communities by sharing what’s being learned in the classroom home through photos, videos, and messages.

Invitations will be sent to parents of each classroom via Email in the next few days. 

Click on the link below for instructions on how to set up your CLASS DOJO account:

Class Dojo Setup Resources

Please make a note of our class bell times for 2025.

Mental Health and Wellbeing News

Dear Parents/Carers,

Welcome back to a new year at St. Mary’s and welcome to our new families. This year we will be implementing The Resilience Project (TRP) into our curriculum. Staff are busy engaging with the content and familiarising themselves with the website. It will be a slow roll out over this term, and you will be given updates via this newsletter and Class Dojo. We are doing a training session with the TRP team next Tuesday afternoon and you will then begin to hear about it from you children as it is slowly implemented. I have included a flyer to explain the program and I will include information each fortnight. If you have any questions or queries do not hesitate to contact me. My email address is: dowens@stmyarram.catholic.edu.au or ring the school.

Deb Owens

Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader

Religious News:  Friday the 7^th of February 2025

Jubilee 2025 - Pilgrims Of Hope

Pope Francis has declared that 2025 will be a year of Jubilee in the Catholic Church. something which happens every 25 years.  A Jubilee Year is celebrated every 25 years as a time to reflect on our faith and focus on our spiritual life. This year, we have been invited by Pope Francis to become ‘Pilgrims of Hope,” - to embark on a journey filled with hope that is felt by us, recognised by others and spreads throughout our world.

The theme is Pilgrims of Hope and is to be a year of hope for a world suffering the impacts of war, the ongoing effects of COVID-19 pandemic, and a climate crisis.  We are asked to be pilgrims of hope for all.

During this year we will be working with our students, families and our Parish to explore ways of being Hope to ourselves, others and our world.

The Jubilee Logo

The logo shows four stylised figures, representing all of humanity, coming from the four corners of the earth. They embrace each other to indicate the solidarity and fraternity which should unite all peoples. The figure at the front is holding onto the cross. It is not only the sign of the faith which this lead figure embraces, but also of hope, which can never be abandoned, because we are always in need of hope, especially in our moments of greatest need. There are the rough waves under the figures, symbolising the fact that life’s pilgrimage does not always go smoothly in calm waters. Often the circumstances of daily life and events in the wider world require a greater call to hope. That’s why we should pay special attention to the lower part of the cross which has been elongated and turned into the shape of an anchor which is let down into the waves. The anchor is well known as a symbol of hope. In maritime jargon the ‘anchor of hope’ refers to the reserve anchor used by vessels involved in emergency manoeuvres to stabilise the ship during storms. It is worth noting that the image illustrates the pilgrim’s journey not as an individual undertaking, but rather as something communal, marked by an increasing dynamism leading one ever closer to the cross. The cross in the logo is by no means static, but it is also dynamic. It bends down towards humanity, not leaving human beings alone, but stretching out to them to offer the certainty of its presence and the security of hope. At the bottom of the logo is the motto of the 2025 Jubilee Year: Pilgrims in hope, represented in green letters.

Kind Regards,

Sue Benc

Buses are available to and from school to various locations within the shire. If you would like to organise for your child to travel by bus, please fill out the following form if you have not already done so.

Application for to travel on a bus

Casual bus passes (for an occasional day) can be organised by filling out a pass at least 24 hours before you want your child to travel. These forms are available on request, at the school office.