Dear Families,
As we return from the school holidays and the Easter break we are filled with the joy and elation of our Risen Christ. The rising of Jesus Christ is considered the cornerstone of Christian faith, signifying victory over death and offering hope for eternal life. It seems almost poetic that Pope Francis passed on the very day after Easter. 
Pope Francis was an amazing, revolutionary person for the Catholic Church, and the whole world. His commitment to humility, compassion, and justice helped us all understand what it means to lead with love. He called on each of us to care for the marginalized, protect the environment, and engage in meaningful dialogue rooted in dignity and respect. The fact that Pope Francis returned to his Fathers arms on Easter Monday seems just right.
Let us honor His Holiness by walking with courage, creating a more just, more inclusive, and loving world.
May his soul rest in eternal peace.
This afternoon each family will receive a prayer booklet and a prayer card for you home in readiness for the funeral of Pope Francis.
Dear families,
As we come to the end of the term, it is a great time to stop and reflect on all that we have achieved as a school and community in one short term. Our new preps, all 71 of them have settled well and our year 1-6 children are settled and engaged in the explicit teaching happening in classrooms across the school.
This week saw the culmination of our Lent and Easter learning come together in our whole school Passion Play. Our passion play reflected the learning our children have engaged in during Religious Education throughout term 1. The reverent manner in which they all engaged and the storytelling that came from the experience was quite special. Thank You to our families who were able to attend.
I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to each of you, our wonderful families, for your ongoing support and commitment to Mary Queen of Heaven. Your involvement, encouragement, and partnership make such a positive impact on our students and their learning. We are truly grateful for the strong community we are building together, and we look forward to all that we will achieve in the months ahead.
A huge thank you to our incredible children for a fantastic term. Your hard work, enthusiasm, and kindness bring our school to life every day. We are so proud of all that you have accomplished and can’t wait to see what the rest of the year holds!
Wishing everyone a safe and relaxing break.
Dani De Luca
Acting Principal
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Dear families,
The last couple of weeks have seen us settle into the school year with learning and teaching taking top priority. Our classes are all following the MACS ‘Vision for Instruction’ in ensuring we are being explicit in our instruction and ensuring our students receive the very best. We remain committed to making the learning visible for our learners. Linked is the MACS ‘Vision for Instruction’ for parents so you can align the vision with our practices here at MQH.
Last week we gathered as a school for Ash Wednesday Mass. It was so lovely to see our students gather in faith, it was equally beautiful to welcome many of our families to the Mass. We thank Father Dishan for always making these special Masses meaningful and relatable to our children.
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Dear families,
The start to our school year has been a really smooth and beautiful one. The children are settled into the routines of the day and our learning and teaching programs are a buzz with questions, curiosity and challenge.
In the coming weeks we will enter the season of Lent, a time when we remember the love of God that is poured out through His son Christ Jesus. It is a time for self reflection and to seek forgiveness for the wrongs we have done.
“Heavenly Father, I’m truly sorry for the moments today where I missed the mark. I ask for your forgiveness and the strength to better follow Your call tomorrow. Amen.”
The past weeks have seen us gather together at our Welcoming Mass. This was a beautiful celebration of our growing community. It was a special time to gather in prayer and acknowledge that it takes many parts to make a school successful and we are all contributors to that success. The children’s reverence and prayerful approach to Mass was beautiful to witness.
Today’s newsletter has a section on the importance of Cyber safety. Please ensure, as parents, you are monitoring your children’s online behavior including what they are watching. Viewing anything over PG is not recommended or primary aged children. We are currently actively stopping games on the yard related to Squid Games and the like – this is inappropriate for 5-12 year olds.
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Dear families,
Last week we welcomed many of the year 1-6 children for their initial testing for 2025. It was so wonderful to make those connections before school starts today.
The Preps had a wonderful start on Friday, lots of laughs, smiles and very few tears.
This year the Church celebrates the Jubilee year. This takes place every 25 years in our Catholic Church. This year Pope Francis has called us to be Pilgrims of Hope. We are all on a journey, as such we are all pilgrims. We journey towards Jesus with hope and love in our hearts. This Jubilee Prayer will be taught to the children throughout the school year.
The Jubilee Prayer
Father in heaven,
may the faith you have given us
in your son, Jesus Christ, our brother,
and the flame of charity enkindled
in our hearts by the Holy Spirit,
reawaken in us the blessed hope
for the coming of your Kingdom.
May your grace transform us
into tireless cultivators of the seeds of the Gospel.
May those seeds transform from within both humanity and the whole cosmos
in the sure expectation
of a new heaven and a new earth,
when, with the powers of Evil vanquished,
your glory will shine eternally.
May the grace of the Jubilee
reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope,
a yearning for the treasures of heaven.
May that same grace spread
the joy and peace of our Redeemer
throughout the earth.
To you our God, eternally blessed,
be glory and praise for ever.
Amen
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Dear Mary Queen of Heaven Families,
Welcome to the school year of 2025. We are so delighted to be welcoming 74 prep students and their families to Mary Queen of Heaven. We sincerely hope you feel the warm welcome of our school community as you begin your time with us. Today’s newsletter is designed to remind our current families and introduce our new families to our systems and processes and to share general information with you all. As always, please reach out if you have questions or queries.
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Dear Families,
As we enter the Season of Advent, as a school community we will be focusing on ‘Looking Back, Looking Forward and Looking Around’ as we look, we seek to find Jesus. Jesus is with us every day in every way, but in our busyness sometimes we forget to look for and acknowledge his presence. This season of Advent, let’s try and slow down so that our looking for Jesus moments can indeed be intentional.
Families are invited to attend the sacred space each morning to compose a prayer and add to our Advent tree. Families are also invited to join us on a Monday morning at 8:50 for a prayer service during Advent.
Advent taking action Christmas Appeal – Helping Hands
Christmas is a time for giving and what better way than to partner with one of the most generous organisations in our Community – Helping Hands Mission.
Helping Hands Mission our local not-for-profit charity organisation, with five Op Shops across Melbourne’s north west suburbs. They rely on the sales in their stores to fund our Emergency and Material Programs. Helping Hands Mission accepts financial, material and food pantry donations.
This Christmas, our schools ‘Taking Action’ linked to our RE Units is to gather Christmas treats to give to the needy this Christmas. Beginning this week we invite families, extended family, friends – the whole community to drop items into our school office. On Tuesday 10th December our school leaders will deliver our goods to Helping Hands to be distributed out into the community. Items we are seeking for donation:
Chocolates
Lollies
Candy Canes
Biscuits
Gingerbread/Shortbread
Christmas Bon-Bons
Christmas Puddings
Custard
Lets all get behind this initiative and model to our children the real meaning of Christmas.
Come, Lord Jesus,
You who took time to notice lilies bobbing,
Birds soaring, and bread rising,
Come and slow me down.
You who took time to dine with acquaintances,
Go fishing with your apostles,
And barbecue breakfast on the beach for your friends,
Come and slow me down.
You who took time to play with children,
Listen to people’s stories,
And share their joys and sorrows,
Come and slow me down.
When my mind is crammed with plans,
When my “to-do” list is pages long,
When I feel carried away by conflicting concerns,
Come and slow me down.
Give me the grace to stop and to be—
With you, with others,
With my own hopes, fears, questions, and dreams.
Come and slow me down.
Help me to bear you slowly but surely into the world,
A world languishing and lovely,
Dark and delightful, sinful and saintly.
Come and slow me down.
Remind me each day that the race is not always to the swift; that there is more to life than increasing its speed.
Come and slow me down.
Through all of the external noise this festive season, let my heart and mind be still, calmy anticipating the joy and hope of Christmas Day.
Come and slow me down.
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Dear Families,
Today we welcomed our incoming Preps for 2025 for their first transition day. It was a wonderful day filled with curiosity, smiles and giggles. A smooth morning that gave our little learners and their families a taste of life at Mary Queen of Heaven. Today we gathered in prayer for our new little preppies;
Heavenly Father,
We give you our hopes, worries and fears as our little child starts school. We pray that you will fill their hearts with excitement and calm their worries with your love.
Please go before them, help them make friends, enjoy their learning and build relationships with their teachers. May we learn to entrust them each day into your care, and as we do may they grow in confidence and independence.
Father, may joy abound in their hearts as they enter this new exciting season of their lives.
In Jesus’ name.
Amen
IMPORTANT MESSAGE
School finishes at 1 pm Thursday 14th November and re-opens at 2:30 for the art show. Please be at school to collect children no later than 1pm
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Dear Lord,
We ask that you be present in this space.
Lord, as we prepare for the coming of a new term make us ready, attentive and available to hear you.
Thank You for the gift of being able to rise each day with the assurance that You walk through it with us.
Thank You for the gifts of creativity and uniqueness, and the energy to put them to good use.
May all that we are today, all that we try to do today, may all our encounters, reflections, even the frustrations and failings all be place in your hands.
May the work we do and the way we do it, bring new hope, new life, and courage to all we come in contact with this term. We thank you, Lord.
We make this prayer through Christ Our Lord, Amen.
Dear Families,
Welcome to term 4. We have so many exciting events planned for term 4 – some to celebrate our learning, some community events and some events in readiness to welcome our preps for 2025.
Fri 25th October – Personal Safety Day – Wear a splash of Red
Mon 28th Oct- Fri 1st Nov– Family Learning Walks (please book in advance)
Thurs 14th November – Art Show
Sat 16th November- Parish Fete
Wed 11th December- Christmas Carols
October is the Month of the Rosary. We will be taking time this term to teach the children how to pray the Rosary. Each class will also be creating their own Rosary Beads for our prayer spaces. Below is a graphic that explains how to pray the Rosary. It would be lovely if you could spend some time in your homes dedicating time to this prayer. The Rosary Project is a great resource that you may like to explore: The Rosary Project .
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Dear Families,
In recent weeks our year 6 children celebrated the sacrament of Confirmation. A celebration that reminded us of the power of the Holy Spirit and how we can allow it to work through us. It was an honor and privilege to take our candidates though the learning about The Holy Spirit and see them Confirmed. Many thanks to Rachel and Pauline who prepared our children and their families so thoroughly and ensured the sacrament was a beautiful celebration.
“If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” –John 14:15-21 
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Leanne and her husband Michael are expecting their first child. Leanne will remain in her Prep teaching position until the remainder of this school year, she will begin maternity leave in 2025. We wish them all the very best during this exciting time.
THANK YOU
Last week we put our communications about ways we can ensure our children and families are safe at drop off and pick up times. Thank you for taking heed of the reminders and following these guidelines
In recent weeks we have partnered with Jardon Group who will be building our stage 2 project. The build is due to begin in the coming fortnight. You will have noticed that fencing has already been erected and some changes made to the access to our Netball court. Please rest assured that we will have access to all play areas during the build and each space is safe and secure. The stage 2 projects of 6 learning spaces and two large shared areas is due for completion in September 2025. We will keep you informed as the project progresses.
The Holy Spirit in action can look and sound very different. One way that we at MQH are putting the work of the Holy Spirit in action is by supporting our friends at Helping Hands Mission, Airport West. In the coming weeks we have been invited to attend the Grand Opening of their Community Pantry. This Pantry serves thousands of people in our community on a weekly basis, it has also been supported by our community very generously. Pauline will attend to represent our school. Thank you to the many families who have supported Helping Hands.
The Grade 4, 5 and 6 students partook in Mary Queen of Heavens very first District Athletics Carnival. We had students stepping out of their comfort zone, and participating in events they had never done before. The comradery was infectious, and the excitement amongst the group was amazing to see. We had lots of students placing on the day, and one of our superstars Bas Abdul-Raid making it through to the next round of Regionals. We are so proud of each and every student’s efforts on the day and leading up to the event. We are looking forward to more sporting events in the near future, and wish Bas all the very best at Regionals.
Last Friday it was so delightful to see many Fathers, Grand fathers and fatherly figures join us at school to celebrate Father’s Day. We spent time in a morning tea hosted generously by BIG Childcare before our dads joined their children in the classroom for some fun activities. Having well over 120 Fathers and fatherly figures attend was so delightful to see. A wonderful morning was had by all.
A couple of weeks ago Dani and Loretta had the privilege of attending a pilgrimage, covering the footsteps of Australia’s first and only Saint, Saint Mary MacKillop. They traveled by bus from Werribee to Adelaide, stopping at key sites of her journey along the way. Below is a recount of their journey:
As Pilgrims, we gathered at the MacKillop College in Werribee; a school which is steeped in Mary’s story and the story of the Josephite Sisters. There were 20 of us, from a range of schools and contexts around Melbourne. We embarked on a guided tour of the school grounds and history, led by the school’s Deputy Principal. The journey officially began with prayer at the Chapel of Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop.
We traveled to St Mary’s Church in Hamilton where Alexander MacKillop, Mary’s father, is buried in the town cemetery. Alexander studied to become a Priest, but left the seminary before finishing his studies. He led somewhat of a troubled life, and died quite young. but was pivotal in Mary’s story. As pilgrims, we prayed for fathers like Alexander, who have experienced challenges and hardships, that they may come to know God and God’s love.
Day 2 began with morning prayer, with water as the theme for reflection. At the site of our hotel, was a well that Flora, Mary’s mother would have drawn water from when the MacKillop family lived in Portland in the late 1800s. We drew water from this well to return to our respective schools.
We then walked a short distance to Bayview House where Mary MacKillop lived and worked as a teacher. Mary and her family lived in this home for a little while, too. Nearby the school is All Saints Church, where Mary once worked as the sacristan. Below is a picture of the stained-glass window in the entrance of the church. We prayed in the Church where Mary prayed to St Joseph.
Day 3 began at the Mary MacKillop Stable School Park in Penola. This is the site of the stable-school where the work of Julian Tenison Woods and Mary MacKillop, for children of Australia, began. Mary and Julian co-created the Sisters of St Joseph in Penola.
A short walk around the corner onto Portland street, we arrived at St Joseph’s Catholic Church where we prayed and reflected as a group.
We then visited the Mary MacKillop Penola Interpretive Centre for a talk from Sr Loretto, a Josephite nun, and an exploration around the Mary MacKillop school.
What follows are some photos taken from the tour of the school and surroundings…
The next day, we traveled to Adelaide, to the Mary MacKillop museum, where another Josephite nun shared with us the artifacts displayed in the museum.
Mary MacKillop faced many hardships on her journey, including being excommunicated. She showed immense courage and determination, never straying from her pursuit of doing God’s work and enacting her mission as a Sister of Saint Joseph.
Mary was reinstated into the Church and was once again able to enact her mission. Over time, Mary MacKillop and her fellow Josephite sisters set up schools across Australia and even in New Zealand.
Today, Mary MacKillop’s work continues with its core principles grounded in Catholic Social Teaching:
At this time of year, schools within the Melbourne Archdiocese of Catholic Schools gather perception data to help evaluate their current practice as a school community and help make decisions about the coming year. This is referred to as the MACSSIS Survey.
Staff, Families, and children from Years 4-6 will be invited to participate in the MACSSIS Survey (Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools – School Improvement Survey). Children will be provided with supervised sessions, where educators are on hand to help and answer any questions. The survey opened today and runs until 20 September 2024.
The MACSSIS Survey provides invaluable feedback to us as a school, enabling us to support our planning for 2025. Our hope is to gather as many voices possible from within our Community about their experience of school at Mary Queen of Heaven. All participation is invited and welcomed. The surveys are not a test; they are an inclusive way to support the work we are already doing to improve our school.
All families that participate will go in the running to win 1 term of school fees!
An email has been sent home with your family’s unique pin number for you to complete this survey.
If you have any questions or have not received this email, please contact Dani ddeluca@mqhgreenvale.catholic.edu.au
What a wonderful day it was on Thursday 22nd August, as we came together as a community to celebrate the Feast of Mary Queen of Heaven. Thank you to Fr. Dishan and Fr. Samuel who led our students and staff in a beautiful mass honouring Mary as Queen over earth in her role of divine redemption, as mother to the Savior, Jesus Christ. We welcomed Maria Fracalossi, Student and Youth Engagement Officer from Catholic Mission for sharing a message of motherly love as she told the story of the Heavenly Mother statue found in the poorest of communities in Mongolia.
“ She appeared in the humblest and poorest of places, which could signify her desire for us to care for the poorest among us,”.
The day ended with our Queenship Performance led by Steven and Tameka in glorious sunshine. Thank you to families were able to attend and enjoyed listening to our students sing with such joy and love reminding us of the enduring power of Mother Mary’s love for us all.
This year’s theme for Book Week was ‘Reading is Magic’. On Friday 23rd August we enjoyed our Book Week Parade which showcased our love of reading at Mary Queen of Heaven. It was wonderful to see the range of genres as the students paraded around the village green from Where’s Wally, Bluey, Claris the Mouse, Alice in Wonderland to Sports Characters and SuperHeroes. To check out the book of the year winners here is a link- https://cbca.org.au/2024-book-of-the-year-award-winners/
This coming Friday we are so excited to be hosting our school colour run. Please ensure the children are wearing a white tee or long sleeve top that can be splattered with colour! Please also ensure your Cheese Toastie orders are in before Thursday so the children can enjoy this shared lunch experience.
