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.
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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Dear families,
Today we celebrate the Feast of The Assumption. The feast of Mary’s Assumption is a preview of what our lives will be. At the end of her earthly life, Mary was assumed, or taken up, into heaven body and soul. She did not have to wait for the end of the world, as we do. God granted her this special privilege because of her sinlessness and her fullness of grace.
May we turn to Mary as a guide and beacon who shows us how to live a life of love, courage, respect and humility.
Mary, Queen of Heaven, Pray for us.
God chose Mary to be the mother of his son, Jesus. Mary was always ready and willing to do whatever God wanted. Because she was so special she was taken up body and soul to be with Jesus in heaven – this is what ‘Assumption’ means. What qualities of Mary would we like to grow in our lives?
In recent weeks we celebrated Grandparents day. It was so wonderful to see so many Grandparents take part in activities and engage with their grandchildren. It was our pleasure to host this special day and witness the love between the generations. The children absolutely loved this special time, thank you to all of those who were able to join us.
This beautiful image was captured on the day and used by MACS to commemorate Grandparents Day.
Last Monday our school closure day provided an opportunity for our staff to unpack the MACS 2030 Vision for Instruction. Our staff will work towards the goals set out in this document to ensure we are offering high impact teaching strategies and high levels of engagements in every aspect of our teaching and learning. Following an audit on Monday, it was pleasing to know we have many rich and rigorous practices emerging, consolidating and embedded happening across the school. We will do our best to share these with you via our newsletter and socials.
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Dear families,
Welcome to Term 3. We trust that you have had a restful school holiday break. The children have rested well and are ready for an action packed Term 3. We are so delighted to be hosting many community based events in Term 3, where families and extended community can come into our beautiful school and celebrate in all of our learning. Please keep a close eye on our social media platforms and Audiri for more information. Our school calendar is always live on the homepage of our school website.
As we reflect on the legacy of Saints Anne and Joachim, let us also reflect on the vital role played by all grandparents in completing the loving family unit and nurturing the faith of future generations. Grandparents can take a vital part in the training of their grandchildren, teaching them to love the ways of the Lord and honour his commandments. It was Saints Anne and Joachim who cultivated in the young Mary a love for God, preparing her for her role in the story of divine redemption.
From Pope Francis:
We look forward to welcoming many grandparents to our Grandparent Day celebration tomorrow.
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Dear Families,
As we come to the end of another term of learning, growth and connection we give thanks for all that has been achieved and welcome the holidays as a time for rest and rejuvenation. We thank you all for your ongoing support of your children and our school in ensuring we work together for the betterment of all in our community.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Mathew 11)
Father in Heaven,
As we come to the end of Term 2, we take this moment to reflect on the impact we have had as a community. We thank You for the opportunities we have had to teach, guide, and support one another.
Lord, help us to see the fruits of our labor, the growth in our students, and the strength of our community. May we recognize the positive changes we have brought into the lives of those around us and find satisfaction in our efforts.
As we enter this break, we ask for Your blessings of rest and renewal. Grant us the peace and tranquility needed to recharge our minds and bodies. Let this time be filled with moments of joy, relaxation, and reflection.
Help us to return with renewed energy and enthusiasm, ready to face the challenges and opportunities of the new term. May our time away be refreshing, and may it strengthen our commitment to our mission and each other.
We thank You for Your guidance and support throughout this term and trust in Your continued presence with us.
In Your loving name, we pray Amen.
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Dear Families,
The colder weather has certainly set in and Melbourne’s Winter is delivering its best! It has been great to see many of our children wearing their school beanie and scarf, great ways to keep warm in the outdoors. Whilst we will always ensure the children are inside for wet weather, where possible having them play and explore outside in all weather conditions is great for their growth, development and acts as a brilliant way for them to burn energy. With this in mind, please ensure children always have a coat, scarf and or beanie with them for outdoor play.
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Dear Families,
On Sunday, we celebrated Pentecost, the day the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles, filling them with divine power and marking the birth of the Church.
Pentecost, celebrated 50 days after Easter, reminds us of the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives and the unity it brings to believers everywhere. Let’s take this time to reflect on the gifts of the Spirit and how we can use them to spread love, peace, and kindness in our world.
“Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.” – Acts 2:2
God of all, you sent your Spirit to be with the disciples, filling them with joy, peace and courage. May we also be filled with your Spirit, be brave and share your peace in our world. Amen.
May the Holy Spirit guide you, inspire you, and fill your hearts with joy.
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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.
Amen
Dear Families,
Welcome back to Term 2. I sincerely hope you had some quality time with family and friends, and took the chance to recharge your mind and body ready for another great term of learning & wonder.
At the beginning of the school holidays, our Christian faith celebrated Easter. Easter celebrates the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. It is through life, death and resurrection that believers are given the hope of life after death, eternal life. The resurrection of Jesus provides hope for all believers that life as we know it will be changed, not ended, when we die.
As a faith and learning community, we will continue to explore the stories that recall the final days of Jesus’ earthly life.
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Thank you to staff and children for their preparation and dedication in putting together the still life depiction of the events of Holy Week. Thank you to parents, carers and grandparents who attended school on the last two days of term 1 to see the creative display our school proudly presented. Your devotion and support throughout our children’s learning & faith is much appreciated.
As the third Parish school in the Parish of the Good Shepherd we celebrate the Feast of The Good Shepherd. This year this was commemorated by our year 5 and 6 students traveling down to Good Shepherd Parish where they participated in Mass with year 5 and 6 students from School of The Good Shepherd and St Carlo’s. It was wonderful to see many of our families at the Mass celebrating with us.
An invitation was extended to the whole school community to attend the ANZAC Day Commemorative Dawn Service at the Glenroy RSL on 25th April. Some of our school leaders, teachers and families attended to lay an ANZAC wreath at the war memorial as a way to remember those who have lost their lives serving Australia in wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations. We thank all who made the effort to be there, to represent our school and remember the fallen.
Please be reminded to tie long hair up where possible. This helps children focus on their learning and is a prevention for the spread of headlice.
Families and communities are informed and involved in promoting child safety and wellbeing
There are many examples of the ways in which we as a community promote and inform the community of our childsafe practices. As you enter our school, you will see the Catholic Schools Child Safe Schools commitment displayed. This states we are committed to providing a safe and nurturing culture for all children and young people in our school. This is enacted through upholding the primacy of safety and wellbeing of all children, empowering families and children to have a voice if they have concerns and implementing rigorous risk management and employment practices.
Thank you to all the families who have partially or fully paid their school fees. As mentioned previously the school has paid for all of your children’s stationery upfront and prompt payment of school fees would be most appreciated.
This year, we were excited to implement the Traces of Learning Inquiry Model with consultants from Spark to support our educators to plan authentic and engaging inquiry projects across all year levels.
This model is well researched and supports all children to become confident, life long learners. In our Prep to Two classes, children are engaged in discovery learning through Inquiry that introduces children to concepts from our History Curriculum and strongly supports the explicit transfer of Literacy and Numeracy skills in new contexts. We call these sessions “Our Project”. Each term, the project focus will change and is strategically designed with experienced consultants to ensure children are taught concepts, content, and skills across the curriculum. Our year Three to Six are also engaging in the History Curriculum through ‘Rapid Cycles’ of Inquiry. This is where children learn new content within a learning process. Sometimes children will use the investigation, problem solving, or design process – this term, they are learning through the Research Process. Ask your children at home how they have been engaging in Discovery or Rapid Cycles in class.
Our reporting at Mary Queen of Heaven is dedicated to fostering collaboration between students, teachers, and parents to enhance student learning. We communicate comprehensive information on students’ achievements in academics, physical, social, emotional, and spiritual domains. This dialogue helps set future goals and keeps parents informed about our teaching methods. Our assessment and reporting procedures are seamlessly integrated with our teaching practices to ensure meaningful discussions about each child’s progress. Formal reports are issued twice yearly, in June and December, to document students’ advancements across various curriculum areas.
Other ways we report are listed below:
We are so blessed to have Mel our resident Speech Therapist working with us two days per week. Mel has been an absolute asset to our team. Below is a summary of the difference Mel has made already in her first term with us. Please be reminded that Mel’s service is not a 1:1 speech service, if this is something you are seeking for your child, please reach out to Loretta O’Dwyer to discuss.
Speech Pathology Term 1 and 2 Update:
It’s been an incredibly productive start to 2024 at Mary Queen of Heaven, with Term 1 going full steam ahead in supporting student’s language development. Throughout term 1, I completed oral language assessments with all the Prep and Grade 1 students. From these results, I formed intervention groups to target specific oral language goals (e.g., expanding vocabulary, using correct tense, using correct sentence structure etc.). These groups will continue throughout term 2. Additionally, the staff at MQH have been passionate to learn, and have been upskilled in the area of oral language using the intervention approach called ‘Colourful Semantics’. This is being successfully implemented across the school to better support student’s oral language development. The staff will continue to be upskilled in different areas, with term 2’s focus on literacy intervention.
Something to note – my role at the school is to upskill the staff, and provide whole class/group intervention. This means, I do not provide 1:1 support to individual students. If your child requires speech therapy assessment and intervention, it is important to seek this externally. Once you have a speech pathologist, I can support the teachers and co-educators to address their speech goals in the classroom.
I look forward to the rest of the term working with the MQH community!
Melanie Raffa
School Speech Pathologist
Lunchtime clubs are back!
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
| Club: Lego
Staff Member: Dani Area: Library |
Club: Dance
Staff Member: Jess Area: Library |
Club: Yoga
Staff Member: Alysha Area: Prep C |
Club: Mindful Colouring/Drawing
Staff Member: Sarah Area: Library |
Club: Walking Club
Staff Member: Renae & Attamjit Area: |
‘In the light of Christ’ is drawn from our strategic plan, MACS 2030: Forming Lives to Enrich the World. Christ is our inspiration, the very life of our purpose as Catholic educators. Everything we do is illuminated by this. It is through this inspiration that we find three of our schools looking at how to structure their School Advisory Council in a new light.
Mary Queen of Heaven Primary School, Greenvale, St Carlo Borromeo School, Greenvale, and School of the Good Shepherd, Gladstone Park, are all located within the mission of the Good Shepherd Parish. With guidance from parish priest Fr Dishan Candappa, in partnership with the three principals Renae Gentile, Kevin Gleeson and Carmela D’Amato, they work together in mission and have formed a School Advisory Council that attends to the needs of the parish and the three schools. The inaugural School Advisory Council meeting, hosted by St Carlo Borromeo School, took place on 5 March with a vibrant gathering of parent and teacher representatives from each of the schools.
Key to this process is that the schools maintain their individual charism and identity, while also clearly identifying as schools of the parish. In addition, the structures being developed ensure Fr Dishan is supported by an arrangement and meetings that encourage the pursuit of maintaining the catholicity of the schools and connectedness to parish. This pathfinding journey is one that School Advisory Councils in those mission communities comprising a family of local faith communities will need to watch in the future.
Please see the attached Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD) Information Sheet for Parents, Carers and Guardians.
Please find the attached flyer for Early Beginners Child Care Centre Greenvale Open Day. This is a new childcare opening in our local community.
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Available to all Mary Queen of Heaven parents and friends. We look forward to seeing you in the studio soon!
