As a Marist College, May holds special significance for our community. It is a time to reflect deeply on one of our core Marist characteristics, “In the Way of Mary”, and to consider how we embody this in our daily lives. In this edition of the newsletter, our Director of Mission and Catholic Identity, Mr Stuart McClorey, shares further insights into this meaningful theme.
In connection with this focus, we are delighted to host a live stream of the Marian Lecture, a free event open to all members of our College community. We warmly invite you to join us for this special occasion. Light refreshments will be served following the lecture.
Earlier this week, it was lovely to have Sonja Stemler, the Active Transport Project Manager from the City of Stirling visit the College. Sonja joined me on a tour, as we discussed the different initiatives that the College has in place and potential improvements to promote active transport in our community.
Sonja provided some invaluable insights into how the College can get the most out of the YourMove program. You can keep up to date with our journey here.
Winter Uniform and Presentation
It has been great to see students back on Campus this term in their Winter Academic Uniform. The Leaders of Wellbeing have been completing uniform checks over the week and have been pleased with the way most students are presenting. I would like to thank families and students for their continued support in maintaining Newman College’s high presentation standards.
Welcome back to Term Two. The primary school community has welcomed me in my new role as Head of Primary in Ryan von Bergheim’s absence. My background is in both primary and secondary teaching, spending much of my career specialising in Diversity and Learning Support, which has given me a big-picture view of the learning journey our students go through, from those first days in Pre-Kindy all the way through to the later years of school and beyond. I’m particularly passionate about helping students prepare for the many transitions they’ll experience, making sure they feel ready—not just for the next year, but for life beyond school. I also care deeply about diversity, especially neurodiversity, and the different ways children experience and interact with the world around them.
I am excited to get to know all the students quickly and thank everyone for their kind words over the past two weeks.
Year 6 Red Assembly
Last Friday, Year 6 Red performed a magnificent assembly, using their imagination to fly us via Newman Airlines to China, New Zealand, the United States of America, Italy, and North Korea. We learnt some funny and quirky facts about each of these countries. Thanks to Year 6 Red and Ms Lara Gray for their outstanding performance.
Fathering Project
The Fathering Project recognises that fathers and father figures play a vital role in the lives of children. The evidence demonstrating fathers’ potential to positively influence their children’s health and mental health, social success and academic achievements is robust and compelling.
Delivering engaging prevention and intervention programs and research-based resources will equip fathers with the skills to be the best father they can be and improve the lives of fathers, children, and families for generations to come.
Our next event, ‘Bangers and Bingo,’ is being held on 23 May at the Marian Hall and is open to all primary families. Tickets are currently available here. A special thank you to Newman College Dad, Matt Hamilton, for organising this important event.
Teaching Mathematics Across the Primary School
Over the last two years, we been reviewing and updating Mathematics teaching across the primary years. Our focus has been on upskilling staff on High Impact Teaching practices and aligning the Mathematics curriculum across the year levels.
High Impact Teaching practices are strategies that research shows have the greatest impact in improving academic outcomes and deeper learning. Some strategies you may hear about in include:
Daily Reviews – these are quick hits of previous learning that help to transfer learning to long term memory.
Clear and explicit learning intentions and success criteria – the teacher explains exactly what the main focus of the lesson is and what is expected of the students by the end of the lesson. This helps students stay focused on the learning and recognise the steps needed to experience success in their learning.
Structured lessons (I do, We do, You do) – this structure is consistent across each year level so students become familiar with expectations and can expand their thinking on the Maths learning, not what comes next in the lesson.
We use a range of ORIGO Mathematics resources that follow a spiral curriculum, allowing students to develop mastery of skills and understandings over time. Students engage in a range of experiences that move from concrete, hands on learning, to abstract and symbolic representations of mathematical concepts. This approach allows students to gain deep understanding of concepts and skills and experience success in their learning. Learning is organised into modules and there are check ups of student learning for each module followed by quarterly tests each term. This tracking helps to provide timely feedback to students that corrects misconceptions and guides relevant planning for future lessons. This is also useful information that helps demonstrate student learning progress with parents.
We are excited about the growth we’re seeing and remain committed to providing all students with a strong foundation in Mathematics that supports confidence, curiosity, and long-term success.
School Photos
School photos will be held at the following dates, with Envelopes being sent home today.
23 May – Lavalla Campus, Y3-Y6
29 and 30 May – Marian Campus, PK-2 May
Uniform requirements for these days include:
Y1-Y3: Winter Uniform with jumper
Y4-Y6: Winter Uniform including blazer and Tie (boys). No jumper is required.
Pre-Primary: Sport Uniform (no guild shirt)
Kindy: No uniform (kindy top an option)
Pre Kindy: No uniform
Year 3-6 Guild Cross Country Carnival
Further to correspondence from Mrs Barnsley, the Year 3-6 Guild Cross Country Carnival will take place next Thursday 16 May. Students must wear their sports uniform with their faction shirt and bring a drink bottle and a hat.
The approximate timeline for the day is as follows:
9.10am Year 3 race (1.5km)
9.30am Year 4 race (1.5km)
Presentations for Year 3 and 4 students will take place at the conclusion of the Year 4 race.
11.10am – RECESS
11.40am Year 5 race (2.5km)
12.00pm Year 6 race (2.5km)
Presentations for Year 5 and 6 students will take place at the conclusion of the Year 6 race.
If you are attending as a spectator, please ensure you remain in the designated spectator area, spectator on the oval along Dolomite Ct. Visitors must sign in on the day via the QR code in the spectator area.
Mother’s Day
It was so wonderful to see so many mothers and significant female figures attend today’s Mother’s Day breakfast and Liturgy at Marian. Thank you to Year 1 for your terrific reading, singing, and liturgical dancing. We wish all mothers and significant female figures in our community a very happy Mother’s Day.
Road Safety Slogan Competition
Dogs on Campus
A reminder that for the comfort and safety of all primary students, dogs are not allowed on either Primary Campus. We have students who are allergic to animals, as well as those who are frightened of dogs. If bringing your dog with you to collect your child, we ask that the dog remain on a leash outside of the campus. Your support is greatly appreciated.
This month we celebrate May, a month that holds a very special and deep significance in our Catholic tradition, especially within our Marist community of Newman College.
May is the month that we dedicate to Mary. It’s a time to reflect on her virtues, her faith, and her quiet strength. As Marists, Mary has an even more special significance…we see Mary not only as someone to honour, but as someone to imitate.
Marcellin Champagnat’s vision for educators was very simple – in order to educate children, you must love them and love them equally. How did he and his brothers show this love? Through the living out of the Marist characteristics – presence, simplicity, family spirit, love of work, and In the way of Mary. It is this last characteristic that can sometimes be the most difficult to fully understand.
So, as we begin the month of May, it is worth giving this some thought. What does it mean to live ‘in the way of Mary’?
To live in the way of Mary is a beautiful invitation to imitate Mary, not just in our actions, but in our attitude and spirit too. It means to follow Jesus just as she did; to act with humility, compassion, and trust in God. It means to be present to others, showing up especially in times of need; to saying yes with faith, even when things are hard or uncertain; to nurture and care for others, bringing out the best in those around us; and to act at all times with humility and love, seeking to ‘do good quietly’.
Taking Mary as our model means we reflect Mary in not only what we do but how we do it, with these notions of humility, compassion, presence, and a spirit of service front and centre. It is also a great reminder to us that Mary didn’t seek attention or status; she simply said ‘yes’ to God and walked alongside others with quiet courage and deep faith.
In the same way that Lent is a special time of spiritual nourishment so that we may become our best selves and grow closer to God, so too does the month of May allow us the opportunity to focus on how we can live out Mary’s qualities of faith, compassion, and quiet strength. Perhaps, you might like to choose one of Mary’s qualities you would like a little more of in your life…gentleness, patience, humility…and put this into place through your words, your spirit, and your actions.
Allow yourself the time to let your month of May be one of great purpose…an opportunity to walk in Mary’s footsteps, and in doing so, bring honour to her life and draw closer to her son, Jesus Christ.
Marian Lecture
The College is excited to host a live stream of the Marian Lecture. This is a free event, and we invite all members of our College community to join us. Light refreshments will be provided following the lecture. Please register your interest here.
Welcome back to the start of Term 2. I hope all families enjoyed some time together over the term break holidays. We are underway and fully back into the swing of College life and learning.
Prior to the students returning, our staff enjoyed a great day with the Marist Life and Formation Team, unpacking our Marist Theme for 2025, Pilgrims of Hope. As we enjoyed this deep dive into understanding Pilgrims of Hope, we were also grappling with the death of Pope Francis, and our community recognised his passing and leadership in our PCG and Class prayers throughout the first week of school. The impact of Francis’ leadership will be long experienced in the Church and the world. There are many lessons we take from his papacy but one in particular has sat with me for many years. Chris Lowney, a former Jesuit seminarian, wrote the book Pope Francis: Why He Leads the Way He Leads. Lowney wrote what we all came to understand about this leader in faith. Pope Francis was a pastoral leader, a leader deeply connected with the people and of the people. A particular image put forward by Lowney was of Francis dirty laundry, dusty shoes and monastery bells. As a supervisor of a Jesuit Seminary earlier in his priesthood, Fr Jorge Bergolio (Pope Francis) took it upon himself to do the laundry of the seminary. He was easily identifiable as a priest with his people as his shoes were always dirty with the dust of the roads and alleyways where he met and pastored to his parish and people. This earthiness, presence and focus on the human interaction with others was also coupled with Francis’ focus on looking up (monastery bells), leading his flock to a personal relationship with God. In these times where leadership seems to have lurched towards selfishness and division, we have lost a true leader who embodied the hope to look beyond and to the margins, but we will continue to be better for the example of true servant leadership he has left us. We now celebrate and pray for Pope Leo XIV.
In this moment of history and hope, we pause in prayer together as a Marist community. With hearts full of faith, we welcome the words spoken by our new Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV:
‘Peace be with you’
Guild Spirit
Students on Marcellin campus enjoyed a great day of Guild spirit in last week’s Cross Country event. Along with the overall competition to take the shield, we had Guilds competing for the first time in the Guild Spirit shield. What we saw on the day was the dial shift even further to the right with a renewed energy around celebrating and competing as a Guild. Well done to all the students, Guild Co-ordinators and the Physical Education team for an uplifting and joyful carnival. Congratulations to the podium finishers in each race, Marcellin Guild for taking the Shield and to MacKillop and Thomas More who drew to become the first Guilds on the new Spirit Shield. Most importantly, well done to all our students for their great involvement on the day.
Mother’s Day
As the week drew to a close, we were delighted to welcome mothers, grandmothers and mother figures to the College for either the Mother’s Day Liturgy or Mass. The celebration of Mother’s Day is one of the most beautiful moments in any year; that outpouring expression of gratitude and thanks to our ever patient, strong, wise and amazing mothers.
We also take a moment to remember and honour the mothers who are no longer with us. Their love and legacy continue to live on in the hearts of those they nurtured.
On behalf of all in our community, I wish everyone a joyous Mother’s Day this Sunday.
Here we are at the end of Term 1! What a fantastic term it has been, full of exciting learning opportunities across the Primary! Our students (and staff) have worked extremely hard this term and everyone is ready for a well-deserved holiday break to rest and recuperate!
Easter Liturgies
This morning, we held Easter Liturgies at both Primary campuses. Both of these were joyful and reverent occasions, reminding us as a Newman College community of the true meaning of Easter. Special thanks to our Year 2 students and teachers for organising the Marian Liturgy, which saw all of our Marian students participating.
Easter Raffles
A huge thanks to all families who purchased tickets and also donated eggs for our Primary Easter Raffle. We have raised a great deal of money for Caritas Project Compassion – a truly worthy cause. Your donations will make a huge difference in the live of many people in need around the world. Many students will be coming home today as winners of the raffle – enjoy all of that chocolate! You can find out more about Project Compassion by visiting this link.
Assembly
Last Friday 2 Red shared their wonderful Term 1 learning with us. 2 Red started their assembly by signing the beautiful song My Lighthouse reminding us that Jesus is always there for us, ready to listen to us and help guide us in the right direction. 2 Red then took us on a journey around the world – teaching us all about the Continents, sharing wonderful facts, jokes and songs along the way! Thank you 2 Red for helping us to learn about our amazing world and inspiring us to travel!
Newman Norms / Medals of Marcellin
Each fortnight at each Primary campus, one person will be drawn out of the raffle and receive a small prize for living out our Newman Norms. Congratulations to Mateo, Shubh and Noah (Week 8 Lavalla) and Heath (Week 9 Marian) who were our recent winners! Each raffle ticket received is swapped for a token and the Guild with the highest number of tokens at the end of the term wins a prize for the whole Guild!
As advised earlier this week – the winning guilds for Term 1 2025 were as below:
The tokens now reset, with a fresh start for Term 2 Medals of Marcellin!
Mother’s Day
We invite all Mothers and Mother figures to join us for our upcoming Mother’s Day celebrations. Please see the flyer below for more information about these events, which are occurring early next term. RSVP form can be found here.
The Fathering Project
In exciting news, the College is looking to expand the Fathering Project into the Lavalla and Marcellin Campuses this year! Over the past couple of years the Fathering Project has run events with Marian fathers and children, which have been hugely successful.
Matt Hamilton, who is a Year 3 and Pre-Primary parent, has coordinated these events with a small group of dad helpers over the past couple of years and we are now looking to expand this group as we open this up to all of the Primary dads.
As such, we are looking for dads who are willing to get involved in helping to organise and run future events, particularly dads of students in Years 4, 5 & 6 (but also welcome dads of any year levels).
Nikki Cresp (currently on leave this term) will step into our Primary Library teacher role in Terms 2-4 this year. Having worked across both Primary campuses, Nikki knows the students and will be a wonderful addition to the Library team.
Hannah Barnsley joins us as our Sport Teacher, taking over from Mrs Richards for this year. Hannah is an experienced teacher who has taught across PK-12 in Physical Education, Special Education and Learning Support in her career.
URSTRONG
A reminder that parents continue to have access to a FREE URSTRONG parent membership. We hope that as a URSTRONG Family, you will reinforce the important messages of empowerment, self-compassion, & kindness at home.
Long Service Leave
As you will be aware from Andrew Watson’s email to parents earlier this term, I will be taking Long Service Leave across Terms 2 and 3 to travel around the world. The plans for the coming together of the Primary Campuses are well and truly in-hand and I am excited for my return to one Primary Campus at the start of Term 4.
During my leave, please contact Mrs Sarah Pagett (Acting Head of Primary Terms 2-3) or continue to contact the front office at either Campus who will direct your queries to the appropriate member of the Primary Leadership Team.
I wish all Primary families a restful and happy Easter with your families and a fruitful Terms 2 and 3.
