Thank You – Parents and Carers Breakfast

A big thank you to all our wonderful parents, carers, dads, grandpas and special friends who joined us for our Donuts with Dad, Muffins with Mum (or vice versa) breakfast on Friday, 5 September. It was so lovely to see such a fantastic turnout and to share the morning together as a community.

A special thanks also to Mrs Marzano for preparing the students for their beautiful performance. As always, their singing was delightful!  

Events like these remind us what a special community we have at St Matthew’s.

St Matthew’s Promotion Video

We are excited to share our brand-new St Matthew’s promotion video! 
You can view it here: St Matthew’s Promotion Video

Please feel free to share it with family, friends, and anyone who may be considering St Matthew’s for their child. We still have vacancies in our Kindergarten and Year One classes for 2025, as well as Kindergarten enrolments open for 2026.

First Eucharist

This weekend, we keep in our prayers all of our students who will be making the Sacrament of First Eucharist. We wish them every blessing as they take this important step in their faith journey.

We warmly invite families to join us in celebrating this special occasion at Mass on Saturday evening at 6.00pm or Sunday morning at 8.30am.

Thank you to Monsignor John, Miss Murdock, Miss Levi, Mr Payne, and especially to the families for the guidance, preparation, and support given to the children as they prepared for this Sacrament.

Toys and Key Chains at School

We know how much children love their toys and personal treasures, but we kindly ask that these remain at home where they are safe and sound. At school, we provide plenty of resources for students to learn and play, and it’s easy for toys brought from home to get lost or broken – something we know can be very upsetting.

We also ask that students keep bag decorations and key chains to a maximum of two. Too many can make bags tricky to store and weigh them down.

Thank you for your support!

Conference Highlights 

In Weeks 5 and 6, I had the privilege of attending the Australian Catholic Education Commission (ACEC) and Australian Primary Principals Association (APPA) Conferences, which brought together principals and leaders from across Australia to hear from inspiring speakers and share in professional learning. The conferences were both thought-provoking and, at times, deeply moving (yes, there were tears!), with themes of resilience, teamwork, and human connection woven throughout.  I’d like to share the sessions that particularly stood out for me.

1. Building Stronger Family Partnerships

Dr. Steve Constantino reminded us that real family engagement goes beyond attending events—it’s about building meaningful, two-way relationships. He encouraged schools to reflect on how we communicate with families and to focus on trust, openness, and shared purpose. His message was clear: when schools and families work together, everyone benefits.

2. Supporting Teacher Growth

Dylan William spoke about how teachers grow best through ongoing, practical learning. He introduced a model in which small groups of teachers meet regularly to share ideas, try new strategies, and support one another. This type of collaboration enables teachers to enhance their teaching practices, ultimately benefiting their students.

3. Balancing Technology and Human Connection

Simon Breakspear explored the role of AI in education. While technology can help with tasks like planning and summarising, he stressed the importance of keeping learning human. Schools should remain places where students think deeply, connect with others, and experience real-world learning through arts, literature and performances.

4. The Power of Teamwork

Libby Trickett, OAM, Olympic gold medallist and former world-record-holding swimmer, reflected on her career, particularly her experiences at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. What initially seemed like a disappointing Games for her turned around in her final event, the 4×100-metre medley relay. In a fiercely contested race, the Australian team surged ahead to claim gold and set a new world record.

Libby spoke powerfully about the importance of teamwork—how we achieve more together, and how we need to pick one another up when times are tough. This message is particularly relevant today, given it's RU OK? Day. She also shared her honest thoughts about life beyond sport, raising five children, and living with neurodiversity.

5. Building Human Connections

Gill Hicks, survivor of the 2005 London Underground bombings, shared with us her experience of being in the same train carriage as the bomber. She experienced horrific injuries, including losing both her legs in the explosion. She shared her journey, including retracing the memorial route from King’s Cross to Tavistock Square with faith leaders to honour the victims. Gill now dedicates her life to peace advocacy and building human connections. She works in the field of anti-terrorism, and her story was a remarkable testimony to resilience, hope, and the brilliance of humanity.

Both Libby and Gill reminded us that life is about connection—supporting one another, standing together, and never underestimating the strength that comes from community.

Thank you!

Finally, I would like to thank the staff who filled my shoes while I was away: Petra Cole, who stepped into the Acting Principal role; Sophie Murdock and Darren Roberts, who took on additional jobs along with many of our other staff. I am deeply grateful for their leadership and to all staff for ensuring things continued so smoothly at St Matthew’s during my absence.

School Fees

Child Safeguarding Corner

The Child Safe Standards provide us with tangible guidance about how to create cultures, adopt strategies and act to put the interests of children first, to keep them safe from harm. Each fortnight, I present one of the standards and ask you to reflect on how you think we’re addressing the recommendations. We welcome ideas and feedback from our families and community. This week, we’re looking at Standard 9: Implementation of the Child Safe Standards is continuously reviewed and improved.

The aim of this standard is to identify and minimise risks to ensure that we continuously improve our child safe practices.  This standard is important because Child Safe Standards are more effective if implementation is continuously reviewed and improved. Being a child safe organisation is an evolving process that requires ongoing efforts to keep children safe. 

Our aim is to prioritise this standard for child safety in what we say and do:

• We maintain a culture of continuous improvement to ensure policies and procedures are implemented and routinely reviewed.
• We know the value of continuous monitoring, open conversations and exploring new ways to keep children safe. 
• We review incidents to identify the cause and the risks to the safety of children and to make improvements. 

We now have a page on our school website dedicated to Child Safeguarding, and we encourage you to view it. 

If you have any questions or feedback about how we are addressing this particular Standard, or about our Child Safeguarding page, please email me (petra.cole@cg.catholic.edu.au). 

Friendology

St Matthew’s is proud to be a URSTRONG school. URSTRONG provides a friendship skills curriculum, Friendology 101, that helps our students to establish and maintain healthy relationships, manage conflict with kindness, and increase their overall resilience. One of the first foundational concepts in the friendship skills curriculum teaches our students about the difference between healthy and unhealthy friendships. 

Some friendships bring out the best in us, while some bring out the worst. It’s important to teach children that friendships are a choice. The Friend-o-Meter was developed by URSTRONG because research shows that children don’t always assess or evaluate their friendships, which means they accept both the good and the bad. We want children to think about whether or not friendships are healthy for them, and it’s critical that we start now. In order that self-compassion will be an instinct when considering future relationships, children should be encouraged to ask themselves: 

• Is this friendship good for me? 
• Does this person treat me with the respect I deserve? 

You can join URSTRONG for free and support our school by sharing the same messages and teaching the same skills that we teach here at St Matthew’s. URSTRONG provides simple but meaningful language and skills to open up a dialogue with your children. You can join URSTRONG for free: https://urstrong.com/.

Petra Cole

Assistant Principal 

St Matthew’s Dance and Music Showcase - Let Music Move You!

We are delighted to invite you to the St Matthew’s Dance and Music Showcase, a special event that celebrates the wonderful talent and learning of our students in the Arts.

This showcase is the culmination of the skills students have developed through our dance and music programs in Term 3. You’ll enjoy an energetic and fun-filled performance, featuring:

• Opting in* students from Years 3–5 present their own choreographed dance routines (*the option to perform on stage to the audience or present to their class).

• Kindergarten to Year 2 sharing musical numbers, complete with creative props made at school.

• Our School Choir is performing between dances.

(Year 6 students will have the opportunity to showcase their dance and drama skills in Term 4.)

Students in Years 3–5 have organised their own costumes and outfits, while our younger students will use school-made props.

Event Details

Date: Tuesday, 16 September

Time: 12 noon 

Venue: St Matthew’s School Hall

Admission: Free

We warmly invite all families to join us in celebrating the creativity and artistic growth of our students. We look forward to seeing you there!

Sophie Murdock

Religious Education Coordinator

Online Gaming

What is online gaming?

Online gaming includes video games played over a device connected to the internet and can range from simple text-based games to games incorporating complex graphics and virtual worlds. Games can be played either solo or by many players simultaneously.

How does it work? 

Online games can be played on a range of devices, including consoles, computers, tablets and smartphones, which can have some level of online access. Games can also have augmented or virtual reality capabilities. Online gaming can be a lot of fun and has many benefits for children and young people. It can help develop problem-solving skills, and can encourage teamwork, creativity and creative thinking. Many games have the ability to play single player; however, online multiplayer gaming is a popular activity for young people. Popular games vary across age groups and genres but can include Minecraft, Roblox, Fortnite, Final Fantasy, Call of Duty, Animal Crossing and Grand Theft Auto. Many of these are certainly not suitable for primary-aged children. 

What are the challenges? 

Many games have ‘in-game’ chat, including video, voice and text that allows players to communicate with each other directly. There are also separate apps or sites specifically made for gaming that allow users to communicate with each other in real time. For example, Discord is a popular app that allows for voice, video and live stream among users. It is important to remember that young people who are playing multiplayer games could be playing with people they don’t know, and could be a lot older than they are.

Tips for staying safe 

• Maintain supervision of your child when they are playing games. 
• Consider disabling in-game chat functions if they are not critical to the game. If your child is playing games with voice chat, consider enabling the speakers so you can monitor discussions. 
• Children should only play games with people they know and trust. However, if your child is playing multiplayer games, encourage them to keep the topic about the game only. 
• To protect personal information, help your child create a smart username and profile that gives out no personal details. It might be a nickname or a made-up name. 
• Learn how to block and report other players and inappropriate contact.

For more important information and advice, including critical information about the more serious safety issues associated with online gaming, please head to the eSafety Commissioner's website. 

Culture Club

At St Matthew’s, the Aboriginal Culture Club provides a meaningful opportunity for our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to connect with their heritage and deepen their understanding of culture through art, dance, language, and storytelling.

Held every second Friday, the group meets with Mr Hunt and Miss Moore to explore cultural traditions and build a strong sense of identity and pride.

Last week, we were thrilled to welcome Libby Goodsell, Teaching and Learning Support Officer for Aboriginal Education from Catholic Education. During this special incursion, students learned about the importance of caring for Country—taking only what is needed from the land to protect and preserve it for future generations.

The session encouraged thoughtful discussion and hands-on learning. As a final activity, students created wristbands in the colours of the Aboriginal Flag, symbolising unity and connection as one team.

Daniel Hunt and Mickey Moore

Contact Teachers for ATSI Education

Games / Hobby Club

Some students in years 4, 5, and 6 have been enjoying the lunchtime games/hobby club held in 4 Blue. The club is open to all students in these year groups and games are available to play. The space is a quiet, alternative play area where students can come and hang out, playing games with their peers. 

Currently, we have a few students who are building and painting miniatures. If your child is interested in joining the club, they are more than welcome to pop their head in during lunchtime on both Monday and Wednesday. 

If you have any questions about this club, please feel free to email Mr. Payne.

Tuning into Kids is Coming to St Matthew's!

I CAN News

AN AFTER-SCHOOL PLACE FOR AUTISTIC/ NEURODIVERGENT YOUTH

Dear Friends,

Cycle 3 of I CAN Online is wrapping up, and we’re getting ready for Cycle 4. Does your young person have an after-school activity where they truly feel at home? Cycle 4 could be that place where they come as they are, connect with peers and enjoy themselves.

In other news, the countdown is on to I CAN Expo, with just over a month to 9 October!

In Cycle 4, we offer a Transition to High School Group to autistic/neurodivergent youth where they can:

✅ Develop skills to identify trusted supports at school
✅ Build capacity to manage stress and decompress after each school day
✅ Become familiar with daily preparation routines so they start every school day with confidence
✅ Become familiar with high-school timetables and lockers while managing the change between classes and environments

? Places are limited – secure your young person's spot today so they're prepared for 2026!

Enrol Here For Cycle 4

Join us at I CAN Expo 2025
Be part of I CAN Expo 2025 and say 'I CAN BE ME'!

Autistic young people, their families and schools from across Victoria will come together for I CAN Expo 2025 — a celebration of autistic voices and post-school pathways.

The program includes keynote speakers like I CAN Patron Rev Tim Costello AO and comedian/ADHDer Em Rusciano, alongside inspiring talks from I CAN mentors and mentees on everything from Severus Snape to executive functioning hacks, musicals, AFL and more.

This year also features a dedicated professional development track for educators.

➡️ Save the date and join us

Event Details
? Date: Thursday, 9 October 2025
⌚ Time: 9:00 AM – 2:30 PM AEDT
? Location: Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre - Level 2
Cost: $16.50 per ticket - includes morning tea and lunch

We look forward to supporting you now and in the future!

Chris Varney
I CAN Founder & Chief Enabler

Daramalan Basketball Training Camp

Karinya House Walk for Hope - Gather your team!

Team Kids

TeamKids have another amazing SPRING Holiday program planned!

• Learn new skills and make new friends
• Qualified and REMARKABLE Educators
• Digital detox with our no screens policy
• Delicious and nutritious morning and afternoon snacks
• CCS-approved care

Click the link below to check out St Matthew's Primary's program + secure your spot today! https://downloads.teamkids.com.au/st-mathews-primary.pdf