Good Samaritan Catholic Primary School Fairy Meadow acknowledges and pays respect to the Dharawal and Gweagal people past and present, the traditional custodians of the lands on which our school is built.

Dear Parents and Carers,

Our Parents and Friends Meeting on Monday evening provided an opportunity to share the outcomes of our recent Cyclic Inquiry. This process involved an external panel of highly respected educational experts reviewing our Self-Review Report and spending two days on site, engaging with staff, students, and parents. The panel acknowledged our successes, listened to the voices of our community and identified areas for future growth.

Some key findings that were particularly noteworthy include:

Student Performance 2024/2025

• Year 4 Religious Literacy Assessment (RLA) results were above the Diocesan average, with 75.5% of our students achieving a sound, thorough, or extensive level.
• Year 5 NAPLAN achieved beyond the expected growth in Reading, Writing and Numeracy.
• Year 3 and 5 NAPLAN achieved above the state averages in all domains Reading, Writing, Grammar and Punctuation, Spelling and Numeracy
• Year 5 has achieved above the mean score of statistically similar schools in all domains. Most notable is Numeracy (+14.55), Reading (+11.09) and Writing (+14.9)
• Year 3 has achieved above the mean score of statistically similar schools in Reading, Grammar and Punctuation and Numeracy. Most notable is Grammar and Punctuation (+14.55).

2024–2025 Growth (Tell Them From Me: Student, Parent and Staff data)

• Staff wellbeing: +11%
• Teacher engagement: +3%
• Enrolment growth: +3%
• Negative behaviours: -50%
• Perceptions of school leadership: +1.8%
• Staff collaboration opportunities: +1.5%
• Data informing teaching practice: +1.5%
• Extra-curricular opportunities for students: +23%
• Student sense of belonging: +11%

All of the above  areas were above the Diocesan Mean in 2025. This success is a testament to the dedication of our students, staff, and families working together.

Areas for Continued Focus
While our data shows strong upward growth, the following priorities have been identified moving forward:

• Strengthening ways to ensure parents are well informed about their child’s academic progress.
• Broadening opportunities for parent involvement, including trialling a Parent Grade Representative model in Term  1, 2026. Watch this space!
• Revisiting Home Work and exploring varied approaches to support student learning at home.
• Ensuring academic challenge for all students, with High Potential and Gifted Education (HPGE) initiatives at the forefront.

We are proud of the results achieved so far, and ongoing growth will remain at the heart of our work at Good Samaritan.

Staffing News

I will be taking a period of Long Service Leave from 12–26 September inclusive to visit family overseas. During my absence, the following leadership arrangements will be in place:

• Mrs Catherine Hailstone – Acting Principal
• Mrs Natalie Shelley – Acting Assistant Principal
• Mr Sergio Ambrosi – Acting Religious Education Coordinator

I congratulate Catherine, Natalie, and Sergio on their Acting  appointments and am confident the school will be in excellent hands during this time.

I am also delighted to share that the following staff members, who had previously held permanent appointments at other schools in the Diocese, will now take up permanent positions at Good Samaritan from the beginning of the 2026 school year:

• Miss Caitlin Morgan 
• Mr Jason Novak 
• Mrs Jenny Black 
• Mrs Adele Fraser 

This provides wonderful stability and strength to our staffing as we move forward.

Mrs Grace McKay will also take a period of Long Service Leave for the 2026 school year and I wish her all the very best and a well deserved period of rest.

As the term progresses, I will be working on placing teaching staff across the school for 2026. Early next term, I will also share our Formation of Classes Policy for the new school year. This policy outlines how children progress to the next grade, how classes are formed etc. Parent voice can be appropriate in this process, particularly in cases of extenuating circumstances (e.g. conflict of interest where a child cannot be placed in a particular class). Parents will be given an opportunity to meet with me early next term if required.

Sincerely
Pauline Chrostowski
Principal

PARISH CONTACT DETAILS:

General enquiries

Lumen Christi Catholic Parish, Wollongong 

Diocese of Wollongong 

PO Box 874 (36 Harbour Street)

Ph: (02) 42 110500

Office hours: Monday to Friday (9:00am–1:00pm)

Click here to view the Parish Mass Times

Summer Uniform Changeover:

As the weather begins to get warmer the students may wear their Summer uniform from Monday 8 September 2025. It is then at parental discretion as to which uniform is worn given the weather forecast until the end of term. We ask that either FULL Summer or FULL Winter is worn, not a combination of each. 

All students must wear the Summer uniform from the beginning of Term 4, Tuesday 14 October 2025.

Kind Regards,

Catherine Hailstone 

Assistant Principal

Ukuele Club

This week we started our GSFM Stage 3 Ukulele Club. The students were very excited to unbox the 5 ukuleles the school has purchased to get the club started. We are keen to add more ukuleles to our collection, so if you have a ukulele at home and it is not being used, please consider donating it to the school.

Thank you, Jane Stackhouse.

Chess Challenge 

The State Semi Finals for the 2025 Interschool Chess Challenge were held at Marist College Kogarah on Monday 25th August.

Good Samaritan was represented by:

Cristiano B (Y5) , Zach G, (Y5) Alexander T (Y5), Henry F (Y4) and Nicholas J (Y4).

Of the 107 primary school students from around the state, our very own Cristiano took out 1st place and was named Junior Champion for the event, with an impressive score of 6.5/7. A special mention also goes to Nicholas who came in 8th place.

The school's final score was determined by the four highest-scoring players, and only the top three schools advanced to the State Finals.

Although our team narrowly missed qualifying by just one point, all five boys should be proud of their performance and are to be congratulated on their excellent results.

Diocesan Athletics Selection Trials

Congratulations to all of our Athletes who competed at the Diocesan Athletics Selection Trials at Beaton Park last Tuesday in very cold and wet conditions. Your dedication was outstanding, and we are very proud of you. 

Congratulations to Angus B, Evelyn B, Jacob D, Aaliah G, Maddi T, Lachlan B and Chase WM who have been selected in the Wollongong Diocesan Team to participate in the MacKillop Trials at Sydney Olympic Park in Homebush in September. Good luck team!

Soccer Gala Day

A reminder to those attending the Soccer Gala Day at Dalton Park: Shin pads and Joggers must be worn, no Football boots permitted. No jewellery to be worn. Any jewellery unable to be removed must be taped. 

A BBQ and canteen will be available on the day. Please see the attached flyer. Cash and EFTPOS available. 

Soccer Gala Day 

We have the great pleasure of being asked again to run the BBQ at this year’s Soccer Gala Day. Year 6 will be hosting the BBQ, and all money raised will go towards the request to upgrade the basketball courts.

Please see the attached menu for the BBQ.

If any parents are able to help out on the day, ony if you are not managing a team,kindly let the office know.

Thank you for your continued support!

Carla Olima

PE Teacher

Please refer to the Good Samaritan Calendar of Events for 2025.

These events are also updated on the Google Parent Calendar.