PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

Dear Parents/Carers,

Welcome back to Term Two and what a start it has been. On Monday, we kicked off with a move into our new classroom spaces and celebrated with a whole school Kaboom tabloid sports activity session! The children are very excited to be in their new spaces and did a great job helping their teachers move their learning materials over from their temporary learning areas. Everyone has been incredibly complimentary of renovations and, once again, I would like to thank our parent community for your understanding through the construction period. It will take a little while before these classrooms ‘feel like home’, but it is wonderful to have fresh, new areas where everything is brand new! We now have first-class facilities to complement our high-quality teaching and learning programs such as MSL, Heggerty and Spelling Mastery. 

Over the next couple of weeks, we will continue to have trades onsite while the job is finished off. We are expecting the final glazing to be installed this coming weekend. The painters and carpet layers will continue in the Art Room (above Admin) to ensure this ties together with the new works. This was additional scope that has been added to the project at the tail end. The landscaping team will commence works on the Peterson Street garden this week as well. This will include some new trees, bench seats, planting and astro turf. We are aiming to make this area low-maintenance. There will still be a ‘planting space’ in the garden beds on the corner of Clyde and Peterson Streets. It will be nice to have this area tidy and useable for class groups on a daily basis.

Yesterday, our community marked Anzac Day and our school captains joined the Highett RSL Dawn Service. The connection we have with the local RSL is a special one; each year the Year Six leaders participate in this service and also on Remembrace Day. Our school supports the Anzac Appeal by selling the remembrance merchandise and the Highett RSL makes a financial contribution to support families in need, also on an annual basis. Hugh and Alannah represented the school very well by reciting poetry and also laying a wreath. Today, at assembly, we came together to reflect on the meaning of Anzac Day with a commemorative service of our own. Our Year Six leaders planned and led this service and they did a marvellous job. As a school and also as parents, we have a responsibility to mark Anzac Day each year and to pass on the story of the Anzacs to the next generation.

Term Two is short and sharp this year, with much to cram into what is essentially 8.5 weeks when you factor in the public holidays. The first newsletter of the term always includes an overview of the events to look forward to, so I encourage you to take out your family calendar and record the dates that are pertinent to your family. 

Please head across to Term Two Events page for more information.

New Enterprise Bargaining Agreement in Catholic Schools

You may have read in the media recently about a new Enterprise Bargaining Agreement that is currently being finalised, but is essentially in effect in Catholic Schools for 2023. This new agreement is a fundamental shift in thinking for schools and has a number of improvements to teacher working conditions. Never before have we had such a shortage of teachers in our profession and the changes being introduced in this new agreement will help to combat this challenge. Key changes include:

• Reduction in face-to-face teaching time in 2023 by 60 mins per week in 2023 and a further 30 minutes in 2024.
• Reduction of length of after school meetings
• Introduction of Time in Lieu (TIL) for all directed work activities outside of regular work hours
• Increased entitlements for paid parental leave, including partner leave

Time in Lieu (TIL)is a significant action to be introduced into school environments, as we have a number of evening and weekend commitments to ensure we can strengthen/maintain family and parish partnerships. TIL will accrue for events such as: Parent/Teacher Interviews (Term 1 and 2), Camps, Parent Information Nights, Family Faith Nights, Sacrament Masses, School Production, Cybersafety and Maths Nights, Relationships and Sexuality Education Nights, Cross Country Training. The list goes on a bit, but you get the idea. For any hours teachers are required to work outside their usual hours, they accrue 1-to-1 of Time in Lieu. We are aiming to maintain as many events as possible, but some things will have to be adapted, changed or deleted from our calendar altogether. As I am sure you can imagine, TIL presents a significant challenge for us as a school as we are required to aquit this before the end of each school year. To ensure we are able to do this, the Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools South Central Principal’s Network has changed the finishing date of the 2023 school year to Friday 15th December. Year Six Graduation will be on Thursday 14th December. These extra days will enable us to aquit the time accrued from throughout the year. This change has been discussed with the School Advisory Council, who have supported this as we navigate the TIL challenge. I thank you in advance for your understanding.

Winter Uniform

There have been a number of questions regarding uniform transition from Summer to Winter. All students are expected to be in full Winter uniform from the beginning of Term Two, including this week. While the weather is on the warmer side, I encourage the girls to wear socks instead of tights. A reminder that the maroon spray jacket is to be worn over the top of the school jumper, not instead of.

SSV Soccer Lightning Premiership - Friday 28th April

This Friday, we have two teams of senior school students heading to Caulfield Park to represent our school at the District Soccer Lightning Premiership. The children will need to be wearing their full sports uniform, dressing appropriately for the weather. If families could please provide shin guards and a mouthguard (optional). Soccer boots are not compulsory either and children can simply wear runners, if needed. Parents are welcome to attend and the draw will be sent via Operoo.

Program Group Support (PSG) Meetings - Commencing Monday 1st May

Program Support Group Meetings will be held next week. Louisa Di Pietro has contacted families directly about appointments for these meetings.

SSV District Cross Country

There is one Cross Country training session remaining - Tuesday 2nd May. There has been very strong attendance at these sessions so far. Our Cross Country team will compete against other local schools at the Holt District Cross Country on Friday 5th May. The event is held at Bald Hill Park in Clarinda and parents are welcome to come along to support. Further information will be communicated via Operoo.

Open Day and Sibling Enrolments

We have an Open Day on Wednesday 3rd May and prospective families are welcome to come along any time between 9am and 3pm on this day. No appointments are necessary. Thank you to those families who have been actively advocating for our school community in recent times. With our new classrooms now complete, our school certainly has a different look and feel. If you have a Prep child starting school next year, please ensure you get your enrolment form into the office.

Mother’s and Special Friend's Day Activities

As we do every year, we mark Mother’s Day with a number of special events and 2023 is no different. It is vitally important that we celebrate our special ladies, including mums, grandmothers and special female figures in the lives of the children. Below is an outline of what we have planned for this year and we hope you can get along to most of it!

• Mother’s and Special Friend's Day Stall - Friday 5th May - The children will have the opportunity to purchase a gift for their mum or special friend at this stall. The children can bring up to $10 and will shop with siblings so there is no double up! Thank you to our Year 4 Parentsfor hosting! It would be great to see some dads on the stall this year!
• P&F Mother’s Day Dinner - Friday 5th May - The St Agnes’ P&F  is hosting a Mother’s Day Dinner at the Half Moon Hotel in Brighton. All mothers and special ladies are invited to this event - the more the merrier. Please see the P&F page for more details.
• Mother’s and Special Friends'  Breakfast - Thursday 11th May at 7.30am - Held in the School Hall; all mother’s and special ladies are invited to come along to this event. There will be breakfast options for the mums and children, with the dads doing all the work. Tickets will be available to purchase soon and will be sent out as a link via Operoo and class reps.  More info to follow.
• Mother’s and Special Friends' Liturgy - Thursday 11th May at 08.50am - Over the next two weeks the children will be working hard to bring together this celebration for our special ladies. It will be entirely led by the children and I strongly encourage all mums to take an hour out of your day to come along for this. Each of the classes is preparing a small element of the liturgy to share with our mums. We know that there are ‘busy’ times in the lives of our families, but mothers do so much for their children and this is your turn to enjoy the spoils .

Prep Resilience Seminar - Monday 8th May at 7.30pm

On Monday 8th May, we will be hosting an information night on resilience for our Prep families and any families new to our school. The night will be facilitated by student wellbeing expert Georgina Manning, with a focus on how parents can help children to be resilient young people. It is essential that at least one parent from each Prep family attends, but it would be even better if both parents could be present.

Pre-Prep Playgroup - Monday 8th May

On Monday 8th May from 9am-10am, we have our first Pre-Prep Playgroup. There are six sessions this term and thank you to those who have already registered. All are welcome and I encourage current families to ‘bring a friend’ along to any sessions you are able to attend. There will be some play based activities set up for the children to participate in, but it is generally an informal playgroup and catch up.

Year 1/2 History Unit- need guest speakers

The Year 1/2 classes are investigating the history of the local area, in particular the history of St Agnes'. We would love it if we could have some 'guest speakers' to come and speak to the children about what the school was like when they were at school and how it is different now. If this is you, could you please come and see Jake McMahon (Year One teacher), Judith Barton or Jacque Murphy (Year Two teachers) or reach us via emails:

jmcmahon@sahighett.catholic.edu.au

jbarton@sahighett.catholic.edu.au

jbarton@sahighett.catholic.edu.au

Term Two School Fees

Term Two School Fees are now payable. Updated fee statements will be sent out next week. Please ensure prompt payment and contact Shannon Shine (sshine@sahighett.catholic.edu.au) if you would like to set up a direct debit or payment plan.

Tuckshop Commencement

Tuckshop will commence this Friday 28th April. Orders can be placed online. See Canteen page 

Assembly

Assemblies will return to normal this term, in the Hall on Wednesday afternoons. Parents are welcome to attend. At assembly, there will be presentations from classes, student awards, birthday acknowledgements and special announcements.

Wed 26th Apr - School Captains - Anzac Commemorative Service

Wed 3rd May - Year 2

Wed 10th May - Year 5/6

Wed 17th May - Year 1

Wed 24th May - Year 4

Wed 31st May - Prep

Wed 7th June - Year 3

Wed 17th June - Year 6 Leadership

Wed 21st June - Music Showcase

Don't forget to head to the Term 2 Events Details page to get more detailed information for the rest of the term events.

Kind regards,

Lachie