Dear Parents,

Welcome back from the mid year break. I hope you all had a restful holiday and are ready for a very busy Term 3. The major events for this term include:

Grandparents' Day
Prep 100 Days of Sch
Alice the Musical
Whole School Swimming Lessons
Book Week
Father's Day Breakfast and Stall
Dad's Footy match v's St. Joan of Arc
St. Finbar's Feast Day Celebrations - 175 Years of Education at St. Finbar's!

By now, you have probably heard the news that I have been seconded by the Regional Southern Office to temporarily assume the role of Principal at St. Patrick's School in Mentone. This appointment will be effective from Week 6 of Term 3 (Monday, August 14th) until the end of the year.

I want to assure you all that I have not taken this decision lightly, as it came as a surprise when I was approached on the second-to-last Friday of Term 2 and asked if I would consider supporting the Catholic School system in this manner.

I believe this opportunity reflects positively on our school and the exceptional senior leadership team that we have established. Ms. Michelle Hill will be serving as Acting Principal during my absence, and I have complete confidence in her ability to lead the school. She is a highly skilled educator and an outstanding leader, and I am eager to see her accomplishments during her tenure.

Additionally, we are fortunate to have Mr. Steele Anderson continuing to support Ms. Hill as Deputy Principal, and we welcome Mrs. Peggy McDonald, who will step up as Acting Deputy Principal once again. Completing our senior leadership team is Mr. Callum Mills, our Learning and Teaching Leader. I am certain that you would all agree that the school is in very safe hands for the remainder of the year.

Rest assured that I will remain involved with the school community and will be present for various events later in the year. I will definitely miss being a part of our amazing community for the remainder of the year, but I am looking forward to the challenges and experiences that await me.

Please find attached a letter regarding my secondment from Ms. Debra Egan the Southern Regional manager for MACS.

Grandparents Day

On Wednesday 26th July (Wednesday, Week 3 Term 3) we will be holding our annual Grandparents and Special Friends morning.

The format of the morning will be as follows:

8:50am - 10:00am: Liturgies and sharing time in the classrooms

10:00am - 10:30am: Musical presentation in the school hall

10:30am - 11:00am - Morning Tea in the school hall

We are looking forward to seeing our Grandparents and special friends on this day. Please note that the school elevator is available for the safety of all visitors on the day. We will not be having a large gathering in the church this year as we still need to be covid aware and vigilant in this space. Visitors are welcome to wear masks if they choose to and masks will be made available to all visitors in the school foyer.

Alice the Musical

Preparations are well on the way for Alice the Musical and I would like to acknowledge all the hard work that is going into the production, in particular from Susan Williams with the support of many staff members.

Alice props working bee

Thursday 20th July

Art Room

2:30 - 4pm

Please head over to the 'Alice the Musical' section of this newsletter for some further information on key dates and procedures.

Please make note that tickets went on sale on Monday 10 July @ 10am via the following link: https://www.kingstonarts.com.au/performances/school-productions

New Student's Welcome!

We warmly welcome the following new students to the St. Finbar's School Community:

Daniel J - Prep B

Daniel B - Year 1N

Max M - Year 1D

Carla M - Year 1N

Cooper V - Year 2F

Archer V - Year 4A

Audrey M - Year 6H

We hope you enjoy your time at our incredible school!

School Google Calendar

Please use the following Google Calendar link HERE to stay up to date with all school events. You'll never miss another school event again!

God Bless,

Pat Berlingeri

Principal

Parish Bulletin

Sunday 16th July, 2023