Principal's Report

Dear Parents and Friends

It is great to see our fantastic students fully engaged in their learning. Our dedicated staff work very hard to deliver evidence-based teaching and learning so that all students can achieve their best in our safe and nurturing school environment. 

In the playground, they are playing happily and collaboratively and making the most of our wonderful outdoor spaces. Our school values of being Safe, Respectful and Responsible are truly evident at St Carlo’s! Please read through today’s newsletter to see what our students have been up to.

Staff News: Congratulations

We are delighted to share some wonderful news from members of our St Carlo’s staff:

• Congratulations to Miss Borg and Peter on your recent wedding. We wish you both a lifetime of love and happiness together.
• Congratulations to Miss Mikhaeel and her fiancé Fadi on your engagement. We wish you every happiness as you begin this exciting new chapter together.
• We are also very pleased to share the safe arrival of Amanda La Scala and Nick’s beautiful baby girl, Celina, who arrived on 4 March.  Amanda and baby Celina are doing well. We wish Amanda, Nick and their family every blessing as they begin this beautiful new chapter.

These are wonderful milestones to celebrate, and we are grateful to share these joyful moments within our St Carlo’s community.

Catholic Education Week

This week we celebrate Catholic Education Week which is an opportunity for all Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Melbourne to celebrate their life, faith and education and highlight the pivotal role that Catholic schools provide to families and to the community. 

The theme is 'Christ beside me: Walking in the footsteps of Saint Patrick'.  On Friday our Year 6 student leaders will travel to St Patrick’s Cathedral to join student representatives from every primary and secondary school in the Archdiocese of Melbourne and Archbishop Peter for a celebration of the Eucharist. The Mass recognises the charism of the Catholic education community in a ceremony that honours the commitment to our shared tradition.

Middle School Courtyard – Reopening and Access Arrangements 

Our Middle School Courtyard reopened today as we return to our regular school access points. Please ensure that your children know where you will meet them after school. 

Student Entry and Exit Gates:

• Prep, Year 1 and Year 2: Haddington Crescent gate entry
• Year 3 - 6: Middle School Courtyard Gate (Year 2 students may also use this gate)
• All students: Drummond Street (staff car park) pedestrian entry
• Council Oval access will close from Monday – students should instead use the Drummond Street entry.

Older siblings are welcome to walk younger siblings to the junior area in the morning and meet them there in the afternoon.  As always, staff will be on hand to suuport and direct. Please refer to the Audiri notice for further information. 

School Hours

It is important that students arrive on time to start the day, but not too early - some students have been arriving at school by 8:00 a.m. This is too early as gates open, and supervision commences at 8:30 a.m. 

All students are expected in their classroom at 8:50 a.m. ready to start the day.  To ensure a smooth start to the day, children do need to arrive on time. Whilst there will be times when for exceptional circumstances this is not possible, it is so important that children are on time as our formal learning starts straight away. All gates are locked at 8:50 a.m. each morning.  Students who arrive after this time should collect a late pass from the office. 

School Absentee 

Just a reminder that if your child is going to be absent from school, you must submit the Absentee eForm via Audiri. If your child is absent from school and you have not submitted an eForm, your child will be marked as unexplained, and you will receive an SMS notification about this. 

We also ask that you avoid picking up your child early from school as this disrupts their learning. Early pickups should only be for an emergency or for an appointment that cannot be scheduled out of school hours. Thank you for your support in this matter.

Congratulations to our Class Captains

At our recent assemblies we have presented out leadership badges to our class captains and vice captains.  As a community, we pray for our student leaders and for all our students that they will seek the example of Saint Carlo Borromeo as they fulfil their commitment to the school this year. 

School Open Day

Last week we held our school open day where we welcomed prospective families for 2027. We had a large number of families visit and the demand for positions at our school continues to be very high. If you have family or friends wishing to enrol, please encourage them to enrol soon.  A reminder to our existing families who are requiring a prep place for next year, please submit an enrolment application ASAP as they are closing soon. 

Canteen

Our lunch orders have commenced with Lunchmums and the orders have been very popular with our students, with approximately 300 students each Wednesday.  Please refer to the Audiri post which contains all the details on how to order. 

School Fees

Thank you to all the parents who have paid their school fees in full. For those paying instalments, the first instalment and the Curriculum and Maintenance levies are now due. It is important that all fees and levies are paid on time to enable the school to meet our financial commitments. If any family is experiencing financial difficulty, then please make time to come and discuss alternative repayment options. There is a direct debit facility set up through the office. Please speak with Maria in the office to set this up.

Easter Raffle

Last week students brought home a book of 10 tickets for our Easter Raffle. Tickets are $1 each or $10 for the whole book. Please ensure each ticket includes your child’s name, class and a contact phone number. This is our major fundraiser for Term 1, and we encourage families to help sell as many tickets as possible. Additional books are available from the school office. All tickets, money and donations should be returned by Friday 27 March. The raffle will be drawn on Wednesday 1 April. 

Casual Clothes Day – Friday 27 March

Students are invited to wear casual clothes and bring an Easter egg or similar donation to support the raffle prizes. Donations can be placed in the basket in each classroom. Thank you for your support and good luck!

We ask St Carlo to continue to bless our wonderful Parish and School Community. I hope you have a great week!

Kevin Gleeson.