Principal's News

Dear Parents, Carers and Friends of St Brigid’s,

Can you believe that we are already half way through Term 1! We have certainly packed a lot into the first 5 weeks with:

• Swimming trials, training and our District Swimming Carnival

• Welcome BBQ

• Foundation Mass

• Interschool Sports, 

• Testing for all students

• School Tours

• Get to Know You Meetings

• Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent

• Year 6 Leadership badges, Wellbeing badges and Foundation Buddy Bears given out at our first assembly

• Celebration of Learning

• Fr Michael visiting all the classes and celebrating St Brigid's Feast Day and Beginning of the School Mass with us.

Professional Development

This year we are involved in two projects that will support the school in bringing about the best outcomes we can for the academic and wellbeing growth of our students. 

Mental Health in Primary Schools (MHiPS)

Christine Thredgold and myself are part of the Mental Health in Primary School project, which is aimed at establishing clear protocols and procedures to ensure all students' mental health and well being is being supported by us. All schools in Victoria are now required to have a Mental Health Leader to ensure these protocols and procedures are embedded into the school and school community. The training is a 2 year project. 

Mathematics Acceleration in Primary Schools- MAPS

This program involves explicit instruction in teaching Mathematics in schools. We were chosen for this program due to how well St Brigid’s children are doing in Mathematics, and we want to extend them further. The program will go for 12 months, with Cassie Dirckze (Mathematics/Science Leader), who will be attending Professional Learning and Coaching to bring back to school strategies to support our learning. 

Cubby Houses 

What a wonderful response we have had to our new cubby houses. We are trying to source sustainable toys for the cubbies, so if anyone has any wooden toys, such as mud kitchens, cupboards, etc., that they are not using and are in excellent condition, we would love to take them off your hands.

We are hoping to have:

• A kitchen or shop in one cubby

• A vet clinic or hospital and

• A mechanic shop.

Please come and see me if you have anything you may like to donate.

School House Colour Competition

Just a reminder about the ‘Name our House Colours” competition. As a family, think about what reflects our school? What is Mordialloc known for?

Please write up a short submission explaining your choice of names. Entries are open until the end of Term 1.

District Swimming Results

On Monday the 23rd of February 28 students from Years 4 - 6 represented St Brigid's at the Mordialloc District Swimming Carnival. We would like to congratulate all students who represented St Brigid's so well, we are very proud. Overall we came 8th out of 11 schools which is a really good effort.  

Huge congratulation to Eva G (5/6D) who came 2nd in the 12/13 Girls Breaststroke and Oscar S (5/6F) who came 3rd in the 11 Boys Freestyle and first in the 11 Boys Backstroke. Oscar will now go on to compete in the Division finals on Tuesday 10th of March. 

Enrolment tours and Prospective Parent evening 

Over the past few weeks, we have enjoyed hosting many school tours for families eager to enrol their children at St Brigid’s. Last night, we further extended that welcome by hosting an information evening for prospective families.

The evening provided a wonderful opportunity to showcase the many exciting initiatives taking place across our school and to celebrate the positive, engaging learning experiences happening in our classrooms each day. Families explored our learning spaces and gained a deeper understanding of the supportive and vibrant community that makes St Brigid’s such a special place to learn and grow.

We thank all the families who joined us; it was lovely to hear that we have such a nice name in the community. A community that makes everyone feel welcome. We look forward to welcoming many new members to the St Brigid’s community in the future.We are beginning to receive many enrolment enquiries for Foundation  2027 and beyond!! 

We require all current families to please ensure they submit a sibling application for 2027 prior to Friday 27 March 2026 to ensure a placement in our Foundation intake for 2027.

The enrolment application form can be found on our website or feel free to pop into the office and see Tracey and she can give you the forms.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if should you have any queries. If you would like a school tour please book online or call the office. If you are not able to make these tours please know that you are also welcome to call to make a time that does work for you. We are so proud to showcase our school in action.

Foundation Mass

What a wonderful turnout we had for our annual Foundation Mass with St Louis. Although the weather was not kind to us, it was lovely to see so many families stay afterwards to enjoy a cuppa and share in morning tea together.

Many thanks to our students, Alice E, Xavier W and Benjamin S, who spoke so confidently during the Mass. They did an outstanding job addressing the congregation, and we are incredibly proud of the way they represented our school community.

A special thank you to Jodie for leading the Mass. Her care and preparation ensured it was a meaningful and reverent celebration for all.

Thank you to everyone who joined us and helped make the occasion such a special one for our community.

Racism

Racism is when someone is treated unfairly or unkindly because of their skin colour, culture, or where they come from. At St Brigid’s, we believe every person is special and deserves respect. We celebrate our differences, stand up for one another, and ensure our words and actions are always kind. By including everyone and learning from one another, we make our school a happier and stronger community for all.

We encourage families to continue these conversations at home about how to speak to each other respectfully and honour our differences. While we have spoken with the children at school, your support reinforces the importance of kindness, empathy, and inclusion.

This message is closely linked to our anti-bullying values. At St Brigid’s, we do not tolerate any form of racism or bullying, and together, we can help create a safe and welcoming environment for every student.

Questions or concerns

We value partnering with families here at St Brigid’s and believe it is in the child's best interest when we work together to support wellbeing, learning and resolve any issues that arise. 

It is important that any questions or concerns are directed first to your child’s classroom teacher, as they know your child best and are most familiar with their learning, progress, and daily experiences at school. In most cases, the classroom teacher can address concerns quickly and effectively. 

If you feel you need further information or clarity after speaking with the teacher, you are encouraged to make a meeting or phone call with our Wellbeing Leader, Christine Thredgold or myself.

Following this process ensures that concerns are managed thoughtfully, respectfully, and at the appropriate level.

Lunch Clubs 

We are very proud of our Lunch Clubs here at St Brigid’s. 

Lunch Clubs provide students with a chance to explore different interests and develop social connections. Thank you to the ESOs for their time and for sharing their passions with students, creating an environment where learning extends beyond the classroom. We offer a variety of Lunch Clubs such as; Drawing/Craft, Library, Games, Lego and Box Club, which ensures that there's something for everyone, catering to different interests and promoting overall wellbeing.  Our Lunch Clubs are supported by our Year 6 Leaders.

Student Mobile Phones / Smart Watches/iPads

We ask families to remind their children that all mobile phones, iPads and Smart Watches (i.e. any device with cellular capacity) are to be handed in to the office at the beginning of each school day. This aligns with the Victorian State Government legislation. Thank you for your cooperation. Parents who need to contact their child can do so by contacting the school office.

Sharing Photos on WhatsApp

The purpose of the WhatsApp groups or Messenger is to provide an online community for the parents throughout their journey at St Brigid’s. All year levels are connected via a ‘WhatsApp chat group’or ‘Messenger’. The goal is for parents to have a forum for positive and helpful discussion, share tips and updates on school events and information that will help you and your family throughout the school year. We are working on some shared expectations around the use of this important form of communication. At this stage we ask all parents to be mindful of not sharing photos/videos from special events such as Athletics Day, Mother's Day Breakfast and excursions. While we understand the intent is thoughtful for those parents not able to attend, we have a duty of care to each child and their family not to share photos in a public setting like this. These photos not only appear in WhatsApp but they also download onto the user's photo album. If you take photos at an event for a specific parent/family then please share directly with that family and not in a whole group setting like WhatsApp.

NAPLAN 2026 Shedule for Year 3 and 5 Students

Writing - Wednesday 11th March

Reading- Thursday 12th March

Conventions of Language - Thursday 12th March

Numeracy - Friday 13th March

NAPLAN has a public demonstration site for parents to access. Click here for the link.

To try this demonstration site. The first step is to choose a year level and the test you want to trial. Answers are not provided, so it is a task that is best done with your child.

Please note, you do not have to do this at home. We will expose the children to the style of questions on NAPLAN at school 

We hope you can join us for Assembly tomorrow afternoon.  3/4H will be presenting.  Assembly is at 2.15pm in Brigid Hall.

Yours in partnership.

Wendy Sullivan

Principal