Principal's Report

Welcome back to a new term. We’ve hit the ground running already, with our Year 3 students attending camp this week at The Briars in Mt Martha. I had the privilege of attending camp with our Year 3 students, and it was wonderful to spend time with the students away from the school environment. For many, this was their first experience of camp and a valuable opportunity to develop a little more independence. The students were encouraged to step outside their comfort zones, with the giant swing being named as a highlight by many.

Camps are often a highlight of a student’s time at St Finbar’s, and they serve as a great reminder that just as much learning can happen beyond the classroom as it does within four walls.

Welcome 

We welcomed two new members to our school community this week.

Melanie Gertler is our new Term 4 Performing Arts teacher. By the time you receive this newsletter, Mel will have taught each class their first Performing Arts lesson. We’re very excited to have Mel join us at St Finbar’s. She brings many years of Performing Arts experience and is looking forward to getting to know our students and running an engaging and creative program throughout Term 4. We’re sure our students will enjoy having the opportunity to develop their skills and creativity through Performing Arts.

We also warmly welcome Hugo, who is joining our Year 6 class for Term 4. Hugo’s family has recently relocated from Sydney, and we’re very pleased to have him join our school community. We hope Hugo has a wonderful final term with us and quickly feels at home at St Finbar’s.

School Review

Today we welcomed our School Reviewer, Chris Bence, to St Finbar’s for our initial school review visit. Our formal review begins next Wednesday, with the second day taking place on 27 October.  Over the course of the review, Chris will meet with and speak to a range of people across our community, including students, teachers, school leaders and parents. He will take a deep dive into all aspects of school life, including our teaching and learning, wellbeing, leadership and the experiences of our students and families.

At the conclusion of the review, Chris will provide us with a report highlighting our strengths and areas for further growth. This report will be an important part of shaping our School Improvement Plan for the next four years.  We look forward to the opportunity to reflect on the wonderful things happening at St Finbar’s, as well as identifying where we can continue to grow and improve for our students and our community.

Sex Ed Family Program

We have once again engaged Cath McCallig from Sex Ed 4 Schools, who is offering two separate online family programs on Wednesday 14 October. There will be a session from 6:00pm–7:00pm on Families, Bodies and Babies, followed by a session from 7:15pm–8:15pm on Growing and Changing. You are welcome to choose the session that you feel your children are ready for, but as a rough guide, Years 3–4 would be suited to the first session and Years 5–6 to the second. Please see the attached information sheet for more information.

Register online via TryBooking: TryBooking – Sex Ed Family Program

Take care,

Michelle Hill

Principal