From The Principal
Dear parents, students, families and friends,
Welcome back to Term 3.
I hope all our students had a relaxing and enjoyable winter holidays. We were lucky that though cold, there were quite a few sunny days.
Over the past two weeks we have welcomed new students and their families into the St. Augustine's School Community; Oscar in 5/6 B, Mateo in 3/4 WS, Alina in 1/2 L and Ellie in Prep M. I know that they will make lots of friends and feel at home here very quickly.
Grandparents Day
Yesterday we once again celebrated Grandparents Day. It was a wonderful and special day. We had the biggest attendance ever with about 80 grandparents making the effort to join us from both near and far. It was great to see the church full during mass. There was a real buzz in the school afterwards as grandparents and parents joined in with the students to complete an activity together. At morning tea time there was quite literally standing room only as the staffroom overflowed with guests. Thank you to all grandparents and parents who attended, travelling from near and far to make this such an amazing day. I spoke with many of our grandparents who all said that they value and look forward to this celebration, being able to spend time with their grandchildren at their school. For many grandparents this is the main or only opportunity to see the school, the classrooms and the teachers. Please see the Classroom and Curriculum page for lots of photos of all our wonderful grandparents and families with the students in their classrooms.
100 Days of Prep
Today the Preps achieved 100 Days of School. 100 Days Brighter was the theme. All the Preps, Miss Jess and Mrs Mazzeo were all dressed in bright, vibrant colours. At the end of the day the Preps lead our first assembly for Term 3 where they presented all that they have been learning during the first half of the year. As we take a moment to celebrate the Preps reaching 100 days of school, we realise how much they have grown, developed and learnt from Day One all the way back on Friday 2nd February! Please visit the Classroom and Curriculum page for all the photos and a report on the big day.
Yarraville Library
Maribyrnong City Council is seeking our feedback to support Council thinking on the future of Yarraville Library. With the local population forecast to increase by 34% by 2051, the challenge is how the Library can continue to meet the needs of a growing community.
Initial feedback indicates that the Yarraville community likes the collections and programs offered at the Library, most agreed the current space was too small and want more community spaces and spaces to support both quiet study and collaborative work.
With this in mind, the council is asking our community to consider two options: rebuild or relocate.
The option to rebuild would involve demolishing the existing library at Wembley Avenue and rebuilding, potentially adding a second storey. This would:
· potentially expand the library footprint by up to three times
· allow for more study space; and
· cost Council and the community upwards of $5-6 million and be delivered no earlier than 2034.
The option to relocate would see a new purpose-built library opened in Yarraville at the nearby Bradmill site. This would:
· provide a space that is five times larger than the current library
· accommodate children’s, teenager, and maker spaces;
· include three community rooms for use;
· be largely funded by the developers, with only fit-out costs for Council and the community estimated at $800-900k in 2024 dollars;
· be located approximately 600m from the current location.
Libraries are an important part of our social fabric and provide an important place to meet and connect.
Please see the attached flier for information on how to provide feedback to the council.
Time In Lieu
Across the year there are a number of school closure days designated as Time In Lieu Days. Last year a new EBA was put into place for the teaching profession. Part of this EBA is the placing of a cap on the number of hours teacher can be asked or expected to work in addition to the normal school day and the compensation for extra time spent for required school activities. This includes extra meetings, concerts, camps, sacraments and weekend events. To accomodate for this, Melbourne Archidocese Catholic Schools has allowed us to allocate a number of closure days across the year to compensate for this extra time. For St. Augustine's these days are Anzac Day Eve, Cup Eve and the 19th and 20th of December. Schools are also allowed to finish early on the last day of each term to account for these hours as well. Here at St. Augustine's the last day of Terms 1, 2 and 3 for students is a full day with students ending a day before the final day of term. The closure days at the end of each term are curriculum days, however staff finish early to account for time in lieu. Our reasoning for this is that we aim to minimise the impact on families and maximise the time at school for students.
GATEWAYS
Each term St. Augustine's hosts the Gateways program for students in our local area from neighbouring schools. There are two workshops; one for students Years 1-3 and the other for students Years 4-6. There is a focus each term such as literature, science, maths or problem solving. The Gateways program is designed for students who display above or well above average skills and knowledge in their learning in one or more areas. Students are nominated by the school (classroom teachers and myself) based on academic performance, skills and knowledge demonstrated in class, through class and school assessents and also through NAPLAN results. Gateways is not for every student. Those attending need to have the knoweldge and disposition to engage in challenging activities and discussions around specific topics. The invitations to register are sent by me to the families of the nominated students.
COMING SOON IN TERM 3
WHOLE SCHOOL BLACK TIE EVENT!!
St. Augustine's School Concert
More Information to Come Shortly
Kind regards,
Matthew Stead
