Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to a new term! I hope that you all managed to enjoy a bit of a break, whether that involved a holiday somewhere warm or staying closer to home. Eight new students from five families have started at St Finbar's this term, we're so pleased that you have joined us.

Please take the time to read this newsletter as it contains a lot of information about upcoming events, including tomorrow's Grandparents' Day.

Grandparents' Day

We are looking forward to our annual Grandparents' and Special Friends Day tomorrow, Friday 25th July. This is always a big day for us; the information below may help with logistics.

Thomas Sherry playground will be open for parking from 8:30am
The children may sit with their grandparents during Mass - the teachers will do their best to facilitate this as classes enter the church.
Following Mass, grandparents and friends are invited to visit the classrooms. School staff will be available to help everyone find the right classrooms. Generally, we'll direct grandparents to the youngest child's classroom and older siblings can meet their grandparents there. Family groups are welcome to stay together if you need to visit two or three classrooms.
At about 10:45am grandparents and friends will be invited down to the hall for a light lunch. Christian will be on site with his coffee van, and the P & F are generously funding the coffees.

New Interactive Whiteboards

We're happy to announce that we now have had nine new IQ Boards interactive touch panels installed in our Year 3 to 6 classrooms and the library/Performing Arts room. The Prep - 2 classrooms will receive their boards during the next school holidays, if not before.

These new screens have opened up a world of possibilities for teachers. The IQ Board is an interactive whiteboard that helps make learning more engaging for our students. Teachers can write or draw with a pen or finger, and get students involved in hands-on activities.

Below are some examples of the interactivity features already being used this week in the Year 5 classrooms. I'd like to acknowledge the work of our eLearning Leader Mrs Amanda Norton who researched the best products on the market, organised on-site demonstrations and quotes and is training the teachers in how to make the most our new IQ Boards.

Holiday Maintenance

Holidays are always a great time to get maintenance done around the school, and these holidays were especially busy. We had plumbers, arborists, astroturf works, air conditioner servicing as well as the aforementioned screen installations.

We have also finally received a permit to remove the dead tree that overhangs Nepean Hwy, and is causing some concern. It will be removed in the coming weeks.

Thank you to Libby who liaised with all of these trades and coordinated most of these works.

Good Luck Edie

Thank you to everyone who supported our fundraiser for Edie this morning. We are very proud to announce that we raised $532 to assist with Edie's travel expenses to Queensland for the National 12 & Under Girls AFL Football Championships. We wish Edie luck as she heads off to Queensland on the 3rd August.

The MACS' Media Advisor was on-site this morning so keep an eye out for Edie on the MACS Instagram page, you can find them on Insta at melbournecatholicschools

School Advisory Council

Our School Advisory Council met again this week, and we were fortunate to have James Young, MACS' General Manager of Finance Transformation, in attendance. James provided a clear and informative explanation of how school funding works. He outlined how the government and the VCEA calculate our recurrent grant funding, and how this impacts the way we determine our annual school fees at St Finbar’s.

School Disco

The school disco on the last day of Term 2 was a huge success. Thank you to the many, many parent volunteers that helped out on the night, and especially the Year 4 Reps who organised such a fun event for our students. It was also a fundraising success, with over $3000 being raised. The sausage sizzle and other food options were a big hit. Have a look through the some of the photos below...be warned however, there are over 200 photos.

Peter Pan video

Excitement levels are mounting with less than three weeks until our Peter Pan Production. Students are welcome to wear their Peter Pan t-shirts each Friday until the production. You should have received an email on Monday about ordering a copy of the video, but the details are below, along with the link to order:

We are excited to announce that pre-orders are now open for the video recording of our upcoming Peter Pan production!

Families can now secure a copy of this special performance at pre-sale prices through the online store. The video is available in three formats:

Pre-Sale Prices (available until the 11/8/25):

$22.50 (incl. GST): Online streaming & downloadable version (Our production company will provide a unique link to the concert video and include full instructions on how to watch, stream and download it (and play via USB on a Smart TV or PC).
$28.00 (incl. GST): DVD – includes postage & handling
$28.00 (incl. GST): Blu-ray – includes postage & handling

Please note: After the production has been completed, prices will increase by $5 per format.

We strongly encourage you to take advantage of the pre-sale pricing and secure your copy early!

Click here to order now via our online store

In partnership and faith,

Michelle Hill

Principal

Visual Art News