Learning & Teaching 

LEARNING AND TEACHING NEWS- Vira Pirrotta

A Message of Thanks to Our School Community

As we come to the end of another productive and rewarding year, I extend my heartfelt thanks to our entire school community for your ongoing support, commitment and spirit. This year has been filled with meaningful learning, rich opportunities, and moments that truly showcased the strength of our students, staff, and families.

We introduced new learning and teaching approaches that not only enhanced student learning but were also enthusiastically embraced and achieved great success. Across the school, our students have demonstrated remarkable growth - academically, socially and personally. Their achievements in sport and on the STEM MAD stage were outstanding, showing what can be accomplished through perseverance, teamwork and creativity.

Our whole-school events were another highlight of the year. Athletics Day, GEM Day, the Community Fete and the Colour Fun Run were all wonderful celebrations of connection, joy and school pride. These events embody the vibrant spirit of our community and everyone's willingness to come together in support of our students.

None of this would be possible without the dedication, professionalism and passion of our teaching and support staff. I am deeply grateful for their hard work and commitment to ensuring every student feels supported, engaged and encouraged to do their best.

Thank you once again to our parents, carers, staff and students for contributing to a wonderful year. I look forward to continuing this journey together and building on the strong foundations we have created.

Enjoy the short video of memories from 2025. 

https://youtu.be/CCUXUH9dI6E 

Warm regards,

Vira Pirrotta 

LITERACY NEWS - Bernadette Parnis

Library and Take-Home Readers – All Books Now Due Back

As we begin Week 10, borrowing of library books and take home readers has now finished for the year. All books must be returned.

There are currently many outstanding items. Students with overdue books will receive a list so they know which titles to look for. Please remind your child to return all library books and readers so we can complete our stocktake and prepare resources for next year.

Reading and writing over the holidays

As the holidays approach, encourage your child/children to keep reading and writing. Reading books, writing letters to family and friends, or keeping a short journal are easy ways to continue learning. Visit your local library to borrow books and take part in any holiday activities they have planned.

Sunshine Online

St Fidelis School has a subscription to Sunshine Online, a great platform that supports reading and literacy development. It offers levelled books, decodable readers, and a variety of additional learning resources. On the right hand side under Levelled Readers, you’ll also find the Game Zone, Letters & Words, Alphabet Books, Songs, Rhymes and Raps, as well as Grammar activities.

Our login details are:

https://library.sunshineonline.com.au/login/student 

log in Stfidelis

password read123

Celebrating a year of Literacy learning at St. Fidelis

As we come to the end of a busy term, it’s a good time to stop and appreciate the learning that has taken place across our school. Our students have shown curiosity, perseverance, and enthusiasm in so many ways, and it has been wonderful to watch them grow as learners.

Throughout the year, students have explored a wide range of writing styles. From persuasive pieces and narratives to information reports, poetry, and recounts, each genre has offered opportunities to practise their skills and express their ideas. In reading, they’ve enjoyed everything from picture storybooks and nonfiction texts to novels, big books, and digital stories. These experiences have helped them make connections, develop strategies for comprehension, and deepen their understanding of an author’s purpose.

Teachers have also worked closely with students from Foundation to Year 6 to complete assessments in reading, spelling, and writing. These assessments, along with daily observations, have helped us understand each child’s progress and to inform our planning.

Students should feel proud of all they have achieved this year. Whether they have improved their comprehension, taken risks in their writing, or worked hard to learn their spelling words, their achievements reflect determination and effort.

To our students: continue reading widely and practising your writing. These skills will support your learning in every area.

Good luck to those moving on and graduating. Keep reading, keep writing, and take the literacy skills you’ve developed this year with you as you face new challenges ahead.

Thank you for your support throughout the year. Whether through Book Club, the Book Fair, the Book Week parade, attending the InitiaLit and SMART Spelling information sessions, or our conversations and meetings, it has been a great working with you. I look forward to continuing our collaboration in 2026.

Wishing you and your families a peaceful, joyful Christmas. 

Bernadette Parnis

Literacy Leader

bparnis@sfmoreland.catholic.edu.au

ITALIAN NEWS - Rosa Fokianos

BUONGIORNO! 

Salve a tutti! 

Finalmente…we have reached the last full school week of 2025!

I would like to take this opportunity in this article to outline what has been covered this term, which certainly seems to have been quite a bit…

Foundation

These students did a good job learning Italian through the well known story of La Gallinella Rossa, (The Little Red Hen). They learnt about a new habitat, ie. la fattoria, (the farm) and they learnt how to say various farm animal names and identify the various sounds they make in italiano. The children also recapped various body parts and described the colour as well as the size. Bravi bambini!

Grade 1/2

These students learnt italiano through the ever popular story of Il Bruco Molto Affamato, (The Very Hungry Caterpillar). Through this story they expanded their knowledge of more foods, including various fruits and everyday foods. Plus, they were also introduced to I giorni della settimana, (days of the week). The children also completed their own little booklet about the story of Il Bruco Molto Affamato. Fantastico bambini!

Grade 3/4

These students covered a cultural unit on I Mercati, (market places). They learnt about various markets and different stall holders, as well as how to use various language structures when it came to buying and selling at the markets. They then finalised the term by co-constructing a short dialogue between il venditore (seller) and il cliente (customer), of which were very good. Ottimo bambini!

Grade 5/6

These students also learnt a cultural unit on La Storia di Pizza (the history of Pizza). They learnt about the history, the types as well as pizza topping names. Finally the students also co-constructed a short dialogue about ordering a meal at either a ristorante, pizzeria or bar. Bravissimi ragazzi!

Speaking of grade 5/6, I would like to wish all the outgoing Grade 6’s all the best for High School next year. In bocca al lupo! I’m sure they will do well in italiano, should they choose to do it, if they offer it at their respective new schools. AUGURI e BUONA FORTUNA RAGAZZI! 🎓

Once again, I would also like to remind everyone of the upcoming Carols Night, which as you all know by now, will be held at Mercy College, giovedì 11 dicembre alle ore 19:00, (Thursday 11th December at 7pm). Here the grade 1/2‘s will be singing a fun little Italian song about Natale, (Christmas). Keep practising at home until then grade 1/2! 😄

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone in the St Fidelis school community, BUON NATALE e FELICE ANNO NUOVO! (Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year). May this be a special time of the year to gather with loved ones near and dear to you. 

Cordiali saluti.

Ci vediamo l'anno prossimo! (See you next year)! 

Signora Rosa 🌹