Principal's Report
Dear Parents,
Our final two weeks of the term are proving to be exceptionally busy with a few big events still to come:
Friday 22nd March Athletics Day
Monday 25th March School Photo Day
Wednesday 27th March End of term Mass 9:30am
Thursday 28th March Colour Run and last day of Term 1 (1pm dismissal)
Please take the time to read about each of these events in the relevant section of the newsletter to familiarise yourselves with what is happening.
Athletics Carnival
Our Inter House Athletics Carnival is happening tomorrow at Bricker Reserve in Moorabbin. All information is in Operoo, but please read the Sports Update page in this newsletter for last minute reminders from Tania. Thank you in advance to Tania Thompson for all the work that has gone on behind the scenes to organise our Aths Carnival. The weather for tomorrow is looking perfect.
Photo Day
Our school photo day is this coming Monday 25th March. Class and individual photos will begin at 9am starting with the Prep classes and then moving through each year level. Sibling group photos are scheduled for after lunch.
Please ensure that all students are wearing full summer uniform. According to our uniform policy, hair accessories should be navy only and we will only allow navy accessories for the photos. Students may wear their hair out on this day if they choose.
I have attached the 2024 Parent Handbook below - pages 10-11 outlines our uniform policy.
eSafety Parent Evening
It was great to see so many parents in attendance at last week's information session on Raising Kids in a Digital World. Feedback from parents has been extremely positive, with many parents commenting since the evening how useful it was and how grateful they were that we were able to offer this to our community.
On Tuesday Steele sent an email to all families with the link to a recorded version of the session. This wasn't recorded at St Finbar's, but is a recording of a similar session from a few weeks ago. We do recommend that you take the time to view the recording as it was very relevant and powerful.
Some of the key messages for me included:
- we need to find a balance between being a "limiter" and an "enabler" when acting as a mentor to our children and managing screen time and devices.
- The importance of conversation around the use of devices and how children are using them - ensuring that children know that they can always come to you about anything that they don't understand or has made them feel uncomfortable
- devices should not be used in bedrooms or bathrooms, especially overnight
- The importance of constant supervision and setting boundaries as a family around device use
Harmony Week
Today is Harmony Day. Seeing so many children wearing clothing that reflects their cultural background today was wonderful. It really highlighted how diverse our student population at St Finbar's is. The Year 6 Wellbeing leaders did a great job of running our special Harmony Day assembly this morning. Thank you to our Wellbeing Leader Laura Zeeng, who coordinated today's celebration. There
Celebrating Harmony Day also demonstrates our commitment to Child Safe Standard 1 where we strive to establish a culturally safe environment for our students.
Parent Teacher Interviews
We've just completed our first round of parent-teacher interviews for this year. It was a privilege to sit in on many interviews and hear about the progress that the students have made so far this year. Feedback has been positive from both teachers and parents on the change in the timing of these interviews; holding them later in the term has allowed teachers to get to know the students better and conduct more meaningful conversations about each student's strengths and areas of development.
Upcoming Wedding News
We celebrated two soon-to-be brides this week. Laura Zeeng and Emma Cristiano are getting married during the upcoming holidays...actually on the same day. We wish Laura and Luke, and Emma and Marco all the best for their weddings and look forward to seeing some photos.
Thank you and God bless,
Michelle Hill,
Acting Principal