From the Principal
Dear St Anthony's Families,
Four weeks in and our school year is gaining strength and direction. With routines established and expectations clear, our focus now turns to perseverance, responsibility and continued growth. Every day presents a new opportunity to learn, to lead and to lift one another up. I am excited about what lies ahead and confident in what we can accomplish together.
Our St Anthony's Vision
At St Anthony’s, our vision — “Seek and You Shall Find” — guides everything we do. It is more than a motto; it shapes how we pray, learn, serve and grow together.
Our Catholic school invites families to journey together with their faith, based on the Catholic story and traditions.
We develop deep understanding of self and others through engaging with the local and global world.
We provide an environment that is safe and secure, values each person and promotes excellence in learning for the 21st century.
As a learning community, opportunities are presented for all to experience success and to be resilient in diversity.
Connecting our School Vision to what we do each day
This week we focused on our catholic traditions of Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent.
As we begin the season of Lent, we are reminded of the pillars of Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving. This week, I want to focus on Almsgiving, putting our faith into action through service and generosity.
One way we engage in Social Justice is the wonderful tradition of our senior students helping at 'Tony's Cafe'. I had the privilege of visiting last week and it was marvelous to see the way our young people engage with and serve the community. This is one of the many ways we live our commitment to valuing each person and forming young people who understand what it means to serve and belong to a community. I thank Mrs. Hesse and all the 5/6 students for leading this initiative so capably.
At St Anthony's, we join hands with Caritas through their Project Compassion, raising necessary funds for people in need.
Through our Social Justice initiatives we actively live our school Gospel values of empathy, inclusion and respect for our community.
Mr O’Mahoney will provide further information about these initiatives in his “Education in Faith” page.
Meet'n'Greet - Thank you
Thank you, for making time to meet with your child's teacher last week. The feedback has been very positive from both families and teachers alike. Genuine connection between school and home helps our students' learning more than you might think.
IS THIS IN YOUR DIARY??
Open Afternoon and 'Picnic on the Green' - 25 February
JOIN US ON THE OPEN AFTERNOON ON THE 25th OF FEBRUARY at 4 or 5PM followed by the 'Picnic on the Green' at 6PM.
All current and prospective parents are invited to join us on this day. The program:
From 4pm - Current Parents and Families can join their children in the classroom for activities.
At 5pm - Mr Ru's, Principal's Address, to both current and prospective parents in the Padua Pavilion.
From 5.15pm - Current parents and families can have a look around the school through tours led by our Year 6 students.
New families can have a look through the school through tours led by school staff.
From 6pm - students are back in the care of their parents and we hope you can all join us for our annual 'Picnic on the Green' welcome evening. Each family is encouraged to bring a meal to share with the community. Drinks will be sold and music will be playing.
An nForma Parent Portal Form has been sent out to all families to indicate if they are able to attend the afternoon and evening events.
We hope that you can make at least some of the afternoon or evening events and we look forward to spending this time with our community and really hope you can make it.
FOCUS ON LEARNING
This week: Reading instruction through UFLI
UFLI (University of Florida Literacy Institute) Foundations is a world-renowned evidence-based reading program that supports strong word recognition, spelling and fluency skills. It provides explicit, systematic instruction in phonics to help students become confident and capable readers. At St Anthony’s, UFLI ensures our teaching is consistent, structured and aligned with best practice in literacy instruction.
Find out more in our 'Curriculum Corner'.
nForma as our preferred means of communication
Most families would have seen the recent communication via the nForma Parent Portal. This will become our main means of communication. As we are in a transition period, it might mean you will still get emails about certain things.
The Community Google Calendar has now been added to the Newsletter and the Parent Portal
Please see the 'Important Dates and Events' page.
In closing
As we continue through this important term and journey together through Lent, may we remain guided by our vision to “Seek and You Shall Find.” When we seek growth, we find progress and when we seek connection, we find community.
Thank you for your continued support in nurturing the faith, learning and wellbeing of every child at St Anthony’s.
In faith and partnership,
Ru Lameijn
Acting Principal
As a MACS School, St Anthony's “aims to create learning environments in which each student can grow in faith, hope and love, in ways that are tangible and cultivate the mind and heart of all students.”
MACS - Vision for Engagement - Flourishing Learners position statement - 2025