PRINCIPAL'S REPORT
Term 3 - Week 7
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Firstly, thank you to all families for your understanding and support while we complete important activities like First Aid training, as we did with the school closure day on Monday. Hopefully some of you utilised this extra family time and got away for a long weekend.
Term Three has brought some highlights so far with a number of fun, extra-curricular activities, but it has also been a terrific time of sustained learning. Our students continue to enjoy routine and predictability in their experience at our school. It’s a great time to study the progress of our Prep children; who are making excellent progress in the fundamentals of reading, writing and spelling. Last week, we had a visit to the office from 3 of our Preppies to show off their writing skills and goodness me, was it impressive. The structure of their sentences and their handwriting skills were outstanding. Mrs Barton reports there were 21 other Prep children desperate for a visit to the office to show off some work, which we will look forward to in the near future. We are very grateful to our Prep staff Mrs Barton and Mrs Hampson for their important work with our littlest learners.
Father’s Day Celebrations
Tomorrow morning, the celebrations for the fathers, grandfathers and special male figures in our school community reach their peak with the Father’s Day Breakfast and Mini Liturgy. We encourage all fathers and father figures to get along to this special event. There will be breakfast in the hall from 7.30am and following breakfast, there will be a mini liturgy led by the children. The mini liturgy will commence at 8.20am, so we ask that all students be at school by this time please. On behalf of the staff, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all fathers, grandfathers and father figures a wonderful Father’s Day. May you be spoiled by your children and enjoy some family time.
Op Shop Ball - Many thanks
Many thanks to our Parents and Friends Committee for your efforts in bringing together the Op Shop Ball on Friday 16th August. There was a very strong attendance and lots of fun had by all who made it along. Well done to Greg McKean and Carly Monahan for being awarded the best dressed. The food was terrific and the conversation was flowing early, before the dancefloor and conga-line took over. Thank you to our sponsors and donors and also to the organising committee led by Bree Walsh, Sarah Gardner-Bibby and P&F Co-President Georgia Sotiroski. The event raised approximately $5000, which is an incredible outcome for our school community. These funds will go towards the resurfacing project and as we approach $60,000 in ‘the kitty’, we are getting closer. We have one major fundraising event still to come in the year, which is our Walkathon. We will be utilising the P&F Website for the fundraising aspect of this event, so when it comes time, please share the link far and wide with family and friends so we finish the year being able to complete these important works. See below, some highlights from the Photo Booth at the Op Shop Ball. Outstanding stuff!
MACSSIS
Each year in Term Three, students in Years 4-6 and all families and staff are invited to complete MACSSIS: the Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools – School Improvement Survey. The main aim of the survey is to identify the strengths and areas for development in our school. The data provides valuable information that the school uses to inform the St. Agnes’ School Improvement Plan and Annual Action Plan. Parents are encouraged to
participate in the survey to provide a parent voice to help shape the ongoing improvement of our school. Parents can access the survey via an emailed link and password which will be provided to each family on Monday 2nd September. Parents will be able to complete the survey anytime over a three-week window between Monday 2nd September to Friday 20th September 2024. We appreciate your feedback and ongoing support.
Student Leadership at St Agnes’
We were recently informed that former St Agnes’ student Finn Clark (brother of Gemma in Year 5) has been appointed as one of the Vice Captains at St Bede’s College in Mentone. We congratulate Finn on this achievement, as well as his parents Sean and Jane. Finn was School Captain of St Agnes’ School in 2019 and has obviously continued to flourish at St Bede’s.
After hearing of this news, we contacted St Bede’s administration to do some ‘homework’ on previous student leaders at their school. Amazingly, we learnt that there has been a former St Agnes’ student appointed to the leadership group at St Bede’s (consisting of only four students) in four of the past five years. This is significant because St Bede’s is a large college of close to 1900 students and it draws on a large number of Catholic and non-Catholic primary schools in the broader bayside region. And we at St Agnes’, being a small school of less than 200 students, has had regular representation in this secondary school leadership group, as you can see below.
2021 - Elijah McEvoy
2022 - Harry Griffin
2023 - Christian Ballarin
2025 - Finn Clark
On reflection, Finn’s mother Jane shared her views on how the “opportunities that the kids receive at our school, really do give them a head start in many ways once they get to high school”. There is certainly some truth in this, but it is also credit to the families of our students in the way they generally support the children to prepare for secondary school. I thought it an opportune time to identify some of the ways in which our school fosters the leadership and development of our students in readiness for secondary school.
Student Representative Council - New SRC Members are elected each semester to represent their class at meetings with our School Captains and Leadership Team when planning for our school.
Mini Vinnies Leaders - Again, each semester we elect new Mini Vinnies leaders to work with our Social Justice Captains and staff leaders to plan social justice actions for our community.
Year 5 Buddy Program - Our Year 5 students act as buddies for our new Prep students in their first two years of schooling. This special relationship provides the opportunity for our senior students to role model positive behaviours.
Year 6 Leadership Program - All Year 6 students are engaged in a Student Leadership role in their final year at our school, having the opportunity to lead various school events and activities. This doesn’t happen in every primary school and is a great benefit of a small primary school setting.
Public Speaking and Debating Program - Each year our school provides a rigorous Public Speaking and Debating program for our Year 5 and 6 students. Children are required to prepare and present speeches in front of their peers, while giving and receiving feedback.
Homework - Our approach to homework allocation and management is one that fosters independence and self-management skills. This ensures the students are prepared for the increased expectations in this space in Year 7 and beyond.
School Production - Our biennial school production is inclusive of all students, but provides a particular opportunity for our senior students to experience challenge and display their prowess on stage. It fosters teamwork and values relationships amongst the student cohort.
Connor’s Run - Team St Agnes’ - Sunday 15th September
Our School Captains Callan and Arabella have been working to establish a team for Connor’s Run on Sunday 15th September. We are encouraging all parents, staff and children to get involved in this incredible event and register as part of the St Agnes’ team. You can walk or run and there are distances to suit all. Follow this link to register by Friday 30th August https://www.connorsrun.com/. There will be training sessions for the next few Wednesday mornings, jogging the block at school from 8.00am. All are welcome and thanks to Mrs Phyland and Mrs Law for support this.
Staff Leave
I will taking long service leave from 6th - 18th September (inclusive) to take a family holiday to Noosa. Amanda Baker will be Acting Principal in my absence.
Aggie Gorksi is taking leave from Friday 16th September until Monday 14th October to travel back to Poland to visit family. Aggie has been planning this trip since 2020, but the pandemic interrupted all efforts. Nicci Murdoch will be the main Year 2 class teacher while Aggie is away.
Concussion
During our First Aid course on Monday, concussion was a topic we spent a bit of time on and thought it was important to share our learnings with parents. Over the last few years, there have been growing concerns about the incidence of sport-related concussions. If managed appropriately, most symptoms and signs of concussion can resolve spontaneously. This is why at St Agnes’ we notify families of any head injuries that may occur during school hours. Many of our students also participate in sports and activities outside of school hours. If a head injury or concussion occurs we would appreciate a family member notifying the school so that staff can monitor students in the classroom and on the playground as it might take 24-48 hours for signs to present. If you would like to read up on more information about concussions please visit the Concussions in Sport website.
Deputy Principal Conference
Amanda Baker will be attending the MACS Southern Region Deputy Principal’s conference in Healesville on Thursday 5th and Friday 6th September. There are some wonderful guest speakers at this event and it is also a terrific opportunity for Amanda to engage with like-minded colleagues.
Coming up at St Agnes’
Excursions
Over the course of the next two weeks, our Junior and Middle school students will be heading on topic-based excursions. Our Year 3-4s will visit Ricketts Point and our Prep, Year 1 and Year 2 students will visit the Royal Botanic Gardens. Details have been sent via Operoo.
Bully No Way Day
This Friday our students are invited to wear a touch of purple (socks, hair ties or similar) as we mark Bully No Way Day. On this day, the children will be learning about what bullying is, what it isn't and how we can be "upstanders" not "bystanders".
SSV Athletics
On Monday 2nd September, we have 64 students from Year 3-6 heading off to the SSV Holt District Athletics at Duncan McKinnon Reserve in Murrumbeena. Details have been communicated via Operoo. Parents are more than welcome to attend and support.
Italian Day
We celebrate all things Italian culture on Tuesday 10th September. The children are invited to wear casual dress in this theme and there will be a range of fun learning experiences on the day, including a performance and a special lunch. We thank Signora Talarico for all her work in preparation for this.
Sacrament of Confirmation
Our Year 6 students are busily preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation. They have their ‘Reflection Day’ on Wednesday 11th September at which Bishop Tony will visit. The will receive the sacrament on Saturday 14th September at 6pm mass. All are welcome to attend in support.
Year 3/4 Hooptime
Our Year 3 and 4 students will head off to the Hooptime Basketball competition on Tuesday 7th September. All students will participate and it is a terrific fun day of activity.
Footy and Pie Day
We celebrate the end of Term Three with Footy and Pie Day on Friday 20th September. Mr Otto and Mr McMahon are working with the Year 6 Sports Captains to make this a joyous and memorable day. The children are invited to wear casual dress on this day, in their favourite sporting team's colours.
End of Term Three
School concludes for the term on Friday 20th September at 1.30pm. Term Four commences on Monday 7th October as normal. We look forward to what will be a massive Term Four with Prep Orientation, Swimming, the Walkathon, Art Show, Grandparents Day, Camps and much more.
Assembly
Assemblies are in the Hall on Wednesday afternoons. Parents are welcome to attend. At assembly, there will be presentations from classes, student awards, birthday acknowledgements and special announcements from student leaders.
Wed 28th Aug - Year 5
Wed 4th Sept - Year 2
Wed 11th Sept - Year 4
Wed 18th Sept - Year 1
Enjoy the rest of the week! Hopefully not too windswept.
Kind regards,
Lachie.