Principal's News

Dear Parents, Carers and Friends of St Brigid’s,

Congratulations to our Graduating Class of 2025

Congratulations to our Graduating Class of 2025, who leave us at the end of the year to begin their secondary school journey in 2026.

At their Graduation on Thursday night, part of my reflection read:

“When you first arrived at St Brigid’s, your school bags were almost bigger than you! You were curious, eager to learn, and ready to explore. Since then, you’ve grown—not just in height, but in wisdom, confidence, and kindness. You’ve learned to read and write, to think deeply, to work together, and to care for one another. You’ve faced challenges, achieved goals, and created memories that will stay with you for life.”

These words capture our 2025 Year 6 students perfectly. They are generous of spirit, willing to help, and have shown remarkable leadership. Their respect, care, and compassion for all members of the St Brigid’s community, staff, students, parents, and especially their Foundation buddies, have been truly admirable.

We wish them all the very best and remind them that they are always welcome to visit when they can.

We began their celebrations with a Graduation Liturgy on Thursday 11 December, where we recognised their achievements throughout their primary school years. The worthy recipients of the awards were:

Mark Dreyfus Award: 

Community Spirit & Leadership

Joshua P

Awarded to Joshua for his enthusiastic participation in all activities, friendly and positive interactions with peers, and for consistently setting an excellent example for others.

Christina H

Awarded to Christina for her active involvement in all class activities, warm and supportive relationships with her peers, and for being a positive role model to others.

Tim Richardson Award: 

Community Spirit & Leadership

Charlotte D

Charlotte demonstrates kindness, leadership, responsibility, and respect, consistently contributing positively to the school community and serving as an inspiring role model for others.

Principal's Award

Gemma L & Rafael P

The Principal Award recipients are two deserving students whom we proudly acknowledge for their consistently positive attitudes towards their learning. Each of these students, in their own way, has demonstrated resilience and perseverance in striving to be their very best. They are quiet achievers who should be commended for the remarkable growth they have shown this year, both academically and socially. They are truly worthy recipients of this award.

School Spirit Award

Spencer E & Ethan R

This year, the St Brigid’s Spirit Awards are presented to two students who have consistently demonstrated the attributes we value so deeply at St Brigid’s, respect, participation, and encouragement. These students are inclusive of all, showing a caring and compassionate nature that lifts others up. They strive not only for their own success, but for the success of everyone around them, truly embodying the spirit of our school.

Knights of the Southern Cross Award

Louise R, Luke D, Liam W

This year the the Knights of the Southern Cross Awards were presented to Louise, Luke and Liam. These students are inclusive of all, showing a caring and compassionate nature that lifts others up.  This award supports these students in continuing to live out their faith.

On Friday we gathered for our End of Year Mass, a beautiful way to close the year and farewell Fr Andrew, who celebrated his final Mass with us. As a gift, we presented him with a tree artwork made from all our students’ fingerprints.

Today, the Year 6 students enjoyed their Big Day Out, rock climbing followed by a pizza lunch at Braeside Park.

Our final celebration will be the End of Year Assembly on Tuesday, where we will reflect on a wonderful year and farewell our Year 6 students with a guard of honour.

Meet the Teacher

Today we held our final transition session, where students met their 2026 teachers. 

I commend our staff for the significant time, care, and thoughtful consideration that goes into forming class groups. As mentioned previously, parent requests are considered as part of the process, but many factors influence class placement each year. I ask that families respect these decisions.

Specialist 

Physical Education - Miss Hannah Richards

Visual Arts - Mrs Sarah Kimball

STEM - Mrs Deborah Patterson

LOTE - Mrs Charlotte Tracey

Performing Arts - Mrs Sarah Kimball

Learning Enhancement Team

Hannah Richards

Mel Roberts

Christine Thredgold

Learning Support Officers

Glenn Steweart

Cathryn Scofield

Sigi Goetze

Erin McGeoch

Abbie Baker

Chloe Thompson

Administration

Office Manager - Tracey Stackpole 

Finance Manager  - Fiona Blair

Leadershop

Learning Diversity & Wellbeing Leader - Christine Thredgold

Deputy Principal and RE Leader- Jodie Marziano

Principal - Wendy Sullivan

We look forward to partnering with families in 2025 to give our students the very best learning opportunities.

Family Farewell

At this time of the year it comes the time to say a sad goodbye to the following families who are leaving us at the end of 2025.

We wish them all the very best for the future and thank them for being a valued part of our St Brigid’s community.

Staff Farewell

We also say a heartfelt farewell to:

• Miss Yasmin Allaf

• Mrs Maria Talarico

• Mrs Deb Gosslin

We sincerely thank them for their dedicated service, care, and commitment to our children. We wish them every success in their next chapter.

Reports Now Live  

Your child/ren's school reports are available via the new Nforma App or via the Nforma desktop on your computer.. 

By now we hope all families have downloaded the Nforma App and familiarised yourselves with the new platform.  

The process of downloading the app is very straight forward and once you have the App - it is very user friendly. Please see instructions below.  Moving forward this will mean all information about your child is in one place.

Thank you’s

At this time of the year, I extend my deepest gratitude to the many people who contribute to our vibrant school community.

Parish Team

Our sincere thanks to Fr Andrew and Fr Huy for their ongoing guidance and leadership. They have welcomed our students so warmly at Mass and celebrated Sacraments with us. We are saddened to farewell them both and wish them a holy, happy and safe Christmas.

Families

Thank you to all families for your partnership and support. Whether listening to children read, assisting on excursions, helping in classrooms, supporting fundraising events, attending School Advisory Council meetings, or simply encouraging your children each day, you make a profound difference.

A special thank you to our School Advisory Council, led so capably by Allie, supported by Margeaux (secretary), Alex, Giselle, Louise, Amy, Lisa and Hayley. We especially thank Allie as she concludes her time on the Council. We welcome Alex who will take on the Chair role in 2026.

Thank you also to Hayley and Lisa and our Class Representatives, who helped raise over $13,000 this year. These funds have supported new picnic tables and a new gazebo for our outdoor learning spaces. We are pleased to announce that Giselle will lead our class reps to continue the Social and Fundraising aspect of school.

Children

To our students — thank you for your enthusiasm, joy and commitment to your learning. We are so proud of your achievements, the pride you take in your school, and the kindness you show each other. We look forward to seeing our 2026 Year 6's step into leadership and welcoming our new 2026 Foundation students.

Staff

I extend heartfelt thanks to our exceptional staff for their professionalism, calmness and dedication throughout 2025. This year has included significant curriculum change with the introduction of the new Victorian Curriculum and OCHRE resources, and our staff have embraced this with positivity and commitment.

Thank you for delivering rich learning experiences, preparing comprehensive handovers, supporting major events and Sacraments, and ensuring each child is nurtured academically and emotionally.

A special thank you to:

• Jodie, thank you for your unwavering partnership and commitment to the smooth running of the school. Your dedication to our students, staff, and parents is exceptional, and I deeply appreciate all that you do. 

• To our School Improvement Team—Jodie, Christine, Cassie, Suzie, and Arch—thank you for your leadership, knowledge, and skills in developing programs and practices that help us grow and learn together as a community. 

• I extend my sincere thanks to our Learning Support team, Sigi, Glenn, Cathryn, Deb and Erin whose individual and group programs are invaluable in supporting both our students and teachers. Your work truly makes a difference in the classroom.

• A special mention goes to Tracey Stackpole, our ever-flexible Office Manager, whose cheerful manner and willingness to help everyone makes her an absolute joy to work with. Tracey, you make my role as principal so much easier. Fiona Blair, our Finance Manager, has done an outstanding job managing our finances and is always willing to lend a hand. Between Tracey and Fiona, the office has been a rich and rewarding place to work. I am personally grateful to both of you for your incredible support. 

• I also want to acknowledge the hard work of Steve and Tania, who maintain our school site to the highest standards, and John and Denver, our wonderful crossing supervisors, whose kindness and loyalty ensure our families cross safely each day.

Your work is deeply appreciated.

Medication Management Plans - Asthma and Anaphylaxis

Today all children who currently have a Medical Management Plan will receive a letter containing important information and forms that need to be completed (including all relevant information eg. phone numbers, emergency contact details).  These forms must be signed by a parent and returned when school commences on the 27th of January. Parents please note these forms must be also be signed by a medical practitioner. Medication will also be sent home tomorrow. Please ensure that when you return the medication at the beginning of the 2026 school year it is clearly labelled, current and up to date.  

Foundation 2027 Enrolments

Enrolments for new and current families for 2027 are now open. We require all current families to please ensure they submit a sibling application for 2027 prior to Friday 27 March 2026 to ensure a placement in our Foundation intake for 2027. The enrolment application form can be found on our website here. Please do not hesitate to contact the school office should you have any queries. 

END OF TERM - 3.15PM TUESDAY 16 DECEMBER

We finish our formal classes for 2025 tomorrow. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are School Closure/Time in Lieu Days  for Staff Planning 2026. TheirCare is available for bookings on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

The school year for staff commences Tuesday 27 January, 2026 for staff.  All students return on Wednesday 28 January.

See Dates for your Diary for 2026 dates.

Thank you all for making 2025 such a remarkable year for St Brigid’s. I wish every member of our community a safe, restful, and joy-filled Christmas, and safe travels for those heading away.

Yours in partnership.

Wendy Sullivan

Principal