Principal's News

Dear Parents and Carers,

Term 1 is nearly done…. I cannot believe how quickly this term has gone. This is the time that I take to reflect on the term and look at what we have achieved in such a short time. 

I would like to congratulate our children for the following things:

• Their excitement about coming to school and the many good mornings I receive when I open the gates
• Their beautiful manners
• Their care and compassion for each other
• Their work ethic and 
• Always trying their very best

I would like to thank the parents for:

• your wonderful support, friendliness and engagement with not only your child’s teacher but all the staff
• Your  willingness to give feedback
• Your attendances at our parent nights

I would like to thank our staff for:

• Their professionalism
• Their teamwork and caring for each other
• Their kindness and support to our students

Finally, look at all the activities we have done in the last 10 weeks!

• Beginning of Year Mass
• Junklandia incursion for the whole school
• Parent Information Nights
• Shrove Tuesday
• Harmony Day
• Welcome Picnic organized by the Fundraising Team
• Foundation Mass at Braeside Park
• Cross Country
• Eucharist Family Activity Night and Commitment Mass
• Swimming Training and Carnival 
• Holy Week liturgies
• Whole school excursion to Healesville Sanctuary

In between all these activities we have lots of learning opportunities going on with the children being very engaged in the classroom.

HARMONY WEEK - HARMONY DAY FRIDAY 24 MARCH

During Harmony Week, we explored the concepts of cultural diversity, respect and inclusion. The children created wonderful class banners to represent what they believe Harmony Week is - Please go and have a look at the banners in the hall, the students have done a wonderful job! On Friday, our assembly was about Harmony week and it was lovely to see the splashes of orange the children and staff wore to celebrate the day. 

WHOLE SCHOOL EXCURSION

The day is nearly here…..we are so looking forward to having a day out of the school with all the children. I did have to smile on Monday when a Foundation student asked “How big will the bus be to fit us all in?” I think they were a little disappointed that we were not all going in the same bus!

Just a reminder that the children need to:

• Wear full sports uniform
• Bring a raincoat
• Lunch, fruit, snacks (plastic free) and a water bottle in a small back pack.

Please be at school by 8.15am so we can leave at 8.30am as we have some programs booked in for the children while we are there.

Reminder to parents attending the excursion you need to drive yourself down there and don’t forget to prebook your tickets.  Click here for the ticket link.

HOLY WEEK LITURGY

What a lovely liturgy we had on Monday to celebrate Holy Week. Our Foundation, Year 1S and Year 1/2E did a wonderful job leading us in singing and dancing. A big thank you to the Technology Leaders who lead our Palm Sunday liturgy.

Well done to the Year 4’s and 6D on their presentation for our Holy Thursday celebration and to the Arts, Culture and Wellbeing Leaders who did a wonderful job leading the Liturgy.

NAPLAN

Well done to all the Year 3 and 5 students on completing NAPLAN over the last two weeks. We were very pleased with the confidence the students approached the tests and a big thank you to Ange, Annemarie, Cassie, Heather and Loretta who prepared the children in such a positive manner. 

We look forward to the results later in the year, which shows a ‘snapshot’ of their learning and we use that along with their regular and comprehensive assessments that we generate and report against.

ENROLMENTS FOR 2024

As you would be aware, enrolments for 2024 are now open. If you have a child joining St Brigid’s next year, please come to the office and pick up an enrolment pack.  Enrolments for Foundation 2024 close on Friday 28th April. 

EASTER RAFFLE

Congratulations all we have succeeded - Tracey is officially hidden behind a wall of chocolate!  Can you see her Thank you to everyone who has kindly donated to our Easter Raffle. We will draw the Easter Raffle at 2.15pm on Thursday 6th April.

Tickets are still available if you would like to sell some more - please see Tracey in the office. 

EASTER BONNET

The teachers are working very hard on making their Easter Bonnets for next Thursday, so lets see how many Bonnets we will have for our parade on Thursday 6th April at 9.00am. 

AUSSIE OF THE MONTH

Congratulations to Max A (6C) who received the second Aussie of the Month. His care and compassion to not only his friends but to anyone from the St Brigid’s community is highly admired. He is a friendly and respectful student to all.  Well done Max.

eSaftey WEBINAR

Thank you to the 150 families who registered to watch the eSafety Webinar on Tuesday night. The eSafety Commission is an invaluable resource for parents and children navigating the online protocols.  If you ever have any concerns or questions regarding online behaviour please make sure you contact the eSafety Commissioner.

From the webinar, please see below some very useful links that can help you understand games, who to contact and how to make a report.

esafety guide

parental controls

mind the gap

dolly's dream - parent hub

counselling services

screen time

family tech time agreement

LIFE ED - WEDNESDAY 26 TO FRIDAY 28 APRIL

Life Education delivers health and drug education through a unique mobile learning centre environment which provides students the opportunities to develop strategies and practice the skills required to lead a healthy lifestyle. 

Lessons are age appropriate and the children will be covering a wide range of health related topics, ranging from the human body and how it works, healthy eating and nutrition, medicines and drugs, bullying, cybersafety, resilience and social skills. 

Healthy Harold, the much loved Life Education giraffe mascot is always a much anticipated element of the visit. The sessions are always fun, interactive and really extend and develop the children’s understanding of the topics covered.  

Life Education will take place at St Brigid's the first week of Term 2.  This year our focus is on resilience and social skills.

Life Education offers a newsletter and Parent Resources click on this link and you can Register to watch the recorded Parent Information Session as well as have access to the parent resources.  An Operoo will be sent to families next week.

PRIME HYDRATION DRINK

It has come to our attention that their is a new drink available called Prime.  It has a large amount of caffeine and sugar in it and is not recommended for children under 15.   Apparently this drink is a TikTok sensation with children anxious to try the drink and paying silly prices to do so.  Please be aware we do not allow these drinks or any other caffinated sports drinks at our school.  Thank you for your understanding.

END OF TERM

The school term finishes on Thursday April 6 at 3:15pm and Term 2 commences on Wednesday 26th April. 

Have a lovely and restful break.

Wendy Sullivan