Principal's Report

Manuela Watson 

To all the families and carers of St Fidelis,

As I write my first newsletter as Principal of St Fidelis', I would like to thank everyone for the overwhelming warm welcome I have received from parents I have known before, new parents and of course the children. I wish to thank Father Cartwright for his leadership during the Principal appointment process and his belief in me to lead St Fidelis' School community. I wish to thank Janine, for all she has done to welcome me and help me settle in, along with the leadership team and the staff.  St Fidelis' is very fortunate to have a staff that is very professional, dedicated and who genuinely care for your children. 

As you are all aware the teachers begin the school year a day before the children and we always start our day by attending the 9:15am Parish liturgy. As I sat amongst my new staff as their leader I was comforted by listening to the Word of God and Father Cartwright's homily.

Father Cartwright reminded us that it is a noble calling and vocation to be a Catholic teacher, by the way we live, by the practice of our faith and by our attitudes and behaviours. It is with these characteristics that we communicate the distinctive character of Catholic Schools. A special thank you to Father Cartwright for your support and a reminder of why Catholic Schools are so unique.

Kind Regards

Manuela

New teachers to St Fidelis'

A very warm welcome to five new teachers to our learning community, Mr Mark MacGregor (Year 5/6) Mr Graham Troy (Year 5/6) Mrs Christine Walsh (Literacy Leader), Ms Belinda Filippone (Year 3/4) and Ms Claudia Razi (Term One only Year 5/6 /release teacher) I’m sure they have all been warmly welcomed by the St Fidelis' Community.

Welcome Foundation Students of the Class of 2019

Last Thursday we welcomed all our new Foundation children and their families.  It was wonderful meeting all the parents, the extended family and friends of our new students. The first day of school is such an important milestone one to cherish and hold on forever.  My hope and dream is that all the children and families that have joined our community for the first time enjoy and cherish the next seven years and beyond in our parish and school community. I have visited the classes each day and read them a story and they are a beautiful cohort of children ready for learning.

Parent Teacher Conversations

—Tuesday February 12th

On Tuesday the 12th of February the students will be dismissed at 1:00pm in order to have the Parent Teacher Conversations. The interviews will begin at 1:30 and you can book your time through the online booking portal. The purpose of these conversations is for you to meet your child’s teacher and discuss their strengths, challenges and any other points of interest or concern that may be necessary for the teacher to know. This is another way for the teachers to add to your child’s profile as they get to know your child during the first months of school. In preparation for the conversations can you please answer a few questions about your child and return to school before the 12th of February.

Keep up to date with School events

To ensure you are kept up to date with school event and activities the newsletter is distributed each Monday via Skoolbag App and through email. Please read this each week so that you are continually informed about school events.

News app - 'SkoolBag'

Our school uses the SkoolBag App as a main source of communication so we encourage all parents to download this app to your smartphone or tablet.

www.moqproducts.com.au/skoolbag/installation-instructions/

Thank you to all staff

Thank you to all the staff for their preparation for the beginning of the year. A number of weeks prior to the start many staff returned to prepare for the beginning of the year. Thank you to Peter our cleaner for cleaning the school grounds and classrooms before the children returned to school.

Whole School Mass

On Wednesday February 13th we will participate in a Whole School Mass at 9:15am. Mass will take place at St Fidelis church. This will be the first Eucharist gathering as a school community for the 2019 school year. All welcome.

School fees

School fees were sent home today. Accounts are generally sent home twice each term and prompt payment of the term fee is required. Payment can be made by cash, credit card or eftpos and EFT.  Please contact the office if you have any questions about payment options. Please refer to the link below for further information about our school fees.

Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund

The Camps, Sports and excursion Fund (CSEF) provides payments for eligible students to attend activities including: school camps, excursions and incursions. Please check this link to see if you are eligible and to access the application form. CSE Website.