Principal's Report
New Leadership Opportunities at St. Finbar's
Next year St. Finbar's School will operate under the following leadership structure: 1 x Principal and 2 x Deputy Principals. This means I will be appointing another Deputy Principal to start next year. I am very pleased to announce that Mr Nigel Rodrigues has been reappointed for a further 3 years as Deputy Principal and will be joined by another leader in this role. The appointment will be internally sought from current staff and I will announce to the community later this year who the successful candidate has been.
Fathers Day Breakfast and Stall
My sincere thanks to all of the parents who assisted with the Father's Day Stall and Breakfast last Friday. We had a tremendous turnout and we were extremely lucky with the weather holding up until classes starting!
Parent Trivia Night
What an amazing night it was last Saturday with our annual Parent fundraiser evening. The trivia night was well attended with 180+ people there. I would like to acknowledge the work of Jane Largey, Jenny Lalor and Kate Park who were the organisers for this event. I would also like to acknowledge the staff who attended with their partners, Mr Rodrigues and Mrs Ferrari. At the end of the night the Parents Association had raised an incredible $18,000 for our school to improve facilities and resources. Thank you!
St. Finbar's Fashionable Fundraiser
St Finbar’s Parish are hosting a luncheon on Sunday 14th October. I encourage all parents to get behind this event which will include a wonderful afternoon of Fashion, Fun, Fabulousness and Friendship. The luncheon will be a delicious grazing menu and beverages, followed by a Runway showcase of some of Melbourne’s finest Fashion Designers presenting their stunning Summer Collections, and will also include a special Kids Fashion Show, A panel of extraordinary Stylists and Beauty Experts to demonstrate and share their secrets, tips and tricks on the Ultimate Guide to dressing for the Spring Racing Carnival. Mini Market stalls featuring local artisans will be available for browsing and buying. Silent Auctions, Raffles, Table Prizes, and of course the much coveted GOODIE BAG. Tickets available through Trybooking: https://www.trybooking.com/XACH
As well as assistance with sponsorships, goods and ticket sales, we are looking for child models for the event- 4 boys (2 between 5 & 8 and 2 between 9 & 14) and 6 girls (2 between 5 & 8 and 4 between 9 & 14). Please contact event co-ordinator Corinne on 0414 624 253 or Bridget in the parish office on 9593 2122 to express your interest or find out more details.
Tim Wilson Visit and National Flag Day
On Monday 3rd September (National Flag Day) during our whole school assembly we had a visit from our local Federal Member for Goldstein Mr Tim Wilson. Mr Wilson spoke to the students about World Flag day and presented us with the Australian Flag, Aboriginal Flag and the Torres Straight Islander Flag. In addition to this, the students in year 3-6 all received a booklet explaining the various parts of our flags. I would like to thank Mr Wilson for taking the time to visit us at St. Finbar's and we are looking forward to visiting him at Parliament House in Canberra next year when our Year 6 students go on camp.
School Improvements
Over the coming September school holidays we have a number of improvement projects happening. Re-Asphalting the Thomas Sherry Playground, Security Cameras and internal light replacements as well as some minor maintenance work will be completed. I am looking forward to seeing the children enjoying these refurbished spaces in the coming weeks and years.
Principal's Times Tables Challenge
Term 3 is the time for the annual Principal's Times Tables challenge. As usual I will begin in the Year 6 classes and work my way down the year levels as I am available. Time to get revising!
Sexuality/Puberty Education Program
Please remember that our Sexuality / Puberty Education Program is on next week with Cath McCallig and Kelly Nash. The date for these sessions is Thursday 13th September and will be held in the school Hall.
Session 1: Families, Bodies and Babies - 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Session 2: Puberty, Growing and Changing - 7:15pm - 8:15pm
The cost for families is $15 each individual session or you can attend both sessions for $20. Bookings and payment are to be made online with CDFpay online (link below). Once you log into your account you will see a tab on the left hand side of the screen called, Sexuality Puberty Education Program.
Bookings close on Tuesday 11th September at 4pm. Thank you.
Bio Info on Presenters:
Cath McCallig and Kelly Nash are delighted to bring their Family Program to St Finbar's. Both Cath and Kelly have worked in schools as teachers, theatre in education presenters, and more recently, as sexuality educators with Family Life Victoria. They are now branching out on their own and offering both Family Evenings and School Programs. With six children between them, Cath and Kelly understand and fully support the role families have in the sexuality education of children.
Session 1 is aimed at students from 8 years of age and up. Generally we see Grade 3 and 4 students in attendance with their parents, but it is not uncommon for older students to attend also, particularly if they haven't attended a similar session before. Really, it all depends on the child and parents are good at picking what their kids are ready to hear.
Session 1 looks at:
* the similarities and differences in families, which leads into
* the similarities and differences between male and female bodies,
* sexual intercourse in relation to reproduction,
* foetal development and
* birth.
Session 2 is aimed at students aged 10 and up. We generally see Grade 5 and 6 students in these sessions, but we know that puberty can start as early as 8 for some children, so some parents are keen to bring their younger ones along too. Parent(s) are sitting right next to their child during the sessions, and are given lots of opportunities throughout the evening to discuss the topics as we go through. This method provides a safe, natural environment to start those discussions which can be a bit tricky at times!
Session 2 looks at:
* bodyparts (revision for some but new for those who didn't attend session 1),
* the 7 changes that are common to both males and females going through puberty and some ways to help manage them and
* the gender specific changes for males and females and some management strategies.
God Bless,
Pat Berlingeri
Principal