Principal's Message

Swimming Carnival 

A great day was had by all at our swimming carnival yesterday. All students participated in races and encouraged each other along the way with some loud cheers! We have some amazing swimming talent at this school! I must commend the students on their sportsmanship and encouragement for each other throughout the day, well done to you all. 

A big congratulations to the Nagle Team on winning this year’s carnival on a huge 678 points! The other teams weren’t too far behind either. 

Padua: 673

MacKillop: 670

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Ms Brid Claffey for her incredible effort in organising the swimming carnival. Her dedication in putting the races together and ensuring everything ran smoothly did not go unnoticed.

A special thank you also goes to the wonderful parents who volunteered their valuable time to assist in the running of the day. Without your support, organising such events would be incredibly challenging, and we greatly appreciate your time and effort.

Additionally, we want to express our gratitude to our amazing teachers. Your outstanding job in encouraging the students and keeping the day on track was truly commendable. Thank you once again for making the swimming carnival a memorable and successful event.

We are thrilled to announce the Aged Champions. Our students aged 9 to 13 years are selected based on the performance and number of 50-metre events they have entered. To ensure a fair and exciting competition, a point scoring system is in place to determine the winners.

We are incredibly proud of all our students who have taken part in all the events, showcasing their dedication and sportsmanship.

Congratulations to all our Aged Champions! Your hard work and determination are truly inspiring.

Amadeus Music Concert 

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to our dedicated Amadeus Music Tutors - Ms Dominique Gallery, Mr Johnathan Baker, and Mr Ozvaldo Santos - for their exceptional efforts in preparing a fantastic end-of-year concert. The performances by the brass, woodwind, and strings sections were truly amazing and added a magical touch to our outdoor concert at the Possum Playground. A special shoutout to the students in Years 3 to 6 for their incredible job playing as an ensemble. Your hard work and passion for music have made this event a memorable one for all.

Year 6 Graduations & Year 6 Awards

On Friday 13 December, we will have our Graduation & Thanksgiving Mass at 9am to celebrate the Year Six graduates and bless them as a school community as they go on to high school next year. 

There are some special awards that we will present to the Year 6 students who have excelled in various ways throughout the year. These are given in recognition of a special quality, attribute or sustained effort during the year. They are:

• St Anthony of Padua Award for Love & Service: to the student who has lived our school motto “Love and Service”
• Social Impact Award: to the student who has displayed an understanding and appreciation of civic responsibility, has proven themselves to possess great strength of character and courage to do what is right. This award is presented by Dr Marjorie O’Neill MP for Coogee 
• Creative Arts Excellence Award: to the student for sharing their talents with our community 
• Performing Arts Award: to the student for sharing their talents with our community  
• Overall Academic Excellence: to the student who demonstrates academic growth based personal and consistent excellence towards learning.   
• St Mary of the Cross MacKillop Award for Stewardship: to the student who has demonstrated consistency for always lending a hand and never seeing a job without doing something about it 
• Nagle Award for Leadership: to the student for always showing initiative and leading others by example 
• Friendship and SPBL Award: to the student who has displayed being a kind and caring person by following our school wide positive behaviours for learning.  
• Inspirational leadership and Motivation award: to a student who consistently demonstrates leadership through their actions 
• Pope Francis Award - for students who participated in the program 

Compass - Semester 2 School Reports

This term our Semester 2 reports will be available to all parents/carers through your child’s Compass portal on this Friday, 6 December. When discussing and sharing these with your child, celebrate some strengths and growth and also identify an area of focus for 2024. Please acknowledge the effort you child has put into each area not focusing on simply the grade.

A timely reminder: Please ensure that if your child is leaving school at the end of 2024, you download your child’s reports as a PDF onto your computer, as once your child leaves the school, you will no longer be able to access the reports through Compass.

Year 6 Career Talks and Workshops

Year 6 students have been fortunate to host several visitors who shared insights about their professions. Recently, Mrs Moutopoulos for sharing her incredible knowledge of the Greek language and culture with us! 🇬🇷 

All our speakers underscored the importance of continuous learning and adapting to changes in their careers. Looking ahead, we are excited to welcome business professionals, and staff who will offer tips on preparing for high school.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to all the staff a parents who have generously shared their stories with Year 6.

SCECS Vacation Care Program - December to January 2025 

Exciting Holiday Activities and Outings with SCECS!

Surf Safety Talk 

We are incredibly grateful to Ben and George Quigley for their amazing talk on surf safety! Your insights on the importance of staying between the flags and what to do if caught in a current were invaluable. Our students from Kindergarten to Year 6 learned so much and are now better prepared to stay safe at the beach.

We were especially impressed with Ben's experience on Bondi Rescue and the incredible work he has done to save people. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and time with us!

Week 6 & 7 Assembly - Congratulations to the award recipients!

Yours in Partnership

Anna Novak

Principal