PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

Term 4 - Week 9

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And with the blink of an eye, we are coming into the final days of the school year. This will be the final newsletter for the year. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all parents and carers for your support of our incredible students, your children, throughout this year. Thank you for continuing to ‘show up’ when it matters; thank you for your contributions to some of the incredible events of 2024 and finally, thank you for supporting the staff and the school. I have said it before and I’ll say it again; I’ve never seen such a high level of support from parents in a primary school, as what we see here every week. The school could not operate nearly as effectively without the assistance of these helpers and on behalf of the school, I thank you very much for your time, expertise and effort. We are very lucky and grateful to have a meaningful partnership with our parents and wider school community.

I would also like to thank our staff for their professionalism, hard work, skill and engagement in their vocation. The children, parents (and Principal) of St Agnes’ are extremely fortunate to have such a capable team working in our community every day. A special mention to our Deputy Principal Amanda Baker for her tireless effort and skill in working with our students, staff and parents. Finally thank you to Shannon and Naomi in the office for their efforts this year. Our ‘Directors of First Impressions’ have a very difficult job at times dealing with sick children, supporting staff, welcoming and supporting families, all while the phone is ringing. Specifically, we acknowledge Shannon for working full-time while Naomi has been unwell.

Art Show - What a Bloomin good time!

Wasn’t the Art Show just a tremendous night?! The classrooms were bright and vibrant, with a wonderful energy and atmosphere present throughout. We are proud of the musicians who ‘took a risk’ and entertained those in their spaces. We acknowledge and thank those families who purchased their children's Art, as this donation goes towards (but doesn’t fully cover) the significant costs of producing Art in an Art Show year and the cost of the event, which is also considerable. All other artwork will remain at school and will be framed/displayed throughout the school. I would like to celebrate our staff for their support of our Art Teacher Nicci Murdoch as this event was prepared. We had staff volunteering time on Sunday and late into the evening on Monday and Tuesday to make it a very successful evening. Thank you also to Nicci for her energy, vision and work. Amazing! Finally, congratulations to Noel and Julie, grandparents of Charlie and Oliver Walsh, for ‘winning’ the silent-auction for Agnes’ the Cow. She has found a new home on their farm near Colac. In 2025, we return to celebrating the Performing Arts with a school production.

Grandparents Day

The morning after the Art Show, our now Annual Grandparents Day was a beautiful celebration of the contribution made by the older generation to the lives of our students. The story read by Eloise was a hoot, the speeches from Camilla and Logan were very touching and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house during the final song ‘Part of Me’. Please pass on our thanks to all grandparents and special friends who made the effort to be present for the children. It was certainly special.

Book Fair

A big shout-out to all of the parents who helped out at the Book Fair last week. With our Library Officer Lynn Miller on sick leave at short notice, we called for help and the help came! We are so very grateful for this assistance in what was a very busy week for the school and staff. Without it, the Book Fair simply would not have been possible. Special mention to those who were the ‘mainstays’ throughout the week - Fiona Newington, Sinead Hawkins, Lauren Karpathakis and Georgia Sotiroski.

Swimming Carnival

Yesterday we had our second annual St Agnes’ Swimming Carnival. The children had an absolute blast and loved competing against each other. For some children, swimming carnivals are an uncomfortable event, but we are very proud of those students for giving it their best and doing it with a smile on their face. Congratulations to Yellow House on the win and thank you to Mr Kost for organising a low-stress, high-quality sports event.

P&F Annual General Meeting

Tonight we have our Parents and Friends Committee Annual General Meeting at 7.30pm at school. Here we will finalise dates for Term One, and acknowledge the many and varied contributions from our P&F members this year, in what has been a remarkable year. All parents are invited and encouraged to attend this meeting. We will meet in the Year Six classroom, so there is plenty of room for all to come along. At this meeting, we will have a report from Co-Presidents Georgia Sotiroski and Lauren Karpathakis, as well as Treasurer Bree Walsh. We are still looking for support with a ‘Class Rep Coordinator’ for 2025 and also Class Rep(s) for Year Six. Both the Class Rep Coordinator and Class Rep role are both predominantly communication-centric and suit parents who would like to contribute to the school but are unable to assist in other ways. Please reach out to me if you are interested in getting involved. Once finalised, the P&F President’s Report will be shared with the school community.

School Advisory Council Annual General Meeting

Last night we held the SAC AGM, with a report presented from SAC Chair Felicity Langley. The SAC plays an important role in advising and supporting the school’s leadership team. In 2025, Felicity will continue as Chair of this parent body and Fiona Newington will remain as Secretary. Thank you to all SAC members for their contribution during 2025. Please see below, the School Advisory Council Chair Report.

Class-Teacher Appointments and Leadership Positions

Below is an outline of our Leadership and Classroom Teacher appointments for 2025. We are excited to have put together a strong staff team to continue to ‘raise the bar’ at St Agnes’ next year. We have 5 new staff: Cass de Kretser, Amelia Bell (Teaching) Brooke Jamison, Alisha Quattrone and Maddi McKee (Learning Support). This is in addition to Lisa Hampson joining our teaching staff.

Leadership Positions

Principal - Lachie Foott

Deputy Principal - Learning, Teaching and Literacy - Amanda Baker

Faith and Community Leader - Aggie Gorski

Learning Diversity and Wellbeing Leader - Melinda Phyland

Mathematics, Science & Technologies Leader - Levi Otto

Learning Enhancement Leader/Teacher - Aggie Gorski

Junior Leader - Judith Barton

Senior Leader - Tracey Law

Classroom Teaching Allocation

Prep B - Judith Barton

Prep D - Cassandra de Kretser

Year 1 - Jacque Murphy

Year 2 - Amelia Bell

Year 3 - Lisa Hampson

Year 4 - Tracey Law

Year 5 - Josie Miller

Year 6 - Levi Otto

Leadership release/part-time classroom roles - Nicci Murdoch will have a 0.3FTE in Year 6 releasing Levi for his leadership duties. Melinda Phyland and Aggie Gorski will each spend 0.2FTE in Year 5 and Prep respectively, as Josie Miller and Judith Barton work 4 days per week.

Learning Support - Rebecca Emmerson, Kristina Eterovic, Lynn Miller, Brooke Jamison, Alisha Quattrone, Maddison McKee, Georgia Pafumi.

Administration - Shannon Shine (Office Manager/Finance - 4 days), Naomi Field (Enrolments/Communication - 2 days)

Specialist Programs

Physical Education & Sport - Simon Kost

Performing Arts - Anna Gugliucciello

Visual Arts - Nicci Murdoch

Italian - Marie Talarico

Portable Refurbishment

As previously communicated, the Portable Classroom will be refurbished and this will commence next week. There will be temporary fencing set up around the building as the trades strip the building back to basics. These works will be completed in the early part of 2025, in readiness for use next year. This refurbishment is critical to enable expected growth in our school in the next two years. The portable will house the Library in 2025-2026.

Resurfacing Project is a GO!

After a successful Walkathon that raised in the vicinity of $5000, we are pleased to confirm that the resurfacing of the asphalt area will take place during the upcoming Summer school holidays. It has been an enormous year of community, fundraising and social initiatives with in excess of $50,000 being raised by our Parents & Friends, inclusive of the Fete. The school is very grateful to all in our community for your contributions of time, money and support to make all of this possible. Our school well and truly ‘punches above its weight’ in this space and the children of school (current and future) directly benefit.

School Fees Communication

Earlier this year, our governing authority Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) issued a directive to all Catholic schools regarding an increase of school fees over the next five years to meet government funding requirements. The School has been working together with our MACS Business Manager and the School Advisory Council to develop a plan to manage this process. There will be a separate letter sent to all families in the coming week providing clarity around this.

St Agnes’ Christmas Raffle

Please head across to the P&F page of this newsletter to purchase tickets for the St Agnes’ Christmas raffle. The intention with this raffle is to offer families some school holiday fun activities, with over $1000 in prizes up for grabs. It will be drawn at the Christmas Carols next week.

Returning of Library Books and Class Readers

All school books including class readers and library books should be returned to school immediately please. We ask all parents to please check for any school books still at home and return them to school as soon as possible.

Farewell Year Six Students

We are very proud of our Year Six students and we wish them well as they embark on the next chapter of their education. I am confident that each of them are equipped with the skills, knowledge and confidence to excel at secondary school, having been well prepared by parents and teachers alike. I know they are excited, but nervous as well. Excited for the new opportunities, but nervous about the new environment. I wish them well and trust they will remember their time at St Agnes’ fondly.

Farewell Leaving Families

This year will be the final year at our school for a number of families. Some families have been here a short while and others have been part of our school community for many years. Over the years, many of the departing families have made significant contributions to the school. For all the families who are leaving, I would like to thank them for their contribution and hope that they are able to leave with positive memories of their time here at St. Agnes’. We wish you all the best for the future.

Now we look ahead…

Year 5/6 Beach Program

Thursday and Friday this week, our senior school students are headed to Mordialloc Surf Lifesaving Club for an Open Water Safety program, run by Life Saving Victoria. The children are looking forward this and it looks like the weather is going to be nice and warm for them!

Year Six Final Assembly - Wednesday 11th December

We commence the ‘farewell tour’ for our Year Six students on Wednesday 11th December with their final assembly. This will be a special assembly where the Year Six students will have the opportunity to share some of their most treasured memories from their time at our school. I encourage all Year Six parents to make a special effort to be present at this one.

St Agnes’ Christmas Carols - Wednesday 11th December at 6.30pm

Next Wednesday night, our students will entertain the community with our annual Christmas Carols event. The evening will start with the Prep to Year 2 student leading us through the nativity with narration and song. This will be followed by the Year 3-6 students singing a combination of traditional and contemporary Christmas carols. I encourage all families to get along to the event. It is a picnic-style event, so please pack a chair or rug; it commences at 6.30pm and will run for about an hour. The children will need to be at school at 6.15pm for the performance to commence at 6.30pm sharp. Advice has been sent via Operoo to individual year levels regarding costumes/attire for the event. This is a whole school event, so all students are expected to attend and participate please.

Year Six Visit to Luna Park - Thursday 12th December

Our Year Six students are pumped to go to Luna Park for their end-of-year celebration with their peers and teachers. This will include a special lunch and is a great tradition of our school. More information sent via Operoo.

2025 Orientation Morning - Friday 13th December

Next Friday, our students will spend the morning (9-11am) with their 2025 teacher and classmates. This orientation session gives students and teachers the opportunity to get to know one another prior to the end of the year. Students from other schools who are joining St Agnes’ in 2025, will also be present on this day.

School Reports

Academically we have much to be proud of this year, with the children continuing to do well. It is amazing to see the growth in learning across all areas of the school curriculum over the past twelve months. Reports will be sent home with the eldest children on Friday 13th December. Please feel free to contact your child’s teacher if you have any questions about the report.

End of Year and Graduation Liturgy - Monday 16th December

The final event of the school year is the End of Year and Graduation Liturgy. At this liturgy we will celebrate the 2024 school year as a whole school community. Again, we ask that all children are present for this event and dressed in full summer school uniform. It will also be the time to farewell our Year Six cohort, as they graduate from primary school. All year levels will be involved in the liturgy in some capacity. Following the liturgy, Year Six students and their parents will move over to the hall for dinner, speeches and further celebrations.

Conclusion to 2024 School Year

The 2024 school year will conclude on Monday 16th December at 3:30pm for the Year 6 children and on Tuesday 17th December at 1:30pm for the Prep-Year 5 children.

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and safe, happy and prosperous 2025.

Assembly

Assembly is held in the hall on a Wednesday afternoon. Parents are always welcome to attend. We continue to have class presentations, awards, birthdays and special announcements each week.

Wednesday 4th Dec - Advent (Year 2)

Wednesday 11th December - Year 6 Final Assembly

Please head across to the 2025-Main Dates page for some important information regarding next year.

Enjoy the rest of your week. 

Kind regards,

Lachie.