Dear Parents and Carers,

As we move into Week 4, it’s been good to see our students settling back into school life. Classrooms feel calmer, routines are becoming familiar, and students know what is expected of them. This helps everyone feel safe and steady as the days roll on.

Clear routines and good behaviour are not about being strict. They are about creating the right conditions for learning. When children know where to be, how to act, and what will happen next, they can put their energy into learning. They don’t have to guess the rules or worry about what comes next. This is especially important for children who find school challenging or tiring.

At school, we work hard to give students strong care alongside clear boundaries. We teach them how to line up, how to speak to others, how to join in, and how to make mistakes safely. When behaviour is predictable, classrooms are places where students can take risks with learning and try new things.

Parents play an important role in this too. Children do best when the messages from home and school line up. Simple routines at home, like regular bedtimes, clear expectations, and following through when something is not okay, help children manage school much better. Structure gives children a sense of safety. Over time, it helps them become more confident and more independent.

When we work together around routines and behaviour, we give children the best chance to learn, grow, and feel secure at school. Thank you for your support in this shared work.

Mothers, Carers and Special People

I hope all our families had a chance to celebrate Mother’s Day yesterday. I hope all mothers had a day of happiness, a day where they felt cherished and where they could take time to dream dreams for their children. Mother’s Day is a day of joy and celebration for those who can spend time with their mothers. For others, it is a day of remembrance of mothers who are no longer with them. The special thing about the day is that we all stop and in our own ways, we take time to honour Motherhood.

It was great to see so many of our mothers, carers and special people at school last Friday morning for out Mother’s Day Breakfast. Many thanks to all those that also helped!

Mothers hold their children's hands for a short while, but their hearts forever.

Arriving at school on time and ready for learning

It has been great to see that most of our children are arriving on time each morning, ready to begin their learning. Thank you to parents for ensuring this takes place. It is even more important now, more than ever before that a smooth start to the day is established for your children so that excellent learning can take place. We ask that you continue to ensure that the children arrive on time 8:45am.

Pupil Free Day – Monday 18th May 2026

Please note that next Monday 18th May is a St. Peter’s Pupil Free Day. Children

will not be required to attend school on this day. Staff will be working offsite on this day and our whole school IT Network will be having an upgrade. Our school newsletter will be distributed next Tuesday.

Pupil Free Days

We apologise for the confusion caused by the information in last week’s newsletter. Please see the corrected details below. The dates listed here are the accurate Pupil Free Days for Term 2.

In Term 2, we have four days set aside as Pupil Free Days for staff professional development:

Tuesday 5th May – School closed for Staff Professional Development
Monday 18 May – School closed for Staff Professional Development
Friday 5 June – School closed for Staff Professional Development
Monday 22 June – School closed for Staff Professional Development

Thank you for your understanding.

St. Peter’s School Athletics Day

The School Athletics Day will be held at school this Friday 15th May from midday. We look forward to good weather, lots of good fun and our school community attending!

Staff News

Paris Robinson begins her family leave this Friday, and we wish her all the very best as she prepares for this next exciting chapter of her life. Paris has been a highly valued member of our teaching staff for a number of years, and the care and commitment she has shown our students has been outstanding. We look forward to welcoming another little one into our community!

In Paris’ absence Mrs. Price and Mrs. Cardinal will step into the classroom teacher role and will be well supported by leadership and the Year 5 and 6 team.

Expressions of Interest St. Peter’s School Advisory Council

St. Peter’s School Advisory Council is seeking new council members with the capacity and skills to oversee and support the strategic direction of the school, aligned with our Catholic School ethos. If you would like to become a Council Member, please send an Expression of Interest to the school Principal pbissinella@spbendigo.catholic.edu.au by the end of this week. Your Expression of Interest should cover why you would like to be involved with the council and what attributes or contribution you would be able to offer.

Foundation Siblings 2027

Enrolments for children of existing and new families who start Foundation/Prep in 2027 are open. Parents of existing and new families who have a child to start in 2027 - must complete the ‘Enrolment Application Form’ form by clicking on the following link to submit your application: https://www.spbendigo.catholic.edu.au/enrolment.html

Please note this is an essential step for existing families in ensuring you child is enrolled in Foundation/Prep 2027.

Parent's Car Park – Traffic Movement

The management of traffic flow at the beginning and end of the day is always a concern. We are fortunate that there is very little non-school traffic in the mix at these times. If the road signage and markings are adhered to with a good level of patience a safe environment can be maintained.

We remind drivers to turn to the left when exiting the carpark onto Fenton Street and going around the roundabout, rather than crossing directly across the traffic to turn right.

School Uniform

The reason for our school uniform is to ensure that our children are identified as students who belong to the community of St. Peter’s. When some students continually ignore aspects of the uniform policy, this can cause resentment and disharmony for other students and families. I ask parents to be encouraging and supportive in your role so that the school uniform is respected and adhered to and that there is a strong level of equality and fairness in the management of the uniform protocol.

From today (Week 4) all children are expected to be in Winter Uniform.

Warm regards,

Paul Bissinella

Acting Principal

Community News

Community Programs

Lightning Reef Primary Outside School Hours Care