Principal's Report
Dear Parents,
What a great day we had on Saturday at the annual Dads Footy Match. It was a true community event, with two schools coming together. Children, parents, and staff mingled and enjoyed the sunshine with the true spirit of our vibrant St Finbar's community fully on show. Pat also came along; he loved catching up with so many families, and relished the opportunity to wear as much St Finbar's merchandise as possible. Thank you to Matt Skehill who took some great action shots, some of which can be viewed below. Once again, thank you to our generous sponsors who supported this day; these sponsors are listed at the bottom of this page.
The end of term is fast approaching, with two final celebrations still to take place.
Friday 8th September St Finbar's Feast Day.
Friday 15th September Footy Day - wear footy colours. Special lunch order.
St Finbar's Feast Day
We're looking forward to celebrating St Finbar's Feast Day tomorrow, as well as commemorating 175 years of education at St Finbar's.
We're excited to have Drew Lane join us to share his songs with our children. Drew’s songs, such as “We Are One”, “God Is Everywhere” and “I Like The Way God Made Me” are used in classrooms and liturgies around Australia, New Zealand, and the world. The concert will take place in our school hall at 2:30pm, which parents are welcome to attend. Please note that there will be NO morning assembly on this day.
There will be a 'sausage sizzle' lunch on this day for all students. If your child doesn't want a sausage for lunch, you will need to provide your own alternative as there will be no lunch orders. Students can wear green on this day to recognise St Finbar's Irish origins.
Uniform
As per our uniform policy, students will transition to Summer uniform at the beginning of Term 4. The document below is taken from the Parents' Handbook and is a reminder of our uniform policy.
St Finbar's Parish Meeting
Around 60 parishioners, including many current St Finbar's families, gathered in the school hall last Thursday to discuss the future of St Finbar's parish. With a declining number of priests, it is inevitable that the Archdiocese is looking at options to manage this into the future. Our wonderful school was mentioned over and over again, with many parishioners commenting on how much they enjoy seeing our students at Mass. Father Ian was also celebrated, with many parishioners expressing their personal gratitude to him. We will wait to hear now what future direction our parish, and the 11 others in our immediate Bayside region, will be taking.
MACSIS School Improvement Surveys
By now you should have received an invitation to complete Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools – School Improvement Surveys (MACSSIS) surveys. These surveys help us to gauge how we are tracking as a school in various areas, and how we compare in these areas to other Catholic schools in Melbourne. As of today, we have had 33 families complete the survey. We are hoping to get to at least 75 families so we have a long way to go.
Footy Match Photos
(photo credit Matt Skehill)
Working in Your Element
Please see the Visual Arts page of this newsletter to find out how you can be involved in this great initiative that we're trialling in Term 4. We're hoping to give students the opportunity to develop some new skills. Contact Ms Douglas for more information.
Michelle Hill,
Acting Principal