Principal's Report 

Principal’s Report

St Kilian’s Debutante Ball

On Friday and Saturday night we hosted the annual St Kilian’s Debutante Balls.  The St Kilian’s Hall looked amazing for the Debutantes, their partners, families and friends to enjoy such a special evening.  The Deb Ball committee has worked tirelessly, preparing for the event and they are to be congratulated and thanked for all of their contributions. I also thank the parents, friends and former students from the school community who assisted with the setting up and packing up of all of the equipment and furniture for the ball; all of your individual contributions were greatly appreciated.  I encourage parents and friends to continue to support this event next year.  Please contact them via stkiliansdebball@gmail.com and join the committee or find out the many ways you could support this wonderful event. 

End of Term 3 

School concludes at 2:30pm on Friday 15th September, with term 4 commencing on Monday 2nd October at 9am.

Pupil Free Day

Monday 16th October will be a Pupil free day for staff to engage in professional development in the areas of first aid and wellbeing.

Book Fair

To continue to foster the enthusiasm our students display towards reading and learning, our school will be holding a Lamont Book Fair! 

Parents are welcome to visit and make purchases with their children before school; in the multi-purpose room on:

• Thursday the 31st of August from 8:30am – 9:30am and 3:00pm-4:00pm 
• Friday the 1st of September (Donuts with Dad day) 8:30 – 9:30am

Prices for books will begin at $5. 

Sales may be EFTPOS, Visa, MasterCard or cash.

The Book Fair will have items suitable for all our year levels. Students from Prep to Year 6 will have an opportunity to browse and fill out a wish list during a special visit on Wednesday. 

We encourage everyone to come and have a look around!

The profit from any purchases made throughout the Book Fair will benefit the students of St Kilian's School by allowing us to add to the resources in our library. 

If you would like to donate a book to our library there will be a chance to select one. Your generosity will be recognised by a bookplate with your child’s name in the front of your donated book.

Father’s Day - Donuts with Dad & Footy Colours Day

Friday 1st September all dads, father figures and special friends of the school are invited to come and join in Donuts with Dad. This is always a great event and is a wonderful opportunity for us to recognise the wonderful contributions of the Dads in the school. Donuts will be available for everyone and special guests will be offered tea, coffee or hot chocolate from 8:30am from the school canteen.  

Students and special guests are encouraged to wear their 

If you are available to help with the distribution of donuts or making a hot drink please contact tuckshop@skbendigo.catholic.edu.au to volunteer some time.

Father’s Day Gifts

Our Father’s Day Gift purchase will be on Friday 1st September.  We have organised a range of gifts for all students to purchase for their fathers or special friends.  Students are asked to bring $5 to purchase a gift.  Please note due to some clashes with other events some grades will select gifts earlier in the week.

Division Basketball

On Friday we have a group of senior students competing in the Bendigo division Basketball Tournament. We wish them all of the best and hope they enjoy the experience.

Season of Creation

Pope Francis and the Australian Bishops invite all Catholics to join the ecumenical Season of Creation. It starts 1 September (World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation) and ends 4 October (Feast Day of St Francis of Assisi). They encourage us all to make this a special time of prayer and action in caring for our common home.  Some representatives from our school will be attending an Outdoor Mass celebrated by Bishop Shane to launch the Season of Creation, 11am on Friday 1 September at Notley Camping Ground and Picnic Area.

Friday Afternoon Assembly

Our next assembly will be showcasing 5GW on Friday 1st September. Assembly will take place in the school hall and we invite the parents of 5GW to attend.  We will start promptly at 3pm.

Upcoming Excursions

Grade 3 Adventure Day on Friday 1st of September to Central Deborah Gold Mine, Chinese Museum & Gardens & Rosalind Park

Grade Prep Excursion on Monday 4th of September to Kyabram Fauna Park

Grade 4 Excursion on Wednesday 6th of September to Pepper Green Farm

Division Athletics on Monday 11th of September for some students in our middle and senior classes

Grade 5 Camp from Wednesday 13th of September until Friday 15th of September to Campaspe Downs, Kyneton

Festival of the Sacred

Next Thursday 7th September the students in Grade 5/6 are performing in the Festival of the Sacred, being held at St Francis of the Fields, Strathfieldsaye. The students have been practising for this event for some time with Australian School of Performing Arts representatives and school staff.  The official concert starts at 1:00pm and concludes at about 2:00pm. I have attended this event in the past and it is fantastic. I highly recommend parents of the school to come along, if available, to watch the students from St Kilian’s and other neighbouring Catholic Schools put on a wonderful show.  Booking is essential via this link.

Prep-2 Swimming Program

Our swimming program for our prep, one and two students starts on Tuesday 5th September.  All details have been provided to parents via weekly memos and PAM.

Uniform Swap

Monday 11th September 8:30am outside prep classrooms. Uniform Swap gives families a way to trade outgrown uniforms with other families in order to reduce the need to buy costly new uniform pieces. Please bring along items which are suitable for others to wear. Donations of uniforms are accepted also. Families who have no future need for uniforms are encouraged to donate their uniforms. It is a great time to have a look at what summer uniform your children have grown out of and need. Families regularly donate uniforms to the office so even if you have nothing to swap please come and grab what you need. We would happily accept a gold coin donation if you wish to support our School Care Team but this is not essential.

2024 Students

Planning for the 2024 school year has begun. To assist with this process, if you know your child (in Grade Prep to 5) will be leaving St Kilian’s School at the end of the year, except the graduating Grade 6 class, could you please inform me via email or a letter of your intentions as soon as possible. By doing this, it will assist in organising staffing and class numbers for the 2024 school year. I thank you for your assistance, in advance, for the parents who this applies to.

God Bless 

Kimberley McSweeney 

Principal