Principal's Message
Dear parents, students and families,
Trust you have had a good fortnight.
I have been asked to share this message from MACS due to recent media attention on new wage deals in Victorian schools, and in particular, Catholic schools.
"Supporting our staff while planning for the future
Currently, all Catholic schools are working through planning and budgeting activities for 2027 to ensure we are well placed to support our staff, students and school communities in the coming year. This includes looking at how we can accommodate the changes likely to flow from a new Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA) with school staff.
We recognise the significant financial pressures many households are facing, and we are making a conscious effort to ensure these costs are not passed on through significant fee increases.
We will continue to keep our parent community informed throughout this process. As always, our focus remains on maintaining strong school communities and continuing to deliver a high-quality Catholic education for every student"
Recently we held our Trivia Night Fundraiser. It was a terrific night for those who could attend and I thank you all on behalf of our students, who ultimately benefit from any funds raised. Thank you to all those who organised and ran the event- always a challenging task.
Our Foundation students enjoyed their recent school excursion to Myuna Farm as part of their studies. I'm sure families enjoyed the photos that have been shared. Last Friday we celebrated 100 Days of Foundation for our wonderful 2026 cohort and 100 days as a teacher for Miss Michaela Torpey, who is in her graduate year. Congratulations to all and particular thanks to our Foundation staff who made it such a great day for our prep students.
Yesterday some of our Year 5/ 6 students attended local Basketball and Volleyball tournaments. Congratulations to our Volleyball team on finishing second, one of our Basketball teams winning 3 of their 4 games and the other Basketball team winning the tournament final against a very strong Belvedere Park PS. Congratulations also to our school choir who had their first public performance away from school at the Belvedere Park Kindergarten. Well done to Mrs Porter and all the students who sang beautifully and really engaged with the Kinder kids.
Looking ahead the next two weeks are absolutely jam-packed with events.
Our students will all be gathering in the Church this Friday as we celebrate the Feast of the Assumption and on Friday 21st August we will have Drew Lane return to school to further enhance our Liturgical music with our students.
Our 3/ 4 students will be attending the Melbourne Museum on Wednesday 19th August as part of their studies, our Book Week Parade and celebration day is on Tuesday 25th August and on Friday 28th August many of our students will have earned the right to represent our school at the District Athletics at Ballam Park.
Looking towards 2027 we are holding our 2027 Foundation Information evening on Wednesday 26th August. This will be the first official step for many of our incoming families now that their enrolment has been accepted.
On Monday 24th August we are having a School Closure Day and we do appreciate you making alternate arrangements for your children. Our focus will be on the staff learning more regarding the new MACS Protect protocols around student safety and the second part of the day will be listening to Stuart de Silva, who is a psychologist, and will be addressing the staff on ADHD in children.
May God Bless You all
Rod Shaw
Principal
School Attendance and Unexplained Absence
Please contact the school if your child is going to be absent by leaving a message on
9786 4736 and press 1. Please give your child’s name and class with areason for their absence such as: unwell, appointment, holiday or family reasons. Alternatively an email can be sent to office@saseaford.catholic.edu.au with cc to the child’s teacher.
Both of these options are available 24 hours a day.
If you are running late, (after 9:00 am) please attend the office to sign your child into school.
If you are picking up your child early you will need to collect them and sign them out from the office.
As per our policy this will be our morning routine for absences:
Parents will be contacted as soon as practicable on the morning a student is absent via a text message.
If parent does not contact the school after receiving the text message, the school will contact the parent by phone. If the parent is unreachable the emergency contacts will be contacted by the school.
If there is still no response, and the school feels that the child is in danger, the police will be contacted.
Ongoing unexplained absences or lack of cooperation regarding student attendance will result in a formal conference being organized. Unresolved attendance issues will be referred to D.H.H.S.
This is a legal requirement.
Democratic Principles
The six (6) principles of Australian democracy include:
(a) elected government; and
(b) the rule of law; and
(c) equal rights for all before the law; and
(d) freedom of religion; and
(e) freedom of speech and association; and
(f) the values of openness and tolerance