PRINCIPAL'S REPORT
Week 7, Term 1
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Blink and you’ll miss it. We are already two thirds of the way through Term One and what a sensational start it has been. Our classrooms are well and truly settled into the routine of learning for the year, with relationships between teachers and students now established.
We are very proud of the start made by our new classroom teaching staff: Cass de Kretser (Prep), Amelia Bell (Year 2) and Lisa Hampson (Year 3). In a new school or role, these three staff have been incredible in learning ‘the St Agnes’ way’, with a sharp focus on student relationships and best practice in Literacy and Mathematics. They have been ably supported by our Deputy Principal and Leader of Learning/Teaching, Amanda Baker, as well as our Learning Enhancement Leader Aggie Gorski. I would also like to commend our new Learning Support staff for their seamless transition into their respective roles across our classrooms. Brooke Jamison, Maddi McKee and Alisha Quattrone have been guided by existing LSOs, as well as our Learning Diversity Leader Melinda Phyland. Our Learning Support staff play a vital role in the support of student learning; without them we would be lost.
Staffing Improvements in 2025
As we planned for this year, the school’s senior leadership made the conscious decision to re-develop our leadership structures across the school. Our school has grown considerably across the past two years, which has allowed us to continue to refine and improve leadership and support resourcing for the students and staff. Amanda Baker is now our full-time Deputy Principal and Leader of Learning and Teaching. Previously our Deputy Principal also held the role of Learning Diversity Leader, which is a significant role, but this has now been separated. In 2025, Amanda is responsible for the day-to-day organisation of our staffing and she drives all professional learning with our staff related to our School Improvement Plan. She coaches our teaching staff around instruction Prep-Year 6, with a honed focus on the development of teaching/learning approaches in Prep, Year 1 and Year 2. In the role of Learning Enhancement Leader, Aggie Gorski spends the majority of her time in Year 3, 4, 5 and 6 with the role of refining instructional practice to impact student learning. Aggie also spends time with small groups of students to target learning needs, as required. Our new Student Wellbeing and Learning Diversity Leader, Melinda Phyland, also has an expanded role within the school. Now a stand-alone role with a 0.6FTE time allocation, Melinda is responsible for leading our team of Learning Support Officers, running Program Support Group meetings and overseeing the implementation of Personalised Learning Plans. This year, Melinda will also lead the implementation of a reading support approach (MacqLit), starting with some of our Year 3 and 4 students.
Instructional Approach - Intervention and Support
At St Agnes’, we believe that all students have an equal right to learn the fundamentals of Literacy and Mathematics. Therefore, our instructional practices and approach to intervention/support is designed accordingly. Our approach to curriculum delivery is
explicit, direct and systematic. We have well-embedded approaches that are clear examples of this in our daily practice - Multi-Sensory Structured Language (MSL), Heggerty (Phonemic Awareness) and Spelling Mastery. We also expect a high level of engagement and participation from all students throughout each lesson, because we know engagement and participation are directly linked to learning and knowledge retention. Our teachers use participation tactics such as choral responses and choral reversal, mini-whiteboards, non-volunteers (no hands up) and pair share to engage our students in learning. As you can see from the graphic below, learning is a known 'science' and we make every effort to ensure our practice aligns with what is known about the science of learning.
Today I was walking past Prep and took the quick snap below. You can see some of our incredible Preppies engaged in MSL learning at a very high level, some 24 days into their schooling journey. You can see modelling, repetition and the use of whiteboards to engage all students in all aspects of the learning. Super proud!
We also refer to Multi-Tiered Systems of Support around teaching and intervention. We have three tiers of instruction:
Tier 1 - Core or whole class instruction
Tier 2 - Targeted, strategic, small group instruction/intervention
Tier 3 - Intensive, individual instruction/intervention
Our teaching staff, led by our curriculum leaders are well versed in practices of extension where it is required. Our Learning Support Team are also expertly trained and guided by our Deputy Principal and Learning Diversity Leader around Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions. As a staff, we are very grateful for the trust and support provided to the school by our parent community around the education of your children. We are confident in our approach and are always looking for ways to improve. In the next newsletter, I will detail a little more about our strategic plans for the year.
Open Days, Sibling Enrolment and Playgroup
We had our first Open Day of 2025 on Wednesday 26th February and it was quite possibly the most active and successful Open Day in my time at St Agnes’. Thank you very much to all who are actively advocating for our school in the local community. It is definitely having an impact, with many of the prospective families mentioning a connection to a current St Agnes’ family. We have two more Open Days in March - Tuesday 18th and Wednesday 26th March. Please continue to spread the word and share these dates within your networks. All support is greatly appreciated. I ask that all current families with a child starting school next year to please complete an enrolment application. We have made round one offers to new families from within our zone and will make a second round of offers to new families following our Open Days in March. Our Friday morning playgroup is steadily building, with some nice connections amongst children and parents starting to form. All who have a 3 or 4 year old child are welcome to come along. The remaining dates for the year are 21st March, 2nd May, 16th May, 30th May, 13th June, 27th June, 1st August, 15th August, 29th August. You can register here.
Feel free to share the image below with friends, family, kinder WhatsApp groups.
Staff Professional Learning
Thank you to all parents for your support and understanding around our two school closure days last week. Our staff truly value this time to work together, build knowledge and understanding around best practice. The impact of these two days each year on our staff/school culture is significant. Outside of yourselves as parents, your children spent the next-most amount of time with our school staff, so investment in their development is key to a flourishing school community. We are continuing to work with Extend and Kelly Sports around care options on school closure days moving forward.
St Agnes’ Snippets
Sacrament of Reconciliation
Thank you to Mrs Gorski, Mrs Hampson, Fr Alan and all Year 3 families for your engagement in the Sacrament of Reconciliation Family Faith Night. It was a beautiful start to the sacramental journey for our Year 3 children. We look forward the liturgies for the sacrament on Thursday 27th March.
iSeaiCare and Clean up Highett Day
Our Environment Captains have made a big start with Clean up Highett Day and also attending their first iSea-iCare Leaders Day. Luca, Josh, Lily and Alex were outstanding ambassadors for our school on this day. This is part of an ongoing program our school participates in annually for our Year Six Environment Leaders.
P&F Welcome Picnic
Thank you to all who made it along to the P&F Welcome Picnic at Thomas Street Park in Hampton a couple of weeks ago. There was a really nice, relaxed vibe amongst the crowd. What a special community of families we have.
Young Leaders Day
Thank you to Mrs Phyland for accompanying our School Captains Izzy and Harry to the Young Leaders Day recently. Hearing from leaders such as Thomas Duncan-Watt, Emma McKeon and Majak Daw was a great highlight and special treat for our Captains.
P&F Meeting
Thank you to all the parents who made it along to the first Parents & Friends Committee meeting for the year. It was very strongly attended and is indicative of the community spirit that is alive and well in our school. The P&F’s main remits are social engagement (particularly parent social aspects), fundraising and pastoral support. All current parents/carers are welcome at P&F meetings and if you have suggestions around one of the above aspects, please feel free to come to a meeting or share these with your Class Rep.
Coming up…
Production Auditions
This Friday 14th March, our Year 5 and 6 students will be auditioning for the main roles of Finding Nemo Jr. All students are expected to audition for a role, as we require all seniors students to fulfill a role in the show. The production is a wonderful opportunity for students with prowess in the performing arts to showcase their skills, but it is also a great way to provide a safe, risk-taking environment for those who are less comfortable with it. All other students will be involved in the show in their class groups.
SAC Meeting
At 7.30pm on Tuesday 18th March is our first School Advisory Council meeting for the year. This group meets once or twice a term the role of the School Advisory Council is to advise the schools leadership around matters pertaining to the educational community that is St Agnes’. Our SAC for 2025 includes: Felicity Langley (Chair - Y1, Y5), Fiona Newington (Secretary - Y4, Y6), Marty Cox (Y2, Y4), Josh Ryan (Y3), Karen McGoldrick (Y1, Y5), Caroline Cunningham (Y3, Y4) and Carly Monahan (Y1, Y4, Y6). Feel free to get in touch with any members of our SAC to raise any matters relating to the school community.
Dad’s Events
Over the next two weeks, there are two events for St Agnes’ Dads taking place. This weekend there is a golf day planned and I would like to thank EJ Crohan for getting this going. There are four golf groups playing on Saturday afternoon, before heading to Bad Shepherd Brewing for refreshments afterwards. All are welcome.
On Thursday 20th March at the Highett RSL, is our annual Dad’s Pot and Parma Night. Again, all are welcome and all dads are encourage to come along. Please get in touch with Year 5 Dad Bart Carr oll to advise your attendance.
We are aiming to establish a St Agnes’ Dad’s sub-committee of St Agnes’ P&F to further developed the involvement of our fathers in the education of the children. If you are interested in this, please let me know.
Prep Parent Seminar - 5 Secrets to develop Confidence & Resilience
On Tuesday 25th March at 7.30pm, we will be hosting an information night on Resilience for our Prep families and any families new to our school. The night will be facilitated by Student Wellbeing expert Georgina Manning, with a focus on how parents can help children to be resilient young people. It is essential that at least one parent from each Prep family attends, but it would be even better if both parents could be present.
Help Needed - 2026 St Agnes’ School Fete!
It seems like a long way away, but on Saturday 14th March 2026 we have our next St Agnes’ School Fete. This parent-run social, community and fundraising event has been a part of the school culture since the 1970s and it is amazing. In my time at the school, across three Fete’s, there has been over $100,000 worth of fundraising. This has led to a number of significant improvements in the school, most recently, the resurfacing of the central courtyard. We are asking for parent support in forming a subcommittee to drive this important event. If you are interested in supporting this school in this way, please contact me.
Classroom Parent Helper Course
This year, we again welcome the support of parents to assist in our Prep and Year 1 classrooms during the morning literacy block. You will enjoy participating in your children’s education – we are in partnership with you and your support is invaluable. All parents are welcome to help. We require that all helpers assisting in the classrooms are fully trained and have a current Working with Children Check, which must be uploaded to your child's Operoo profile prior to the commencement of the training sessions. We need helpers from 9am to 11am each day. There is a compulsory training session (approximately 1 hour) for all new Prep parent helpers and any new helpers in Year 1. The training session will be run by Amanda Baker and Judith Barton in the Hall on Thursday 20th March at 8.45am. Please contact Judith (jbarton@sahighett.catholic.edu.au) to confirm your interest.
Term 1 school fees
2025 school fee invoices have been sent out, both electronically and hard copy. Please ensure payment is made promptly to avoid late payment fees. We encourage all families to set up direct debits and forms have been sent out for establishing this. If you have any questions regarding your fees, please contact Shannon Shine in the office (sshine@sahighett.catholic.edu.au).
Assembly
Assemblies are in the Hall on Wednesday afternoons. Parents are welcome to attend. At assembly, there will be presentations from classes, student awards, birthday acknowledgements and special announcements from student leaders.
Wed 12th March - Year 5/6 (Camp)
Wed 19th March - Year 3
Wed 26th March - Prep
Wed 2nd April - SRC
Have a great week! Long live this Summer weather!
Kind regards,
Lachie.