PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

 Week 1, Term 3

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Welcome back to Term Three. I hope this newsletter finds you well-rested after a relaxing school holiday period with your family. From the conversations I’ve had with many of the students and parents, we have some families who have travelled and others who stayed local to re-energise, ready for the second half of the year. It’s incredible to think that our Preps are half way through their first year already and our Year Six students are in their final six months of primary school. There is much to look forward to in a short-sharp Term Three, most notably the school production of Finding Nemo Jr. The production takes place in the evenings of Tuesday 16th and Wednesday 17th September. As it is a whole school event, it is expected that all students are present at both performances so we can make the show the best it can be! Please mark these dates firmly in your calendar and be on the lookout for ticket sales!

The past two days have been very settled and the students are to be commended for the way they have quickly re-adjusted back into the routine of school. This term is always a great one for sustained teaching and learning, with little interruption, particularly early on. This newsletter contains information about all of the key events for the school this term and should be read in conjunction with Class Newsletters from teachers, which are due to come out by the end of next week. The Class Newsletters contain information specifically related to the teaching and learning in your child’s class this term. As a school, we continue to strive to maintain high levels of communication between school and home, ensuring a strong partnership for the benefit of your child. As always, if ever you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to get in touch with your child’s classroom teacher.

Our P&F Presents - 2025 St Agnes’ Rodeo!

You are invited to join us for the highly anticipated 2025 P&F parent event, to be held on Friday 15th August. Many thanks to our hardworking P&F for their efforts to bring together this incredible social and fundraising occasion for our community. Our school has long been known for a strong social side and community spirit. It is one of the many things that makes this school so special and research indicates that strong a parent-school connection has a profound impact on student wellbeing and learning. I encourage all families to get a babysitter or grandparent organised so you can get along to enjoy what promises to be a fun-filled evening. Tickets go on sale later this week, so keep an eye out.

Fundraising efforts for 2025-2026

This year and into next year, we are working towards two things for the continued improvement of facilities for our students: 

1. The upgrade of network 'switches', which are a critical component for the Wifi network. Thank you to Andrew and Anna Pitsikalis (Prep parents) who have donated some of this hardware, to give us a great start. Without current, licensed switching, our network does not operate effectively, so it is critical to the learning of the children and online access of students and staff. We expect to be in a position to complete this year.
2. The upgrade and replacement of the adventure playground equipment in the central courtyard. This is estimated to cost around $100,000-$110,000 and will be the focus of our 2026 Fete.

Year 5/6 "Sex Ed" - Reproduction & Puberty

All Year 5/6 students and parents are invited to our ‘sex-ed’ session tomorrow night. We have engaged a trained teacher and parent, Cath McCallig to work with our community this year. Cath comes highly recommended, having worked in this space across a number of local Catholic primary schools. She is renowned for her humour, inclusivity and personality. Running from 6.30pm-8pm, the program is a great opportunity for families to discuss important issues. As a part of our curriculum offering, it is expected all students/families are represented.

Stranger danger

As many families are likely already aware, there was an attempted abduction of a child at a local football game (Brighton East) over the weekend. Thankfully, the child is safe and unharmed. This is the second incident of this nature in the Bayside community in recent months, so it serves as a reminder to all parents and families to ensure that you all take the necessary measures to keep your children safe in public. I would also strongly recommend an age-appropriate conversation about ‘stranger danger’ with your children.

NAPLAN 2025

This week, we received a more complete summary of results from NAPLAN Testing, completed earlier this year. The children from Year 3 and 5 have performed very well in these Literacy and Numeracy tests. We only have the 2024 State Mean to compare to because the 2025 State mean is yet to be released. There is little variation from year to year in the state mean, so it is a solid reference point. You can see from the data set below, on average these cohorts have exceeded the State mean in all instances; in some cases, by a significant margin. This is great affirmation for the children, parents and also for the teachers. It strongly supports the evidence-based instructional approaches at our school. Individual student reports will be sent home later this week.

St Agnes’ Snippets

We’re back!

The children have loved being back at school this week and are certainly refreshed, enjoying their learning. See below - Year 1 engaging in their morning Circle; Year 2s launching into Spelling Mastery for the first time this week; Prep focused in MSL; Year 3 and 4 practicing Number Fact Fluency on TT Rockstars.

Estelle at the Nationals! 

Congratulations to Year 5 student Estelle Warnes who competed in the Australian Gymnastics Championships during the holidays, representing Victoria. She competed in the Under 12s ‘All-Around’ Competition, which encompasses beam, vault, bars and floor. Estelle finished 11th, which is an incredible achievement. She loved being part of the team and competing for Victoria. We are super proud of you Estelle! Well done.

Pick up and drop off

Many children and families walk through the staff car park at the Locinda Street gates each morning and afternoon. I would like to offer a gentle reminder to all parents and grandparents, that this car park is not to be used by parents before or after school, for the safety of all members of our community.

Staff Leave in Term Three

This term we have some staff taking leave from work for various reasons. 

• Tracey Law is currently on Long Service Leave in Greece with her husband Craig. Tracey returns to work on Monday 4th August. Aggie Gorski is replacing Tracey in Year 4.
• Jacque Murphy is taking 7 days of Long Service Leave from 31st July to 8th August to watch her son play football for Victoria in the National Championships in Queensland.
• I will be taking long service leave for 5 days from 4th-8th August for a short family holiday.
• Nicci Murdoch is taking leave from 1st September until the end of the term, to travel to Europe with her family, celebrating a significant wedding anniversary with her husband Dave.

Staff replacements will be communicated for the above once finalised.

School Closure Day - Kelly Sports Offering

On Monday 18th August, we have a School Closure Day for Staff Professional Development. Paul and Tash at Kelly Sports are offering a full day of activities onsite for our students on this day. They require a minimum of 10 children to be enrolled by Monday 11th August for this to proceed. I encourage those who need it to get a group together and book it in. See details in document attached.

St Agnes’ Mixed Netball Team - Beachside Division Competition

On Monday 28th July, our Year 5 and 6 Mixed Netball team will head to Stonnington Sport Centre, East Malvern to compete in the Beachside Division Netball competition. Thank you to the wonderful parents for transporting the children to this event.  If you have any difficulty with this, please contact Mr Kost (skost@sahighett.catholic.edu.au) and he will do his best to help you connect with other parents attending. All details have been communicated via Operoo. We wish the children well in this competition and know they will represent our school with aplomb.

PSG Meetings - Tuesday 29th-Wednesday 30th July

Program Support Group Meetings will be held next week. Families involved have been contacted directly about appointments for these meetings. Melinda Phyland will chair these meetings.

Prep 100 Days Celebrations

On Wednesday 30th July, our Prep children celebrate 100 days of school. The children are invited to dress up as if they were 100 years old, enjoy a special lunch and they will also lead assembly. A special one for our Prep parents to try to get to.

Dental Van Visit - Wednesday 30th July

As the Preps are sharing in a special lunch, probably with a few treats like ‘fairy bread’, ironically, we will have the Dental Van visiting the school. This dental health check is a free service and bookings are still open until the day prior. The Dental Van comes into the school playground and the children go over in small groups for their check-up. Please go to the Dental Van page to register via the QR Code or bring in a filled out form to the office.

Last Playgroup Session for the year - Friday 9th August

Next week we have our final playgroup session for the year. It is finishing a little earlier this year due to preparation for the school production. Please share this update with friends and family who have been attending. This initiative has once again been very successful in assisting children (and parents) to become familiar with our school in readiness for commencement. Thank you to those families who have attended playgroup this year and welcomed new/prospective families to the school. Finally, thank you once again to Mrs Baker for your caring and welcoming leadership of the Playgroup in 2025. We look forward to the commencement of our formal Prep 2026 Orientation Program on Wednesday 15th October.

Inform and Empower - Online Safety workshops

Our Year 1-6 students will continue with learning about digital citizenship and online safety as part of our Digital Technologies curriculum in Week 3. These sessions are facilitated by Marty from Inform and Empower, who has led the parent workshops in our school for the past three years.

Fete Committee Meeting

Our Fete Committee continues their work in preparation for the big day in March, with the next meeting to be held on Tuesday 5th August, in the staffroom at 7.30pm. All parents are invited to attend this meeting.

Prep Parish Mass

On Friday 8th August, our Prep children will join the weekday mass goers for 9am morning mass. The children will assist throughout the mass and parents are welcome to attend. A gentle reminder to please leave your coffee cups in the car.

Father’s Day Lunch

All St Agnes’ Dads are invited to the first annual Father’s Day Lunch at Sandy by the Bay on Friday 12th September from 12pm-4pm. Talk to the boss and get the afternoon off for what promises to be a fun-filled catch-up with the other men from our school community. All welcome. Please get in touch with Kosh Sothilingam on 0403438667 to secure your spot. Get in quick because places may be limited.

Tuckshop Commencement

Tuckshop will commence this week, Friday 25th July. Orders can be placed online.

Term Three School Fees

Term Three School Fees Statements were sent out on Monday this week, with fees now payable via EFT, cash or credit card. Please contact Shannon (sshine@sahighett.catholic.edu.au) in the office to organise payment. Thank you to those families who have set up direct debits.

Important Dates for Term Four

• Sacrament of Confirmation Mass (Year 6) will take place on Saturday 11th October. Please mark this date in your diary. 
• Year 3 Zoo Snooze Camp - an overnight stay at Melbourne Zoo - is on Wednesday 15th and Thursday 16th October!
• Year 4 Summit Camp is from Wednesday 22nd-Friday 24th October.
• We will be having a whole school Grandparents Day on Thursday 30th October. There will be a Liturgy in the morning, classrooms will open and we will finish with morning tea (9am-11am).
• Term Four concludes on Monday 15th December for Year Six and on Tuesday 16th December for all Prep-Year 5 students.

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 23rd July - Year 6

Wed 30th July - Prep (100 Days)

Wed 6th Aug - Year 5

Wed 13th Aug - Year 3

Wed 20th Aug - Year 4

Wed 27th Aug - Year 1

Wed 3rd Sept - Year 2

Wed 10th Sept - Year 6 Leadership

Wed 17th Sept - No assembly

We are looking forward a fun-filled and jam-packed Term Three!

Kind regards,

Lachie.