Principal's Report
Dear St Cecilia's Community,
Grandparents and Special Friends Morning – A Heartwarming Celebration
This morning, our school was filled with joy, laughter, and an overwhelming sense of community as we welcomed over 320 Grandparents and Special Friends through our gates. It was truly a special occasion – one of those mornings that reminds us all of the deep connections that support and surround our students.
From the moment our guests arrived, there was a buzz of excitement. The children were beaming with pride as they showed their special visitors around the school, introduced them to their teachers and classmates, and took part in classroom activities together. Our school hall was a hive of conversation and connection, with morning tea and music creating a warm, welcoming atmosphere.
A highlight was the beautiful performance by our school choir, who sang with heart and enthusiasm. There were a lot of proud adults in the room. Some visitors came from interstate and 2 even flew in fromSri Lanka just yesterday!
We also want to acknowledge that not every child was able to have a visitor present today, and we were mindful of this in the way we planned the day. Every student was involved and celebrated – with many sharing their visitors with each other!
Thank you again to everyone who helped make today such a memorable celebration, particularly or PA who planned and coordinated the special morning tea.
It really was a great celebration of family, friendship, and belonging at St Cecilia’s.
Please see more photos in the What's Been Happening section...
Strengthening Communication Across Our School Community
At St Cecilia’s, we believe that clear and timely communication is one of the most important foundations of a strong and connected school community. Whether it’s keeping you informed about upcoming events, celebrating student achievements, or sharing timely updates, we are always striving to find the most effective ways to ensure our messages are received, understood, and acted upon.
To support this, we use a range of communication tools and platforms to reach as many families as possible. Our primary platform for day-to-day updates, alerts, and essential information is Nforma. We acknowledge that the transition to this system hasn’t been perfectly smooth for everyone, and we appreciate your patience. It is essential, however, that all families are logged in and regularly checking Nforma, (perhaps even switch on notifications) as this is the main way we communicate time-sensitive information such as changes to events, reminders, and school logistics.
Another helpful tool we encourage families to use is our school calendar, which is kept up to date with all upcoming events, important dates, and school activities. You can access the calendar anytime via the St Cecilia’s website and directly through the Nforma dashboard. It’s a great way to stay organised and ensure nothing is missed.
In addition, we have trialled a reduction in our traditional fortnightly newsletter this year, opting instead to increase our use of social media, particularly Instagram, to promote school life, highlight student learning, and share snapshots of the many wonderful things happening around the school. We are continuing to assess the best balance between these formats and, moving forward, we plan to increase our newsletters to 3–4 editions per term to ensure we maintain a more in-depth and consistent channel of communication alongside our more immediate updates.
We are also aware that many families benefit from WhatsApp class groups managed by our Parent Reps. While these groups are not managed, monitored, or endorsed by the school, they often serve as a helpful space for families to seek clarification or reminders from others in their year level.
In summary, our communication strategy will continue to include:
- Nforma for daily/urgent updates and key dates
- Newsletters, increasing to 3–4 editions per term
- Instagram and other social media to share student learning, promote events and celebrate our school culture
- Class-level WhatsApp groups for peer-to-peer support and reminders
We remain committed to improving our communication between school, home, and parish and will continue to seek ways to enhance how we connect with families. If you have feedback or suggestions on how we can improve, we always welcome your input.
Thank you for staying connected and informed - together, we create a stronger, more vibrant school community.
Staff Professional Development Day
As indicated earlier, on Tuesday August 5, the school will be closed for a whole staff professional development day.
The school has been fortunate to secure the services of a leading expert on educational instruction and classroom management techniques. This day will further enhance the body of work the staff have been undertaking over the past 18 months in explicit and impactful teacher instruction.
Subject to demand, MACSEYE will run a school hours care program on this day to support families who have to work. The date should now be available to register for on the MACSEYE XPLOR app. If you have not used the service before but would like to register you can click on the link below MACSEYE OSHC Registration
Alternatively you can also contact our current coordinator - Phillip Wong at phillip.wong@macseye.vic.edu.au
Newly Refurbished Playground Stairs – Phase One Complete!
We’re thrilled to announce that the much-needed refurbishment of the stairs connecting our two playgrounds has now been completed – and the results speak for themselves!
These stairs, which have long been a safety concern, now boast brand new tiles, treads nosings, tactiles and risers. Not only are they significantly safer, but they also look fantastic and add a fresh, clean touch to the playground area. The work has been completed to a high standard, ensuring durability and safety for our students for years to come.
A huge thank you goes to one of our dedicated school mums, Vanessa Badwal, who not only planned and coordinated the project but also rolled up her sleeves with her husband Michael and took on much of the hands-on work herself. We are incredibly grateful for her time, energy, and attention to detail.
This marks Phase One of the project, with Phase Two set to continue the refurbishment up to the top of the stairs outside the Grade 3 classroom. We can’t wait to see the final results!
Once again, thank you, Vanessa and Michael – the stairs look amazing!
Can You Help with Our Father’s Day Breakfast?
We’re on the lookout for someone (or a small team!) to help coordinate this year’s Father’s Day Breakfast – a much-loved event that’s always well attended by families and supported by plenty of volunteers.
Lisa, who has done a fantastic job running this event over the past few years, has now moved on from the school. However, she’s kindly left behind a really helpful handover document and is more than happy to assist with food ordering and answer any questions along the way.
The main tasks include:
- Ordering/purchasing the food
- Organising table decorations
- Helping with set up and pack up
- Coordinating volunteers
If you’re organised, enjoy working with others, and would love to be part of a fun and appreciated school tradition, we’d love to hear from you!
Please get in touch with Georgie at georgiecarman00@gmail.com or on 0411 226 401 if you're interested or want to know more.
Can You Help Us Keep the Canteen Cooking?
(This a repeated message from earlier in the week)
Dear Families,
I write today with a heartfelt plea to our wonderful parent community.
For many years now, our school canteen has brought joy to the faces of our students every Friday during Terms Two and Three — offering them a warm, comforting lunch through the colder months and creating that little weekly highlight they look forward to. This valued service is not just about food; it's about connection, community, and care.
This simple but much-loved tradition has been made possible thanks to the incredible commitment of Chris Knott, who (together with a small team) has generously coordinated the canteen operations for a number of years. Chris has ensured everything has run smoothly — organising volunteers, ordering stock, processing orders through CDF Pay, and turning up week after week to support our school.
Next year, Chris will no longer have a child at our school, and so the time has come for us to plan for the next chapter of our canteen.
We need your help.
To ensure the continued operation of our canteen, we are looking for a small group of parents who may be willing to take on the coordination of the canteen together — ideally on a rotational basis. This shared approach would make the role manageable and enjoyable, especially with the support of a broader group of volunteers who can assist on the occasional Friday with food preparation and packaging.
We hope that some interested parents might even use the remainder of this year to learn the ropes from Chris and the current team, easing the transition and building confidence ahead of 2026.
Without parent support, this much-loved service won’t be viable next year.
We know how precious your time is, but we also know how powerful community contribution can be. If you’ve ever thought about getting more involved, this is a wonderful and rewarding way to do so — and we’d love to hear from you.
If you think you may be able to help — whether as part of the coordinating team or as a Friday volunteer — please complete the google form attached below. Let’s work together to keep this special initiative alive for our students.
Provided below is a more detailed summary of tasks associated with this role.
Save These Dates!
(School Concert and School Fair)
Please come and join us at Sunday Mass
You Are Always Welcome at Sunday Mass
As a Catholic school community, the heart of who we are is deeply connected to the Eucharist and the prayer life of our local parish. Gathering together at Sunday Mass is a special and meaningful way we live out our faith and strengthen the bonds between school, parish, and family.
We warmly invite all families - whether you come every week, haven’t been for a while, or are simply curious - to join us. Everyone is welcome!
Let’s continue to grow together in faith, hope and love.
We’d love to see you there!
St Cecilia's MASS SCHEDULE
Monday 9:15AM
Wednesday 9:15AM
Friday 9:15AM
Sunday 10:00AM, 5:30PM
Have a great weekend everyone!
Marty McKenna
Principal
St Cecilia’s Primary School