Dear Parents and Carers,

Firstly, a look back at the events of the past two weeks…

What a day it was yesterday at Tulip Street for the inaugural St Agnes’ School Swimming Carnival! Thank you to all parents, carers and family members who were able to be there to support the children. The joy on their faces made it a special day and congratulations to Blue House on being the victorious team. Well done also to all students for their positive attitude and encouragement of their peers. It was a very successful day, but as always, we will look at ways to improve the experience for all when it comes back bigger and better in 2024. A huge thank you must go to Simon Kost for his efforts in organising the day. Simon is very organised and calm in the manner in which he supports the children, which makes it an enjoyable experience for all. A special mention also to Year 3 teacher Nicci Murdoch and Prep teacher Amanda Baker for getting in the pool at times to help the children, as well as our teacher swim team for a fun-filled race against the senior students.

School Advisory Council Annual General Meeting

Last week, our School Advisory Council met for the Annual General Meeting. We had a report from myself and our outgoing Chair, Anton Duddy. The minutes of the AGM and Chair report are both attached. In 2024, we welcome St Agnes’ parents Karen McGoldrick (Prep, Y4) and Caroline Cunningham (Y2, Y3) to the SAC, with Felicity Langley (Prep, Y4) taking over as Chair. The SAC will also consist of the following members in 2024: Martin Cox (Y1, Y3), Josh Ryan (Y2), Fiona Newington (Y3, Y5). These parents are representative of the parent community at our school, so please feel free to reach out to one of these if there are matters in the school that may require attention.

Grandparents' Day

Once again, our Grandparents'Day celebrations were well attended by grandparents and special friends of our students. I would like to thank all of those who made the effort to be present, especially those who travelled long distances. The children really appreciate the presence of our guests and hosted them very well. I would like to thank Aggie Gorski for her preparation of the beautiful liturgy, the staff for supporting her and also our Parents and Friends Committee, especially Georgia Sotiroski and Sinead Hawkins.

Welcoming our new friends

Last Friday, we welcomed 21 new students into our school for the first time. These children are transitioning from St Joseph’s Black Rock to St Agnes’ in 2024 and participated in a transition day. I would like to take this opportunity to commend our children for the friendly, considerate manner in which they welcomed these new students. The children from St Joe’s were no doubt a bit nervous, but our current students were so very kind in their approach to supporting them on this day. Our staff were full of praise and I am grateful to our staff for preparing them appropriately. I would also like to thank Georgia Sotiroski, Sally Forbes, Amy Anderson, Sarah Gardner-Bibby, Alishia Boot, Jess Cox, Michelle Crohan, Sinead Hawkins, Ewa Mazur and Georgie Puli for welcoming the parents of these children at a morning tea in the hall. Schools are about people and relationships; the care displayed by our community last Friday is something we all should be very proud of.

Congratulations to Mackenzie and Callan

A big congratulations must go to Callan and Mackenzie Duddy for their efforts in representing St Agnes’ and Victoria at the School Sports Australia Track and Field event in Tasmania last weekend. Mackenzie placed 1st in Long Jump, 3rd in 4x100m relay, 6th in the 100m and 10th in 200m. Callan competed in the Combined Event and also finished 1st. Two National Champions in one family - wowzers! These achievements are not to be underestimated and our humble primary school is very proud of you both! Well done!

Book Fair

Thank you to all families who supported the Book Fair last week. With over $4000 worth of books sold, Scholastic will provide a credit to the school for over $1600 to replenish our Library and literature for student use.

Now we look ahead…

Year 5/6 Beach Program

Tomorrow and Friday, our senior school students are headed to Mordialloc Surf Lifesaving Club for an Open Water Safety program, run by Life Saving Victoria. The children are looking forward this and are hoping for some improvement in the weather forecast!

Year Six Visit to Luna Park - Wednesday 6th December

Our Year Six students are pumped to go to Luna Park for their end-of-year celebration with their peers and teachers. This will include a special lunch and is a great tradition of our school. More information sent via Operoo.

St Agnes’ Christmas Carols - Thursday 7th December at 6.30pm

Next Thursday night, our students will entertain the community with our annual Christmas Carols event. The evening will start with the Prep to Year 2 students leading us through the nativity with narration and song. This will be followed by the Years 3-6 students singing a combination of traditional and contemporary Christmas carols. I encourage all families to get along to the event. It is a picnic-style event, so please pack a chair or rug; it commences at 6.30pm and will run for about an hour. The children will need to be at school at 6.15pm for the performance to commence at 6.30pm sharp. Advice has been sent via Operoo to individual year levels regarding costumes/attire for the event. This is a whole school event, so all students are expected to attend and participate. We look forward to stepping into Advent with joy.

St Agnes’ Christmas Raffle, supporting our school

There is one more week to get your tickets for the St Agnes’ Christmas Raffle. Tickets are only $10 each and there are seven awesome prizes to be one. The raffle will be drawn at Christmas Carols event. Tickets available here.

Prizes include:

1st prize - Ikos Home original framed photo artwork (valued at $700)

2nd prize - Apple AirPods Pro (valued over $300)

3rd prize - Verve Portraits family photography package (valued at $1,095)

4th prize - Mr & Mrs P restaurant voucher (valued at $400)

5th prize - Lego gift pack (valued at $200)

6th prize - Teeparty teepee sleepover party voucher (valued at $100)

7th prize - Officeworks drawing supplies pack (valued at $150)

2024 Orientation Morning - Friday 8th December

Next Friday, our students will spend the morning (9-11am) with their 2024 teacher and classmates. This orientation session gives students and teachers the opportunity to get to know one another prior to the end of the year. Students from other schools, who are joining St Agnes’ in 2024, will also be present on this day.

Year Six Final Assembly - Wednesday 13th December

We commence the ‘farewell tour’ for our Year Six students on Wednesday 13th December with their final assembly on Wednesday 13th December. This will be a special assembly where the Year Six students will have the opportunity to share some of their most treasured memories from their time at our school. I encourage all Year Six parents to make a special effort to be present at this one.

End of Year and Graduation Liturgy - Thursday 14th December

The final event of the school year is the End of Year and Graduation Liturgy. At this liturgy, we will celebrate the 2023 school year as a whole school community. Again, we ask that all children are present for this event and dressed in full summer school uniform. It will also be the time to farewell our Year 6 cohort, as they graduate from primary school. All year levels will be involved in the liturgy in some capacity. Following the liturgy, Year Six students and their parents will move over to the hall for dinner, speeches and further celebrations.

Conclusion to 2023 School Year

The 2023 school year will conclude on Thursday 14th December at 3:30pm for the Year 6 children and on Friday 15th December at 1:30pm for the Prep-Year 5 children.

Assembly

Assembly is held in the hall on a Wednesday afternoon. Parents are always welcome to attend. We continue to have class presentations, awards, birthdays and special announcements each week.

Wednesday 29th Nov - Advent Week 1 (Year 4)

Wednesday 6th Dec - Advent Week 2 (Year 3)

Wednesday 13th Dec - Advent Week 3 (Year 5) & Year 6 Final Assembly

Please heato the Dates for 2024 page for some important dates for next year.

Enjoy the rest of your week.

Kind regards,

Lachie.

PARENTS & FRIENDS NEWS

2023