St. Augustine's School Newsletter

The Principal's Desk

Dear parents, families and friends,

 

Welcome back to Term 3. Back in the Olden Days when I was in my early years of teaching, Term 3 used to be the quiet term, the not so busy term. Now, Term 3 is just as busy and action packed as Terms 1, 2 and 4.

Term 2 ended with a high as we Premiered our STEM documentary film. We had two screenings at the Sun Theatre, with the Premiere being a red carpet event attended by VIPs from Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools, Exxon Mobil, interviewees from the film and our Year 6 students 2022/2023 and their families. Some of the guests included

Dr Edward Simon, Director of Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools, Denise Mugavin, Regional Leadership Consultant, Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools, Michael Elliot, Digital Content Producer, Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools and John Bourke, South Asia Pacific Fuels Operations Manager, ExxonMobil Australia.

This was a student produced documentary. The research, the preparation and production was all part of their class work in STEM. The driving force behind this project was Miss Loretta. She had the idea and designed a unit of work from that initial idea. Loretta was successful in obtaining the generous grant from ExxonMobil that allowed us to purchase the recording equipment that was essential for the synthesis stage of learning, that being the creation of the documentary film. Loretta has worked very hard to develop and implement a STEM program at St. Augustine’s, that truly integrates Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics into meaningful and engaging learning experiences for the students. It is not often that a school hosts a film premier, let alone a primary school. Below is the link to the article that was published from MACS.

Fr John

Last week I sent a letter to all families to inform them that Fr John O’Connor will be leaving St. Augustine’s Parish. Fr John has been appointed Parish Priest of Holy Name Parish, Preston East and Our Lady of the Way Parish, Kingsbury. Fr John will take up this appointment on Wednesday 6th September, making Tuesday 5th September his last day as Parish Priest of St. Augustine’s.

 

We thank Fr John for his continued support and guidance over the past 15 years. Fr John has led the Parish and school community with a calm, gentle, quiet and friendly manner. I know that he has always enjoyed classroom visits, celebrating the sacraments and masses with the students and cooking the odd sausage sizzle from time to time. I personally thank Fr John for his support, guidance and friendship over the past 4 ½ years.

 

We wish Fr John all the very best as he takes up his new appointment. We are in the process of organising a school community farewell for Fr John. The date and time for this will be communicated to you shortly.

 

Fr John will be replaced by Fr Werner Utri, who has been the Dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Melbourne. I know that you will join me in welcoming Fr Werner to the Parish of St. Augustine’s and in particular making him feel very welcome to St. Augustine’s School.

 

Jakub's New Bike

Thank you again to everyone who took part in the casual clothes day to raise money to help Jakub get a new bike. Special thanks goes to Alessio in Year 3/4 who had the idea to hold a fundraiser to replace Jakub's stolen bike. Jakub and his family were extremely overwhelmed by the generosity and support from our school community. This is one of the strong points of our community, following in the footsteps and spirit of St Mary MacKillop and the Sisters of St. Joseph who founded our school.

Below is Jakub with the new BMX he collected during the holidays. The smile says it all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Upcoming Events

  • Tuesday 25th July 9.00am - Whole School Mass Grandparents Day. Granparents are then invited to join their grandchildren in a shared activity follower by a shared lunch.
  • Thursday  27th July 9.15am - NED Show (Positive Mindset & Resilience)
  • Thursday 27th July to Friday 4th August 3.00pm - Yo-Yo Sales
  • Friday 28th July 12.00pm - Opening Ceremony for the Birmingham Street Park

As we continue to shiver, sniffle and freeze through the middle of winter, stay warm!!

 

Until the next newsletter,

 

Kind regards,

 

Matthew Stead