PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

Term 3, Week 1 Newsletter

We hope all of our families enjoyed a relaxing and refreshing break over the past two weeks, whether you escaped the winter chill or embraced it. We trust you had the opportunity to rest, recharge and enjoy some quality time together after a busy and rewarding first half of the year.

Despite the cold weather, it has been wonderful to welcome everyone back to St Agnes' for the beginning of Term Three. There were plenty of smiling faces at the school gates on Monday morning, with students excited to reconnect with friends and settle back into their learning.

We are also delighted to welcome two new students, Hugh and Dhiren, and their families to our St Agnes' community. We know they will be warmly welcomed and quickly feel apart of our school community.

It has been pleasing to see how quickly our students have settled back into the rhythm of school life. Their positive attitude and readiness to learn have ensured a smooth start to the term, while I have been so impressed with all of our teachers and LSOs, who have set a wonderful tone for the weeks ahead.

Term Three is always one of the busiest and most rewarding terms on the school calendar. Alongside rich learning opportunities in the classroom, students will enjoy a range of sporting and community events. This week's newsletter provides an overview of many of these important dates and opportunities, while next week's Class Newsletters will outline the specific curriculum focus and classroom information for each year level.

As always, we value the strong partnership we share with our families and thank you for your ongoing support. Our Parent/Teacher interviews last term were a great way to wrap up the first semester of learning and look forward to a productive rest of 2026. We thank our teachers for the significant investment they put into these evenings, and the parents for your commitment to working together with our school to develop your children. Working together ensures every child has the best opportunity to thrive both academically and personally. If you have any questions throughout the term, please don't hesitate to contact your child's classroom teacher, we are always happy to help.

NAPLAN

This week we received a more detailed summary of our students' NAPLAN results from the assessments completed earlier this year. We are delighted to share that our Year 3 and Year 5 students performed exceptionally well across the Literacy and Numeracy domains.

While we are still awaiting the release of the 2026 State and National averages, we have compared our results against the 2025 Victorian State Mean. As state averages tend to remain relatively stable from year to year, this provides a strong benchmark for comparison. As the data below demonstrates, our students have exceeded the Victorian State Mean across every assessment area, with particularly strong results in several domains.

While these results are certainly pleasing in and of themselves, our greatest focus at St Agnes' is not simply on achievement, but on growth. Every child begins their learning journey from a different starting point, and our responsibility is to ensure each student is challenged, supported and making meaningful progress. Success for us is measured by how far each child grows, not just where they finish.

That is why we are especially proud to share that our Year 5 cohort exceeded the Victorian average for student growth in all five NAPLAN assessment areas. This is a wonderful reflection of the progress our students are making and provides strong evidence that the evidence-informed teaching practices implemented across our school are having a significant impact on student learning.

These outstanding results are a credit to our students for their hard work and perseverance, our curriculum leaders, teachers and learning support officers for their expertise and dedication, and our families for the ongoing partnership and support they provide at home. Together, we continue to create an environment where every child has the opportunity to learn, grow and thrive.

The NAPLAN results will be sent home with each child today.

First Eucharist

Congratulations to our Year 4 students who celebrated their First Eucharist at the end of last term. It was a beautiful occasion as they received the Eucharist for the first time and took another important step in their faith journey.

A sincere thank you to Father Alan Fox for his ongoing guidance and support of our parish and school community. Thank you to Mrs Gorski and Mrs Law for their dedication and hard work in preparing our students and families for this significant milestone.

Social Justice Day: Socktober

We finished Term Two by celebrating our annual Social Justice Day, with this year's focus centred on the Catholic Social Teaching principles of Human Dignity and Solidarity. Through our own version of Socktober, students explored the reality that many children around the world have limited access to sporting equipment and toys, often relying on creativity and resourcefulness to create their own.

Our senior students put their design and problem-solving skills to the test by constructing soccer balls from recycled materials. At recess, the entire school joined in the fun, playing games with these handmade creations instead of their usual sports equipment. It was a meaningful experience that encouraged empathy, gratitude and a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by others.

To finish the day, staff and our Year 6 students enjoyed a spirited netball match using one of the students' handmade sock balls before the whole school gathered to cheer on the Socceroos as they secured their place in the knockout rounds of the World Cup.

Thank you to our students and staff for embracing the day with such enthusiasm, and to Mrs Gorski and our Social Justice Leaders for their creativity and leadership in making the day such a memorable and meaningful experience.

Year Two Final MSL Lesson

The end of Semester Two marked an exciting milestone for our Year Two students as they completed their final Multisensory Structured Language (MSL) lesson. MSL is an evidence-based approach to teaching reading, spelling and writing, providing students with the strong literacy foundations they need for future success.

This term, our Year Two students have taken the next step in their literacy journey by beginning Spelling Mastery, the spelling program used throughout our middle and senior years. It has been wonderful to see them embrace this new challenge.

Congratulations to all of our Year Two students on the fantastic progress they have made throughout the first half of the year. A special thank you to our outstanding Year Two team: Miss Bell, Kristina Eterovik and Brooke Emerson, for their super work and support in helping our students achieve success. We are incredibly proud of the English growth they have made already this year.

Prep Incursion: Toys Over Time

What a wonderful way for our Prep students to conclude their History unit! To celebrate their learning, they took part in a fascinating incursion exploring toys from the past. Students enjoyed discovering how toys have changed over time, learning about their history and the different cultures they originated from.

It was fantastic to see our Prep students so engaged, asking thoughtful questions and showing genuine curiosity about the origins and purpose of the toys they explored. Experiences like these bring learning to life and help students make meaningful connections with the past.

A big thank you to Mrs Barton, Miss Hobart and Mrs Georgiou for organising such an engaging and enriching learning experience for our Prep students.

Year 3/4 Excursion: Willum Warrain

Last term, our Year 3/4 students visited the Willum Warrain Aboriginal Association to participate in a cultural immersion experience as the culmination of their History unit.

Throughout the day, students learned about the significance of Willum Warrain to the local Aboriginal community, explored a range of important cultural artefacts, and participated in traditional Indigenous games. A particular highlight was the opportunity to see an original Marngrook football and learn about its cultural significance and connection to Australian football.

The excursion provided a meaningful and authentic way for students to deepen their understanding of Australia's rich Aboriginal history and culture. A sincere thank you to Mrs Law and Miss Mair for organising such a valuable and engaging learning experience for our students.

Welcoming Our 2027 Prep Families

This week we have begun our formal Prep interviews with the new families of our students who will be commencing Prep in 2027. These conversations are an important first step in building the strong partnerships between home and school that are so vital to a child's successful transition to primary school. They provide a wonderful opportunity for us to get to know each family, learn more about their child and answer any questions they may have about school life and the transition process.

It has also been wonderful to see our current Prep families already embracing our welcoming community by creating a WhatsApp group to help new families connect, share information and organise opportunities for their children to get to know one another before school begins. Thank you to our current families for their generosity and support in helping make the transition to St Agnes' such a positive experience.

School Disco

What a fantastic way to finish Term Two: our annual School Disco was once again a huge success! Students embraced the night with plenty of energy and enthusiasm, enjoying the music, dancing with their friends and joining in all of the fun activities led by our DJ. It was wonderful to see so many smiling faces and such a positive atmosphere throughout the evening.

A huge thank you to our incredible Parents & Friends Committee, led by Sarah and Bree, for the time and effort they put into organising another memorable event for our students. We also extend our sincere thanks to the many parent volunteers who generously gave their time on the night. Events like these are only possible because of the wonderful support and commitment of our school community.

Parent Social Evening

Head over to the Parents and Friends section for more information about our parent social night on Friday, August 14th. It always promises to be a great evening. Thank you again to our P&F for the work they do providing opportunities for our families and community to get together.

PSG Meetings - Tuesday 27th-Friday 30th July

Program Support Group Meetings will be held in the third week of term. Families involved have been contacted directly about appointments for these meetings. Melinda Phyland will chair these meetings.

P&F Meeting

Our first Parents & Friends meeting for the term will be held on Tuesday 21 July at 7.30pm in the staffroom. With an exciting term ahead, the committee will be planning for several key community events, including our annual Parents & Friends Social Evening and the Father's Day Breakfast. Everyone is welcome to attend. Whether you're a regular contributor or looking to become more involved, we'd love to see you there.

Prep 100 Days Celebrations

On Wednesday 29th July, our Prep children celebrate 100 days of school. The theme this year is ‘100 Years Brighter’, with our Prep students invited to dress up in bright and colourful clothing to celebrate. Our students will take part in many exciting activities on the day, enjoy a special lunch and they will also lead assembly. A special one for our Prep parents to try to get to.

Book Week

On Friday 14th of August, our school will come together to celebrate Book Week. This year's theme, 'A Symphony of Stories', celebrates the way diverse characters, ideas, and words come together just like the instruments in an orchestra to create rich and memorable stories. All students are invited to dress up as their favourite book character or wear a costume inspired by this year's theme. The day will begin with a Book Week parade, where students can showcase their costumes, and will conclude with a performance by Perform Education. Further information will come out in the next few weeks.

Art Show

Preparations for this year's Art Show are well underway, with Mrs Murdoch already hard at work bringing together what promises to be a wonderful celebration of creativity at St Agnes'. This week at assembly, we proudly unveiled our whole-school collaborative artwork, a magnificent whale, and announced its official name. Congratulations to Ivy, whose winning suggestion, 'Lucy the Whale', was chosen as the whale's name.

Over the coming months, we'll be sharing regular sneak peeks and highlights as excitement builds towards the Art Show. Be sure to save the date: Friday, November 27th, as we come together to celebrate the incredible artistic talents of our students. It is always one of the highlights of the school year, and we can't wait to share it with our community. 

School Closure Day

Monday 10 August (Week Five) will be a School Closure Day for students as our staff participate in a professional learning day.

Throughout the day, our staff will be working with psychologist Stewart D'Silva, further developing their understanding of behavioural science and evidence-informed approaches to supporting student learning, wellbeing and engagement. This professional learning forms part of our ongoing commitment to continually strengthening teaching practice and ensuring the best possible outcomes for every student.

Kelly Sports Holiday Programs will be available on this day for families who require care. Information about this service is below.

Learning Evenings

This term we are looking forward to two fantastic learning evenings that will provide valuable opportunities for our students and families to learn together.

Inform & Empower – Raising Kids in a Digital World: Wednesday 29th July: 6:30pm

In Week Three, we will welcome Inform & Empower back to St Agnes' for an evening focused on helping families navigate the ever-changing digital world. Presented by primary educator Martin McGauran and psychologist Carley McGauran, Raising Kids in a Digital World is an engaging, practical seminar that equips parents with strategies to manage social media, online gaming, screen time and online safety.

While parents attend the seminar, our Year 6 students will lead interactive learning sessions for students in Years 3–5, exploring age-appropriate ways to stay safe, healthy and responsible online. Supervision will also be provided by staff for children in Prep to Year 2, allowing parents with younger children to attend the presentation.

We strongly encourage all families to attend this important evening. Regardless of your child's age, the challenges and opportunities of the digital world affect every family, and this promises to be an informative and worthwhile event.

Family Maths Evening: Tuesday 25th August: 6pm

In Week Seven, we will host our annual Family Maths Evening, providing families with an insight into how Mathematics is taught at St Agnes' and the evidence-informed practices that underpin our approach.

This year's evening will explore the Science of Learning and how it shapes our Mathematics lessons, while also showcasing the Rich Learning Tasks that are becoming an increasingly important part of our weekly teaching and learning sequences. Families will have the opportunity to experience the kinds of learning our students engage in every day and gain practical ideas to support mathematical thinking at home.

This is an evening for both students and families, and we encourage everyone to make every effort to attend.

Both evenings have been thoughtfully planned and organised by our Mathematics and eLearning Leader, Mr Levi Otto. We thank Levi for his passion, expertise and leadership in these important areas of school life, and for providing such valuable learning opportunities for our entire community.

State Cross Country

A huge congratulations to Gracelyn, who proudly represented St Agnes' at the Victorian State Cross Country Championships this week. After winning her District, Division and Regional events over the past few months, Gracelyn thoroughly deserved her place among the state's best young runners.

Competing against the strongest runners in Victoria, Gracelyn finished an outstanding 9th overall, an incredible achievement. As a result of her fantastic performance, she has also been selected as an emergency for the Victorian Cross Country team. Congratulations to Gracelyn on an amazing achievement!

Star Students

Congratulations to Jackson, Seren and Ethan who represented Hampton Lifesaving Club at the State Life Saving Pool Championships held at Geelong Grammar over the weekend.Competing in their first-ever competition, the trio helped power a small squad of just 8 athletes to an outstanding 4th place overall finish. Individually, they brought home an incredible haul of medals: 3 gold, 1 silver, and 4 bronze. A fantastic result for such a small team. Well done Seren, Ethan and Jackson, and the whole Hampton crew!

Thank you to our students, staff and families for such a settled and positive start to Term Three. It has been wonderful to see everyone return refreshed, ready to learn and eager to reconnect. We look forward to another exciting and productive term together. Have a wonderful weekend!

Tom