Acting Principal's Message

Loving and Merciful God,

We come before You in prayer, lifting up Your servant, Pope Francis, in his time of need.

 You are the Source of all healing, and we ask You to surround him with Your loving presence, granting him strength and recovery. May Your divine grace rest upon him, restoring his health and filling him with renewed vigor to continue leading Your Church with compassion and wisdom.

“But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds, declares the Lord.”(Jeremiah 30:17)

We place Pope Francis into Your hands, trusting in Your eternal care. May he be comforted by the love of the Church and the prayers of all the faithful. We ask, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, that his recovery be swift, and his spirit be strengthened in Your peace. May Your will be done in his life, O Lord, and may Your healing power be with him always.

We offer this prayer in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit.

Amen

PTS Conferences 

Thank you for participating in the Parent/Teacher/Student conferences last week. We are grateful that so many of our parent community worked with staff on this opportunity to engage in P/T/S conferences. 

My appreciation and thanks to you as parents for your valuable role as the primary educators of your child and to the teachers, a dedicated team of professionals who give so generously of their self, skills and time. Improving the learning outcomes for all children at STA is our core business. The children are our priority. This is a great Catholic school that has helped produce not just well-educated young adults, but compassionate people who, because of their faith, confidently embrace a future with hope and joy. I hope you are as proud to be a part of this community as I am. We look forward to a fun and exciting year full of lots of amazing learning opportunities and chances to grow and extend ourselves. 

Please see the "Important Dates" page for information on what is happening this term.

Welcome to STA! Georgina Watney                 (School Counsellor)

Thank you for welcoming me into your school community. St Anthony’s is a really lovely school and I feel very blessed to be here. I have been a school counsellor for 7 years and worked as a Mental Health Professional across a range of services for the last 19 years. I have qualifications as a social worker and a secondary teacher (HSIE).

I am a Mum of two lovely young people, who have also taught me so much about myself, surely parenting is the most challenging and rewarding of roles.

I grew up in Switzerland, and my Mum is Australian, I have lived here half my life, and half my family live here now and the others are overseas.

I love reading, bush walks and nature, pilates and of course the beach, which has been a lovely bonus to working here.

I look forward to getting to know more of you and supporting the school community in any way I can.

Warm regards,

Georgina

Opening School Mass

During Week 2, we gathered together in prayer for the first time in 2025 as a community and celebrated our Opening School Mass. Father Laurie spoke wonderfully about the importance of education in helping us grow into the best people we can be. We were extremely proud of our Student Leaders, who received their badges and recited their Leadership Pledge to the community. We look forward to seeing such examples of leadership in our community as the year progresses. 

We congratulate the school leadership team for 2025!

School Hours and Child Safety

Please remember that the school gates will be supervised from 8.30 am - 8.55 am each morning. At the end of the day, the gates are supervised from 3.10 pm - 3.30 pm. If you are not able to pick up your children, please book them into after-school care (SCECS), where they will get a nutritious snack and have lots of fun. We need to ensure the safety of our children is at the forefront of our thinking in all situations so please help us to do that by following the guidelines.   TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT PLAN 

Communication

Compass Parent Portal - St Anthony's parents are requested to download the Compass Parent Portal app once your child is enrolled at our school. It is our primary communication tool that will facilitate effective communication between parents and school. All school notes, notices and newsletters will be sent through Compass. To access the Compass Parent Portal app, simply download the ‘Compass School Manager’ app, available through Apple Store or Google Play. It is suitable for both iPhone and Android Smartphones. 

We encourage on-going communication with the school. A reminder that the first point of contact for you is your child’s teacher. They have the most contact with you and your child and are in the best position to respond to any questions or concerns you may have. Please emailinfo@staclovelly.catholic.edu.au and the email will be forwarded to the teacher.

Update contact details

Sometimes we need to contact parents if a child is sick. It is of the utmost importance that the phone numbers we have are current and updated. If these have changed can you please update the current information in Compass.

Medication

If your child needs to take medication while at school it needs to be sent to the office with a note from a parent with instructions and time that it needs to be taken. The office staff will administer the medication. If your child’s medical/ health plan (asthma or anaphylaxis) has been updated, we require a copy in the office. Thank you to all who have returned the medical notes sent out earlier. If you have not yet returned it, could you please return it ASAP.

Student Acceptable Use of Technology Agreement 

Please ensure you have read through the Student Acceptable Use of Technology Agreement sent home with your child last week. It is important that both you and your child are aware of the school’s expectations with regard to technology. Remember if your child is 10 or younger you must sign on their behalf. If teachers have not received a signed agreement from your child they will miss out on using technology until it is returned. If you require another agreement please see your child’s class teacher.

NAPLAN

Literacy & Numeracy

This year, The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) - tests for students in Years 3 and Year 5 will be administered earlier than in previous years. It will be held in March during the period between March 12 and March 24. NAPLAN will be conducted online this year (except for Year 3 Writing) using the school’s devices. Students will have the opportunity to practice using the online testing platform during class time. We use NAPLAN in combination with the school’s assessment data and, as such, encourage students to ‘try their best.’ 

NAPLAN DATES:

    Thank you to Phil O'Donaghoe for building the              bookshelf and cupboards for the staff!                       We appreciate your patience and commitment. 

Facebook & Instagram

Our school's Facebook and Instagram page is used to promote all the wonderful work and events happening at our school. Its purpose is to engage in a meaningful two-way conversation with our school community and beyond. Thank you to those of you who comment, like and follow us!

2025 Staff Development Days (Pupil Free Days)

Each year, Sydney Catholic Schools (SCS) provides time for Staff Development Days (SDD) which provides professional learning time for all staff. With the introduction of the new English and Mathematics Syllabus' in 2023 (K-2) and 2024 (Years 3-6) and the implementation of other syllabi within the next two years, SCS has provided the following days in 2025. 

Week 2 & 3 Assembly - Congratulations to the award recipients! 

Enrolments for 2026

Discover St Anthony's co-educational excellence from Kindergarten to Year 6 at our Term 1 Open Days for 2026 and 2027 enrolments. 

For families with young siblings to commence next year, please submit your applications now so we are aware how many positions are required. As existing families, please complete your application through Compass using the Family & Enrolments tab as shown below. To access the Family & Enrolments tab, please open Compass in browser, click on the cog icon on the top right hand side of your screen, then onto the Family & Enrolments tab as shown. 

Please call into the office if you require any assistance. We look forward to receiving your applications soon. 

Please pass this information on to anyone who is looking for a school this year, next year or in a few years, to come for a tour! 

Mark Woolford, Principal, Marcellin College Randwick and two Marcellin students visited St Anthony's Primary Clovelly this week on Monday 24 February at 8:25 am to talk with parents and boys from Years 2 - 5 about the opportunities available to you at Marcellin College Randwick.

There was an opportunity for a Q&A and they also brought flyers about their upcoming Open Day.

Blessings,

Marie Iorfino

Acting Principal