PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

Week 7, Term 3

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This will be the final formal newsletter of the term, as we will communicate a special “Production Edition” next week and there will be no newsletter in Week 9. 

Last week at St Agnes’ was a monster week - Finding Nemo Dress Rehearsal on Monday, Year 3/4 Hooptime and Family Maths Night on Tuesday, Father's Day Stall on Wednesday, Book Week Celebrations on Thursday and rounded out the week with the most successful Year 3-6 SSV Athletics day (in recent memory)! A quick thank you to our superstar mums who organised and attended the Father's Day Stall.

The Family Maths Night was a wonderful celebration of all things Mathematics, highlighting the excellent progress we have made in our teaching and learning for this critical area. Number fact fluency has been a significant focus for our students and staff this year and as communicated in previous newsletters, we are seeing substantial improvement in outcomes for the children. Educational research from Barak Rosenshine informs the ‘Gradual Release of Responsibility’ learner model outlined by our teachers at the Family Maths Night. This model allows for explicit teaching, guided practise and independent practise. We know our students (who are novice learners) need lots of practise in order to master skills, concepts and knowledge. The gains made from regular practise of number fact fluency is clear evidence of the importance of spending the time in this space. Practise, practise, practise.

It was wonderful to see the healthy competition between children and parents on the night, particularly around response times for TT Rockstars! I think we might have even had some parents set up personal TT Rockstars accounts afterwards, to continue the competition with their children!

Father’s Day Breakfast and Presentation

Tomorrow morning, the celebrations for our fathers, grandfathers and special male figures in our school community reach their peak with the Father’s Day Breakfast and Mini Liturgy. We encourage all fathers and father figures to get along to this special event.  There will be breakfast in the hall from 7.30am and following breakfast, there will be a mini liturgy led by the children. The mini liturgy will commence at 8.20am, so we ask that all students are at school by this time please. On behalf of the staff, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all fathers, grandfathers and father figures a wonderful Father’s Day this Sunday. May you be spoiled by your children and enjoy some family time.

MACSSIS

Each year in Term Three, students in Years 4-6 and all families and staff are invited to complete MACSSIS: the Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools – School Improvement Survey. The main aim of the survey is to identify the strengths and areas for development in our school. The data provides valuable information that the school uses to inform the St. Agnes’ School Improvement Plan and Annual Action Plan. Parents are encouraged to

participate in the survey to provide a parent voice to help shape the ongoing improvement of our school. Survey instructions will be sent via email from principal@sahighett.catholic.edu.au. Parents will be able to complete the survey anytime over a three-week window from today to Friday 19th September 2025. Please be on the lookout for this email. We appreciate your feedback and ongoing support.

Finding Nemo Jr

The excitement is building with the children during rehearsals, as more props and costumes come into the fray. Tickets have been selling fast, with close to 300 tickets sold for night one and only a few seats remaining. A reminder that it is expected that all children are present for both nights of the production, so we have all roles covered for both shows. The production is a terrific opportunity for those who shine in the Performing Arts to showcase their talents. Like we do with Visual Arts through the Art Show and Sporting opportunities throughout the year, we aim to provide as many varied opportunities as possible for students to show their strengths and talents. For some, the production involves pushing themselves out of their comfort zone and taking a risk, which is very important for children to do while they are young. It teaches them what it feels like to be uncomfortable and that being uncomfortable sometimes, is okay. The ‘team’ aspect of the production is something that we truly value and celebrate with the children, because the show is not about one or two children, but about all of our students coming together to put on a great show for the community. There is considerable information to communicate with regard to logistics for production, so we will send this in a separate Operoo email next week. Please be on the lookout for this. For a brief overview, the key aspects include:

• Whole School Rehearsal at Kilbreda College - Tuesday 16th September - Year 5/6 students will be dropped at the venue at the beginning of the day, with Prep - Year 4 being bused there from school to join in the preparations.
• Performance Nights - Tuesday 16th September and Wednesday 17th September
  • 5.30pm - Year 5/6 to arrive for costume and make up
  • 6.00pm - Prep to Year 4 arrive
  • 6.30pm - Doors Open for guests
  • 7.00pm - Show commences
  • There will be an interval partway through the show, with food/drink being served for guests and a snack for the children (provided).

It will be a big couple of days, so if you can manage it, parents are welcome (encouraged even) to give your children a sleep-in on the Wednesday morning, after night one.

We are very excited and the show is starting to look terrific in rehearsals. We know it will look even better under the bright stage lights! Thank you to all of our families for supporting this wonderful biennial event on St Agnes’ calendar. If you are yet to organise tickets or need a couple more, please click below.

School tours, enrolment demand and staffing for 2026

St Agnes’ continues to be a school of choice for many local families in the area. We have had a high number school tours over the past couple of weeks, with families looking at the school for Prep 2027 and also with the view to joining the school in other year levels in the near future. Including siblings, we are already approaching one full class for 2027. Thank you to all in our community for your continued advocacy and support of the school. It is important for me to communicate at this time, that our staff cohort will remain very stable heading into 2026. This is very pleasing for the community, in a time where there are teacher shortages across the state. We have always worked hard to ensure our staff feel valued, supported and have a healthy level of challenge in their work, which has resulted in strong staff retention. Our leaders in the school are all experienced in their current roles, which also adds to the continuity of our school going into next year. As we often celebrate, we are fortunate to have such a committed group of staff at St Agnes’ supporting the children.

St Agnes’ Snippets

Nemo Dress Rehearsal

On Monday morning last week, energy started to peak, as the children stepped into their costumes for the first time. Their faces lit up, as they started to get a feel for what the show would look like. Below is a little sneak peak of what to expect!

Book Week

2025 Book Week was a magical day of literature and fun, as we celebrated as a community! The costumes were terrific (thank you Mums, Dads, grandparents and helpers); the performance from the staff was a sight to behold, as was the professional book week performance later in the day. Encouraging a love of reading and literature is quite possibly the best investment you can make in your child. Well done to all for getting this right!

Chess Club

Thank you to Mrs Phyland for her efforts in establishing a Chess Club for our students at Lunchtime on Mondays. Together with Wellbeing Wednesday skipping before school, it is terrific to have a variety of options for our students to explore.

District Athletics

Last week we sent our strongest ever athletics team off to the SSV District Athletics. With 74 participants and children taking risks to try events that were quite new to them, we competed very strongly as a school and took home second place. This was the best effort our school has produced in this event in recent memory. Upon return to school, the teachers were absolutely glowing about the students' positivity, effort, behaviour and teamwork from the day. I would like to thank Mr Kost for including many of the students who expressed eagerness to be involved and navigating the difficult job of event placement. Thank you also to Mrs Baker, Mrs Hampson, Mrs Phyland, Mrs Quattrone, Mrs Law and Mr Otto for accompanying the children on a cold, windy day.

Looking Ahead

Fete Committee and P&F Meetings

Next week is a big week on the volunteer/support front, with the Fete Committee Meeting on Tuesday Night (9th Sept) and the P&F Meeting on Wednesday night (10th Sept), after postponing earlier in the term. All are welcome at these meetings and we encourage Class Reps to make a special effort to be at the P&F Meeting. We thank all members of these important parent groups, for their continued effort and support of the school.

Year 3/4 Parish Mass

On Friday 12th September, our Year 3/4 will join the weekday mass goers for 9am morning mass. The children will assist throughout the mass and parents are welcome to attend. A gentle reminder to please leave your coffee cups in the car.

Connor’s Run - Sunday 14th September

Connor's Run is an annual running event held in memory of Robert Connor Dawes, a Melbourne teenager who tragically died from brain cancer. It is focused on raising funds and awareness for paediatric brain cancer. The run is known for its supportive community atmosphere and offers various distances, including an 18.8km, 9.6km, and 3km route. Last year, we entered a St Agnes’ team. We had over 20 parents, students, siblings and a couple of teachers take part. We invite everyone to join and be part of this great event. Connor’s Run Link here. 

Footy Colours Day

We will round out Term Three with our annual Footy Colours day. The children are invited to wear the colours of their favourite footy (or sports) team. Mr Otto and the Year Six students will be leading a day of fun, footy-based activities for all of the children across the school.

End of Term Three

School concludes for the term on Friday 19th September at 1.30pm. Term Four commences on Monday 6th October. We look forward to what will be a massive Term Four with Prep Orientation, Swimming, the Walkathon, Grandparents Day, Camps and more.

Transition to Summer Uniform

From the start of Term Four until Melbourne Cup Weekend, students can choose to wear either their summer or winter uniform. After Cup Weekend, all students need to wear their summer uniform. 

School Hats

Students will be required to wear their hat at recess and lunch from the start of Term Four. It is best if hats are left at school.

Trash and Treasure Event

On Sunday 26th October, St Agnes’ will be holding a Trash & Treasure Market. Stall bookings will open soon. Be on the lookout for further communication around this.

Assembly

Assemblies are in the Hall on Wednesday afternoons. Parents are welcome to attend. At assembly, there will be presentations from classes, student awards, birthday acknowledgements and special announcements from student leaders.

Wed 10th Sept - Year 6 Leadership

Wed 17th Sept - No assembly

Enjoy the rest of the week.

Kind regards,

Lachie