PRINCIPAL'S REPORT
Week 7, Term 2
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As we step into Winter this week with plunging temperatures, we look back on the previous week with great warmth and a sense of community. On Thursday, we celebrated St Agnes’ Biggest Morning Tea and the enormous resolve of members of our community impacted by cancer. The recent weeks of morning skipping before school placed focus on health and wellbeing, with energy and positivity. We are grateful to Mrs Phyland for your efforts in leading this wonderful initiative and also for pulling together the morning tea event. We celebrated one of our very special little Preppies, Ada Cen, who in her first five years has encountered more challenges in her life than many of us adults. Prior to the commencement of Prep this year, Ada concluded intensive treatment for Neuroblastoma and this was acknowledged on 7News over the summer holidays. Cancer has touched many lives in our school community over the years and the positivity of the Biggest Morning Tea each year, along with the contributions of our families through the raffles, is a wonderful thing. We loved watching some of our musicians perform solos and group acts for the whole school community. All funds raised from this event will go straight to the Cancer Council and we look forward to sharing the amount very soon.
This too shall pass!
It’s been a big couple of weeks with illness in the school, but as the old saying goes: ‘This too shall pass!’ Each year, we always have a wave of illness sweep through the school at some point and this year it has been more significant than we have seen in the past. Thank you all families for keeping your children home if they have been sick, but as soon as they are well, we encourage everyone to get them back to school to minimise disruption to learning. At this stage (touch wood), our staff cohort has been minimally impacted, which has been one positive for the operations of the school.
A friendly reminder to please email your child’s teacher and to also
cc absences@sahighett.catholic.edu.au if your child will be away.
Principal’s Conference - Kimberly Region WA
In Week 6, I had the privilege of travelling to Broome with 17 other local Catholic primary school principals for a week of professional learning and networking. The focus of this week was to deepen our understanding of the Catholic church in the region, the important work of schools in remote communities and to learn more about the rich Indigenous history, culture and connection to country. This is in line with the recent changes to the Child Safe Standards to include cultural safety.
On the first day, we visited the Sisters of St John of God Heritage Centre which helped us to understand the Sisters of St John, their ministry and their work with Aboriginal people in the Kimberly. Their shared story is one of compassion, hardship, tragedy and courage.
We spent a full day travelling to and visiting Holy Rosary School in Derby and another visiting Sacred Heart School in Beagle Bay. In Derby, we heard from Deputy Principal/RE Leader Margaret McMahon (aunty of former St Agnes’ staff member Jake McMahon). The two highlights of this visit were the school tour from the students and talking to two young teachers about their day to day work; both had relocated from Perth and regional NSW to work in the Kimberly. Another thing that struck me about this school was the calm, settled, focused nature of the classrooms.
Our second school visit to Sacred Heart Beagle Bay was both beautiful and complex. We shared in a special mass with the whole school community, celebrated in the historical Beagle Bay church with the famous mother-of-pearl altar. The children sang and read beautifully, with a clear commitment to their Catholic faith. The complexity was in the history of the site, as the area surrounding the school was formerly a Catholic mission. This mission housed and cared for Aboriginal children who had been separated from their families in the early to mid 1900s.
In the present day, the school community shares a deep faith and connection. The biggest challenge for both schools, but especially Sacred Heart Beagle Bay is student attendance. So much so, this school has an attendance officer who drives a bus to more neighbouring communities and camps to collect children for school each morning, with varying levels of success. The school has an overall enrolment of 79 students from Prep to Year 10, but the daily attendance is around 35 students. The visit to the Kimberly was one of great learning for me, both personally and professionally. I am very grateful to Amanda Baker and our team of staff for ‘steering the ship’ while I was away.
This conference aligned well with National Reconciliation Week, which was celebrated last week. It was wonderful to arrive back at school to hear from our student leaders at assembly about the Stolen Generation and also to see an art display of bunjils and bridges in our foyer, carefully created by our students and led by Mrs Murdoch.
St Agnes’ School Fete - Saturday 14th March, 2026
Last night, our Fete Committee gathered together and are gaining momentum as we look ahead to the wonderful event in March next year. Rides are being booked in, fundraising/sponsorship efforts are commencing. We encourage all families to get involved to support the Fete and related initiatives as it further develops later in the year.
St Agnes’ Snippets
Estelle Warnes - Victorian State Champ!
We celebrate Year 5 student Estelle and her recent achievement in the Victorian State Gymnastics Championships, where Estelle finished 1st in the ‘All Around’ event. This includes beam, bars, vault and floor. Estelle has also been selected for the Victorian Gymnastics Team to compete at the National Gymnastics Championships on the Gold Coast in July. Go Estelle!
Drew Lane - Get your groove on!
We were fortunate to have musician Drew Lane come to our school last week to sing and dance with the children. Drew has published three albums through Butterfly Music, showcasing his broad range of songs for many occasions throughout the school and church year. It was a knee-slapping good time and we thank Mrs Gorski for organising this!
Prep Prayers in Pyjamas
The annual Prep Prayers in PJs was ‘maximum cuteness’ once again, as our Preppies sung and prayed together with their parents. I would like to thank Mrs Barton and Miss D for running the session, as our Faith and Community Leader Mrs Gorski was unwell. As the first faith night for our Preps, it is always a special one. This year, engagement was very high too, so thank you to all of our parents for getting along.
Soccer Lightning Premiership
Congratulations to our Year 5 and 6 soccer teams for their efforts in the lightning premierships on 23rd May. The girls team finished 3rd overall which is a terrific effort and the boys team won the overall competition, meaning they will progress to the Beachside Division in August. Well done to all students and staff for the positive manner in which you represented our school. As we always say, being a ‘good sport’ and playing the game in the right spirit is more important than winning!
Looking ahead
Responsible Pet Ownership
This Friday the Prep children will engage in the Responsible Pet Ownership incursion. This allows our youngest learners the opportunity to understand how we approach and care for pets, especially dogs, in a safe way. We look forward to hearing all they have learned.
Long weekend reminder
A friendly reminder that school will be closed on Monday 9th June for the King's Birthday Public Holiday. We hope everyone has a wonderful long weekend.
School Advisory Council Meeting - Tuesday 10th June
Our next SAC meeting will held on the above date at 7.30pm at school. The SAC has recently had input into long term capital master planning and is also starting a campaign to have school crossing put in at the intersection of Wickham and Spring Roads. The parent representatives on the SAC are Felicity Langley, Fiona Newington, Josh Ryan, Caroline Cunningham, Karen McGoldrick, Carly Monahan and Marty Cox.
SSV Lightning Premierships
Our Year 5 and 6 students will compete at the SSV Netball and Football Lightning Premierships on Thursday 12th and Friday 13th June respectively. All details have been communicated via Operoo. Parents are welcome and encouraged to come along to support if you can.
P&F Disco
St Agnes’ Parents and Friends Committee are excited for the annual student disco, to be held on Friday 13th June. The Junior disco is on from 6-7pm and the senior disco from 7.30-8.45pm. Tickets and information is available on the P&F page of this newsletter. Children will need to be signed in and out of the disco by a parent please.
Eucharist Reflection Day
Our Year 4 students are busily preparing for the Sacrament of Eucharist, to be held on Monday 16th June. The children are invited to wear casual clothes on this day and will work on all aspects of this celebration. The sacrament mass for all children will be held on Saturday 21st June at 6pm.
P&F Meeting
The next meeting of our P&F Committee will be held on Tuesday 17th June from 7.30pm. On the agenda will be our P&F Social event planned for mid august. All parents are invited to attend this meeting and we ask Class Reps to please make a special effort to attend.
Term Two School Fees
Term Two School Fees are now payable. Thank you to those families who have already attended to this. Please ensure prompt payment and contact Shannon Shine (sshine@sahighett.catholic.edu.au) if you would like to set up a direct debit or payment plan.
Assembly
Assemblies are in the Hall on Wednesday afternoons at 2.40pm. Parents are welcome to attend. At assembly, there will be presentations from classes, student awards, birthday acknowledgements and special announcements from student leaders.
Wed 4th June - Year 2
Wed 11th June - Year 6 - Leadership
Wed 18th June - Year 1
Wed 25th June - Prep B and D
Wed 2nd July - Social Justice Captains
Enjoy the week and everything it brings.
Kind regards,
Lachie.