PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

Week 1, Term 4

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In what seems like the blink of an eye, we now embark on the final term of the 2026 school year. Our Preppies and Year Sixes are now 75% of the way through the first and last year of primary school, respectively. As the weather warms up and the days stretch out, we look ahead with anticipation and excitement for what is to come. We have a sacrament this weekend, followed by Prep Orientation, the walkathon, camps, Grandparents Day, excursions, swimming lessons/carnival, assessments, reporting, carols and finally end-of-year celebrations. Term Four is always a “dynamic” time, especially from around Melbourne Cup weekend, onwards. We look forward to another wonderful ten weeks of learning, wellbeing, community and belonging. As always, the first newsletter of the term is one for communicating the happenings of the term, so we can all get ready for what is ahead. Please get out your family calendar and mark any important dates for your family. Classroom Newsletters will be provided in the coming week to provide more detail about the curriculum and specific activities for your child’s class. The Events Details page of the newsletter is always a good one to have a detailed read.

Big Ticket Items

Sacrament of Confirmation

This Saturday, at 6pm evening mass, we have our Confirmation candidates from Year Six receiving this blessed sacrament. The children will have their Reflection Day at school on Thursday this week to complete the final preparations for Saturday. We wish them well as they take this important step in their faith journey.

Camps - Year 3 Zoo Snooze, Year 4 Summit Camp

Over the next two weeks, we will complete St Agnes’ camp offering for 2025. 

• Our Year 3 students head to Melbourne Zoo for an overnight stay on Wednesday 15th October. The children will need to be at school by 4.30pm that afternoon for a 4.45pm departure. We are expecting the group to return to school at 1pm on the Thursday afternoon and ask parents to please arrange for the children to be collected from school at this time because they will be exhausted. Lisa Hampson, Kristina Eterovic and I will accompany the children on this camp.
• Our Year 4 students will go to Summit Camp in Trafalgar East from Wednesday 22nd to Friday 24th October. This two-night activity camp brings the children together to work in teams and take risks in a safe camp environment. The children will return from camp at approximately 2.30pm on the Friday and it would be terrific if the children could be collected at this time. Tracey Law, Amanda Baker, Levi Otto and Maddi McKee will be attending the camp with the children.

2026 Prep Orientation and Classroom Teachers

Next week, our Prep Orientation program will commence for our 2026 Prep children. We are again very much looking forward to welcoming two classes of Preps to our school community next year. There are two components to our Prep Orientation program: a Parent Information session and three orientation sessions for the children with school staff and new classmates. Below are the dates and times for these sessions:

• Student Orientation session 1 - Wednesday 15th October from 9am-11am
• Student Orientation session 2 - Wednesday 29th October from 9am-11am
• Student Orientation session 3 - Wednesday 12th November from 9am-11am
• Parent Information Night - Tuesday 11th November at 7.30pm
•  

I am pleased to confirm that we have finalised our Prep teaching team for 2026. Our two teachers will be Judith Barton and Nadia Hobart. Judith has been at St Agnes’ for five years and is our Junior School Leader. Nadia will be new to our staff in 2026, but is an experienced teacher and has taught Prep before. We are very confident they will make an excellent team to teach and guide our new Preppies. Both teachers will be present for all of the orientation sessions and are looking forward to meeting the children and families.

2026 Staffing

I am pleased to communicate that we are expecting to have a very settled staff cohort heading into the 2026 school year. As there often is, we have some staff movement, but it will be quite limited for next year. We look forward to welcoming two new staff, we have one returning and we will farewell two. It is pleasing for the school to have very minimal staff turnover in a time when teacher shortages are a significant reality in Victoria. We are fortunate to have a highly capable team, who are highly engaged in their work. Aside from the below, all other staffing placements will be announced later in the year.

Nadia Hobart - We welcome Nadia to our teaching team in 2026. Nadia is an experienced teacher who has completed some casual work in our school recently and has a wonderful manner with the children. As mentioned, Nadia will teach Prep alongside Judith Barton in 2026.

Jessica Mair - We welcome Jess to St Agnes’, as she starts her teaching career in this wonderful school community. Jess comes to us having worked as an LSO throughout her studies and is a very capable early-career educator. We are confident she’ll be a great addition to the team.

Anthea Georgiou - Anthea is a long-term staff member of our school and is returning to a part-time role, following 12 months of parental leave. We look forward to having Mrs Georgiou back in the school.

Cass De Kretser - Cass has been with us this year as one of our Prep teachers. Cass will depart St Agnes’ at year-end to take up a teaching stint in the UK and travel through Europe. 

Liz Graydon - We welcomed Liz as a Learning Support Officer during Term Three. Liz will start her teaching career next year at a school in a remote community in the Northern Territory. 

We wish Cass and Liz all the very best for their future endeavours and will acknowledge them appropriately at the end of the year.

St Agnes’ Trash and Treasure Market - Sunday 26th October

Our 2026 Fete Committee is hosting the St Agnes’ Trash and Treasure Market in the school grounds on the morning of Sunday 26th October, from 9am onwards. Amy Anderson is leading the effort and being ably supported by other members of the committee. Stall bookings are now open, so please feel free to book a stall yourself or share this link with interested others. Spring is the perfect time to have a clean-up at home; if you have any items you would like to donate to the school stall at the market, please bring these along. The committee is collecting such items in the area adjacent to the Art Room, above the school office. If you are able to support this event either before-hand or on the day, please contact Amy (pennyfarthingevents@gmail.com).

Grandparents Day - Thursday 30th October

This event is a celebration of the special people in the lives of our students who help them to learn about the world and how to live in it. There are so many magical moments when children spend time with grandparents or the older generation of adults in their lives. Grandparents tell stories about what life was like ‘in their day’ and include valuable life lessons around how to treat others, behave in certain situations and what it means to be part of a family. The morning will commence with a liturgy in the church and be followed by morning tea in the classrooms, where the children can give their grandparents and special friends a tour of the school. The Book Fair will also be open if the grandparents would like to share in some literature with the children.

St Agnes’ Walkathon - Friday 31st October

The annual St Agnes’ Walkathon is one of the great events on the school calendar. With a focus on being active and healthy, the community spirit of our school is always on show at this event. It is one of the major fundraisers for the Parents and Friends Committee of our school and as such, the children are asked to seek sponsorship for the event. All students will walk down to Peterson Street Reserve (top oval) and run/walk laps for about an hour. Prizes are awarded for the most laps and most fundraising completed, both individually and as a class. Parents are welcome to join in the walk/run and assist with lap marking. Sponsorship forms will be sent home in the coming weeks, so please be on the lookout for this and mark this date in your calendar.

Transition to Summer Uniform

From the beginning of Term Four, students can start wearing Summer uniform. Until the Melbourne Cup long weekend, students can wear either Summer or Winter uniform, but it must be one or the other, not a mix of both. Hats are compulsory during playtime and outside lessons from the beginning of the term, so please ensure these come back to school as well.

See below the Summer uniform requirements:

A reminder that the Bomber Jacket is only to be worn as part of the sports uniform and the maroon soft-shell jacket is only to be worn as an outer layer on cold days.

Punctuality and Parking

It’s been tricky with day-light savings coinciding with the return to school, but I would like to offer a gentle reminder to all families that the children need to be at school by 8.45am to ensure a positive start to the day. If a child arrives late, they miss opportunities to connect with peers and teachers, while also missing some critical learning. 

I would also like to remind parents that parking zone on Peterson Street is a 5 minute, drop and go zone in the morning and afternoons. If you wish to park and come into school, please park in other areas. Thank you for your understanding and compliance with this.

Looking ahead

Bully No Way Day - Friday 10th October

The theme for Bully No Way Day in 2025 is 'Be bold. Be kind. Speak up.' Bullying is everyone's responsibility. It takes a community to be brave and address bullying behaviours, within and beyond the school grounds. Students can be bold, kind and take a stand to support others being bullied. While parents and teachers are there to support children and young people learn how to behave in a positive way. In our community and in our school, we want a place where everyone can belong, a place that celebrates everyone, and where bullying is never accepted. That is why we have a range of activities set for the children to undertake on Friday to address this issue and upskill the children. There will also be a Students vs Staff Netball game played in good spirit to finish the day. The children are invited to wear a touch of purple to celebrate this day.

Beachside Division Athletics - Friday 10th October

This Friday we have 26 students from Year 3-6 heading to the SSV Beachside Division Athletics at Duncan Mackinnon Reserve in Murrumbeena. We wish these children all the best for their events. Simon Kost and Amanda Baker will accompany the children to the event. They will travel by bus to and from the event. More information has been communicated via Operoo.

PSGs - Commencing Monday, 13th October

Invitations to Program Support Group meetings have been sent to the required families for meetings next week. Please contact Melinda Phyland should you have any queries.

P&F Meeting - Tuesday 14th October

The first Parents and Friends Committee for Term Four will be next Tuesday at 7.30pm in the staffroom. All parents/carers are welcome to attend this meeting and we ask Class Reps to make a special effort to be present.

Year 3 Camp - Zoo Snooze - Wednesday 15th and Thursday 16th October

Our Year 3 children will stay overnight at Melbourne Zoo on the above dates. The bus will depart at 4.45pm from school on the Wednesday, returning around 1pm on the Thursday. It is a great camp that includes a night tour of the zoo. Details have been sent via Operoo.

Year 4 Visit to Grange Road Kindergarten - Friday 17th October

Our Year 4 students will continue their community facing action, connecting with kinder children at Grange Road Kindergarten with visits on Friday 17th October and 21st November. Staff will accompany the children to the kinder; they will walk to and from.

Year 5/6 Excursion to Scienceworks - Monday 20th October

As part of our Term Four Science Topic, our Year 5/6 students are heading to Scienceworks on Monday 20th October. More information will be communicated via Operoo in the coming week.

SAC Meeting

There will be two School Advisory Council (SAC) meetings this term. The first meeting will be at 7.30pm on Tuesday 21st October. The SAC Annual General Meeting will be held on Tuesday 18th November, with an earlier start time of 6.30pm. All parents are invited to attend the AGM, as this is the time when we will elect members of the council for 2026.

Year 4 Camp - Wednesday 22nd October - Friday 24th October

Our Year 4 students will head to Summit Camp in Trafalgar East for a two night camp on Wednesday 22nd October. Summit is an award winning school camp loction, with many fun outdoor activities that promote teamwork.

Year 5/6 Parish Mass - Friday 24th October

The Year 5/6 children will participate in Parish Mass on Friday 24th November at 9am. All parents and families are welcome to join this mass. A gentle reminder to please leave coffee cups in the car.

Tuckshop

Tuckshop will commence this Friday 10th October. Orders can be placed online at https://www.salutecatering.com.au/tuckshop using the code: Lunch2025.

School Fees

Term Four School Fees Statements will be sent by the end of this week. Fees are payable via EFT, cash or credit card. Please contact Shannon (sshine@sahighett.catholic.edu.au) in the office to organise payment. All fees for 2025 must be settled by the due date.

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.

Wednesday 8th Oct - Year 5

Wednesday 15th Oct - Year 6

Wednesday 22nd Oct - Year 3

Wednesday 29th Oct - Year 4

Wednesday 5th Nov - Year 2

Wednesday 12th Nov - Year 1

Wednesday 19th Nov - Prep

Wednesday 26th Nov - SRC / Mini Vinnies

Wednesday 3rd Dec - TBC

Wednesday 11th Dec - Year 6 Final Assembly

Looking forward to a fabulous Term Four.

Have a great week.

Kind regards,

Lachie.