School News
From the Principal's Desk
Dear parents, families and friends,
Welcome to the 2026 School Year. To all our new Prep students and their families, welcome to St. Augustine’s. This is an exciting time as you begin your schooling journey. Day One is just the start of many wonderful times and experiences to come. To all our new students and families across the other Year Levels, welcome to St. Augustine’s. We hope that you settle in quickly, making many new friends and that you find St. Augustine’s to be a wonderful community that is friendly, inclusive and supportive. To our Year 6 Students, welcome to your last year of primary schooling. This is going to be a big and memorable year that starts Day One. We hope that you can achieve all that you set out to do this year.
On Thursday 5th February we celebrated our Opening of the School Year Mass. It was good to see parishioners and family members there with us. As we embark on this new academic year, our collective hope is for a year marked by profound learning, compassion towards others, genuine friendships, and mutual respect shown by all – all while walking in the footsteps of Jesus.
Given our identity as a Catholic School, the Mass, and particularly the Eucharist, holds great significance in the life of our school. Throughout the year, we will come together as a school community to partake in Mass, engage with the word of God, offer prayers to the Father, Son, Holy Spirit, Mary our Mother, and all the Saints, with a special mention of St. Augustine and St. Mary MacKillop. We will also partake in the Eucharist, reinforcing the spiritual foundation of our community. We give thanks for all our blessings and ask that this year will be a happy, safe and rewarding one.
On the evening of Thursday 5th February we held our annual Parent Parent Wine & Cheese Night. This is a wonderful opportunity for Prep Parents to get to know each other in a relaxed setting (not rushed during drop off and pick up) over a glass or two of liquid refreshments. Thank you to the team of teachers - Mrs Mazzeo, Miss Paglianiti, Miss Marissa, Miss Jess and Ms Scimone for setting up the most amazing grazing board I have ever seen. You can see the photos from the night on the school Instagram page.
Staffing
Classroom Teachers
Prep - Marissa Balbuziente
Grade 1/2 M - Alex Mathewson
Grade 1/2 RS - Kristen Re (4 days) and Tiziana Scimone (1 day)
Grade 3/4 L - Natalie Librizzi
Grade 3/4 S - Clare Sa (New staff member for 2026)
Grade 5/6 JM - Jess Brennan (4 days) and Bill Manoleras (1 day)
Grade 5/6 PJ - Peter Shorthouse (3 days) and Olivia Jones (2days)
Specialist Subject Teachers
Arts - Barbara Ady and Tiziana Scimone
Italian - Natalina Paglianiti
Library - Olivia Jones
Health & Physical Education - Bill Manoleras
Kitchen Garden - Kristen Re
SEL (Social Emotional Learning) - Jess Brennan
Curriculum Coordinators
English - Alex Mathewson
Mathematics - Dina Mazzeo
Digital Technology - Natalie Librizzi
Sacraments and Liturgy - Marissa Balbuziente
Learning Support Officers (LSOs)
Caroline Manuell
Sue-Ellen Grguric
Taylah Brennan
James Pearce
Library Community Engagement Officer - Kat Kats
Counsellor - Tara Brennan
Bursar - Catherine Santillo
School Leadership Team
Principal - Matthew Stead
Deputy Principal - Dina Mazzeo
Learning Diversity Leader - Natalina Paglianiti
NCCD Team
Principal - Matthew Stead
Deputy Principal - Dina Mazzeo
Learning Diversity Leader - Natalina Paglianiti
Student Wellbeing Team
Natalina Paglianiti
Tara Brennan
Jess Brennan
Curriculum Changes
There will be no STEM this year due to not having the dedicated space to set up ongoing projects and conduct experiments. STEM will return in 2027. Library lessons have replaced STEM as part of the specialist subjects rotations in 2026.
Specialist subjects have moved to Wednesday and Thursday.
Upcoming Events
- School Family Picnic - Wednesday 25th February from 5.00pm to 7.30pm at Yarraville Gardens(TBC)
- Parent Information Night - Wednesday 18th March at 6.30pm (TBC)
End of 2025
Following the last newsletter of 2025 there were a number of events or celebrations involving our students.
Chess Tournament
Students from a Chess Club represented St. Augustine's in the last Chess Tournament for the year. Thomas from Year 4 came first in his division and was awarded a medal. Congratulations to all students who competed.
Parish Christmas Eve Family Mass
A small choir of our students, lead by one of our parents Chris sang Christmas Carols at the Family Christmas Eve Mass. Thank you to Bryce as well for helping.
We are going to trial publishing the newsletter monthly, combined with a variety of different formats of communication such as nForma notifications, Comms and Instagram.
The Newsletter will be published on the First Friday of the month.
Until the next newsletter, stay happy and stay safe!
Matthew Stead
Principal
'Find happiness in making others happy!' - St Mary MacKillop
