Welcome Back

Welcome back to the 2026 school year. I hope you all had an enjoyable holiday and were able to enjoy some quality time as a family. It’s always wonderful to hear and share stories of our experiences over the long break!

As we begin the new year, it has been wonderful to see our children (and parents) arrive to school each day with huge smiles on their faces as they reunite with friends and teachers.

Our children have transitioned seamlessly into their Learning Communities and their routines this week, and have got straight back into learning.

It’s hard to believe our new Year Preps have only just started. They’ve settled into school life as if they’ve been doing this forever! From morning routines to classroom activities, they’re already showing great confidence and enthusiasm.

We couldn't be prouder of how all our children have settled into school routines and can’t wait to see the wonderful learning ahead. Well done!

A special welcome to all our new families who have joined us at Corpus Christi School. We hope your time here is special and that we can form a wonderful partnership in your children's education and in building our school community.

Staffing 2026

Please see below our final staffing structure for 2026. We welcome back Ms Aphrodite Loizou from maternity leave, and a special welcome to Mrs Kara Von Senden who will join our Year 1/2 team.

Therefore, we will begin the year as follows:

Year Prep Community

Prep N: Mrs Nives Childs

Year 1/2 Community

Year 1/2 C: Mrs Elizabeth Camilleri
Year 1/2 R: Mrs Candice Rogers
Year 1/2 MV: Mrs Chrissie Marakis & Ms Kara Von Senden (3day/2day - 2day/3day fortnightly roster)

Year 3/4 Community

Year 3/4 P: Miss Stefanie Poropat (4 days & Mrs Brittney Wohling (1 day)
Year 3/4 L: Miss Khanh Ly
Year 3/4 K Miss Jess Kenny

Year 5/6 Community

Year 5/6 F: Miss Kaitlin Ferris
Year 5/6 N: Miss Libby Napier (4 days) & Ms Aphrodite Loizou (1 day)

Italian: Signora Catrina Anderson

Visual Arts: Mrs Brittney Wohling

Physical Education: Mr Dan Palanca

Library: Miss Jane Wilkinson

Reading Intervention: Signora Anderson

Learning Support Officers: Miss Letitia Hyde, Mrs Veronica Tweedly, Mrs Laura Cosentino & Miss Olivia Anderson

Student Engagement and Diversity Leader: Mrs Stephanie Stedman

Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader: Miss Stefanie Poropat

Director of Learning and Teaching: Ms Deborah Courtney

Deputy Principal/Religious Education Leader: Miss Jane Wilkinson

Administration Officers: Mrs Debbie Roumbos, Mrs Laura Cosentino, Mrs Deanne Fitzgerald

Principal: Mr Anthony Hyde

Assemblies

Our Monday Assemblies will commence on Monday, 9th February at 9:00 am in the Gathering Space (undercover area). All families are welcome to attend this weekly event.

Big Brekky

This year's Big Brekky (Welcome Breakfast) will be held on Friday 13th February, commencing at 8:00 am.

All families are welcome to join us for breakfast in the central courtyard and feast upon a range of pastries, fruit, sausages, juice, tea and coffee (a Coffee Van will be on-site).

It will be a time to catch up, meet new people and just enjoy the new year.

We hope to see you all there!

Headphones

Please ensure your child brings a pair of headphones or earphones to school that can be left in their tub for use with their Chromebook or iPad as needed. This allows children to listen to audio without disturbing the rest of the class.

Lunch Orders

Lunch Orders through Classroom Cuisine operate every Monday and orders are placed online at https://classroomcuisine.com.au/

Our Lunch Orders service (through Roberts Street Milkbar) commenced this week, running every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

As per tradition, orders are to be written on a paper bag with (preferably) correct money sealed inside.

Children will place these into their class lunch order basket on arrival to school.

A price list can be found on our website at - https://www.cckingsville.catholic.edu.au/school-community/forms/

Drink Bottles

Children's water bottles seem to be getting bigger (and heavier every year). For convenience and safety, all water bottles need to fit upright in each child's locker. So, by popular demand, please see below for drink bottle height sizes per community:

Year Prep: Less than 245mm

Year 1/2: Less than 245mm

Year 3/4: Less than 275mm

Year 5/6: Less than 310mm

ABC Music

ABC Music lessons commenced today for students already enrolled.

ABC Music also visited classes to provide a little snippet of what they have to offer.

If you are ineterested in enrolling your child please see details below-

Student Representative Council (SRC)

Applications for the 2026 Student Representative Council (SRC) are now open for students in Years 1–5.

This week our 2025 SRC members will visit classrooms to talk to students about the role of the SRC and what it means to represent their peers.

Students who are interested in applying can access the simple screening application form via the QQR code or link below. All applications must be submitted by next Wednesday 11th February.

https://forms.gle/JiGNVsWTf5vjct9P8

Applications will be shortlisted by homeroom teachers (as per the set criteria) by Friday 13th February. Shortlisted candidates will then present to their communities in Week 4, with voting taking place on Friday 20th February.

Good luck to all who apply!

Fees and Levies 2026

Invoices for Fees and Levies for 2026 will be sent out to all families in the coming days. Money raised from the collection of fees and levies allows us to offer our extracurricular activities such as: Swimming Program, Dance Program, Interschool Sports Program, excursions and so on as well as covering all stationery requirements for students, classroom and program supplies/resources.

Private income raised from levies also assists with the constant upgrading of systems and programs (including our Chromebook Program) funding of capital works, and maintenance of our buildings as well as the school environment.

It is important that all families be prepared to meet this financial commitment.

School funding is complex, so I have included with this letter a simple school funding “explainer” which I hope will support your understanding of how the government funds Catholic (and other non-government) schools and how tuition fees support our school.

Our policy, in keeping with that of Melbourne Archdiocese of Catholic Schools (MACS), recognises that some families face difficulties or financial hardship. Fee concession may be given to families of students experiencing financial hardship, who would otherwise be impeded from receiving a Catholic education. It acknowledges the need for families to meet their school fee obligations according to their capacity to pay while providing a consistent approach to school fee concessions across all MACS primary schools. Our Concessional Fee application form can be accessed below and is to be completed and forwarded to the office as soon as possible -

As per information sent to all families last year, our Fee and Levy Structure for 2026 is as follows:

Family Fee: $1800
Individual Curriculum Levy: $600 (per child)
Family Capital Levy: $ 300

This is an increase of $4.90 per week/52 weeks - on 2025 fees.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the fee increase, or wish to discuss your individual circumstances, please do not hesitate to contact me. We remain committed to keeping tuition fees as low and affordable as possible, and to working closely with our community to make this transition as smooth as possible.

New! Pay your school fees with CDFpay

We’re excited to share that you can now pay your school fees using CDFpay – our new, easy-to-use payment platform!

Get started: Register for CDFpay, then tap the ‘School fees’ tile to:

Further details and login instructions will be sent via email by the end of this week, along with 2026 Statements.

We encourage 100% of families to set up for CDF Pay to make it easy for all.

Camps, Sports and Excursion Fund (CSEF)

A reminder that families who hold a valid Health Care Card for the 2026 year can receive a government rebate through the Camp, Sports and Excursion Fund (CSEF) which is currently set at $400 per primary-aged child.

Applications for the CSEF can be collected from the school office or accessed below. Families MUST submit these to the school office by 2nd April.

Student Absences

All families must inform the school of any and every absence of your child(ren), including a reason why. If you do not let the school know, we must contact you on the same day to make sure your child is safe. This will be done by email.

So... to make it easy you can now do this via your n-Forma nParent Portal. The Absentee feature is now active! Simply open the app and click on 'Absent', follow the prompts and submit.

Please note that any child who arrives after the 9:00am bell will need to report to the office to obtain a late pass. This is necessary to ensure attendance details are accurate.

That's enough information for now

Have a wonderful week

God Bless

Anthony Hyde

(Principal)

Learning and Teaching

Term Overviews