PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

Term 1 - Week 9

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Blink and you’ll have missed it. Term One has simply flown by, but it has been incredible to think what we have squeezed into nine weeks. Year 5/6 Camp, Year 6 Leadership Speeches, Welcome Picnic, Playgroup, Bike Ed, NAPLAN, Open Days, Dad’s Night Out, Prep Resilence Night, Sacrament of Reconciliation, School Sports and of course the wonderful Fete. Our students and staff (as well as parents) seem to be looking forward to the upcoming holidays and a well-earned rest. Thank you to all of our families for your support of our staff and for also supporting Parents and Friends initiatives throughout the term as well. I would also like to acknowledge our school staff who have enabled a very settled start to the school year.

2024 St Agnes’ School Fete

Our biennial school fete was a raging success with the sun shining on a steady, but massive crowd throughout the day. I would like to thank all parents who made donations and volunteer their time to help on stalls or be part of the Fete Committee. I would once again like to make special mention of the Fete Committee, made up entirely of parent volunteers, who drove this year’s fete to success. Apart from the obvious financial benefit to running a fete,  there are also community and cultural benefits. Spending time turning sausages on the barbeque or placing blocks on the lob-o-choc, forms or embeds relationships that can last a long time; relationships that strengthen your child's connection to school and sense of belonging, therefore enhancing their learning experience. In talking to some visitors at the fete, I learned that our school fete has been running for some 50 years, which is amazing. At this stage it is looking like a profit in the vicinity of $30,000 will be realised from the fete, which is up there with the best financial outcomes of any St Agnes’ fete ever held. A final figure will be communicated as soon as expenses are settled. These funds, supplemented by the P&F Fundraising initiatives later in the year, will go directly towards the resurfacing of the asphalt area. We are hopeful we will be in a financial position to complete this project early in 2025.

St Agnes' Sports Carnival

Thank you to all families for your attendance at the annual St Agnes' Sports Carnival yesterday. The day was loads of fun for all students, with a fun, relaxed feel. The children were exceptional with their engagement, effort and resilience in competition. Thank you to Mr Kost for his organisation and to all of our staff for their tireless efforts in running events and supervising children. Next year, we will be putting out a request for parent helpers to assist on the day to lighten the load on staff. Congratulations to Red House on their victory and well done to Sports Captain Ava Coates on her acceptance speech!

Victorian Association of Catholic Primary School Principals Conference

Last week, I had the privilege of attending the VACPSP Conference in Lorne. Across four days, it was a great pleasure to engage with other Catholic Primary School Principals and listen to some incredible keynote speakers. Three of the most prominent were Saroo Brierly, author of A Long Way Home, upon which the movie Lion was based. Saroo has an astonishing story to tell about his childhood, including the separation from his family and reconnecting with them early in adulthood. Craig Foster, former Socceroos Captain turned human rights advocate was passionate, considered and engaging like few others. To round out the top three, Jelena Dokic was present to tell her story as a young person who was abused by her father but has overcome many life challenges to thrive as a top tennis player, author and sports commentator. A truly inspirational individual. I am very grateful to Louisa Di Pietro and the rest of the staff for holding the fort, enabling me to participate in this conference.

Sacrament of Reconciliation

Congratulations to many of our Year 3 cohort who received the Sacrament of Reconciliation on Thursday last week. The children held themselves very well during this reflective sacrament and as their parents and teachers, we should be very proud of them. Thank you to the awesome Mrs Gorski for leading the preparation for this sacrament, alongside Mr Otto.

Playgroup

Our Playgroup for kinder-aged children is off to a flying start, with two sessions so far this year with the second being especially well attended. These sessions are held fortnightly on a Friday morning and all are welcome. Mrs Baker has done a terrific job in getting this going again this year. The connections formed in playgroup, along with the overall familiarty of the school have enabled our 2024 Prep cohort to settle very quickly into the routines of school. We expect our playgroup to continue to grow as the year progresses, as our Prep numbers for next year are looking strong. Today we had another busy Open Day, with many families coming into view our school in action, in readiness for Prep 2025 and 2026.

Final Day of Term One

Firstly, a friendly reminder that school finishes at 1.30pm tomorrow, Thursday 28th March. 

The final day of Term One is always enjoyed by all, as we have three main events. Children are invited to wear an ‘Easter Bonnet’ or Easter Hat for our Easter Bonnet Parade after drop off in the morning. The parade will be held on the basketball court in the central courtyard. This will be followed by the Easter Liturgy, to be held in the Church at approximately 9.15am. The children will perform the Easter story with each year level telling one part of the story. The liturgy will run for approximately 40 minutes and parents are welcome to stay for both the parade and liturgy. Following the Easter Liturgy, our students will engage in Friendship Day activities. Each class has organised activities for other students to participate in and the focus of the day is on friendship and connection, while also raising money for Project Compassion. There will be a coin line competition using all of the coins collected in the class Project Compassion Boxes. All children are invited to bring up to $10 to participate in the various activities throughout the day. Students are able to wear casual clothes tomorrow.

Kelly Sports - Holiday Program

Paul and Tash from Kelly Sports are again hosting a holiday program at St Agnes’ over these upcoming holidays. They are also offering a lunchtime sports program in Term Two. Please head across to the Community News page for more information.

Commencement of Term Two

Term Two commences for all students on Tuesday 16th April and concludes on Friday 28th June at 1.30pm. Our school is closed on Monday 15th April for staff professional learning in the area of ‘Structured Literacy’. Our staff will join together with 100 staff from four other local Catholic schools to engage with three experts from LaTrobe University. Thank you to all parents for your support and understanding of this highly valuable staff development.

Winter Uniform

When the children return in Term Two they may commence wearing their winter uniform and all children must be in full Winter Uniform by the Wednesday 1st May. The uniform is available for purchase from Noone Imagewear in Hampton Street, Hampton and some items may be available at the Second Hand Uniform Shop. A reminder that the maroon spray jacket is to be worn over the top of the school jumper, not instead of. Following is a list of the uniform requirements for Winter: 

Important Dates for Term Two

Year 5/6 SSV District Soccer - Friday 19th April

Open Day 3 - Tuesday 23rd April

Year 5/6 Winter School commences - Friday 26th April

Year 3-6 SSV District Cross Country - Wednesday 1st May

Mother’s Day Dinner - Friday 3rd May

Mother’s Day Breakfast and Liturgy - Thursday 9th May

Open Day 4 - Tuesday 21st May

Year 3-6 Family Cybersafety Night - Wednesday 5th June

Best wishes for a restful Easter holiday break. See you all next term.

Cheers,

Lachie.