Principal's News
Dear Parents and Carers,
As you might imagine planning for 2024 is well underway at school. As always we have some staffing changes to announce with three new class teachers coming on board plus some welcome returns into new roles.
We are delighted to welcome back to our community two former trainees as fully qualified teachers for 2024. Both Adam Garner (Gr 1) and Sheridan Finn (Gr. Foundation) will be familiar faces in our school having worked here in different roles whilst studying for their Teaching degrees. I consider both of these young teachers outstanding graduates who we are very fortunate to have joined our staff.
We also welcome Paul Maddern to our Teaching team as a Grade 2 teacher and part of our school’s Leadership Team. Paul has been working at Beeac Primary where he has been Deputy and acting principal, around a busy teaching load. Paul has also spent time teaching in remote communities in the Northern Territory. Paul’s eldest child Daisy is in Foundation at our school and I am confident he will be a real asset to this community for many years to come.
These three teachers are replacing Ms Everitt, who continues to recover from her operation in October, Melissa Callahan, who is taking 12 months leave to teach in outback WA and Meredith Ryan who will be stepping back from the day to day responsibilities of being responsible for running a classroom to concentrate on some health challenges. Meredith will instead be a support teacher, used across the school as we need her and her health allows.
And finally I am sorry to announce that we are losing Ms Nicole McNamara, our amazing Learning Diversity Leader. Nicole has accepted a position teaching at St Mary’s P.S. in Geelong. Nicole has been a dedicated and diligent leader in our school, pursuing the very best outcomes for students of all abilities in our school. Many many parents will recognise the care, hard work and sincerity which Nicole has brought to this role and we will miss her very much.
This important role will be split between two very capable teachers for 2024. We are delighted to welcome back Mrs Lucy Moynihan from Maternity Leave who will work in this role for two days a week, sharing the role with Mrs Davis who has been teaching Maths primarily in the senior grades under the State Government’s Covid-19 recovery Tuition Program.
Both Lucy and Jaci are fantastic teachers, sensitive and sensible leaders and fastidious about the details, which is absolutely essential to this role.
I am also delighted to announce that Ms Tammie Rooney will be our Music Teacher in 2024, a role we have sadly lacked in 2023 and one that has been missed, I know, by the kids. It is great news for us to welcome Tammie in this role.
Phew - see I’ve been busy haven’t I?
So to sum up
Our three Foundation Teachers for 2024 are:
Sharyn Newton, Maggie Eldridge and Sheridan Finn
Grade One Teachers will be: Megan Doyle, Lauren Campigli and Adam Garner
Grade Two teachers will be: Raffie Borgia, Frances Miles and Paul Maddern
Grade Three teachers will be: Katrina McGuane and Angela Hogben
Grade Four teachers will be: Deanne Cumming, Shantelle Finn and Rebecca Sahyoune
Grade Five teachers will be: Jeremy Richardson, Rebecca O’Shea and Jayden Tebble
Grade Six teachers will be: Kate Tomkins, Lynne Garner and Tom Rieniets
Learning Diversity Leaders: Jaci Davis and Lucy Moynihan
Music Teacher: Tammie Rooney
There is still lots of work to be done in 2023, teachers are balancing assessments, reporting and testing during a busy fourth term.
We will be conducting our Foundation BBQ NEXT Thursday, November 16th commencing at 6:00pm in the Multipurpose room. This is an important step in the orientation of our coming Foundation Class of 2024. If you have a student commencing Foundation in 2024 and you have not received your invitation to next Thursday’s BBQ please contact the school.
Our “Transition Day'' for all students is on Tuesday, December 12th. Year 6 students will be spending the day at their chosen secondary school, next year’s Foundation class will be with us from 11:30am until 1:00pm and all other students will spend this same hour and a half with their 2024 class and teacher.
MISSION FETE Once again our “Mission Fete” was a great success. We raised $2580 for Caritas’ charity work in Timor Leste. Such a beautiful coincidence last Thursday at Mass when Fr Michael invited the Timor Leste community on to the altar, explained something of the cultural importance that “All Souls Day” has for these people who then sang the most beautiful hymn for us all at the conclusion of Mass.
Our community is so blessed to have Fr Michael in it, sowing peace and understanding between the people of all nationalities now living, working and going to school in Colac. Truly blessed.
STOMP Parents are invited to attend our Dance Performance this Friday, November 10th at Trinity College’s Jubilee Centre from 2:00 p.m. All parents on arrival are required to sign in at the foyer of the Jubliee Centre.
We will need to start the performance promptly at 2:00pm so please be early, as we will need to finish by 3:00pm to make school buses etc. therefore we will be eating our lunch earlier at 1:00pm on Friday, and then calling the children in at 1:40pm to walk across for the performance.
I understand there is a basketball tournament in Horsham this weekend which will involve many of our students. Experience tells us that this often means a few “early exits” on the Friday afternoon. Could parents give this some thought before Friday as they might need to collect any of these early exits by 1:00pm., rather than turning up here at 2:00pm only to find no one here! If students are not collected by 1:00pm then they will need to wait and be collected after 3:00pm from the school office rather than interrupt our concert.
BISHOP PAUL’S VISIT TO COLAC A reminder that all children who were confirmed earlier this year are especially invited to the 6:00 p.m. Mass this coming Saturday evening for a special blessing from the Bishop.
Jack Lenaghan - Principal