Dear Parents, Carers and Friends of St Brigid’s,

Confirmation

Congratulations to Juliet who made her Confirmation last Thursday night with St Louis. Juliet was participating in a Jazz and Ballet Competition in Brisbane when we celebrated Confirmation.

Enterprise Agreement Update

We are conscious that there have been several media reports about ongoing industrial relations disputes in the Victorian education sector and we wanted to outline the current situation and what it means for St Brigid’s.

St Brigid’s operates under the Catholic Education Multi-Enterprise Agreement 2022, a four-year agreement that expired in December 2025.
Since early 2025, the School has, in collaboration with other Victorian Catholic school employers, been seeking a fresh cooperative workplace agreement. These negotiations have been led by Victorian Catholic Education Authority (VCEA), the peak body for Victorian Catholic schools.
The parties have not yet concluded a new enterprise agreement.
At the same time, the State Government has, in parallel, been seeking to conclude a new enterprise agreement for state schools.

While the Catholic sector negotiations are separate from the State Government negotiations, VCEA has, consistent with the 2022 agreement, committed to pay parity with state school teachers and staff. As a result, the state school outcome will, in large part, flow through to St Brigid’s.

Rest assured that we are monitoring the situation closely and that we will work with the Melbourne Archdiocese of Catholic Schools to understand and mitigate the impacts this may have on school operations. Information on the negotiations is available on the VCEA website.

Phones and Smart Watches

We ask families to remind their children that all mobile phones and Smart Watches (i.e. any device with cellular capacity) are to be handed in to the office at the beginning of each school day. This is important from a child safety perspective and applies to all students. This also aligns with the Victorian State Government legislation and is a consistent position across MACS schools, independent schools and government schools.

We thank you for your cooperation. Please have a conversation with your child about the importance of handing in their phones/smart watches. Parents who need to contact their child can do so by contacting the school office.

Social media

A reminder about online safety

Once again, a reminder to please ensure your child stays safe online. Students have been learning about how to stay safe online in their classrooms through lessons presented by Infomr and Empower.

Every child has a different level of online experience, so it’s important to support them in having safe and positive interactions as they navigate their online journey.

You can read “Let’s Talk About Being Safe Online”, available on the eSafety website, for helpful information and guidance.

Please take a moment to have a conversation with your child about staying safe online and encourage them to talk to you if they ever feel uncomfortable or unsure about something they encounter.

Save the Date - St Brigid’s Art Show

We are delighted that our 2026 Art Show will be held on Thursday 8 October from 6:30pm - 8:00pm. The children have been working so hard (and in secrecy) in the art room to make sure we will all have a wonderful night of seeing the artistic talents of our children!

This year's theme is 'Every Child is an Artist’, a concept that will connect across all special areas of our community life.

The Art Show is always a highlight of the school calendar, providing an opportunity to celebrate the creativity, imagination and artistic talents of every student. Families will have the chance to view a stunning collection of artworks created throughout the year and experience our school transformed into a vibrant gallery space. Further details will be shared later this term.

Book Fair

A BIG thank you to Glenn and all his helpers for running this week's very successful Book Fair. Thank you to all the families who attended. The Book Fair concludes tonight. We look forward to giving you an update in my next newsletter as to funds raised and resources purchased for our Library.

Book Week - 22 to 28 August

Our Book Week celebrations start in just over a week culminating with our Book Week Parade on Friday 28 of August at 8:45am! I hope you have got your costumes ready to go! The staff have been busy planning their costumes. We look forward to a fun day of Book week activities.

MACSSIS Survey for St Brigid’s Families

Between 31 August and 18th of September we pause to listen to our families, students and staff through the anonymous MACSSIS Survey and we would like as many families to complete this survey as possible. Please look out for an email with more information and your unique family pin, and answer the questions so we can learn more about what you think is working well at St Brigid’s and where we can improve.

Click here for a link to a video about the MACSISS Survey.

Child Safe Standard 7 - 11 months 11 standards...

As a school we will highlight one Child Safe Standard each month. For August it is Child Safe Standard 7.

“Processes for complaints and concerns are child focused.”

As Catholic educators, we have a moral, mission-driven and legal responsibility to uphold and actively promote the wellbeing and safety of every student entrusted in our care. Our commitment to the protection of students includes ensuring that children, families and community members can raise complaints and concerns safely, are listened to respectfully, and understand how to access child-focused complaint processes that prioritise childrenʼs voices and wellbeing.

Our Catholic communities uphold clear, accessible and child-centred policies and procedures for responding to complaints and concerns, supporting staff and volunteers to act promptly, lawfully and with integrity so that child safety and wellbeing are central to every response.

Please see the Parent/Carer newsletter below.

Foundation 2028 Sibling Applications

Believe it or not, we are already planning for Foundation 2028! We have received strong interest from new families wishing to join the St Brigid’s community, and we are beginning to look ahead to future enrolments. If you have a younger child who is eligible to commence Foundation in 2028, we kindly ask that you submit a sibling application as soon as possible (please log onto our website to complete or come to the office for enrolment forms). This will assist us in understanding the number of sibling places required and help us determine how many new families we may be able to welcome into our wonderful school community.

Planning for 2027

As we begin preparations for the 2027 school year, we kindly ask that families notify the school as soon as possible if their child/children will not be returning to St Brigid’s next year.

Having an accurate understanding of our student numbers allows us to plan effectively for staffing, class structures and funding allocations for 2027.

Complimentary Little Angler Kit

This week all Year 5 students at St Brigid’s will receive an exciting gift from the Victorian Government's Little Angler Kits Initiative. The Victorian Government in collaboration with the Victorian Fisheries Authority have provided every Year 5 student with a free kit containing a fishing rod, reel with line, tackle box with some hooks, lead-free sinkers, swivels and a lure as well as a Kids Guide to Fishing.

This initiative was first successful in 2023/2024 and the aim is to encourage young children to participate in recreational fishing as it helps promote the benefits of outdoor physical activity, mindfulness and environmental conservation.

We will send the fishing rods home with your child next week. Please be aware the fishing rod comes with hooks, so if you would prefer to pick up your child's fishing rod from the office. office.

School Routine Reminders

Drop Off between 8:30am and 8:40am. Children are not allowed to play on the playground before school.
Pick-up between 3:15pm-3:30pm. If you are running late please contact the office. Children are not allowed to play on the playground after school.
Late arrivals to sign in using VPASS at the front office before heading to class.
Early pickups - parents to sign children out using VPASS.
Bike/Scooters A reminder that bikes and scooters are to be pushed/walked when entering and departing the school grounds/car parks.

Staff Car Park

We have noticed a large increase in traffic around the staff car park. Parents are asked not to use the Staff Car Park for Out of Hours School drop off or pick up, or normal school hours drop off or pick up. Mornings are particularly concerning when there is a lot of movement in and around the school - safety is always our first concern. Thank you for your understanding.

🎉 The St Brigid’s Mini Fete is Coming! 🎉

The children have been busy planning and preparing for their mini fun fair on Thursday 17th September. We still need filled mystery bottles for Year 3/4H, wrapped lollies, hair ties etc for Year 1C, cans of softdrink for Year 3/4R.

The stalls are:

Foundation - key rings

Year 1 - Lucky dips

Year 2 - Guess the lollies in the jar

Year 3/4H - Mystery jars

Year 3/4 R - soft drink toss

Year 5/6 D and F - Carnival games and selling super doopers

A BIG thank you to Maggie who has volunteered her outstanding face painting skills as well.

Every dollar raised at our Mini Fete goes straight toward buying fun new toys for our school cubby houses.

Thank you for your amazing support!

Father's Day Breakfast

FATHER'S DAY/SPECIAL FRIEND BREAKFAST

We warmly invite you to our Father's Day celebration! Enjoy breakfast treats and the company of our school community.

7:30am-9:30am

Friday 4th September

Brigid Hall

Toddlers are welcome but must be supervised by their parent at all times.

Please RSVP via this Nforma request by Tuesday 1 September.

We hope to see you there!

🏅 Champions Corner

Congratulations to Nia who competed in the 2026 Vic Super States Competition on the 1st of August. Her Hip Hop team came first! What an amazing effort. Well done Nia we are very proud of you.

Congratulations to Juliet who went to Brisbane to compete in the ballet and jazz sections for the ATOD (Australian Teachers of Dance) National Championships. She placed 3rd in her jazz solo. Well done Juliet what an amazing effort!

WANTED - SANDPIT TOYS

We are in desparate need of some new toys for our sandpit here at school. It is definitely a favourite play area. If you have some toys for the sandpit that you would like to donate we would be very grateful. Thank you to the Winberg family who dropped off some great new sandpit toys last week.

It's a Boy

Well he kept us all waiting but we are very excited to announce the safe arrival of beautiful William (Billy)! A much loved baby brother for Alice (FE) and Cooper. Well done Maddie and Steve. We can't wait for a cuddle.

School Closure Day MONDAY

A reminder to all families that Monday 17 August is a school closure day. No staff will be on site. TheirCare is open however bookings are filling fast.

Warm regards,

Wendy Sullivan

Principal

St Brigid's News and Events

Foundation to Year 4 Disco - Friday 21 August 5:30pm to 7:00pm

Synergise Sports