Dear parents, students and families,

No sooner had we put out last week's newsletter before things changed on the Friday. Thank you for your understanding around the change of dates that occurred as a result.

With three more school days until the end of term I would like to express my gratitude for what I believe has been a wonderful year at St Anne's, despite some challenges of course. So many positives that I briefly discussed at the end of year Mass on Tuesday. Student growth no doubt, great community feel as evident through the Trivia Night and Market Day, great sports results by our teams and individuals, very positive student leadership from our senior students and a beautiful new building rising from the destruction of our older senior block of the school. Perhaps one of the most reliable indicators for the success of our school is that we will be commencing 2026 with 202 students- the first time our numbers have been above 200 since the mid 2000's. A wonderful result for all of us and testament to the perception of what a great school we are that we all work so hard to make a wonderful place for your children and our students.

Today we held our third Advent Liturgy as we prepare for our celebration of the birth of Christ. We will hold our final Liturgy next Tuesday just after 9am to support the students grow their sense of anticipation.

Last Friday we had the student-led Missions of Hope supporting the JPC Food Van which raised $200. I know JPC are truly grateful for this initiative as they feed those in need from the van on a regular basis. I was amazed by the ingenuity the students showed in creating their stalls and how excited everyone was. Thanks to the families at home who supported your children in making their stalls a success.

Our annual Lapathon raised funds for our Parish's SVDP chapter to put towards Christmas for the needy last Friday. The parent support had to be seen to be believed and many of them joined in. We have so far raised $2617 from this. Congratulations to you all and a heartfelt thanks from Mr Peter Vyverberg who chairs the SVDP chapter for our Parish. You will have made many family's Christmas a better time.

Class Changeovers for 2026 were held last Friday and Monday. We believe we have created 10 great classes for learning after a lengthy process. I'm sure their was some disappointment but creating classes is not about giving everyone their best friends. It is not like they won't see each other for play times or do a variety of activities together!

Monday was an opportunity for families to come into your children's classrooms and see examples of their learning over the year. Thank you to staff for facilitating this and Mr Sullivan for your organisation. I hope many parents were suitably impressed with student growth as evidenced by their workbooks over the year.

On Tuesday our Year 5's applied for the leadership roles they would like to perform for 2026, These were very bravely presented to the older students of the school who then select the School Captains and the Community House Leaders. They did a fantastic job and should be very proud of themselves. The Leaders will be announced today at the Advent Liturgy.

Tonight we hold our Graduation evening for our wonderful Year 6's. They will have a shared meal at school before gathering in the Church for a Mass with their families and staff. I thank these students for their contributions to the school, their leadership this year and for the families who are moving on from St Anne's wishing them all the best for their futures.

Our Awards Ceremony is tomorrow at 2.30pm. I thank Mrs Winduss for sharing the criteria with families via Seesaw. Sometimes there have been misunderstandings about the allocation of these awards in the past. We feel by further clarifying this we will help to have a shared understanding of why staff may have picked one child and not another.

There are some important parental supporters who are moving on from roles at the school that they have volunteered for. We farewell Michelle Haggarty who has been instrumental in leading our Playgroup and a key driver of the P and F. Stepping aside from the School Advisory Committee after a number of years are Ben Cadd, Samantha O'Connor and Andrew Woff and I thank them for their well considered counsel and drive.

I was also recently informed that Year 6 student Thomas H achieved an academic scholarship to JPC for 2026. This is an outstanding achievement and we offer him our congratulations.

Just showing that school doesn't ever seem to slow down we conclude our science units on properties taking on different forms (and to celebrate all our hard work this year) by making pizzas in our pizza oven this coming Monday. We will be investigating the following ingredients to see what happens when they get cooked. Ingredients used: Pizza base, Tomato paste & grated cheese (mozzarella). Thank you Mr Sullivan for overseeing this fun, learning activity!!

Also next week our Year 6 students will be having their well deserved Big Day Out on Monday before returning to school for their farewell from the remainder of the school. Thank you to Mrs de Veer and Mrs McKenzie for the organisation of their day. This will conclude the Year 6's formal schooling unless parents need them to attend school on the Tuesday when we will certainly look after them if needed. Reports will also come home on Monday and I thank the staff for the work on these and congratulate the students on all they have learnt.

School will close at 1pm on Tuesday finishing the academic year. I thank all staff, families and students for a terrific 2025 school year. We look forward to our Year 1-6 students returning to school on Wednesday 28th January and again wish students and families all the best for your futures.

My best wishes for a fun, safe and holy Christmas and school holiday period to you all.

God Bless

Rod Shaw

Principal

School Attendance and Unexplained Absence

Please contact the school if your child is going to be absent by leaving a message on

9786 4736 and press 1. Please give details of your child’s name and class with a reason for their absence such as: unwell, appointment, holiday or family reasons. Alternatively an email can be sent to office@saseaford.catholic.edu.au with cc to the child’s teacher.

If you are running late, (after 9:00 am) please attend the office to sign your child into school.

If you are picking up your child early you will need to collect them and sign them out from the office.

As per our policy this will be our morning routine for absences:

Parents will be contacted as soon as practicable on the morning a student is absent via a text message.

If parent does not contact the school after receiving the text message, the school will contact the parent by phone. If the parent is unreachable the emergency contacts will be contacted by the school.

If there is still no response, and the school feels that the child is in danger, the police will be contacted.

Ongoing unexplained absences or lack of cooperation regarding student attendance will result in a formal conference being organized. Unresolved attendance issues will be referred to D.H.H.S.

This is a legal requirement.

Democratic Principles

The six (6) principles of Australian democracy include:

(a) elected government; and

(b) the rule of law; and

(c) equal rights for all before the law; and

(d) freedom of religion; and

(e) freedom of speech and association; and

(f) the values of openness and tolerance

Religious Education

Christmas celebration times at St Anne's:

3rd week of Advent: JOY

4th week of Advent: LOVE