PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

Week 9, Term 2

This will be the final newsletter for Term Two.

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All of a sudden, we are approaching the final stages of Term Two. I’m sure our Prep and Year Six families are wondering where the time has gone! It feels to me that the last six months have just whizzed by. Thank you to all families for your support of our school, students and staff throughout this term. It has provided many highlights, with some still to come. We look back on Prep Prayers in PJs, Mother's Day events, Interschool Sport, the Biggest Morning Tea, to name a few. Still ahead we have the Prep-Year 2 Parish Mass, Reports, Prep Incursion, Year 3/4 Polly Woodside Excursion, Class Liturgies, Parent Teacher Interviews and our social justice action day! Wowzers!

This week, I have had the privilege of reading all of our Semester One student reports (almost finished!). It is a pleasure to read about the successes of your children over the course of the last two terms. Another reason I particularly enjoy reading the reports is because they provide a unique insight into the commitment and responsibility our staff have for the students in their care. We are very fortunate to have an incredibly diligent staff group, who put significant energy into this process. Teachers utilise a suite of assessments and professional judgements to understand, qualify, quantify and then communicate your child’s strengths and areas for improvement.

The written report has a number of features to look out for. Achievement Indicators or ‘dots’, indicate the achievement against the curriculum and display whether your child is at, above or below the expected curriculum standard for this time of year in English, Mathematics, Religion and other areas. Indicators for ‘Work Habits’ display teacher judgements regarding effort, behaviour, presentation of work and organisation, exhibited by your child in the classroom this semester. Finally and importantly, are the teacher comments. All aspects of the report should be viewed in conjunction with the teacher comments. There will be an Achievement comment and an Areas for Improvement comment. 

In every instance, there has been wonderful growth reported, but this looks different for every child. On some occasions, there will be aspects that are challenging for the children and for you as parents. We know that learning is not linear and the trajectory for each and every student is different. It is important to note that on your child’s report, their achievements are measured against the Victorian Curriculum Standards. Your child is not measured against other individual children or the class.

Our school is in a constant cycle of support and engagement with our students/families around learning and this is one of the more formal aspects of it. Semester One Reports will be sent home as a paper copy on Friday 27th June. The formal report is one aspect of our cycle of engagement at this time of year, with Parent/Teacher Interviews in Week 11 being the second key aspect. These meetings provide the opportunity for discussion and follow-up. It is also a time to look ahead and consider the next areas of growth and learning. Parents will have the opportunity to either attend in person or to have their appointment online via Google Meet. Our preference is to meet with parents face to face. The interviews will run from from 1:30 pm until 9:00pm on Tuesday 1st July. School will conclude at 1:00 pm on this day. Parents will need to book interviews online. All parents are expected to attend an interview for your child, as it is a great chance to discuss your child’s report. To book your parent teacher interviews click the button below, the school booking code is 3phsh.

St Agnes' Snippets

Year 5 and 6 visit Immigration Museum

On Tuesday this week, our senior students ventured into the city to visit the Immigration Museum as part of their Term Two topic - History! Learning about Australia's rich history is an important aspect of our curriculum and excursions are a wonderful way to dive deeper. Exploring the impact of colonisation on Indigenous Australians, mirgration and the changes that have occurred in Australian society since settlement is vital learning for all. Thank you to Mr Otto, Mrs Phyland, Mrs Murdoch and Mrs Jamison for your organisation of such an interactive excursion.

Structured Literacy in Action

MSL - Prep and Year 1 "New Skill"

At this point of the year, we always marvel at the growth and progress of the Prep children and this year is no different. You can see below how very focused our Prep and Year 1 children are on learning their 'new skill' in MSL Instruction. This is where our skilled staff introduce new graphemes and phonemes to the children as part of their continuous literacy learning journey. Highly explicit teaching, clear routines, visual, auditory, kinesthetic and managing the cognitive load of the children.

Reading Fluency

Daily paired reading fluency practice is a key part of our instructional approach from Prep to Year Six. Each day for 6-8 minutes, the children practise reading aloud with a partner, working on their speed, accuracy and fluency. We know fluency is the bridge between decoding and comprehension, so it is awesome to see this happening in our classrooms every day. Practise is a key component of explicit instruction and learning!

Prep Responsible Pet Ownership Incursion

Our Preppies loved having a visit from Ranger the Golden Retriever. Thanks to the Responsibile Pet Ownership Program, the Preps learnt about how to approach dogs they don't know and how to appropriately care for animals! Thank you to Mrs Barton for organsing this wonderful incursion for our Preps.

From the Sporting Fields

St Agnes' Football Team

Well done to all of our senior footballers who went to the Holt District Lightning Premiership last week. The team won a thrilling semi final by one point (in extra time) to advance to the final, where we were well beaten by a strong St Joseph's Elsternwick team. All in attendance were incredibly proud of the children for their efforts throughout the day and the way they represented their school. Thank you to Mr Otto for helping umpire and all of our parent supporters on the day!

St Agnes' Netball Teams

A massive congratulations to our two netball teams who competed at the Netball Lightning Premiership last week. Our girls team finished equal third after making it to the semi-finals and our mixed team won the final and will progress to the Beachside Division competition.  An amazing effort and once again, we are very proud of the children for playing hard, but most importantly, playing the game in the right way. Massive thanks to Mrs Miller and Mrs Phyland for your coaching prowess. They keep reminding me to call them, "Supercoach"! If they win the Beachside, maybe we will!

St Agnes’ Biggest Morning Tea

A massive thanks to all in our community for supporting the St Agnes' Biggest Morning Tea and associated initiatives. As a community we raised $1445 which has been donated directly to the Cancer Council. I would like to thank Mrs Phyland and Lynn Miller for their efforts in preparing this day, as well as all that assisted!

Looking Ahead!

Sacrament of First Eucharist - Saturday 21st June

This Saturday 21st June at 6pm Mass, we have our Year 4 students receiving the blessed Eucharist for the first time. The children have been preparing for this over the past six weeks and are very excited. We wish all of these candidates well as they take the next step in their faith journey and trust this will be a special time for all families involved.

SAC Meeting - Tuesday 24th June

Our next School Advisory Council Meeting will be held on Tuesday 24th June in the upstairs meeting room, from 7.30pm.

Year 5/6 Girls Football Day

Our Year 5/6 Girls will be heading off to the Holt/Dendy Districts Girls Football competition on Wednesday 25th June at Williams St Reserve, Brighton. The St Agnes' Girls will compete against 5 other local schools and it is about fun and participation. This is the second year a girls football event has been run and we have 100% participation from our Year 5/6 Girls this year! A big thanks for Mrs Murdoch for organsing her daughter Ruby and friend Tilly to come and train with the girls at school this week. Both Ruby and Tilly play VFLW for Box Hill Hawks, so it was a great opportunity for our students!

Class Liturgies - Invitations incoming!

In the coming week, you will recieve an invitation to join your child for their end of Term Two Class Liturgy. This is a faith filled celebration of the term’s learning in Religious Education and a great opportunity for you to connect with your child in this space. The liturgies are planned and led by the children.

Year 4 - Mrs Law - Long Service Leave

Tracey Law is heading off on Long Service Leave for the first two weeks of next term. Aggie Gorski will be teaching the Year 4 students during this time. Aggie Gorski works with Year 4 on a daily basis in her learning enhancement role, so the children are well and truly familiar! Any families who usually have PSG meetings in Week 2 each term, will have their PSG meetings this side of the holidays. All families have been contacted about this. We wish Mrs Law well for her travels.

Grange Road Kinder Visit

On Friday 27th June, our Year 4 students will venture to Grange Road Kinder for a community visit. The relationship with this kinder is a wonderful one for our students as they get to know some of the little people, while building the skills for the Buddy Program in Year 5! Details have been communicated via Operoo.

Prep-Year 2 Parish Mass

All Prep to Year 2 children will join our regular weekday mass-goers for mass on the morning of Friday 27th June at 9am. All parents are welcome to join for mass. A gentle reminder to please leave your coffee cups in the car!

Reports Sent Home

All Semester One student reports will be sent home with the eldest child in the family on the afternoon of Friday 27th June. Please ensure you make a booking for your child's parent/teacher interview to follow up from this.

Fete Committee Meeting

Our Fete Committee will continue working on this upcoming event. The meeting will be held in the staffroom at 7.30pm on Tuesday 1st July; the same night as Parent/Teacher Interviews.

Year 3/4 Excursion - Polly Woodside

Our middle school students will participate in an educational program called ‘Ship Shape & Ready to Sail’ which engages them in activities that they would have experienced living and travelling on a Tall Ship somewhat similar to the experiences of the First Fleet.  Thank you to Mrs Law and Mrs Hampson for organising this; it promises to be a great day!

Vinnies Winter Appeal

Once again supporting the St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal; an vital initiative that helps provide warmth, dignity and care to people experiencing hardship during winter. This year, we are asking our school community to come together to support this cause. Prep to Year 2 students are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items such as honey, jam, hot chocolate, small cans of flavoured tuna, baked beans, soups, or any other ready-made meals in pouches. Students in Years 3 to 6 are invited to donate toiletries, including (but not limited to) toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap bars, roll-on deodorant, and sanitary items. This initiative encourages us to take action and live out what we’ve been learning in Religious Education about Catholic Social Teaching principles of Preferential Option for the Poor and Dignity of the Human Person. Thank you in advance for your support.

"Shine the Light" Social Justice Day – Refugees and Asylum Seekers

This term on the last day of school, our school community will come together to mark Social Justice Day — a day dedicated to raising awareness, building empathy and inspiring action. This year, the focus of our learning and reflection will be on the experiences of refugees and asylum seekers. Throughout the day, students will explore the stories of people who have been forced to leave their homes due to conflict and humanitarian reasons. The Social Justice Captains will work together to plan activities for each class. The day will conclude with a paraliturgy, providing a prayerful space for students to reflect on what they have learned and how they might respond with kindness, action, and hope.

Final Day of Term Two

Term Two concludes on Friday 4th July at 1.30pm. School resumes at normal time on Monday 21st July.

Important Information for Term Three

Year 5/6 "Sex Ed" - Reproduction & Puberty

All Year 5/6 students and parents are invited to our sex-ed sessions at the beginning of next term (Week 1). We have engaged a trained teacher and parent, Cath McCallig to work with our community this year. Cath comes highly recommended, having worked in this space across a number of local Catholic primary schools. She is renowned for her humour and personality. On Thursday 24th July at 6.30pm, Cath will bring her education program to St Agnes' for the Year 5s and 6s and their parents/care givers. The program will run for an hour and a half and will provide opportunities for families to discuss important issues. As a part of our curriculum offering, it is expected all students/families are represented.

Assembly

Assemblies are in the Hall on Wednesday afternoons at 2.40pm. Parents are welcome to attend. At assembly, there will be presentations from classes, student awards, birthday acknowledgements and special announcements from student leaders.

Wed 25th June - Prep B and D

Wed 2nd July - Social Justice Captains

I trust that all families will enjoy a well-earned rest over the holidays and return to school recharged and ready for a big Term Three.

Kind regards,

Lachie.