Leadership & Management

Week 10 Term 3

Dear Parents and Carers, 

It's hard to believe another term has gone by and we are approaching Spring and  another Christmas! Thank you to my dedicated staff who are continuously seeking improvement in all areas of school life, especially caring and supporting your children with their learning to be the best people they can be.

Thank you to all the parents who support St Fidelis in many ways. Thank you to the students who bring St Fidelis' School alive everyday. 

Some of our Term 3 achievements, events and school improvements this term include:

• Success of our monthly Friday parent morning teas in staffroom
• Parents and Friends Meetings 
• 2nd-Hand uniform sales
• Father's Day stall, Breakfast, Assembly and classroom activities
• Lunch Order Days  
• Working Bee to replace sand in both sandpits
• Installation of new shelves in the library
• Installation of two new flagpoles
• Installation of a memorial garden around the flagpoles
• Foundation 2024 interviews 
• Storytime for preschoolers
• STEM classes for local kindergartens
• Weekly Footsteps lessons continued 
• Amazing Whole School Concert
• Parent and Child Faith workshop for confirmation
• Confirmation Celebration
• Visit by Bishop Terry Curtin 
• Year 6 Confirmation retreat day
• Whole School Mass to celebrate Mary Mackillop
• Grandparent's Day Mass and Celebration
• Book Week Parade 
• Book Fair
• Spelling Bee Competition
• Celebration and numeracy day for 100 Days at School for Foundation students 
• Excursions and Incursions Foundation - Year 6 students
• Bully Zero Parent session online
• Recognition of National Day Against Bullying
• Mid year Student Led Conversations
• STEM- Attendance to Robogals for some girls in Year 6
• STEM- Preparation for STEM MAD Term 4 Year 3-6 
• Experience Music recital for our music students
• Celebration of Learning afternoon
• Interschool Athletics and district sports
• Professional learning for staff, Spiritual and continuation of working on Pedagogical framework 
• Weekly Professional Learning Meetings for staff (Numeracy, Literacy, Inquiry, Child safety etc..) 
• School Advisory Board Meeting
• NCCD (Nationally Consistent Collection Of Data)
• MACSIS survey -(Staff, Students and Families)
• NAPLAN Results 

Congratulations to the following student athletes:

Congratulations to all the athletes that competed in the District Athletics Finals last week. They all did exceptionally well and we are very  proud of each and every one of them.  A very special congratulations to Kiara Luca who came first in the girls 100 metres event and the 12/13 Girls relay team Kiara Louca, Catherine Francione, Genevieve Mmadike, Maddie Leahy and Maya Woodhouse who have also qualified for the Northern Metropolitan Athletics Championships on October 11th. We wish them all the best of luck for this day.

Experience Music Recital 2023

Last Thursday night, the Experience Music students wowed us with their musical talents. It was a fantastic night celebrating singing and instrumental playing.  This was our second musical recital since the students started lessons. We were all entertained by the beautiful playing and singing. The musicians did a great job playing in front of a big audience, the first time for some of our students. Well done to all the musicians and a big thank you to AnneMarie, Caleb, Joanne, and Miles  from Experience Music for their support and dedication to the students.

We now have grown to 35 students in this program, so if you're interested in joining please call AnneMarie from Experience Music to discuss.

NOT RETURNING IN 2024? 

Have your circumstances changed? Are you not returning to St. Fidelis in 2024? Please contact the office before the end of Term 3 to discuss your intentions. I have a waiting list of other families for different year levels. I can offer your child’s position to other families. 

FINAL SCHOOL FEES OVERDUE 

Thank you for the families who have finalised their School Fees for this year. Our school does rely on school fees for many recurrent costs so prompt payment is appreciated. 

The office is open from 8:30am to 4:00pm each day if you would like to pay in person. 

If you prefer to pay by direct debit, please use the bank details below. If any families need to discuss alternative arrangements for the payment of fees, please contact me directly.  

Included are the Bank details for your ease of payment:

Accounts will be distributed this week with the third and final instalment due on Friday 8th  September.

Please note once you have made a payment can you email Ann Russo 

annr@sfmoreland.catholic.edu.au  with the amount you have deposited.

SUNSMART: Wearing of  Hats

St Fidelis is a SunSmart School and our policy reflects the recommendations of the Sun Smart organisation. The Bureau of Meteorology provides information about the times of day UV levels are forecast to reach 3 or higher, meaning that sun protection is recommended for all skin types. In Victoria, UV levels regularly reach 3 or higher from mid–August to the end of April.

As part of general SunSmart strategies, our school:

• Requires all students and staff to wear hats that protect the face, neck and ears (legionnaire, broad-brimmed or bucket style) and suitable clothing whenever they are outside (e.g. recess, lunch, sport, excursions)
• Requires children outdoors without hats to sit in a designated shaded area during play times from the beginning of September to the end of April or whenever UV levels reach three or more. NO HAT- NO PLAY.

All staff and parents are encouraged to access the daily local sun protection times via the free Sun smart app, or at sunsmart.com.au or the widget on our website. All children are to wear hats beginning this week. 

MACSIS Survey

In 2023, our school will participate in Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools – School Improvement Surveys (MACSIS). MACSIS is an annual process whereby schools listen to the thoughts and feelings of  students, families and staff about how their school can improve. These surveys help inform the ongoing improvement of schools across the Archdiocese of Melbourne.

One of the main goals of the family survey is to identify the strengths and areas for improvement in our school. Our school believes it is important for families to have a voice and contribute to shaping the ongoing improvement of the school. 

The survey will have been emailed to all families last  week.  It will be appreciated if you complete it by this Friday, September 15th.

Wishing everyone and safe a happy Term Three break. The weather is usually lovely, lots of opportunities for the children to be playing outside. Looking forward to seeing everyone in Term Four.

Term Four begins 8:50am Monday October 2nd. 

Have a great week,

Manuela