Week 7, Term 4

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This time of year is always a very ‘dynamic’ time in schools. Teachers are in the middle of assessment/reporting processes in order to celebrate the achievements of our students. The children have completed an array of assessments, both online and written, to showcase their capacity in the various areas of the curriculum. Once assessments are completed, our staff work hard at analysing the data collected to identify each child’s achievement against the Victorian Curriculum. It is important for all parents and carers to note that the upcoming Semester Two report provides an insight into how your child is progressing against the curriculum standards, not in comparison with other students in their class. Student achievement is reported on a five point scale ranging from Well Below Standard, to Below Standard, At Standard, Above Standard and Well Above Standard. This will be presented in tabular form and the achievement indicators should be read in conjunction with the comments and work habits. There will be areas to acknowledge achievement and there will also be areas highlighted for improvement. The report is written to parents, not students, but we do recommend reading it with your child to help them understand it. We expect our staff to provide comments that are personalised and reflect the achievements and areas for improvement, for each individual. This week, our Classroom Teachers are all afforded a ‘Report Writing Day’, where our Specialist Teachers and members of the Leadership Team step into the classrooms for a day to ensure there is adequate time to complete this important work. I would like to thank our Specialist Teachers and Leadership Team for contributing in this manner to the process. It can be a very stressful time of year for teachers, but as always, our staff continue to handle everything they do with a high level of professionalism. Hard copies of your child's report will be sent home on Friday 12th December, with the eldest child in your family. Electronic copies will also be available through nForma Parent Portal. Should you have any questions about the report, please contact your child’s teacher in the week following.

Alongside assessment and reporting, we are busily preparing for end-of-year events such as the Swimming Carnival and Christmas Carols. There is much to look forward to over the next four weeks; it is hard to believe there are only 20 school days left in the year. You will notice the children will start to tire as the weather heats up and the school gets busier over the final weeks. The children are certainly showing signs of tiring, with swimming over the past couple of weeks. If we could please ask all families be mindful of this by maintaining routine in your households to ensure your children are getting enough sleep (9-11 hours) each night. At school, our staff will continue to sustain learning patterns late into the school year to ensure students are engaged and still making progress.

School Advisory Council Annual General Meeting

Last night the Annual General Meeting for the St Agnes’ School Advisory Council was held at school. This parent body is advisory in nature and provides support to the school’s leadership about matters pertaining to our educational community. It has been another very successful year for the school and the support of our parent cohort is greatly valued. I would like to thank our Chair Felicity Langley and Secretary Fiona Newington for leadership and administration of this important group. I would also like to thank the SAC members, Carly Monahan, Martin Cox, Caroline Cunningham, Josh Ryan, Karen McGoldrick for their input and advocacy across the school year.

Parents and Friends Committee Annual General Meeting - Wednesday 27th November

St Agnes’ P&F AGM will be held on Wednesday 27th November at 6.30pm at school. All parents are welcome and encouraged to attend. We are very fortunate to have a very stable P&F Executive Team heading into 2026; Bree Walsh and Sarah Gardner Bibby will continue as co-presidents; Lauren Karpathakis as Secretary; Laura Stewart as our Class Rep Coordinator and Gerry Murphy as Treasurer. Thank you very much to these people for their continued support of the school. If you are keen to be a Class Rep next year, please contact Laura (lauranicholson1@me.com). It is a very important role and one we need to continue to share around. Where we have dual classes, the ideal is to have three to four reps and rotate the role. In single-class year levels, it is preferable to have two Class Reps. It is a great opportunity, especially for working parents, to contribute in a positive way to the school community.

Principal Handover

Over the past couple of weeks, some of you have had the opportunity to meet the school’s new Principal, Mr Tom Hartney. Tom has been visiting the school on Monday afternoons to connect with the staff and learn more about what makes this school community very special. We are in a fortunate position to complete a healthy handover between Tom and I, to ensure the transition is as smooth as possible for all students, staff and parents. Tom spent the day with the school’s leadership team on Monday this week, as we complete strategic planning for 2026. If you see Tom in the playground before or after school during one of his visits, please come and say hello; he is very eager to get to know everyone.

Staffing for 2026

At this time of year, I always get lots of questions about who will be teaching and working in the various year levels across the school. These announcements are always made late in the school year, because there can often be last minute changes that need to be made for various reasons. As has been previously communicated, the school has a consistent staff group heading into next year, with very little change. Keep an eye on future communication for these announcements and thank you for your understanding.

Operoo Ceasing Operations - Move to nForma - Friday 28th November

A friendly reminder to all families about Operoo ceasing operations and the need to complete the nForma sign in process and establish a profile. Once your nForma profile is set up, you will receive all future school communications through this platform. Instructions have been sent out via Operoo. Operoo will remain active until next Friday however we have already started sending out communications via nForma . I have included the instructions to access nForma below for your ease.

Please set up your account as soon as possible so you don't miss out on any important school communications.

nForma can be accessed through an app and online. Setting up your account is a quick and easy process, as your children's information will be transferred across from Operoo on Monday 1st December. Once set up on nForma, we suggest you review the contact and medical information for each of your children. This review can be completed after 1st December.

To setup your nForma account, you have two options:

Download the nForma for Parents App

Use the QR Code
- Scan the QR Code
- Download and install the app.

Access the nForma Parent Portal via a desktop/laptop computer.
- Go to: https://portal.nforma.com.au/login

Looking Ahead…

St Agnes’ Swimming Carnival - Tuesday 25th November

We look ahead to the St Agnes’ School Swimming Carnival on Tuesday 25th November at Mentone Aquatic, Lucerne St, Mentone. Students will be participating in various swimming events and activities, including freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, kickboard and noodles. The focus is on participation, trying your best and having lots of fun in the process! Please refer to the Operoo form for specific information about this event. We would like to invite all family members and friends to come along and enjoy the morning. Thank you to Mr Kost for all of your hard work in organising this event.

Year 3/4 Science Works Excursion - Friday 28th November

Our middle school students will be heading to Scienceworks on Friday 28th November, as part of their Term Four Topic. All information has been communicated via Operoo for this excursion.

School Closure - Monday 1st December

Thank you to all families for your understanding of the School Closure on Monday 1st December, to allow our staff the time to plan for 2026. All new staff will be present on this day and it will be led by Mr Hartney and Amanda Baker.

Year Six Luna Park Excursion - Tuesday 2nd December

As the end of their primary school journey approaches, our Year Six students will head to Luna Park for the day on Tuesday 2nd December. This includes a special lunch and is a long standing tradition at our school; one which the children enjoy very much.

St Agnes’ Christmas Carols - Wednesday 3rd December

On Wednesday 3rd December, our students will entertain the community with our annual Christmas Carols event. The evening will start with the Prep to Year 2 student leading us through the nativity with narration and song. This will be followed by the Year 3-6 students singing a combination of traditional and contemporary Christmas carols. I encourage all families to get along to the event. It is a picnic-style event, so please pack a chair or rug; it commences at 6.30pm and will run for about an hour. The children will need to be at school at 6.15pm for the performance to commence at 6.30pm sharp. This is a whole school event, so all students are expected to attend and participate please.

Year 5/6 Beach Program - Thursday 4th & Friday 5th December

Our senior students are off for two days of water safety training at Mordialloc Surf Lifesaving Club on Thursday 4th November and Friday 5th December. More information will be communicated shortly and I encourage all parents to read the special requirements in terms of materials for these days. Thank you to Senior Leader Tracey Law for your organisation of this terrific learning experience.

Celebrating St Agnes’ Alumni

We have recently learned of two former St Agnes’ students who have been selected for significant leadership roles at their respective secondary schools. Congratulations to Ewan Harrison, who has been elected to be the Co-Captain of Kilvington Grammar and Jack Carson has been elected as Vice Captain of Brighton Grammar School. It’s wonderful to hear of the achievements of former St Agnes’ students, and once again, the humble Highett community features prominently.

School Fees

Term Four School Fees Statements were sent out last week. Thank you to those families who have settled their accounts for the year. Fees are payable via EFT, cash or credit card. Please contact Shannon (sshine@sahighett.catholic.edu.au) in the office to organise payment. All fees for 2025 must be finalised by the due date.

Assembly

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

Wednesday 19th Nov - Prep

Wednesday 26th Nov - SRC & Mini Vinnies

Wednesday 3rd Dec - TBC

Thursday 11th Dec - Year 6 Final Assembly

Hard to believe there is only 20 days to go. Lets enjoy these last few weeks!

Kind regards,

Lachie.

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