Principal's Report

Mother's Day

We wish all mums, grandmas, aunties and special mum-figures a wonderful Mother’s Day this Sunday. The children have been getting creative in their classrooms, and some very special homemade gifts will be coming home tomorrow, along with purchases from today’s Mother’s Day Stall.

I look forward to seeing many of you at tomorrow morning’s breakfast, and for the mums attending the lunch tomorrow, I hope you have a fabulous day.

Power of Yet 

AAt last Friday’s assembly, I spoke with the children about The Power of Yet. We often notice that children can be very quick to speak negatively about themselves, especially when they find something difficult. Phrases such as “I’m not good at this” or “I can’t do that” are commonly heard.

I talked about how adding one small word , yet , can completely change the way we think about challenges. Instead of saying, “I can’t do it,” we encourage children to say, “I can’t do it yet.” This simple shift helps children see mistakes and difficulties as part of the learning process, rather than something to fear.

Developing resilience and a willingness to keep trying are such important life skills, and The Power of Yet is something we continue to encourage every day in classrooms and in the playground. We would love families to reinforce this language at home as well, celebrating persistence and progress along the way. 

Team Kids Update

You may have heard that MACSEYE is becoming the Outside School Hours Care provider in many Catholic schools. I’m very pleased to confirm that TeamKids will remain our provider until at least July 2027, ensuring continuity for our families for another year.

Healthy Hut Update

Friday is our busiest day for lunch orders, and Anna and her team are always working hard to have all meals ready by 11:00am. To assist with preparation, the cut-off time for Friday lunch orders has now changed to 7:00am.

The cut-off time for all other days will remain 7:45am.

Literacy Parent Helper Course

Each year we welcome parents to assist with our Prep and Year 1 literacy lessons. This year, our Literacy Leader, Nonie Kay, will be running a short information session for parents who are interested in helping in the classrooms.

The first session will be held on Friday 22 May at 9:30am (straight after assembly) in the Staff Workroom. Nonie will explain some of the theory behind how children learn to read, provide an overview of the InitiaLit program, and run through important protocols for classroom helpers.

We encourage interested parents to attend.

Science Learning at St Finbar's

All classes are well underway with their Science units this term, and there have been some exciting hands-on learning experiences happening across the school.

Our Year 1 and 2 students are exploring forces and recently created their own car launchers to investigate the forces of push and pull.

Meanwhile, our Year 5 and 6 students have been learning about electrical circuits and have used Makey Makeys to complete working circuits. Be sure to check out some of their fantastic STEM learning in the photos below.

Cyber Safety Parent Evening

St Finbar's has been invited to participate in a Cyber Safety Pilot Program, and the students will soon begin their Cyber Safety lessons during class time.  Parents are invited to attend a dedicated parent information session on Monday, 25th May 2026 from 7:00pm – 8:00pm. 

National Census of Mass Attendance

Throughout May, the National Centre for Pastoral Research is conducting the National Census of Mass Attendance across Catholic parishes throughout Australia. The census provides valuable information about Mass attendance and helps the Church to better understand and respond to the needs of parish communities.  My own family regularly attends Mass at St Agnes in Highett on Saturday evenings, and there was a noticeable increase in attendance last weekend as the census began.  The census will take place at all Masses each weekend throughout May. 

Take care and God bless,

Michelle Hill

Principal