PRIMARY (F-6)

School Leaders Report - Kara McCann

Welcome back! 

What a warm way to begin the new year – seems like February always sets an extra heat challenge as we resume school routine and everything that comes with that; uniforms, lunch boxes, sleep schedules, timetables, hobbies and activities. 

This year, the Primary School will be led by the capable Emily (T&L) and Gary (C&W) as I finish up soon for maternity leave. I would like to share my gratitude and thanks to all families, and community members over my past 6 years at St Anne’s College. Without the support from home, our time at school cannot be what it is. The interactions between school and home are vital for the success of all of us, and it brings great joy to look back and see all the successes that have been made in that time.  

Emily brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in the area of learning and teaching and is your contact for all things in the growth and development of your child. 

Gary also comes to St Anne’s College with great experience and expertise in the community and wellbeing area and is your contact for all things learning needs, student wellbeing support and community events. 

Please check your emails for the new Morning Routine – communicated last week. We appreciate your support with this. Children should not be onsite before 8:30am. From 8:30am supervision is provided. 

As always, should you have any queries, questions or concerns, please email your child’s pastoral group teacher first. Conversations and meetings can be scheduled in person or phone between 8:30-8:55am, or during the day at a mutual time. Phone calls to the office will be referred to teachers, who will respond at a suitable time.  

Primary school assemblies will continue in Weeks 3, 6 and 9 of each term. These are in the Blackbox beginning at 9:05am – all welcome! Your child will be a part of one of these with their class across the year. 

Have a wonderful term – I look forward to following along all the exciting events and activities! 

Class Reports

Foundation

It was terrific to see our Foundation students in their new school uniform last Friday. They have had a positive start to school and are busy learning many routines. Lots of new friendships are being made and they are enjoying the many activities they are asked to do.  The students are learning about rhyming words in literacy and making patterns in maths. It is great to see all the children wearing their hat when outside. 

Year 1

Our students have settled very quickly into Year 1 and have enjoyed exploring their new learning space this week. They have adjusted well to our new routines and have participated in Literacy and Maths lessons with enthusiasm. 

Year 2

The first day of school greeted us with extremely hot weather, and we were very grateful for our excellent air-conditioning system, which helped ensure a smooth and comfortable start to the year.  

It has been wonderful to see the children return to school settled and ready to learn. They have responded positively to learning daily routines and learning expectations and are already showing engagement in their learning.  

Below is an overview of our current units of work across learning areas. 

• In Religious Education, students are study the topic Growing in God’s Love. In Spelling, children are learning about long vowel sounds, with a particular focus on digraphs. In Reading, we are working with imaginative texts. 
• In Mathematics, students are studying place value. 
• In Humanities, the unit Technological Developments explores how communication has changed over time, from ancient storytelling methods to modern digital technologies. 

Home reading books and homework books have now been sent home. The homework books include word lists for children to practise, along with helpful ideas for parents to support their child at home. Homework tasks are designed to be short and manageable, taking approximately 10–15 minutes. 

If you have any questions regarding your child’s learning, please feel free to email your child’s teacher. We are looking forward to working in partnership with parents to support your child’s learning throughout the year. 

-Year 2 Learning Mentors

Year 3

Year 3’s have had a great start to the beginning of the school year. Making new friends and connecting with their class peers. They have enjoyed starting our class novel, Matilda. We all look forward to the year ahead.  

Year 4

Year 4’s have been working on getting back into their school routines. We have settled well into our new learning spaces and getting to know the swing of things. Students have been working on learning the compensation strategy for addition and subtraction in maths and have started our new novel ‘Kensuke’s Kingdom’. Our bookmarks are currently being made so we can stop using sticky notes to mark our pages.  

Our class has had a great start to Term 1 and we are looking forward to continuing this throughout!  

Year 5

Year 5s have all settled in very well to their first term back for 2026. We’ve set up our learning space and established our classroom routines effectively this week. Students have been started to plan and write narratives in Literacy and have begun reading our class novel War Horse. In Maths, students have been looking at dot plots and other ways of representing data and interpreting graphs. 

We are looking forward to a year packed with lots of learning and new experiences! 

Year 6

The Grade 6 students have settled very well into the new school year. We have spent time establishing clear routines and expectations, and it has been pleasing to see students demonstrate respect, responsibility and a positive attitude within our learning space. The class has shown a strong willingness to engage in learning and to support one another as we begin the year together. 

In Literacy, students have begun a novel study on A Ghost in My Suitcase, using the text to build comprehension and discussion skills. Alongside this, we have been focusing on strengthening sentence structure through the use of conjunctions to add detail and complexity, as well as beginning to develop persuasive writing pieces. 

In Numeracy, students have been exploring data by collecting their own data samples, representing them through graphical displays, and investigating different elements of data. 

In Humanities, our learning has focused on school-wide expectations, values and rules, particularly how these support safety and learning. Students are developing an understanding of how these values connect to their own actions and how they can contribute positively and responsibly throughout their school day. 

Reminders:

Please ensure you have completed the Annual General Permission on SIMON via the Connect Field by Monday 9 February. It is imperative this is completed in order for your student/s to attend important excursions throughout the school year. 

Please refer to the information sheet below if you have a student/s in Year 5 and 6.

The Opening The Doors Foundation (OTDF) invites eligible families to apply for a 2026 student grant. Grant applications are currently open and close on 2 April 2026. 

The Foundation prioritises students with the highest financial need to ensure fair access to support. Applicants with a Health Care Card or Pension Card will be processed first. Other applications are still welcome however processing may be slightly delayed.

• Please attach a copy of your Health Care or Pension Card to your online application.
• Missing documents will delay processing.

All applications must be submitted online via the OTDF Grant Portal.

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🎒 Items you can apply for from OTDF:

• School books & stationery
• School uniforms
• One pair of shoes (school or sport shoes)
• IT equipment (laptops, calculators, etc.)
• VCAL/VET levies 
• School camp costs

⚠️ Funding is up to the OTDF grant limit and up to OTDF Trustee discretion. You may not receive the full amount requested.

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🚫 What We Don’t Fund

• Independent school fees (families are responsible for paying private school fees and levies)
• Applications where OTDF funds are used for school fees may affect future eligibility.

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⚖️ Other Funding

If the student is already receiving support from:

• Traditional Owner education grants
• First Nations scholarships
• Other charities
• School financial assistance

The application may not be successful. Final decisions are made by OTDF Trustees.

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✅ Eligibility

To apply, the student must:

✔️ Be of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent

✔️ Provide a Confirmation of Aboriginality

✔️ Be enrolled in a Catholic or Independent school in Victoria (Prep–Year 12)

❌ OTDF does not support students attending government schools

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🎟️ How Grants Are Provided

• Grants are mostly provided as vouchers from approved suppliers
• Vouchers must be used by 31 May 2026
• For camp levies, school uniforms, or school IT items, funds may be sent directly to the school if the school supplies these items​

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📅 Key Dates

* Applications Open - 10 November 2025

* Applications Close - 2 April 2026 (strict deadline)

* ALL Vouchers expire on - 31 May 2026

Apply here!

Parents/carers are reminded there is a very important process to follow if your student must leave the college at any time throughout school hours. Please ensure you follow these steps:

Parents/carers MUST provide a note to the front office, at the start of the school day, stating the following:

- Student Name

- Date of leave required

- The time the student must present to reception to take their leave

- If they will return to the college the same day, and if so what time they will return

- The reason for the leave being requested

- The parent/carer’s name and signature

Please note, students will only be permitted to be collected by their parent/carer unexpectedly and without a note if it is an emergency.

We remind all that the college opens at 8:30am. This enables educators time to prepare for their day ahead. We appreciate your support in helping our educators be successful. Yard duty staff begin at 8:30am to monitor play spaces before the school day begins at 8:55am.

Upcoming Dates

Please refer to the calendar on PAM for upcoming dates for activities and events.