From the Principal

Dear St Anthony's Families,

As we are at the end of the sixth week of our 10 week term, we reflect on the wonderful of our students and teachers:

Loving God,

As we arrive at the end of our sixth week in this ten‑week term, we pause to breathe, to notice and to give thanks.

We are grateful for the wonderful spirit of our students; their curiosity, their courage, their laughter, and the way they continue to grow in wisdom and kindness.

We are grateful for our teachers; their patience, their dedication, their creativity, and the countless ways they guide, support and inspire.

Bless the learning that has taken place so far, the challenges that have shaped us and the moments of joy that have lifted us.

Strengthen us for the weeks ahead. Help us to remain open-hearted, resilient and connected to one another.

May our community continue to be a place of welcome, hope and possibility.

Amen.

King's Birthday and School Closure Day

A reminder: On Monday, the 8th of June, it is the King's birthday followed by a school closure day on Tuesday the 9th of June. Students will return on Wednesday the 10th of June.

Reporting and Learning Conversations

Our school reports for Semester One will go out in the last week of Term.

This year, our learning conversations (previously called 'Progress Interview') will be held in Week 2 of Term 3. The idea behind these interviews is that we look at Semester One as completed and reviewed by our teachers and students. This will be a part of the discussion. The main part will be around: where to next. What are some quick wins and some goals for our students moving into Term 3 and 4. More information will follow.

Absences

Regular attendance plays a vital role in supporting positive educational, health, and social and emotional growth and experiences alongside fostering essential support networks and relationships outside of a child’s core family. When students engage positively and consistently with their schooling through regular attendance, it expands the students’ life opportunities by strengthening the likelihood of longer-term educational, work, economic, health and wellbeing outcomes, particularly after school completion. (Attendance Policy for MACS Schools)

A few late arrivals add up really quickly.

We urge you to make sure that your child is at school at or before 8.45am. They miss vital academic and social time with their peers and teachers if they are late on a regular basis. We understand that sometimes things just don't happen the way they are planned and that's ok, but ongoing late arrivals and absences have a real affect on student outcomes.

St Anthony's:

Where Every Child Matters and Every Moment Counts

Bunnings Sausage Sizzle

This Sunday is our Bunnings Sausage Sizzle. Please go and have a sausage! Bunnings Warehouse Moorabbin, Corner Fairchild Road and Warrigal Road (8am to 4 pm)

Thank you to all the volunteers who have signed up for this! A special 'thank-you' to Fiona, Shirley and Sean for taking the lead with this, doing all the shopping, preparing the onions(!!) and organising all the volunteers, and being there all day!

Zoo Excursion link

We had a wonderful excursion to the Zoo! Please, read all about the juniors' experience here.

Lots of the animals were playing hide n' seek. Can you find them all?

MHIPS link (Mental Health in Primary Schools)

!!!We need your help!!!

We are looking for many (if not all) families to complete our Mental Health in Primary Schools survey. Please, complete it via this page.

Focus on Learning: Integrated Learning

As you know, we are very big into explicit teaching, especially in our Mathematics and Literacy Learning. But in our other subjects, we also look at an integrated approach.

Explicit learning and integrated learning are most effective when used together. Explicit learning provides our students with clear instruction and step-by-step guidance to build strong foundation skills in reading, writing, mathematics and problem-solving, as well as in all areas of the curriculum. But, integrated learning then helps our students connect these skills across different subjects and real-world experiences, making learning more meaningful and engaging.

Explicit teaching builds confidence and understanding, while integrated learning encourages curiosity, critical thinking and the ability to apply knowledge in everyday situations.

Together, these approaches support well-rounded learning and help our students become capable, confident and independent learners.

Please, read more about this in Mr O's 'Learning and Teaching' page where he unpacks how our Integrated Units link in to English and Mathematics, as skills carry across to the different areas of the curriculum.

Policy Updates

I would like to inform you about a few policy updates:

The policies sit in the 'Care, Safety and Welfare of Students' area of our policy suite and the links will take you to our website page where many of our policies are published (scroll to the bottom). Please, let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Monday - Open Morning

On Monday we will have an Open Morning with a few families already booked for a tour. We look forward to seeing many families. If you have any friends in the area who's children are school age in 2027, please let them know about all the great work our teachers do here.

In partnership,

Ru Lameijn

Principal