PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

Week 3, Term 1

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Dear Parents/Carers,

Thank you to all for your engagement with our school staff in Parent/Teacher Exchanges last night and also throughout a PSG meetings across the last three days. The connection between parents and school at St Agnes’ has continued to grow over the past few years which has been tremendous for our little learners. Our staff highly value the opportunity to hear from you about your child and also to get to know you. This partnership continues to be a significant factor in student success in learning. Last week I listened to a podcast that reinforced the importance of the relationship between home and school, working together to support the child to do their absolute best throughout their education. This podcast also outlined the benefits of explicit and direct instruction for all children; a journey of improvement our school has been on for a number of years now. It was very affirming for the work we continue to undertake around the improvement of teaching and learning practices. I have included the link below for anyone who might be interested:

School Production for 2025!

It was with great excitement that we today announced with the students the show for the 2025 St Agnes’ School Production! The children were very excited and are looking forward to performing the various roles to bring the show to life. It is the ‘big event’ for the school community in 2025, performed under stage lights at Kilbreda College’s Performing Arts facility on 16th and 17th of September. The Year 5 and 6 students will have the opportunity to audition for the roles of the main cast later in Term One, with the Prep-Year 4 students performing supporting roles across the two nights in September.

Synopsis - Finding Nemo Jr.

Marlin, an anxious and over-protective clownfish, lives in the Great Barrier Reef with his kid Nemo, who longs to explore the world beyond their anemone home. But when Nemo is captured and taken to Sydney, Marlin faces his fears and sets off on an epic adventure across the ocean. With the help of lovable characters such as optimistic Dory, laid-back sea turtle Crush, and the supportive Tank Gang, Marlin and Nemo both overcome challenges on their journey to find each other and themselves.

Structured Literacy Routines Underway

It has been terrific to get around to classrooms over the past week and see learning routines being embedded. We have some new staff to our school and our Leadership Team have been busily modelling ‘St Agnes’ Way’, with our well-developed learning programs and routines. A visit to Prep and Year 1 yesterday provided a great highlight of my day. Our Preps were engaging very well in MSL (Multisensory Structured Language) instruction, where they were learning more about the letter ‘i’, as in ‘itchy’. The visual, auditory and kinesthetic (movement) aspects of MSL, together with the daily review of content, assist students to commit this learning to long-term memory. This lays the building blocks for decoding the English language (reading). 

Our Year 1s also displayed their high-level skills in phonological awareness as they participated in Heggerty. During Heggerty sessions, the children practice manipulating sounds in words and this assists them to develop knowledge/skills in reading, writing and spelling.

Student Leadership

On Monday morning, our Year Six students presented their Leadership Speeches to the Year Three, Four, Five and Six students, their parents and teachers. The quality of these presentations from the students was of a very high standard and reinforces the incredible benefits provided by our Public Speaking program, offered annually in the senior years. The Year Six students nominated their preferred roles, wrote a letter to me applying for these roles and then presented their refined speeches. After the speeches, the students from Year Three up, voted on School Captain and Sports Captaincy roles. Teachers placed the remaining Year Six students in the other leadership positions. Levi Otto and Nicci Murdoch are to be commended for their work in preparing the children. We have spoken with the children about how some may feel disappointed about their role, but there is a great opportunity for leadership and success, no matter the role. One of the great things about our school is that all students have significant opportunities for leadership and all students have a specific role in Year Six. It’s not about the role, it’s about what they do in their role.

School Captains for 2025

Izzy Monahan and Harry Newington

Prep Parents Welcome Night - Thursday 13th February at 7.00pm-9.00pm

Tomorrow night, we have our Prep Parents Welcome Night. This social evening is for Prep parents (child free) and will be on the school grounds. We encourage all Prep parents to lock in an aunty, uncle, grandparents or a babysitter to look after the children and come along for a drink. It is a great opportunity to get to know the parents of the other children in the Prep class, as you start the educational journey together at St Agnes’. Drinks and nibbles will be provided by the school. Thank you to our P&F for helping with this event.

Playgroup Commences

On Friday morning this week, our first playgroup session for the year will take place. This is a great opportunity for current and prospective families to come into the school to get a feel for the environment and the people of St Agnes’. It is an open invitation to all 3 and 4 year old children in the area, so we encourage you to spread the word far and wide to open up our school community to those interested. Feel free to take a snip of the image below to share in Kinder WhatsApp groups. These sessions are held in the Art room (above the office), with tea, coffee and biscuits provided by the school. It commences at 9am and runs for an hour, with parents asked to stay for the duration. Amanda Baker facilitates playgroup and there are lots of free play activities. We expect this group to gather momentum and grow through the year. It has proven to be a wonderful support to our Prep children over the past three years as the children transition into school. Please register using the button below and feel free to share this with friends and family who have a child starting school in the next two years.

Year 5 and 6 Canberra Camp

Our senior school students are starting to get excited about their camp to Canberra on Monday 17th February. The children will tour the capital of Australia, visiting all of the major national landmarks. Levi Otto, Josie Miller, Nicci Murdoch, Maddi McKee and Aggie Gorski will accompany the children. I thank the staff for giving up their family time to go away with the children.

A gentle reminder that all Year Six children need to be at school at 6.30am on Monday morning for a prompt departure.

SSV Swimming 2025

Well done to those who have attended Swimming Training over the past two weeks to try out for our swimming team. Mr Kost has been busily working through practice times and has finalised the St Agnes’ Swim Team for 2025. Thank you also to our staff and parent helpers for your assistance at the early morning training sessions. An Operoo has been sent to the parents of the 2025 Team this morning with details of the SSV swimming Carnival on Friday February 21st.

Advanced Presentation Skills Debating Program - Year 5 and 6

Upon return from camp, our senior students will commence their public speaking (debating) program for the year. Adding a second consecutive year of a public speaking course has been terrific for the children’s continue progress and development in this key area. We look forward to sharing updates in future newsletters.

Sibling Enrolments - Prep 2026

We are asking those current families to complete the enrolment process for any siblings who will join our school in Prep in 2026. We need all families to enrol as soon as possible so we know how many places we have to offer new families. Applications can be completed online via our website.

Open Days and School Tours

We are very grateful to all of our parents for continuing to advocate for our school in the local community. We have had a number of enquiries over the holidays for Prep in 2026, which is a really positive sign for our school. We are also expecting a large sibling enrolment next year. This year, we will be holding four Open Days, where prospective families can come and tour our school to see and hear from the students and staff. The dates for school tours are below:

• Wednesday 26th February
• Tuesday 18th March
• Wednesday 26th March
• Tuesday 29th April
• Wednesday 13th May

Prospective families are welcome to come along any time between 9am and 3pm on these days. Spread the word!

Sacrament of Reconciliation Family Faith Night

Our Year 3 children will commence preparation for the Sacrament of Reconciliation with a family faith night on Wednesday 26th February at 7pm. All children who will be receiving the sacrament are expected to attend, with at least one parent please. This session will be co-facilitated by our Faith and Community Leader Aggie Gorski and our Parish Priest, Fr Alan Fox.

St Agnes’ Parents and Friends Welcome Picnic

The St Agnes’ Parents and Friends Committee warmly invites all families to join the Welcome Picnic on the evening of Friday 28th February at Thomas Street Park. Please head across to the P&F Page of the newsletter for more information.

Tuckshop

Tuckshop has commenced and orders can be placed online at using the code: Lunch2025 

Before and After School Care

Extend OSHC are offering before-school care on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday mornings (6.45am-8.30am) and after school care every day (3:25pm - 6:00pm). 

Please complete your enrolment and bookings by clicking on the button below.  I encourage all families to utilise this service where needed.

Term 1 School fees

2025 school fee invoices have been sent out this week, both electronically and paper copies. Please be on the lookout for these invoices and ensure payment is made promptly to avoid late payment fees. We encourage all families to set up direct debits and forms will be sent out for establishing this with the fee invoice. If you have any questions regarding your fees, please contact Shannon Shine in the office (sshine@sahighett.catholic.edu.au)

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.

Wed 12th Feb - Year 5

Wed 19th Feb - Year 4

Wed 26th Feb - Year 1

Wed 5th March - Year 2

Wed 12th March - Year 5/6 (Camp)

Wed 19th March - Year 3

Wed 26th March - Prep

Wed 2nd April - SRC

Looking forward to a great year!

Kind regards,

Lachie