A message from our Principal

Dear St. Brendan's School Community,

It is hard to believe that this is the last Newsletter for 2023.  This year has certainly flown.

As we had our End of Year Mass and the presenting of Graduation Certificates today, I would like to thank the many parents and grandparents that attended our Mass.

Many thanks to Father Joe Taylor for celebrating the Mass and all his support to our school.  We are very fortunate to have Father Joe as our Parish Priest and also Father Jackson that visits our school regularly.

Thanks to Mrs Leanne Pellegrino (Catholic Identity Leader) and Staff for organising the Mass.  Thanks to our fabulous musicians, Angela Collins and Chris Quinn.

Thanks to Mrs Pellegrino, Mrs Baldacchino, Mr Beks, Mr Iorianni and Mr Lindon for having many practices with our readers, Year 6 students and other students who had a role at the Mass.

I would like to thank Mr Joel Brian for his fantastic work and time as being our Deputy Principal.  His commitment to our school is fantastic.

To our Leadership Team, Mr John Howley (Middle Years Learning and Teaching Leader and OHS), Mrs Rachael Weber (Junior Years Learning and Teaching Leader) and Mr Nick Iorianni, Mr Ted Lindon and Mr Sam Beks, who shared the role of Senior Years Learning and Teaching Leader in Semester 2, my grateful thanks.

To our wonderful staff at St. Brendan's, you are truly amazing with the care and work you do for our students.  Well done for a fantastic year.

Goodbye to our Staff leaving

Rosy Finn, who has been with us for eight years.  Rosy was also an ex student of St. Brendan's.  We thank Rosy for her care, enthusiasm and work ethic.  All the best at St. Luke's in 2024.

Jai Morrison, who has been with us for a year and a half, will be teaching at St. Joseph's Numurkah.  It was great having a male teacher in our Junior Years and thank him for his dedication and work.

Sophie Sidebottom has been with us for three years.  Sophie taught for two years in 5/6 level, had a year leave and taught in Darwin and returned this year in 1/2.  Sophie is very organised and has worked hard to create a positive classroom environment.   We wish Sophie all the best at St. Anne's.

Andrew Renato will be returning to Verney Road Special School in a Leadership position. Andrew has worked very well as a team member in the Middle Years and a very good teacher and we have enjoyed having him be part of our staff.  We wish him all the best in this role.

Nick Iorianni has been at our school in the Senior Area for nearly 4 years.  I thank Nick for his service to our school and for his professional manner in working with staff and students.  Good luck Nick at St. Anne's.

Many thanks to our School Advisory Council for the last three years.  Grateful thanks to John Miksad for his role as Chair of the Council.  I thank him for his professional manner, support and time he has given to the Council.

Thanks to all our members, Duncan Moodie, Tim Cannon, Tyler Tricarico, Leon Sargeant, Jo Spencer, Greg Stevens, Kim Wall, Christina Tolentino, Tom Dickens, Kellie Crosier and Kate Radevski for your commitment and ideas to engage the school community.

Thanks to Joel Brian and John Howley for their attendance at our meetings.  We will be looking for people who would like to be part of the School Advisory Council next year.

Thanks to Jacklyn Lamb and her committee for being active members of the Parents and Friends.  It is lovely to see parents who are passionate in organising activities for our school community.

Thanks to our amazing school community.  It is lovely to see parents enjoying each other's company in the playground before and after school.  We all appreciate your support.

A special mention to Carmel Bicknell and Kim Wong, our very capable and friendly Administration/Finance team.  Carmel and Kim are always so friendly and helpful to all our school community and support me so well.

Last but not least, farewell to our great Year 6's.  It has been a pleasure watching you grow and being so supportive of our school.  I am going to miss you, but I know you are ready for the next chapter of your lives at Secondary School.  

Good luck and enjoy making new memories.

Yours sincerely,

Paula Stevenson 

(Principal)