Dear Parents and Carers,

As we begin this new school year, we look forward to walking and learning together as one faith-filled community of students, parents, and staff. Guided by God’s Word

“Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path” (Psalm 119:105)

We aim to nurture every child’s learning, growth, and wellbeing.

In the spirit of St Patrick, we pray: Christ be beside me, Christ be before me, Christ be behind me, as we journey together throughout the year.

Welcome back to the 2026 school year! I hope you enjoyed a restful break and some special time reconnecting with family and friends. I am thrilled to begin another year of learning, growth, and community together.

This year, our school newsletter will be published every Tuesday, so keep an eye out for all the latest news, celebrations, and important updates.

This is our first official newsletter of the year, and I’m excited to share what’s been happening already! Over the holidays, our upstairs learning spaces received some fantastic upgrades. The Art Room and the former Italian room (now the Year 4 classroom) have been refreshed with new paint, brand-new book lockers, new carpet, and new doors. The spaces look amazing! If you have a moment, I invite you to come in and take a look.

We are always working to provide the very best learning environments for our children, and these improvements are a wonderful way to start the year.

Welcome Foundation Class of 2026 and other new students

A huge welcome to our Foundation students and their families who joined the St Fidelis Community last week along with all the other students. The first day of school is such an important milestone, one to cherish and hold on forever. My hope and dream is that all the children and families that have joined our community for the first time enjoy and cherish the next seven years and beyond in our parish and school community. I wish them well as they begin this part of their learning journey.

Foundation Rest Days

The Foundation students have the following as rest days

Wednesday 4th, 11th, 18th & 25th February

Mrs Wenckowski, & Ms Sargent will contact you when your child is required to come to school for a learning Assessment on one of these Wednesdays. This assessment is a general assessment to assist in determining starting points for Literacy and Numeracy for each child.

All Foundation students are Full Time from Monday March 2nd.

Welcome New Staff to St Fidelis

We extend a very warm welcome to our new staff members joining St Fidelis. We wish them all the very best as they become part of our wonderful St Fidelis learning community.

Ms Denise Goniadis – Year 3 Teacher
Ms Jodie Wishart – Administration Officer

We look forward to the valuable contributions they will make to our school.

Welcome New Students to St Fidelis

We warmly welcome families who are joining St Fidelis from other schools. We are delighted to have you as part of our community and look forward to working in partnership with you to support your child’s learning and wellbeing. We wish you every blessing as you begin your journey with St Fidelis.

Beginning of School Mass & School Leader Badge Presentation

We invite all parents and carers to join us for our Beginning of the Year School Mass, to be held on Friday 6th of February at 9:15am.

Following the Mass, we will acknowledge and celebrate our 2026 School Leaders as they share their speeches and all School Leaders will receive their leadership badges.

This special occasion recognises the leadership, commitment, and service of our student leaders as they begin their journey for the year ahead.We would love for our families to share in this joyful and meaningful celebration of faith, community, and leadership. All parents and carers are most welcome to attend.

School Day Routine

8:30am the school gates open and the day ends at 3:30pm. In the morning two staff members will be on yard duty to supervise the children. The children can play downball only outside the staffroom in the morning. They are NOT permitted on the playground equipment before or after school for safety reasons.

8:45am the children enter the learning space, unpack their bag and prepare for the class morning routine. Parents are asked to have left the room by 8:50am.

3:30pm School dismissal. To avoid congestion over in the SLA area the Year 3 students will be escorted to Hawthorn yard with their teacher and dismissed from Hawthorn yard each evening.

The teachers will remain with their class until all their children have been picked up. Please note that by 3:45pm if your child has not been picked up they will be sent to aftercare and will be charged to the families.

The Year 5/6 students will be dismissed from SLA building and escorted downstairs by their teachers

Important Update | School Uniform Transition Has Concluded

As our uniform transition period has now concluded, we would like to remind parents and students that all students are expected to be wearing the new school uniform. The two-year transition has now ended, and the old school uniform is no longer to be worn.

Uniform Guidelines for 2025:

Terms 1& 4 Students are to wear the summer uniform.
Terms 2 &3 Students will transition to the winter uniform as weather conditions require.
Sport Uniform: The sport uniform may only be worn on days when students have Physical Education lessons or scheduled sporting activities.

Please ensure your child is dressed in the correct uniform each day. We appreciate your continued support in maintaining our school’s high standards and sense of pride in wearing our school uniform.

Students are not to wear jewellery during school hours. This includes rings, necklaces and bracelets and earrings (Plain studs or sleepers are permitted). The school takes no responsibility for jewellery lost.
Make-up and nail-polish are not worn during school hours.
Extremes of hair fashion should be avoided.
Watches are permitted (not smart watches)
Red or green hair ties for girls. (or scrunchies in the same material as the summer dress)
All student’s clothing and property MUST be labelled with their name.
School hats are compulsory and must be August -April. Other hats are not permissible.
School Tracksuit only to be worn on sports days.
Students not wearing the correct school uniform will be issued a note naming the item of clothing that is not consistent with school policy. We ask the parent/guardian to ensure that this is rectified immediately.

If parents have any concerns regarding the interpretation of the school uniform requirements, please seek the advice of the Principal or Office Staff.

Thank you to all staff

Thank you to all the staff who came in over the holidays to prepare their learning spaces for the children.We are very fortunate to have staff that use their personal time to ensure the Learning Environment is ready for the return of all the students. I wish to thank them for their dedication and commitment to all the students at St Fidelis.

Videos | Getting Started in Your Child’s Class

On Friday 30th January, families received a message via the Nforma with important information about their child’s class, routines, and year level expectations. Five year level links were provided for families to view relevant procedures and information for the year. Curriculum information was not included in these links. Curriculum overviews will be shared in Weeks 2 or 3 of each term, and weekly learning updates are communicated by classroom teachers through the weekly newsletter.

Families will have the opportunity to ask questions during the Parent and Teacher Meet and Greet in Week 3. Information regarding this will come soon.

Creative Music After School | Instrumental Music Lessons 2026

We wish to inform families that Creative Music has advised they will be discontinuing their instrumental music lesson program at St Fidelis in 2026. Unfortunately, this decision is due to their inability to secure a permanent instrumental teacher for the program. All affected families have been notified directly by Creative Music.

We thank Creative Music, and in particular Glenn Davey, for their years of service and contribution to music education at our school.

Please note that St Fidelis will continue to offer the Experience Music in Schools program, which provides students with valuable opportunities to engage in music learning during the school day. Further information will be shared with families who are interested.

Important | Update Your Contact Information

For the safety and well-being of all students, it is extremely important that the school office has your most up-to-date contact information.Please notify the office immediately of any changes to the following:

Email addresses
Home address
Phone numbers (home, mobile, work)

Accurate information allows us to reach you quickly in case of emergencies and ensures you receive important school communications. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter and for helping us keep our school community safe

Anaphylaxis

Some students at our school have severe allergies, including anaphylaxis. Exposure to certain foods such as nuts, eggs, milk (all dairy), wheat, and chickpeas can cause a serious reaction.

To help keep everyone safe, we kindly ask families not to send peanut butter, Nutella, or similar spreads to school, as these can remain on surfaces. Students are also reminded that food is not to be shared at school.

Families, particularly those with children in Foundation to Year 2, are asked to remind their children about good hygiene practices, including washing hands with soap after using the toilet.

Thank you for your care and cooperation in supporting a safe school environment for all.

Medical Conditions

It is important that we are aware of the children who have particular medical conditions. If your child does have a medical condition please notify the school immediately if you have not done so already. Medical Action Plans are required to ensure the correct care can be administered in the case of a reaction or emergency. This includes Anaphylaxis and Asthma Action plans.

Sunsmart

St Fidelis is a SunSmart School and our policy reflects the recommendations of the Sun Smart organisation. The Bureau of Meteorology provides information about the times of day UV levels are forecast to reach 3 or higher, meaning that sun protection is recommended for all skin types. In Victoria UV levels regularly reach 3 or higher from mid – August to the end of April.

As part of general Sun Smart strategies, our school:

Requires all students and staff to wear hats that protect the face, neck and ears (legionnaire, broad-brimmed or bucket style) and suitable clothing whenever they are outside (e.g. recess, lunch, sport, excursions)
Requires children outdoors without hats to sit in a designated shaded area during play times from the beginning of September to the end of April or whenever UV levels reach three or more. NO HAT- NO PLAY.

All staff and parents are encouraged to access the daily local sun protection times via the free Sun smart app, or at sunsmart.com.au or the widget on our website.

Have a lovely week

Manuela

School Prayer