Dear parents, families and friends,

Welcome back to the final quarter of 2024, Term 4.

As we step into October, we embrace a month dedicated to the Rosary, a cherished tradition in our Catholic faith. This month serves as a beautiful reminder of the power of prayer and reflection.

What is the Rosary?

The Rosary is a form of prayer that involves the repetition of prayers and meditation on the life of Christ and the Virgin Mary. Each bead represents a prayer, allowing us to meditate on key events in our faith.

Why is October Special?

Pope Leo XIII established October as the Month of the Rosary in the late 19th century. It encourages us to deepen our connection to God through prayer and reflection. Throughout this month, we invite families to pray the Rosary together, fostering unity and spiritual growth.

Daily Rosary in Class:

Each class will dedicate time to pray the Rosary together, fostering community and spirituality.

Tips for Praying the Rosary at Home:

Set a Regular Time: Find a time that works for your family to pray together.
Create a Peaceful Space: Choose a quiet spot to help focus on prayer.
Engage with the Mysteries: Discuss the mysteries of the Rosary to enhance understanding and reflection.

We encourage everyone to take part in this month of prayer and reflection, fostering a deeper appreciation for the Rosary and its significance in our faith.

Catholic Identity: Renaming the School Buildings

On the last day of Term 3 (school closure day) new signs were installed on each of the buildings of our school. Each building is now named after a saint. The idea for this came from my St. Mary MacKillop pilgrimage back in August 2022.

Building 1, Admin, is named the St. Mary MacKillop Building.

The Sisters of St. Joseph on invitation from the Parish established the school here at St. Augustine's. St. Mary MacKillop visited the school and original church at some point between the 1890s and early 1900s.

Building 2, the main classroom building, is named the St. Mother Teresa Building. St. Mother Teresa visited here back in the 1970s. An interesting fact, Mrs Witchell is the cousin of St. Mother Teresa, so we have a special connection with St. Mother Teresa.

Building 3, containing OHSClub and the specialist classrooms, is named the St. Pope John Paul II building. Pope John Paul II, at the time a cardinal before becoming Pope, visited the parish and celebrated mass in February, 1973.

St. Augustine's school and parish are very unique in having three saints visit and walk on the grounds of the church and school. Along with St. Augustine himself, we have four special friends in heaven to prayer for us, look over us and guide us. It is important, that as a Catholic school we bring to life and celebrate our Catholic faith, history and tradition.

Working Bee

We had a working bee on Saturday 12th October to assemble our new pizza oven, build a screen divide to separate and protect the garden from the basketball court and install an irrigation system including a pump to water the vegie gardens. A very big thank you to all our parents; Damien, Brad, Paul, Dan Tegan and Kris, who volunteered their time and skills to complete the three tasks.

The screen will provide protection from balls bouncing and landing into the garden area. It will also prevent students running through the garden area and between the garden beds. The irrigation system which includes a pump and timer will allow the garden to be watered regularly, especially over holiday periods. The pizza oven will be utilised by both the Stephanie Alexander Garden Program and the Italian program. We will also be able to make pizzas for events such as Christmas Carols and Sleep Overs. The aim is to also make a sell pizzas as a fundraiser.

Staffing 2025

There will be changes next year as we have some movement with our staff.

After 17 years at St. Augustine's and a total of 30 plus years in education, Ms Loretta Le Boeuf has decided to retire. Loretta has worked as a classroom teacher, STEM specialist, Numeracy and Literacy Leader. Loretta was instrumental in establishing the STEM program here at St. Augustine's, growing it from the initial idea into the robust P-6 program we have today. The standout moment of the program is the documentary film about the Westgate Bridge disaster. Loretta lead the Year 5/6 students over two years to research, investigate, interview, record and produce the documentory film that was premiered at the Sun Theatre. Much of the resources for this and the STEM program was purchased using grant money from the Mobile Community Grant Scheme, which Loretta successfully applied for over a number of years. We wish Loretta all the very best for her well earned and deserved rest. She will be able to spend time with her family, especially her sister, Mary Fryer (who worked in the office a few years back) as they travel the world.

After 16 years, Mrs Michele Witchell is changing schools, moving to a school that is much closer to home for her. Michele has taught across all year levels and been the Religious Education Coordinator (R.E.L) She has done an amazing job teaching for so long and across all levels. Michele has worked hard to implement the Family Sacrament Evenings with a range of engaging speakers. She has also done an amazing job in organising the sacraments of First Reconciliation, First Holy Communion and Confirmation, ensuring the liturgies run smoothly and are a beautiful experience for the students and their families. Mrs Witchell was actually a student here many years ago, and I believe it is a very special opportunity for a teacher to return to the school where they were a student and teach there. We wish her all the very best as she embarks on this new journey.

Due to personal health reasons Mrs Michelle Cvetkovska will be resigning from her position as a full-time classroom teacher. Mrs Cvetkovska has been with us for two years. We wish her all the very best of luck for next year and hope that she can return to full time teaching in the near future.

Mr Greg Steers-Carter will not be returning next year. Greg did an amazing job teaching STEM this. A role he took over from Ms Loretta when she decided it was time to move away from that role and focus on Mathematics Leadership. We wish Mr Greg all the best of luck in his future endeavours and thank him for his time here at St. Augustine's, driving the STEM program.

Miss Emily Wardeiner, who has been in Darwin, in the Northern Territory for the past two years, will also be resigning from her position here at St. Augustine's. Miss Wardeiner has found a home there in Darwin and really loves the position she holds (Deputy Principal: Wellbeing) at one of the Catholic Schools. We wish her all the very best with continued success in her career in education.

Miss Isabelle Maher will return to her full-time teaching position. After a year of teaching Physical Education, which she has done superbly, she has decided that her passion is for classroom teaching.

This means that we have some positions to fill for next year.

Mrs Mazzeo will take on the role as School Numeracy Leader along with her role as Deputy Principal. Mrs Mazzeo will retain a classroom teaching position as well, but only for two days per week to allow her to perform her duties as Deputy Principal and Numeracy Leader.

Miss Librizzi will extend her role as Junior Literacy Leader to P-6 Literacy Leader. She will retain a classroom teaching position, but this will be reduced to two days per week to allow her to perform the duties of School Literacy Leader.

I will take up the role of Religious Education Leader along with Principalship. To achieve this, I will be stepping out of a classroom teaching position.

Interviews are currently being conducted to find suitable teachers for Year 1/2 role.

Staffing Allocation 2025

Prep - Mrs Dina Mazzeo (2 days) and Mrs Danni Schubach (3 days)

Year 1/2 - Miss Natalie Librizzi (2 days) and Miss Olivia Jones (3 days)

Year 1/2 -

Year 3/4 - Miss Jess Brennan

Year 3/4 - Miss Isabelle Maher

Year 5/6 - Miss Marissa Balbuziente

Year 5/6 - Mr Milan Bulic

Italian - Miss Natalina Paglianiti

Arts - Mrs Barbara Ady

Physical Education - Mr Bill Manoleras

STEM - Ms Tiziana Scimone

Library - Mrs Barbara Ady

Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program - Ms Tiziana Scimone

School Leadership Team

Principal/R.E.L - Mr Matthew Stead

Deputy Principal/Numeracy Leader - Mrs Dina Mazzeo

Learning Diversity Leader/Mental Health Leader - Miss Natalina Paglianiti

Literacy Leader/Digital Technology Coordinator - Miss Natalie Librizzi

Learning Support Officers

Mrs Caroline Manuell

Mrs Sue-Ellen Grguric

Ms Taylah Brennan

Mr James Pearce

School Counsellor & Wellbeing Leader

Ms Tara Brennan

Bursar/Admin

Ms Catherine Santillo

For our small school community these changes are big, but they are positive. This is an opportunity for us to employ new staff as well as provide some existing staff with new leadership opportunities. The education sector is unique in that we encourage and support the regular movement of staff from school to school. It is good for a teacher to have experience working in new schools as it broadens their knowledge and perspective. It also allows for new ideas and new perspectives to come into schools, keeping them fresh and contemporary. Change cannot be avoided. Change is a part of life. We look ahead to 2025 with anticipation and excitement as to what the year promises to offer for the St. Augustine's Community.

Class Groupings 2025

Shortly we will begin creating the class groupings for 2025. If there are any requests for pairings or separations, please send these to me via email. We will do our absolute very best to accommodate all requests. Once classes are finalised and published there will be no changes made. The Class Solver Program helps us immensely, however, there is a point when certain requests can't be accommodated. It needs to be kept in mind that there are many unseen factors involved and contributing to the creation of class lists. If a request has not been granted, such as two students being paired, it could be that a request has also been received to separate the two students. A request for separation will always overide a request for pairing. As we have also noticed recently, students make their requests on the friendship surveys, but then forget or become confused about who they requested, so that when the class lists are published they think that they didn't get their chosen friends. This year will will be sending out the Friendship Lists on Operoo. These will be completed at home with student and parent involvement.

Hats

A reminder that as we are in Term 4, all students in Prep to Year 6 must wear one of the two school hats when outside during lunch and recess breaks and when involved in Physical Education lessons or on excursions. Only school hats are to be worn. Sports or branded caps and hats are not acceptable.

I have completed my time as supervising principal at Annunciation Primary School. The last couple of days have been very busy for me with interviews, leadership meetings and the general business of preparations for end of year and for 2025. You will see me about the place regularly again from Tuesday.

Looking forward to seeing you all again.

Kind regards,

Matthew Stead

Parents Committee News