Dear Parents,

Here we are at the end of another school year! It has been a wonderful year with a few surprises along the way, most notably Pat's departure in August. Thank you to all parents for your support this year, especially after I took over as Acting Principal. It definitely makes the job easier knowing that there is such a supportive group of staff and parents behind us.

We always manage to pack a lot into each year at St Finbar's, and this year was no exception. I always enjoy hearing our Year 6 students reflect upon their time at St Finbar's at their Graduation. Memories of teachers and friendships always play a big part in these reflections, but the Year 6s also mention our 'big events' - camps, school productions, Italian Days and sporting events. It is these events that create lasting memories for our students.

We are farewelling 24 families this year, mainly from Year 6 , many of whom have been a part of the St Finbar's community for many years. We wish those families well for the future and are grateful for the time that you have been part of our community. See below for some photos of our departing Year 6 families.

Please have a happy, safe and joyous Christmas with your families and I look forward to what 2024 has to offer our amazing community.

Please note that school finishes at 1pm tomorrow (December 15th). We will have our traditional send-off for all Year 6 students and families on the Mary Clare Playground at 12:45pm.

Farewell to Kim and Tilly

We farewell two of our teachers on Friday. Tilly Ferrari is heading off to the UK shortly to teach and travel. This is such an amazing opportunity for her and we hope that it is a rewarding experience and she creates lifelong memories. We look forward to having Tilly return to St Finbar's in 2025.

Kim has been at St Finbar's for three years, as a Year 1 and 2 teacher and Literacy Leader. Students and staff have benefitted from her knowledge, experience, and passion for teaching literacy. We wish her well in her future endeavors as she takes her career in a new direction.

Farewell to Students

Besides our Year 6 students, we say goodbye to a few other students this year. Good luck to Alex A, Charlie P, Harvey T, Elouise C and Charlie B who are all moving to different schools.

2024 Classes

I'm very please to be able to announce our class placements for 2024.

Prep B Mrs Fiona Byrne Prep P Mrs Louise Pickering

1C Miss Carlie Cochrane 1J Mrs Jemima Christie

2F Miss Caroline Farrelly 2Z Miss Laura Zeeng

3G Miss Annalisa Gourley 3K Miss Nonie Kay

4A Miss Bianca Antonio 4M Mr Callum Mills

5B Miss Shannon Bourke 5H Miss Sigrid Happell

6H Mrs Jo Howell 6T Mr Peter Tyndall

Parish Priest: Fr. Ian Ranson

Acting Principal: Ms Michelle Hill

Deputy Principal/Learning Diversity: Mrs Peggy McDonald

Deputy Principal/REL: Mr Steele Anderson

Administration Manager (M/Tu/Th/F): Mrs Libby Thomas

Administration Assistant (M/Tu/W/Th): Mrs Amanda Johnson

Leaders:

Teaching & Learning: Mr Callum Mills

Literacy Leader: Miss Nonie Kay

Maths Leader: Mrs Jo Fraser

eLearning Leader: Mrs Amanda Norton (on leave)

Wellbeing Leader (Curriculum) Miss Laura Zeeng

Sustainability/

Indigenous Perspectives/

Community Leader: Mrs Lisa Poulter

Graduate Teachers/

Inductions Leader: Miss Sigrid Happell

Specialists Teachers

PE (Prep - Yr 4): Mrs Jenny Allen

PE (Yr 5 & 6) & Sports: Mrs Tania Thompson

Performing Arts: Mrs Susan Williams

LOTE (Italian): Mrs Lena Sirianni

Visual Arts: Mrs Lisa Poulter

Reading Recovery: Mrs Dianne Ward

Intervention: Mrs Jo Fraser

Other Staff

Library Admin: Mrs Narelle Connell

Learning Support Officers: Mrs Sally Hill Mrs Sue Humble

Mrs Anthea Conroy

Mrs Sonia Blakey

Mrs Liesl Willcocks

Mrs Ania Von Oxenberg

Mrs Narelle Connell

Mrs Catherine Davies-Gray

Ms Ann Barber

Miss Alessia Colletti

Miss Emma Cristiano

Miss Tess Campigli

Miss Claudia Favorito

Occupational Therapist: Miss Andrea La Fontaine

Groundsman: Mr Dino Tornese

Engagement Congratulations

We received some very exciting news last weekend with the announcement that our Year 4 teacher Callum Mills and our Occupational Therapist/LSO Andrea were engaged. We wish them all the best for this new and exciting time in their lives.

Message from Santa

We received our very own message from Santa for all the students and staff of St Finbar's.

Thank you and God bless,

Michelle Hill,

Acting Principal

Parish Bulletin

Sunday December 17th, 2023