Welcome

A warm welcome back to everyone for the start of the 2026 school year. I am excited to be beginning my formal principalship at St Christopher's amongst this wonderful school community. We are blessed to have such a supportive and giving community across school families, the wider parish and those that are connected to St Christopher's School.

Our teachers and staff have done a wonderful job busily preparing for the beginning of the school year to ensure a smooth transition for all our students. Today we welcomed 23 new Foundation (Prep) students along with their very excited parents, grandparents and other family members. They had a memorable start to their schooling journey with great support from everyone and a special applause as they joined us at assembly. We likewise welcome students and their families joining us in other other year levels:

Dhivan Uthayananth (1/2A)

Mohammed Gholizadeh (1/2B)

Ryker De Silva Wijeyeratha (1/2C)

Leo Kanai (3/4A)

Scarlett Fu (3/4B)

Marcus Chow (3/4B)

I look forward to working with you all during the year.

Sports tops

New sports polo for PE classes are not available until March at this stage. Until then children are to wear their blue polo top and sneakers for PE classes.

Parent Teacher Meetings Monday 9th February

Our upcoming Parent–Teacher Meetings are a valuable opportunity for teachers and parents to connect and work together to support your child.

These interviews are intended to be a two-way conversation. Teachers will use this time to ask parents questions about their child, including their interests, strengths, and any information that may help us better support them at school. Parents are also encouraged to share insights, observations, and any important information about their child’s learning, wellbeing, or adjustment to school.

Please note that these interviews are not designed to discuss formal assessment results. Assessment information will be shared later in the year through reports and other communication.

We look forward to partnering with you and learning more about your child. Students will be dismissed at 1.30pm on this day. Please arrange your pick up arrangments or book into MACSEYE (out of school hours care).

Please go to your PAM (Parent Access Module)

to book an appointment for the Parent Teacher Meetings.

Student Absences

Please notify the school via your PAM (Parent Access Module) of any student absence due to illness or holidays. This way, all relevant staff can see the absence notification.

Secondary Education

Even though 2026 is well underway, many families are already starting to think ahead about their child’s education for 2027 and beyond.

To help support parents during this decision-making stage — and to keep things environmentally friendly — a 2026 140 page Secondary Education Guide has been created that’s easy to access, easy to share, and packed with useful information.

https://victoriaschoolguides.starcommunity.com.au/secondary-education-february/

Second Hand Uniform Shop

We are fortunate that many families donate their children's school uniform to the Uniform Shop once their child has outgrown.

We are looking for one or more parents to come in once a fortnight to sort through any uniforms and put them into the size and garment sort to suit. This would likely a 30 minute job each fortnight and can be done during or after school time. If you are able to help, please contact the school office.

Hats and water bottles

A reminder that for Term 1 students are required to wear a hat when outside. We also encourage the students to bring a water bottle to school each day. Please ensure your child’s name is on these items.

Learning Times

Our usual day timetable is as follows:

8.30am - school grounds open with supervision

8.45am - Foundation doors open

8.55am - Bell for start of day

11.00am - 11.30am Recess

1.30pm - 1.40pm Eating time

1.40pm - 2.30pm - Lunchtime play

3.30pm - students dismissed.

Specialist classes will be for one hour. Our specialist classes are Music, Art, Chinese (Mandarin) and Physical Education.

Medication

If your child has anaphylaxis or asthma, it is very important that we have an up to date action plan and an epipen or ventolin to be kept here at school.

If your child requires any other medication, please complete the appropriate medication administer form and bring it to the office where it will be kept securely until needed. Please contact the office for these forms. If you have any concerns about medication, please see our website for relevant policies or contact the school office.

If you have any concerns regarding your children, please do not hesitate to speak with their teacher or to me directly.

Patrick Green

Principal

PARENT HANDBOOK 2025