A Message from the Principal

Lachlan Foott

Dear Parents/Carers,

At a time when all we are hearing about are the challenges associated with COVID-19, I thought I’d take this opportunity to share some positive news and provide a non-COVID-related update around enrolment numbers at St Agnes’. As many of you would be aware, our school’s enrolment numbers declined at the end of 2018 and through 2019. Since the beginning of this year though, our school has actually grown. We have welcomed three students to our school community since February; a Prep, a Year One and a returning Year Five student. I am pleased to report that in 2021, we will have a full Prep class, with 23 confirmed enrolments. Importantly, in this class of 23 only five are sibling enrolments, meaning we have 18 new families joining our school next year. This is 18 families who chose St Agnes’ for the education of their child(ren) and that is fantastic.

With the addition of the three new students this year and a full Prep class commencing school in 2021, all indications are that we will maintain our overall enrolments numbers heading into 2021. There are a number of reasons why this is a significant achievement. Firstly, the size of our Prep class in 2021 demonstrates a 130% growth from this year, which is significant. Secondly, at the end of this year, the largest cohort of students in our school is the graduating Year Six. This fact was always going to make it difficult for us to maintain our overall enrolments, but with the growth in our Prep class and added students in other year levels, we should maintain our numbers. Adding to the significance of this achievement is that COVID-19 has presented challenges for prospective families in accessing schools for tours, to enable them to make informed decisions. As the Principal, I am very proud to inform you of this and believe it will be the start of a growth period for our school. The long term aim is to make St Agnes’ a destination school; the most sought after school in the area. We have a clear plan for the future and while we recognise there are a number of areas which require improvement, I am confident that the future is bright for our school and most importantly, our students.

Since the beginning of this year, there has been a concerted effort to raise the profile of St Agnes’. Some of the strategies have included:

Established a Enrolment Promotions Team in February consisting of interested staff
Re-introduction of School Open Days in March and April
Submission of an improved funding application in an effort to attain Capital Grant funding for proposed refurbishment works
Increased social media presence with the introduction of a school Facebook page
Recorded Virtual School Tours for prospective families
Updated billboards advertising Open Days
Placement of school promotional material in all local kindergartens
Reconnected with local kindergartens and conducted a student visit to Livingston Kindergarten
Principal School Readiness Talks planned for delivery in kindergartens, but on hold due to COVID-19

Further to these efforts in the first half of 2020, this term we have been included in the Catholic Education Melbourne (CEM) Enrolment Maximisation Framework (EMF). This framework is available to help attract students and families to their schools. As part of this, we have established a ‘working group’ consisting of parents, staff and a representative from CEM. The St Agnes’ working group includes:

Anton Duddy - Father of Mackenzie (Year 1) and Callan (Year 2) and member of the Education Advisory Board
Carly Monahan - Mother of Paddy (Prep 2021) and Isabel (Year 2)
Charlene Vien - Mother of Logan (Year 2) and Reilly (Year 5)
Chelsea Warnes - Mother of Estelle (Prep)
Shannon Shine - Enrolments and Communications Officer, Mother of Dan (Year 6) and Arabella (Year 2)
Lachlan Foott - Principal
Matt Cherry - Deputy Principal
Anthea Georgiou - Year 2 teacher, Wellbeing Leader, St Agnes' Social Media administrator
Amanda Baker - Prep Teacher and Junior School Leader
Tony Levett - CEM Regional Leadership Consultant

The focus for this working group is to investigate the current demographics/trends and recommend/ action strategies for increasing enrolments in our school. The parents in this working group are representative of the broader parent community and will be key stakeholders in the effort to raise the profile of our school.

While it is important to ensure we are promoting the wonderful opportunities which are provided to our students and families, our greatest advocates and promotional material are in fact our students and parents. If we are fortunate enough to have students and parents talking about their school in a positive light, in my view that will always be of greater value than a billboard. As such, I ask all of our parents to visit our Facebook page and leave a review/comment about the things you love about your child’s school.

Father’s Day Stall

Thank you to the P&F Exec Team for making a Father’s Day Stall available to our families. Please head across to the P&F page for more information.

School Fees - Camps and Swimming

As mentioned in the Remote Learning update on July 13, Year 4 Camp was cancelled due to COVID-19. Year 5/6 Canberra Camp is scheduled for the week beginning Monday 5th October and I expect this to be cancelled as well. You may recall it has already been rescheduled twice due to bushfires and COVID-19, and rescheduling for a third time is not possible. Year 3, Zoo Snooze Camp is scheduled for mid-November and it is possible that this may still go ahead. Swimming scheduled for December may be unlikely as well. With the pending cancellation of camps and swimming, if your family has already paid for these events, the cost will be credited to your school fees account. In the case of Year 6 students who are graduating at the end of the year, we will arrange a refund. Confirmation regarding these planned events will be provided in due course.

De La Salle and St Bede’s - 2022 Enrolment Packs

Please contact our school office if you would like an enrolment pack for your son to attend De La Salle or St Bede’s Colleges in 2022. Information regarding online open days can be found on the Community News page.

As always, should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me or your child’s classroom teacher.

Stay well, stay safe and stay home.

Kind regards,

Lachie

COMMUNITY NEWS 2