Principal's Message

Dear Families,

Welcome to week 3 of Term 1. We really have got back into the swing of things at St. Finbar's. There is a wonderful vibe around the school and it is so good to see children and families back at school learning and socialising. Please remember to complete the Parent Facilities master plan survey emailed to families last week. The survey will close tomorrow Friday 12th February. Please remember that all parents who come onsite must be wearing a face mask.

Year 6 Canberra Camp

Greetings from Canberra this week. I am currently on Camp with our Year 6 Students in our Nation's capital and it has been a very exciting camp so far. The Year 6 Students are a credit to the school and their families. Everywhere we have been the organisers have commented on how well behaved and polite the children are. It is incredible to think of how much we have packed into our time here. We have visited:

- Parliament House,

- The High Court of Australia,

- The National Gallery,

- Electoral Education Centre,

- Questacon,

- The National Gallery,

- The National Museum,

- The Australian War Memorial,

- The Australian Institute of Sport,

- The Royal Australian Mint,

- The National Dinosaur Museum,

- Mt Ainslie Lookout.

I would like to thanks Mrs Margy D'Rozario, Miss Nonie Kay, Mrs Jo Fraser, Mrs Cath Davies-Gray and Mrs Peggy McDonald for their dedicated supervision and care of the children the entire time we have been away. Without the support of the staff for these major events our children simply would not get to experience these life events. Please check out our Facebook page & Instagram page to see all of the action!

Students from our school are currently undertaking an education tour of the national capital. Students will be given the opportunity to participate in a variety of educational programs with a focus on Australia’s history, culture, heritage and democracy.

The Australian Government recognises the importance of all young Australians being able to visit the national capital as part of their Civics and Citizenship education. To assist families in meeting the cost of the excursion the Australian Government is contributing funding of $45.00 per student under the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate program towards those costs. The rebate is paid directly to the school upon completion of the excursion.

Meet the Teacher Chats

As noted on the 2021 calendar, ‘Meet the Teacher chats’ will be in February and Parent / Teacher interviews in June. The ‘chats’ on Tuesday 16th or Thursday 18th February will be a 10 minute opportunity for YOU, as parents, to tell us about your child’s strengths, passions, social competencies and areas to be worked on.

Meet the Teacher Chats ONLINE BOOKINGS: How to book your Parent/Teacher interviews: ALL appointments are now to be booked online. Please go to the website: http://www.schoolinterviews.com.au/home Simply enter the school code hfynj and press "Go". You will then be guided through three simple steps, and a few moments later you will get an email confirming your interviews. Parents without internet access can come to the office and an interview will be made for you. BOOKINGS CLOSE FRIDAY 12th FEBRUARY. Thank you.

As per last year - the children will be dismissed from school at 3:30pm on both days from the hall. This will alleviate the need for parents to book additional aftercare hours. Please note that Miss Gourley Sessions will be on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning.

Meetings - at this stage - are in person in the classrooms. If you require a digital meeting please inform the class teacher directly.

Sibling Enrolments for Prep 2022

I would ask that parents who have a child commencing in Prep 2022 to please enrol their child by Friday 26th February so we can see how many places will be available to new families for 2022. All sibling's are a guaranteed enrolment at St. Finbar's, however we do require completed paperwork to make it official. We have had considerable interest shown by the wider community already, and I expect to have 2 classes of 26 filled quite quickly. Enrolment forms can be downloaded from the following link:

St Finbar's Enrolment Information

Sibling enrolment interviews will happen this term via appointment.

Open Days

Our school Open Days for 2022 enrolments will be held on

Wednesday 3rd March,

Thursday 11th March,

Wednesday 24th March

(Or by appointment)

All sessions will be from 9:00am – 11:00am

This is an excellent opportunity for interested families to see St. Finbar’s students and staff in action. School tours will be conducted by myself, Mrs. McDonald, Mr. Anderson and our Year 6 student leaders.

School Photos

This year our whole school photo session is scheduled for Monday 1st March. Full Summer School Uniform will be worn on this day.

Please find attached information below for sibling photos regarding this.

Additional info will be made available closer to the date.

Extra Curricular Activities

Please note below the many extra curricular activities that St. Finbar's has to offer listed below. Please contact the providers directly if you wish to access their program and services.

Tennis:

Please contact Ray Kent

M. 0402 075 351

Drama Time

Please contact Lara Wiser

M. 0438 610 310

Kids on Key - Music Lessons:

Please contact Kath Dowling

M: 0402 466 870

E: admin@kidsonkey.com.au

W: www.kidsonkey.com.au

Little Speakers Program:

Please contact Samantha Richards

M. 0409 110 169

E. samantha_richards@buildingvoices.com.au

Skipz:

Please contact Isabelle Freeman

M. 0403 221 141

E. isabelle@skipz.org

Taekwondo:

Please contact Sophia Heares

M. 0419 876 187

E. Fx.Fitness@internode.on.net

Chess:

Please contact Phil Hooton

M. 0421 901 530

E. admin@chessforschools.com.au

Board Meeting

Our next school board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday 16th February. My thanks to Gerrit Horchener who is taking over as our Chairperson this year. Our major projects for 2021 will include the formation of our School Master Plan as well as investigating the feasibility of an elevator, replacing a section of our adventure playground on the Thomas Sherry Playground, and air conditioning for the hall. Very exciting times for the community ahead!

God Bless,

Pat Berlingeri

Principal

Secondary School News