Acting Principal's Report
Acting Principal's Message
Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome back to what is shaping to be a busy Term 3 at St Finbar's. It has been fantastic seeing all the students back at school and ready to learn, we have enjoyed hearing many stories from the holidays. We have a number of events and programs happening this term; Grandparents Day, Prep 100 Days, Student Disco, Hooptime Basketball, Book Week, Family Masses and our two-week swimming program to name a few. Please head over to the 'school dates' page and make note of these important events.
As mentioned last term we have had some staffing changes for Term 3. We welcome back Mrs Jo Howell as the classroom teacher in 3H and we are pleased to announce Miss Lauren Quintal has increased her days as an LSO. Lauren is in her final year of study at ACU, completing her teaching degree.
We are looking forward to the return of Pat next week, he has been enjoying some well-deserved long service leave with a caravan trip to the NT with his family. We thank you all for your support this week whilst Pat has been away.
Grandparents & Special Friends Day
A reminder that we will be holding our Grandparents and Special Friends day next Thursday 21st July. This is a wonderful opportunity for those special people in our lives to come into school and spend a morning with the students in their class and see all the wonderful things they have been doing at St Finbar's.
Here is a timeline of the morning:
8:30am - Grandparents & Special Friends begin to arrive
9:00am - Class Liturgy in the classrooms
9:15am - Activities in the classroom
10:00am - Grandparents and Special Friends to the hall for morning tea
Grandparents and special friends who have multiple students at school, you are welcome to go between classrooms or the students can meet in the one classroom if this cannot be done.
Thank you to our Year 6 P&F Team for coordinating the morning tea, we appreciate all your hard work.
Pupil Free Day - School Closure (Staff PD)
The Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) has provided each Catholic school with an additional pupil-free day for Term 3 to allow staff to undertake professional development. MACS have stated that this must be used in Term 3 only. This is due to a number of disruptions due to Covid and the critical staff shortage, meaning many staff are missing out on professional development opportunities to cover absent staff due to illness.
Please note that this Pupil Free Day/School Closure will be on Friday 12th August
Covid Update
We will continue to update the community on Positive Covid cases that have attended on-site learning.
Free rapid antigen tests (RAT) are available for all students and staff in Terms 3 and 4. It is recommended that rapid antigen tests are used by students and staff when symptomatic.
Staff and students who test positive for covid are required to isolate for 7 days and contact the school as soon as possible.
Household contacts are required to test negative using a rapid antigen test on at least 5 out of 7 days if they are attending or working at a school on-site.
The wearing of masks is recommended at school.
P & F Student DISCO
A reminder about the upcoming P&F Student Disco. Thank you to all of those families who have made bookings. Tickets have closed, however if you have forgotten to purchase your tickets, please contact Kate kateblake13@gmail.com
John Ashe Playground Upgrade
Work has now been completed on the John Ashe playground and it looks amazing. Thank you to Steve our handyman, who with the assistance of Sonia, Lisa and a number of students have created a water play area to be used in the warmer months.
Welcome to Rochel Baker
Today we welcomed our new school counsellor Rochel Baker to St Finbar's. Rochel comes to us from CatholicCare and she will be at St Finbar's every Thursday. Rochel will be communicating with all families who engage with this service in order to ensure a smooth transition.
Child safety - Simon Davies
With the introduction of the new Child Safety Standards that came into effect on 1st July, we thought it was timely to engage an expert to update the staff of St Finbar's on the changes. Simon Davies from Safeguarding Services will be presenting at our staff meeting this coming Tuesday. The intention is to help us be aware of our safeguarding and child safety obligations, and audit our own practices at St Finbar's. I will provide an update on the session in next week's newsletter. ,
Community News
Please refer to the Community News page of this newsletter for many exciting opportunities for children and families. The St Finbar's Netball Club has a new opportunity for Year 3 students to participate in.
Engagement News
We are very excited to announce that one of our Year 4 teachers, Laura Zeeng, became engaged during the holidays. Congratulations to Laura and her new fiancé Luke. We wish you all the best as you start the wedding planning!
Michelle Hill & Steele Anderson
Acting Principals