Principal's Report
Manuela Watson
Dear Parent and Friends,
Congratulations to the students in our learning community who celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation on Friday night. Thank you to staff who attended the celebration in support of their students and their families and in particular the Year 5/6 teachers, Mrs. Wenckowski, Mrs Hedley, our altar servers and all the students who sang in the choir. Bishop Curtin was most impressed by our students the way they behaved and were well prepared for Confirmation. This is a credit to the teachers and the all the families of our wonderful students.
Whole School Prayer: 8:50am in School Hall –Thursday mornings
All parents are welcome to attend our Thursday Morning Whole School Prayer. A reminder that the purpose of Whole School Morning Prayer is to provide both a time and opportunity for all school members to express their faith, and to promote and foster a culture of prayer in our Catholic school community. This week’s prayer will be facilitated by Year 5/6CJ and 5/6MJ.
Parish Education Board – Summary report Marianne Ciavarella
The St Fidelis Parish Education Board met on Tuesday 13 August, with all members in attendance. Father Cartwright opened the meeting with prayer, which was followed by a discussion of recent successes for the School and Parish. It was wonderful to hear about the success of the ‘100 Days of Prep’ celebrations and assembly, the recent Communion celebrations and morning tea and the Parish Pizza and Pasta Night which was an initiative of the Parish social committee and was a well-attended, fun filled evening.
The Principal’s Report from Manuela Watson outlined some other achievements and highlights since the Board last met. This included an update on the submission of a State Government funding proposal, the school’s participation in the upcoming CEMSIS school improvement survey, status of school website refresh project and the school’s assessment by Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD) to enable better support for students with additional needs.
Janine Turville’s Learning and Teaching Report provided the Board with the results of analysis of the impact of a new Mathematics teaching strategy introduced in 2014. The data demonstrated a significant benefit to students since the new strategy’s implementation.
This was followed by a discussion about the school’s Enrolment Process and & Policy, which is to be reviewed in line with the Enrolment Maximisation Framework.
An update was also provided on the upcoming activities of the St Fidelis Parents and Friends Committee. These include coordination of the Confirmation Morning Tea, Book Week Hot Food Day, Father’s Day Stall and Breakfast, Italian Day and the major event for 2019 – the Christmas Night Market on 22 November.
Father Cartwright closed the meeting, reflecting on the Boards role in supporting students, parents and staff in providing opportunities to ensure that we encounter in the mystery of God in our everyday life. How will we touch the hearts of families to want to know Christ and build a relationship with Him? Further reflection and discussion will take place at our next Board Meeting.
The Board will next meet on the 8th of October.
The Mobile School Dentist is coming to St Fidelis!
The Mobile School Dentist currently services hundreds of schools across Victoria and New South Wales. The Mobile School Dentist have state-of-the-art equipment and facilities. All their Dentist and Dental Therapists are AHPRA registered and accredited health professionals. All mobile school dentist staff hold a Working With Children Check and have a current police check.
This is a free service, to eligible school students, funded under the Medical Child Dental Benefits Schedule, meaning that there is no out of pocket expenses. The Mobile School Dentist organisation will confirm individual eligibility before their arrival and contact you to offer a discounted private option if required.
How do you access this service?
- Complete the form that was sent home via the school
- Ensure that the form is returned to school no later than Friday 31st August
- All Dental forms will be collected from the school on Monday September 2nd
- If required the Mobile Dental Organisation will be in contact with you
- The Dental Van will be at St Fidelis the week beginning October 14th
If you have misplaced your for the school office is able to provide you with a replacement.
Australian Catholic University Pre Service Teacher:
We welcome Nadia Ascenzo a pre-service teacher from ACU Melbourne. Nadia is in her final year of her teaching degree and will be teaching in Mrs Wenckowski Foundation class for the next four weeks. Some benefits of hosting pre-service teachers are: that it is an opportunity for our teachers to share their practice with the student preparing to become a teacher, build the host teachers leadership and be recognized for their valuable knowledge and expertise. It is also a time for the Host teacher to re-energize with his or her own teaching through reflective practice. Please make Nadia feel welcome in the community of St Fidelis.
LSO - Language Support Officers:
St Fidelis staff are always willing to have extra support in the classrooms or specialist classes to assist the teachers with the students’ learning. You will notice over the year that we have had many LSO adults that are completing their 100 hour practicum at St Fidelis. Many of these LSO’s choose to apply at St Fidelis as they have heard what a welcoming school community we are and how they would experience many aspects of school life by working at our school. At present we welcome Lisa Mews who will be supporting 1/2VC four days a week, Helen Korras in 5/6MM & 5/6MCJ every Thursday and Gail Bartolo in 1/2JF every Tuesday.
READING IS MY SECRET POWER---BOOK WEEK 2019
I can sense the excitement as students (and teachers!!!!) are discussing their dress up costume for our BOOK WEEK parade FRIDAY 23RD AUGUST 9:00AM IN THE HALL. (Parents you are welcome to come dressed up!!! It will be great for parents to join our parade. Keep an eye on all the Book Week events as it’s a very busy week celebrating one of the best gifts we can have ….READING.
Have a great week
Manuela