Deputy Principal's Report

Dear Parents,

Grandparents' Day

One of the highlights of our school calendar is Grandparents' and Special Friends' Day. It was heartwarming to see the sheer number of grandparents and visitors to our school on Wednesday. 

School Wide Improvement Forum

Last Thursday, members of the leadership team attended the Southern Region School-Wide Improvement Forum. This is held each term with all catholic schools from the southern region represented.   The focus of the day was on Collective Efficacy - the genuine belief that what we do in our school has an impact on student learning. 

 The five main indicators of Collective Efficacy in schools are already well and truly embedded at St Finbar's:

Goal consensus - being clear about our school-wide improvement goals

Empowered teachers - teachers are entrusted to have a voice in matters pertaining to school improvement 

Cohesive teacher knowledge - teachers understand what constitutes effective teaching and are aware of the teaching practices used by other teachers in the school

Embedded reflective practice - teachers reflect upon  the extent to which teaching practices support the learning of all students and regularly seek  feedback from students

Supportive Leadership  - school leaders show concern for the teaching staff and provide  support to teachers in carrying out their duties effectively

It was affirming to discuss as a group how St Finbar's already places a high priority on each of the above areas, and much of our Annual Action Plan is centred around them. 

These days are a great opportunity for leadership team members to gather, engage in professional conversation, and network with leaders in other local catholic schools. 

Pyjama Day 

Thank you to all of those who got into the Pyjama spirit last Friday, and thanks to our Year 6 Wellbeing Leaders Kiahna, Zara and Trinity for initiating this day. We have made a donation of $100 to The Pyjama Foundation, an organisation that supports children in foster care. 

Being a good sport

The Year 3 students had a great SEL (Social and Emotional Learning) lesson this week based on the importance of being a good sport. They watched a short video Howard B Wigglebottom Learns About Sportsmanshipand brainstormed some possible playground scenarios that could occur at St Finbar's.  In groups, the students then got together to discuss what would be some acceptable and unacceptable responses to each scenario. 

Recent Births

Our future enrolment numbers are looking healthy with a recent baby boom amongst St Finbar's families. 

Congratulations to Katie, Andrew and big sister Sunnie (3G) on the recent birth of Dylan.  Sunnie is very excited to be a big sister. 

Sadie from Prep B is also a big sister, with the birth of Oscar. Congratulations to Emily, Mark and Sadie. 

The Tiemans family welcomed a son and brother into their family. Grace (Prep F) is now a big sister to Austin. Congratulations to Magda, Michael, Grace and Ivy. 

Thank you

Michelle Hill & Steele Anderson

Deputy Principals