Principal's Report
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. Every where 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 Ruth Dempsey, Mr Matt Callery, Mrs Trish Davis, Mrs Sue Humble, Ms Michelle Hill and Mrs Cathy Ferrari 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 are 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 $30 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.
Open Days
Our school Open Days for 2020 enrolments will be held on
Thursday 12th March,
Wednesday 25th March,
Monday 20th April
(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 our Year 6 student leaders.
Prep - Year 6 Literacy Evening
Wednesday 3rd March 6.00pm - 7:30pm
Come along to our Literacy Evening and have fun taking part in phonic, reading and writing activities.
These are all activities which the students take part in during our daily Literacy sessions.
Hopefully this will assist you in supporting your child’s Literacy development, and also ensure a consistent approach between school and home.
Please come along and join us, it will be a fun and informative night.
More information to follow in next week’s newsletter.
Sibling Enrolments for Prep 2021
I would ask that parents who have a child commencing in Prep 2021 to please enrol their child by Friday 28th February so we can see how many places will be available to new families for 2021. We have had considerable interest shown by the wider community already, and I expect to have 2 classes of 24 - 25 filled quite quickly. Enrolment forms can be downloaded from the following link:
St Finbar's Enrolment Information
Sibling enrolment interviews will happen THIS term.
Meet the Teacher Chats
As noted on the 2020 calendar, ‘Meet the Teacher chats’ will be in February and Parent / Teacher interviews in June. The ‘chats’ on Tuesday 18th or Thursday 20th 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. The interviews in June will take the same format as in the past, that is, the teacher reporting on the child’s progress. Written reports will be provided prior to the June interviews and at the end of the year.
SCHOOL INTERVIEWS 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 vpwuz 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 14th 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.
Social Media
As everyone should be aware, we have a school Facebooksite which has been used very successfully to inform the wider community of the amazing educational activities we do at St. Finbar's. I am trialling the use of Instagram as well to ensure we cover parents who do not use Facebook. Our Instagram site is called stfinbarsbrightoneast and has our distinctive Green and Yellow School Logo. As with all of our social media sites, please ensure you do not use any of the children's names if you are commenting on photos. Thanks for your understanding.
Successful Grant Application
I am pleased to announce that St. Finbar's School has been successful in obtaining a $10,000.00 community grant to improve the John Ashe Playground. The money has been approved by the Federal Goldstein Office and I would like to acknowledge and thank Mr Tim Wilson our Federal Member for his assistance and support during the process. We will be designing an indigenous meeting area in the newly acquired playground space directly out front of my office. Our Sustainability Leaders and class leaders will assist in the design and layout.
Thank you
My sincere thanks to Mrs Margy D'Rozario, Irene Greenway and Mr Steele Anderson who have managed the school in my absence (and Ms Hill & Mrs Ferrari's absence) and indeed all staff who have supported them. It is a big responsibility to take on in addition to regular duties, and I am very appreciative to have such leadership expertise in our school.
Congratulations!
Congratulations to the Rowe Family on the safe arrival of Hazel Dorothy who was born in January. Mum and baby are doing well.
God Bless,
Pat Berlingeri
Principal