Every day counts – School attendance

We all want our children to get a great education, and the building blocks for a great education begin with students coming to school each and every day.

Missing school can have a major impact on a young person’s future – a student missing one day a fortnight will miss four full weeks by the end of the year. By the end of Year 6 they’ll have missed well over a year of school!

There is no safe number of days for missing school – each day a student misses puts them behind, and can affect their educational outcomes.

Coming to school every day is vital, but if for any reason your child must miss school, please ensure you have contacted the school office to report your child's absence - office@sfbrightoneast.catholic.edu.au

Mobile Phones and Smart Watches

I have noticed that there has been a recent influx of Mobile Phones and Smart Watches with our students. I would like to remind all families that our school policy is that all phones and mobile devices, including smart watches, MUST be given to the classroom teacher at the start of each day and can be collected at the end of the day. These devices can become an unnecessary distraction during the day and also an expensive exercise if they become lost or broken. No responsibility is accepted by the school for lost or damaged devices.

Tag On System

I am pleased to inform the community that our Tag on System is now operational for this year. New families may have noticed one of the tags shown below on their child's bag in their house colour.

The data collected from this system will assist us with our active travel / Ride on data that we assess every year. Please note that the use of this system is optional and that the devices do not track children. They are used to scan on at the kiosk and instantly an email is sent to parents letting them know that their child has arrived safely at school. The kiosk is located next to the main office. The tags have been provided generously by our P & F.

School Board Meeting

Thank you to all of our School Board members who met this week on Tuesday evening. We have begun our major focus for this year which is developing the school master plan for future building works. We will be sharing the Master plan in the coming weeks for feedback from the community. I would like to thank Mr Nat Preston for his diligent work in this project for our community.

Also at our School Board meeting last night, it was proposed that a working party be formed to investigate the possibility of adding a shorts option for our girls summer uniform. Can any interested parents who would like to be on the working party for his please contact me directly at school no later than Friday 28th February.

P & F Meeting

Our first P & F Meeting for the year will be on Tuesday 25th February at 7pm in the Staffroom. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Open Days

Our school Open Days for 2020 enrolments will be held on

Thursday 5th March

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.

Information and Registration in this week's Newsletter.

Year 6 and Staff Buddy Afternoon Tea

Thank you to the staff for providing the wonderful afternoon tea with our Year 6 Students. This event is one of the highlights of the year for me as the interactions between staff and students is very special. Thanks to Miss Hill for organising the extra Staff Primary School Photos this year. Much fun was had in trying to identify the staff in their early years!

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.

Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday

Next Tuesday is Shrove Tuesday. Our wonderful P & F will provide a pancake breakfast in front of the hall on this morning before school. The gate to drive through will be closed however families can still drop off using a shorter drop off zone at the electric gate. Ash Wednesday is on Wednesday 26th February and marks the start of Lent. All students will be attending the 9:15am Parish Mass with he Parishioners. All parents are invited to join us.

Interschool Swimming

Thank you to Mrs Thompson and the many staff and parents who have assisted with preparing our students for the Dendy District inter-school swimming competition next Monday. I would like to congratulate all of the students who tried out for the team and good luck to all of our competitors for next Monday.

Meet the Teacher Meetings

Thank you to all St. Finbar's teaching staff for your dedication and professionalism during these important meetings. These meetings are designed for parents to tell the classroom teachers about their child. There was a wonderful atmosphere around the school as I observed many positive interactions between parents and staff.

Bunnings BBQ

If you are heading down to Bunnings Moorabbin, this Sunday please stop in and support our BBQ Fundraiser. Proceeds will go towards maintaining the John Ashe Playground. Special thanks to Mr Callery, Miss Ireland and Mr Anderson and all of the parent helpers for their support of this event.

God Bless,

Pat Berlingeri

Principal

P & F Fundraiser BBQ

St Finbar's Bunnings BBQ