Dear Parents,

Welcome back to St Agnes’ Primary School in 2021. It has been terrific to welcome 25 new families into the school this year, with 20 of those families in our Prep cohort. We warmly welcome all of the new families to our school community and look forward to getting to know you and your children. The school grounds and classrooms were absolutely buzzing on the first day last week as we welcomed all of the students back to school for the year. It was great to see families catching up in the playground before school and the smiles on the children's faces as they saw all of their friends again. Being the first newsletter of the year, it is a long one, as it includes details for all of the events in Term One. 2021 is going to be a busy year with camps, sacraments, excursions, the biannual St Agnes’ School Fete and many other extra curricular activities.

The first event of the school year is the Parent Information Night, this will be held tonight, in classrooms and led by your child’s classroom teacher(s). The Prep to Year 2 sessions commence at 7pm, with Year 3 to Year 6 sessions from 8pm. We ask at least one parent from each family to attend these sessions as there will be information specific to the 2021 school year shared during this time.

I would like to thank the staff for preparing the classrooms and completing all of the administrative tasks in readiness for the school year. This term, we welcome back Mrs Josie Miller from parental leave, after the arrival of her daughter Indianna back in June last year. Josie will be teaching in Year 4 in a job-share with our Deputy Principal, Mr Cherry. We also welcome Miss Jessica Matthews, who will be working in the Year 1 and 2 classrooms as a Learning Support Officer. Jess is studying her Masters of Primary Teaching and working at St Agnes’ while she studies. Shannon Shine and Naomi Field will continue in the office. Shannon handles all things related to communications (Operoo/Newsletter) and enrolments (student information) and Shannon works on Mondays and Tuesdays each week. Naomi works Tuesday to Friday and handles the financials, school fees and the general administration of the school office.

In the first few weeks of the school year, our teachers will be working hard to establish a connection with your child, to help them feel a sense of belonging in the classroom and school. As teachers, we look forward to partnering with you to ensure a smooth start to the school year. To assist with the transition into school, there are things that you can do to assist:

Establish a routine for morning and evenings - Children respond well to routine and boundaries. It is important that your child is getting to bed on time and getting plenty of sleep - It is recommended that primary aged children get 9-11 hours of sleep each night. Routines with breakfast, reading and homework in the evening will help your child make a settled start to the year.
Arrive on time - The classrooms are open from 8.30am each morning and the 20 minutes before learning commences is for children to get to know their teacher, spend time with their peers and most importantly, ready themselves for the day ahead. Parents are welcome to come in and say hello - A strong teacher/parent relationship is important for your child's success at school.
Keep the weekends quiet for February - Settling back into the rigours of school after the holidays can take some time, especially for younger children during the warmer weather. It’s good to give the children some down time on the weekends to recharge.

Parent Teacher Exchanges

Parent Teacher Interviews will be in February and June. The first “exchanges” on Tuesday 9th February will be an 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 format of the teacher reporting on the child’s progress. Parents will have the opportunity to either attend in person or to have their appointment via Google Meet. Teachers will communicate the Google Meet link for those parents wishing to have online interviews. Our preference is still to meet with parents face to face. Written reports will be provided prior to the June interviews and at the end of the year. The website to access the booking is www.schoolinterviews.com.au/code. The code for the event is: nxchb

The children will finish school at 1:00pm on this day to allow the staff to commence the interviews at 1:30pm.

2021 School Fees

School Fees Invoices will be issued towards the end of February as the school continues to navigate a new administration package. Please be on the lookout for these invoices and ensure payment is made promptly to avoid late payment fees. Please see Naomi in the office if you would like to set up a payment plan.

Sibling Enrolments for 2022

We are asking those current families to complete the enrolment process for any siblings who will join our school in Prep 2022. Forms can be downloaded from our website or you can pick one up from the office.

Sacraments for 2021

Please see below, all of the dates for our Sacramental programs in 2021. We were forced to cancel Reconciliation and First Eucharist in 2020, so we have two cohorts of students celebrating both of these sacraments this year.

Sacrament of Reconciliation - Year 3 and 4 students

Family Faith Night - Thursday 18th February at 7.30pm in the Hall

Sacrament of Reconciliation - Thursday 18th March from 6.30-8.30pm

Sacrament of First Eucharist - Year 4 & 5

Family Faith Night - Wednesday 28th April at 7.30pm in the Hall

Students from Year Four and Year Five will complete the sacrament in groups of 10 at Saturday evening mass on the below dates:

Saturday 29th May Saturday 5th June

Saturday 12th June Saturday 19th June

Further information will be provided closer to the time.

Sacrament of Confirmation (Year 6)

Dates for Confirmation are still to be finalised as we are waiting for direction from the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne.

Anthea Georgiou - Wedding

Our Year 2 Teacher Anthea and her fiance Nick will be married on Saturday 14th February. Anthea will be taking some leave in the lead up to the wedding and afterwards for her honeymoon. Mrs Lauren Cummins, a former St Agnes’ staff member, will be teaching Year 2 during Anthea’s absence. We wish Anthea and Nick well for their special day.

Instrumental Music Lessons

Instrumental Music lessons will recommence this term through our external provider Srebrenka’s Instrumental Music Program. Children can learn instruments individually or in small groups and there are a number of instruments on offer. You organise your lessons and pay Srebrenka directly. Information will be sent home with your child in the coming days. If you are interested in this, please contact Srebrenka Casaceli on 0430 287 787 or email her on s.casaceli@outlook.com

School Canteen

I am pleased to inform you that we will soon have an onsite School Canteen, where students can order special lunches. Salute Catering, owned by a former St Agnes’ parent, will operate out of the Hall Kitchen and provide lunch options for students on Fridays. This will commence on Friday 19th February and further information will be forthcoming. Classroom Cuisine is no longer available at St Agnes’.

Icy Poles

Our wonderful parent helpers will resume selling Icy Poles on Monday’s and Friday’s at lunchtimes and also after school on Fridays. Icy poles can be purchased for $1 or 50c.. If you would like to help out selling Icy Poles, please contact Carly Crough (croughy2@bigpond.com).

Second Hand Uniform shop

Second hand uniform shop will be open the last Friday of the month this term, please refer to the Uniform Shop section of the newsletter for further details.

Student absences

If your child is going to be absent from school, please notify the school via email or by phoning the office. If via email please email your child’s teacher directly and cc absences@sahighett.catholic.edu.au.

Specialist Classes for 2021

PE - Tuesday with Mr Kost (Sports uniform required)

Performing Arts - Tuesday with Mrs Gugliucciello

Art - Thursday with Mrs Sorensen

Italian - Friday with Mrs Talarico

Class Sport - Year level specific - check with your child’s teacher (Sports uniform required)

Assembly

Assembly will take place at 2.40pm on a Wednesday afternoon in the Hall. At assembly, there will be presentations from classes, student awards, birthday acknowledgements and special announcements. Parents are welcome to attend.

Wed 3rd Feb - Year 5

Wed 10th Feb - Year 6

Wed 17th Feb - Year 4

Wed 24th Feb - No Assembly

Wed 3rd March - Year 3

Wed 10th March - Year 2

Wed 17th March - Year 1

Wed 24th March - Prep

Wed 31st March - Year 6

Events for 2021

Prep Welcome Drinks - Thursday 4th February at 7pm

This Thursday night from 7pm, the school is hosting a social evening for our Prep Parents in the school playground. This evening is a chance for the Prep parents to get to know some of the other families from the Prep cohort. Drinks and nibbles will be provided.

Interschool Swimming Sports

The school will be holding swimming trials on Tuesday 2nd and Tuesday 9th February at Klim Swim in Cheltenham. Those children from Years 3 -6 who wish to try out for the team need to attend both of these trials. Those children selected to be part of the school swimming team will then be invited to take part in an early morning swimming training session on Tuesday 16th February. More information will be provided after the trials are completed.

Year 6 Leadership Positions

The Year 6 students are currently in the process of applying for Leadership Roles within the school and will present their Leadership Speeches from 9am on Monday 8th February. Year 6 parents are welcome to attend to listen to the speeches. The positions will be announced at Assembly on Wednesday 10th February.

School Photos

School Photos will take place on Monday 15th February. Details regarding how families can order photos will be forwarded closer to the date. Children are to wear their full summer uniform on photo day. If Class Sport is scheduled for photo day, the children can bring their runners and change after the photos. Please ensure your child is wearing navy school socks and black leather schools shoes, not black runners.

Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday is on Wednesday 17th February and this year, we will mark the beginning of Lent by coming together for a Whole School Paraliturgy in the Church at 9am. Parents are welcome to join us for this. We will acknowledge Shrove Tuesday the day prior, with the cooking of Pancakes and we will be looking for parents helpers to make this happen. Please contact your Class Rep if you can help out.

Education Advisory Board Meeting

The first Education Advisory Board (EAB) meeting will be held at school on Tuesday 16th February, commencing at 7.30pm in the Staffroom. The EAB is an advisory body who support the Principal and Parish Priest on matters relating to the education of the students at St Agnes'. We are looking for at least one additional member of our parent community to join the EAB for 2021. If you are interested, please contact me or our Chair, Anton Duddy.

Whole School Welcome Picnic - Friday 19th February from 5.30pm

This is a social event for the whole family. Pack the picnic basket with some food, drinks and a rug or chair and come along for a family night with the entire St Agnes School community. Parents ‘set up camp’ in the central courtyard of the school and the students play with their friends while Mum and Dad enjoy a drink and a chat. All families are encouraged to get along to this event.

Year 5/6 Camp

The Year 5/6 students leave for Canberra on Monday 22nd February and will be away until Friday 26th February. Further information has been provided via Operoo.

Year 3/4 Zoo Snooze

This year, our Year 3 and 4 students will spend a night at Melbourne Zoo’s camp, ‘Zoo Snooze’.

The Year 3 students will stay overnight on Wednesday 10th November and Year 4 on Wednesday 17th November. More information will be provided closer to the date.

Parents and Friends Committee

Our Parents and Friends Committee plays a vital role in our school and the following people are the Executive Committee for 2021:

President: Fleur Luke

Secretary: Georgia Sotiroski

Treasurer: Andrew Bruggeman

Class Rep Coordinator: Sally Forbes

More information regarding the first meeting for the P&F will be sent out to parents through the Class Reps shortly inviting parents along to our first meeting for 2021. All parents can attend any P&F meetings and it would be great to see some new faces come along.

Open Days 2021

This year we will be holding Open Days from 9.00am to 3.00pm on the following dates:

Wednesday 3rd March

Wednesday 24th March

Wednesday 21st April

Our parents and students are our greatest advocates, so I ask all families to continue to spread the good news about our school as we look to grow further this year and into 2022.

Prep Resilience Night - Tuesday 9th March 7.30pm

As we did for the whole school last year, we will be hosting an information night on Resilience for our Prep families. The focus is on how parents can help your child to be resilient young people. It is essential that at least one parent from each family attend, but it would be even better if both parents could be present.

School Closure Days for 2021

Term One: Thursday 4th and Friday 5th March

Term Two: Monday 17th May

Term Three: Monday 23rd August May

Term Four: Monday 29th November

Last day of Term One - Thursday 1st April

On the final day of Term One, we will acknowledge some of the events of Holy Week, with an Easter Paraliturgy. We will then move into a whole school activity day, focused on promoting positive relationships with our students. More information will be provided closer to the day.

Students will finish at 1.30pm on this day.

St Agnes’ School Fete

The 2021 St Agnes’ School Fete is schedule for the weekend of Saturday 20th November. Please keep this date free in your calendar as it is a major event for the school community.

Newsletter Distribution list

The school newsletter is emailed to all families on a Tuesday via iNewsletter and using the address provided on Operoo. A request from Operoo will be sent allowing parents to supply additional email addresses if required.

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