From the Principal's Desk

Dear parents, families and friends,

Two weeks into Term 3 and once again we enter back into unprecedented times. Holidays extended by a week, followed by a return to remote learning. We now face an increase in tougher restrictions and more preventative measures. Again, I hope that this crisis can ease sooner than later. I thank all families for fully supporting the school and adhering to all restrictions put in place.

There have been a number of important developments over the past few weeks that I need to update you on:

Birmingham Street Pocket Park

Maribyrnong Council has received funding from the government for the specific purpose of developing pocket parks. So, finally, something is going to be done about the space between the two campuses of the school. I met with the council during the holidays to begin the process. I explained how our school community uses the space. I also spoke at length about how any work done to improve this space will benefit and enhance our school as well as the local community. I expressed that safety for students is paramount and that clear, safe pedestrian crossings and walkways need to be part of the plan. Also, cyclists moving through the space need to be aware of pedestrians, in particular children, and slow down and take care. I also gave the council insights into how the community uses the space after school, on weekends and holidays; as a place to gather, to play, to sit and chat over a coffee and to travel through on their way to the train station or the village.

I encourage all families to go to the link on the flier and provide the council with your thoughts, feelings and ideas. Over the coming months the staff and students will also have opportunities to provide input. I really look forward to the possibilities of this project for our school and local community.

Building Project - ISTEAM Centre

The current project of refurbishment to create an ISTEAM Centre and expand space in the school yard has been cancelled. Due to extenuating circumstances we have decided to terminate the project. I have begun the process of developing a new comprehensive and extensive Master Plan for the school. I am at the point of selecting an architect firm to lead us through this journey. In the coming months there will be consultation with students, parents and staff about what is needed, what they want and what they would like to see at St. Augustine's. The idea of a designated and purpose designed ISTEAM centre is not being thrown out, my vision is that it will be incorporated into the new Master Plan. My vision for the school is that through a number of key stages we will refurbish and redevelop the school site bringing it up to date. I want the school to look fresh, open and more inviting. I want it to look contemporary while at the same time highlighting and preserving the historical nature of the buildings as well. The admin building will receive a complete internal remodeling to make it more functional and user friendly. The main classroom building will be refurbished to open up the rooms to allow for more flexible learning that incorporates the corridors. The toilets will also receive a much needed facelift. Provisions will also be made for equal access to all rooms, including the installation of lifts to both buildings. Another major concern is the high cost of maintenance which is unfortunately inherit with old buildings. I have already spoken at length with architects about my vision to get the school to the point where maintenance will be minimal for a long time after the completion of the building stages. 

Once the Master Plan is completed I will, with the assistance of the architects, apply for a Capital Grant to fund the building project. My dream is that funding gets approved within the next 2 - 3 years. I will continue to keep you updated as always.

ICT

Over the holidays some major work occured in this area as well. Firstly, the server cabinet that was in 3/4 L (formerly the Computer Lab) was relocated. The constant hum of the server units was a distraction and made speaking and listening difficult for both the teacher and students. Secondly, I applied for a small loan to make some improvements around the school, part of this being the purchase of Chromebooks. The parent committee has been talking about this for some time and planning fundraising efforts to fund the purchase of more devices. A deal became available through our ICT provider that was too good to pass. We have ordered 100 Chromebooks and 4 storage/charge trolleys. This now means there will be 1:1 devices for Years 3 to 6 and 1:2 devices for Prep to Year 2. This being said, with strategic timetabling the juniors have the ability to also have 1:1 devices when needed.

Upon my arrival at St. Augustine's I decommissioned the Computer Lab because it was not being used anymore and the hardware was out of date (dinosaur fossils). Mobile devices are what is needed to support the flexible learning that now occurs in classrooms. Also, our recent experiences of Remote Learning has shown the teachers the possibilities and benefits of integrating more fully digital learning into the curriculum. The Chromebooks should be arriving in a few weeks. They will then need to be set up. I anticipate that they will all be ready by the time we return to onsite learning.

St. Mary MacKillop Memorial Statue

For a little while now I have been wanting to do something that acknowledges and commemorates St. Mary MacKillop and the Sisters of St. Joseph who are an integral part of our school history and identity. Just before the holidays, Mrs Mazzeo and myself met with an artist who live in our suburb of Yarraville. His name is Louis Laumen. You would have seen some of his work if you have visited the MCG or St. Patrick's Cathedral. It is far too expensive to commission him to design a statue for our school, however he has a mold of a statue set that he can cast a statue from for us. We want to place the statue at the front of the school in the garden at the corner of Birmingham Street and Pentland Parade, between the letterbox and the raised wooden garden bed. I was going to include the statue as part of the loan I mentioned before, however, there was a restriction preventing religious items being including!! There are three options for funding the statue. Two of them I will briefly mention now. The third is a long shot that requires some more work before putting it on the table. The first option is to include the statue in the Master Plan I mentioned above. The second option is to fund raise or seek donations from families and individuals both present and past of both the school and parish communities.

The total cost of the bronze statue, including the stone pedestal is about $38,000. I include a picture of the statue set below for your reference. I believe that with the future development of Birmingham Street and the future refurbishment of the school buildings, this statue would be a beautiful feature to the entry of the school. Those walking by will see it. Those driving over the bridge will see it. It will not only have a visually and aesthetically pleasing impact, but it will give an indication as to the identity of St. Augustine's Primary School and tell a story of our past, our present and our future. 

I welcome any feedback and ideas. At this stage it is just an idea, a proposal of one of the many additions that can be made to the school.

Gardens

Again, you may have noticed further work on the various gardens around the school. Most of the plants have been relocated from existing planters, while some have been new plants. We have paused for now, but once we get back I will be discussing with the Parent Committee the organising of a working bee to complete the bigger tasks required in redeveloping the gardens and yard spaces.

A reminder to view all pages in the newsletter. There are little hidden gems on each page.

Quote of the week: 

"Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible." -St. Francis of Assisi

Kind regards,

Matthew Stead

Principal