Principal's Report
Courage, Faith, Love
Dear Parents and Friends of St Agatha's Primary School,
What a busy week we have had!
On Monday we began our Arts Week with the Welcome to Country and indigenous dancers. Unfortunately, a burst water mains pipe left us without water at the school for toilets or drinking and our fire services out of action. This meant the school needed to close until water and fire services could be reconnected and checked. It was a mammoth effort to evacuate the school. Thank you to all parents who responded so quickly to our email/text to request that children be collected. Within 45minutes we were able to clear 90% of the school community from the site!
Last night and this evening, the Year 4-6 students are presenting 'Pirates of the Curry Bean'. Mr Christian Block did an amazing job putting this production together during Performing Arts lessons. The students were brilliant. I was very impressed at the way they learned their lines and acted so naturally on stage. Well done to everyone involved especially to Mr Block who has worked with the students for the past 18months on this show.
Tomorrow, we have our Japanese Day. This is one of my favorite days of the year. I look forward to seeing everyone dressed up in their Japanese costumes and listening to our Taiko drumming team perform for us. Thanks to Michelle and Joy for organizing this day.
On Tuesday next week, the Art Show will be on after school. Mrs Tharle is very excited to showcase the visual arts efforts of our students. Please come along on Tuesday between 3:30pm and 5:00pm to view the Art Show!
Staffing News
Narelle Snowden has taken a teaching position at St Clare's in Officer. Narelle has been part of the St Agatha's family for over 20 years and in fact this was her primary school! Narelle will be greatly missed however we know that this change will only enhance her as an educator. St Clare's is very lucky to have Narelle and I know her teaching contributions will be greatly appreciated there.
Maritta Abraham, Liz Bottone and Ashleigh Olive who have been working at St Agatha's for the past year will also leave the school to further their teaching careers.
Donna Carey and Bridie Donohue have also resigned. Both of these wonderful teachers have been on parental leave and will not return to St Agatha's.
Marie Meyer and Gina Notaro are both retiring. They have been long time staff members and we will miss them greatly. We wish them all the best in their retirement.
John Orison has been with us this year as the school chaplain and we wish him all the best for the future as he returns to his studies.
We will have formal farewells at the end of the year to recognise and celebrate the contributions of these staff to our school.
I am pleased to announce that in 2023 we have the following new staff.
Caitlin McCloud, Rebecca Woods, Emily Prince and Roger Graham. They will officially join the staff team in January 2023. We look forward to welcoming them to our school community!
Foundation 2023
On Monday October 24, we welcome our 2023 Foundation students for the first story time session. Mr Butler is looking forward to leading this session. On Thursday November 3, I will run the next story time session.
If you have a child who is due to begin school next year and have not yet filled in an enrolment form please contact the office ASAP to avoid missing a place!
Pupil Free Days in Term 4
Please note that we will have a Pupil Free Day on Friday 28th October. This is the Friday before the Melbourne Cup weekend. There will be no school for students on Friday 28th October or Monday 31st October. Teachers will be involved in professional learning and report writing over this extra long weekend. I thank you for your understanding.
I pray that we all have a wonderful week ahead!
Loving God, you created humanity in your image and likeness. We pray that we may open our eyes to see your face in our brothers and sisters of different cultures, races and religions. May we focus on what binds us as a people rather than what separates us.
We pray to the Lord. Amen
Michelle Bruitzman
Principal