Deputy Principals' Report

Dear Parents and Friends,

It has been lovely having our younger students back on site this week, and having St Finbar's feel like a school again.  I'm sure many of our older students are wishing that they were back amongst their friends as well...not long to go now! 

Reconciliation Week - We are all in it together 2020

This week our Indigenous Perspectives Team, led by Charlotte Ireland and Lisa Poulter have organised us for the staff and Year 5 and 6 students with parental permission to view In My Blood It Runs. 

In this PG movie we will meet ten-year-old Dujuan, a child-healer, a good hunter and speaks three languages, as he discovers the resilience and resistance of many generations of his people and faces the history that runs straight into him.

As he shares his wisdom of history and the complex world around him we see his spark and intelligence, yet Dujuan is ‘failing’ in school and facing increasing scrutiny from welfare and the police. As he travels perilously close to incarceration, his family fight to give him a strong Arrernte education alongside his western education lest he becomes another statistic. We walk with him as he grapples with these pressures, shares his truths and somewhere in-between finds space to dream, imagine and hope for his future self. We look forward to this opportunity. 

Student Wellbeing 

We have strived to ensure our Social and Emotional Learning( SEL) from Prep to Year 6 has been paramount throughout the pandemic. Each year level has had a weekly focus in line with our SEL scope and sequence. The focus for the first half of term was on Courage and our focus for the latter part of term is Looking on the Bright side. In addition to this Ellie Nicolay our school psychologist has been supporting the staff, to best support their students.  In my role as Wellbeing Leader l have listened to many webinars and zooms to build my own capacity in regards to supporting students and families that may have anxiety in relation to COVID 19. In particular our story of Matilda and Theo in Lost and Found hit an accord with each year level.

Please contact me on cferrari@sfbrightoneast.catholic.edu.au if wellbeing support is needed. 

We are Family 

Our dynamic team of Miss Bell and MIss Zeeng have invited the community to get on board and join in with our We Are Family dance routine. Thank you to the families who have uploaded their renditions, they are fantastic. We encourage everyone to have a go  and then Mrs Williams is going to make a St Finbar's imovie.

To welcome our Prep, Year 1 and Year 2 students back, the music has been playing from the PA system and everyone is having a dance along. It is so good having the juniors back and we look forward to the seniors joining us soon. 

National Story Time 

Once again the students of St Finbar's participated in National Simultaneous Storytime on Wednesday by listening to the story Whitney and Britney Chicken Divas.  National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS) is held annually by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA). Every year a picture book, written and illustrated by an Australian author and illustrator, is read simultaneously in libraries, schools, pre-schools, childcare centres, family homes, bookshops and many other places around the country. 

Learning and Teaching 

We are proud of the learning that our teachers have been delivering to the students whilst at home.  Many hours of preparation have been going into producing lessons that are engaging for the students and directly related to the curriculum.  The Years 3 to 6 teachers will continue to plan and deliver their lessons online for the next two weeks before we welcome our Years 3 to 6 students back on-site for the final weeks of Term 2. 

Cathy Ferrari and Michelle Hill

Deputy Principals