Dear Parents/Carers,

Each year when we welcome prospective families into the school for tours, one of the main questions we receive is ‘Where do the students of St Agnes’ go onto?’ Over the years, there have been many success stories of past students of our school going on to be elected into leadership roles of the various secondary schools. On an annual basis, our school receives positive feedback from the secondary schools about the way our students are prepared for the next phase of their education. The staff from these schools talk about the positive disposition of St Agnes’ students, their attitude towards learning and ability to self manage. This is a credit to families and also the students and staff for their work in the final years of their primary education. In recent years, our student retention rate has been very strong, especially at Year 5 and 6. There are many opportunities and benefits for children in the senior years at a small Catholic primary school such as us, that are not possible in larger schools or at an independent school. Each child at St Agnes’ is elected to a leadership position within the school and given multiple opportunities to stand up and lead their fellow students. Each week, our Year 6 students take charge of Assembly, fostering their confidence in presenting to an audience. As was the case in 2021, all of our Year 5 and 6 students have the opportunity to audition for the main roles in our school production and form the main cast. Our ‘Buddy’ program where the senior students are paired with a Prep is also a fantastic leadership opportunity and connection. For those who are interested, our current Year 6 cohort is going on to attend the following schools in 2023:

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart College, Bentleigh - 2 students
Star of the Sea College, Brighton - 8 students
St Bedes College, East Bentleigh/Mentone - 8 students
De La Salle College, Malvern - 1 student
Kilbreda College, Mentone - 2 students
Haileybury College - 1 student
Cheltenham Secondary College - 1 student
Beaumaris Seconday College - 1 student

Staffing

I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank our staff for their ongoing commitment and flexibility over the past three weeks; covering various classes and ensuring the best learning experience for all of our students. As is the case in many industries, we are in the midst of a teacher shortage and, coupled with staff absence due to illness, St Agnes’ has certainly felt the pinch of late. From covering extra yard duties, missing planning time, taking their class out for PE lessons they may have missed, or foregoing scheduled leadership time, our staff are working incredibly hard to ensure our students do not miss out and remain onsite at school.

Bogan Bingo

This Friday night, the St Agnes’ Parents and Friends Committee are hosting a get together for all parents and friends of our school community - ‘Bogan Bingo’. This opportunity to connect and gather together as a group is an aspect of school life that has been sorely missed over the past two years. As we move through a pandemic, we have to be quite deliberate about reconnecting and rebuilding the culture of the school. This takes effort and a commitment from all. The benefits of being involved in the life of your child’s school has a significant impact on their sense of belonging, wellbeing and therefore academic success. As parents, you also benefit through improved relationships and connectedness. The P&F has three main functions; to foster the social aspect of school community, to fundraise and pastoral care when required. Friday night is predominantly a social event for the benefit of parents of our school, organised by parents of our school. I would specifically like to thank Bree Walsh and Georgia Sotiroski for their efforts in organising the night. Doors open at 7.30pm, with the bingo kicking off at 8pm. Food and entertainment is included in the ticket price and drinks are at bar prices. It promises to be a very fun, light hearted event.

Family Maths Night

Last night at about 7pm, the school was buzzing with conversations about Mathematics. It was terrific to see so many children and parents in attendance on a cold evening. Thank you to those families who made it along and I would also like to thank our staff for their planning and preparation for the evening. A focus in our school at the moment is ensuring we are teaching the children at the ‘point of need’ and stretching their learning. As parents and teachers, we have to resist the urge to always make our students / children feel ‘comfortable’ by solving problems for them! When students work through confusion, they deepen their understanding. The slide show and handout will be shared via Class Reps in the coming days.

Book Week Activities

On Thursday 18th August our school will be celebrating The Children’s Book Council of Australia’s Book Week. The focus for the week is celebration of children’s literature and we will mark the occasion with a number of activities. The children are invited to dress up as their favourite book character and there will be a parade first thing in the morning. After this, there will be activities in the classroom, before the students are treated to a performance in the afternoon, showcasing some of the award winning literature. It promises to be an awesome day!

Sacrament of First Eucharist

In the coming weeks, our Year 4 students will be receiving the Blessed Eucharist for the first time. As part of their preparation, the children will participate in activities on the First Eucharist Reflection day on Wednesday 17th August. The children can wear casual clothes on this day. The children will receive the Eucharist first time on either Saturday 20th or Saturday 27th August at the 6pm evening mass. We wish the children well as they take the next step on their faith journey.

Saturday 20th August: Camilla Telese, Callan Duddy, Logan Vien, Sienna Karpathakis.

Saturday 27th August: Vallentina Oliveira Lima, Kane Corcoran, Ava Przybyszewski, Chloe Gresle, Sasha Hampson, Ava Coates, Eleanor Forbes, Arabella Shine.

The following children have also opted to be involved in the celebration by way of a blessing:

Ayman Yilmaz, Daisy and Rosie Russell.

School Closure Day

The school will be closed on Monday 22nd August for staff professional learning. We will be updating First Aid skills/knowledge, as well as learning more about Multisensory Structured Language approach (MSL).

Father’s Day Breakfast and Celebrations

On Thursday 1st September, we will gather in the hall to celebrate all of the Dads and special male figures in the lives of our students. All are invited to this event and tickets will be available for purchase in the coming weeks. We will require parent help to put on the breakfast for the dads, so be on the lookout for this request too. As there is no morning mass on a Thursday, we will mark the occasion with some presentations from the students in the Hall, following the breakfast. The breakfast will commence at 7.30am, with presentations from 8.15am-8.45am.

Year 6 Graduation Meeting - Tuesday 30th August

At 8am on Tuesday 30th August, all Year Six parents are invited to attend a meeting regarding the planning of the Year Six graduation celebrations. We require the assistance of the parent group to bring together this special evening for the students. If you are unable to attend, please let your Class Reps know how you may able to help out. Minutes of the meeting will also be shared.

Southern Metro Region Girls Soccer

We wish our Year 5 and 6 Girls Soccer Team well on Monday 22nd August, as they head off to compete in the Southern Metro Region championships. The girls have been very successful in previous competitions and we wish them well for this event!

Kristy Sly - Pending Nuptials

Miss Sly is preparing to marry her fiance Dylan on Friday 10th September and will be on leave from Thursday 8th September, until Friday 16th September (inclusive). During Kristy’s absence, Sile (pronounced Sheila) O’Dowd will be teaching Year 5. We wish Kristy and Dylan well for a happy wedding day and future together.

Tuckshop price changes

Due to the rise in food costs over the past months, the tuckshop has been forced to increase the price of some of the menu items. The changes have already been made on the website, but if you put a cash order in at the office please check the prices first.

Thanks for supporting the tuck shop!

Sally Gittus (Salute Catering)

Assembly

Assemblies will continue to operate as normal this term, in the Hall on Wednesday afternoons. Parents are welcome to attend. At assembly, there will be presentations from classes, student awards, birthday acknowledgements and special announcements.

Wed 10th Aug - Prep (100 Days celebration)

Wed 17th Aug - Year 3

Wed 25th Aug - Choir

Wed 31st Aug - Year 1

Wed 7th Sept - Year 4

Wed 14th Sept - Year 5

Kind regards,

Lachie

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