Dear Parents,
It is hard to believe that this will be our second last newsletter for 2020. There were stages in the first half of the year when I thought the year was moving slowly, particularly around the time that the children were not coming to school and the teachers were providing the two different modes of learning with some at school and others learning from home. Once things have returned to normal, time seems to have flown by and now we find ourselves in the back half of November.
End of Year Reports
Our teaching staff are currently completing the End of Year reports. All classes from Year 1 to 6 have recently completed standardised testing in Maths, Reading and Spelling. This data will complement the class assessments in formulating informed judgements about the achievement levels of the children in the different classes to ensure parents receive accurate and informed reports. My initial analysis of the data that has come through from the standardised tests is very pleasing, we have seen some fantastic growth in the different cohorts. An important reflection is that our children across the board perform better academically, against the expected norms the longer they are in our community which is exactly what we want for our children.
P&F News
We received some news from Gilbert’s Fresh last week that we will be receiving $475 for the P&F, reflective of the money spent by Fatima families at Gilbert’s Fresh so please keep shopping there and supporting the school. Our P&F have also agreed to pay for a paging system which will be located in our front office and allow us to send messages out to all learning spaces in the school, both inside and outside the buildings. We are also planning to install 2 new flagpoles adjacent to the existing flagpole, including the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags. The support and the generosity of our P&F continues to be very much appreciated and the benefits to the children and their families is fantastic.
NAIDOC Week
We had a really strong NAIDOC Week focus over the past fortnight which culminated in the assembly last week. The connection between the 6 indigenous seasons depicted on the painted mural adjacent to the Pre-Primary classroom and the bush tucker program which we started earlier this year was clearly illustrated for the children. Our artist, Dixie Bonney spent time with each cohort of children explaining the connection and providing the opportunity for the children to design their own banner illustrating the seasons. Special thanks to Renae King for coordinating this special focus in our school.
St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal
Once again, I would like to express my gratitude towards all the families at our school for contributing towards the Christmas Appeal. This is always a great opportunity for the children to tangibly provide some support to some local families to ensure they have a more enjoyable festive season. This is a very practical way for us to live out our faith and demonstrate our generosity to benefit others.
Fatima’s Got Talent
Our unique tradition has continued this year under the guidance of Di Law with a large number of children auditioning to be part of Fatima’s Got Talent Show held in the school hall at 2pm this afternoon. I have always thought that children feeling confident enough to move out of their comfort zone to demonstrate their unique talents in front of the school says a great deal about the culture at our school. Congratulations to all children involved, we enjoyed some fantastic entertainment this afternoon.
Preparation for 2021/2020 School Fees
I continue to have enrolment interviews for a variety of year groups, and again ask if any parents are choosing to relocate their child, they need to let us know in the office to ensure we cater for as many of the families as possible who are enquiring about moving their child to our school. I also ask parents to finalise their 2020 school fees if possible, over the next few weeks. If any families would like some support with school fees, please do not hesitate to book a time to have some conversation about how we could help.
Parent Meetings for 2021
We have started meeting with our parent cohorts in preparation for the 2021 school year, meeting with the Kindy 2021 cohort yesterday and the Pre-Kindy 2021 cohort on Tuesday next week. As usual, we will be holding our Parent Information Meetings in the first few weeks next year for the parents of children from PP-6 to outline the programs and structures offered in the different year levels in 2021.
Staffing For 2021
Our usual practice is to announce staffing for the following year in this edition of the newsletter. Obviously with the announcement made today that I will be moving to a new school, we may need to make some adjustments to our staffing plan and just need some more time to confirm some details. As soon as staffing can be confirmed, it will be sent out to the families.
I will speak at some gatherings between now and the end of the year about my time at Our Lady of Fatima, I have really enjoyed my time in this community. However, I also think it is time for me to move to a new community, accept a new challenge and re-invent myself within the context of a new community to continue to grow as a person and professionally.
Community Meeting with Refreshments
A final reminder to the community of our upcoming School and Parents & Friends Annual General Meetings which will take place on the evening of Tuesday 1st December. This is a formal opportunity to address the community about a range of things that have unfolded in 2020 including our financial position and acknowledge an array of people who have positively contributed to our school and broader community throughout the year. The evening will begin at 6:30pm with the P&F AGM, followed by the School Board AGM and will conclude with some refreshments, enjoying each other’s company in a spirit of celebration.
Aqua Splash Carnival
The children in Years 1-3 will have the chance to showcase their swimming skills with our Aqua Splash carnival, on Friday 4th December from 1pm – 2:30pm. The carnival will take place at Bill Kirby’s swimming facility in Melville. This is quite an informal event to give the children exposure to swimming races in a fun, relaxed environment. We look forward to seeing you there.
Best wishes for the coming fortnight.
Paul Hansen
Principal
