Dear St Anne's Community,

We have had a great couple of weeks, with plenty of engaging events across the school. Students are settled and back into the routine of school. Our K-2 students have started their Initialit journey and we look forward to sharing their progress in the months to come. Year 7 have also started well and they have been busy learning their timetable and enjoying the new routine of moving classrooms and having a range of teachers. School uniform standards across the school have been very pleasing and I congratulate the students on taking pride in their uniform. 

Welcome BBQ

Thank you to everyone that attended our Welcome BBQ and open classrooms last week. It was great having you all in the school. If you missed the night and need to know anything specific, please do not hesitate to contact your child's classroom teacher. 

Swimming Carnival

Thank you to Mr Tait and Mr Hughes for their work in organising our school swimming carnival. It was an enjoyable day, with great spirit and participation on display. Congratulations to all students. The Staff v Students race was won by the students this year and well done to them. Staff will have to up their preparation for next year.

Congratulations to our students that have made it onto the next level of swimming.

Mass

We had a nice opening school Mass last week and a reverent Ash Wednesday Mass this week. I was proud of the students and how they conducted themselves during both Masses. Thank you to Mrs Collins for her work with organising these.

Community Council

We are looking for some new members to join our School Community Council. I encourage you to give me a call or an email if you would like some more information about the role. Our next meeting is on Tuesday 9th March and this will also be our AGM. The Council meet on the 2nd Tuesday of every month (except for school holidays), at 7pm in the schools front office and they provide advice and leadership in the areas of Catholic Identity and Faith, Leadership, Enrolment and Growth, Financial, Physical Resource and Academic Programs. The Council has responsibility to take decisions in the following areas:

*supporting the development of the Catholic ethos of the school;

*supporting the pastoral care strategies;

*promoting the school in the local community;

*approving and monitoring of the school-based budget including the fees collection and remission policy;

*developing and monitoring of school enterprises;

*developing capital and maintenance programs;

*developing local strategic plans (finances, buildings, resources) and contributing to archdiocesan educational strategic planning;

*approving school uniform items decided at school level.

Please contact the office if you are interested.

School Registration

Every 5 years, school’s go through a process of re-registration. We will be visited from 23rd to 25th March by an external panel consisting of people from around our Diocesan schools and Head Office. They examine the school closely to see how we are progressing with our 3 year strategic plan and areas of improvement. The panel also looks at our policies, procedures and at teacher planning, as well as visits to classrooms and facilities. They will interview staff, parents and students about the school. It is a comprehensive process and we are looking forward to sharing our story of improving student achievement, increasing student engagement and strengthening our Catholic Identity. I will share with the school community the commendations and recommendations after the registration visit.

Attendance

Your child’s daily attendance is recorded by way of marking a class roll every day. It is a legal requirement for all schools. You may email the school, send a note in or use the school app to notify the school of your child’s absence. If you need to collect your child during school hours a note to their teacher explaining the reason for leaving is required. The parent/carer/guardian is also required to sign the child out at the front office and sign them back in if they return that day. Thank you for your support. 

School Counsellor

Our new School Counsellor has started work at St Anne's. Samantha will be at our school every Monday and Tuesday. For Samantha to see any child under 14, she will ask for a permission form to be filled in by parents. Please contact the school if you would like for your child to be seen by Samantha.