Dear Parents, Guardians, and Community,

What’s On This Week

Catholic Education Week

• Prep 2026 Information Session (for new families): Thursday, March 20 – 9:30 AM or 7:00 PM
• St. Patrick's Cathedral Mass (for School Student Leaders): Friday, March 21
• NAPLAN (Year 3 & 5) Testing:
  • Language Conventions (Spelling & Grammar): Monday, March 17
  • Mathematics Assessments: Tuesday, March 18
  • Catch-up Sessions: March 19 & 20

Upcoming Events

• School Photos: Monday, March 24

This week, we celebrate Catholic Education Week, a time to recognize the rich tradition of faith-based learning and the impact Catholic education has on our students and communities. Some of our students will have their artwork showcased in the Catholic Education Week Art Exhibition. Sarah Godde and Zara Collett's artwork is being exhibited this week until Saturday 22nd March at Celtic Hall in the Catholic Leadership Centre, 576 Victoria Parade East Melbourne. Families are very welcome to attend the exhibition. Bookings are via https://www.trybooking.com A group of our senior students will also attend Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, followed by the Picnic in the Park this Friday.

The Importance of Catholic Education

Did you know?

• Approximately 215,000 students attend Catholic schools across Victoria.
• More than 32,500 teachers serve in Catholic schools.
• There are nearly 500 Catholic schools in Victoria.
• 1 in 5 students in Victoria attends a Catholic school.
• Catholic schools are known for fostering strong academic and career outcome - graduates are more likely to be employed and earn higher wages.
• Catholic education and health services are among the largest private employers in Australia.

Bike Racks:

Parents would have seen the notice to encourage all students to put locks on their bikes as we had another attempted theft. It does feel like a no win situation as we had had a number of bikes stolen from the rear of the school through people coming in when the gates were open and the fence being cut with wire cutters. When the bikes were in the playground we also had a number of people hit by bikes or scooters as students arrived or left school. So it does feel like to solve one problem we have created another. Certainly not having the bikes in the school yard has made it much safer for everyone. At this stage we will continue to use the front bike racks but encourage all students to have a lock on their bikes.

Principal’s Leave Notice

This will be my last newsletter for a little while, as I will be on enrichment leave from March 26 to April 14, embarking on a pilgrimage to Greece and Turkey, retracing the footsteps of St. Paul. Following this, I will take long service leave during Weeks 1–4 of Term 2 and return on May 19.

During my absence, the school will be in the capable hands of Laura Graham and Michelle Ristovski, who will ensure everything continues smoothly.

Wishing you all a wonderful few weeks ahead.

God Bless,
Anthony