Dear Parents & Guardians
2024 STAFFING UPDATE
We are still working on our staffing structures for next year. As I noted in the newsletter at the end of last term, staffing is very challenging right now and we are still seeking a number of teaching staff to fill positions for next year. Please nag, bully and cajole any great teachers you know that might want to be part of our amazing school community! Why wouldn’t they want to work at St Lawrence of Brindisi??
We have been able to find and fill two positions so far for our teaching roles. Mrs Bridget Fairman will join us from 2024 in a part-time teaching position. Bridget is an experienced teacher who comes with an outstanding reputation, and I am sure she will be a wonderful addition to our school community. We also welcome Ms Charlene Zhou who will be joining our team. Charlene is new to primary education; however, I know that she will be well supported in our school and made welcome by everyone at St Lawrence of Brindisi.
Two of our current staff who are finishing their degrees will officially start their teaching careers at St Lawrence of Brindisi next year. Alessio Mantello will be teaching our specialist sports program in collaboration with Stephen Neal and Skylah Ball, who has been teaching this year part-time in our Discovery Learning Community will start in our Exploration Team. Already, they have become valuable members of our team. Nicky Gauci will continue her part time role next year (though technically, Nicky has been back at school for a while – she couldn’t stay away, and we are really pleased to have her back).
Sadly, we will be losing Annabelle Zekic in Exploration 2 as she begins her year of maternity leave. This will be a huge loss for our school as Annabelle is a truly outstanding teacher. We wish her all the best for next year and hope that she is able to come back soon. We will also lose Shannon Nolan, our specialist Visual Arts teacher. Shannon will also begin her maternity leave period from the beginning of March next year, which gives us a little time to find a replacement, though they will have a challenge to have the same impact as she has had on our school. Again, a huge loss but we congratulate Shannon on her exciting news.
2024 FEES
Please make sure you come and ask Emma in the office if you have any questions about the payment of fees for 2023 or 2024. All paperwork must be returned to the school office by Wednesday 29, November. .
2024 SACRAMENT INFORMATION EVENING
A reminder for parents of students currently in Year One, Two or Four. All parents of baptised Catholic students wishing to receive the Sacraments of Reconciliation, Eucharist or Confirmation in 2024, must attend the sacramental information evening on November 15 at St Anthony’s Parish at 6pm. If your child has not yet received a 2024 Sacrament enrolment form, please contact Jay Russell as soon as possible: jamien.russell@slweirviews.catholic.edu.au.
SCHOOL CLOSURE DAYS
Please remember that there are two student-free closure days this term, one on Monday, November 6 (the day prior to Melbourne Cup Day) and Friday, November 17. There is no school on these days. The last day of the school year for students is Friday, December 15.
SPECIAL PARISH EVENT
There is a special event in our parish of St Anthony of Padua on Saturday, November 18. Archbishop Peter Comensoli will be at the parish to officially install Fr Alex, as the new parish priest of our parish. It would be wonderful to see some of our families there to support Fr Alex as he has already had a big impact on our school community. The parish has arranged a reception after mass at 5.00pm. If you are interested in attending, you need to add your name to the sheet in the church foyer so the parish can organise numbers.
STUDENT ILLNESS
Despite the turn of the weather for the better (finally!) we have noticed that there are days with a significant number of children away from school sick. We have also had a number of staff members contract COVID, which is reminder that this is still around.
It is important for parents and guardians to remember that children should not be sent to school if they are unwell. If your child is sick, they must be kept home, and the school admin team notified. In the instance that your child contracts COVID, they cannot return to school for five days and until they have a negative test. Please test your child if they are showing symptoms of COVID. Unfortunately, most of our RAT tests have reached their expiry date and we no longer have spare tests to distribute.
As noted in the letter sent home earlier in the week, this is also hay fever season. If your child requires hay fever medication, this must be administered at home. As with any other medication, we cannot administer this at school without the appropriate forms having been completed and it is not the role of our staff to administering lots of Hay Fever medication to children.
God bless,
Bill Hill.
PRINCIPAL