Parish Priest: Fr Florentino (Boy) Galdo
School Principal: Mr Bob Brown
Deputy Principal: Mrs Rachael Spooner
School Email: principal@smfawknernth.catholic.edu.au
School Phone: 0393595423
St Matthew's Primary School is committed to creating an environment where the safety, wellbeing
and participation of all children within our care is paramount.
A big warm hello and welcome back to all our students, parents, staff and members of our school community.
I hope you all had a lovely Christmas with your families and that the New Year has been good to you so far. This term is 10 weeks long and we are already into February. The term is a very busy one with many events taking place, so please take note of all the dates on the following pages. Keep referring to them as they come around very quickly and you don’t want to miss anything.
STAFF SCHEDULE FOR 2023
In one of the following pages you will once again find the whole Staff schedule for 2023, outlining which Teachers are teaching which grades, the Leadership team, our Administration staff, our Specialist teachers, Learning Support Officers etc.
We are still searching for a suitable Mathematics Leader. We advertised over the holiday break, but did not receive any suitable applicants. I will be advertising again today on the MACS (Melbourne Archdiocese of Catholic Schools) website and proceeding from there. Hopefully we can appoint someone sooner than later. I will keep you posted.
We thought we were losing four of our Learning Support Officers due to NCCD (National Consistent Collection of Data on School, Students with Disability) government funding cuts. It has turned out to be three. Fortunately, we found out on the last day that we received some additional funding so we were able to reappoint Mrs Boon Oh Chee who will be working across the Prep/1, 2 & 3 levels over five days each week.
SUMMER SCHOOL UNIFORM
Just a reminder to all parents that all students should be in proper Summer Uniform for Term 1 and Term 4. It has come to our attention that some students are not wearing the complete correct uniform
Some Girls are wearing grey socks. They should be wearing white socks with their new summer dress.
Some students are wearing their Sports Jacket with their summer uniform. They should be wearing their School Jumper every day except on Sport days.
Our school hat is to be worn at school at Recess and Lunchtime every school day. If students do not have one or have one that is fraying around the edges they can obtain a new one from the office for only $15. Also if students do not have a hat, they will have to stay under the Year 5 classrooms during Recess and Lunchtime. They will not be allowed to play in other areas of the schoolyard. If Staff are on duty during these times they are also required to wear a broad-rimmed hat.
We have an outstanding uniform, which we are very proud of when it is worn properly, so we ask parents in advance for your support with this.
After enjoying some lovely weather during the holidays, it has turned again for the worse. Let’s hope we experience some more Summer weather soon. Have a great weekend everyone.
Yours Sincerely,
Bob Brown - Principal
DATES TO REMEMBER
FEBRUARY
Wednesday 8th February - Prep students stay home
Friday 10th February - Whole School Mass to celebrate the start of the school year
Saturday 18th February - Prep/1 Welcome Mass and BBQ - Mass is at 5.30pm in the Church with the BBQ after Mass
Wednesday 22nd February - Ash Wednesday Mass at 11.45am
Wednesday 22nd February - Meet and Greet Conversations from 1.30pm STUDENTS DISMISSED at 1.00PM
Monday 27th February -Staff Professional Development Day (Student Free Day - NO SCHOOL)
MARCH
Saturday 4th March - Working Bee
Tuesday 7th March - School Photos
Monday 13th March - Labour Day Holiday
Wednesday 14th March - Friday 24th March - NAPLAN Year 3 and Year 5
Tuesday 21st March - School based Harmony Day
Wednesday 22nd to Friday 24th March - Year 6 Camp to Camp Weekaway
Friday 31st March - Ride to School Day
APRIL
Thursday 6th April - Holy Thursday, End of Term 3.15pm
Friday 7th April - Good Friday
Sunday 9th April - Easter Sunday
All parents and carers are invited to meet with their child's teacher on Wednesday 22nd February. This meeting is an opportunity for you to share information about your child with the teacher.
The children will be dismissed at 1.00pm and the appointments will begin at 1.30pm.
Booking information will be sent home next week. Appointments will be for 10 minutes and they will be held in your child's classroom.
There will be NO SCHOOL for students on Monday 27th February as the staff will be involved in Literacy Professional Development.
What an amazing cohort of students we have in our school. They have settled in so well this year and are adapting to their new classrooms with confidence.
This week we are focusing on getting to know our peers, our teachers, our learning environment and expectations of St Matthew’s.
Our learning is all based around this and involves, small and large group activities, partner activities, role play, interviews, games and more.
This will set all of our students up for a year of learning, fun and success.
