Dear St Anne's Community,

The end of the school year is very near, with plenty of teaching and learning and special events still to come. Don't forget to check all the important dates in this newsletter, paying particular notice to our end of year events schedule and the 2024 term dates. 

Uniform

This week, Virginia Bent and I met with Anita from Lowes. The online store is in full swing with plenty of stock available. Type into Google "Lowes St Anne's Temora" and it will take you to the site. I also know that Millers here in town are clearing the last of their St Anne's uniform stock if you wanted to check what was left there also. The Lowes store in Wagga is carrying all our stock. Please call the store if you run into any troubles online. We also have items in our school uniform store if you wanted to check sizes. During the visit, Anita dropped off some samples for new school tracksuit pants. I showed the Community Council last night and we will request some further samples from Lowes, then show you the options, before signing off on them. 

Community Council Meeting (open forum)

Last Tuesday night was our open forum for the community council meeting. Unfortunately, we did not have anyone join us. The next meeting will be in Week 3 Term 1, 2024. It is at this meeting that we will hold our AGM. 

Staffing

I have been advertising a number of positions lately, both in teaching and support roles. These all begin in 2024. Once I have people locked in, I will announce to you in due course. 

Primary students will have the opportunity to visit their 2024 classroom teacher in Week 9 this term. Teachers will be announced that week. 

Student Wellbeing Officer

This year, I submitted an application for a Student Wellbeing Officer under the federally funded National Student Wellbeing Program (Formally named the Chaplaincy Program). I am pleased to inform you that we were successful in this application. St Anne's will receive $14,000 annually (300 hours), for the next 4 years. The money is governed by strict guidelines and it will be spent on delivering the program in our school, through the employment of a Student Wellbeing Officer. This position is already advertised on the Catholic Education employment website. 

Executive Planning Day

On Monday this week, the school leadership team and I met to plan for the 2024 school year. This included the important task of organising the school calendar and to discuss the Year 12 Graduation dates and format. We also reviewed our 2023 Annual Improvement Plan to see how our progress has been on meeting the school goals. I would like to thank the leadership team for their ongoing support and dedication to the St Anne's community. 

Facilities 

Church Bell- Last weekend, the church bell and frame were lowered to the ground and stored behind the church. This will make way for the temporary modular learning  classrooms to be put in that space. 

Modular learning classrooms- originally I was told that the 2x classrooms and 1x toilet block will be delivered to us at the end of this month. Yesterday, I was informed that it will now be 15th January before they arrive. Originally we were told that we would be getting 2x toilet blocks, but due to the cost, they have reduced this to just the 1. We have been busy ordering new tables and chairs for the classroom spaces, as well as 2x interactive televisions. The new toilet blocks will provide us with 6 more toilets to use. 

School Master Plan- On the 6th December, the architect will visit us to continue the great work on our master plan. I look forward to giving you an update on the first run of the concept plans in the next newsletter. 

Staff Absences

Lately, we have had an unfortunate run of staff absences due to personal sickness, injury or family illness. We continue to keep our staff and their families in our thoughts and prayers. I want to assure you that we are very lucky to have a regular and well known supply of casual teachers who support St Anne's students to continue their learning with minimal disruption to the regular teaching and learning programs. 

Enrolments

I have nearly completed all of the enrolment interviews for the new students joining us in 2024. We have setup a waiting list in Years 7 & 8 for next year due to the size of both classes. I don't like turning people away, but it is important that we have the space for the students before enrolling them. The message that I consistently explain in interviews is:

St Anne's Staff and I set high expectations on student's academics and behaviour. Classtime is for learning and students are aware of our behaviour management policy from K-12. We encourage students to take pride in their uniform and by doing that we believe that this will carry over into their school work. 

I am currently on camp with Stage 3 students and staff at Borambola Sport and Recreation Centre. The students' behaviour and participation makes me particularly proud.

Take care,

Grant Haigh

Principal