Newsletter December 16th, 2024

St Brigid's Primary School Ballan wishes to acknowledge respectfully the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we live, work, learn, play and gather. We pay respect to their Elders past, present and emerging.

As we come to the close of another wonderful year, we would like to say thank you for the vital role you play in our school community. Your support and partnership have made 2024 a year to remember. This season of joy and giving is a time to reflect on the many blessings we share. At St Brigid's, we are truly fortunate to have such a caring and vibrant community dedicated to nurturing the growth and learning of our children. May your Christmas be filled with love, peace and moments of special connection with your loved ones. For those traveling, we wish you a safe journey, and for all, we hope the break brings rest and rejuvenation.

We look forward to welcoming you back in the new year, ready to embark on another exciting chapter together.

On behalf of all the staff at St Brigid's Primary School, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Congratulations to our Year 5 students who undertook their leadership speeches last week.  Each child did a fabulous job and it was so impressive to see each student speak in such a passionate way about their desire to be a school captain.  Furthermore, although not everyone can become a school captain each child demonstrated they were worthy of the role. Congratulations to Brandi Mulgrew, Felix Trinder and Ivy Damons who are our 2025 School Captains. Brandi, Felix and Ivy will be presented their school captain badges following our Advent Liturgy this Wednesday morning.

Teachers have been working diligently on Semester 2 reports. I commend our teachers for the energy, thoroughness, sincerity and professionalism that they bring to their report writing processes.

As in Semester One, we will continue to use (PAM) Parent Access Module for delivering school reports. This online system provides parent’s access to a range of information specific to your child including mid and end of year reports.

Our end of year reports will be available on PAM from 4pm Tuesday 17th December, 2024.

As we near the end of another wonderful school year, we invite our St Brigid's community to join us at St Brigid's Church at 9:00am this Wednesday, 18th December where our Year 4, 5 & 6 students will facilitate our final Advent liturgy.

Following our liturgy, we will acknowledge our 2024 School Captains and present to our community our 2025 School Captains. We will also acknowledge the contributions of staff members who will be leaving us.

We invite all families and friends of St Brigid’s to join us as we conclude the year as a community.

School will conclude for all students at 3:00pm this Wednesday 18th December. To celebrate the last day of term, students are invited to wear a touch of green (ribbon, socks, etc) to school with their sports uniform.

Ensuring the safety and well-being of all our students remains a top priority. From the commencement of the 2025 year, the official school drop-off time will be 8:30am, with the front office doors opening at this time.

We have noticed an increasing number of students arriving before 8:30am, often when the office and other areas of the school are unsupervised. From 2025, students who arrive earlier than 8:30am will need to remain in the outdoor area under the supervision of a parent or family member until 8:30am.

For families requiring earlier supervision, we encourage you to make use of the Before School Care program offered through Camp Australia, which is available from 6:30am. This is a great option to ensure your children are well cared for before the school day begins.

We appreciate your cooperation and understanding as we work together to maintain a safe environment for our children.

Thank you for your support!

2025 School fee information will be sent home to each family in your child's bag and via email this week. Please take note of the important dates contained in these documents and should you have any questions don't hesitate to contact the office by phone on 5368 1015 or email at administration@sbballan.catholic.edu.au.

With the end of the year drawing closer we ask all families to finalise their school fees as soon as possible. If you are unsure of your balance, please refer to your fee statement or contact Tracey in the office.

We have many items of clothing in lost property. If your child is missing any uniform items, drink bottles, plastic containers, can you please collect asap.

Any items left in lost property will be donated to the Op Shop at the end of term. Thank you!

All of the timetabled events (to date) for the school year can be found on our school calendar which can be accessed through PAM and via this newsletter.

SZappp Mobile Application is a fantastic way for communicating and making information or resources available to our St Brigid's school community. 

Please follow the instructions in the below guide on how to install the SZappp and register an email account for communication.