Welcome back to Term 2
I trust all students and families had a lovely break over the recent holidays. I hope you’re rested and ready to embrace the possibilities and opportunities that lie ahead. I also hope that families were able to spend time together to celebrate Easter and rejoice in the risen Lord.
Happy Easter to the many families in the Antonine community who celebrated Orthodox Easter during the holidays. We trust you had a blessed day celebrating the risen Lord with your families.
We also pray that, as we begin the new term, through the light of Christ we will continue to strengthen our relationships with one another.
Term 2 has begun with a settled and truly wonderful start across the school.
It has been so pleasing to see students quickly re-engage with their learning, reconnect with friends and step back into school routines with confidence and enthusiasm. This positive beginning has been made even more special by the beautiful autumn weather we have been enjoying, with crisp mornings and golden afternoons adding to the sense of energy and wellbeing around the school. It is shaping up to be a fantastic term ahead.
It was wonderful to see so many parents booking and attending face to face meetings with your child’s teacher during our recent Parent Teacher Interviews. I would also like to thank those parents who continued to engage with staff through online sessions. These conversations around student progress and other important matters are invaluable in helping us work together to best support your children. The feedback received has been very positive.
A reminder that children are asked not to bring items from home such as toys and sporting equipment unless it is for show and tell and is looked after by the classroom teacher during the day. Also, we are a school that does not allow any child to have a mobile phone in the school grounds. This policy also means that smart watches that can make calls, receive text messages, take photos or videos are also not allowed to be used during the day. You will need to adjust the settings, otherwise they will be confiscated and returned at the end of the day.
To ensure the safety and wellbeing of all students, families, and staff, I would like to remind our school community of the school’s pick-up procedures and expectations. These procedures are in place to meet our child safety responsibilities and legislative requirements and to ensure a safe, respectful environment for all members of our school community. We appreciate your cooperation and support in following these guidelines.
Pick-Up/Drop Off Time and Location
School Gates will open at 8:05am for drop off and 3:00pm for afternoon pick up. Parents and carers are asked to wait in the designated car park area until students are collected. I or another member of staff will always be present in the yard to assist with any requests.
Student Safety and Boundaries
For child safety reasons, parents must not approach students. This includes refraining from initiating conversations with other students, whether to discuss student matters or simply to greet them. Any parent or carer who needs to interact with students (beyond their own child) must hold a valid Working With Children Check and must be signed in through the school office before doing so.
Access to School Buildings
Parents and carers are not permitted to enter student buildings (morning or afternoon) unless they have signed in at reception. This is in line with our child safety obligations and legislative requirements.
Use of Facilities
If you need to use bathroom facilities while on school grounds, please report to reception for directions.
Cyber Bullying Performance
Last week, we had a company present to all our Year 3–6 students about the importance of being safe and responsible online. The performance highlighted real life scenarios where students were being targeted and provided practical strategies on how to respond to online bullying.
Some of the key messages shared with students included:
Tell a trusted adult
Report the behaviour
Block the person or group
Save evidence of the incident
Stay positive and do not retaliate
As a college, we have noticed a reduction in online incidents since the introduction of the new 16+ guidelines, which has been very encouraging.
How parents can support at home:
Have regular, open conversations with your child about their online activity
Remind them never to share personal information or passwords
Encourage them to come to you if something online makes them feel uncomfortable
Keep devices in shared family spaces where possible
Set clear expectations around screen time and appropriate online behaviour
Familiarise yourself with the apps and platforms your child is using
Model respectful and responsible online behaviour
11 Months, 11 Standards
May marks the continuation of our 11 Months, 11 Standards journey, with a focus on Child Safe Standard 4 – Organisations ensure that families and communities are informed and involved in promoting child safety and wellbeing.
This approach supports our ongoing commitment to maintaining compliance with the Child Safe Standards while continuing to strengthen our child-safe culture. Each month, our school intentionally highlights one standard and engages with the MACS Care resources to guide our practice. Staff will attend a briefing about the standard, and by focusing on one standard at a time, we ensure child safety remains a shared, visible, and active responsibility across our community.
Happy Mother’s Day
On Sunday, we celebrated all the amazing work, dedication, and love that our mothers play in our lives. Mothers hold a very special place in our families and school community, and we thank them for their ongoing care, support, and sacrifices.
At school, we held a special Mother’s Day morning where our wonderful mums attended a session with their children in class. Families participated in a special prayer and classroom activities together. It was wonderful to see how happy and excited our children were to have their mums engaged in their learning and school life.
A special thank you to our supportive P&F Committee for organising our Mother’s Day stall and helping make the celebrations so special for our students and families.
- Mr Abraham Diab