The start of a new year always holds so much promise and is one of my favourite times of the year. It is a time filled with new beginnings, new possibilities, new goals, new friends and dreams of what might be, with the added enjoyment of new stationery!

It is always exciting to observe the girls revel in the possibilities of a new year. It is one of the great privileges of being a teacher – to be a small part of these individual and unique journeys – as we assist the girls to reach their goals.

This year I extend a special welcome to the 60 new Junior School girls and their families joining our Barbreck community. I look forward to sharing our Barbreck celebrations with you throughout the year and transitioning your daughters into the warmth and care of our academic and co-curricular programs.

This week was a wonderful start to the 2022 school year. Barbreck came to life again on Monday with the girls and their parents returning to school to drop off school resources and visit their new classroom, and meet their teacher for the year ahead. There was an excited buzz in the air, as the girls and their parents ran into old friends and made new acquaintances.

Tuesday morning saw the official start of the school year. Our girls all looked fabulous in their St Catherine’s uniform with their blue ribbon worn proudly in their hair. There were many photographs taken, calls of greetings, hugs for everyone, giggles, meeting new classmates, learning about each other and a great deal of laughter! The atmosphere was full of excitement, great expectations for the year ahead and joy to be at School again with friends, both old and new, ready to start the year!

Along with the girls, our Barbreck staff are also looking forward to the year ahead, working in partnership with families to enhance the academic and co-curricular outcomes for our girls, as well as opportunities to join together as a community once more, something we have sorely missed over the past two years.

Communication

To assist parents in navigating the school year ahead the following communications will be provided in the coming weeks:

• Term Overview
  Academic outline for each subject in Term 1
• Academic Personalised Learning Plan
  Outlines a literacy and numeracy goal for your daughter to focus on this term. The plan will contain examples and suggested activities should parents wish to provide additional support at home.
• Meet the Teacher and PFA Social Event Invitation
  Junior School leaders will provide information on the term ahead, as well as opportunities to meet with your daughter’s homeroom teacher. This information evening is accompanied by a lovely social event hosted by the PFA, providing a wonderful opportunity to meet fellow parents and our Barbreck teachers in an informal setting.
• Parent Seminars
  • Early Years Literacy – hosted by Ms Karen McArdle, Head of Junior School, and Ms Annie Taylor, Prep Teacher. This seminar is recommended for Prep and Year 1 parents
  • Learning Plus – hosted by Ms Elka Gaensler, Head of Learning Plus, and Mrs Karen McArdle, Head of Junior School. This seminar provides detailed information on St Catherine’s learning support program and is recommended for parents interested in exploring the benefits of this program.

We believe in working in partnership with our parents and good communication is key to the success of this. If parents have any questions or concerns, we ask that they raise them with their daughter’s homeroom teacher as the first contact. Our teachers are very caring and keen to assist. Staff contact details can be found in your daughter’s Student Record Book, distributed to them earlier this week.

Junior School Portal
Our Junior School Portal has undergone a major redevelopment, now providing a one-stop-shop for all information relating to Barbreck.

I encourage families to regularly explore the resources and information available on the Barbreck portal, particularly the calendar, as events are continually added, and event dates and times may change. The Barbreck portal can be accessed here.

Drop Offs and Pick Ups

Mornings: girls in Prep to Year 6 arriving at School must use the Anne Smith Avenue entrance between the Early Learning Centre and the Junior School to enter the school grounds. Most girls arrive between 8.00am to 8.20am enabling a staggered arrival time for our 185 girls.

Afternoons: All girls except those attending Co-curricular activities must leave the School grounds together at 3.20pm. To cater for the number of girls leaving at once, girls in Prep to Year 3 will exit via Gate 6 using Anne Smith Avenue, while girls in Years 4 to 6 will exit via the lower gate at the lower end of the Junior School. We advise parents to take these exit points into consideration when parking in the afternoons.

Traffic Concern
We have been contacted by the City of Stonnington Parking and Traffic Services urging parents to be cautious around schools whilst driving and to abide by the parking restrictions in place in the area.

Parking wardens patrol parking bays on Heyington Place. In order to avoid costly fines we advise parents to park in side streets and walk to drop off, or pick up areas.

Over the coming weeks, as parents park and walk their daughter to the classroom, it is advisable to:

• Arrive earlier in the morning, or later in the afternoon, and include a walk in your routine
• Explore parking options in the side streets surrounding our School
• Depending on her age, encourage your daughter to walk herself into School
• Abide by the quick drop off and pick up area in front of the Junior School, thereby increasing the number of parents able to access a park.

As more and more girls become confident to make their way to the classroom, we will have less traffic in front of School. We thank you for your continued patience with this matter.

I wish to thank the Barbreck staff and the Junior School community for helping to make the start of this year such a positive and happy one – it sets in motion the start of what is going to be a fabulous year!

Out of School Hours Care – Term 1 Week 2 Activities

Upcoming activities for Term 1 Week 2 detailed here.

St Catherine’s School offers an Out of School Hours Care program to all ELC and Junior School families. The program is implemented by our provider ‘After the Bell’, and operates within the ELC building. Parents are reminded that if you need to use the Before School Care or After School Care service, registrations need to be made in advance with ‘After the Bell’. Please allow up to five business days for your registration to be processed before your child can begin attending the program. Registration is free. All families are encouraged to register so that you can use this service in the event that you are unable to pick up your child.

Before School Care – 7.00am to 8.45am

After School Care – 3.00pm to 6.00pm

Registrations can be completed via the ‘After the Bell’ website.

Please phone 9758 6744 for all enquiries.