Dear St. Cath's Families, Students, and Staff,

As this is the final school newsletter for 2025, it is with immense pride, gratitude, and joy that I wish everyone a wonderful and well-deserved holiday break! What an absolutely sensational year we have shared!

This year, once again our school community demonstrated curiosity, compassion and a strong sense of a love of learning as well as belonging and school connectedness. We saw and witnessed countless moments of genuine kindness that make St. Cath's such a special place.

To all our Students: Your enthusiasm, creativity, and determination to learn have been the driving force of our success this year, making you the true stars of our school community.

To our Staff: To our dedicated teacher, learning support staff and incredible administration Your commitment, instructional teaching, and tireless care have created a nurturing and engaging environment where every child feels valued. Thank you for going above and beyond, every day.

To our Families: Your partnership and incredible support have been invaluable this year. Your engagement fuels our success. We are so grateful for our strong, collaborative community! We appreciate the open communication that occurs and the continuous trust you place in our staff and the school.

🌟Looking Forward to 2026 🌟

The energy and momentum we've built this year set us up for an even more exciting 2026! We will be carrying forward the positive spirit of 2025 as we continue to seek out new ways to challenge, support, and inspire every student in our care so that they all have the opportunity to flourish.

For those students moving on to new schools, we send you off with our warmest wishes and confidence in your bright futures. For everyone returning, we can't wait to welcome you back refreshed and ready for another fantastic year of learning and growing together and we will all continue to foster friendships, kindness and respect for each other.

As we all know Christmas is such an important time for all families and St Catherine of Siena wishes all our families a very safe, relaxing, and joy-filled Christmas season and summer break. I encourage you all to take this time to recharge, spend quality time with loved ones, and make wonderful memories. We look forward to seeing all our students back here, ready for a sensational start to 2026! 

‘And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord’

Luke 2:10-11

In Partnership,

Nathan

In the wake of Sunday’s heartbreaking events in Bondi, many of us will be carrying shock, sadness, or anger today. These moments sit heavily, especially so close to Christmas when we long for peace, safety, and connection.

I would like to share this short prayer with you all -  and may it sit with you today

Loving God,

In the shadow of last night’s terrible tragedy in Bondi, we woke up with heavy hearts. We hold in prayer the lives lost, the injured, and all who are grieving or afraid today.

At this holy time of year, when we long for peace and goodwill, we ask You to bring comfort where there is sorrow, courage where there is fear, and healing where there is hurt.

Guide our nation towards calm, compassion, and unity. Help us resist the pull of anger and division, and instead choose actions grounded in justice, humanity, and care for one another.

May Your light shine in this darkness, and may peace prevail.

Amen.

If you feel you need support at any stage, please reach out, these services are available 24/7 and I am always happy to pick up the phone too.

• Lifeline – 13 11 14

• Beyond Blue – 1300 22 4636

We are pleased to announce that Student Progress Reports for Semester 2, 2025 are now available through the parent access module (PAM) on SIMON.

Due to recent security actions with SIMON, you will need to note the follow information in order to access PAM.

The SIMON Everyday App is still unavailable and you will need to access SIMON through a web browser (Safari or Chrome).

1. Click on the following link: https://pam.stcatherine.catholic.edu.au/Login/

2. Log in using the email address supplied to the school.

3. Enter your password or change password if you have forgotten your original password.

4. You will need to retrieve the 2-factor authentication code sent to your email address.

5. Enter the authentication code, then navigate to your child's profile, then assessment reports.

Dear Parents and Carers,

Classes for 2026, years 1 to 6, were finalised last week upon our Step Up on Tuesday 9th December

When working on class groupings, it is important to note that we take many aspects into consideration including the following:

• Balance of gender;
• Each child’s academic needs;
• Each child’s social and emotional needs;
• Number of children with additional learning needs;
• Children’s history with other children;
• Children’s friendships - including the occasions where friends should not be together;
• Teaching staff experience;
• Family relationships and friendships where it will impact learning;
• thoughtful parent requests based on reasonable factors only.

We take a number of weeks to come to what we think is the best option for each group given the above. 

We do not take into account parent requests during class placement. We aim for balanced class compositions and are mindful of specific friend groupings.

We do take into account family relationships and friendships outside of school that we are aware of and that may impact on a child’s learning.

We know that there will be some children and families that may be disappointed with these class groupings for their child. But, be assured that all teachers at St Catherine of Siena are dedicated, professional and always put reasonable supports in place to ensure each child succeeds in their learning - Class time is for learning and socialising occurs naturally in all our classrooms as well as outside on our yard.

We are thankful that the school community trusts us to make these decisions based on the knowledge we have about each child and what is best for everyone.

In Partnership,

Nathan Owen

Thank you to all our wonderful families for your support of the admin team this year, as we grow in numbers each year and get busier and busier we really do appreciate your patience and kindness. We wish you all a wonderful Christmas and New Year from Kate, Rachel & Belynda

Admin Links

Please see below important links for updating student / family details:

Fee Agreement & DDR Update

Updated Photography Consent - Please complete a form for each student

Change of Details form

SUMMER BREAK - Fee Payments

We have had a number of families ask about making payments for school fees over the summer break. Families are most welcome to continue making payments by BPay or Direct Deposit. This will be applied to your 25/26 account and direct debit adjusted accordingly.

Please see document attached for 2026 dates

2026 Dates for Families