Newsletter No. 15 | Term 3 Week 5 | Friday 22nd August 2025

Prayer

St Brendan's School Prayer

Loving God

We give thanks for our past and present school community
We give thanks for the chance to explore and share our talents

We pray for the courage to face new challenges with faith and resilience
We pray to be mindful of the needs of others and respond with open hearts

May we kindly welcome and include othrs in our work and play
May we always be thankful for one another and our beautiful environment

In the Spirit of Saint Brendan we pray

Amen

Principal's Message

Dear Families and Friends,

As I write this, I find it hard to believe that my five years as Principal of St. Brendan's have come to an end. These years have been filled with countless moments of joy, learning, and shared achievement. It has been a privilege to work alongside such dedicated, skilled and caring staff, supportive families, and, of course, our wonderful students.

I started my Principalship during Covid. I remember driving along Corangamite Lake road to look at the school for the first time. At that stage I was working at Trinity College with Steve O'Dowd as a colleague. When he heard that I had the job, he told me that Coragulac was 'God's own country'. On that drive I saw exactly what he meant. During my first yard duty, the sun was shining and I took a photo of the outlook to Red Rock and sent it to my Geelong colleagues with the message, "Check out my beautiful yard duty setting'. They were all definitely a touch envious! On nights when I have been here at dusk, I have been privy to the most beautiful sunsets, as well as sunrises over Lake Colac on my way down Lake Corangamite Road. Yes Steve, Coragulac is definitely God's own country, and I will treasure the time that I spent in such a beautiful part of the world.

Being from the city (I suppose you can call Geelong that), it was so refreshing and exciting to come to a country environment. The sense of calm, peace and a simpler way of life, really resonated with me and to this day gives me a sense of warmth. I have had to learn much about country life and have had the pleasure of having close encounters with many animals in my time here: chooks, roosters, guinea pigs, pet rabbits, lots of dogs, horses, cows, lambs, blue-tongue lizards, snakes, to name a few. To most of you this would be just life in the country, for me it was really special and, in comparison to my previous experiences, unique for a school setting. For children to be educated in a calm, natural environment that a small country school provides, is truly a gift to them. It is perhaps something we take for granted sometimes. I urge you not to underestimate the value of this primary school experience for your children. The many opportunities we provide for our children give them the wholesome and well-rounded education, one that students in the city simply do not get. My husband often shows his students photos of what the St. Brendan's kids get to do, and they all want to come here!

Together over the years we have celebrated successes, navigated challenges, and worked hard to build a strong sense of community, even during lockdowns. In my first week here I remember visiting all of the families with care packages donated by Thomas Carr. It was not the usual introduction to a school community, but nonetheless a great way to say hello and familiarise myself with the local area. Maintaining a strong sense of community has always been a strong focus for me. I have always believed that a school is more than buildings and classrooms -- it is the relationships, the shared values, and the commitment to helping each child flourish that are truly important.

I am deeply grateful for the trust you have placed in me and our staff, and for the way you have partnered with the school in the education and wellbeing of your children. I am also deeply grateful to the Parish community who continue to support the school, even though their children are long gone from Primary School. This support has meant a great deal to me and the school as a whole. They say it takes a village to raise a child and St. Brendan's is definitely a village. Sometimes we can find it hard to push ourselves forward and truly engage in 'village life'. I encourage you to take the plunge and join in with school life where you can. It is true that the more you put into something, the more you get out of it. Please know that each one of you is truly welcome and valued in our community.

Growing up I always remember just wanting to be a teacher. How lucky am I that I got to live my dream? I can honestly say that my 40 years in education has surpassed everything that I thought it would be. I have met many wonderful people, taught many, many children and, as a lifelong learner, I have been challenged, and grateful, to be in a career where the learning never ends. My learning will now shift to reading more, improving my geography knowledge through travel, learning to become a better golfer and perhaps down the track, how to be a good Nanna!

While it is hard to say goodbye, I do so with immense pride and fond memories. I know that St. Brendan's will continue to grow and thrive under Gerard's leadership, and I look forward to hearing about the many future happenings and achievements of our school. I say 'our school' because there is a motto around our school - once a member of St. Brendan's, always a member of St. Brendan's.

I extend a BIG thank you to all students, staff, parents, parish members and the wider community, you have all supported me in one way or another. Thank you for allowing me the honour of serving as your Principal - it has been one of the most rewarding chapters of my career and life.

With warm regards and best wishes for the future,

Leanne Eastman
Principal
principal@sbcoragulac.catholic.edu.au

STAFFING

As you are aware Gerard will begin his principalship on Monday the 25th. I find it a great comfort that I know the schoolwill be in great hands. I wish you all the best Gerard. You will do a fabulous job. You truly are blessed to begin your years as a Principal in Coragulac. 

Prep/1 and Year 5/6 Teaching Positions

Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, the person who we had selected to take on the 5/6 position was unable to take it on at this point. Therefore we have readvertised the position.

The good news is that Allira is able to start a bit earlier than first expected. She will now move into the Prep/1 teaching role on Monday 1st September, the first day of Spring, a good time to start!

Liz and Kate will move into the Year 5/6 room until we appoint a teacher. I thank Liz and Kate for their flexibility and willingness to step in where needed. It is really positive that the students, Liz and Kate know each other really well. Gerard will no doubt be popping his head in from time to time and will work closely with Liz and Kate to ensure everything goes smoothly and the children are well looked after.

Book Week

Once again the Book Week Parade was lots of fun. I have always enjoyed how much everyone at St. Brendan's loves a dress up. Check out the favourite books of our students below! It was great to see how enthusiastic the children were to tell me about their favourite books. An enjoyment of reading is a gift for life. It makes me so happy to see our students embracing reading.

Prep/1
Kaiden - Little Red Riding hood
Lenny - The Wonky Donkey
Ariana - Frozen
Everley - The Smart Frog
Greta - Brown Paper Bear
Evie - Facts about the Body
Jack - Power Rangers: Volume 2 Recharged

2/3/4
Lewie - Diary of a Whimpy Kid
Teddy - Bunyips Dont!
Kaycee - Dragonball Super Comic
Ivy - Spot Books
James - Fly Guy
Ruby - Clarice the Chicest Mouse in Paris
Phoenix - Harry Potter and the rder of the Phoenix
Cuba - Archie Sonic
Issy - Sandy Lane's Stables
Kyle - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Liam - All the Bad Guys
Declan - The Magic Faraway Tree

5/6
Harriet - Friday Barnes
Eden - Pig Pug
Kaitlyn - The Silver Donkey
Grace - Taylor and Rose
Jerry - Trantula
Aden - Harry Potter
Jordy - Bible
Archie - Operation Ouch!
Zayne - Comics

Book Fair

Thank you to Grace for the wonderful job she has done setting up the Book Fair. The Book Fair will be closing on Friday at 1pm as we need to pack up for collection on Monday aftrnoon.

Winter Sport

The next winter sports will be held this Friday at St. Mary's. We will leave the school at 11:10am and arrive back by 1:30pm. The last time I went it was absolutely freezing. We are all looking forward to warm, sunny day conditions this Friday, perfect for outdoor activities!

The final winter sports will be of Friday 12th September.

Liturgy

On Tuesday, we enjoyed a beautiful liturgy in the afternoon sun. It was lovely to have the liturgy at our ' metting place' in the back square. Thanks to Liz, Mel and the Prep/1 children for enabling us to have this really lovely experience.

Year 3/4 Bike Camp

On Thursday the 9th of October Year 3 and 4 students will head off on the annual Bike Camp. This year the students will be riding from Beech Forest down to the Otway Football Ground where they will sleep for one night. Students must have bikes in great working order, gears, working brakes and a safe helmet that fits correctly with chin straps that fasten. Please start checking bikes and helmets and maybe adding in a few more bike sessions before Bike Camp. More information will be sent out in the next few weeks.

Enrolments

2026 Foundation enrolments are now open. We have upscaled our Social Media output to spread the word about our wonderful school. It has been really positive to see people responding positively to the advertisements. 

A reminder that one of the best ways to advertise a school is by word of mouth.  Spread the word!

Bike Wheels Wanted

In our ‘Bike Wheel Drive’ we have currently collected one bike wheel - thanks to Pat O’Shea! We need at least 20, so if you have any spare bike wheels it would be appreciated. A variety of sizes would be great!

As mentioned in the previous Newsletter we will be using them for an Art project. The painted bike wheels will be used to decorate the front of the sports shed. 

Please note: We do not need the whole bike, just the wheels.

However, if you happen to have any bikes in good working order, we are always looking for bikes for the children to ride.

Social Media

A reminder that you can follow us on the following social media platforms to stay up to date with all of the happenings in our vibrant school community.

Prep/1 Classroom

Welcome to Week 5! We ahve reached the halfway mark of his term - It really is flying by!

This week we farewell Leanne - we wish to thank her for her years at St. Brendan's and cannot wait to celebrate her at Friday's assembly.

Liturgy: The Prep / Grade 1's led a Liturgy in our 'outdoor chapel' (the back square) on Tuesday. The students acted out the story of the Sower and read their prayers using the microphone and sang and danced with great enthusiasim. Well done!

Literacy: In literacy this week, Grade 1's are focusing on the sound <oo> as in book and Grade Prep's are working on letter recognition and sounds.

Writing: In writing the students wrote amazing recounts of our trip to the bush. They will be on display in the corridor next week for everyone to enjoy.

Math: In math we are still focusing on chance, data collection and data representation. This week we are flipping coins and recording data using tally marls on a T Chart. We are also continuing to focus on number place value. Preps are exploring numbers from 0-20 and are learning about 'the friends of 10' (all the pairs that add up to 10) and Grade 1 students are using number beads and place value mats t represent 2 and 3 digit numbers. As well as these 2 focus areas we are beginnings each math session with an opportunity to refine our counting skills. P/1s are learning to count by 1s, 2s, 5s and 10s and relating this to number patterns.

On Monday we had a visit from Jimmy Lake and his Grandmother - Donna. Jimmy has taken up drawing and spending a lot of time mastering his skills. He was generous in showing us some of his beautiful drawings and spoke about how much time and effort he takes with each one. The students listened so respectfully and asked Jimmy wonderful questions. He inspired the students who were all very keen to get drawing! Jimmy and Donna generously donated one of Jimmy's drawings in a frame to the school. This will be raffled on Mission Day. 

Don't Hesitate to get in contact with us if you have any questions. Have a Great Week!
-Kate & Liz

Liz McGuane - lmcguane@sbcoragulac.catholic.edu.au
Kate Parker - kparker@sbcoragulac.catholic.edu.au

2/3/4 Classroom News

Welcome to Week 5!
We farewell Leanne this week and thank her for the contributions she has made to St. Brendan's. We hope she enjoys retirement and spending time on the golf course!

Literacy: Our phonics focus is the 'oe' sound for the Year 2's (dough, coat, though, foe, toe, going, goat, nose, spoke, grow) and the 'ar' sound as in aunt, darted, balmy, calmness, rather, artist, aunty, harmful, farmer and tomato for the Year 3's and 4's.
We have been revising nouns, verbs and adjectives and learning abut pronouns.
In writing, we are constructing dragon narratives and working on expanding sentences.

Numeracy: In Maths, the Year 2's are investigating multiplication and division number sentences. They are creating the sentences and labelling them with the correct number sentences.
The Year 3's are working with arrays, creating and labelling them. They are also representing worded multiplication problems.
The Year 4's are learning their 7 and 8 times tables and the associated division facts.

The Star of the Week award goes to Teddy Phillips. Congratulations on your excellent effort!

Warm Wishes,
Mandy Sutherland
msutherland@sbcoragulac.catholic.edu.au

5/6 Classroom News

Week 5 update!  

In Literacy, we have been focusing on the “ar” sound in our Soundswrite sessions. Students have been identifying patterns, sorting words, and applying this knowledge in their writing to build accuracy and confidence.

In Mathematics, our focus has been on addition and subtraction strategies. We are practising a range of methods, such as using number lines, partitioning and the column method, to help students solve problems efficiently and explain their mathematical thinking.

For Integrated Studies, students are exploring not-for-profit businesses. We are looking at how these organisations operate differently from for-profit companies, the services they provide, and the ways they give back to the community. Students will be investigating examples of local and global not-for-profit organisations and reflecting on the important role they play in society. 

Gerard Douglas

gdouglas@sbcoragulac.catholic.edu.au

Birthday Corner

Wishing a very big Happy Birthday to everyone who is celebrating their special day! 

August 23rd - Cuba Quinane (9)

August 30th - Ariana Minogue (6)

Important Dates

Catholic Culture

St Brendan's Coragulac & St Joseph's Pirron Yallock Mass Times

Mass & Lay-Led Times.

1^st SUNDAY of Month             9.00am   Mass - St. Joseph’s, Pirron Yallock

                                                10.30am  Lay-Led - St. Brendan’s, Coragulac

2^nd & 3^rd SUNDAY of Month    9.30am    Lay-Led - St. Brendan’s, Coragulac

4^th & 5^th SUNDAY of Month     9.00am    Mass - St. Brendan’s, Coragulac

Community News & Events

Bluewater Sensory Quiet Time Pool Session
When: Every Saturday between 1-3pm
Please contact Bluewater Colac if you have any questions.