As parents, we spend our days pouring out love, energy, and care into our children. We celebrate the joyful moments, but we also face days filled with exhaustion, doubt, and the pressure to be perfect.

In those heavy moments, God offers us a beautiful, comforting truth: His love for us does not depend on our performance.

Rest in His Grace

God’s love is unconditional: It is not based on how patient, productive, or perfect we were today.

God’s love is a refuge: When you feel overwhelmed, you can instantly rest in His quiet presence.

God’s love is a model: The grace He shows us is the very grace we can pass on to our children.

You do not have to carry the weight of parenting alone. Take a deep breath today knowing that the Creator of the universe loves you completely, holds your family safely, and provides fresh strength for every new morning.

"The Lord your God is with you... He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17

Dear Flinders Families

At Flinders, we are committed to continually improving the experience of our students and families. To support this, we are seeking your feedback through two surveys that have been published in Flinders Connect over the past week. We would be grateful if you could take the time to complete both surveys and share your valuable insights.

The CBCA theme for Book Week 2026 is Symphony of Stories, so get ready to enjoy some music while you dive into the stories!

Book Week kicks off on Monday 31 August

We’re also hosting the Scholastic Book Fair for four days, starting bright and early on Monday morning at 8:15.

You can visit the book fair from Monday to Thursday, before school, during recess, lunchtime and after school, from 3:15 to 4:00.

Students will have a chance to make their wish lists and parents can pre-order books.

On Tuesday morning, we’re excited to have our book fair parade, which will be a lot of fun! It’s growing bigger and better each year.

Theme: Come dressed as your favourite book character.

Parents and grandparents are welcome to join in the fun and dress up as their favourite book characters too.

We’ve got some amazing prizes up for grabs!

⁃ Best Costume
⁃ Most Improved Reader
⁃ You Rock! Best Reader

Plus, we’re featuring two fantastic authors, Andrea Rowe and Danielle Binks.

It’s going to be a fantastic week, and we’re really looking forward to seeing you at the book fair and the parade!

Mrs. Treanor, Ms. Towan and Ms. Cosham

Dear Flinders families,

Applications are now open for:

3-Year-Old Kinder 2028 & 2029

Year 7, 2029 & 2030

We encourage families to submit their applications as early as possible, as waiting lists currently apply across many year levels. While siblings are given priority consideration during the enrolment process, places cannot be guaranteed.

To submit an application, please visit our website.

If your child is currently attending Flinders Primary School and you are not yet familiar with our Secondary School, we encourage you to register and attend an upcoming Open Day. These events provide a wonderful opportunity to meet our staff, explore our facilities, and learn more about the diverse learning pathways and opportunities available to students from Years 7–12.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email us at enrolments@flinders.vic.edu.au we will be happy to help!

This year’s Primary production of Seussical Kids was a wonderful celebration of creativity, collaboration, and the talents of our Primary students. Bringing together children from Prep to Year 6, the production transformed the stage into the colourful and imaginative world of Dr Seuss, where every student had the opportunity to contribute and shine.

Whether performing as a lead character, singing in the class ensembles, dancing, or helping bring the story to life on stage, our students demonstrated remarkable commitment throughout months of rehearsals. The confidence, teamwork, perseverance, and communication skills developed through participation in the performing arts are invaluable and extend far beyond the stage.

The production also reflected many of the timeless messages found in Dr Seuss’s stories, including the importance of imagination, courage, kindness, and valuing every individual. We are incredibly grateful to our dedicated class teachers for supporting students throughout the journey, and to Mrs. Ashlene Mendolia and the production team for their creativity, passion, and hard work in making this memorable experience possible.

Blessings, Toni Steinbergs

Due to a Secondary event in the gym on Tuesday 18 August, our Chapel service will be run at the special time of 2:30 pm.

Our beautiful Preps will be performing at this Chapel. We hope you can join us at this special time and apologise for any inconvenience.

On Friday 14 August the Grade 3 – Grade 6 students will be going to Casey Fields for our annual House Athletics Carnival.

The Grade 3-6 students will depart Flinders College at 9.00am and be bussed to Casey Fields where they will be competing in a variety of track and field events. The results from this day will form the basis for selection to represent Flinders College at the District Athletics Track and Field Carnival,

Our Prep - 2 students will have their athletics day Friday 11 September

Grade 3-6 Athletic Day Hot Dog Lunch Order.

A hot dog, donut and a fruit box drink is available for $7.00 to prepurchase for lunch at the Athletics carnival. Please Order by Monday 10 August

To pay and order on the Flinders Connect App

Please click on My Account and choose Activities

Select the Activity: 2026 Primary Athletics Hot Dog Lunch

Click on the 'Attending Button' and follow the prompts to pay.

The P and F will also be running a small canteen during the athletics carnival selling various snacks.

Volunteers Needed!

If you are able to help in the canteen, please email Marianne.morgan@flinders.vic.edu.au

All students in Years 3-6 will participate in the Prime Ministers Spelling Bee on Tuesday 18th August in their classroom.

The competition is a wonderful opportunity for students to challenge themselves and improve their spelling skills.

We encourage all students to have a positive attitude, do their best, and enjoy the experience.

Please provide consent to this event by clicking the consent button in the Flinders Connect App under Forms.

Please note that if your child is a child of an employee of any News Corp company or any of its suppliers or agencies associated with this Competition, please inform Mrs. Lyndel Hoy. Lyndel.hoy@flinders.vic.edu.au

Congratulations to Daisy, Henry, Charlie and Ciera for receiving their Flinders Values Award.

Daisy displays the values of Perseverance and Excellence. She consistently achieves success through her positive attitude, always being ready, respectful, safe and trying her best.

Henry exemplifies the values of Humility and Excellence. He remains grounded, works hard and continually strives to do his best in all that he does.

Charlie received his award for integrity. He is reliable, honest and a positive student.

Ciera shows grace and humility in her interactions with others in both the classroom and the schoolyard.

We are proud of these students and the wonderful example they set for others through their commitment to the Flinders values.

The Seaford RSL’s Women in Services Award provided a wonderful opportunity for students to learn more about influential women from history who served in the Army, Navy or Air Force. Students researched their chosen person and presented their learning through a written or creative entry. These entries were then judged to determine which one would become the school’s submission for the next level of the competition, alongside entries from other schools.

Congratulations to Charlotte Curd and Charlie Eversteen from Grade 6 for their excellent work. Charlotte submitted a very detailed research assignment that demonstrated thoughtful investigation and care. Charlie presented a creative suitcase-style entry, which was both engaging and informative. After careful consideration, the judging panel selected Charlie’s entry to represent the school at the next stage. Congratulations, Charlie, and well done to both students for their outstanding effort and enthusiasm.

Please read attached an update from our Head of Secondary Mr. Matthew Bodley.

Applications to undertake a VETDSS subject at Chisholm TAFE and other local providers will open on Monday 17 of August at 9am.

These places are limited, so the best approach is to ensure that I am able to make a timely application on your child’s behalf. Expressions of Interest have already been requested during the subject selection and course counselling process, and interested families will receive their official VET application form(s) this week.

Please check your emails regularly and comply with any instructions and due dates. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact catherine.manning@flinders.vic.edu.au

The Year 12 VCE VM Personal Development students have begun work on their final community projects. Riley, Daniel and Cohen established the following inquiry for their project; “How can we help the environment by reducing litter around our school and local beaches”.

In addressing this issue, they immediately reached out to the local community group 3198 Seaford Beach Patrol (who meet on the first Sunday of each month) to establish a mentoring partnership.

The boys attending the beach clean-up last Sunday in preparation for planning their own activities in the coming months. They helped remove 42.3kg of rubbish from Seaford foreshore, with Daniel winning the group’s ‘Nurdle Cup’ for collecting the heaviest bag of rubbish!

This is a great start to their community project. They have formed a strong community partnership and have got their hands dirty researching ways they can help the environment.

Keep up the good work and thank you BeachPatrol | Seaford for your support.

It was an action-packed week as several of our combined campus Flinders Basketball teams, spanning different age groups, competed in the Basketball Victoria Champions Cup Qualifying tournament.

Flinders was represented by the following teams:

U15 Girls

U15 Boys

U17 Girls

U17 Boys

U20 Girls

U20 Boys

U15 Division

Both the Girls and Boys team put on a stellar display of basketball with both teams going through the day undefeated and earning themselves a position in the prestigious Elite 8 tournament later this term!

U17 Division

Congratulations to our U17 Girls team, who put on a dominant display to go undefeated and secure a spot in the Elite 8 tournament later this term! Our U17 Boys team also showcased some great basketball in an incredibly tough pool, only falling by narrow margins in three tight games.

U20 Division

Huge congratulations to both our U20 Girls and Boys teams, who battled their way into the Elite 8 tournament! After each dropping a tight game during the pool stage of the tournament, both squads bounced back strong to secure their spot.

Congratulations to all of the teams who represented Flinders so well this week!

A huge congratulations to Andi, who was selected to represent the U14 School Sport Victoria (SSV) Female AFL team at the School Sport Australia Championships in Melbourne from July 25th to 31st. Andi's Victorian team went undefeated throughout the tournament, beating NSW in the final to secure the gold medal. Andi was also named in the U14 'All Australian team' recognising her among the absolute best talent in the nation.

Congratulations Andi!

Planning is underway for the 2026/27 Summer Domestic Season. Please review the information below regarding Expressions of Interest (EOIs), apparel ordering, and key dates for the upcoming Summer Season.

Summer Season Expression of Interest (EOI)

Open: Monday, 3 August

Close: Monday, 17 August

The EOI allows families to:

Provide and confirm player details.

Record previous playing experience, including past teams, age groups and associations.

Nominate preferred association and competition for the Summer Season.

Nominate for Coach and/or Team Manager roles.

Submit friendship requests, grading preferences and age exemption requests

Important Information:

Please complete one EOI per team nomination. If your player would like to be considered for multiple teams, age groups or associations, a separate form is required for each.

Teams generally roll over from the Winter Season where possible; however, we will do our best to accommodate requests and changes where we can.

The EOI also provides an opportunity for volunteers to nominate for Coach and Team Manager roles for the upcoming Summer Season. A friendly reminder that teams require a volunteer coach to participate in the competition. If a team does not have a coach, it may be unable to proceed for the season.

Please refer to the link below to complete your Expression of Interest.

https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/VaU3bumVaC

Summer Season Apparel Orders

Open: Monday, 3 August

Close: Monday, 17th August

Estimated Playing Uniform Collection: Monday, 28 September

Families can place pre-orders for uniforms and merch through the Flinders Basketball Club PlayHQ Store. Please note that all orders must be paid in full before they can be submitted to our suppliers.

Compulsory Playing Items: (if not already owned):

Reversible Playing Singlet

Playing Shorts

Optional Merchandise Items:

Training T-Shirt

Long Sleeve Top

Hoodie

Backpack

Duffle Bag

Important Information:

All uniform and merchandise orders placed from 3 August onwards will be included in the club's Summer Season order.

Please note that PlayHQ orders will not be packed or supplied individually. Orders will be processed as part of the club's bulk supplier order following the close of apparel ordering.

We encourage families to place uniform orders before team placements are announced to ensure players are ready for the start of the season.

If your player would like a new uniform with their current playing number, please place an order during this ordering period.

If your player is new to the club and requires a uniform, please place an order and the club will allocate a playing number. Due to the size of our program, players are unable to choose their own uniform number.

To retain an existing playing number, uniform orders must be placed by the closing date. Uniform orders received after 17 August will be allocated from available club stock, and existing playing numbers cannot be guaranteed.

If a player is unable to be placed in a team, any pre-paid uniform or apparel order will be fully refunded.

Please refer to the link below to pre order your apparel.

https://www.playhq.com/basketball-victoria/org/flinders-basketball-club/488817d2/shop

Key Dates*

Monday, 3 August – EOI & Apparel Orders Open

Monday, 17 August – EOI & Apparel Orders Close

Monday, 14 September – Team Placements Sent

Monday, 28 September – Uniform Collection

Saturday, 3 October – Summer Season Commences

*The dates listed above are provided as a guide and may be subject to change. While every effort will be made to adhere to the published timeline, dates may be adjusted, extended or rescheduled as required. Any changes will be communicated to families via official club channels as soon as possible.

For registration links, FAQs, age group information and further details, please refer to the Summer Season Information Pack or visit our Information Hub: https://linktr.ee/FlindersBasketballClub

If you have any questions regarding the Summer Season, Expressions of Interest or Apparel Orders, please contact us at Basketball@flinders.vic.edu.au.