Frequently Asked Questions

What is the process for enrolment?

1. If you would like to know more about our school, have questions or to receive an enrolment pack to peruse, please call or email admin@sleaglehawk.catholic.edu.au 

2. Please also have a look at our public St Liborius Primary School Website.

3. Book in for a Principal Led Tour on either of the following dates, Thursday 2nd of May at 9:15am  and 4.00pm or Tuesday 7th of May at 9:15am or 12.00pm.

4. Complete an Application for Enrolment form. After initially contacting our admin email address, we will have organised to get you an enrolment pack with this inside. 

5. During July, you will receive a letter from the school to inform you of your enrolment status.

How will we know if we are successful in our Enrolment Application?

During July, families who have applied for enrolment will receive a letter from the school to indicate your enrolment status.

What is the transition process for students beginning Prep in 2025?

We are very proud of our exceptional transition process. Many parents and families have reiterated to us how thorough, comprehensive and beneficial this has been for their child/ren in the past.

1. Once enrolment has been confirmed at the school, we will be in contact to organise a Prep Enrolment Interview to take place from August.

2. We ask the parent/s of the child to come along with your child to the interview. Here the Principal will interview parents about your child and at the same time a member of leadership will work with your child to gather information about their learning and development.

3. At the Prep Enrolment Interview, your child will be invited to come along for an informal morning with a couple of other 2025 Preps to participate in Investigation Time with the current Prep students. This is an extremely important part of the process as it supports your child to feel comfortable and confident in attending St Liborius.

4. From October, we will be hosting 4 x additional formal transitions that each go for an hour. 2025 Preps will meet and connect with their Year 5 buddy and further build confidence in coming to the school and interacting with their peers, staff and their buddy. At each of these  4 x transitions, your child will engage in fun activities that they complete with support from their buddy. During these transitions, the school also hosts 4 x information sessions to support parents in sending your child to school. 

5. The sessions are focused on:

• Language development with our Speech Pathologist

• Overall health with our School Nurse

• Learning at St Liborius with our Learning and Teaching Leader

• Uniform information with the Uniform Shop Coordinator

6. In early December, the school will conduct its whole school Orientation Day for 2025. On this day our 2025 Preps will spend the morning with their new teacher and classmates for the following year. 

What are the class sizes?

Our two Prep class sizes range between 16 - 22 students per class. The class sizes across the school vary in size and the average class size is 24 students.

With the Walker Learning Approach and Play-Based Learning for the Prep- Year 2 students, do the students at St Liborius still learn the core subjects?

The school is in a fortunate position of having implemented the Walker Learning Approach and pedagogy since 2007. Since the initial implementation, the school has always been committed to the philosophy and its rigour. As a school, we know that it is essential to balance core learning with opportunities for active, hands on exploration where students are given authentic opportunities to pursue personalised learning experiences. Students in Prep - Year 2 engage in Investigation Time (Play-Based Learning) 4 x a week for one hour and 15 minutes. These sessions are highly scaffolded by the teachers and personalised to the point of need for the students. In addition to Investigation Time being an important part of the day, our Prep - Year 2 students also learn Reading, Writing, Spelling, Numeracy and Religious Education through formal explicit lessons. Currently, we are fortunate enough to have a Plus One teacher in the Prep team to support smaller groups sizes for Reading, Writing and Maths.

What does the Investigation session look like?

The Investigation Session is highly structured to allow for students to practise skills required to meet current learning intentions.

Investigation Time consists of:

Tuning In (20 minutes) - During  Tuning In, the teacher tunes the students into the learning of the day. Explicit teaching takes place here to remind students about the current learning intentions. During this time, the teacher also speaks with the Focus Children to set goals for their learning in Investigation Time. The teacher also has a Reporter and Photographer for the session who undertake a personalised task based at their point of need. These tasks are explained by the teacher during Tuning In. 

Active Investigations (30 minutes) - During Investigations, students make a choice at the beginning about what areas they will be working in and what they will be learning and practising for that session. During this time the teacher works with the focus students, as well as other students to scaffold their learning and development.  

Reflection and Resetting the Learning Environment (25 minutes) - During reflection, students come back as a whole class to check back in with the Focus Children, Reporter and Photographer. The teacher has a scaffolded discussion with these students in front of the class to reiterate current learning and skills that have been achieved and practised during the session. Reflection brings the learning to the forefront of students thinking and reminds them of the skills they are practising. Following reflection, resetting the environment takes place to symbolise to the students that the Investigation Session has finished and it is time to begin learning the core subjects for the day. The students are encouraged to use provocations from the environment and work completed during Investigation Time to springboard their leaning during their core learning subjects. This sparks student interests and supports a thorough understanding of new concepts being learned. 

Does St Liborius have out of school care arrangements?

Fortunately St Liborius families have access to After School Care coordinated by the YMCA. This is run in the Parish Centre, directly next to the school on Panton Street.

Where do I purchase the uniform from?

Our families are lucky enough to have access to a well co-ordinated uniform shop onsite run by one of our school parents. This operates two mornings a week and has been established to enable parents to order items online if or when required.

Does St Liborius have a school canteen?

Our school canteen operates once a week on a Friday. A significant focus for our 'Tuckshop Coordinator' is ensuring all options for our students are healthy options.

Why are there school fees at Catholic schools?

Catholic schools are funded in 3 ways:

• Commonwealth government fund staffing

• Victorian government fund 25% of the cost of running the school 

• School Fees fund the other 75% of running the school. 

School Fees are reviewed by our St Liborius School Council in Term 4 of each year to ensure that they are aligned with the minimum fee collection set by the Catholic Education Office of Sandhurst and requirements of our own community.