Principal's News
Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome back to Term 2. I hope that all families enjoyed a restful break over the holiday period and that Easter, in particular, was restorative and afforded you some time to spend with friends and family. What a lovely way to begin the term it was with beautiful sunny weather. The students have begun the term with positive attitudes and lovely smiles on their faces. There was a sense of calm and eagerness to get back to learning and see friends and teachers as I walked around the school on Wednesday morning.
Staffing News
Ms Ann Jenvey has been successful in gaining a position at the Gungahlin Introductory English Centre with the ACT Education Directorate, which utilises her qualifications as a TESOL Educator. Mrs Laura Hey will continue to teach 6 Kanbi Monday-Wednesday and remain in her Gifted and High Potential role on Thursday and Friday. 6 Kanbi will be taught by Mr Liam Cashion on these days. We thank Ann for her work at St Francis over the past year.
Unfortunately, we were unable to secure a viable option for a full-time teacher for 6 Dhaura after an exhaustive search. So, after adjusting staffing across the school, Mrs Sarah Lehmensich will take on the primary teaching duties in 6 Dhaura for the remainder of the year. Sarah will teach from Wednesday to Friday each week.
Sarah is well-known to the school community and has been teaching in Year 2 after
returning from maternity leave this year. She has spent the last two days while the students are on camp familiarising herself with the students' personalised plans,
programming and assessment documentation. Sarah will be supported 2 days a week by Ms Charly Lehmensich.
Both Liam and Charly are well known to the school community through their work as Classroom Support Assistants. Both staff members are in their 4th year of a Bachelor of Education degree and have recently applied for a permit to teach through the Teacher Quality Institute (TQI). We thanks them for their willingness to step into a formal teaching role within our school.
Early Career Commissioning
This week two staff members, Olivia Mullens and Isabelle Johnston, paricipated in Early Career Teacher professional development and were formally 'Commissioned' into their roles as Catholic educators. I was fortunate enough to attend this mass and it was a lovely experience. As a school community, we congratulate them on this huge achievement and again formally welcome them to our wonderful school.
Baby News
On ANZAC Day, Jessica Lewis welcomed George William Brown into the world. Mum and Bub are doing well. We wish Jess, Luke and George all the love, joy and happiness as they enjoy this special time together as a family.
Enrolment Period Begins
The Catholic Schools' official enrolment period begins on Monday 1st and ends on the Friday 26th May. We have already received a significant number of enrolment enquiries and applications for Kinder 2024, which have been submitted through our school website Enrol Now! @ St Francis of Assisi Primary School - Calwell . Can I again strongly encourage all current families with siblings looking to enrol into Kinder for 2024 to ensure we receive your applications ASAP to ensure you don't miss out.
Our Early Learning Centre is opening in 2024! Information is now on our website including an ELC expression of interest form. Please complete this form so that we are able to contact you when the enrolments are ready to be completed. Monitor St Francis of Assisi Primary School ELC - Calwell for more information. We will also post information related to this on our school Facebook page (20) St Francis of Assisi Primary School | Canberra ACT | Facebook.
Year 6 Camp
Our campers are into Day Three of their camp in Berry. By all accounts they have had a magnificent time learning all about teamwork, being active and solving problems. They have luckily been blessed with fantastic weather which allows camp to be extra enjoyable. Thanks very much to all our dedicated teachers, Nikki Arcidiacono, Laura Hay, Ann Jenvey, Fergus Millar, Charly Lehmensich and Sean Rutledge, who have taken time away from their families to give our students such a wonderful experience. You will all deserve a restful and relaxing weekend!
Building Works
Work is continuing at a steady pace. The builders have been fantastic intrying to organise loud and disruptive works over the break, including concrete cutting and excavation. There are some photos on Facebook if you would like to look at the progress. The sensory Courtyard project is also complete. Mr Dean Poynter has worked hard on this all holidays and it is looking fantastic. Photos of this project are also on Facebook. The students have begun using this space and they are loving it.
Enjoy the week ahead,
Annie McArthur for Sean Rutledge
(Assistant Principal)