Dear Parents and Carers,

With Pentecost taking place a couple of weekends ago, it is fitting that our Yr. 6 students received the Sacrament of Confirmation at Holy Family Church this week.

Just like at Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles 50 days after the death of Jesus, in the Sacrament of Confirmation, we receive the same Holy Spirit. We too, receive the same graces, virtues, gifts, courage, and strength the Apostles received 2,000 years ago. Confirmation is the Gift of Strength; it "strengthens the divine life within us." It is the Sacrament that symbolises the coming of age in a young person's faith, a renewal of Baptismal promises by the candidates themselves rather than their Godparents.

After Confirmation, our students will be challenged to use the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which have been confirmed in them, to produce the fruits of the Holy Spirit in their lives. By using these gifts, students will see the fruits as virtues and graces in their lives, including charity, generosity, joy, gentleness, peace, faithfulness, patience, modesty, kindness, chastity, self-control, and goodness.

I thank all in the Parish community for their support and preparation of our students for this Sacrament; it is no small task with many hours behind the scenes to ensure it is a success. I want to thank Sharee Thomas and Anne Gowen for preparing the staff, students, parents and the church. I also thank the Archbishop for presiding over the Sacrament on Tuesday evening and Fr James and Fr Namora for their presence at all our masses this week.

Early Learning Centre (ELC)

Excavators have begun site preparations before our official soil turning, which will occur later this month. Enrolment interest has been very strong and a limited number of places are still available.

We are currently looking into the viability of supporting our ELC parents by looping in our BASCA service to extend the drop-off hours for our preschool students. This would allow parents to care for their children from 7:30-5:30 pm, something I know has been a real struggle for many families. We hope to be able to communicate more information about this service in the near future.

A reminder that the ELC attracts the Child Care Subsidy (CCS) benefits which can make the ELC affordable and attractive to more families.

A number of people could not view the Canberra Times article published a few weeks ago. I have included the full text below. My thanks to the Hicks family, who were the stars of the show and expressed how this ELC will help meet the needs of their family beautifully. 

Enrolments

Even though the official enrolment period has closed, we continue to receive enrolments and are happy to conduct tours with prospective parents upon request. Don't hesitate to get in touch with the office to arrange a time via email office.stfranciscalwell@cg.catholic.edu.au or phone 62924500.

Affordability is something that has been named as a barrier to many expressing an interest in a Catholic Education in this period of financial uncertainty and the rising cost of living. Catholic schools like ours have sibling discounts for multiple children, including those in systemic high schools such as MacKillop. We also have fee-help and support available to families and a process to apply for concessions to school fees and uniforms, if needed.

If you know someone who is considering a Catholic Education and is concerned about the fees, please encourage them to call the office to book a confidential appointment to discuss their needs and how we may be able to support their family.

A reminder that if any parents are experiencing financial hardship call the office on 62924500 to discuss the pastoral options we have available to support you.

The Tell Them From Me

The Tell Them From Me (TTFM) survey tool is live to our families via Compass and has been extended by an extra week to close on the 16^th of June. We currently have 41 responses and in 2022 we received 57 responses. If you have not already done so, please consider completing the survey.

Playground Upgrade

Our new Senior Playground is nearing completion and should be finished next week. We will hopefully have it ready for action in Week 9 after its settlement period. We have also taken the opportunity to fill in the unused space around our Jnr equipment with some additional equipment. See the photos below.

Renovation- ¾ Block

This project is on track for completion in October. Next week, we will provide a video update on Facebook and walk through the site. We will also see the structural steel craned in and block work for the extensions being laid. The new Inclusive Education Room Slab is also about a week away.

Cross Country

Congratulations to our runners who represented the school at the regional Cross Country Carnival at Stromlo running track. A big shout out to Taylor K (4N) who came first in his age group and will move on to the ACT carnival to represent the Tuggeranong region next week.

Blessings and best wishes

Sean Rutledge

Principal