Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope you have had a great week. We have had several visitors to the school in the last two weeks who are all eager to observe and learn about the excellent teaching and learning happening here every day. Last week, we were visited by a contingent of teachers from Brisbane Catholic Education schools to come out to see the Explicit Direct teaching we have in our classrooms underpinned by the science of learning.

Yesterday, Greens Education spokeswoman Laura Nuttal, MLA, visited our school. Laura was eager to see the intervention process we have in place and the extra support we are offering students. She toured classrooms to see whole-class instruction and visited our beautiful ELC. Finally, Laura was grilled by our Student Representative Council, who had a range of predeveloped questions to find out what life is like as a politician. I thank Laura for Taking the time to visit our school and meet our students.

Corroboree Culture Day

Congratulations to Sharee Thomas for her work organising and leading the Corroboree Culture Day at UC today. The event will welcome up to 1000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families, school groups, and sporting groups for a cultural celebration and fun day. I know many hours of preparation and planning have gone into this event and our school is proud to be a part of it. Well done, Sharee!

Split classes today

We have fared remarkably well during winter, having only split classes sporadically this term. Today, however, a number of staff members are away due to illness, planned leave, and professional learning. As a result, we have had to split a couple of classes across the school. I thank the teachers for their work supervising extra students in their classes today. We should be back to full complement next week.

First Communion

Many Year 5 students will celebrate their First Communion (or First Eucharist) this weekend. This Sacrament is one of the most sacred and significant events in a Catholic’s life, marking the first time they receive the Eucharist. As our Year Five students take part in this important Sacrament, please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

Term 4 Dates

Please be aware that Term 4 will begin for all students on Monday, October 14th. The last day for Term 4 is Week 10, Monday, December 17th, 2024. (Monday week 10 is correct and has come about due to the 11-week first term this year).

ACT Pupil Free Days for 2025

Catholic Education has informed us that in 2025, Pupil-Free Days will increase from 5 to 8 days in the school year. Effectively, this will be the first and last day of each school term.

Given the ongoing shortage of teachers nationwide, the 2025 term dates and pupil-free days have been developed to increase the opportunity for employees to participate in high-quality professional development aligned with Catalyst and faith formation. Employees will also have time to manage their administrative, compliance, and teaching commitments.

School Term dates for 2025 are below:

Enrolments for 2025

We do have waitlists in several year levels for 2025. If you do not intend to be at St Francis in 2025, please advise the office as soon as possible via email at office.stfranciscalwell@cg.catholic.edu.au. It is a legal requirement that you provide the details for the school your child will be attending, even if it is interstate, so that they can be updated on the student movement register. Early notification supports us with staffing and resource allocations for 2025. Next term, I will call for parent considerations for 2025 classes.

Blessings and Best Wishes

Sean Rutledge

Principal