Dear Families

Next week our Year 6 students will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. Through Confirmation, we believe that we receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Like the apostles in the time after Jesus rose from the dead at the first Easter, we too are in need of the support and guidance of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and the Holy Spirit brings us the gifts of Wisdom – Understanding - Right Judgement – Courage – Knowledge – Reverence, and Wonder and are in awe in God’s presence. No wonder it’s a special day in their lives.

A big thank you to Ms Lisa Conroy (REC), the Year Six teachers Miss Rachel Southwell, Mr Steve Joyce and Mrs Michelle Marshall, our Parish Priests Fr James and Fr Josh along with Ms Anne Gowan in preparing our students for this very special event.

LONG SERVICE LEAVE

I am taking the last 2 weeks of this term off on Long Service Leave. Mrs Tiffany Reedy will be Acting Principal whilst I am away. I thank the community for allowing me to spend some quality time with my husband. I will be ‘back on deck’ next term.

AFTERNOON PICK-UP

It has come to my attention last week that there are some families who have concerns over our afternoon pick-up arrangements.  I think the biggest question is why we are continuing with the line-up arrangements outside the school. Please know that we are equally as frustrated in the restrictions; however, as a school community we have a responsibility to ensure that we are meeting the required recommendations that have been put in place. 

The position within the ACT is that adults still need to physically distance from each other. Once adults are on site it is the school’s responsibility to ensure that this occurs. We have discussed at length other ways that we can have a safe pickup; however, we find it very hard as some families are a bit relaxed when it comes to social distancing.

Another issue that we also have to consider is our space requirements in the hall. The children take up most of the space and the pick-up area is quite small. To ensure we meet the space requirements we can only have about 10 families at a time within the hall.

I have talked to our head office to clarify this and I was told that we are to continue with our current pick-up arrangements.

As a school we have an obligation to follow the regulations set by the government. We also need to ensure that all members of our school community are welcomed into a safe environment. The situation in Victoria is a reminder that we cannot be complacent.

Our gates are open to families at the end of the school day (3:05pm) and the line has eased by 3:12pm. This is 7 minutes. We will continue to ensure the line moves as quickly as possible. The children are held in the hall until 3:15pm. We are happy for parents to arrive during this time when there is no line up to collect the children from the hall.

To allow the movement to occur quickly we do ask that all parents/carers on entering the hall make their way across the floor rather than stay in the doorway. This will allow the line to progress in a much more effective manner.

Please know that if you have any concerns around this or on any other issue I am more than happy to discuss it. I am grateful to the parent who brought this to my attention.

SCHOOL SURVEY

A reminder that the school survey is currently open for completion.

We would like to invite you to complete the Tell Them From Me (TTFM) Partners in Learning survey. As we value the role of parents and carers within our school community we would greatly appreciate your feedback. The information you provide will be used to maintain our commitment to working together in partnership to further improve student learning and wellbeing at St Francis of Assisi Primary School.

The survey is anonymous and will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. You are able to access the parent survey on your computer or mobile device by using the URL below: 

http://tellthemfromme.com/hskgp

Peace and Best Wishes

Kate Markcrow

Principal