Filter Content
Dear Parents and Carers,
“Start by doing what is necessary, then what is possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” - St. Francis of Assisi
Happy Mothers’ Day to all our mums for last Sunday. I hope that you all enjoyed a very good day and were treated accordingly. We were thrilled to be able to conduct our Cross Country and Mother’s Day breakfast last week. The community atmosphere was electric and personally it was so nice to meet parents face to face and not through a car window. A big thank you to Mrs Reedy for her coordination of the day and to MacKillop for working with us to find a solution so our students could participate in their come and try day.
Open Days & Enrolment Period
We are currently in the official Catholic Education enrolment period which runs until Friday 27th May 2022. We held our first Open Day last week with tours of the school led by our very capable Yr 6 leaders. Our Open Day was very popular and we had a large number of people come through, which is exciting.
Yesterday, we sent home enrolment packs to students who believed they had a sibling looking to enrol in Kinder 2023. A reminder that all enrolment is completed online and links to the portal can be found on our school website or via this link Primary ACT | St Francis of Assisi Primary School (stfa.act.edu.au)
We know the greatest contributor to new enrolments in our school is the word of mouth from our parent community. We have information packages available for parents who may like to pass these on to a friend or neighbour. Please contact the office to organise the collection of one of these. We would also ask you to like and share our material on the school’s Facebook page as this helps to spread the word about our beautiful school.
Being a part of a Catholic system allows our school to illustrate our holistic approach to educating children who personify Catholic values and serve their communities. At St Francis, we are extremely fortunate to have strong connections with Catholic Secondary Colleges creating a complete K-12 Catholic education pathway.
We can accommodate people outside our open days for tours and to answer any questions. Please encourage those interested to contact the office to arrange a time to come in and see us.
Tuning Into Kids
We are extremely fortunate to have the Tuning Into Kids program running for our Parent community free of charge this term. The program, being facilitated by our School Counsellor and CatholicCare, is an excellent opportunity for parents to further develop their toolkit to be more aware of your child’s emotions. As a parent myself, I am excited to attend this workshop, we all know kids do not come with manuals and parenting is not an easy gig. More information provided by Sharman is below including a video featuring parents who have completed the program. Please register your interest in this event via the following link-
Where: STFA Library
When: Begins Wed 25th May 5:30-7:30 pm for 4 consecutive weeks.
NAPLAN
This week, our students in Years 3 and 5 are sitting NAPLAN tests. The children have entered the spirit of the tests in a very positive and engaged frame of mind and are keen to try their best. Children who miss some of the tests this week due to being away will have the opportunity to do make-up sessions next week. Many thanks to Mrs Reedy and the Yr 3 & 5 teachers and classroom support assistants for their support of our students.
Year 6 Leadership Day
Last week our Yr 6 students attended B.Firm for their first leadership day for the year. B.Firm offers our students the opportunities to improve their teamwork, build resilience and generally use and develop skills to assist with their problem-solving abilities, all the while having fun and being physically active. It is an excellent experience for the children and a great way to build leadership capacity in our students. You will see a nice collage of photos on our Facebook page. I apologise to parents for the washing, one student commented to me they had never seen so much mud in their life!
Staffing News
On Monday, we welcome Ann Jenvey who will join us teaching in Yrs 4 and Yr 6. Ann joins us from the ACT Ed system after completing her teaching practicum in the school more than 10 years ago and is very excited to rejoin our school community.
Take care in the week ahead.
Blessings and good wishes
Sean Rutledge
Principal
This Sunday we hear in the Gospel Jesus telling his disciples, in code, what is about to happen to him and gives his new commandment. The passage from the Gospel of John actually comes from the Last Supper account, as is indicated by the opening line: ‘When Judas had gone’. However, the passage is being used during the post-resurrection Easter season. The passage about being glorified can be read in this context as referring to the crucifixion that was, rather than the crucifixion that is still to come in the original setting. The reference that Jesus will not be with the disciples much longer can also be read as an indicator towards the Ascension. It is a clever liturgical use of a gospel passage out of its intended context.
The second half of the gospel passage is perhaps the more familiar section. It is a common text for marriage ceremonies. However, sometimes its selection is purely based on the use of the term ‘love’. Earlier in His ministry, Jesus was asked which commandment was the most important. He replied that you must love the Lord your God with all your heart and that you must love your neighbour as yourself. (Mt 22) The ‘new’ commandment that He issues at the Last Supper is not so much a new commandment as a variation on a theme. The newness highlights the changes that are occurring in the small group of friends. His language conveys an imperative: you must love one another, ‘just as I have loved you’. He tells the disciples – and us – that the way they behave towards one another must be with the same love that Jesus treated them. And the love that Jesus gave was the love of God for all the world. So the love that Jesus commands the disciples (us) to show one another is nothing less than the powerful love of God.
(Reflection by Greg Sunter)
CONFIRMATION RETREAT DAY
Tomorrow sees all our Year 6 students participate in their Confirmation Retreat, a day of prayer, reflection and preparation. We are so very fortunate to have Anne Gowan, our Parish Sacramental Coordinator lead the day alongside Fr Josh and the Year 6 teachers. While we especially hold the 39 children who will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation in prayer, all students will journey together during this day. A reminder that the children may wear casual clothes but need to bring thier own lunch and recess.
If parents have not sent in their 'Hopes and Dreams' letter, please make sure your child has this with them tomorrow.
MINNI-VINNIES
Due to year 6 camp Mini-Vinnies will start in Week 5 and is open to ALL children in Years 2-6 who would like to join. More information to follwo next week.
Pupil Free Days
Please find attached a letter from Mr Ross Fox, the Director of Catholic Education:
Dear Parents and Carers
I have authorised two extra pupil free days in Term 2 for all schools in the Archdiocese of Canberra Goulburn to support teachers who have been carrying extra teaching loads due to the COVID-related staff absences.
Like many other school systems, in Term 1 our schools had significant staff absences. Casual teachers were in short supply, so teachers and principals covered classes of absent teachers. They went without their usual allocated release from day-to-day teaching and planning, professional learning and administration. Despite these challenges, our staff sought to maintain the highest quality of teaching, learning and pastoral care of students.
I have asked each school to engage with their parent and carer communities to give you timely notice of these pupil free days. Included in this letter are further details from your Principal.
Ross Fox
Director, Catholic Education
Archdiocese of Canberra Goulburn
Following this communication from Ross Fox, Director of Catholic Education, on Friday 27 May & Tuesday 14 June, there will be pupil free, staff planning days. On these days, our staff will be involved in Professional Development, administration and program planning that was missed in Term 1, to ensure we continue to provide high-quality education to all students at St Francis of Assisi.
The South Tuggeranong Catholic Schools have worked together to achieve a consensus on these days and have attached them to existing long weekends and minimise the impact these days would have on families in multiple school settings. BASCA will provide a program of care on these days for families who require supervision. Please contact BASCA to make booking arrangements.
Pick-up arrangements
From Week 3, we will move back to our normal school Pickers and Parkers after school arrangement. From 3 pm, K & 1 students only will be in the hall ready for pickup. Siblings from other grades will not arrive until 3:05 pm and will be in the hall ready for collection. Please park your car and make your way to the hall, similar to wet weather arrangements. The remainder of the school will be released at 3:05 pm. I acknowledge there have been some teething issues with gates and cones in the pickers lane that we are working through. Hopefully, we will have it working somewhat smoother next week.
Students who are picked up between 3:05 and 3:20 pm are called Parkers and will be in the hall, seated in grade levels. Please park your car similar to wet weather arrangements and come into the hall, via the side door to collect your child/ren.
Students picked up after 3:20 pm are known as Pickers and you will be able to pick up your students in the 4 coloured boxes on the ring road from 3:20 pm. Please note Pickers Lane is only open once cones are removed from the left-hand lane on the ring road. Students who are Pickers assemble on the grassed area behind the hall and will be taken to the school entrance at 3:20 pm.
Cohorting
Although Cohorting is no longer required, we will still continue to minimise the interaction and length of time of organised indoor activities that involve of students from different grade levels.
Parents onsite
We are still required to limit the number of parents we have onsite and ask parents only to attend the school for scheduled appointments, Parkers or to visit the front office.
Students who are unwell
Please do not send students to school if they are unwell, they will continue to be isolated in a supervised area and then sent home. If you are worried or have any questions, please contact your classroom teacher.
RATS
The school has RATs available on request for families. Please contact the office if you would like some sent home. Please see the requirements for those identified as a household contact of someone with COVID.
Household Contact of Someone with COVID
Household contacts will not have to quarantine if they have no COVID-19 symptoms but will need to comply with the following requirements for seven days from the time the first person in their household tests positive for COVID‑19:
- Advise ACT Health that they are a household contact by completing a COVID-19 online declaration form.
- Wear a face mask in all indoor spaces when outside of the home, if aged 12 years and over.
- Students study from home, where it is practical to do so
- Parents/Carers notify the school of their child being a household contact
- If it is not practical to study from home, students must undertake COVID-19 testing and return a negative result in the 24 hours prior to returning to school and then every 48 hours if ongoing attendance is required
Reporting of COVID-19
It is still vitally important that you email the school to let us know if your child contracts COVID so we can undertake an assessment to ascertain the risk associated with our most vulnerable members in the community. We will also use this data to track case levels in a 7-day period to notify parents in line with ACT Health directions if we reach 25% of a cohort contracting COVID in a 7-day period. Please email the front office or me if your child contracts Covid.
Absences on Compass
Please continue to record all student absences on the Compass Parent Portal for your children. There were a large number of unexplained absences from last term being followed up by teachers, which ultimately takes time away from Teaching and Learning activities. Please complete a note on the Parent Portal if your child is away.
We are excited to be hosting the Tuning into Kids program, at the school, free of charge for our families.
The program will begin on Wednesday 25th May @ 5:30 pm in the Library and run for 4 consecutive weeks. The sessions will last approximately 2 hours.
Tuning in to Kids provides a new way of working with families that focuses on the emotional connection between parents and children. The program aims to teach parents and carers skills in recognising, understanding and managing their own and their children’s emotions. To learn more, check out the video below and hear from some parents who have attended the course.
If you are interested in attending, please register by filling in the form below. Hoping to see you all there.
Just a reminder
Due to the easing of Covid restrictions as of this week, our Uniform Shop is open to Parents again.
Opening Hours
Thursday 2:45pm - 3:15pm
Friday 8:45am - 9:15am
Thank you