Dear Parents and Carers,

Thank you for affording me the time to attend the National Catholic Education Commission Conference last week. This is the first time in 6 years that this has been offered and was attended by 2000 other Catholic Leaders from across the country. Speakers spoke about how we maintain Catholic Identity and mission into the future, support student and staff well-being and also how schools can rebuild their school community post-pandemic.

Our Community Council began to discuss our school community on Monday night, where it was noted that there was a lack of connections parents had with other families in Yrs K-2 as opposed to 3-6. This is purely due to a lack of opportunities to connect at social events (School events, birthdays, playdates etc.) that have been almost entirely absent over the last 3 years due to the Pandemic. We will be looking at and implementing strategies to reconnect our parents with each other and the school as a priority in the future.

 I have noticed the students are more tired than usual coming into weeks 9 and 10 of Term 3 than I would deem normal. It is worth noting that this is the longest period of uninterrupted school students have had in three years. A look back at this time last year, we were in lockdown with differing levels of engagement with the school as most of us were forced online. Please go gently over the next week and a half and enjoy a much-earned break during the school holiday period.

Change to Afternoon Pick-up arrangements.

From the beginning of next term, we will trial a change to our afternoon Parker’s routine in line with an easing of restrictions and the return of warmer weather.

From 2:50 pm, the gate at the back of the kindergarten building (Near Netball Courts) will be opened for parents to make their way down to the Peace Garden. This will allow parents/carers/nominated pick-up persons to chat and network under the shade rotunda before the students walk to the peace garden at 3:05 pm. Students will line up in their grade groups on the fake grass and walk over to their parents/carers/nominated pick-up person once they arrive. At 3:20 pm, staff will walk any remaining students to the front of the school and begin our normal Pickers Lane routine.

Please note:

• In the event of wet weather, students will move to the hall and the gate at the front of the kindergarten building will open at 3 pm.
• Students are not to be collected earlier than 3:05 pm without being signed out through the front office. Classroom teachers will ask any parent who comes to pick up earlier than 3:05 pm to produce a sign-out slip from the office. This is printed once students have been signed out.

We will send a map and a reminder of instructions before the commencement of school next term via Compass. This will also be republished in the school Newsletter.

How to view the Newsletter

We have had many requests from parents for grandparents and other carers to be added to Compass to get notes and the Newsletter. Feedback has been given to the Compass team and we are hopeful this could be integrated in the future. Until then, the Newsletter can be read by anyone via our school website St Francis of Assisi Primary School - Calwell eNewsletter (schoolzineplus.com).

We have also been made aware that many parents are having trouble accessing the school calendar, which is the most up-to-date representation of happenings in the school and is our one source of truth. There are a couple of ways to access this quickly:

• Through the Compass app or desktop webpage, by selecting the school calendar.
• The school Calendar tile on our School Webpage St Francis of Assisi Primary School - Calwell (stfa.act.edu.au) or the tab at the top of the website.
• Download a public .ical file to overlay the school calendar on your personal or work calendar. https://calendar.google.com/calendar/ical/saintfrancis.calwell%40gmail.com/public/basic.ics
• Directly visit the School Calendar browser public link https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/1/r/month/2022/9/1?tab=oc

These calendar links do not change year to year and will roll over to 2023 with the new dates populated once they become known.

First Eucharist

Congratulations to our Yr 5 students who made their First Holy Communion on Tuesday night. It was a beautiful celebration of this blessed sacrament which was beautifully celebrated in the presence of students and their families. I thank the parish, parents and Yr. 5 teachers for preparing the students for this occasion.

Netballers

A huge congratulations to our Netballers from Yrs. 2-6 on the successful completion of their season over the weekend. The club had an end-of-season BBQ on Saturday, and students were presented with their certificates and team awards. These players were recognised in front of the whole school community on Monday morning.

A huge thanks go out to the Netball committee for their work behind the scenes this year to run the club. A big thanks need to be extended to Ms Mewburn and Mr Hosie for being our staff representatives and for their work in establishing the Netball Committee this year. Their commitment to the students and love of Netball is an incredible gift to our school community.

Pupil Free Day

Thank you for your support last Friday. Our staff participated in a session on programming in the school and future directions, followed by time to complete Professional Development, planning, programming, and personal/grade admin. The staff continue to be incredibly grateful and thank you for your support of these days.

ACTBGA- ELC

We have progressed to the second stage of the ACTBGA grant progress for an Early Learning Centre.

The committee will visit our school in Week 10 to view the site and discuss plans in further detail. I will update you on the progress of the application. If successful, the ELC would look to open in 2024.

Building works in 2023

Building renovation plans for E block (Current Yr 2 & 3 classes) are on track for next year. We hope to have final plans to show parents next term. These plans have been seen by and endorsed by staff and will go to the Community Council early next term.

2023 NAPLAN - change in date

One of the National Assessment Program improvements announced by the Education Ministers earlier this year was the moving of NAPLAN from Term Two to Term One in 2023. By bringing the test forward, schools will be able to access and use this valuable data to inform teaching and learning programs and to provide parents with timely and purposeful student performance information.

In 2023 the NAPLAN test window is from Wednesday 15 March to Monday 27 March.

Blessings and best wishes

Sean Rutledge

Principal

https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/1/r/month/2022/9/1?tab=oc

This year St Francis of Assisi Primary School is focusing on a major fundraising project to raise funds to upgrade our senior playground equipment. 

In conjunction with this raffle fundraiser, we will be having other smaller fundraising events for the children to get involved in.

First prize for the raffle is $3,000, second prize is $1,500 and third prize is $500.  The ticket draw will take place on Wednesday 9^th November 2022.

We are asking all families to sell at least one book of 20 raffle tickets. The cost of a ticket is $2.00 which equates to $40.00 per book. As this is a licenced raffle and all tickets need to be accounted for, the ticket numbers of this book have been recorded against your eldest child’s name.

Books will be distibuted to student from Monday 15th September.

 We ask that you sell your book of raffle tickets and return them to school no later than Friday 21^st October (Term 4 Week 2). If you manage to sell your book earlier than this date please return it and the money immediately. Payment may be made by cash or QKR!

We have lots of spare raffle books to sell so if you are able to sell more than one book please contact the front office to arrange for additional tickets to be sent home. Remember, all profit made from this raffle goes to improving our school which in turn benefits all students!

All tickets, sold or unsold, need to be returned to school by Friday 21^st October.  We thank you for your support.

Dear Community Council Members

I would like to express my appreciation to the St Francis of Assisi Primary Community Council of 2022 for your generous gift on my farewell from the St Francis of Assisi Primary Staff after 22 years. I look forward to learning new skills in creating functional glassware!

I would like to particularly acknowledge the work of Joanne Grogan who collated and designed the stunning memory book for me which I will always treasure. She was assisted by Elizabeth Shore in collecting so many contributions from current and past students, staff and parents. The book is such a touching tribute to the relationships and dedication of our community.

Throughout my time at the school, students thrived in their well-being and learning due to the close relationships of support and collaboration between staff and parents. I have loved every moment of my Franciscan journey - from my Parish Pastoral Council involvement at the school’s inception in 1988, as a parent with my four children attending SFA from Kinder to Year 6, and of course as a member of staff in developing and leading excellence in teaching and learning. The greatest highlights among many were the opportunities of supporting children and their families in their faith journeys, social justice education and pastoral needs. It always gives me great joy to see young people flourish.

Thank you for your continuing involvement in and commitment to further developing the St Francis of Assisi Primary School community as a welcoming and compassionate place where the teachings of Jesus are central.

With warmest wishes and blessings

Lisa Conroy