Dear Parents and Carers,

"Start by doing what is necessary; then do what is possible, and suddenly, you are doing the impossible." ~ St. Francis of Assisi

This quote from St Francis resonates deeply with the student's learning and growth journey this semester. Today, as student semester reports go live on Compass, we celebrate our students' hard work and dedication to learning. I am immensely proud of the students and their learning, and it has been pleasing to see our students' growth while reading through the reports this week.

As previously advertised, there will be no comments on these reports but rather 10-minute parent-teacher interviews next week, which can be booked through the Compass Parent Portal. The teachers will focus on areas of strength, opportunities for growth and future goals. Students are not required to attend this interview, which will be conducted in your child's classroom. If you cannot make an appointment time, please contact your classroom teacher directly to organise an alternative arrangement. We appreciate your ongoing support and involvement in your child's education.

Resignation of Sharon Aksila

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Sharon Aksila for her incredible hard work and dedication as our School Office Manager over the past 15 years. Sharon has been an essential part of our school family, consistently going above and beyond to support students, staff, and parents with her unwavering commitment and kindness. Her contributions have greatly enriched our community, and her positive impact will be felt for many years to come. Thank you, Sharon, for your outstanding service to the St. Francis Primary School community, and we wish you all the best in your future endeavours.

Today, I will be offsite interviewing for our new Office Manager. Next week, I hope to be able to announce the successful candidate who will begin in Term 3.

Incorporation Update

Earlier this year, Archbishop Christopher announced changes to the governance arrangements for Catholic Education within the Archdiocese from 2025. This will result in a change to the proprietor of each Catholic School in the ACT but will not otherwise materially impact school operations. If you would like further information about this change, or you would like to provide feedback about the change in proprietor, please contact governance@cg.catholic.edu.au  by 19 July 2024.

School and Carpark Works

Today, line marking will be conducted in the car park to hopefully create 12-15 new car parks and disability parking for the ELC. Over the school holidays, the car park will have remedial work to fill potholes and resolve other maintenance issues.

Also, the Yrs 3/4 toilet block will be completely renovated over the school holidays, delivering some much-needed upgrades to these bathrooms. I will have some visuals of the layout in the newsletter next term. This program of work will take approx. 12 weeks. I thank the Catholic Education Office for a generous investment in this project through the Catholic Schools Building Fund.

You will notice some directional drilling occurring on Casey Cres. This is for the upgraded electrical connection we need in the school to support the ELC and the recent renovations, which have seen us remove old gas heating and electrify many of the blocks. These works should be completed by the beginning of Term 3. 

Pupil Free Day

The first day of Term 3, Monday, July 22nd, is a designated pupil-free day. The day is a dedicated staff Professional Learning Day. The first day for students is Tuesday, July 23^rd. This is a system-wide practice for all Catholic schools. Please contact me if you have any questions.

Enrolment update

We have had a very successful enrolment period and will have a waitlist for several grade levels and the ELC in 2025. There are still some places available in some year levels for 2025. Please contact the office at 62924500 if you or someone you know is interested in touring the school or ELC.

Staff Leave

Mrs Lauren MacDonald is currently on planned leave and will be back at the beginning of Term 3. Congratulations to Natalie Radanovich, who has replaced Lauren as Acting Yrs 1/2 and Literacy Coordinator. While Lauren is on leave, please contact Kristy Everding at kristy.everding@cg.catholic.edu.au  if you have any specific intervention enquiries.

Blessings and best wishes

Sean Rutledge

Principal

The 3/4 boys’ basketball journey continued on Tuesday 25th competing in the finals of the Jamie Pearlman Cup 3/4 Challenge, held at Belconnen Basketball stadium. Each team played 3 games before being knocked out of the finals. Competition was fierce, but they showed determination, courage and great team work.

The parents, Erin and I were very proud of their efforts and great sportsmanship. Thank you to Simone McCloskey for helping with coaching and bench duty, the parents who were able to watch and support our 2 teams, and a huge thank you to Erin Steele for organising our participation in the day and coaching the Year 4 team.

I really enjoyed coaching the Year 3 team, and watching both teams learn new skills over a short period of time, work together as a team, and never give up when the going was tough. Well done boys!

Tabatha Way

 

 

Thank you to school community members who provided feedback on the recent Mother’s Day afternoon tea event. The event was funded by the School’s Community Council and one of the many ways the School and Council are giving back to the school community.

Feedback for these events is valuable as it helps shape future events for the school community, including Father’s Day and Grandparents Day later this year.

Although weather was not on our side for the day, overall the event was well received with an afternoon of activities in children’s classrooms and free food and barista coffee!

The School Community Council has taken on board your suggestions and is working on how best to include these into future events.  

The next upcoming event is Father’s Day! We’d love to hear from dad’s about how the school can celebrate this event.  

Thank you again,

Mother’s Day sub-committee

St Francis Of Assisi, School Community Council

Our Team on the Student Newspaper have worked hard this term to create our very first edition of The Student Times!