Welcome to the Parent Memo for Term 4 Week 10.

Dear families

This is our final newsletter for the year and as the 2019 school year draws to a close, I would like to thank you for all you do, for the children at school. At St Francis of Assisi Primary school, we enjoy wonderful support from parents, volunteers, tutors and grandparents who assist in the classrooms, the canteen, the library, at working bees, carnivals, excursions, student banking, book club, school discos and the list goes on.

Your involvement adds to the community dimension of the school and provides valued services for the students. Your work for the school is greatly appreciated and I hope our parents are very proud of their involvement and achievements.

In particular, I thank the Community Council who have worked tirelessly for the school during the year. A huge thanks to our staff for the great work they have done with our children throughout the year. How blessed we are in having a group of dedicated professionals who contribute so much to St Francis of Assisi Primary School.

Thank you also to Father James, Father Praveen and Father Andrew for their work in supporting our families, students and staff.

This week we farewell many staff members who go on to other adventures. Best wishes to the following staff members:

Jamie Kemp has worked here since 2012 and has taught many children over the years. His dedication to his students and commitment to our school’s leadership team is going to be very sorely missed. Jamie has accepted a position at Catholic Education for the next 12 months.

Wayne Young is also leaving our school community, having commenced teaching here in 2017. Wayne is going to join the teaching staff at St John Vianney’s in Waramanga. We thank him for his commitment to our students.

Both Kate Foley and Sam Ryan have decided to take some time off teaching and explore the world. We wish both Sam and Kate all the best.

Amanda Ducker has accepted a contract at St Clare of Assisi Primary School. Amanda has been great asset to our school this year, stepping in at the last minute and doing a wonderful job with 2 Water.

We wish our leaving staff all the best for next year and beyond. Thank you for all you have done for the students, staff and parents.

Last week we welcomed our new classroom teachers for 2020: Mrs Shelley Salzke (Year 2), Miss Emma Gillan (Year 3), Miss Emily Barr (Year 3) and Mr Simon Hargraves (Year 5). They are all looking forward to working with us from next year. Next year we also welcome Mrs Karen Western to our Learning Support Team.

2020 SCHOOL YEAR

The school will be open in 2020 from Wednesday 29 January at 9am. The first day of school for students (Years 1-6) will be Monday 3 February. Kindergarten will commence on Tuesday 4 February. If you have any queries during the school holidays, please email me: kate.markcrow@cg.catholic.edu.au. 

CORPUS CHRISTI PARISH CHRISTMAS

You are obviously most welcome to join any of the Christmas celebrations. On Tuesday 24 December, will be the Children’s Christmas Eve Mass at the front of the school, commencing at 6pm. Please bring along a rug and some chairs and enjoy the outdoor Mass.

SCHOOL SECURITY DURING THE BREAK

School grounds are particularly vulnerable during the summer holiday break so we rely heavily on our local residents and families to keep a watchful eye out for any unwelcome visitors.

Please drive past or walk through the school during the holidays if you get a chance. If you see anything suspicious, please do not hesitate to contact the Police on 131 444. Thank you.

CLASS NAMES FOR 2020 AND BEYOND

Next year we will be renaming our classes. This year the children were introduced to some words in Ngunnawal language which included the words for Earth, Fire and Water.

As such our class names will change to the Aboriginal word for each.

• Water – Ngadyung
• Earth – Dhaura
• Fire – Kanbi

It will take the children and teachers a little while to get use to the name changes but hopefully it will be second nature by the end of Term One.

CLOTHING POOL

I would like to publically acknowledge Mrs Maree Young for all the work she has done here at school. She is a constant face around the school, volunteering her time both in and out of the classroom. In particular, Maree has spent many hours organising and running the clothing pool. We thank Maree for her tireless commitment to our school and wish her and her family all the best as they move to a different school community. They are very lucky to have you.

Thank you also to Cheryl Jorritsma, who has agree to take over the running of the clothing pool. She will open the service on 30^th January from 11am – 12pm.

CANTEEN

With Mrs Sue Lever enjoying some Long Service Leave early in the new year, the school canteen will not be opening for the first two Mondays of the year - Monday 3 February and Monday 10 February 2020.  As usual the canteen will be closed on Tuesdays and will be open from Wednesday to Friday.  Normal operating hours will resume from Week 3 (open Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and closed on Tuesdays).

Finally I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy and peace filled Christmas. My prayer is that all families get to spend quality, happy time together, relaxing and reconnecting. I trust that everyone has safe break and returns, reinvigorated ready to start again in 2020.

Have a happy and Holy Christmas.

Kate Markcrow

A reminder that today is the last day of school for this year!

Term dates for 2020:

The Clothing Pool opening hours for 2020 will be as follows:

• Tuesday mornings - 8.30am - 9.15am
• Friday afternoons - 2.45pm - 3.15pm

The clothing pool will also be opening before school goes back for 2020 on Thursday 30 January 11.00am - 12.00pm

Any donations of used school uniforms in good condition may be brought to the front office.

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