Get well wishes
Please keep Sienna Farrugia (1 Gold) and her family in your thoughts and prayers at this time. Sienna is currently in hospital receiving treatment for a recently diagnosed illness. Our school community sends all its love and best wishes to you Sienna. 

Introduction of new student information management system
This term St Francis of Assisi has introduced a new student information system called Compass that will provide further communication with the school. It is most important that all parents have a very good understanding of this system. This management system has been rolled out across all Wollongong Diocesan Catholic primary schools. 

Below is some further information about Compass.

What is Compass? Compass is a Student Information System that has new updated capabilities including a "Parent Portal" for online access to your child's school records and school information.

The Parent Portal allows parents/carers to:

• monitor your child(ren)’s attendance, and enter explanations for late arrivals or absences
• update your family details - mobile and email address
• download and view your child(ren)’s semester reports
• view ‘My News’- a news feed of school announcements, alerts and updates
• view the school calendar
• book parent-teacher meetings
• provide consent for events and excursions.

Further information will be provided in the coming weeks. We will be providing the option of attending some workshops to assist with downloading and using the Compass app. The first information session on Compass will be held on Monday 5 August at 9 am. Michael Norris from the Catholic Education Office Wollongong will be talking to our school community about Compass at the P&F Meeting. More information sessions will be communicated to the community over the coming weeks. Looking forward to seeing you there.

Uniform expectations  
Reminders about uniform expectations are a frequent inclusion in the newsletter. Thank you to the parents/carers who consistently strive to ensure that their children are presented in the correct uniform each day. I acknowledge that it can be a challenge and sometimes it is the children themselves who make the choice to wear the incorrect uniform. On rare occasions, when a student cannot wear the correct uniform, a written explanation should be provided to their classroom teacher. Please find the uniform policy attached to this newsletter. 

Attendance and Illnesses
In addition to uniform reminders, we also remind parents about the importance of school attendance. Regular attendance at school for every student is essential for their improvement in learning, development and social-emotional wellbeing. While parents are legally responsible for the regular attendance of their children at school, school staff, as a part of their duty of care, have a responsibility to record and monitor school attendance.
While school attendance is extremely important it is also important to keep your child at home if they are experiencing signs of fever, vomiting or diarrhea, coughs and colds, etc... It is important they receive the appropriate treatment to help them get better faster. Those students who have been off for an extended period of illness should provide the school with a doctor's certificate. A few of our families have children who have or who are recovering from illnesses. Being mindful of this is the best way to protect others from infection.