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- Principal's Message
- From the Acting Assistant Principal
- Parish News
- Sports News
- National Science Week
- Kindergarten News
- Year 1 Learning
- Year 5 & 6 ZooSnooz Excursion
- Grandparents Day
- PB4L
- Book Week and Book Parade
- Father's Day Invitation & Stall
- Jump Rope for Heart
- Premier's Reading Challenge
- Birthdays to Celebrate
- Reminders ....
- Pupil Free Day Term 3
- School Fees & Payments
- Lunchbox Program | Swap it
- Canteen Menu - Term 3
- Parenting Insights
- Enrol Kindergarten 2024
- Before & After School Care ~ Available
- Bearer's of Christ Love
- CatholicCare Courses
- Health in Motion for Parents
- Community News
Dear Parents and Carers
As Principal of St Francis of Assisi Warrawong, I continue to be proud of our school as a welcoming community that strives to empower all learners to reach their full potential. This does not occur in isolation. Our role is to work in partnership with parents to provide an environment that encourages students to connect with each other and their community so that they can succeed and thrive. Parents, teachers and the community all play a role in fostering this environment.
"When parents and schools work together to build a culture of shared leadership and responsibility for student learning and well-being, children do better, and schools get better."
Cyclic Inquiry
Over the past two weeks, the school has been involved in a School Cyclic Inquiry. A School Cyclic Inquiry is a highly collaborative, school-led inquiry and review process that occurs every four years. The purpose of the inquiry was to celebrate and reflect on the past four years and to identify and plan strategically for improvement over the next four years. Thank you to our leadership team, staff, Father Damien, Sr Anna, students and parents for contributing to this inquiry through your conversations and surveys. We look forward to developing our School Strategic Plan 2024-2028, which will be shared with our school community in the coming months.
Year 5 and 6 Overnight Excursion to Taronga Zoo
I had the pleasure of joining our Year 5 and 6 students last Thursday night at their overnight excursion to Taronga Zoo. To our students, thank you for your enthusiasm, positive attitude, and willingness to embrace every aspect of the excursion. We also extend our appreciation to the parents and carers for your support and collaboration in the lead-up to the excursion. The partnership between school and home is an essential component of our educational approach, and we were grateful to experience that during the excursion. Lastly, a special thanks to our teachers. As we have mentioned before, these events don't just happen; there is a great deal of planning and preparation that goes into these days. Thank you for your commitment and for giving up your family time to be with our students. You all created a safe, engaging, and enjoyable experience that created memories that will last a lifetime.
Mrs Vicky Davidson
PRINCIPAL
Term 3 will see the continuation of our Celebration of Learning Assemblies. Please see the timetable below. We look forward to joining together to highlight the learning that has been happening in these classrooms, as well as presenting the Principal and Value awards at these assemblies.
| Week 5 | Week 10 |
| 5 Gold | 6 Blue |
Parent Resources: eSafety
The eSafety Commission website has resources to help parents and carers be positive role models and online safety advocates.
For online safety information for parents and carers, visit eSafety.gov.au/parents.
For advice on how to set parental controls across home Wi-Fi, devices, software, and more, visit: eSafety.gov.au/parental-controls.
For online safety webinars for parents and carers, visit eSafety.gov.au/parents/webinars.
ICAS Competitions
Thank you to those students who have registered for ICAS assessments this year. Applications have now closed. Students will be sitting their assessments at school over the coming weeks, during the relevant testing windows. Please let me know if you have any questions about this.
Who We Are | Catholic Diocese of Wollongong
| Date | Event | Attending | Venue |
|
Thursday 24 August |
NRL Gala Day - Girls League Tag, Boys Tackle | Selected Year 5-6 students | Croome Road Sporting Complex |
|
Thursday 14 September |
Junior Basketball Gala Day | Selected Year 3-4 students | Illawarra Sports Stadium, Berkeley |
|
Friday 15 September |
Senior Basketball Gala Day | Selected Year 5-6 students | Illawarra Sports Stadium, Berkeley |
On Tuesday 8 August, Mrs Burrows and Ms Martins had the great pleasure of accompanying our school athletics team to the Diocesan Athletics Carnival held at Beaton Park. These students demonstrated exceptional skill, determination, and sportsmanship throughout the carnival, showcasing the true spirit of our school's values and commitment to excellence. We are incredibly proud of our representatives' accomplishments and contributions to our school's reputation in the athletic community.
Well done to everyone involved, including our wonderful parents who supported us on the day.
National Science Week is coming up in Australia, from 12 - 20 August 2023 and is an annual event that celebrates science and technology. This year the theme is 'INNOVATION - Powering Future Industries'.
Year 3 Robotics
In Religious Education lessons this week, our Year 1 students have been learning about the Parables Jesus told to help people understand what the kingdom of God is like. In the Parable of the Yeast, the special ingredient - the yeast - changed flat dough into fluffy bread. Just a small amount of yeast made the whole thing grow! The students had the opportunity to make their own bread and watched it grow! Although all the kneading was tiring, it was a huge success and very delicious.
What a wonderful two days for our Year 5 and Year 6 students. Absolutely perfect weather, and some incredible experiences and memories that will last a lifetime. Botanic Gardens, Mary MacKillop Place, and Taronga Zoo overnight including some special behind-the-scenes encounters.
Thanks to our staff for their dedication and planning to make this experience possible for all of the students.
On the feast of St Joachim and St Anne, the grandparents of Jesus, our school community gathered to celebrate Grandparents Day, a special day on our school calendar.
The day started with a beautiful Mass, followed by class visits and morning tea. Thank you Father Damien for the special blessing. Thank you to all our grandparents, great-grandparents, family, and friends for coming and making this a memorable morning. We loved spending time with you.
Just like the Parable of the Sower, our Grandparents sow the seed of faith in our families with their wisdom and love. Thank you for all you do.
|
Book Week at St Francis of Assisi Each year since 1945, the Children's Book Council of Australia has brought children and books together across Australia through CBCA Book Week. During this time, schools and public libraries spend one glorious week celebrating books and Australian children's authors and illustrators. Classroom teachers, teacher librarians and public librarians create colourful displays, develop activities, run competitions and tell stories relating to a theme to highlight the importance of reading. You will often see parades with students dressed as their favourite book character. |
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(It is not compulsory for students to dress up).
Jump Rope for Heart
We are excited to announce that St Francis of Assisi is participating in Jump Rope for Heart this term – a fantastic fundraising and physical activity program by the Heart Foundation. Our school will receive a percentage of funds raised to go towards school resources including new library and reading books for students.
We will be officially launching this program at our Week 4 Assembly. Your child will learn new skills, increase their physical activity, and learn about heart health. The program will end with our school-wide ‘Jump Off Day’ on Friday 22 September, where your child gets to show off their new skipping skills to their friends. This is very exciting and for a great cause, we hope you are able to support us as much as you are able to. We understand that it is a challenging financial environment we live in, there is no pressure to be involved in the fundraising if you choose not to at this time.
The attached documents provide information about the program and how to register online. Your child will also receive a flyer and keyring with this information on Monday 14 August.
Please contact Mrs Briscoe if you have any questions.
A reminder to all participating students that the Premier’s Reading Challenge closes on Friday 18 August. Please ensure that you have entered all your books onto the site.
Come and see Ms Martins or Mrs Burrows if you need any assistance with this.
Congratulations to Isla, Adam, Zeinab K, Ayva, Marco, and Thomas, all of Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 students who have all successfully completed the challenge.
Staff and Student Birthdays
Happy Birthday to the following students and staff who are celebrating their birthdays in August:
Arianna, Zuzanna, Isaac.H, Thomas, Gizel, Jaxon, Lilyarna, Helena, Ali.H, Mia.C, Nevaeh, Claudia.C, Lachlan, Gus, Rocco, Jack, Ruby, Isabella.S, Liliana, Lilith-Rose, Olivia.M and Mrs Jimenez.
Dont' forget your HAT, DRINK BOTTLE and put your NAME on your property.
These costs are included in the school fee account and payment is required. Please check your account and ensure payment is being made. Thank you.
* Reminder texts are automatically issued by the Catholic Education Office *
* Weekly BPay Payments are Required *
ASPIRE OSHC
Before & After school care
AVAILABLE at St Francis School
$500 Government Vouchers available to use
Visit Website: www.aspire-oshc.com.au/st-francis-of-assisi-warrawong
Book Now online here
Hello everyone
My name is Chloe and I am the Program Manager at Aspire OSHC St Francis of Assisi. I have been thrilled working at our service here in Warrawong and loving every second of spending time with our kids here at before and after school care. Moving forward we will be providing vacation care combined with our sister service Kemblawarra providing school holiday care from 7 am until 6 pm. I can’t wait to hopefully meet some new faces! Our official program will be coming out in the coming weeks, I can't wait to share it with all of you. Please do not hesitate to contact me on the above-mentioned mobile number or email.
Chloe Newman
Program Manager
ASPIRE OSHC
The Bishop of Wollongong, Most Rev. Brian Mascord DD, has published a new document on the nature and purpose of Catholic schools in our diocese. Titled Bearers of Christ’s Love — Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Wollongong, this document is the first of its type in our diocese since the 1970s. In it, Bishop Brian explores the purpose of Catholic schools as an expression of the Church experience, as well as the vital connection between schools, parents/carers, parishes, and the diocese itself.
Throughout the document, Bishop Brian reiterates:
- The significant role Catholic schools play in the evangelising mission of the Church and the nurturing of students’ faith.
- The commitment of Catholic educators to complement and support the educational rights and duties of parents as their child’s first educator.
- The essential requirement for Catholic schools to be places of educational excellence, where learning, wellbeing and actions of outreach and service are integrated in a holistic educational vision and practice.
- That Catholic schools are places where those seeking a Catholic education are welcome, reflecting the diverse mix of cultures, nationalities and religious traditions that currently make up our school communities.
I encourage you to take the time to watch the short video from Bishop Brian and read this important document on the Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong website.
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