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.
We appreciate the tremendous trust you have placed in us to nurture and teach your children and to provide the educational foundations for their future. This is why it is important for us to work in partnership with you, your children and the school community. We continue to look at ways of how we can continue to and encourage positive, sustainable and effective partnerships between all members of the school community, including teachers, families and students. Children receive powerful messages from family-school relationships. When I read the definition of community engagement, I can't emphasise enough the importance of 'shared responsibility'.
'Community engagement is a two-way street where the school, families, and the community actively work together, creating networks of shared responsibility for student success. It is a tool that promotes well-being, and that strengthens the capacity of schools, families, and communities to support young peoples’ full development.”
Pope Francis said parents and teachers must collaborate openly and constructively. He has stressed the importance of the relationship between parents and teachers. Parents and teachers must put themselves in the shoes of the other,  “understanding the objective difficulties that one and the other encounter today, thus creating greater solidarity."
May we continue to reflect and work together to nurture that shared responsibility while honouring the culture, traditions, values and relationships in our school and parish community.

"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.”

P&F Disco - Thank you
Every week at our Leadership Team meetings, we reflect on what is working well and what we need to do to improve. Each day we celebrate new learning in our classrooms. In my Principal's message, I talked about continuing to build a partnership with staff, students and parents. Last Friday our students were fortunate enough to participate in two wonderful learning and social experiences. During the day the students participated in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) learning activities and later that night got the opportunity to attend the school disco. 
Thank you to the P&F, staff and parent helpers who made our night so successful. We had a record number of students attend. A special thanks to Mr Gilmore who was our resident DJ for the night. We certainly enjoyed the music choices and the dancing.

Keeping our school safe
Just a reminder to parents when entering the school during school times it is via the school office. The front door of the school hall is locked during school time. Canteen helpers have also been asked to direct parents who wish to enter the hall to come in via the school office. For school assemblies gates will be opened for parents. Thank you for continuing to keep our students safe.

Congratulations Mois and Diem
Congratulations to Diem and Mois on the completion of their Reading Recovery intervention. Going up 17 and 16 reading levels is a huge achievement and I am so proud of your efforts and hard work. Congratulations boys, happy reading! 

Get well wishes
Please continue to keep Sienna Farrugia (1 Gold) and her family in your thoughts and prayers. It is wonderful to hear that Sienna is back home for a week. Our school community continues to send all its love and best wishes to you Sienna. 

Masses

Thank you to everyone who attended our last two Masses for St Mary of the Cross and the Assumption. It is a great privilege for us as a school to be able to attend Mass with our parish. A big thank you to Fr Martin for the way you celebrate with the children and also to the teachers and classes who prepared these Masses - Early Stage 1, Stage 1 and Stage 2. It is always an uplifting experience to celebrate Mass with our students as they participate and sing so well.

Reconciliation
Our classes began last week for Reconciliation. We have fifteen of our students plus seven from the parish preparing for this sacrament. Please keep these students, their parents and the catechists in your prayers. The students will make their Reconciliation on Tuesday 10 September at 7.00pm in the St Mary of the Rosary Church, Berkeley.

Term 3 Religious Education & Parish Important Dates 

All parents and families are warmly welcome to join us at our whole school Masses in the Church.

All Religious Sacraments are organised by St Francis of Assisi Parish Church.  Please contact the Parish Office with inquiries.

St Francis of Assisi Church
Fr Martin Mai - Parish Priest
Tel: 4276 3565
Email: warrawong@dow.org.au
Parish Office
9.00-1.30 Tuesday - Friday
Parish Masses
9.00am Tuesday - Friday
6.00pm Saturday - Vigil
& 1st of the Month
10.00am Sunday

On Monday 12 August, Year 6 students from Warrawong, Dapto and Port Kembla, gathered together in our school hall and were all treated to a day-long immersive spiritual experience. A range of sessions were on offer throughout the morning and afternoon that included a mix of song and prayer, discussion and reflection, games, workshops and other fun...plus the social opportunity of a sausage sizzle together at lunch.

Based on the Year 6 Religious Education unit, Confirmation: Celebrating the Gift of the Holy Spirit, the program is designed to move young people from a passive experience of their faith towards a more active, mature and responsible engagement with God.

It was fun to socialise with new friends and the day taught us to appreciate God more. Lara H (Yr 6)

The music was fabulous and we were involved in a variety of activities and we were also given the opportunity to share ideas in groups. Ethan (Yr6)

We learnt about taking the time to pray to God a lot more and we felt united as a community. Khalil (Yr6)

Joel and Seth were inspiring leaders because they allowed us to think about our faith and spirituality. Paris & Fatima (Yr6)

The day helped us to reflect on what we learnt about Confirmation and how we can serve God. Dean (Yr6)

A special thanks to Mrs Madaschi for organising the day and to the mums, Mr Murphy and our School Support Officers who helped with the morning tea and sausage sizzle. It was greatly appreciated.

Sam Bremner Shield
On Tuesday 20 August, a team of Year 6 girls competed in the Sam Bremner Shield, a rugby league competition. Congratulations to the girls for having a go at something new. Lots of fun was had, and lots of new skills learned. The girls even got to rub shoulders with some Dragons, NSW and Australian players!

Thank you Jamberoo Superoos Rugby League Club for lending us the jerseys. Thank you also to the parents and families who supported the girls on the day. 

"It was a great day with a lot of familiar faces and new ones. We learnt techniques, skills, and rules that we would not have thought about before the day. The whole team wanted to play pat the buzzer. I would love to do it again!" - Amelia C.

Team: Lamise J, Danielle T, Sierra S, Angel N, Olivia G, Jasmin G, Samantha S, Savannah D, Rayhana E, Amelia C, Gabriella T.

Tennis
Last term, David Winley, provided our primary students with FUNtastic tennis lessons during Physical Education lessons. Last week, at a morning assembly, he presented students with encouragement medals and one lucky student received a scholarship for free tennis lessons for a term. What an awesome gift! The school sincerely thanks David for his generosity and support.
Encouragement medals:
Kyle Z (Yr6), Emily L (Yr6), Khaled H (Yr6), Alexia B (Yr 5), Laila H (Yr5), Youssef A (Yr5),Cam Ly H (Yr4),

Sofia F (Yr4), Adrian G (Yr4), Joseph S (Yr3), Eva G (Yr3), Brae A (Yr3).

Scholarship Award went to Jessica S (Yr 3) Congratulations to all these students.

South Coast Athletics Carnival
Last Tuesday 13th August, twenty-two students competed in the South Coast Athletics Carnival held at Beaton Park, Wollongong. This included children from Year 2 to Year 6. Every one of them tried their very best and some performed extremely well with their results moving them forward to the time trials which were held on Tuesday 20 August. Wearing yellow vests, it was easy to see our St Francis of Assisi representatives competing in field and track events. Thank you to Mrs Adams who spent the day marshalling the long jump event and to our supportive parents and students who cheered and encouraged our participants. Congratulations to all our students. Students representing our school at the Diocesan Athletics Trials were:
Samantha S (Yr 6) - 3^rd in Senior Long Jump
Zane C (Yr 6) – 3^rd in Senior Shotput
Savannah D (Yr 6) – 1^st in Senior high jump, 1^st in 100m final, 1^st in the 200m. Savannah also won the Senior Champion Girl award at the Carnival. Congratulations!

A special mention goes to our Senior Girls relay who came fourth and to Brock F (Yr2) who came 9^th overall in the 100m, just missing a place in the final.

Diocesan Athletics Carnival
On Tuesday three students represented our school at the Diocesan Athletics Trials. These students performed exceptionally well,  producing fantastic results. We are very proud of their achievements.
Samantha S – 6^th in the Long Jump
Zane C – 4^th in the Shotput
Savannah D – 1^st in the High Jump, 2^nd in the 100m and third in the 200m.

Savannah will now represent the Diocese of Wollongong at the Mackillop Championships in September. Savannah will participate in the High Jump and the 100m.

On Friday 9th August, Kindergarten travelled by bus to Symbio Wildlife Park. It was a very windy day, but that didn't get in the way of us having a really fun day full of learning!

Ranger Peter showed us some special animals that we were able to get up close with. These animals included a large python, blue tongue lizard, crocodile, ringtail possum, and even a tawny frogmouth. How cool!

Ranger Peter then showed us all around the zoo, teaching us lots of interesting facts about the animals we saw. We got to feed the farm animals in the Barnyard which was lots of fun! Some of the goats were a bit cheeky and stole our food bags! Naughty goats!!

We enjoyed playing at the park at Symbio during lunchtime too, and the bus trip there and back was lots of fun!

We had such a great time at Symbio! A big thank you to Mrs Davidson, Mrs Phillips, Mrs Martins and Mrs Beckhaus for taking us out for the day. 

On Thursday 15 August the Mini Vinnies Team held the annual Winter Appeal Cupcake Day. The Mini Vinnies students in Years 3, 4 and 5 brought in over 400 cupcakes to sell. We raised $500. This is a wonderful effort from our school community. 

We would like to thank the Mini Vinnies Team, parents and school community for supporting and making the day so successful.

Our local St Vincent de Paul member, Mrs Maher will be attending the Assembly on Friday to collect a cheque for much needed funds to support families in need in our community. We will also donate a few other things that will help the homeless.

Thank you
Mrs Beckhaus and Mrs Mansbridge

Each week we focus on one of our school rules and at our school assembly, we present an award to a student from each class who has demonstrated this rule through their positive words and actions.
Next week, the focus will be on being responsible. Responsible behaviour is made up of five essential elements—honesty, compassion/respect, fairness, accountability, and courage. When discussing this with your children, ask them how they can show these qualities at school.
Also, ask them how they can be responsible at home.

Below are a few suggestions that might help in these discussions: 

Responsible Students-
1. Attend classes on time and regularly.
2. Are prepared for classes with all necessary supplies.
3. Take good care of school property.
4. Respect themselves and others.
5. Do their best.

It is important that children understand that each person has responsibilities and that they need to take responsibility for their actions. It can be easy to blame others when you forget something or do something wrong, but part of being responsible is taking responsibility for yourself. You can help teach children this concept by reading the story, But It's Not My Fault by Julia Cook. In this story, the main character continues to blame others for everything that goes wrong with his day. He has to learn that he needs to accept responsibility rather than playing the blame game. 

Below is a link to listen to this story online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvPUPV0DkBI

Mrs Matos
SPB4L Coordinator

What a fantastic day we had for our STEM Day last Friday. In celebration of Science Week, we had Mbots, catapults, stomp rockets, paper planes and much more! Thank you to all of the teachers and the students for a highly successful day!

Each year across Australia, the Children's Book Council of Australia brings children and books together celebrating CBCA Book Week. During this time schools, libraries, booksellers, authors, illustrators and children celebrate Australian children's literature and you will often see children's book character parades. Today we celebrated our annual Book Week parade. The theme for 2019 CBCA Book Week was 'Reading is my secret power'. The students and staff were very excited about preparing for our day. Artwork was created by each class and decorated our hall. The students also had the opportunity to paint and decorate the staff costumes. Thank you to all our families for helping the students prepare for the parade. In our next newsletter, we will share our reflections and photos from our parade.

Mrs Burrows
Librarian Class Teacher

Book Club brochures went home on Monday. Please remember that they are due back by Monday 26th August. Purchases can be made online as well. 

FATHER'S DAY BREAKFAST - Friday 30 August 
Please see attached Invitation sent home for our Father's Day breakfast next Friday 30 August at 8.00am.  Please RSVP to assist with catering.

FATHER'S DAY STALL - Wednesday 28 August
Children will have the opportunity to visit the Father's day stall on Wednesday 28 August and purchase gifts.  Gift prices range from $2.00 to $10.00.

P&F DISCO
Thank you to all our parent helpers at the school disco on Friday night.  All the children had a wonderful time (and teachers).

PARENT HELPERS
We are always seeking parent helpers, if there is a school event you would like to help with, please feel free to email the school with your details at info@sfawdow.catholic.edu.au.  We are seeking parent helpers for the upcoming Father's Day breakfast and Stall.