St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal - Thank you!
Yesterday, our school community celebrated Pyjama Day as our way of supporting the St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal.
In exchange for the luxury and comfort of being able to stay in pyjamas all day, many people brought in donations of food and winter accessories to help support those affected by poverty in our local area. 

What a generous community we have here at St Francis of Assisi!  Our collection tubs were overflowing yesterday, and our Mini Vinnies children from Year Four were kept busy transferring, sorting and re-packing all of the donations.
Special thanks to those who were able to bring in scarves, beanies, socks, and blankets. These are in great demand in our local area.
Thank you for helping us bring the love of God to those in need.  

Grandparents Day - Friday 26 July - Week 1, Term 3

By now, you have probably seen the ‘Save the Date’ notice on Compass regarding Grandparents Day.  Our celebration of Grandparents Day coincides with the Feast of St Joachim and St Anne - the parents of Mary and, therefore, grandparents of Jesus - which the Church celebrates each year on Friday 26 July.
Everyone is warmly invited to join the parish community at 9 am for Mass.  Following Mass, we will have open classrooms, morning tea and the opportunity to visit the Book Fair.  Our Friday awards assembly will be held after morning tea in the event some of our special visitors would like to stay for this assembly.
Traditionally, as part of our celebrations, we put together a photo presentation of the students with their grandparents. If you would like to include a photo of your children with their grandparents, please send these to your class teacher via SeeSaw by Tuesday, 23 July. Thank you!

For more photos from the evening please visit our Facebook page here

Updated Student Positive Behaviour Support Policy
The PB4L Team has reviewed our Student Positive Behaviour Support Policy and procedures for schoolwide behaviour management. Here is an outline of the new changes. The updated policy in full will be shared via Compass. To ensure consistency for the school community, these changes have also been shared with all students from Kindergarten to Year 6, as well as all staff. Parent Workshops will also be advertised in Term 3, for anyone interested in learning more about PB4L in our school. 

Updated Merit Award System
The PB4L Team has updated a new procedure and reward system for the students at St Francis of Assisi. The students will be receiving recognition for their hard work and dedication to learning. We have introduced two new awards that students can receive: a St Clare of Assisi Award and a Franciscan Medallion. The new merit award system will look like this:

• This new procedure will be backdated from Term 1 2024.
• Once students have received 5 merit awards (Merit, Religious Education or PB4L awards), they take them to the school office. The awards will be stamped on the back of the merit awards and students will receive their St Clare of Assisi Award at an upcoming assembly.
• When a student has received 5 St Clare of Assisi Awards, they can take these to the Office and students will receive a Franciscan Medallion at an upcoming assembly.
• Assembly merit awards will be awarded for specific learning and behavioural goals and will continue to be  presented weekly as a school community.
• Teachers in each class will write one award for Merit, Religious Education and PB4L. Specialist teachers will also be able to give out one award per week per stage.
• All student merit awards and principal stickers will be entered into Compass. 
• Parents will receive a notification that their child will be receiving an award that week.

Make sure you keep your awards as they will now count to a new reward system. 

5 Merit Awards = St Clare of Assisi Award 

5 St Clare of Assisi Awards = Franciscan Medallion

Updated Consequences for High Level Behaviours
The team has also made significant changes to the consequences for high-level behaviours to ensure consistency and transparency in dealing with them. These are detailed in the full policy, which will be shared via Compass. Critical/extreme cases will be dealt with according to the CEDoW Policy.

Year 5 & 6 students will attend an overnight excursion as part of the Human Society and Its Environment unit "Australia as a Nation" on Thursday 8 and Friday 9 August. The students will travel by coach leaving at 7.00 am on Thursday and returning at approximately 8.30 pm on Friday.  Further details are available in the Compass event issued to parents recently.  Permission by parents is required on Compass. 

This excursion is an educational tour of the national capital.  Students will be given the opportunity to participate in a variety of educational programs with a focus on Australia's history, culture, heritage, and democracy. The Australian Government recognises the importance of all young Australians being able to visit the national capital as part of their Civics and Citizenship education.  To assist families in meeting the cost of the excursion the Australian Government is contributing funding to our school of $30.00 per student under the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate program towards those costs.  The rebate is paid directly to the school upon completion of the excursion.  Please note this cost has been rebated in the school fees.  

On Thursday 27 July, Year 4 had the privilege of attending Holy Spirit College Bellambi for the final dress rehearsal of their production, Frozen.
Our students and staff were treated to an amazing performance from the students at Holy Spirit, all from a front-row seat. 
Thank you to the College for extending the invitation for us to join them and have this experience.

RE-LABEL PROPERTY DURING HOLIDAYS FOR NEXT TERM
We have a large number of lost property items. These items do not have any names on them. Please check your child/ren's items are all clearly labeled so that we can return these when misplaced ie jackets, jumpers, hats, lunchbox, and drink bottles.  It is a good idea to check and relabel items due to wear and tear regularly.

Applications for Kindergarten 2025 placement offers have been emailed.  Please complete the acceptance of the offer via the link in the email.  Enrolment applications are open ONLINE. Please submit your application online following the details below or visit our school website.  Please do not hesitate to contact the School Office with any questions.

Click here to Enrol Online