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- Year 6 - End of Year Dates
- Birthdays to Celebrate
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- Parent and Teacher Communication
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Dear Parents and Carers,
Gospel Reflection - Mark 13:24-32
In last Sunday’s Gospel, the community to whom the Gospel of Mark was originally addressed expected the return of Jesus and the end times to occur within their lifetimes. However, nearly two thousand years later, we recognise that this anticipation was not fulfilled in the way they imagined.
Today, much like in Mark’s time, many people approach the future and the prospect of change with fear and apprehension. As Christians, we are called to approach the future with optimism and hope. Although many aspects of our lives and the world are subject to change, we find security in relationships and values. Foremost among these are our family relationships. We can confidently accept change, knowing that we will continue to be loved by our family and by God. It is through our daily assurances to our children that nothing can change our love for them that we help instil trust and confidence. We know that God is good, that God loves us unconditionally, and that God has a dream for us.
Congratulations to Daniel (Year 2)
Earlier this term, you may have heard a familiar voice on i98 radio. Congratulations to Daniel, who had the opportunity to visit the i98 radio station with Mrs Davidson to record a radio advertisement promoting Kindergarten 2025 enrolments. It was a fantastic experience and we are very proud of Daniel for being a wonderful ambassador for our school on this special project.
Mrs Vicky Davidson
PRINCIPAL
If we are to be “Bearers of Christ’s love”, it stands to reason that we must see through his eyes, love with his heart, and be driven by his mission. Bishop Brian Mascord.
End of Year Uniform Reminder
As we approach the end of the school year, we want to ensure all students are wearing the correct school uniform each day. A huge thank you to the vast majority of our students and families who consistently support our uniform standards. Please make sure your child’s uniform is clean and tidy. Hats are required daily for sun safety. Thank you for helping us uphold these standards and for ensuring all students represent our school with pride and respect. If you have any questions or need assistance with uniform requirements, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
General Online Safety Tips
- Open Communication: Maintain an open dialogue with your child about their online activities. Encourage them to talk to you if they encounter anything uncomfortable.
- Set Boundaries: Establish screen time rules and limits on content. Don’t hesitate to say “No” even if your child claims “everyone else is allowed.”
- Educate: Teach your child about internet safety and the importance of protecting personal information.
By taking the time to engage with our children about online safety, we can create a secure environment for them to explore the digital world responsibly, enjoying its benefits while minimising risks. Thank you for your partnership in keeping our children safe online and supporting a positive school environment.
For additional resources and guidance on online safety, please visit the eSafety Commissioner’s website at esafety.gov.au/parents. This website offers valuable information on helping children stay safe online, with tips on managing screen time, setting boundaries, and using parental controls effectively. It also provides advice specific to various platforms and apps to help parents stay informed and proactive in protecting their children online.
PB4L
Our focus areas for the last week have been:
PB4L focus - We have lots of stairs at our school, so it's really important to use them safely! Always hold onto the handrail, walk carefully, and never run. Stay on the left side of the stairs to let others pass easily. If you're carrying something, make sure you can see where you’re going.
SEL focus - We have been learning about consequences. When you make good choices, like helping a friend or following the school rules, the results are positive and everyone benefits. But if you make a choice that isn’t so great, there might be negative consequences, like getting in trouble or hurting someone’s feelings. By thinking about how your actions might affect others, you can make better choices and create a positive school environment for everyone!
Assembly Dates Term 4
Thank you for your support as we have been flexible in our assembly times this term. Please see below for the full details of Term 4 assembly dates and times.
| Week | Type | Date / Time |
| 6 | Awards Assembly | Friday 22 November 8:45 am |
| 7 | Awards Assembly | Friday 29 November 2:20 pm |
| 8 | Celebration of Learning - Year 3 | Friday 6 December 2:10 pm |
| 9 | Christmas Assembly (No awards) | Friday 13 December 2:00 pm |
School Assemblies are communicated in the weekly overview, newsletter, school calendar, and Compass. Please check the date and time for the weekly assemblies.
The PB4L team updated the reward system, earlier this year, which we have been using since July this year, and was backdated to the beginning of the school year.
We introduced two new awards students can receive:
* St Clare of Assisi Award, and
* Franciscan Medallion.
The new merit award system:
-
Once students receive 5 merit awards (Merit, Religious Education, and/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, via Compass, that their child will be receiving an award that week.
Mr Brett Murphy
First Holy Communion Program
Congratulations to the children from our school and parish communities who, this weekend, will celebrate their First Communion.
We also extend our prayers and best wishes to any children in our school community celebrating their First Communion in other parishes this weekend. We pray that all those celebrating this weekend will continue to gather at the altar to be nourished by the Eucharist so they are well-equipped to be the presence of Jesus in the world.
Parish Sacramental Programs for 2025
A letter from the parish will go home next week regarding the process for enrolling in the Sacramental programs being offered in our parish next year. This letter will be given to children in Years 2 and 5 who have been baptised in the Catholic faith. If you have a child in Years 3 and 4 would like them to receive a note, please let Ms Maloney know.
For many, Christmas is about spending time with family and friends, sharing a meal, and creating meaningful memories. For families experiencing financial difficulties, Christmas can be a particularly challenging time.
| Kindergarten | chocolates and pancake mix |
| Year 1 | sweet and savoury biscuits |
| Year 2 | family packs of chips and lollies |
| Year 3 | soft drink and cordial |
| Year 4 | plum puddings and Christmas cake |
| Year 5 | tinned ham and long-life milk |
| Year 6 | tinned fruit and long-life custard or cream |
|
Open to All Age Groups |
New toys for children aged 1 - 12 or gift vouchers. (Gifts do not need to be wrapped.) |
Donations are due to school by Thursday 5 December
Caritas Australia’s Lebanon Crisis Appeal
As many families in our school community would know all too well, Lebanon is currently facing a dire crisis, and the need for your support has never been greater. Communities are being devastated by conflict and economic instability, leaving countless families without access to basic needs like food, water, and medical care. Our Caritas Australia partners on the ground are doing everything they can, but they desperately need your help. By supporting the Lebanon Crisis Appeal, you will be helping supply essential items such as food, shelter and medical aid, as well as long-term support to rebuild communities. To donate to this appeal, the link can be found on the Caritas website: www.caritas.org.au/lebanon
Lebanon Crisis Appeal Prayer
God of all creation,
We hold in our hearts all the pain of the world.
In these anxious days,
we pray especially for the people of Lebanon.
Our country has been deeply enriched by Lebanese culture and faith.
We know that Jesus travelled in Lebanon.
He would have been distressed by the current conflict
between places he knew and loved.
We pray that in our time all violence may cease,
that compassion will reign,
and that all people will recognise their shared dignity
as children of God.
Jesus said, ‘Blessed are those who mourn.’
He also said, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers.’
May our grief be a seed that grows into a tree that shades everyone,
as does the cedar of Lebanon.
God of light, be with us all. Amen.
Parish Youth Gathering - An Invitation for Students in Year 6 and Above
After the success of our first Parish Youth Gathering, the parish is hosting a second gathering at the Parishes House in Berkeley on Friday 6 December. Arnie Hurdoyal, the Diocesan Youth Coordinator, will be joining us this time. Dinner will be provided at 6 pm. Following dinner, Arnie will lead the group in some games and discussion and the night will end with a short, reflective Taize prayer. Students in Year 6 and above are invited to attend. Parents are also welcome to join us. For catering purposes, please register with Sr Anna (phuonglucop@yahoo.com) or Ms Maloney (maloneymullerm01@dow.catholic.edu.au).
Children’s Nativity Play
This year there will be a children’s nativity play at 6 pm before the 6.30 pm Christmas Eve Mass at St Mary’s, Berkeley. The parish is looking for children to be involved in the retelling of the Christmas story. There will be an initial meeting/rehearsal later this term and another one closer to Christmas. If your child would like to be involved, please let Ms Maloney or Sr Anna know.
Ms Marita Maloney
Religion Coordinator
| Date | Event | Attending | Venue |
| Friday 21 February 2025 | Swimming Carnival | Years 2 - 6 | Berkeley Pool |
| Friday 28 March 2025 | Cross Country Carnival | K-6 | Integral Energy Park, Kembla Grange |
| Friday 13 June 2025 | Athletics Carnival | K-6 | Myimbarr Oval, Shellharbour |
Cost to play sport survey
To gather valuable insights, we'd like to invite you to complete a short online survey about expenses related to sports participation.
The results of this project will be used to make recommendations to inform the ASC sports policies and strategies to minimise the cost of playing sports.
We encourage you to complete the survey with the details below. The survey closes at 5pm (AEDT) on Tuesday 31 December.
Thank you for helping us foster an understanding of the costs involved in community sport.
Year 5 students treated us to an inspiring Celebration of Learning assembly. The assembly began with two confident news anchors welcoming everyone into the Year 5 classroom via a news segment. The students shared the creation story through song and pictures, displayed their impressive new AI tool showcasing their learning in Mathematics, and even treated us to a student-led podcast sharing insights from their English lessons. The assembly wrapped up with a video and a vibrant dance that left everyone in the audience smiling! Year 5’s enthusiasm was contagious. “We didn’t want our assembly to end; we had so much fun, and what great memories we shared with everyone!” Thank you, Year 5, Ms Maitland, and Mr Murphy, for all your preparation. What a wonderful display of your learning, creativity, and teamwork.
Soraya & Rocco
The Kindergarten 2025 Transition to School Program has been a wonderful opportunity to meet the new students and make new friends. The students have loved playing together and visiting St Francis of Assisi School.
As part of our lunchtime interest groups, a crochet club has been started on Mondays. We have had many students participating and learning a new skill set to add to the weaving learned last term. The students have learned to crochet granny squares and some students are starting to create their own gloves, hair ties, blankets, and coasters for Christmas.
The Craft Club has enjoyed painting and making Christmas crafts and decorations.
Ms Logue & Ms Stewart
Pevan and Sarah Concert
Kindergarten attended the IPAC in Wollongong to see Pevan and Sarah live in concert. We listen to their songs daily across different learning areas, and they help make learning so much fun! Many of the students were starstruck that their favourite singers were not on our TV screen but right in front of them on stage! We sang, danced, and laughed along, it was a wonderful morning for all of us - students were overheard on the bus ride home saying "This was the best day ever!"
Student and Staff Birthdays
Happy Birthday to the following students and staff who are celebrating their birthdays in November:
Matthias, Kyan, Jasmin.H, Ali.A, Xiaz, Isabella.R, Chiara, Jakub, Soraya, Stefan.C, Theodore, Lorrayne, Thayir, Selina.N, Isaac, Mateo, Ms Martins, Mrs Logue, Mrs Jennison & Mrs Zaffonato
Christmas Raffle
The P&F will have a Christmas Raffle, more information and tickets will be handed out to students later in the term. Thank you to NAB Shellharbour for supporting our raffle as our major sponsor this year.
Get involved - Help our school
All parents, carers, and grandparents are welcome to join our P&F, at meetings and to volunteer at events. Your support is greatly appreciated and needed. If you would like to join the P&F committee and/or help at events please do not hesitate to contact the school. There will be more information during this term about meetings, events, and the AGM.
AGM 2025 Invitation - Thursday 27 February, 3.00 pm
Parents, grandparents, and carers are invited to attend the P&F AGM on Thursday 27 February at 3.00 pm. All positions will be made vacant. Please find enclosed the Nomination form for your information. We look forward to continuing our parent support for 2025. We hope to see you at the meeting.
- New Menu - lots of healthy yummy options
- Online Ordering
- Recess lunch orders available
- Birthday buckets
- New Canteen items for children to purchase at Recess and Lunch
- Contact Nicole at 0415 548 899
2025 Enrolment applications are open ONLINE. Please submit your application online on our school website, www.sfawdow.catholic.edu.au, and click ENROL NOW. Please do not hesitate to contact the School Office with any questions.
Dear Parents
It is by law that when your children are absent from school an explanation is provided. Please respond to the text notification or log in to your Parent Compass and submit the absence. Many absences are unexplained and we require parents to check Compass and complete. Please see the attached instructions for your information. Thank you.
A friendly reminder the Compass account for Year 6 students will automatically close at the end of the school year. Please remember to log in and download your child's school reports for your own records before Friday 20 December 2024.
Whom to Contact
We know that when parents have a concern that relates to their child at school, whether it is pastoral, academic, or staffing in nature, they may be unsure of who to approach.
- Communications of classroom concerns should be directed at first to your child’s teacher. In our experience, any of these concerns can often be most quickly resolved by talking to the class teacher as they know your child best.
- If you have an issue with a particular staff member, first try to address those concerns with that staff member directly.
- If you have discussed with your child’s teacher and the issue has not been addressed to your satisfaction, then please speak to the Office and make an appointment to speak a member of the school leadership team (Stage Leader).
- Please recognise that as a school, we operate with openness, collaboration and the shared best interest for every student.
How we communicate
As a school, we communicate with parents in a range of ways:
- Compass Parent Portal News
- Compass App notifications
- Weekly planner
- Facebook notifications
- Fortnightly newsletters
- School website
- Weekly assemblies each Friday afternoon
- Weekly Flag Raising each Monday morning
- Hard copy notes
- Emails
- Absences via Compass
How to Communicate
The clearest form of communication is a discussion. Our classroom teachers are more than happy to make a time to meet with you to discuss your child. Please be aware, the teacher's time is limited as they must attend to their class during the school day and attend professional learning meetings on Wednesday afternoons. Emails are also an acceptable form of communication, please read further details below.
Emails and/or Seesaw Communication
Email is seen as an effective form of communication between the school and parents/carers. By communicating via email and/or Seesaw all users agree to adhere to the following expectations.
- To ensure the use of email communication between teachers and parents/carers is carried out in a mutually respectful manner.
- To ensure all email communication is treated in a confidential, legal, and ethical manner.
- Appreciate that using email to communicate does not result in an immediate response; however, acknowledgment of receipt will be responded to within 24-48 hours (workdays). Actual response to an email query may take up to 2 more days depending on the request.
- All email communication will be carried out in a professional and appropriate format and tone.
Time to Respond to Communication
- Teachers will make every effort to respond as soon as possible to parent communications, with the understanding that the teaching day precludes immediate responses.
- Teachers and staff may need some time to collect relevant information before responding.
- Teachers are teaching during school hours and a response will be acknowledged within 24-48 hours.
- Digital communication does not result in an immediate response, an acknowledgment of receipt will be responded within 24-48 hours (workdays).
Seesaw
Seesaw is an app that is used by our teachers and students. It is centred around the creation of personal student portfolios and student and family engagement.
Seesaw is a great way for parents to keep in touch with what their child has learned, how they express their ideas in the classroom, and, most importantly, how proud they are to show their work. Students are able to share what they know using photos, videos, drawings, text, PDFs, and links. Seesaw also provides an alternative means of communication between home and school.
Students are required to be present at school every day. Please make appointments outside school hours, where possible. If your child needs to be collected early for an appointment, a note explaining this is required to be given to the class teacher by the student on the morning of the appointment. As a matter of courtesy, this communication assists in the organising of the day for the class and teacher. Telephone messages during class time interrupt class learning and we avoid this unless urgent. This explanation is documented in your child's attendance records.
All students are required to attend school unless they are unwell. Students should arrive by 8.30 am and finish at 2.50 pm. Daily attendance recording in the Compass Parent Portal notifies parents of their child being absent. Parents are required to record their explanation in Compass by completing the link they receive via text or by logging into the Compass parent portal.
All absences including early leave and late arrival must be reported by parents with an explanation and or a medical certificate if required. Please teach your children the importance of punctuality and arriving at school on time.
Parents are required to write a note to the teacher if their child needs to be collected early from school to attend an appointment.
Dear Parents,
We are excited to announce the implementation of a new Visitor Management System designed to streamline and enhance the safety and efficiency of signing in at our schools. This system will change how parents and visitors sign in, ensuring a smoother and more secure process.
Important Steps for All Parents:
-
Token for Onboarding Process: If you previously provided the school with your Working With Children’s Check number, you will receive an email with your token shortly. If you would like to start volunteering, please click on the link provided below to complete the new onboarding process.
https://apps.dow.catholic.edu.au/vms/onboarding/new -
Clearance for Volunteering: Once you have completed the onboarding process, you will receive clearance from the Child Protection team from the Catholic Education Office, allowing you to volunteer in our schools.
-
Quick Sign-In App: To make the sign-in process even simpler, we have introduced a quick sign-in app available for download from both the App Store and Google Play Store. This app will allow you to sign in quickly and efficiently whenever you visit the school. Please add the "Token number" you receive on your email when you have completed the onboarding registration process.
We appreciate your cooperation and understanding as we transition to this new system. Our goal is to ensure the safety and security of all students, staff, and visitors. Should you have any questions or need assistance, please do not hesitate to contact the school office. Thank you for your continued support.
When children arrive at school after 8.40 am, they must go to the School Office for a late note as the roll will automatically mark them absent and you will receive an absent notification.
| TERM 4 | |
| Wednesday 18 December | Last day for Students |
| Thursday 19 & Friday 20 December | PUPIL FREE DAYS |
| 2025 | |
| Tuesday 4 February | Students Year 1-6 Return to School |
| Wednesday 5 February | Kindergarten 2025 First Day of School |
| Monday 14 April - Friday 25 April | Term 1 School Holidays |
