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- Year 1 Musical Instruments
- It's party time for Kindergarten!
- School Waste Management
- IT News
- Year 5 STEM day at Joey's
- Mini Vinnies
- Students not returning in 2020
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- Consent Form for 2020
- Parish Bulletin
As we come to the end of the school year it is a time to celebrate each student's achievements and learning during the second half of the year.
Student learning progress will be formally reported to parents and carers on Monday 9 December (Week 9). The Kindergarten to Yr. 6 Semester 2 reports are standards-referenced, which in NSW means reporting based on the Common Grade Scale. Standards-referenced reporting requires teachers to consider the performance of each student according to the standard detailed at each level (A-E) of the Common Grade Scale for each Key Learning Area (KLA). Students are then awarded a grade based on the evidence teachers have of their learning in that particular KLA and the standard it reflects. According to the Common Grade Scale, a ‘C’ grade is considered sound. That is, if awarded a C in a particular KLA the student has demonstrated that they have gained the knowledge, skills and understanding expected of them at that point in time.
The Common Grade Scale
The Common Grade Scale describes performance at each of the five grade levels.
| A | The student has an extensive knowledge and understanding of the content and can readily apply this knowledge. In addition, the student has achieved a very high level of competence in the processes and skills and can apply these skills to new situations. |
| B | The student has a thorough knowledge and understanding of the content and a high level of competence in the processes and skills. In addition, the student is able to apply this knowledge and these skills to most situations. |
| C | The student has a sound knowledge and understanding of the main areas of content and has achieved an adequate level of competence in the processes and skills. |
| D | The student has a basic knowledge and understanding of the content and has achieved a limited level of competence in the processes and skills. |
| E | The student has an elementary knowledge and understanding in few areas of the content and has achieved very limited competence in some of the processes and skills. |
OTHER REPORT FEATURES INCLUDE:
Overall grades
Each KLA has an overall grade that is determined by the teacher by considering the evidence of each student’s learning and the standard on the Common Grade Scale it reflects. Overall grades are not determined by averaging performance on strands within a KLA. In many cases more time has been dedicated to learning in one strand over others and this contributes significantly to the balanced judgement a teacher is required to make in order to award an overall grade. It is not unusual for a student’s overall grade to change from one reporting period to the next as the knowledge, skills and understanding they encounter in each KLA will vary from one reporting period to the next. The Common Grade Scale is included on the front of the report.
Commitment to Learning
Commitment to Learning captures the student’s attitude to the particular KLA and their skills in managing their work, persisting when challenged and working to their potential. A scale explaining the three standards used in Commitment to Learning is included on the front of the report.
Comments
There are three kinds of comments on the report:
Learning Gains – These comments capture the new learning the student has demonstrated in the reporting period.
Areas for Growth – These comments capture the new learning the student will encounter as the ‘next step’ on their learning path.
Final Comment – The longer, final comment covers a range of academic and non-academic areas.
It is not unusual for a student’s overall grade to change from one reporting period to the next as the knowledge, skills and understandings they learn in each KLA will vary from one reporting period to the next.
Important Dates
Semester 2 reports will be sent to parents on Monday 9 December.
Beginning this semester all reports will be issued via the Compass Parent Portal.
Please contact the office if you do not have access to the Parent Portal on Compass and we will support you through this process.
There will no longer be hard copies of reports distributed to parents.
Parent/Teacher meetings are optional and available upon request.
Please take the time to view the video below on helpful tips on reports.
First Holy Communion
Congratulations to all the children in Year 3 who received the blessed Eucharist at their First Holy Communion, last weekend at Warrawong and Berkeley. May the love of Jesus shine in their hearts now and forever.
Year 6 - End of Year
Wednesday 11 December: Year 6 Graduation Mass and Celebration (gather at 5.30pm in the hall) Mass commences at 6 pm.
Wednesday 18 December: Last day of the school term. Farewell to Year 6. Families and friends are invited to farewell the Year 6 students from 2 pm in the hall.
Volunteers Thank you Morning Tea
An invitation is extended to all our parent volunteers and helpers to attend a special ‘Thank you Morning Tea’, on Tuesday 10 December, at 10 am in the hall. We would love to see you all come along as the success of our school requires us all working together. We value your contribution and want to show our appreciation.
P&F Annual General Meeting
A reminder to all our parents and carers that our P&F AGM will be held Friday 6 December at 3.30 pm. Everyone is welcome and we encourage you all to join us, to hear about our achievements for the last year and to plan for 2020. If you would like to nominate for a position please contact the office.
2020 Kindergarten Transition to Playgroup
Thank you to all our 2020 Kindergarten students for participating in this program, we have one session to go before our the final compulsory Orientation session. The Orientation Day will be held on Monday 9 December at 9 am.
Last Day of School for Students
In accordance with the New South Wales Government directive, the school will be closed for the last two days of the gazetted school year.
The last day for all children enrolled in State and Catholic schools in the 2019 school year will be Wednesday 18 December.
Starting Dates for Term 1, 2020
Tuesday 28 January 2020 - Staff commence – Staff Development Day
Wednesday 29 January 2020 - Years 1 to 6 return
Wednesday 29 January 2020 to Wednesday 5 February 2019 - Kindergarten students to attend their Best Start Assessment
(Parents will be notified of the day and time their child is required to attend)
Thursday 6 February 2019 - Kindergarten students start school.
Annual CDF Diocesan Sports Awards
Congratulations to Mr Brett Murphy who received a Teachers Service Award at the Annual CDF Diocesan Sports Awards on Friday 15 November. This is in recognition of his wonderful contribution to sport in the Wollongong Diocese for a number of years. Mr Murphy was the only teacher in the Wollongong Diocese to be recognised for this award this year. Well done Mr Murphy from all at St Francis of Assisi.
Lighting of the Way Faith and Learning Awards
On Friday 22 November staff, families and friends gathered in Campbelltown for CEDoW’s Annual Lighting of the Way Faith and Learning Awards. A fantastic evening of celebration, affirmation and acknowledgement of the significant contributions of our staff in schools and across Catholic Education in the Diocese of Wollongong. Congratulations to two of our staff members Mrs Mandy Madaschi and Mrs Sandra Briscoe who received Length of Service Recognition Awards. Thank you for all you do for our school community and to Catholic Education.
Congratulations also to Mrs Mary Sinnreich one of our casual teachers who also received an award for her dedicated service to Catholic Education.
Thanksgiving Mass
2020 Captain's Induction and Kindergarten Graduation Certificates
Tomorrow we will conclude our year with a Thanksgiving Mass. At this Mass, we will have the 2020 School leaders blessed and presented with their badges. Kindergarten will also receive their graduation certificates. This Mass will commence at 9.00 am in the Church. After Mass, there will be a Christmas Assembly at 10.30am. Please join us for these celebrations.
Parish Live Nativity
On 20 December the Neo-catechumenates will be hosting a live crib with camels and a re-enactment of the First Christmas. Carols from 8pm - Live Nativity from 8.30pm.
Parish Christmas Eve Children’s Mass
Thank you to all those who have volunteered their time to be part of the Christmas Eve Children’s Mass. Practice will be on Saturday morning 21December at 9am. Pageant will begin at 5.45pm and Mass at 6pm on Tuesday 24 December.
Welcome Mass 2020
Our Welcome Mass for 2020 will be Friday 7 February 2020 at 9am. Please add this date to your calendars.
Mrs Madaschi
Religious Education Coordinator
Parish Mass Timetable for Christmas 2019
UNSW / ICAS Assessments
This year we had 14 students participate in the UNSW / ICAS Assessments. These non-compulsory assessments are run each year, in the areas of Writing, Maths, English, Science, Digital Technologies and Spelling.
Congratulations to all of the students who participated, especially to the students who received higher honours.
- WRITING: Eva.G (Credit), Lara. D (Credit), Olivia. A (Credit), Andre. R (Credit)
- MATHS: Sekne. A (Credit), Olivia. A (Merit), Andre.R (Merit)
- SCIENCE: Olivia.A (Merit)
- SPELLING: Olivia.A (Credit), Celina. Y (Credit), Sekne.A (Credit)
All certificates will be handed out at our school assembly on Friday, 29 November.
Talent Quest
As in previous years, we will be holding a school Talent Quest which will be held in the hall on Tuesday 17 December from 11.30 am. Any student who would like to take part in the talent quest will be asked to audition on Tuesday 10 December. Any student wanting to audition must be prepared and bring their music or props. There is no need to bring their outfits. To enter the talent quest students need to see Mr Green for an entry form.
Mr Green
Assistant Principal
Tennis
Congratulations to Ana Marija B (Year 5) who recently participated in the Diocesan Tennis Trials. The competition was of a really high standard, and we congratulate Ana on winning two of her matches. This was a great experience competing against other students in the Diocese. Well done Ana Marija.
Athletics
Recently, Savannah D (Year 6), competed in the 100m at the PSSA Athletics Championships. Congratulations Savannah on your achievements at this State Carnival and your success in Athletics this year. We hope to hear more about your accomplishments in the future.
Swimming Carnival
The School Swimming Carnival for students in Years 3 to Year 6 students will be held next Thursday 5 December at the University Pool, Wollongong. Students will be transported to the pool by bus. The carnival will begin at 9.30 am. Please ensure all permission notes are returned to your child's class teacher to assist with the organisation on the day.
Parents, you are very welcome to come to the pool and support the students. Once the carnival is complete, students will participate in fun rotational pool activities. The students will be returning to school at 12.30 pm.
Mrs Briscoe
PB4L in the Playground
The school playground is a space where the students have the opportunity to develop strong friendships and to play in an unstructured, yet supportive environment. The PB4L Framework establishes a safe and respectful play environment outside the classroom at St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School. Consistency of expectations supports students in knowing what they can, and what they can’t, do within the playground environment at school.
The following table identifies the playground expectations:
|
Being Safe |
Being Respectful |
Being Responsible |
|
|
Concrete Playground |
|
|
|
In the event that a student needs to be corrected on the playground, school staff follow a consistent and simple approach of warning and reminders followed by positive feedback when the student complies with the teacher request.
If the student continues to engage in inappropriate playground behaviour then a consequence would be put into place eg: shadow the teacher, sit out of play for a period of time.
If a student is involved in a ‘major’ behaviour the student would be removed from the playground and the incident will be dealt with by a Leadership Team member.
School staff will record minor behaviours in order to collect data about each of the areas of the playground. The recording of student behaviours is not a consequence. Playground data collection is the means by which the school is able to make informed decisions about the play areas within the school.
Mrs Matos
Year 1 have been learning about sound, exploring how sounds are made and heard. As part of our exploration of pitch and volume, students created their own instruments. We are very proud of the efforts they have made in creating these instruments, and they were very excited to share them with their classmates and discover the sounds they could make.
As part of our History unit this term, we are learning about celebrations. We celebrated with our student teacher Miss Doyle after she completed her three week practical experience in our class. In true Kinder style, we organised a farewell party! It was perfect timing
Firstly, we discussed how a party today might be different to how a party was planned a long time ago. We also discussed different party games, activities and food we would normally see at a party.
We enjoyed games, played musical chairs, dancing, and we also made fairy bread!
It was a great day filled with learning and fun!
Mrs Melissa Beckhaus
Kindergarten Teacher
In Term 3 and Term 4, Year 6 were concerned about the waste going into our landfill bins. With the help of Mrs Welch and Mrs Briscoe, we conducted an audit of our rubbish. Categorising the waste in five different groups, the results were shown that soft plastics was overwhelmingly the highest amount of rubbish in our landfill bins. This lead Year 6 to take action and a new bin was purchased specifically for soft plastics.
What are soft plastics?
Soft plastics are a flexible plastic that can be scrunched into a ball or broken by hand. Examples of these are:
Chip packets, cracker packets, chocolate and muesli bar wrappers, jelly stick and iceblock packaging, yoghurt and custard squeeze pouches and clingwrap.
What do we do with soft plastics at school?
At our last assembly, Year 6 informed students, staff and parents about the waste management and recycling system operating in the school. At recess and lunch, the environmental team place 3 small bins in the middle of the playground - the soft plastics, Vinnies Return and Earn Bin and a small landfill bin.
While students are eating, teachers and the team are reminding students about where their rubbish should be placed. These bins have signage and examples of the type of rubbish that is to be thrown into the bin. This is an effective way of assisting our younger students so that waste is recycled effectively.
At the end of the week soft plastics are collected into a bag and taken to Coles to be deposited into the Redcycle recycling bin. All the soft plastics in the bin are taken to a place where they can be processed into making different products and materials which can be used for things likes park benches and decking.
What can we do as a school community?
IT IS TIME TO MAKE A CHANGE !
The world is polluting over 300 million tons of plastic into the ocean every year. This is not only harming the environment and ocean but the wildlife and people.
One way we can help eliminate this environmental issue is to change your shopping purchases. Instead of buying packaged items and putting them into your child’s lunch boxes, put them in nude food containers. Please help us REDUCE the amount of soft plastics we are accumulating at our school.
Mrs Briscoe
Recently St Francis of Assisi were able to purchase 20 new iPad 7th Gen devices, to be used in Infants classes next year. This is a great upgrade and replaced the outdated iPad 2nd Gen devices. We were also fortunate to purchase 6 classroom iPads for primary teachers to use to optimise the learning experiences for the students in Years 3-6.
On Wednesday 13 November, Year 5 students and their teachers participated in a STEM Day at St Joseph’s Catholic High School. Students were divided into groups and each group completed three activities organised by the staff and Year 10 students of St Joseph’s. These activities ranged from pentominoes, cupcake design, virtual reality, MBots, cell drawings, bottle rocket, bomb-proof egg suit and castle siege trebuchet.
As you can see, students were involved in fun-filled, challenging activities and thoroughly enjoyed the day. Here are a few comments:
Teleah - When we went to St Joseph’s my favourite activity was the egg explosion because we had a price limit of $20 to get materials for our egg so it would survive. The materials we used were balloon, cotton ball, string, bubble wrap and a few more items. When it came to explosion time our egg survived SUPRISINGLY.
Sienna - Stem day was so much fun. Our guides were the best. Our activities were great and I especially loved it when we did the Mbot race (even though I didn’t come first). All the activities were entertaining. The catapult was great and it was funny when we got hit with water balloons.
Kitarni - Stem was amazing at St Joseph’s seeing all the fun things and people. My favourite thing would have to be VR which means virtual reality.
Mrs Matos
What a year it has been for Mini Vinnies! Our school community has participated in a variety of different fundraisers to help local families in need. We had a gold coin donation for Harmony Day, this helped fund our Breakfast Club. We collected toiletries and jam jar the local Vinnies hampers. The annual Cupcake Day, which raised $500 and a variety of food drives.
Breakfast Club
The last week for Breakfast Club will be Week 8. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr Gilmore, Mrs Beckhaus, Mrs Briscoe, Mrs Welch, Mrs Matos,Mrs Madaschi and Mrs Agius for giving up their time to help run and provide the resources needed for the Breakfast Club. I would also like to thank our wonderful parent volunteers Mrs Achaechi, Mrs El Chaer, Mrs Ayoub, Mrs Gouveia and Mrs Chaaban. They have given up their time so willingly and also provided resources for the Breakfast Club. To all of our Mini Vinnies students thank you for giving up your mornings to wash and dry all the cereal bowls. Without all of your help, support and donations our Breakfast Club would not be so successful.
I would like to thank Bakers Delight, Corrimal and Kelloggs Australia for providing bread and cereal for our students. Michael and Donna Kelly were happy to come on board as major contributors to the daily operation of Breakfast Club. Kelloggs Australia have provided all our cereal and we are hoping to get their support for the Breakfast Club in 2020.
Christmas Drive
Our last fundraiser is the most important one of the year - our Christmas Drive. For many people, Christmas is all about family. Spending time together, sharing a meal and creating meaningful memories. These moments are precious, but unfortunately, many local families will not have this joy. This year we are asking our school community to help make a local family’s Christmas a little happier.
We would like Kinder, Year 1, 2 and 3 families to donate a toy for a child between the ages of 0 to 15. such as craft packs, stationery, cars, dolls, skipping ropes, board games or lego. The toy does not need to be wrapped.
We would like Year 4, 5 and 6 families to donate Christmas food such as canned leg ham, Christmas cake, pudding and long life custard, soft drink, chips, biscuits along with a range of staple foods such as pasta, cereal, canned fruit and vegetables.
Thank you again for all your support.
Mrs Mansbridge & Mini Vinnies Team
CHRISTMAS DRIVE DONATIONS
K-3 Families
Please donate a toy to your class basket ie craft pack, doll, board game...
4-6 Families
Please donate a Christmas food item to your class basket ie canned leg ham, christmas cake, soft drink, chips ...
If parents are already aware that their child/ren will not be returning to St Francis in 2020, we request that this information be confirmed via the School Office as soon as possible.
All leaving families are required to complete leaving documentation.
This information will assist us with accommodating new enrolments, applications on our waiting list and to finalise class placements for 2020.
Thank you
A link is available on the school website to access the school newsletter. Visit www.sfawdow.catholic.edu.au.Quick links on the left side of the page and click on the "Latest Newsletter" tab.
The annual Consent Form below went home today to EVERY student. Please complete and return this form to the class teacher by Friday 22 November. Please note EVERY STUDENT is required to have a form returned. Any assistance required, please do not hesitate to contact the School Office.
