Dear Parents and Carers

Welcome to Term 3! It was fantastic to see all our staff and students back to commence the new term. What a stark difference from the beginning of Term 2! It has been wonderful to hear from the students, that while they had a "different" holiday than what would have been experienced just 12 months ago. They all seem to have enjoyed being able to spend time with their extended families, while also recommencing community sports and favourite activities. Our staff have returned, having enjoyed a well-deserved break and the beautiful holiday weather.

One thing the staff and I are finding difficult, with the COVID-19 restrictions in place, is not having parents and carers physically onsite. Your presence in the school brings so much to our school community. We are all missing the impromptu chats and presence on the playground and in classrooms. We are still living with the daily uncertainty of what tomorrow may hold, but as followers of Jesus Christ, we always live with the certainty of hope and resurrection. We continue to keep all those affected by COVID-19 in our prayers.

On the 26 July, we remember the feast of Sts. Joachim and Anne. Joachim and Anne were the parents of Jesus' mother, Mary. Their love for one another and for Mary is an example to us of how God calls us to live. They also remind us to honour our grandparents and to thank them for the blessings they have been passed down to us in love. Their feast day which fell on a Sunday this year is a day to honour them and all grandparents for their contribution to our lives. 

This week we would have celebrated 'Grandparents Day' with our families. Grandparents are a valuable and vital resource in our communities. They provide children with stability and a sense of generational continuity. Many grandparents are also significant carers in the lives of their grandchildren.

Please know we value this very special day and will endeavour to find other ways to unite our students and their Grandparents in the upcoming months.

Bless all Grandparents and keep them in Your care.
Bless them with peace, health and healing.
Reward them for their faith and fidelity, for their work and goodness,
for their love and thoughtfulness, and for their gifts and prayers.
Provide them with a long and happy life together.
We give thanks for the example of their faith, for the witness of their lives,
and for their consistent love,
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen

It's a girl!
Congratulations to the Murphy family on the birth of their baby girl Isabelle Rose. I know you will join me in sending Mr and Mrs Murphy and big brother Oliver our congratulations and best wishes. 

Thank you to Mrs Alyssa Frew, who has been teaching Year 1 Gold.

Welcome Back to Term 3, 2020
What a great start to the school year we have had, with students making sure that they follow our PB4L rules and procedures. This has been due to the wonderful partnership between home and school and reinforcement of the key messages of PB4L.

Key Message 1: Adults Matter!
Adults matter when children are being asked to behave in a safe, consistent and respectful way. Your positive relationship with the school is an essential element of this message. Critical to the success of PB4L is having everyone on board. As parent/carer you model the behaviour you expect from the children.

Key Message 2: Behaviour is learnt
Explicit teaching of expected behaviours is a key component of PB4L. The school has developed a range of expected behaviours in non-classroom settings eg: playground, and is currently working on the expected behaviours within the classrooms.

This takes the form of a matrix that indicates simple and clear context-specific behaviour expectations that are aligned to the school rules. The teaching of these behaviour expectations in a positive way allows for consistency across the school environment.

This will continue in Term 3 with teachers and students revisiting expectations to reinforce being safe, responsible and respectful at all times in all school settings.

Mr Rodney Green
Assistant Principal 

Revised Sacraments for 2020
At this stage, we have new dates for Sacraments for 2020. New dates have been advised for the 2020 Sacraments. Please be advised that these dates will also be dependent on COVID-19 restrictions and may be cancelled at any time.

The new dates for the sacraments are as follows:

All Year 3 and Year 6 students (Catholic) received new enrolment forms last week. Please return these as soon as possible if you wish to proceed for 2020.

If you did not receive the note or your child is in another class and has not made their sacraments please contact Mrs Madaschi.

Class Masses
The students from Year 3 to Year 6 will begin attending the parish Mass from this week. Year 6 Blue will join the parish this week and 6 Gold on Friday 7 August.

We are unable to attend Mass as a school. Only 100 people are able to attend Mass at this time.

Class Visits
Fr Martin will once again be visiting classes this term with the first visit to Year 5 in Week 3.

Reconciliation
The students from Year 4, 5 and 6 will also have the opportunity to attend reconciliation this term.

Feast Days
During the term, we will be celebrating some important feast days.

Mrs Madaschi
Religious Education Coordinator 

We have just started a new unit in Religious Education focusing on the Stories of God’s People. Our class discussions have been delightful, and I have enjoyed listening to students identify Jesus as our role model and that stories of Jesus come from the Bible. Students used words like ‘special’, ‘important’, and ‘precious’ in our discussions to describe why the Bible is significant to us.

Students were able to write and draw why the Bible is so special to us. We are looking forward to learning more about Jesus, Parables and the Bible. 

Mrs Frew
Class Teacher

2020 Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD) is a process that all schools must complete on an annual basis. It is designed to count the number of students who receive additional adjustment or 'help' at school because of a disability. The national data collection helps federal and state governments plan for the needs of students with disabilities. It is also the way that schools seek and receive funding to support the learning needs of students.

Please see the flyer attached for further information.

SPORTING SCHOOLS GRANT
Due to the impact of Covid-19 on schools, changes were made to the delivery of our Sporting Schools funding in Term 2. We were unable to access some of the regular programs offered so in place of this the Sporting Schools grant was used to purchase equipment to support the delivery of sporting activities at St Francis of Assisi.

The purchased equipment included handballs, frisbees, badminton sets, new dodgeballs, soccer goals and much-needed post covers for our basketball posts.

We thank Sporting Schools for their support and hope to continue the partnership in the future.

Premier's Reading Challenge
The Premiers Reading Challenge is still continuing until 28 August. So, keep up the wonderful reading. A HUGE congratulations to the following students who have already completed the Challenge.

• Lukas T  Year 1
• Thomas Year 3
• Monique Year 3
• Rocco B Year 3
• Benjamin Year 5

As a result of Covid-19, Premier’s Reading Challenge has given us the opportunity to read 10 free choice books instead of the normal 5! A few students have asked how to add to the free choice booklist, please see instructions below.

Mrs Burrows

Book Week 2020

Good news! The Children's Book Council of Australia will now hold Book Week 2020 in October on the following dates: OCTOBER 17-23.

These later dates will apply in 2020 only, recognising the exceptional circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. From 2021, the CBCA expects that the annual Book of the Year Awards and CBCA Book Week will revert to their normal schedule. 

St Francis of Assisi has also decided to move our Book Week celebrations to Term 4. There will be more information about Book Week later in the term.

THURSDAYS and FRIDAYS

• Students to say goodbye to parents at the front gate.
• Students sanitise their hands as they enter the school playground using the sanitiser provided.
• Parents to remain in your cars and adhere to signage in these areas.
• Parent walkers are required to immediately leave the front of the school premises and are discouraged from gatherings in groups.
• Please do not enter the playground.

Afternoon Pick Up:

• Dismissal will commence at 2.50 pm for students getting picked up at the gate. This is to free up the congestion on the front path.

Parents CANNOT get out of their cars in car pick up lines to collect their child. Please park your car in a legal area and walk to the gate if you are not using the car pick up service. It is important we all take note of the parking signs in and around our school.

• 2.55 pm Students who get picked up at the back lane will be called.
• 3.00 pm via the front gate for student walkers, bus and car pick up.
• Parents to remain in your cars and adhere to signage in these areas.
• Parents are required to practice social distancing at the front of the school. Parents are discouraged from gatherings in groups while waiting for their child/ren.
• Please do not enter the playground.

Rangers
You may have noticed council rangers outside the school grounds yesterday. Please note the council rangers will turn up outside schools to monitor parking. They will also turn up if they have a concern from local residents about parents parking across driveways or in no parking areas.

Back Lane Car Pick Up:
This is another option when collecting your children from school and practices social distancing. To avoid the traffic on Flagstaff Road at this busy time, we ask parents when exiting the back lane to turn right on to Bruce Road and then right onto Oxlade Street.  This will miss the traffic on Flagstaff Road. The back lane is supervised by staff and allows a more consistent traffic flow.  Please see the diagram below. 

COVID-19 Information Link
Please be assured as we work together to respond to COVID-19 the health and safety of our school community is the priority. Remember, you can stay up to date with the latest information about our systemic response on the Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong website.

Visit: DoW COVID-19 Information Centre.

School photo day has been rescheduled to be held on Wednesday 4 November.  Students are to wear their full summer school uniform (no sports uniform).  Please note, hair must be neat and tidy and the girl's hair tied back.

Orders previously placed in Term 1 will carry over.  Orders can be placed online as follows:

Visit: - www.advancedlife.com.au

St Francis of Assisi Advancedlife online order code is CZF PZ6 2FX