One of the most popular themes that Pope Francis refers to in his addresses is that of unity. Unity is formed best by fostering a community where we live, where we work, where we learn and where we worship. In an address to bishops, students, teachers and parents a year after he was elected as Pope, Pope Francis said a school is not "a parking garage," where parents simply drop off their children. "It is a place of encounter along our journey." While parents are the first educators of their children and the family is the first place people learn to get along with others and value differences, he said, "at school, we are 'socialised.' We meet people who are different from us, different in age, culture, origin and ability." "Families and schools should never be in opposition," he said, but they must work together for the good of the child. This is a strong message for us all at St Francis of Assisi. As an engaged Catholic Community, we are called to provide safe and supportive environments where all students, staff, parents and carers feel welcome, are known and valued, and are given meaningful opportunities to flourish in faith-filled learning communities.                                      

Last week we commenced our Kindergarten enrolment interviews for 2020. What I have found strikingly common in all the interviews was a focus on ‘community’. Many new and current families commented on St Francis’ being a place of welcome; a faith community that welcomes cultural diversity and that builds collaborative relationships with staff, parents and members of the wider community. This enrolment period is an exciting time for these children, their families and our school community, we ask that you continue to keep them in your prayers.

Mrs Vicky Davidson
Principal

Pastoral Support Worker

Under the provision of the National School Chaplaincy and Student Welfare Program, Catholic Care's Pastoral Support Workers deliver services to selected Catholic Primary Schools in the Wollongong Diocese. Pastoral Support Workers work alongside teachers and Catholic Care's school counsellors to help students in the development of peer relationships and positive behaviour as well as learn some important social skills.

The service also aims to support students through the provision of pastoral care services and the promotion of strategies that support the emotional wellbeing of students and the broader school community.

Last week we welcomed Mrs Cecilia Welch to our school community. Cecilia will be working with us on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Welcome to St Francis of Assisi Cecilia.

NAPLAN

Our Year 3 and 5 students have completed three of their NAPLAN assessments this week (Writing, Reading and Language Conventions). The last of the assessments, Numeracy will occur next Tuesday 21 May. We wish them all the best.

Year 3 Celebration of Learning (Friday 31 May)

Our first Celebration of Learning will occur on Friday 31 May. Year 3 will lead the assembly, showing us all they have been learning. Please join us.

Walk Safely to School: We're Taking It In Our Stride (Friday 17 May 2019)

Walk Safely to School Day, which is tomorrow asks that we all consider our transport habits and try to incorporate more walking as part of a healthy, active way to get around. And although walking all the way to school isn’t realistic for many of us, it’s quite easy to figure out how you can build a walk into your family’s daily routine. You can teach your child the healthy habit of walking more by:

• Walking with them the whole way to school

• If they get the bus or train, walk past your usual stop and get on at the next stop

• If you have to drive, park the car a few blocks away from the school and walk the rest of the way.

Regular exercise like walking with your child not only helps them (and you!) beat chronic problems like obesity, heart disease, behavioural and mental health issues and diabetes. It also gives you a great opportunity to teach your child safe ways to behave around roads and traffic. Remember, Active Kids are Healthy Kids, so get planning your own Walk Safely to School Day journey for tomorrow! For more information, visit www.walk.com.au.

Mr Green
Assistant Principal

Confirmation

A reminder that the Confirmation meeting is on Wednesday 29 May at 7:00pm in the hall. It is a compulsory meeting for candidates and their parent or guardian. Lessons times will be chosen and details of the program will be explained on this night.

Mother’s Day Liturgy

On Friday 10 May we celebrated Mother’s Day with a beautiful liturgy. The children reflected on their love for their mums with a photo slide show accompanied by the hymn ‘A Song For Mum’. The liturgy concluded with the children singing a special blessing hymn and then the students handed their mums or grandmas a special holy card about Mothers. We hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day.

Mary Help of Christians

Please join us on Friday 24 May for our special Mass to honour Mary Help of Christians the Patroness of Australia. We honour Mary as the one we can turn to as the protector and guardian of our country. We can ask her special help and guidance to help us remember and appreciate what a wonderful country we live in. May we be grateful for people who genuinely value the great gifts this country gives us.

This whole school Mass is being organised by Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 students.

Mrs Madaschi, Religious Education Coordinator.

Parent Teacher interviews for Year 1 to Year 6 will be held next week (Week 4), and the following week (Week 5) for 5 Gold.

Bookings online are OPEN and will close on Friday 17 May at 3.00pm.  

Interviews are strictly 15 minutes and spaces are limited. If you require more time with a particular teacher, please arrange a separate meeting by contacting the school on 4274 3386.

Go to www.schoolinterviews.com.au and enter the code 9c5gh.
   

Enter your details

Select the Class Teacher

Select the appointment time that suits your family

When you click FINISH your selected bookings will be emailed to you immediately. If you do not receive your email, please check your junk mail, or enter the event code again and check the spelling in your email address. Update your details if the email address is incorrect.

DO NOT DELETE the email you receive. Keep it somewhere safe. You may need to refer back to it at a later date.

REMEMBER TO ADD YOUR APPOINTMENTS TO YOUR CALENDAR - reminders are not sent home through this booking system. Bookings must be finalised by 3.00pm on Friday 17 May. Bookings cannot be made online after this time. 

• If you need to view, cancel, change or print your bookings:
  Click on the link in the confirmation email you received after you made your bookings
• OR return to schoolinterviews.com.au and enter the code and the email address you used when making your bookings.

If you do not have access to the internet, please contact the class teachers to make your appointment.

Winter Appeal & Jam Drive

This term we are asking our school community to collect items for people in need in our local area.

We will be holding a jam drive and collecting different flavours of jam for the Vinnies Winter Hampers.

We are also collecting toiletry items such as toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, body wash and liquid hand soap.

All items will be collected and placed in a box in the classroom. At the end of the term, a representative from our local St Vincent de Paul Centre will collect these items.

Thank you so much for your support.

The Mini Vinnies Team

Sporting Schools - Tennis

For sport on Friday, Year 3 to Year 6 have had the opportunity of learning skills in the sport of tennis. Head coach David Winley and his coaches have facilitated the program, promoting teamwork through cooperative and competitive activities. Most importantly our students are having FUN.

Jessica S (3B) I can’t wait to learn something new every week. I’ve never played tennis before, and now I am hitting the ball over the net and returning it back to the other player.

Emma S (4G) I find tennis relaxing and fun. I’ve learnt the difference between forehand and backhand and how to hit the ball carefully over the net.

Paige M (5G) The tennis activity is fun. I’ve been learning the forehead and backhand skills in tennis and the coaches are supportive.

James H (5B). I’ve loved playing tennis because I have learnt new skills, how to play doubles and the correct way to hold a tennis racket.

Cam Tu (6B) I really love the sport. At first, I didn’t think I would be comfortable playing it because I am not great at sport. Now I think it’s fun, I enjoy it and I can hit the ball over the net.

Zane C (6B) is a passionate and competitive tennis player. He consistently competes in tournaments around Sydney and Canberra, improving his skills and achieving high standards of results. Recently Zane had been invited to Canberra for mentoring clinics and competed in singles and doubles matches. Last weekend Zane won his doubles grand final and his team won the competition in singles and doubles. Well done Zane!

Diocesan Cross Country

On the 7th of May, a group of 21 students travelled to Nowra with Mr Green to participate in the 2019 Wollongong Diocesan Cross Country Trials. We were proud to represent our school community. Even though we didn’t win, we still had fun and most people had a smile on their face. We hope to go again next year.

We would like to thank Mrs Matos for preparing us for the trials, Mr Green for looking after us and our parents for driving us to Nowra. The team was: Samantha S, Khaled H, Amelia C, Dean G, Jamie D, Jackson H, Jasmin G, Maysa H, Kitarni A, James H, Dylan R, Cohen M, Tianna T, Emilia P, Sienna M, Olivia A, Corey M, Sara E, Sekne A, Eva G and Brock F.

By Jasmin G Year 6      

MacKillop Football

Congratulations to Tianna T (Yr 5)  and Samantha S (Yr 6) who represented the Wollongong Diocese last Friday in the MacKillop Football Trials in Canberra. To be chosen to represent the Wollongong Diocese is a wonderful achievement and their efforts on the day were outstanding. Competition at this level against other Diocesan teams in NSW is always tough, but to us, Tianna and Samantha are winners.

UPCOMING SPORTING EVENTS FOR TERM 2

12 June - School Athletics Carnival at Myimbar Park, Shellharbour.

25 June - Netball Gala Day at Berkeley.

This week our focus will be on being responsible, respectful and safe at the canteen. Thank you to Mr Green who painted lines near the canteen. Each class will practice lining up and revise the behaviour expectations for the canteen area. Our canteen volunteers have playground tokens that will be given to students demonstrating respectful, responsible and safe behaviours.

On Wednesday 22nd May, it will be National Simultaneous Storytime. This year, Alpacas with Maracas will be read nationally.  Our class teachers will be reading this story to help celebrate and promote a love of reading.  Please ask your child about the story on Wednesday afternoon.  

Mrs Burrows & Mrs Martins

Now that the weather is cooler, all students should be wearing the correct winter school uniform.

Please find enclosed the St Francis of Assisi School Uniform Policy, Price List and Lowes online link.

Staff will be reminding students if students are wearing the incorrect uniform.

Parents/Carers and students are reminded that it is part of the enrolment requirements that students meet the school's high expectations regarding uniform codes.
Thank you for making this a priority.

We hope all our families enjoyed celebrating Mother's Day.  Thank you for sharing Mother's Day Breakfast last Friday morning.  The children enjoyed purchasing gifts from the Stall for the special ladies in their life.  

P&F Meeting

Thank you to those parents who attended our P&F General meeting last Friday. It was great to see some new faces. Our next P&F General meeting will be held on Friday 28 June at 10.15pm in the hall. More information will be sent out closer to this date.

Mother's Day Stall

Once again thank you to our P&F and the parent helpers who prepared and organised our Mother's Day stall last Friday. The students thoroughly enjoyed buying gifts for their mothers, grandmothers and mother figures. We hope all our mums enjoyed their gifts!

Online Order Code:  CZF PZ6 2FX

Thursday 6 June 2019 - Full Winter School Uniform

School photo day will be held on Thursday 6 June.  All students are to wear their full WINTER SCHOOL uniform.  Please ensure school shoes are polished, ties are neat and hair is tidy - girls must have their hair tied back.  

Students have been provided with a photo envelope with information regarding online ordering. All orders including student, class and family photos are available online. Please visit www.advancedlife.com.au and enter the code CZF PZ6 2FX. 

Orders must be submitted by 5 June 2019. 
Please see further information below.

Social Media Policy

The Catholic Education Office (Diocese of Wollongong) recently released their updated Social Media Policy. Please see the document below for information to parents and carers. If you have any questions surrounding this, please direct them to Mr Murphy. The full policy is accessible via the link below:

https://www.dow.catholic.edu.au/socialmediapolicy 

Technology Tip 

Make your own family media use plan. Media should work for you and within your family values and parenting style. When used thoughtfully and appropriately, media can enhance daily life. But when used inappropriately or without thought, media can displace many important activities such as face-to-face interaction, family-time, outdoor-play, exercise, unplugged downtime and sleep. Make your plan at HealthyChildren.org/MediaUsePlan.  

St Francis of Assisi Facebook Page

St Francis of Assisi believes it is important to communicate, promote and celebrate our learning. For some time now we have been investigating how we can use social media as a way of communicating and celebrating school life. Please note this additional platform does not take the place of our official communications via our newsletter and Skoolbag app.

Students from local high schools involved in the Links to Learning Program will be visiting our school on Tuesday 4 June and Wednesday 5 June, to work with the Stage 1 students from 11.15am-1.15pm.

This promotes community relationships between primary and high schools in the local area and also is a volunteer component of the program the high school students are involved in. The high school students will be working with the students in the classroom also participating in some sport activities. They will work with Year 2 on Tuesday and Year 1 on Wednesday. The high school students will be supplying a sausage sandwich for each of the students involved to conclude the session.

Mrs Matos

Congratulations to our students Principal and Value awards for Term 1 Week 10:

All parents, particularly those of Year 3 students, are warmly invited to attend Year 3’s Celebration of Learning in Week 5 on Friday 31 May at 2.00 pm. This assembly will provide an opportunity for our Year 3 students to share some of the wonderful learning experiences that they have engaged in so far this year. Principal and Values awards will also be presented during this assembly.

Thank you to Mrs Mansbridge, Mrs Zaffonato and our Year 3 students for preparing and leading the Week 5 Celebration of Learning assembly.

Casual or permanent after school care bookings are available. This service is available in the school hall. 

Our educators collaborate with children to provide play and leisure opportunities that are meaningful to them and that support their wellbeing, learning and personal development. Children in school-age care settings are challenged to be curious about what is of interest to them while at the same time developing self-identity and social competencies (taken from MY TIME, OUR PLACE Framework for School Age Care in Australia).

The day to day operations of St Francis of Assisi OSHC is managed by a Coordinator and supported by CatholicCare OSHC Leadership Team.

Circle of Security Parenting Course - Now Available in Shellharbour 

Congratulations to one of our past students, Jayden O (Year 7).

At St Francis of Assisi, he was a talented athlete and excelled at Cross Country. At the primary level he competed at Diocesan Level and his best result was 12^th.

This year at Holy Spirit his determination achieved him a 4^th place and he will represent the Diocese at MacKillop level. Good luck Jayden!

Woolworths Earn and Learn

Please return your Earn & Learn stickers.   This promotion finished on Tuesday 25 June.

We will submit all the Stickers we have collected to purchase educational resources across all curriculum areas, including Maths, English, Science, Art and Craft, Digital Technologies, Sports and more.

Thank you for supporting our school so that we can purchase much needed resources that will benefit our students.  Thank you.