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- Principal's End of Year Message
- From the Principal Desk
- Principal & Value Awards
- Christmas Concert tonight!
- Farewell Year 6
- Student Leadership Team 2023
- Assistant Principal
- Religious Education & Parish News
- Sports News
- School Uniform
- P&F News
- Congratulations Kindergarten Class of 2022!
- Vacation Care
- Before & After School Care Vouchers
- 2022 Premier's Back to School Voucher
- Pre-Loved Uniforms
- Year 6 Compass | Closing
- Student Classroom Requirements
- School Uniform
- Staff 2023
- 2023 Photo Consent
- School Fees 2023
- Term 1 Planner
- Enrol Now for 2023
- Community News
Dear Parents and Carers
Thank you to our dedicated staff, who have worked tirelessly throughout the year, demonstrating tremendous adaptability and dedication. Thank you to all our families for your generosity this year and for your kind acts and thoughtful messages.
I'm very proud of the achievements of our students, something that has been acknowledged and affirmed in our student assessment data.
Thank you to Fr Damien, Deacon Mick and the Sisters of the Visitation for their spiritual guidance and support. We are truly blessed to have such wonderful and unwavering support from our parish community.
As Principal, it is a privilege to lead this vibrant and caring community.
To our St Francis of Assisi staff, families and friends
We wish you all the joys and blessings that Christmas brings. The birth of Jesus renews our hope in realising God's plan for each of us. It is a special time as family and friends gather together. During this time, we remember those less fortunate and those who will not have family or friends to share the spirit of Christmas. We hope your travels over the holidays are safe and peaceful. Thank you again.
Best wishes for a Holy Christmas and a Happy New Year with your family and friends.
Mrs Vicky Davidson
PRINCIPAL
Students will have the opportunity to order a Year 6 polo shirt next year. Please do not purchase a new Sport polo shirt, as they will have the Year 6 polo shirt to wear for sports.
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Congratulations to the students who received the Principal and Value Awards in Week 9 Term 4. This is in recognition of their application to learning and for continuing to show respect in all areas of the school.
| CLASS | Principal's Award | Value - Faith |
| Kindy Blue | Fatima M | Mia C |
| Year 1 Gold | Nevaeh G | Oliver T |
| Year 2 Blue | Hudson S | Olivia B |
| Year 3 Gold | Angelina D | Zuzanna K |
| Year 4 Blue | Anastasia M | Lucas O |
| Year 5 Gold | Tahlia J | Daniel R |
| Year 5 Blue | Brock M | Zaynab R |
| Year 6 Gold | Chanel T | Tevita T |
Year 6 Graduation
On Tuesday 13 December, Year 6 celebrated their Graduation at St Francis of Assisi Church. We congratulated our students on completing their primary school journey and wished them the very best as they prepare for high school. Thank you to Father Damien, Year 6 teachers, staff, parents and P&F who made this occasion special for our students.
Special thanks to those parent who made the cake, baked cookies and set-up the hall.
Congratulations to those students who received awards:
|
The Paul Scully MP - Community Leadership Award |
Lara D |
| Alison Byrnes MP - Community Service Award | Felicia O |
| Sports Achievement Award | Eva G Tevita T |
| Most Improved Award | Razan H |
| Academic Achievement Awards | Sekne A Dominic G |
| Franciscan Spirituality Award | Lauren C |
Tomorrow the school community will farewell our Year 6 students after seven years of primary education at St Francis of Assisi. Staff, students, and Year 6 parents will form a farewell guard of honour. We congratulate our Year 6 students on this milestone and wish them all the best for the future.
Year 6 Fun Day
Our Year 6 students had a wonderful fun day at Port Kembla pool last week, celebrating their end of primary school.
We look forward to working with these students in 2023. Year 6 Student Leaders will receive their leadership badges at our opening school Mass in Term 1, 2023.
| School Captains | |
| Marco C | Charlie M |
| School Vice Captains | |
| Samuel A | Tahlia J |
| Yellow House Captains | |
| Braedyn S | Matineekran P |
| Red House Captains | |
| Jaeda Y | Makedde A |
| Blue House Captains | |
| Mia D | Zelia S |
| Green House Captains | |
| Hussein A | Monique D |
In 2023, we will also have all students represented as Student Leaders through four different leadership teams. These will be Environment Team, Hospitality/Events Team, Catholic Life and Culture Team, and IT Team. Teams and leaders will be rotated throughout the year, which will provide a range of opportunities for all students to demonstrate their leadership skills.
Please remind your children, that school our school rules, BE RESPONSIBLE, BE RESPECTFUL, BE SAFE, are especially important as we approach the end of the term. As an extra incentive, you can let them know that Santa is watching to see who’s naughty or nice!!
2022 Talent Show
Our Annual St Francis of Assisi Talent Show was held on Monday 12 December. There were 36 sensational acts. Congratulations to those students who demonstrated their talents. This year we had singers, dancers, comedians and even poets. It was a great event, and I look forward to the next show at the end of 2023!
Thank You
It truly is amazing that we are coming to the end of our school year. Christmas seems to have come upon us very quickly this year; however, I know that the students are very excited about the last week of term. As this is our final newsletter for this year, I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you for all of the fantastic support you have given to our students, our staff and myself. It has been wonderful knowing that everyone cares for each other and will help out in many ways. This time of year provides an opportunity for the school community to reflect upon, celebrate and share the significant achievements that have occurred during the 2022 school year. Enjoy your holidays, and please remember Jesus is the reason for the season.
Holiday Reading
Over the holiday break, all students, are encouraged to read every day. Reading is a very important and necessary skill that we use every day. It is a skill that we use when reading books and magazines, watching TV, shopping and playing games. When children stop reading for extended periods, they often take a few steps backwards. This will help maintain student reading abilities and continue to foster their love of reading over the Christmas holidays.
By reading every day, your child will be practising this important skill, reinforcing good reading habits. Parents and carers are encouraged to help their children find fun and interesting books, fiction and non-fiction. It is important for your child to read aloud to someone and just as important for them to listen and enjoy stories being read to them.
We all know that reading is one of the most important fundamental skills children must master to succeed, almost everything we do involves reading of some form. Hopefully, this will help motivate your child to continue reading regularly during the holiday break.
SORA
Just in time for the holidays, we have many new eBooks and Audiobooks for you to enjoy. Sora support site: https://sites.google.com/dow.catholic.edu.au/sora/home
Enjoying time with your child
With the holidays approaching families are going to have more time to spend together. The Raising Children Network has some great links to the benefits of spending time together with your children. Special time with your child can happen while you're doing everyday activities like folding the laundry or watering the garden or making time to go for walks or playing board games. Just sharing happy experiences helps to build a relationship with your child. The link to this page can be found on the parent portal as well as here in this newsletter.
https://raisingchildren.net.au/school-age/connecting-communicating/connecting/enjoying-time
Mr Rod Green
Assistant Principal
There will be a children’s nativity play before the 6:30pm Christmas Eve Mass at St Francis of Assisi church. As noted in our last newsletter, the parish is looking for children to be involved in the retelling of the Christmas story. If your child would like to be involved, please let Ms Maloney, Mrs Briscoe or Sr Anna know. There will be a dress rehearsal on Friday 23 December at 4pm in the church.
The Ministry of Altar Serving
On Sunday, the topic of altar serving was raised during a conversation with a child who recently made their First Communion. This brief discussion revealed there is a misconception that altar serving is a ministry only for boys. Not true! The ministry of altar serving is open to both boys and girls so if you have a child who is interested in serving at either of our parish churches, speak to Deacon Mick or Ms Maloney.
| Date | Event | Attending | Venue |
| Friday 10 February | Swimming Carnival |
Years 2-6 | Berkeley Pool |
| Thursday 09 March | School Cross Country Carnival | K-6 | Integral Energy Park, Kembla Grange |
| Thursday 08 June | School Athletics Carnival | K-6 | Myimbarr Oval, Shellharbour |
2024 Compulsory School Uniform requirements
It is compulsory for all students to wear the correct school uniform including sport polo, navy shorts, and girls' summer tunic, and wearing the correct black leather school shoes and predominately white school joggers for sport.
Navy socks are to be worn with school uniform and black school shoes.
Haircuts
Many thanks to those parents who ensure their children have haircuts that meet the expectations for students at St Francis of Assisi. Students are required to wear their hair in a neat and tidy manner.
- Haircuts should be of an even cut - no extreme shaving.
- Hair should be brushed and combed.
- Hair should not be in a condition as to invite comment.
- Long hair is to be tied back or plaited, off the face and should not extend to cover the eyes.
- Only navy, blue or yellow headbands, ribbons or scrunchies are to be worn in the hair.
- Extreme styles, colouring or dyeing of hair is not permitted
Lowes Warrawong Plaza
All school uniform items can be purchased at Lowes Warrawong Plaza. Please see the price list and information attached. Orders can also be placed online by visiting the link below
P&F CHRISTMAS DISCO
It has been three long years, but WOW, what a wonderful night! To see the excitement and smiles on the faces of our students was well worth the wait! Congratulations to our students for your exemplary behaviour and amazing dance moves. A huge thank you to Mr Gilmore, our resident DJ, Mr Green, Ms Maloney, our P&F, parent helpers, and guests for all your support.
Thank you to the school community for supporting the P&F Christmas Raffle. Thank you to our P&F for organising the prizes for our raffle. Congratulations to all class winners, 3 per class! and to the following winners for the major prizes:
| 1st Prize | Batoul R - 1G |
| 2nd Prize | Alex S - 3G |
| 3rd Prize | Mason W - 2B |
| Class | 1st Class Prize | 2nd Class Prize | 3rd Class Prize |
| KB | Nicholas | Ellie | Luka |
| 1G | Ali | Joseph | Sophia |
| 2B | Kyan | Nicholas | Levi |
| 3G | Lukas | Theo | Victoria |
| 4B | Isabella | Anastasia | Linda |
| 5G | Zaynab | Charlie | Mia |
| 5B | Monique | Jack | Jasmin |
| 6G | Brae | Amara | Razan |
All Parents & Friends positions will be made vacant and an election will be held for new committee members for the 2023 P&F. The AGM has been scheduled to be held on Thursday 16 March from 3.30-4.30. Please see attached for further information.
Please feel free to donate your preloved and outgrown school uniforms to the School Office. 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 16 December 2022.
2023 Compulsory School Uniform requirements
When returning to school for the 2023 school year, it is required all students are in the correct school uniform including sport polo, navy shorts, girl's summer tunic and wearing the correct black leather school shoes and predominately white school joggers for sport. Parents are requested to purchase predominately white joggers and full black school shoes when your child requires new shoes or at the start of the 2023 school year, thereby adhering to the School Uniform Policy.
Pictorial examples of appropriate joggers and school shoes:
2023 - Sports shoes do not need to be expensive; they can have some colour on them but must be predominately white. Thank you for your continued support.
Navy socks are to be worn with school uniform and black school shoes.
Haircuts
Many thanks to those parents who ensure their children have haircuts that meet the expectations for students at St Francis of Assisi. Students are required to wear their hair in a neat and tidy manner.
- Haircuts should be of an even cut - no extreme shaving.
- Hair should be brushed and combed.
- Hair should not be in a condition as to invite comment.
- Long hair is to be tied back or plaited, off the face and should not extend to cover the eyes.
- Only navy, blue or yellow headbands, ribbons or scrunchies are to be worn in the hair.
- Extreme styles, colouring or dyeing of hair is not permitted
Lowes Warrawong Plaza
All school uniform items can be purchased at Lowes Warrawong Plaza. Please see the price list and information attached. Orders can also be placed online by visiting the link below
| Principal | Mrs Vicky Davidson |
| Assistant Principal | Mr Rodney Green |
| Kindergarten Blue | Mrs Melissa Beckhaus |
| Year 1 Gold | Mrs Glenda Grey and Ms Mia Maitland |
| Year 2 Blue |
Mrs Rebecca Mansbridge and |
| Year 3 Gold | Mrs Maria Matos |
| Year 4 Blue | Mrs Marita Maloney (REC) |
| Year 5 Gold | Mr Rodney Green (AP) and Mr Brett Murphy (Middle Leader) |
| Year 6 Blue | Mrs Sandra Briscoe |
| Year 6 Gold | Mr Richard Gilmore |
| REC Release (4 Blue) and Learning Support | Mrs Trish Burrows |
| EAL/D Teacher | Mrs Julie Johannesen |
| Diverse Learning Support Teacher | Mr Brett Murphy |
| Drama and Music Teacher | Mr Louis deVet |
| Senior School Support Officer | Mrs Tracie Brabender |
| School Support Officers | Mrs Anita Jimenez, Ms Elizabeth Martins, Mrs Lidija Staffiero, Mrs Anne Adams, Mrs Shayne George, Mrs Danielle Stewart, Mrs Aspasia Kinnas, Mrs Linda Logue. |
| Pastoral Support Worker | Mrs Cecilia Welch |
| School Counsellor | Mrs Catriona Neilsen |
New digital form for student image consent
The safety and wellbeing of students are always our first priority. This includes protecting their privacy and respecting the wishes of parents and carers regarding the use of student photos, images, and work at all times.
At the start of each school year, you are asked to complete a paper form to provide your consent for images of your child to appear in various places (e.g., in school newsletters, social media, and promotional material). From 2023, this form will become digital and will be shared with you as an event in Compass. In the same way that you provide consent for your child to attend an excursion, you will now be able to simply reply to a Compass event to provide (or decline) consent related to the use of your child’s image or works.
What do you need to do?
During the Christmas vacation period, you will receive a new image consent event in Compass. Please read the details of the event carefully, discuss it with your child, and once you have made your decision, either provide your consent or decline to provide consent. To ensure that no child misses out on having their photo taken as part of school life, we will occasionally send reminders to parents and carers who have yet to complete the event.
If you have any questions about this change or the image consent form in general, please contact the school and we will be happy to discuss this further with you.
The Catholic Education Office requires the attached form to be completed and emailed regarding the 2023 school fee payment plan for those families who do not already have one. This is required by all families regardless of your payment arrangement. This enables the fee schedules to be set up on your accounts. If you currently have a Fee Instalment in place, this will continue in 2023. Please note if a Fee Instalment has not been submitted the account is then due in full by the end of February and will automatically send notifications of being in arrears. It is important that you also set up these fee instalments by Bpay to commence in February 2023. As an estimate, it is recommended a Bpay payment of approximately $70.00 per week be paid. If you require assistance or would like to discuss your account further, please do not hesitate to contact our School Office. Please visit your Compass Portal for more information. 
