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Last Sunday’s Gospel…
Continues with the famous Sermon on the Mount. (Matthew 5:17-37). In this Sermon, Jesus gives us an overview of what it means to live in God’s Kingdom. What is Jesus telling us today? He interprets the Old Testament and expands the coverage of the laws found there.
Reflection: Sometimes, we treat God’s commandments and the Church’s laws as a guide to help us do the bare minimum. We ask precisely how much we can eat on a fast day or how late we can arrive at Mass. We want to know exactly how generous and loving we need to be to make the grade. But Jesus’ preaching instead asks us to ask ourselves how much more we can do in love. Our standard is not the minimum we can do but the best way to share the abundance of God’s overwhelming, unconditional love.
Last week we celebrated our Opening School Mass and Commissioned our Year 6 Student Leaders for 2023. Thank you, Father Damien and Owen, for celebrating Mass with us, and Ms Maloney and her team for organising the Mass.
Congratulations to our Year 6 School Leaders who made the commitment to serve our school community and lead by example in word and action. The students are to be commended on their reverence at Mass, especially our Kindergarten students who had only been at school for one day. Thank you to our parents, family members and parishioners for celebrating with us. It was a wonderful way to begin our school year. Wishing everyone a great year ahead!
Meet and Greet
Meet and Greet meetings commenced this week and will continue next week. It is great to see so many parents booking a meeting time with their child’s teacher. This is an important first step in forming an integral partnership between parents and teachers. We also thank the teachers for organising these meetings.
Strong parent-teacher relationships are one of the hallmarks of a great school.
Mrs Vicky Davidson
PRINCIPAL
St Francis of Assisi acknowledges and pays respect to the Dharawal people, past and present, the traditional custodians on whose land we educate our students.
Thank you to our Year 5 buddies, who have gone above and beyond over the past few weeks to make our Kindergarten students and families feel welcome. Great work, Year 5!
Enrolments for St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School Warrawong 2024 are now open!
PB4L News
Our whole school focus for the next two weeks will be on our main playground. The expectations listed below will be explicitly taught and practised by each class. Teachers on duty will be reinforcing these expectations by acknowledging students who are demonstrating safe, responsible, and respectful behaviours.
Growth Mindset
As we begin the year, I would like to stress the importance of helping your child develop a Growth Mindset toward Mathematics and other Key Learning Areas.
What do I mean by a Growth Mindset?
Students with a growth mindset enthusiastically take on the challenges given to them. They believe effort and perseverance are the criteria for achieving success. Dr Jo Boaler, Professor of Mathematics Education at Stanford University, states, "The brain sparks and grows when we make a mistake, even if we are not aware of it, because it is a time of struggle; the brain is challenged, and the challenge results in growth."
Listed below are suggested questions you could ask your child at home to help your child develop a Growth Mindset:
- What did you do today that made you think hard?
- What happened today that made you keep on going?
- What can you learn from this?
- What mistakes did you make that taught you something?
- What strategy are you going to try next?
- What would you do to challenge yourself today/tomorrow?
- What will you do to help you improve your work?
- What will you do to solve this problem?
In the school newsletters this year, I will include a variety of Maths questions/ideas that your child could complete at their leisure. Please use these activities. These questions/ideas might be targeted at Infants, Primary or Upper Primary students. If you think the questions are not suitable for your child's stage, please do not hesitate to change the numbers to suit your child's level.
Mr Rod Green
Assistant Principal
Welcome back, Deacon Mick!
After a much-deserved break at the end of last year, it is great to see Deacon Mick back at our weekend Masses.
Syria-Türkiye Earthquake
Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the people affected by the Syria-Türkiye earthquake.
God of Compassion, we call on your name in times of need.
We pray for the thousands upon thousands of our sisters and brothers who, at this moment, are feeling the terrible impacts of the earthquake.
We especially remember those who have died, those who grieve, the communities struggling with basic needs and the workers who are trying to help.
We ask that you open the hearts of all people, even those far away,
to contribute to the rebuilding of a broken world.
We ask this in the name of Jesus, who suffers with all who suffer. Amen.
www.caritas.org.au/syria-turkey
Caritas Turkey and other Caritas agencies are responding to a series of powerful earthquakes in southeast Turkey (officially known as Türkiye) and Syria, where thousands of lives have been lost already and the death toll increases by the hour. If you would like to provide financial support directly to the Caritas Middle East Emergency Appeal, click here.
Altar Serving - Welcome, Jack!
We extend our congratulations to our newest altar server, Jack, who served for the first time last weekend. It was wonderful to see him taking on an active role in the life of our church.
At the request of Bishop Brian, Fr Damien will be travelling to America next week to accompany staff from our Diocesan schools at the Religious Education Congress which is held in Los Angeles. He will be back on the first weekend in March.
Caritas Australia’s Project Compassion Launch
Next Tuesday, Mrs Davidson and our school captains, Marco and Charlie, will travel to St Columbkille’s, Corrimal, for the Diocesan launch of Caritas Australia’s Project Compassion campaign. The tradition of Catholic Social Teaching shapes the work of Caritas Australia:
The theme of Project Compassion 2023 is ‘For All Future Generations’. It is an expression of hope and reminds us that the good that we do today will extend and impact the lives of generations to come. It invites us to make the world a better place by working together now and finding long-term solutions to global issues.
We look forward to hearing from Marco and Charlie about the launch and how we can support the work of Caritas Australia this year.
Ash Wednesday Mass - 22 February
Next Wednesday, the whole school will gather for Mass with our parish community at
9 am to commemorate the beginning of Lent. All are most welcome to join us.
Lenten Practices - Almsgiving, Fasting and Prayer
With the Season of Lent being just around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about how you will use this season to grow in holiness and so prepare for the great celebration of Easter. The readings for Ash Wednesday make reference to the practices of almsgiving, fasting and prayer. The following infographics from CatholicLink provide an explanation of these 3 practices, along with some practical ways we can incorporate them into our daily lives.
Pope Francis has also provided this advice for ‘fasting’:
Parish Sacramental Programs
Last week, a letter went home to children in Years 3 and 6 who have been baptised in the Catholic faith regarding the Sacramental programs being offered in our parish this year. If you would like to enrol your child in any of the programs this year, and you have not yet returned your enrolment form to Father Damien or Deacon Mick, please do so this weekend so numbers can be finalised. (NB: Enrolment forms are to be returned at Mass. Please do not return them to the school.)
As indicated on the note that was sent home, for those enrolled in this year’s Reconciliation program, there is an information night scheduled for next Thursday night, 23 February. This meeting will take place in St Francis of Assisi Church at 6 pm.
On the weekend of the 25 and 26 February, those enrolled in the Reconciliation program will attend a Commitment Mass in preparation for their lessons which begin in Week 6.
Commitment Mass at St Mary of the Rosary, Berkeley:
- Saturday 25th Feb @ 4 pm
- Commitment Masses at St Francis of Assisi, Warrawong:
- Sunday 26 Feb @ 10:30 am
The Alpha Experience
If you have not yet taken up the invitation to join our Parish Alpha experience, it’s not too late! Alpha is an opportunity to explore life, faith and God in a friendly, open and informal environment.
WHERE
Parishes House - St Mary of the Rosary Church,
211 Northcliffe Drive, Berkeley
TIME
Monday 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm.
We begin with dinner at 7:00 pm.
COST
Free!
BOOKINGS AND INFORMATION
Please contact phone Lawrie Burns:
Lawrie Burns at lawrie@burnsnet.id.au
Mob: 0418 363 315
RSVP - An RSVP prior to Monday’s gathering is necessary for catering purposes.
To find out more visit the link
https://www.dow.org.au/media-resources/alpha/
2023 Swimming Carnival | Friday 17 February - Years 2 to 6
Unfortunately, we were unable to proceed with the Swimming
Carnival 
last Friday due to the inclement weather. We are pleased to have been able to reschedule this event tomorrow, Friday 17 February. Students in Years 2-6 will travel to Berkeley Pool by bus. Parents will be able to take the students home at the conclusion of the carnival. The remaining students will return to school.
Please see below the schedule of events for the day. All other detailed information can be found on Compass. We are looking forward to a great community day!
| Date | Event | Attending | Venue |
| Friday 17 February | Swimming Carnival |
Years 2-6 | Berkeley Pool |
| Friday 24 February | Paul Kelly Cup AFL | Selected Year 5 and 6 | Myimbarr Oval, Shellharbour |
| 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 |
| Term 1 | Sporting Schools Cricket - TBC | Years 3-6 | School - TBC |
Next Staff Development Day
Monday 24 April
Staff Development Day -
Focus: Continuous Catholic School Improvement
Please mark theis date on your calendar.
Students do not attend school on these days.
What day does my child wear their sports uniform?
| Tuesday and Friday | Year 4 |
| Wednesday and Friday | Kindergarten, Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, Year 5 and Year 6 |
Our Kindergarten students have made a great start to the year. They have embraced their new surroundings and have connected really well with their Year 5 buddies. Thank you to Mrs Beckhaus for setting up routines and preparing the students so well for learning. Thank you also to our wonderful Kindergarten parents who have been helping to support their children on this big step into 'Big' school.
We look forward to sharing lots of our learning and special news in the future.
Year 3 and Year 5
Every year the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) assesses the literacy and numeracy skills of students in Years 3 and 5 NAPLAN tests complement the wide range of formal and informal assessments already conducted in schools. The NAPLAN test window starts on Wednesday 15 March. Please refer to the attached document for further parent information.
All Parents & Friends positions will be made vacant and an election will be held for new committee members for the 2023 Parents & Friends Committee. The AGM has been scheduled to be held on Thursday 16 March from 3.30-4.30. Please see below for further information. All parents are welcome and hope to see you there.
ASPIRE OSHC
Before & After school care
AVAILABLE at St Francis School
$500 Government Vouchers available to use
Visit Website: www.aspire-oshc.com.au/st-francis-of-assisi-warrawong
Book Now online here
Dear Parents
School fee accounts are invoiced per family annually including Tuition and SEDSO fees. This fee of $2968 per annum is only charged once per family (even if there are one or five children in the family). This is not charged per student and equates to only $57 per week per family. This family fee covers the education provided to the students including expenses for teaching staff, equipment, school operations, facilities, curriculum resources, materials, building, and capital maintenance costs of school facilities.
Student Resource fees are for opportunities for the students and are expenses the school incurs to provide including school books, classroom equipment, arts and crafts, sports equipment, bus transport to carnivals, iPad programs, school camps, school excursions, incursions, and activities. This cost varies between grades and is an opportunity for the students. Prior to the new digital finance system, these student activity expenses were paid by cash with a permission note throughout various times of the year. As the system is now cashless these are added to the fee account and there are no longer additional expenses throughout the year. This system supports families to budget in advance. Please do not hesitate to contact the School Office if you have any questions or if we can be of any assistance.
School Fee Payments
Fee Statements have been emailed. Please log in to your Parent Compass Portal to view your school fee account by clicking the Payments Centre green box above "My News". Payments can be paid online by clicking "School Fees Action Required". Full payment is due by 28 February unless the below instalment form has been submitted and you have set up these payments on your Compass portal or Bpay using the details on the Fee Statement emailed. Fee instalments set up last year will roll over and continue automatically this year. See further details below.
▪ The invoicing of school fees and the distribution of school fee statements each month, is now a function carried out by the Catholic Education Office.
▪ Payment of fees, whether as an annual payment or payment by instalments is due on the date/s provided on your school fee statement.
▪ If an amendment is made to your school fee account eg your child changes subjects in a secondary school, etc. you will be emailed a statement which will provide a new schedule of payments and due dates. Please review this schedule to make any changes to your payments that are necessary.
REMINDERS FOR LATE PAYMENTS
SMS and email reminders are automatically generated by our accounting software based on the number of days a payment is overdue and are distributed by the Catholic Education Office. For those families that may have difficulty in paying their school fees, these reminders may cause some distress. This is not our intention. Our intention is to support the collection of school fee accounts centrally and in so doing,
alleviate some of the administrative work of our schools.
SCHOOL FEE ACCOUNT ENQUIRIES
Please note, despite the centralisation of various functions, your school/s will always be your point of contact for matters pertaining to fees. If you wish to discuss your school fee account, please contact your school office. The role of the Catholic Education Office is to action centralised tasks on behalf of schools.
IF YOU WISH TO PAY BY INSTALMENTS
Many families have already elected to pay their school fees by instalments. If you wish to avail yourself of this option please complete a Request to Pay by Instalment Form which is available on your school’s website or at your school’s office. On completion of the request either email it to instalments@dow.catholic.edu.au or submit at your school’s office. Following receipt of the request, instalments will be generated on your account and a schedule of payments and due dates will be provided on your next school fee statement. Please note it is only necessary to complete this form once during the period of child/children’s enrolment unless you wish to amend your payment frequency.
DIFFICULTY WITH PAYMENT
If you are experiencing financial difficulty, we encourage you to contact the school in which your child/children are enrolled to discuss an arrangement that will assist you meet your commitments. This may include the completion of a Diocesan Application for Fee Concession which is available from the administration office of each school. Be reassured that your situation will be treated with strict confidentiality and respect for your circumstances. If you wish to submit an application, please do so at your child’s school. Please note, if you have children in more than one school, it will only be necessary to submit one application. For those families that received a Fee Concession in 2022, you will receive an email prior to your annual review date attaching a further Application for Fee Concession. You may also initiate an earlier review if you wish to do so by contacting your school office. For further information regarding school fees, please access the Diocesan School Fee Management
Policy and Frequently Asked Questions which is available on your school’s website.
Please feel free to donate your preloved and outgrown school uniforms to the
School Office. Thank you
