Principal's Report

Saint Francis Xavier - Principal's Report

 

Term 4 - Week 10

 

Dear Parents and Friends of St Francis Xavier,

 

It is scary that this is our final newsletter of the year - where has the time gone?

 

As we have now entered the Season of Advent, our hearts are filled with anticipation as we await the coming of the baby Jesus; the Saviour who reminds us yet again of our earthly purpose. The Saviour reminds us to be joyful, grateful, peace filled beings who fill our world with love. It is important that amidst the excitement and at times, stressful build up to Christmas, that we as the grown ups in our children’s lives, practise patience. We need to help them do the same as the inevitable and beautiful excitement of the Christmas season builds in them.

 

To Father Chinua, for your continued energy, enthusiastic presence and spiritual guidance, we thank you. We look forward to seeing you on Christmas Eve where many of our amazing students will be involved in the acting out of the Christmas story.  Thank you for sharing your wonderful ministry with us all.

 

I wish all of our amazing Year 6 students the very best as they embark on the exciting adventure of secondary school. I thank you for who you are and for what you’ve contributed to St Francis Xavier Primary School, and we look forward to celebrating your Graduation ceremony with you next Thursday evening.

 

To Savannah (Grade 3), Liliana (Grade 1) and Zeke (Grade 1) who are leaving our school at the end of the year, I wish you and your wonderful families the very best at your new schools in 2023. We will miss you a great deal. 

 

To the wonderful Ms Claire and Ms Kellie who run our school office so efficiently. Thank you for the calm and positive manner in which you go about your business. You treat all students, parents and visitors who visit the office with respect and kindness, which sets the tone for the rest of the school.  

 

To the  Leadership Team. Thank you for your dedication, passion, work ethic and your unwavering commitment to achieving the best outcomes, both academically and socially, for every student at S.F.X.  Thank you to Ms Marion, Ms Erin, Ms Naomi and Ms Melissa. 

 

And finally, to our wonderful teachers and LSO's, my respect and gratitude go to you for all your efforts and achievements. You are simply amazing - thank you!

 

Goodbye and Thank You

It is my very sad task to remind everyone that some of our staff will be leaving us at the end of the year. To Miss Naomi, Ms Judy, Ms Ella and Ms Kellie F - thank you for everything that you have contributed to the St Francis Xavier community. Students, staff and parents have all been extremely lucky to have such dedicated, knowledgeable and loving professionals working within our school.

 

Also to the families who have their youngest child finishing at S.F.X at the end of this year, thank you for everything that you have contributed to our school community over your time at the school. 

Alyoussef FamilyAnish Family Burke Family
Cotte FamilyDewet Family Gis Family
Jose FamilyNurney Family Randhawa Family
Sebastian (Maria) Family Shingles FamilyTimms Family
McCraith Family  

2022 Staffing Structure

 

I can confirm that classes for 2022 are as follows:

 

Classroom Teachers

Prep  - Ms Melanie Paton

Year 1/2K - Ms Kim Ryan

Year 1/2T - Ms Terri Burridge

Year 3/4B - Mr Brendan Adcock

Year 3/4SV - Ms Sarah Browning (Mon - Wed) andMs Vanessa O'Brien (Thurs - Fri)

Year 5 - Mr Cameron McGill (Mon - Wed) and Ms Ashleigh Mills (Thurs-Fri)

Year 6 -  Miss Tamara O'Connell (Mon - Wed) and Ms Georgia Dickinson (Thurs-Fri)

 

Specialist Teachers

Italian - Ms Kelly Ruffell

Performing Arts - Ms Nicole Lee

Visual Art - Ms Renee Verkerk

P.E - Ms Emma Cooper

STEAM - Mr Cameron McGill

 

School Counsellor - Ms Renee Verkerk

ICT Leader - Mr Cameron McGill

 

Administration Staff

Ms Kellie Burke

Ms Claire Francis-Pester

 

Leadership Team

Principal - Mr Steve Peart

Deputy Principal/Education in Faith Leader - Ms Marion O'Brien

Learning Diversity leader and Mathematics Leader - Ms Erin Walton

Literacy Leader, Intervention and Wellbeing Leader - Ms Melissa Sotelo

 

Meet the Teacher Day

All students will meet their new teacher/teachers and classmates on Tuesday 13th December. On this day, the children will spend approximately one hour with their new teacher/teachers and fellow class members. 

 

Please be aware that a great deal of thought and expertise has gone into these placements. We respectfully ask for your support in helping your child/children be positive about their placement for 2023.

 

Junior Playground is open for business!

I am very relieved to be able to say that our new Junior Playground is officially open! Whilst it did take longer than anticipated to get to this point, it was certainly worth the wait. 

The students have spent this week exploring the new equipment and enjoying the extra space that is once again available to them. Over the coming weeks, we will hopefully receive deliveries including toys for the new cubbies, giant Connect 4 frames and also water play walls, which will be a lot of fun for all. New shade sails are being installed behind the Grade 3-6 classrooms next Thursday,  just in time for what will most likely be a hotter start to 2023 compared to the mild weather we have had over the past few months. 

Families are welcome to walk around and have a look at the new playground before or after school. We will look to do an 'official opening' early next year once all the extra equipment has arrived and the shade sails are installed. 

 

National Softball Titles - by Lucy (Grade 6)

Hi my name is Lucy. I am in year six and recently I have competed in an amazing tournament from the 20th to the 25th of November. I was representing Victoria in my favorite sport, Softball. This tournament was held in Victoria at Waverley Softball Grounds. This year was the first softball tournament since 2019 due to covid. It was an amazing opportunity where I learnt so many new skills. I met loads of fantastic people from all over Australia. All these games really improved my game play and all around it was a wonderful experience. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday we had 2-3 games a day,  but on Wednesday all the state boys and girls teams went on Puffing Billy  which is a very old train and we got to go though these stunning rain forests. Overall the week was extraordinary. This experience will stay with me forever.

 

Finally, thank you for the continued support and encouragement you have demonstrated to the wonderful staff and myself throughout the year. I am very privileged to be leading such a wonderful school.

 

A blessed Christmas and a safe, happy and prosperous new year to you all.

 

We will see you all on Monday, January 30th for the first day of 2023!

 

Steve Peart

School Principal