From the Principal

Enrol Now for Prep 2026 at St Francis de Sales

If you have a child (sibling) due to start school in 2026, please submit your enrolment application by Friday 14 March 2025. Thanks to the many parents who have already submitted their application.

We will be completing interviews for siblings wishing to commence school at St Francis de Sales in 2026 this term. 

Please inform neighbours and friends who will have a child eligible to start school in 2026 to book a tour. We have tours nearly every morning at 9 am. We will be commencing interviews for new families at the start of Term 2.

Help promote our school and share stories of the great learning and extra curricula  opportunities we provide. 

Word of mouth stories about our great school community is the BEST promotion.

Congratulation to Our SRC for Semester 1 2025

• LS 1 Juniors: Ryan, Micah 

• LS1 Seniors: Gavin, Milliana 

   

• LS 2 Juniors: Jeremiah and Amelia

• LS2 Seniors: Harish and Curtis

   

• LS 3 Juniors: Orion Deanne
• LS3 Seniors: Ricky and Evie RJ

The children will be presented to the whole school at a special Morning Gathering on Monday 3rd March at 8:45 am in the hall. Parents and grandparents are invited to attend this very special event where the SRC will be presented with their badges.

Student Voices, Making a Difference. 

Our SRC at their first meeting with me, went wild with their imaginations and came up with the following suggestion, if they were the Principal for the day. They came up with some great ideas and some wild thinking!! Rachel and I look forward to working with them to see what difference we can make in this semester. Check you their ideas....

• I would make the school more beautiful.
• I would let children in Grade 5 and 6 run some lunchtime clubs like sports club or dance club.
• I would organise clinics that the seniors can do with the juniors so we could engage with them more.
• All home groups would take turns doing morning gathering in the yarning circle.
• I would make sure everyone had a friend.
• I would make sure everyone was respectful.
• If someone falls down, I'd help them get up.
• I would encourage people to work together and help each other in learning.
• On Mondays juniors and seniors would join together to eat lunch together.
• I would give everyone an ice-cream.
• I would extend both lunch times by 10 minutes.
• I would have a canteen near the yarning circle.

We meet each Monday and we will commence work on at least one of these ideas straight away and look at other ideas we can work on this semester.

Garden and Grounds Maintenance

After over 14 years since the school commenced, I write to inform you that this weekend will be the last parent organised and coordinated mowing of our school grounds.

I thank the brilliant coordination of our Maintenance team since the school began, by Cameron Easton from 2010 till 2017 and then over the past seven years plus by Brad Jackson. I also thank the many parents who have come forward over the years to mow our grounds. Your collective efforts has saved our school  $$$$$$ over this time!! Thank you.

As we do not have anyone who is willing to step forward to lead the mowing as Cameron and Brad have done, as well as safety concerns regarding continuing without adequate induction and supervision we have to end this program.

From the commencement of Term 2, we have engaged Marylands Landscaping to mow our lawns. This also means reduced opportunity to offer a fee rebate to parents. Going forward a $250 rebate will only be available if parents attend the two working bees that the school offers each year. 

The working bees for 2025 are to be held on:

• Saturday 3rd May 2025 9 am - 12 pm
• Saturday 11th October 2025 9 am- 12 pm

There may be an opportunity to organise additional working bees after school on weeknights, for example from 5 - 8 pm, or even on weekends if we have parents who can assist to take on the delegation and coordinating role for one of two working bees. If you can assist in this way, please email me. We will look at this as an option and it will help with tasks such as pruning, weeding, mulching, topping up the sandpit with new sand, planting, and generally keeping our grounds tidy. It will also assist in reducing costs in these areas so that they can be used to support additional resources for the students.

I will keep you updated if we can add any additional dates to our maintenance program. In the meantime, please note the two dates listed and we hope these dates will become extra big working bees in 2025. 

Parent help has been extremely strong, valued and appreciated part of our St Francis de Sales school culture. As we move forward it is important that we maintain this great parent community spirit that the school has been built upon. 

2025 School Fees 

Statements / Invoice were sent home recently.

Please check your child's school bag.

Do you have one of these cards?

CSEF—Camp, Sports and Excursion Fund)

If you do, you may be eligible for $150 for each of your children from the government to go towards your swimming fees, excursion fees or camp fees.

It’s easy—just fill out the CSEF form available from the school office and present your current Centrelink Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card and we will do the rest for you.

Applications should be completed and lodged with us as soon as possible in Term 1. If you hold a valid means-tested concession card, you may be eligible for CSEF. This allowance is paid to the school to use towards expenses relating to camps, excursions or sporting activities for the benefit of your child. 

 It is essential that you have a fee paying agreement with the school. You can get a discount by paying your fees upfront this term. Alternatively you may pay by the term, month, fortnight or weekly. Which ever way you choose please let us know by completing the fee agreement.

Paying fees by a direct debit is encouraged.

Our Condolences

Our deepest condolences to Andrea (Retired at the end of 2024) at the passing of her beloved son Dax on 17th February.  Friday 28 February would have been her son's birthday. On Friday there will be a rosary,  with a Funeral Mass on Saturday 1st March in Perth. Many staff members attended the rosary on Wednesday in Melbourne. 

Our deepest condolences to Sharon McNulty ( Chairperson of our School Advisory Council and mother of Madison) on the recent passing of her beloved mother, Eliane Thorne -  RIP

Please keep Andrea and Sharon and their family in your thoughts and prayers.

Attention Year 5 Families:

Applications for enrolment in Year 7 at most Catholic secondary schools for 2027 are now open. Please note that the application period will close on Friday, 15th August 2025. Please check directly with schools to find out about their Open Days and School Tour Times.

Year 7 offers will be sent out in October 2025.

Christine White

Principal