Principal Update

Celebrating National Reconciliation Week 2024 

 Reconciliation Week (NRW) 2024 is here, and at St Francis Primary, we are excited to join the celebration from May 27 to June 3. This year’s theme, "Now More Than Ever," reminds us of the urgent need to foster unity and respect between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous Australians.

NRW starts on May 27, the anniversary of the 1967 referendum, where Australians voted to change the constitution to recognise Aboriginal people. It ends on June 3, the day the High Court made the important Mabo decision in 1992, recognising that Indigenous Australians have rights to the land.

Here at St Francis, we planned a week full of fun and educational activities:

Let’s all take part in reflecting on our history, respecting each other’s cultures, and working together to build a brighter, more inclusive future.

FIRE CARRIER COMMISSIONING

The aim of the FIRE (Friends Igniting Reconciliation through Education) Carrier Project is to promote respect, fairness and inclusion for Aboriginal people. The FIRE Carrier Project promotes enculturation and reconciliation in Sandhurst schools. 

What is the role of a FIRE Carrier?

To be a FIRE Carrier is to exercise an important leadership role in the school community. FIRE carriers are students and teachers that share a passion for learning about Aboriginal culture and history and are committed to sharing this knowledge and promoting reconciliation within and beyond the school community.

We inducted the following staff and students as FIRE Carriers:

Staff: Katelyn Barnes, Carolyn Brooks

Students: Aimee Rankin, Millie Bourke, Darcy Redmond, Taylah Moon, Archie Vallender, Emily Nuttall, Monica Pavlic-Briggs, Blair Johns, Noah Morgan-Trease, Thomas Nuttall, Ariah Arkoshy.

ANNUAL REPORT TO THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY

The 2023 Annual Report to the School Community, which has a lot of interesting information about what we have achieved over the past year, can be downloaded from the school website.  A  hard copy is available by request from our school administration building.

STAFF UPDATES

As emailed out, Natasha Boase was the successful candidate for our Administration & Finance position at St Francis.  Natasha will begin working with us on Monday 17th June.

Additionally, we look forward to welcoming our new Deputy Principal, Rosina Gemmill, who begins with us on Tuesday 11th June.  

Rosina will bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the role and has already made great connections with everyone at St Francis.

Tony Kent will *finish* (alway with an asterisks as he returns quite often) with St Francis at the end of Term 2.  Tony has been a wonderful support to our school, stepping in at the beginning of Term 1 while we advertised for a new Deputy Principal.  We thank Tony for his ever calm presence, engaging manner with staff, students and families and wish him all the best with the house painting back in NSW.

TERM 2 EVENTS

ENROLMENTS

SCHOOL HOURS

A reminder to families that children are supervised by teachers at St Francis from 8:30 am until 3:30 pm each day.  Teachers are rostered for yard duty before school, at recess and lunchtime, and after school.  Children should not be arriving to school prior to 8:30am.

If children have not been picked up by 3:30pm in the afternoon, they will be waiting in the Administration Area.