From the Principal
Welcome Back to Term 4, 2024
A warm welcome back to all our students, staff and families as we commence Term 4. We hope you had some lovely family time with your children over the past two weeks. Our staff have had a chance to rest and are ready for an exciting final term to complete the 2024 school year. There is lots to look forward to and lots of great learning to engage in.
We have a BIG term of activities in this final term to look forward to. This year on the 30th October we invite our Prep to Yr 6 children with their parents to attend a FUN activity evening at our STEM night. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. This event will commence in the hall at 7pm. There will be lots to do together and it is an event nt to miss.
In November, we have our Twilight Market and our 2024 Art Show on Thursday 7th commencing at 5pm. This is an evening not to miss, so put it into your diaries now. The children have put a lot of effort into their art pieces that will be on display for the first time in our School Hall. This is a great chance to gather as a community and take a wander around the school. There will be food trucks and stalls to enjoy. So enjoy some delicious food and take a stroll to check out the art and other FUN activities and stalls at our 2024 Twilight Market and Art Show.
In December, we will conclude the year with our annual Christmas Carols and end of Year Mass on Tuesday 17.
We look forward to really coming together and celebrating 2024 at these special school Community Events .
Reminder
Working Bee
Saturday 12 October
9am-12pm
We need your help
Class Placements for 2025
Our teachers will soon commence the complex tasks of deciding class placement of students for 2025. Thus it is important that you have informed the school if your child will not be returning before we commence the task of placement. Please email principal@sfslynbrook.catholic.edu.au to inform us of your plans at your earliest convenience. We would appreciate an email by Friday 25th October or earlier if this has already been decided.
Teachers consider a number of factors when developing preliminary Learning Space and Home Group lists. They consider academic ability; special skills, needs and talents; social competencies; students who work well together and students who may not work well together. Skills needed for building new relationships are also an important part of our educative process. Our children will get asked to name three friends and we will consider their requests and place them with at least one friend in their learning space. Parent input based strictly on student learning needs, is also considered.
Parents who have specific concerns about their child's learning needs for 2025, are invited to provide written information via email to the principal. Please be aware that parent request for particular teachers will not be accepted. Please email principal@sfslynbrook.catholic.edu.au by 3pm Friday 25th October 2024.
A request is taken into consideration with other factors but is not guaranteed. Please note that we are not able to consider information received after the 25/10/2024, as once class list are made up they are extremely difficult, if not impossible to change. The ultimate responsibility for student teacher allocation rests with the Principal. Our school processes are most comprehensive and professional with decisions always made in the best interest of our students.
Parents will be informed about their child's Home Group Teacher in the Semester two report in December. Students will meet their Home Group teacher for 2025 on Monday 16 December at our whole school orientation morning.
School Uniform
In Term 4, we move to wearing our summer uniform. Children are reminded to wear a hat when playing out side and add sun cream to protect them from harmful UV rays. The P&F have a second hand uniform shop that is available at school and open on Friday mornings or afternoons. All items are $5 and support the P&F fundraising for the school. Alternatively new items of uniform can be purchased from Beleza in Hallam.
NEW nForma nParent PORTAL FOR PARENTS – COMING NEXT TERM!
YOU WILL BE ABLE TO DOWNLOAD THE APP TO ACCESS REPORTS.
Over the last week, we have been preparing to move to the new nForma nparent portal – a new one stop communication hub for parents. In this initial stage, we will be using the new portal for parents to access student’s academic reports. The new portal includes a new look and user-friendly interface and more importantly, a downloadable app.
In Week 2, Term 4, parents will receive information on how they can access the new nportal - either through their desktop browser or by downloading the app on their phones. Please be aware that the old parent portal will become inactive over the coming weeks and access to reports will only be available through the new nportal.
Orientation Program for 2025 Preps has Commenced!!
On Thursday 10 December a Parent Information Evening was held for our 2025 Prep Parents. We look forward to welcoming a number of new families and Prep students who will commence at St Francis de Sales. Next week we will celebrate this important milestone with our Step into SFS Party on Wednesday 16 October with lots of FUN activities.
Working Bee
The mulch has arrived and the Skip is ready! We look forward to seeing many parents join us for our working Bee this Saturday 12 October commencing at 9 am to 12pm. The sun is out and there are lots of jobs big and small that will help us tidy up our grounds for the children to enjoy and to make our school safe and look attractive. We need YOU. There will be a sausage sizzle for all the hard workers so come and give us a hand.
Have a great weekend.
Christine White
Principal