Dear Parents & Carers,

Tonight, a number of staff members and I will attend Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral in honour of St Carlo Acutis. St Carlo is one of the Church’s newest saints, and many of our children learned about his life and miracles during our Family and Faith sessions last year. All families are warmly invited to join us. If you are able to attend, please email the school office.

Parent Teacher Interviews

Over the last two evenings, Fiona and I have had the opportunity to meet with families during our Parent-Teacher Interviews. It is always a pleasure to speak with parents and hear the positive affirmation of the outstanding work our teachers and support staff do each day to support the children. Thank you for your ongoing support.

Soccer Jersey Day

Tomorrow we look forward to our Soccer Jersey Day in support of our Ursuline sister school in Cambodia. Each year our school community raises funds to support this important partnership. Through initiatives such as this, our children develop a deeper understanding of the needs of others and the importance of responding with compassion and generosity, beautifully linking to the principles of Catholic Social Teaching.

The children have certainly embraced World Cup fever, and it has been wonderful to see teachers connecting this excitement to learning experiences across Mathematics, History and Geography.

Staffing News

During the month of August, I will be taking Long Service Leave. I am very pleased to share that Mrs Scullion will assume the role of Acting Principal during this time. I am also delighted to announce that Mrs Barbera will return as Acting Assistant Principal for the four-week period.

In addition, Mrs Aboumelhem and Mrs Kyriakou will return to St Francis Xavier as casual teachers. I am sure that, like me, parents, staff and students will be delighted to see their smiling faces around the school once again.

Public Speaking Competition

Next week our students will participate in the Public Speaking Competition, always a favourite event on the school calendar. Public speaking provides students with a valuable opportunity to build confidence as they plan, write, revise and deliver their speeches.

Throughout Semester One, students have developed their persuasive writing skills, which provide an excellent foundation for the public speaking unit they undertake at the end of Term Two. It is always impressive to see the growth in both confidence and communication skills that occurs through this process.

With just one week remaining, we are approaching the end of what has been a longer-than-usual term. Next week I will publish a shorter newsletter outlining important dates and information for the commencement of Term Three.

Attendance

Our school attendance rate currently sits at 95.5%. This is an outstanding and reflects the strong partnership that exists between home and school at St Francis Xavier. Thank you for your continued support in ensuring that children attend school regularly and are ready to learn each day.

The final day of Term Two for students is Thursday 2 July. Our final Merit Awards Assembly for the term will take place at 2:50pm that afternoon.

Students will return for the commencement of Term Three on Tuesday 21 July.

In Serviam,

Brian Anderson 

News

Domremy College