Principal's Report
Saint Francis Xavier - Principal's Report
Term 4 - Week 7
Dear Parents and Friends of St Francis Xavier,
I would like to say how fantastic it was to have such a huge turn out to our Family Mass on Saturday evening. Looking out over a full church and seeing so many excited students and families was just wonderful. I had a number or regular parishioners talk to me after Mass, saying how much they enjoyed having the children involved in the readings, offertory procession and especially having the choir perform the final song! It was also really nice that so many families were able to stay after mass for supper. I would like to acknowledge the huge amount of work that our Religious Education leader, Marion O'Brien, put into the prepartion of the Mass. I would also like to thank Father Chinua for leading the Mass and always being so engaging and welcoming to our school community.
Advent
The important Season of Advent begins on Sunday 1st December.
The Season of Advent is a special time in the Church’s calendar, marking the beginning of our preparation for the birth of Jesus at Christmas. It is a season of hope, joy, and anticipation, encouraging us to reflect on the ways we can welcome Christ into our lives. To deepen our students’ understanding of this sacred season, our school will hold short, weekly prayer services during Advent. These gatherings will help the children focus on the themes of each week—hope, peace, joy, and love—inviting them to prepare their hearts for the celebration of Christmas.
Italian Day
Italian Day at St Francis Xavier on Monday of this week was a huge success! Signora Kelly spent a huge amount of time organising an amazing day where the students;
-Played Bocce
-Dressed in Italian Flag colours
-Had a visit from the gelato van
-Played Tombola
-Made Fairy Floss
-Decorated biscuits with green, red and white icing
-Completed a variety of other Italian themed in their classrooms
Thank you to all the families who took the time to complete the permission forms and organise red/green/white clothing and costumes for the day.
Basketball Sessions for all students
Over the next 3 Mondays, Anthony from the Frankston District Basketball Association will be visiting St Francis Xavier to run basketball clinics for all classes. All students will participate in 3 sessions each, where the focus will be having fun, picking up some basic skills and learning some new games.
Students are encouraged to wear their Sports Uniform to school on Monday 25/11, Monday 2/12 and Monday 9/12.
Final Assembly
The final whole school assembly for the year will take place on Tuesday 3rd December, commencing at 2:15pm in the Red Centre. At this assembly, the following will take place;
-Presentation of the following awards, Living in Faith, Dunkley Shield, Principal's Award + 3 General Excellence awards
-Running Club awards and certificates, acknowledging 50, 75 and 100 lap milestones
-Grade 6, 2025 School Leader announcements
-Birthday celebrations for December
Parents are most welcome to attend.
Running Club
Today was the last Running Club of the year where we will be recording student laps. This is due to the fact that we now need to start organising certificates and trophies which are presented at our final assembly. Running Club will continue to take place each Thursday morning for the remainder of the year, just without the recording of laps. Hopefully we see lots of keen runners each Thursday morning and the weather is kind to us!
School Fees
After consulting with our School Finance Business partner and the School Advisory Council, the school fees for 2025 have now been set. Please read through the attachments below which explain how the fees are decided upon. The school continues to make every effort to keep fees as low as possible and we continue to have the lowest total fees of all Catholic Schools in the local area.
Can I also ask that if you have any outstanding fees left for 2024, that these please be settled by the end of next week.
Last Day of 2024/ First Day of 2025
I would like to confirm that Tuesday 17th December is the last day of the year for students at SFX in 2024.
On this day, we will gather together in the church for an end of year celebration Mass, which will commence at 1:45pm. We will then return to school ready for a 3:15pm dismissal. On the last day of school, it is tradition that all of the Grade P-5 students form a big path across the basketball court and cheer for our Grade 6 students as they are dismissed through the Green Gates for the last time. It is a wonderful memory for them to take away for their time here at school.
The first day of school for students in 2025 will be Wednesday 29th January, starting at 8:45am.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone.
Steve Peart
School Principal