Principal's Report

Saint Francis Xavier - Principal's Report

Term 3 - Week 1

Dear Parents and Friends of St Francis Xavier,

It is an absolute pleasure to welcome everyone back to school for an engaging and exciting Term 3. It has been a really smooth transition back from the holidays, which seem like a distant memory already. 

Congratulations to the students in both Beek and War-reen houses, who were the co-winners of the Semester One house points competition. As their reward, these students had lunch provided and were able to gather together to watch a movie in the afternoon. 

NAIDOC Week

NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia in the first week of July each year (Sunday to Sunday), to celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC Week is an opportunity for all Australians to learn about First Nations cultures and histories and participate in celebrations of the oldest, continuous living cultures on earth.

Yesterday, our student Fire Carriers led the school through a beautiful prayer service which focused on celebrating the important stories and traditions of our First Nations people. It was a reverant and moving service, and the student leaders did an outstanding job of sharing many important messages.

Loving God, during this NAIDOC Week, we gather as a school community to celebrate the rich culture and contributions of our Indigenous brothers and sisters. We pray for unity, understanding, and respect, that we may honour the traditions and stories of the First Nations people. Grant us the wisdom to embrace diversity, the courage to stand against injustice, and the compassion to build bridges of friendship. May this week be a reminder of our shared journey and a call to work together for reconciliation. 

In Jesus' name, we pray. 

Amen.

School Assemblies 

We are now in a position to invite all families to attend any assemblies that they would like to for the remainder of the year. At each assembly, one class will be responsible for sharing their learning or a presentation for approximately 5-10 minutes. 

Assembly begins at 2:35pm and finishes before the bell at the end of the day. The dates for school assemblies this term are as follows;

Wednesday 19th July - Fire Carriers presenting

Wednesday 2nd August - 3/4B presenting

Tuesday 15th August - Grade 6 presenting

Wednesday 30th August - Grade 1/2T presenting

School Reports

Thank you to all the families who have provided either teachers and myself with positive feedback in regard to the new school reports. A separate feedback form will be sent out in the coming weeks to gather some more specific information from more families.

When I had a browse through today, it seems that there is still a few families who are yet to log into the portal to download your child's report. If you need to log in, please check your emails from 23/6/23. You will have received an email fromno-reply@nforma.com.au

Please open that email and follow the instructions which will take you to the parent portal.

Drop Off and Pick Up Times

I have noticed that students both been arriving at school and being collected from school outside the designated times set by the school. 

In the morning, the Green Gates do not open until 8:15am. Students should not be dropped at school before this time.  Staff are entering the carpark between 7:30am - 8:15am, so it is not a safe space for students to wait unsupervised. 

At the end of the day, all students need to be collected between 3:15pm and 3:30pm. Unfortunately there are more and more students that seem to be being collected after 3:30pm. This impacts our staff meetings, as they need to begin at 3:30pm and the teacher responsible for after school supervision then arrives at the meeting late. If you are regularly arriving after 3:30pm, you may need to investigate using Camp Australia for after-school care.

Thank you for your co-operation with these requests. 

Year 7 Enrolments for 2025

Just a reminder to our Grade 5 families, that enrolment applications for Year 7 at John Paul College in 2025 are due by the 18th August, 2023. Please visit their website for all the important information. 

https://www.jpc.vic.edu.au/home/information/enrolments

If you are looking to enrol in a State Secondary School such as Frankston High School, McLelland College or Monterey Secondary College, application forms do not need to be submitted until next year.

School Closure Day

Please be aware that Monday July 24th (Week 3)  will be the only school closure day at S.F.X in Term Three. 

Have a great weekend everyone. 

Steve Peart

School Principal