Dear Parents and families,

What a busy second half of term three we have coming up. We look forward with great anticipation to the Trivia Night, Book Week, Oval Opening, Art Show, Working Bee and the appointment of our new Principal .

Thank you to Jane Fraser, Mia Jones and the whole Parent's Association for their planning of and preparation for what promises to be another fantastic community event. Special thanks goes to the Trivia Night Sub Committee led by Kate Harford and Ben Mc Donald. This group has done an extraordinary amount of work seeking corporate sponsorship, arranging the Trivia Hosts Funky Bunch, setting up and decorating the hall, gathering donations, etc. The sub committee have been meeting fortnightly (perhaps weekly by the end) to ensure everything comes together. A number of them were onsite into the night last night and were back there again this morning completing final preparations. Please take a moment to show your gratitude to these people when you see them throughout the night.

Oh well, looks like we might have got a little bit ahead of ourselves. The oval is very, very close to completion. Pretty much all that's left is for the line markings to be cut in and the sand and rubber to be brushed in. Unfortunately the rain has meant that it has not been possible for these works to be finalised so we must continue our patient wait.

We are really looking forward to the Oval Opening on Thursday 5 September. We have invited a number of guests including Vicki Ward, the State MP for Eltham as well as Kate Thwaites, the Federal Member for Jagajaga. We have also invited past principals, members of our parish and local community. But most of all we would like to invite you and your children to be there. During the opening, the children will have an opportunity to participate in some sporting activities and run through a banner as part of the Official Opening. This will lead into the SFX Art Show Gala Night including the Class Art Auction.

SFX Art Show

The SFX Art Show runs over two days, Wednesday 4 September (3:45 - 5:00) and Thursday 5 September (5:30 - 7:30). The Art Show Gala Night will follow directly after the Oval Opening and will include a live auction of class pieces. The auction will begin at 6:15pm.

Please note that the Art Show will not be open during the Oval Opening but will open at 5:30pm.

The Term Three Working Bee will be held on Saturday 7 September. This will run between 9:00am and 12:00noon. Recently you were emailed/FlexiBuzz a Google Form to indicate whether you would be attending. Thanks to those of you who have already replied. If you have not had a chance to do so, please click here to fill in the form. It would be great if you could be there to help out.

Child Safety at Out of Hours School Events

Parents are reminded that they are responsible for the supervision of their children at Out of Hours School Events such as the Oval Opening, Art Shows and the like. Staff are busy carrying out their duties at these events and cannot always be monitoring the behaviour and safety of children on these occasions. We ask parents to be mindful of where their children are at all times during such events.

As there will be both adults and children requiring access to the toilets at the Art Show and Oval Opening, the following arrangements will be in place:

Students - use the toilets under the Prep Building and in the 1/2 Area (no adult access to these toilets)

Adults and toddlers requiring assistance - use the toilets in the hall (no student access)

The staff toilets, Senior Building toilets and toilets under the church will not be available at this time.

New Principal Appointment

Following the Principal Interviews, held on Friday 9 August, the name of the successful applicant was submitted to Archbishop Peter A. Comonsoli for ratification. It is anticipated that this process should be complete later this coming week. Fr Michael Sierakowski will then be able to announce the name of the person who will be Principal of St Francis Xavier for the next eight years. Thank you for your patience waiting for this announcement

Classroom Requests 2020

While we know the school is best placed to make arrangements for children's classes for next year, on some occasions parents have some insights that are helpful for the school to take into account when making these decisions. If you have any information that you would like the school to take into account, please ensure it is sent through by the end of Term Three. By then class formation will be well under way. No further requests will be taken after this time.

I look forward to seeing you at the Oval Opening and Art Show.

Kind regards,

Nicholas Boyhan

Acting Principal

Parent's Association

Pie Drive