From the Acting Principal
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Dear SFX Parents and families,
Goodbye and Thank You
It is with much sadness that I say farewell to you all today, in my 13th and final year here at St Francis Xavier School. It has been such an amazing opportunity, leading the school as Deputy Principal (2007-2018) and as Principal (2019). I will be forever grateful to all of you for all of your support and the challenges which have shaped me as a leader.
I am particularly grateful to the parents I have worked closely with over the years to support their children with their academic as well as their social and emotional development. I am also extremely appreciative of those I worked alongside on the School Advisory Council, Parents Association and the Works and Maintenance Committee. We have achieved so much together.
Thank you for entrusting your children to my care throughout this time. It is an amazing leap of faith, for a parent to hand their child over to someone else. It is extremely humbling to be the person to whom they are entrusted. It has been an absolute pleasure working with our fantastic SFX children over this time. As well as getting to know them as learners in the classroom, it has been a privilege to get to know them as people on the yard, on excursions, at sporting events, concerts and school camps.
Despite the many highs, we have faced the challenge of supporting children and families experiencing difficulties, challenges and sadness in their lives. Having been through some similar experiences with my own family, I have been able to empathise and draw on the knowledge gained through these experiences to work with families to support their children. I am very grateful to our families for working so collaboratively through these challenging times.
It is with much confidence that I hand over the reigns to Philip Cachia, an outstanding educator and with a strong track record in leadership and school improvement. Philip has really done his research on the school and parish and is beginning to work with the leadership team to establish goals and priorities for the remainder of the year and beyond. He will be commencing at SFX on Friday 1 November.
In the interim, Adriana Bownds will be leading the school, ably supported by Janelle Reid (Acting Deputy) and the rest of the School Development Team (Catherine Vear, Guy Toomey and Charlotte Hunter).
I would like to thank the Parents and Students who were able to join the current and some past staff at my Farewell afternoon tea last Tuesday. It was a lovely occasion and I will treasure the memory. Thanks also to the parents for the lovely farewell gift. This was most unexpected but much appreciated. Thanks also to all of you who were able to join with the school at my farewell mass. This also was a truly special occasion.
(This photo reminds me that I really have to find some time for a hair cut)
Oval Opening, Art Show, Gala Night
We have our fingers crossed for the opening of our new oval on Thursday 5 September. Although proceedings have been delayed by recent rains, the fellas from Grass Sports are hopeful of having it completed in time.
In preparation for the opening, we had planned to ask the children to decorate their classes Totem Pole, using the design they had come up with earlier this year. Unfortunately, the students have been unable to access the oval to do these paintings due to the delay with the oval works. To ensure we weren't looking at plain white poles at the opening, we have begun painting them using the children's design and we plan for the children to add to them when they are able to get onto the oval in the coming days.
Art Auction
Please see above a sample of the art works which will be up for auction at the Art Show Gala Evening. A full online brochure will be available for download on Monday for you to view the artworks for each class, read about the mediums, techniques used and the inspiration for the artworks. After some discussion, it has been decided that the proceeds of the sales will be returned to the Arts Department to purchase much needed Visual and Performing Arts materials and equipment.
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.
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.
Happy Father's Day
Special thanks to all the parents, staff and children who made Friday's Father's Day celebrations a huge success. The dads were spoilt with a BBQ Egg and Bacon Breaky along with lots of other lovely treats. The senior students did an outstanding job leading the reflection and assembly and the dads were then entertained with performances, videos, artworks, etc created by the children from Prep to Year Six.
I would like to wish all the dads a very happy Fathers Day for tomorrow.
I look forward to seeing you at the Oval Opening and Art Show.
Kind regards,
Nicholas Boyhan
Acting Principal