From the Principal

From Little Things, BIG Things Grow!

 National Reconciliation Week – 27 May to 3 June – is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia. This year's  theme to be a voice for reconciliation encourages all Australians in tangible ways in our everyday lives – where we live, work and socialise.

On Wednesday 31st May, our St Francis de Sales school community came together for a Reconciliation prayer service. The service commenced with our special guest, Adam Magennis an Indigenous man from the Boon-Wurrung Mob. Adam lead us in a Welcome to Country that also involved a Smoking Ceremony. Adam explained to the children the leaves used in the Smoking Ceremony included wattle, manna gum, and cherry ballart leaves.

 The school gathered outside around our Value poles beside Learning Space 1. Our newly appointed FIRE Carriers assisted Adam in the ceremony. The Friends Igniting Reconciliation through Education (FIRE) Carrier program is a way Catholic schools can promote respect, fairness and inclusion for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We are really proud of our FIRE carriers and the commencement of this program at our school.

Our students were excited to witness the lighting of the fire and the placing of the wattle, manna gum, and cherry ballart leaves to create the smoke. There was a beautiful smell as the smoke flowed across our community.  Our students all walked past the smoke on the way back into the learning space, to take in this sacred ritual. A Smoking Ceremony assists in cleansing the area and the people  to promote the protection and well-being of visitors. The ceremony is a gift that helps cleanse the past for a better future.

 We returned to Learning Space 3 children then sang the Aboriginal Our Father and the choir performed a beautiful rendition of Paul Kelly’s From Little Things, Big Things Grow to conclude our service.  In this week after Pentecost, we pray that as spirit filled people we grow in respect and understanding to promote respect, fairness and inclusion in our everyday life, playing our part in strengthening reconciliation within our community.

Working Bee This Saturday!

Saturday 3 June 9 am-12 noon

Come and Help us tidy up our grounds

Sausage sizzle provided by our P&F to our hard workers.

School Fee discounts apply for those that attend for 2 X 3 hour sessions.

Preparing for First Eucharist

Fr Fabian visited our school to meet with our children preparing for their First Eucharist. Fr Fabian met with the children for a lesson and some of our staff also joined in. We were all very impressed with the way Fr Fabian explained everything to our children. His props to explain the items used during Eucharist were very interesting and provided a very meaningful and engaging session for all involved. Our children confidently engaged in the conversation and all would have left with a greater understanding of Eucharist.

One week to GO!!!

The Cage barrier between the Hall and the school in the corridor came down this week!

The Colourful window shrouds were installed signalling the end is near!

Landscapers were in to plant trees and shrubs at the front of the building and the servery roller shutter was installed.

The signage on the hall was installed

All of that is just some of the action on the outside of the building . Inside it is a hive of activity as well. The building inspections are scheduled for next week and we hope to gain an occupancy certificate by the 13 June. We may get limited access in the final weeks of this term to commence some concert preparation as defects are fixed. Furniture movement will occur ready for us to use this exquisite space in Term 3.

Enrol Now For 2024!! .....Start Spreading the News!!

Click and ENROL NOW on our website or BOOK a tour.

We have published a new prospectus for our school. These are available at the front office. Drop by and collect one to share, with a neighbour or friend with a child who will commence school in 2024. Drop us an email and we can send one home via your eldest child. (enrol@sfslynbrook.catholic.edu.au) If you have a child at a local kinder we would appreciate you collecting and sharing a few copies with families that would be interested having a tour of our school.

To make things easy, parents can book a tour or complete an application to enrol via our website. Please continue to promote our school. Word of Mouth references is one of the key ways parents tell us they know about our school. So keep spreading the news of this wonderful learning community. 

GOLD Fever!

1. Our seniors went on a special school excursion this week. They had to be up and at school by 7am ready to leave at 7:30am for a two hour bus ride to Ballarat and to the gold fields at Sovereign Hill. This is the first time we have made this journey as part of our excursion program. It was well worth all the effort to have an amazing interactive immersion back in time to the 1850s when gold fever gripped the country and the state. Our children had lessons organised to watched the gold pour and had an interactive session about life on the gold fields from different perspectives. They had time to walk around and soak in the way of life  for miners, children and families. They loved getting a licence and trying their luck panning for GOLD. Experiencing shopping 1850s style was also a great attraction. The children have come back with a greater understanding of our history and a new appreciation of the way life has changed as a result of the discovery of Gold in Victoria. We are very proud of the way te children represented their families and their school, They were great ambassadors and engaged learners. Thanks to all our parent helpers, LSOs and senior staff that made this opportunity possible. Special thanks to our pedagogical Leaders Tanya, Sandi and Maddison for all their coordination and organisation of every detail, we greatly appreciate all your work to create a memorable day for our seniors.

Parking around the School

Please do not park in front of people's driveways in Aylmer Road. Please do not block neighbours in their own house. We would not like it happening to us, please respect the right of our neighbours to enter and exit their homes. We are so lucky to have ample parking close to our school. Let us please respect the road rules by driving and parking with respect to other road users and our neighbours. We ask parents for your support.

Please Note School Closure dates:

• Friday 9th June - Staff Professional Development Day
• Monday 12th June - King's Birthday Public Holiday.
• School finishes at 1:30 pm on Friday 23 June for school holidays.

Have a great weekend.

Regards,

Christine White

Principal