Principal's Report

Dear Parents and Carers,

Week 7 is already upon us and despite a week of the autumn season, it still feels very much like it is summer! 

One of our major infrastructure projects over the past 12 months has been the upgrading of our air conditioning units from old evaporative systems to new reverse cycle units in each classroom. There has been a few unexpected detours along the way, however I am extremely hopeful that we will have new systems installed by the start of the next school year. The first step in the process will be to have a new transformer installed out the front of the school to handle the increase in electrical capacity on the school site. In the meantime, we continue to encourage our students to bring a water bottle and ensure they are drinking water regularly throughout the day, trying to minimise running around in the middle of the day during these hot days.

One of the key components of our 2023 School Improvement Plan is to foster and encourage more student voice in school matters. This has led us to re-establish our Student Representative Council. Last Friday, our newly appointed student leaders received their SRC badges. The SRC have already been hard at work in developing plans for our school to maintain our three rules for living; We are Safe, We are Learners and We are Valued, Cared For and Respected. The major project for this year's SRC was established last week at their leadership meeting - the redevelopment of the Primary Play Equipment area. This week, the student leaders will canvas ideas from their classmates to help with the development of our master plan. 

The St Francis Xavier's Parents and Friends Association will meet for the first time this year on Monday 27 March at 6.00pm. Please find information in regards to the P&F in today's newsletter. The key purpose of the P&F is to lead opportunities for families to meet together in a social setting to help us foster a sense of community within the school. There is a small component of fundraising for school projects as well, but the primary focus of the P&F will continue to be on organising events where our parent community can meet socially. If you've got any ideas for school social events, we always welcome new faces and new ideas in the P&F!

Next week sees the beginning of the 2023 NAPLAN assessments. These assessments are conducted for students in Year 3 and Year 5 each year in the areas of Reading, Writing, Grammar & Punctuation, Spelling and Numeracy. Apart from the Year 3 Writing assessment, all tests are now conducted online. This is the first time the assessments have been completed in Term 1, with the purpose of getting results back to schools earlier to assist in targeted teaching and learning activities. There is nothing parents need to do in preparation for these assessments other than to try to support students getting a good night's sleep the night before and a good breakfast on the morning of the assessments. A schedule will be sent home to parents in the coming days outlining dates for each assessment. There will be opportunities for students to sit the assessments on different days if they are away on the scheduled dates, however the NAPLAN window is only open from the 15 March to 27 March. 

Have a great week!

Nick