From the Principal

It is Beginning to Look a lot like CHRISTMAS!!!

It sure is looking a lot like Christmas and the excitement is filling the air. We have finally reached the last week of this amazing and unusual year!!! 

We are so thankful that we have got to the end in a safe way, thanks to our collective efforts. We have worked hard and overcome huge obstacles in this unusual year. Despite all the problems we have managed to support the learning growth and development of our SFS students. So we can all truly CELEBRATE!!

So finally, in a COVID safe way, we can invite our parents and families to SFS....

On Wednesday 15th December to our

2021 End of School Year Mass at 9:30am

2021 Christmas Carols at 11am

Come in Christmas Colours or characters

You must be FULLY Vaccinated and show your certificate to enter .

There will be a check in table at entry points.

Let's celebrate our success with staying safe and learning.

There will be Christmas raffle for each Learning Space with prizes donated by our P&F.

2021 School Production Videos

Thanks to all our families for your support by purchasing our 2021 Junior or Senior School Production Videos. Orders can be made and also paid for via Operoo. The last day to place orders is on Monday 13 December 2021. Do not miss out on this keep sake and beautiful memory of 2021.

If you have ordered but have not paid as yet, please go back to the eform on Operoo and make an online payment. If you have a problem please contact the school office. It is important that on the eform you have indicated your choice for either the Senior Video, Junior Video or for both.

We are currently editing the videos with Shon Productions. The raw first look has filled us with pride and brought Kristy to tears!! It is sensational what has been achieved despite the 12 week break while we were remote learning. Our Seniors just had 2 weeks and juniors had 4 weeks to rehearse once again after our return to school. We congratulate everyone involved in making this production possible in 2021.

Graduation

On Friday 10th December our Class of 2021 will graduate. We ask you to keep these children in your thoughts and prayers as they near the end of their Primary Education. On Monday 14 December the Year 6 students will enjoy a fun day out at Gumbaya Park. We hope to post photos of the graduation and announce the 2021 School Award winners in a special newsletter on Wednesday 15th December.

End of Year Reports

Accessing the Electronic School Report at SFS 

 As in 2020 and Semester 1 2021, your child's report is available electronically and can be accessed via the NForma Parent Portal. 

There is a link to the Parent Portal on the school website under News.

Alternatively please click the url below:

https://parent.nforma.ct.com.au/app/index.html?schooldomain=sfslynbrook#/login

Username

New families this year have received an email with a generic password and login. You can reset your password. Please save this information for future use. 

Families who received the report electronically in Semester One and last year from St Francis de Sales, can view each child’s report by entering the same username and password as you did previously. 

Username: Use your email shared with the school.

Password: The password you previously set. New families the generic password sent to you by email.

Forgotten passwords: If you have forgotten your password, please follow the 'forgotten password' link. 

Please note that your new password needs to be at least 7 characters long and must include at least one non alpha-numeric character, e.g. *, - / or similar.  If you have requested a password reset and the email does not appear, please look in your junk/spam folder for an email from no-reply@nforma.com.au. 

 If after following these steps, you are still experiencing difficulty please contact the school during school hours. We congratulate our children on their achievements this semester and hope you have found the report informative. Please do not hesitate to contact the Home Group teacher if you wish to discuss your child's report.

The Semester two, 2021 school reports will be emailed to parents on Monday 13th December.  I thank our teachers for all their work in writing these reports. The reports highlight achievement and indicate growth made. They also indicate the next learning goals for our children as part of the continuity of learning. It is important that parents focus on the achievements and provide their child with encouragement and positive feedback. Together we will work on their next stretch in their learning journey.

Orientation Morning

On Monday children will also find out their new Home Group teacher for 2022. The process of placing children in home groups is a complex process. Children will be placed with at least one of their friends in their learning space but not necessarily in their home group, as is our normal process. We are grateful for the trust parents place in our staff to make these important decisions and for your understanding that we cannot meet a multitude of requests or request for specific teachers. 

Orientation morning to meet their teacher and their new Home Group will be held on Tuesday 14 December from 9:30am to 10:30am.

Staff News

At the end of this year we will be saying a sad farewell to Amelia Lyall. Amelia is currently a Senior Home Group teacher in LS3. Amelia has been part of the St Francis de Sales staff almost since the school began. We thank Amelia for her commitment to our school for over 10 years, for all her work supporting the learning of our SFS children and for all her contribution to the school staff.  We wish Amelia all the very best in her new teaching appointment at St Joseph's Warragul. We know that the huge reduction to her one hour daily commute each way to and from Lynbrook will be a huge benefit to her and her family. We will miss Amelia at SFS. Congratulations Amelia.

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Natasha DeSilva as a Home Group teacher in 2022. Natasha is a graduate teacher who is familiar with the pedagogy and practices at our school. We know she is a dedicated and professional team member and we are very excited to have Natasha join our teaching team.

2022 School Calendar

We have commenced updating the 2022 school calendar with events planned for the new year. Parents who have the school app will be able to check out the dates for events to help them with their planning. 

School starts for 

• Year 1 to 6 students on Monday 31st January and 
• Tuesday 1st February is the first day of school for Foundation students. 

We will be celebrating St Francis de Sales Feast Day with our annual school picnic on the school grounds on Friday 4th February from 6-8pm. We look forward to connecting as a school community in 2022 starting with the Twilight School Picnic.

Christine White

Principal