Principal's News

Dear Parents and Friends,

The term is flying by and we are nearly half way through Lent.

As we travel through the season of Lent let us be reminded by the words of Pope Francis.

To the extent that this Lent becomes a time of conversion, an anxious humanity will notice a burst of creativity, a flash of new hope. Allow me to repeat what I told the young people whom I met in Lisbon last summer: “Keep seeking and be ready to take risks. At this moment in time, we face enormous risks; we hear the painful plea of so many people. Indeed, we are experiencing a third world war fought piecemeal. Yet let us find the courage to see our world, not as being in its death throes but in a process of giving birth, not at the end but at the beginning of a great new chapter of history. We need courage to think like this” (Address to University Students, 3 August 2023). Such is the courage of conversion, born of coming up from slavery. For faith and charity take hope, this small child, by the hand. They teach her to walk, and at the same time, she leads them forward.

Disco 

Our disco was a roaring success last week, raising $6000 for school funds, which will go towards our new playground. A slide will be installed along with a new soccer and basketball pitch. Thank you to everyone who made it a success and especially Marguerite and Rosa, who ensured the night ran seamlessly. Our school is a much richer place because of the support of our families. Thank you!

Friends of Francis 

On Tuesday, 12th March we will be held at 7 pm in the Merici hall.

On the night  I will share my plans for the school in 2024. I will also answer any parent questions on the night. Please send your questions to Marg or Rosa by 12pm on Monday 11th March.

There will be a Child Protection Parent Volunteer meeting at 6:30pm on the night.

Staff Developments Days 2024

This year, due to implementing the new K-6 English and Mathematics syllabus, the NSW Government has given 3 additional staff development days to every primary school in the state.  St Francis Xavier has made great strides in implementing the new curriculum most notably, we introduced the Initialiit resource from Macquarie University in 2018, which ensured our teachers here prepared for the new curriculum.

As always, I have organised the dates to meet the needs of working parents. The first six staff development days for 2024 will be:

• Already held Jan 30th 
• Thursday 28th March (Holy Thursday)
• Tuesday 2nd April (day after the Easter long weekend)
• Friday 5th July (last day of Term 2)
• Monday 22nd July (first day of Term 3)
• Monday 14th October (first day of Term 4)
• I will share additional dates later in the term.

Fantastic news from the children

This week, I met with some Year 4 students, Abby, Annabelle, Ilaria and Zoe  They were concerned about the litter in the playground and wanted to do something about it!

Congratulations to these girls who are using their initiative and following the school's value of service.  

Deacon Year 3 last week took part in his first triathlon in Huskisson.  Congratulations for participating in such a worthwhile event. 

On Saturday, I went to a triathlon in Husky. I did a 50m swim, a 2 km bike ride and a 500m run. My favourite part was the run because i was hi-fiving everyone at the finish line where i got my try kidz medal. I was so happy finishing my first triathlon and i cant wait to do it again. - Deacon Year 3

Jersey Day -Project Compassion

Sophia Moss - Serviam leader

Today students wore jerseys in honour of raising money from Project Compassion. A fundraiser where we can donate to give a helping hand in our community. We raised $630.95! With this money we can certainly help the people in need. Students have been an enormous help in this charity and very generous. Students who were unable to wear a jersey still chose to donate. A very nice gesture .

Johnathon Van Der Zwan - Serviam leader

With $65 we can provide a goat for a family in Malawi. $200 we can provide support to households in need of house repairs and toilet constructions in the Philippines.

With $500 we can provide skill training for 15 people. That's how much we can help, with your help.

Playground Updates

Our main playground upgrades continued this week by painting new handball, basketball, netball and soccer markings. 

The children are very excited and have shared positive feedback with Mr Anderson.

Parking

We have been receiving phone calls from neighbours regarding parking in driveways. Can we please make sure  that we work in partnership with our neighbours to ensure our students and members of the community remain safe. 

Please be courteous to neighbours with parking in driveways, moving bins etc

Have a great weekend

Brian