Principal's Report
Saint Francis Xavier - Principal's Report
Term 1 - Week 1
Dear Parents and Friends of St Francis Xavier,
Welcome to the 2024 school year and to the first edition of our school newsletter.
This newsletter is where you will find all you need to know about the wonderful things that are happening at St Francis Xavier Primary School. The newsletter will be issued fortnightly and will issued on these dates in Term One:
- Thursday 15th February
- Thursday 29th February
- Thursday 14th March
- Thursday 28th March
Welcome to our New Staff Members
I would like to officially welcome our new staff members into the St Francis Xavier community.
Ms Lisa Johnson Grade 3/4 Classroom Teacher (Mon - Fri)
Ms Nicole Pitrun Grade 1/2 Classroom Teacher (Mon - Fri)
Ms Tara Campbell Physical Education and Performing Arts (Thurs - Fri)
Ms Jane Denning Grade 1/2 Learning Support Officer (Mon - Fri)
We are extremely lucky to have such fantastic educators joining our team in 2024.
Welcome to our New Students
We are also extremely fortunate to have so many new students beginning their school journey with us this year. This includes both students in our Prep class as well as a number of students starting in various year levels throughout the school. In no particular order, a big S.F.X welcome to;
The Prep class (Farham, Leah, Harper, Madison, Edith, Divine, Aurelia, Henry, Aidelle, Chris, Penny, Nohan, Alfie, Ryan, Reuben, Oscar, Willow, Quinn and Marco)
Aaron and Enry inGrade 1
Hannah in Grade 2
Otis and George in Grade 3
Helna in Grade 4
Jim and Jack in Grade 5
Welcome Picnic
On Friday 1st March, we will be holding our annual Welcome Picnic here at school. It will run from 5:00pm - 7:00pm and we hope as many families as possible are able to attend. The Jumping Castles have been booked and we know it will be a fun night as always.
Families are encouraged to pack a picnic and hopefully meet some new families from our wonderful school community.
A notice with more information will be set home over the coming weeks.
Assemblies in Term One
This term there will be 3 whole school assemblies. Assemblies will run from 2:30pm - 3:15pm on certain Tuesday afternoons.
The dates for Term One assemblies are;
-Tuesday 20th February (Grade 6 Leaders will be presented with their school leader badges)
-Tuesday 5th March(Grade 1/2TV will lead a short presentation)
-Tuesday 26th March (Grade 3/4B will lead a short presentation)
Arrival/ Dismissal
I have been so impressed to see that just about every student has been arriving at school on time this week. This makes things so much easier for both the student and teacher and ensures that classes are able to settle into their routine and morning prayer without disruption.
Please continue to have your children arrive at school before 8:40am each morning. The gates are open from 8:15am, so anywhere in that time window is perfect.
At the end of the day, children need to be collected between 3:15pm - 3:30pm. It is really important that you stick to these times, as our staff meetings begin at 3:30pm during the week. If students have not been collected on time, it means that a staff member is not able to be present in the staff meeting, as they need to be supervising the children who have not been collected.
On days when there is rain at 3:15pm, we use our wet weather dismissal procedure. This involves parents/carers waiting outside at the front of the office. Once we spot you, a teacher will have the microphone and call students to come to the front of the school. During wet weather dismissals, we ask you to move in and out of the space as quickly as possible as the covered area becomes congested very quickly.
Drive Through each morning
It is essential that cars move fluently through the drive through each morning. With limited parking in the surrounding areas, this is the way that the majority of students arrive at school each day. If everybody follows the rules, the drive through does work well.
For any families who choose to use the school drive through to drop off students in the morning, please remember;
-Parents stay in the car at all times. Children need to exit the vehicle independently.
-Students can only exit the car on the passenger side of the vehicle, never from the driver's side. (If you have baby capsules on the passenger side that cannot be moved, then you may not be able to use the drive through.)
-School bags should be in the car with students, not in the car boot. I do not want children having to step onto the driveway to access the boot and retrieve their bags.
-Please drive forward as far as you can before stopping to let your child out.
If everybody does the right thing, it will be a smooth process for all involved.
Audiri/Operoo
It is essential that all parents/carers have both the Audiri and Operoo apps on their phone this year. These are the two apps that S.F.X currently uses to communicate important alerts and announcements, as well as digital permission slips. Once you have logged into these apps, please make sure that you leave notifications switched to 'on'.
Operoo is also used to provide the school with the relevant medical information for your child. Please make sure that you keep this information up to date and make changes as required. When making changes, you must scroll right to the bottom of the page and click verify for the changes you have made to save.
If you need help downloading or logging into your accounts, please contact the office and we will endeavour to help.
Fees/ Health Care Cards
School Fee statements will be sent home to all families over the coming weeks.
The preferred method of payment for school fees is to set up a direct debit. If you would like to organise direct debit payments, please contact Claire or Kellie in the office and they will be able to set it up for you. It is also important that if you have a current Health Care Card, please provide a copy to the office as you will be eligible for the Camp/Excursion rebate as well as a fee reduction.
Lunch Orders
The team at lunchiez have informed the school that their lunch order service which last year ran on a Monday and Wednesday for S.F.X students is temporarily unavailable. I will let families know as soon as it is ready to resume.
Icy Poles
Each Friday afternoon, the grade 6 leaders will be selling icy poles at the Green Gates. They cost 50c each. Please avoid sending students to school with large notes ($10, $20 etc...) as we find it difficult to give change.
School Closure Days - 2024
The first school closure day of the year will be Wednesday 6th March.
Please mark this date in your calendars and organise alternative supervision for your child/ren.
The following dates have also been set for school closure days and the beginning/end of terms.
TERM ONE
School Closure Days;
-Wednesday 6th March (Staff Professional Learning)
-Monday 11th March (Labour Day Public Holiday)
Last Day of Term One. Thursday 28th March. Students finish at 3:15pm on this day.
TERM TWO
First Day of Term Two. Monday 15th April
School Closure Days;
-Friday 26th April
-Thursday 6th June (Staff Professional Learning)
-Friday 7th June (Staff Professional Learning)
-Monday 10th June (King's Birthday Public Holiday)
Last Day of Term Two. Friday 28th June. Students finish at 3:15pm on this day.
TERM THREE
First Day of Term Three. Monday 15th July
School Closure Days;
-Monday August 12th (Staff Professional Learning)
Last Day of Term Three. Friday 20th September. Students finish at 3:15pm on this day.
TERM FOUR
First Day of Term Four. Monday 7th October
School Closure Days;
-Monday 4th November
-Tuesday 5th November (Melbourne Cup Public Holiday)
Last Day of Term Four. Tuesday 17th December. Students finish at 3:15pm on this day.
Have a great weekend.
Steve Peart
School Principal