From the Principal
Welcome Back to Semester 2!!
We are delighted to welcome all our students, staff and families back to St Francis de Sales for Term 3. We hope you had a great break with your children and we are now all refreshed and ready for an exciting term of learning and FUN activities.
Did you notice a change to the front facade???
Over the holidays, we were busy at St Francis de Sales cleaning the school, tidying up the gardens, taking care of the chickens and making the school safe.
As part of this activity we had the two large gum trees at the front of the school building removed. The trees were too close to the building and the root system was a potential long term problem for the foundations. In addition, large gum trees so close to where children gather for drop off each day was also a potential hazard. Thus they were removed. The result means better light into the school admin office and great visibility of the lovely, very distinguished front facade of our school. We hope you like it as much as we do. The mulch from the trees will be used around the school gardens in coming months.
IMPORTANT CHANGES
TO NPORTAL FOR PARENTS PLEASE READ CAREFULLY
The NPortal for Parents has recently undergone an update with new features also having been added to enable parents to notify the school when their child is absent. This will enable schools to streamline their processes in regards to absentee notifications from parents.
NEW APP FOR PARENTS – nFORMA CONNECT
The first change is the the existing NPortal for Parents app will be decommissioned at the end of July. Therefore, parents will need to upgrade to the new nForma Connect App. When logging in or accessing the app from your phone, parents will be prompted to download the new app from the app store with the following alert appearing.
Some parents have already completed the necessary upgrade and we thank you for doing so. For those who have not accessed the app as yet for this term, please do so ASAP so that you will be able to access the new attendance feature in the app.
MARKING ABSENTEES FOR YOUR CHILD.
From Monday 20th July at 9:30am we will be activating the attendance feature on the portal which will allow parents to mark their child/children as absent on the app, instead of having to ring the school or use the SFS app. As mentioned above this will enable schools to streamline this process and remove the multiple platforms used so that there is ONE easily accessible option for parents.
As we transition to the new APP and ATTENDANCE process, our existing platforms to notify the school of a child being absent will remain available until the 31st July.
After this date parents will need to use the ATTENDANCE option on the APP or the PORTAL if accessing from their desktop.
When parents mark their child as absent this will automatically transfer to the school roll and be visible to staff.
Once the feature has been activated on Monday, parents will be able to mark if a child is absent by following the steps below:
- Click the VIEW DETAILS button under their child’s profile
- This will open the student’s profile and give them access to the MARK ATTENDANCE ICON.
- They will then be able to enter the details of the absence.
Parents will then be able to enter the details for why a student will be or was absent for that day.
Once the Attendance option is activated on Monday parents will be sent a notification, with reminders and the steps outlining how to make the Attendance.
At a later date, in addition to marking absences, late arrival to the school, early pickups etc. can also be marked as well.
Save the Date - 24th July 2026
Grandparents Day 8:45 am - 11:30 am
NAPLAN Reports have arrived.
Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) students are now outperforming the Victorian proficiency levels in numeracy, reading and writing across every tested year level.
We have just received our school's results and are pleased with the mean scores that indicate we achieve a consistent trend of strong proficiency levels in all areas tested in Year 3 and Year 5. We are pleased to see a growing group of students with results that are exceeding the proficiency level for their age.
We have achieved strong results for consecutive years and maintain our position as a high performing school. This does not just happen by chance and I thank our staff for their dedication and commitment to ensure our children receive the best opportunities for learning. Our school structure of personalisation and explicit teaching, ensures every child is progressing along the Victorian Continuum of learning. We continue to improve our teaching practice to ensure improvement and growth for your child as they move through the school. No child is invisible at our school. Our teachers go the extra distance and make the effort to support each child. I thank our staff for all that they do.
In addition, I thank all parents for your support of the school and for your child. This is a team effort. The result is the best environment for learning for your child. A huge congratulations to our Year 3 and Year 5 students.
The results from Naplan 2026 will be analysed in depth by teachers along with other assessments. They will be used to ensure explicit teaching in clinics and focus groups continues to challenge students at their point of need and personal goals are set to ensure improvement.
Reading the NAPLAN report
NAPLAN is a valuable tool that can give useful insights into a student’s performance, but individual reports should be interpreted with care as they reflect the student’s performance on the day of testing.
Information for Parents and Carers 2026. Please see your child's Home Group teacher if you have any questions.
MACSSIS 2026
Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools – School Improvement Surveys (MACSSIS): will be held from the 31 August –18 September 2026
We encourage all parents to take a few minutes to provide us your feedback and support as we use this information from students, staff and parents to set our goals and to improving our school.
Letter regarding the MACSSIS Survey to our parents.
Prep Enrolments are near capacity!
If you know someone thinking about their child starting at our wonderful school, they need to act fast. Book a tour, complete an application online and attend an interview to secure a place at St Francis de Sales for 2027. Delay and you will MISS out and will need to go on a waiting list. Spread the word so friends and families are aware that places are now limited for 2027.
St Francis de Sales 1:1 Program 2027
Expression of Interest Form on nForma for all current Year 2 parents.
Please provide us with your response by Monday 20th July 2026.
At St Francis de Sales, our senior students participate in a 1:1 Chromebook program to support their learning both at school and at home. The program began in 2021 and was fully implemented in 2024, with all senior students now using a Chromebook.
A device is an important tool for learning but is only used when it is the most effective option. It does not replace the value of handwriting with pen or pencil, nor the joy of reading a physical book.
We are currently researching the Chromebook model that will be used for 2027 and are working to secure the most reliable device at the best possible price. We will share this information with Year 2 families as soon as it becomes available.
If you would like your child in Grade 3 2027 to use a Chromebook previously assigned to a graduating student, please note:
- The device will no longer be under warranty.
- Any repairs or technical issues will be the responsibility of parents/guardians.
While we will support its use where possible, we cannot guarantee performance due to age and wear.
If you choose this option, please let us know so the device is not removed from our system. Once removed, an Education Licence will need to be repurchased at a cost of $50.
Please provide us with your expression of interest response by Monday 20th July 2026.
If you have any questions, please contact either
Christine White principal@sfslynbrook.catholic.edu.au or
Taryn Bartlett: tbartlett@sfslynbrook.catholic.edu.au
Who will win the World Cup??
We wish Argentina and Spain and their supporters all the very BEST for Monday morning (AUS time) for the finals of the FIFA World Cup. Who will bring the cup home???
Christine White
Principal