Principal's Report

Saint Francis Xavier - Principal's Report

Term 4 - Week 5

Dear Parents and Friends of St Francis Xavier,

The Feast Day of All Souls (2nd November) holds profound significance within the Catholic faith, making it a meaningful occasion for our school community. It is a day dedicated to praying for and remembering the souls of our departed loved ones, emphasising the importance of love, remembrance, and the hope of eternal life. As parents, this day allows us to teach our children about the interconnectedness of life, death, and the promise of God's mercy. It encourages empathy, compassion, and the belief in the communion of saints, fostering a sense of belonging within the Catholic tradition.

Christmas Carols Afternoon

We will be holding a Christmas Carols afternoon at 2:00pm on Monday December 11th. 

All classes will perform a Christmas carol in front of the school on this afternoon. Students can wear Christmas clothes to school and parents are encouraged to attend if you can.  

Pick-Up at the end of school

Unfortunately will still have a very large number of students who are not being collected on time at the end of the school day. On Wednesday this week, we still had 12 students who had not been collected at 3:45pm, which is really disappointing. I would like to remind everybody that school finishes at 3:15pm and all students need to have been collected by 3:30pm. 

Beginning next week, we will be introducing new pick up arrangements for students who are collected late from school. Staff will no longer be waiting with students at the front of the school at 3:30pm. Any students who have not been collected by this time will gather in the Red Centre and wait quietly in an air-conditioned space. Parents will be required to park your car and come into the school building to collect your child from the Red Centre. Students will not be sent out to cars after 3:30pm, you will need to come in and collect them. Please do not call the office to ask them to send students out to the car. 

As I have communicated on many occassions, parents arriving at school after 3:30pm to collect your child is extremely challenging for our school. Both teaching staff and leadership members are expected at meetings which begin at 3:30pm, and it is also the busiest period of the day for our office staff. Rostered after school supervision concludes at 3:30pm. 

If you are finding it difficult to arrive at school by 3:30pm, please contact Camp Australia who are our school's Out of Hours Care provider. We have 10-20 children attend each afternoon. Flyers can be collected from the office if you would like more information.

Running Club

There are now only 4 running club sessions left before we present our certificates/medals and trophies to students at our final school assembly (5th December).

Students who have completed 50 laps or 75 laps across the year will receive a certificate celebrating their achievement. Any students who are able to complete 100 laps receive a special medal for reaching a major milestone. On very rare occasions, a student will make it to 150 laps and when this happens, they are presented with a well-deserved trophy.   

If you are nearing a milestone, make sure that you arrive at school at 8:10am every Wednesday for the next four weeks and finish as many laps as possible. Let's keep our fingers crossed for some amazing weather on these days!

Key Dates for the remainder of Term Four

Friday 17th November        Grade 1/2 excursion to Como House

Monday 20th - Tuesday 21st November - Grade 3/4 Don Bosco Camp

Tuesday 21st November     School Assembly at 2:30pm

Tuesday 5th December       Advent Celebration 1 - 8:50am

                                                       Final School Assembly @ 2:15pm

Friday 8th December            Advent Celebration 2 - 8:50am

Monday 11th December     Christmas Carols Afternoon (2:00pm, parents welcome)

Tuesday 12th December     Year 7 2023 Orientation Days

                                                       Advent Celebration 3 - 8:50am

                                                       Prep excursion to George Pentland Gardens

Wed 13th December             Advent Celebration 4 - 8:50am

                                                       Grade 5/6 PARC lifesaving session 10:00am - 12:00pm

                                                       Grade 3/4 PARC lifesaving session 12:00pm - 2:00pm

Thursday 14th December    Grade Six Big Day Out and Graduation

Friday 15th December          Whole School End of Year Mass (2:00pm)

                                                        Final day of formal classes

                                                        Students will be dismissed at 3:15pm

School Closure Day this Monday

Just a final reminder that we are entering a four-day, long weekend, starting tomorrow. School is closed on both Monday 6th November and Tuesday 7th November. Students return to school on Wednesday 8th November. 

Have a fantastic long weekend!

Steve Peart

School Principal