From the Principal

Congratulations on a Great Term 3

Well we have all made it to the end of this exceptional term in the school year and we can all be very proud of our school community at St Francis de Sales. We have made it together and forged stronger partnerships by our combined efforts. Despite once again spending most of Term 3 learning online for the second year in a row, we have successfully supported our students in their learning.

At our recent parent/teacher interviews it was wonderful to hear the many positive supportive comments teachers received from parents. I thank you for your positive affirmation of our incredibly dedicated staff. You made their day and mine. Our St Francis de Sales staff go the extra mile and have delivered quality learning for your children, despite working online. This year we delivered classes directly on Google Meets rather than on videos and I know you have liked this change. Children have been able to see and talk to their teacher and ask their questions before moving to a task, as close as possible to how it would be in school. Children's learning has continued to take place and teachers have even been able to monitor and assess online. It has still not been easy for parents and I thank you for your efforts at home keeping the school routine and helping your child log on and turn in their work. For your countless efforts in this difficult time we applaud our parents for working in partnership with us. A team effort!

I know this time has given parents a window into the school and an understanding of how we differentiate and personalise learning to meet the needs of your child in Literacy and Numeracy in particular. This was also a ring side seat on how your child participates in their learning. You would have got to learn more about their personal and social capabilities as well as their critical and creative thinking capabilites. This has certainly made the dialogue at our parent/teacher interviews richer as we have a better shared understanding of the child's next stretch and goals.

Thus despite the pandemic there are silver linings. We have learnt alot about ourselves as a school community. We know we are resilient and we are modelling this very important skill to our children by our words and action. It does not matter how big the obstacle or the mountain before us, we will find a way as people of Melbourne and as families and staff of St Francis de Sales. We can get through difficulties because we have done it this term and this year. We are resilient.

I recently received this lovely note that sums up some of what we have heard from parents recently. It made my day and it helps our staff give even more. It helps lift us to new heights as positive affirmation always does. So thank you for the positivity and let it continue to spread and grow stronger.

"I wanted to really give my regards and appreciation this term to everyone from St Francis de Sales. As a first time mum for a foundation child has been so well navigated. My son seems to be excelling and coming leaps and bounds even online. I would really like to commend XX and XX for their patience and their dedication online. They are all over it and understand his needs. Finally I would like to thank yourself for overseeing this process. I am so excited for term 4 either way as I know and feel I’m in great hands.

From my family to St Francis de Sales, ‘THANK YOU’."

It is now time for holidays and a well earned rest. Time to switch off from screens and enjoy the beautiful spring weather. We look forward to the Premiers road map on Sunday. We look forward to children returning to school for the final term of the year. In the meantime we can all enjoy the new easing of restrictions that enable us to extend our zone to 10km and meet up with a friend for a walk and catch up with another vaccinated family for a picnic. Enjoy the break and we look forward to the possibilities that await us for Term 4. Happy Holidays and a BIG thanks.

Summer Uniform

Just a reminder that we move to summer uniform for Term 4. Children will need to wear their hat when doing any outdoor activity to keep sun safe. Remember to wear sunscreen too. Please see the uniform list for items of summer uniform required. The P&F run a second hand Uniform shop and all items are $5. You can contact Lorenza at the school office by email in Term 4, if you wish to access items. Alternatively shop at Beleza for our school uniform.

School Review

We had our final day of the review on Thursday afternoon. The session was held online and attended by Fr Des, Maree Holmes, Regional Leadership Consultant MACS, Madeline Kelly, Learning Consultant School Effectiveness MACS, our Leadership Team and Christine Wakeling our school reviewer, Associate Valad Solutions.

Christine shared with us our review report that validated our school's audit, she described our strengths and opportunities for improvement and finally made recommendations that will form our key goals for our next school improvement plan. There was opportunity to discuss the recommendations which the school totally embrace.

The process of working with Christine was very professional and very through. We have appreciated Christine's attention to every detail and her commitment to closely examine every piece of evidence and data presented and available about our school. She is a great interviewer and gleaned further evidence from her conversations with focused groups of staff, students and parents. Fr Des and Maree Holmes were also interviewed. We are very grateful to have worked with Christine and feel she has really honoured our school story by her attention to very detail.

We will receive the final report in the coming weeks and our Leadership Team will commence work on our 2022 - 2025 School Improvement Plan. I look forward to sharing further details of the recommendations and plan in Term 4.

The review report endorses the exceptional work of our staff and the great learning place St Francis de Sales is for primary education of children. We are very pleased by the affirmation of our school. We are equally excited by the recommendations that we endorse and look forward to working on together as a school community.

I thank Christine Wakeling for her work to support our school, to Maree Holmes and Madeline Kelly for their on-going assistance, Fr Des for his wisdom and passion for our school, thanks to all those who participated in the process staff, students and parents and finally to our Leadership Team for their professionalism, dedication and commitment to ensure we work together to

Enhance the quality of teaching
Strenghten the school as a Catholic Learning Community
Maximise student engagement in learning

We have an exceptional culture of learning with great passion to ensure student outcomes and growth. We look forward to amplifying and further enhancing, strengthening and maximising our work in our next School Improvement Plan.

Footy Fun Day Assembly

Happy Holidays! Stay safe.

Go Victorian clubs!

Go Melbourne! Go the Western Bulldogs!!!

Looking forward to a close and exciting grand final.

Christine White

Principal