From the Principal

2020 a Year we shall remember!!

2020 will certainly be a year that we will remember at SFS for many reasons.... 

• It was the year we celebrated our 10th Anniversary. Well we did not get to really celebrate it in style. We have postponed the celebrations till the 19th March 2021!!
• We may want to forget the pandemic, yet it showed our resilience, our agility and our commitment to succeed despite the obstacles. The way we pulled together, worked in partnership and supported our children's through remote learning is something we can all be proud off.
• As a result of the restrictions we did lots of things differently like having a virtual art show. We had a lot of meetings like for P&F and Advisory Board via ZOOM. There were some advantages of meeting from home especially on wintery nights!
• Nearly all our school tours were done via ZOOM and we even had our Prep Orientation via Google Meets. However there is nothing like seeing each other face to face and we were grateful to have our final orientation session face to face last week. It finally gave parents a chance to meet and get connected.

• Our DT skills soared!! We become video producers and with the aid of screencastify teachers created mini teaching vignettes to explain learning strategies and we had fun creating videos and assemblies to virtually share the exciting things that were happening at home and at school.
• There were many highlights that still happened like camp for our seniors and the Twilight Athletics evening. We still managed to hold our annual cross country between lockdown one and two. While we did not have interschool sports we held our own house sports which might now become part of or Term 4 program as they were enjoyed by all. Soccer Day was also held to finish off the school year.
• Our P&F were challenged by the restrictions but still managed to meet and plan and run some events for us. We had decided that this year was less about raising money and more about connecting. I thank the P&F for helping with our connections and adding positive signs in the midst of the pandemic and still running fun lunches that were eagerly supported by all. The P&F still managed to do an Easter Raffle to donate money to Monash Children's Hospital, the virtual disco was a great success and we all enjoyed the sharing of news in the P&F section of the newsletter.
• It was the year we went through a safety audit and I thank the Advisory Board for their help in reading our policies and providing valuable feedback. It was also the year we had a student safety team that helped write a child friendly safety Policy and share it with the seniors and juniors.
• The Biggest and best news by far in 2020 was receiving the news that we are to receive a grant to build a

NEW Multi-purpose HALL!!!

What an amazing way to end 2020!!

Staff News

I thank our staff for the amazing job they have done this year. They are a dedicated and professional team that give their all for our school. We are truly lucky at SFS to have such a sensational staff team. I thank each and every member of our staff for their contribution, energy and relentless determination that ensures we provide our children with the best learning opportunities possible. I thank them for their openness and willingness to embrace changes which we certainly have had to do this year. I wish them a restful and Happy Christmas with their family.

At the end of this year we farewell Tammy who has been our Digital Technology teacher and leadership team member for the past five years. We shall definitely miss all that Tammy does for us and the way she supports us to build our own skills. The system always runs smoothly with her great organisation skills and attention to details. Thanks a million Tammy and all the very best for the next step in your career.

We also thank Barbara for her contributions to our school since Amy went on Maternity leave. We thank Barbara for all her work with our juniors in LS1.  Marcelle also finished with us  this year after two years working as a Learning Support Officer with our juniors. Marcelle has been a great support and we wish her well as she continues her teaching degree.

At the end of this year our parish of St Kevin's also farewell Fr Dong. Fr Dong has been a great support to our school in the two years he has been Assistant Priest. We have loved his visits to speak with our children preparing for Sacraments and also when requested by Home Group teachers to speak with our children as part of our RE program. We will miss his wise words and big beaming smile. We wish Fr Dong the very best as he moves to St Andrew's Werribee to work with Fr Albert.  May God bless you and we wish you the very BEST for the journey ahead. Please stay in touch with SFS.

A couple of weeks ago we announced that we have appointed two new LSOs for 2021. We will have Natasha and Rhonda join our team. In addition we have also appointed Rebecca Xavier who will be a Junior Home Group teacher in Learning Space 2 in 2021. Rebecca is an experienced teacher who has been working at St Louis de Montfort, Aspendale for a number of years. She is returning from Maternity leave and we are really excited to have her join our team in 2021.

Thank You

A big thank to all our parents for your support through this year. A special thanks to our families that are moving on after their last child graduates this year. Thank you for your support and for all your contributions to SFS over the years. Thanks to the families who are also moving on to new places. We wish you the very BEST. 

A special thanks to Fiona Fowler who has been on our Advisory Board since the school commenced and in recent years has been the chairperson. Thanks Fiona for your loyalty and support to the school in this important role. We shall miss you and take this opportunity to thank you for your extra special contribution to the school. 

End of Year Mass

At our end of Year Mass a beautiful quilt was brought to the altar. The quilt depicts our school values. Each panel was designed by one of our mums as part of our MConnect Wellsprings program this year. The quilt was sewn by Louise. It is such a beautiful gift to our school as part of our 10th anniversary. It will be proudly displayed in the school. Thanks to all involved. We cannot wait for you to see the finished work of art.

We had two Masses this year. Fr Dong was the celebrant at the senior's Mass and Fr Des was the celebrant at the junior Mass.

Christmas Carols - We Wish you a Merry Christmas

Our Christmas Carols was a virtual event and special thanks to Kristy, staff and our students for making this possible. We hope you enjoy our Christmas Carols karaoke!

Merry Christmas to all our SFS families. Wishing you a very Happy New Year.