St Francis of Assisi School Newsletter Term 2 Week 4 21/05/2024

From the Principal

Dear Families,

Catholic Education Week

Last week we celebrated a wonderful Catholic Education Week where we reflected on our culture here at SFOA as well as our roots in Catholic Education.

Catholic Parish Primary schools are amazing places of community and wonder. I started my journey as a quiet little fella at St Joseph’s Murray Bridge in the early 90’s. Sister Teresa was my first Principal, a wonderfully strong Josephite nun who made sure we knew the difference between right and wrong. It was a wonderful culture and the relationships I created with Primary School friends are still strong today. In fact, over the weekend, I was back in Murray Bridge celebrating a primary school friends’ local football milestone.

Our continued intention is to create that atmosphere at SFOA. A positive culture drives the energy of the staff, students and parents.

Explicit Teaching Coaching

On Friday I attended a conference where Dr Lorraine Hammond presented to all CESA Principals and Leaders of Learning about the mechanics of teaching in the classroom, and fundamentally around Explicit Instruction.

It was incredible. She advocated for a model that we are employing here at SFOA. This includes having expert teachers trained in an Explicit approach, model to our teachers both in professional development and in our staffroom, before then having our teachers observe each other and provide feedback on the lesson content and instruction.

This will begin for our staff in Week 5 and Week 6 of this term.

I couldn’t be more excited about the process ahead of us, and I firmly believe as we move through 2024 we are positioning ourselves at the forefront of teaching and learning across CESA.

I’ll continue to converse with you and bring our families along the journey with this as we move forward, but I know you will see the positive impact of this initiative in the academic attainment of your children.

Garden Program

You will see the rejuvenation of our Garden beds over the weeks to come. To start with we are tackling the beds close to the entrance near the church, and also the garden beds adjacent to the Reception classrooms. Our Eco Warriors and our Sustainability leaders as well as all our students, are invested in this process. If you have a green thumb, and an hour spare at any point and wish to contribute get in touch with Rachael Verringer and she will let you know how you can help!

God Bless,

Scott March

APRIM News

Mini-Vinnies

Last week the Mini-Vinnies and Social Justice Leaders launched out Vinnies Winter appeal. You will see the large blue bins around the school which are for donations of blankets, clothes and toys. Each class also has a tub for donations of non-perishable food. Some examples of non-perishable items that you can donate are, pasta, noodles, rice, long-life milk, tinned soup, tinned tuna, baked beans, tinned fruit and vegetables, tea and coffee, milo, cereal boxes, jars of jam or spreads, tomato sauce, meal bases, fruit juice, nuts, lollies, packets of biscuits and jelly packets. Later in the term we will be having a fundraiser to also raise money for the Winter Appeal. Thankyou for your continued support of St Vincent De Paul. I can now officially announce the Mini-Vinnies that have been chosen for each class. They received their badges at assembly last week.

RM Nora Umar

RB Lorenzo Bria

1/2LS Alessio Bria

1/2TC Bruno De Roos

1/2V Audrey Tallis

3/4C Scarlett McNamara

3/4Z Giselle Boschet

3/4D Luca Silvestri

5M Alexus Allocca

5R Lawrence Corbo

Sacraments

On Saturday May 25th at 6pm and on Sunday May 26th at 5pm we have 35 candidates from school and Parish celebrating their First Holy Communion and Confirmation. This has been a year long process with our candidates as they prepare to receive Jesus for the first time and be fully initiated into the Catholic Church. We welcome all members of our St Francis of Assisi Community to join us in the special celebration and we keep these candidates in our prayers.

Pentecost

Pentecost marks the end of the Easter Season and the birthday of the Church. Before Jesus was crucified, he promised that he would send the Holy Spirit to be with them, to help them and guide them. On the day of Pentecost this promise came true. The disciples of Jesus were filled with the fire of his love and had the courage to go and do work Jesus had called them to do.

Laudato Si` Week 2024 – May 19-26 – Them: ‘Seeds of Hope’

Sunday May 19^th marked the beginning of Laudato Si` Week for 2024. It commemorates the anniversary of Pope Francis` publication of the encyclical Laudato si` on the care of creation. Pope Francis reminds us that “there are no lasting changes without cultural changes….and there are no cultural changes without personal changes” (LD 70). Catholics around the world are encouraged to participate in daily challenges that motivate changes in personal habits, and gradually transform societies.

Here are 10 simple ways you and your family can connect with God’s creation and begin to make small but meaningful change to our environment. Please join us on Friday morning for a Laudato Si` Community Prayer led by 1/2V.

Wellbeing News – The Inflatable Classroom is Back!

In Wk 4 of Term 2 each class will enter the ‘Top Secret’ inflatable classroom that transports them to a place where they became ‘Junior Secret Agents’. FYI Education is a South Australian school incursion enterprise, created by entertainer and teacher, Richard Rowland. Richard has been visiting our school for 3 years now and entertaining our students while educating them on wellbeing topics. Using new and exciting interactive technology, Richard (AKA "Agent FYI") engages and inspires students to learn whilst having fun! Students will be learning about resilience, friendship, bullying, cybersafety and how to stay mentally and physically healthy. More information available at https://fyieducation.com/

Melissa Canil