Dear Parents & Caregivers,
Welcome back to 2021! We were so pleased to see all our children return to school after the false start of the lockdown last week. The resilience of our children is something to behold with how they have settled in to the new school year with their teachers. The feedback from teachers is a credit to the preparation parents have made in getting children ready to return to school. Despite the extra week of holidays it has been a very smooth start. Credit must also go to our wonderful staff for making the transition very smooth.
New Families
Along with our new Kindy families, we have had a number of new families begin at St Francis this week. We welcome all new children and families to our community and wish them a great start. All new families will be contacted by our Social Worker, Ms Julie Ford to invite them to a welcome morning tea, Thursday 18th Feb @ 8:30am. In the meantime, we welcome the following:
PPB - Khaleesi-Leigh Ellis, Piper Morrison, Karlos Mendoza
PPW - Eden Stipinovich, Evie Corrigan
1B - Ryu Uriarte, Hugo Miranda-Becker
1W - Addison Dillon
2B - Brady Edwards, Sachez Raj, Amelia Willmers, Corey Morrison
2W - Aiveen Greig, Hunter Marais, Dhrish Vyas
4B - Grace Barker, Hunter McLean
4W - Brianna Grantham, Dakota Bowles
5B - Lauren Marais, Mijak Jok
5W - Erika Caceres
6B - Elizabeth Morgan
6W - Amaia Hiku
We also welcome Mr Clarke, our new Assistant Principal, and Mrs Miller, our Special Needs Education Assistant. Over 25 new children and staff to our school community!
I also take this opportunity to say thank you and wish Mrs Linda Finnegan well. Mrs Finnegan has made the difficult the decision to resign from her position as Education Assistant as she seeks a more appropriate work/life balance. After thirteen years as a member of our community, she will be greatly missed. We will farewell her as a community later this year.
Uniforms
Thank you to all parents for your patience in receiving back orders of uniforms and waiting patiently outside the uniform shop. We understand not all items are in stock and whilst parents are waiting for these to arrive, it is acceptable for children to wear alternative uniform items. We are understanding of the delays. Thank you also to Mrs Renee Ashworth who coordinates the uniform shop on behalf of Jenny Franklin Enterprises (JFE). Whilst the uniform shop operates on school grounds as a community service, it is completely outsourced to JFE. We encourage parents and children to please be patient. On a very positive note, the Kindy uniforms look fantastic and seeing our PP children all in the same sports uniform only enhances the ECE feeling part of our school. I'm looking forward to tomorrow when faction shirts are on full display!
Parent Info Night - Tuesday 6pm
A reminder that next Tuesday at 6pm is our Parent Information Night. The presentation begins at 6pm in the hall, and will be followed by class presentations at 6:30pm, then repeated at 7pm for those families with multiple children. The materials will be posted to SeeSaw later next week for all parents to access. I would encourage ALL parents to avail themselves of this opportunity, as class teachers will discuss routines, expectations and important dates.
Important Dates - BELOW
Speaking of important dates, below is a summary of all the important dates in Term 1 this year. Please make note of the dates that apply to your family and check the live calendar regularly. Any changes are communicated and the most accurate reflection is in the live calendar below. Teachers also take the time to send home weekly memo's via SeeSaw which include important classroom information. These will be sent home on Friday afternoons/evening this year so please take the time to read.
P&F Family Fun Night - Friday 19th Feb
As outlined at the bottom, the P&F Family Fun Night will take place next Friday 19th Feb between 5pm-7pm. All families are welcome and we look forward to welcoming our new children and parents to our community. It is a wonderful event sponsored by our hardworking P&F, so I encourage everyone to attend. Our new Assistant Principal, Mr Clarke thinks he will outshine Ms Campbell on the sausage sizzle, so come and see if he is all talk!
It was a very unique start to the school year with our lockdown and the devastation of the bushfires. We are very grateful to have begun the school year and return with the children smiling and full of energy. Our thoughts are with those who suffered catastrophic loss in the fires. Thank you to Ms Campbell for organising the Crazy Sock Day Gold Coin Donation, next Friday 19th Feb, as it will raise much needed funds to donate to those affected. It is a timely reminder of the need to practice gratitude, as there is always something to be thankful for in our lives.
Whilst the Scorchers couldn't get it done last weekend, all my faith is now in the Wildcats until the footy season starts! In the meantime, I hope tennis lovers enjoyed the Nick Kyrgios show at the Australian Open last night and we see him make it past Thiem.
Have a fantastic fortnight ahead and look forward to seeing you at the Family Fun Night!
Jason Baker
Principal
