St Francis of Assisi News
Term 2 Issue 27 1st June 2023
WA DAY PUBLIC HOLIDAY - MON 5th JUNE
NOONGAR SEASON OF MAKURU (JUNE-JULY)
PRINCIPAL'S POST
Dear Parents & Caregivers,
The past week we have been busy recognising Reconciliation Week within our school with a number of conversations and activities taking place in class about Reconciliation Week and its connection to our country's history, particularly the mistreatment of indigenous peoples. This week has been a time to recognise and acknowledge the impact of past policies, practices, and attitudes that have caused harm to indigenous people and to help promote understanding, respect, and unity between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians.
We took this opportunity to learn more about indigenous culture and heritage, to reflect on the past and current experiences of indigenous people, and to understand the role we play in changing the future. By participating in Reconciliation Week, our children learned about the Stolen Generations, the impact of colonialism, and the ways in which these past injustices continue to affect indigenous peoples today.
To conclude this week, it is fitting we acknowledge the beginning of the Noongar season, Makuru. This season is represented by deep blues as it signifies the coming of rain and cold weather. Below is the snapshot of the season completed in our Six Noongar Seasons Aboriginal Mural.
RECENT FIREARM INCIDENT AT ATLANTIS BEACH
No doubt like myself, many parents would have been shocked to hear of the recent firearm incident at Atlantis Beach Baptist College last week. Our thoughts are with all those children and families who experienced a very scary situation. Thankfully, procedures were in place to maintain a level of safety for all at the school.
It is a timely reminder of the importance of policies and procedures in place as part of our Crisis Management Plan. Throughout the school year, we conduct a number of different evacuation drills, one of which is a 'Lockdown Drill'. The purpose of this drill is to safely lockdown the school where all children are locked into classrooms and supervised by a class teacher should the school need to implement this drill for safety. We complete one of these drills annually and review its effectiveness as part of our standard policy and procedure. When completing a lockdown drill, parents are notified via text message the previous day that a drill is taking place. Processes are also in place to support our younger children as well as any children with sensory needs. All relevant parties, including neighbouring schools, fire station and police are contacted to notify them that it is a drill only. We will be completing a lockdown drill in the coming weeks as per standard procedure.
UNWELL CHILDREN AND COVID
As the colder weather sets in, there have been a number of cases of COVID as well as influenza in our school community. Common symptoms of influenza include a fever or feeling feverish/chills, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle or body aches, headaches, fatigue, and sometimes vomiting.
Parents should monitor their children for any symptoms, even if they seem mild, and seek medical advice as needed. It's important to follow public health guidance and take steps to prevent the spread of these viruses, such as washing hands frequently, and staying home when sick. Please keep children at home if they are unwell or experiencing any symptoms of illness.
RUNNING CLUB 7:45am
A reminder to parents that running club on Thursday morning at 7:45am is provided as an opportunity for children to be active and engaged with their health and fitness. It is not provided as before school care or a chance for children to wear their sports uniform for the day. It is an expectation that children attending running club participate respectfully in all activities and if they are not participating, they are supervised by their parent, not an older sibling. Due to duty of care, running club begins at 7:45am so children should not be arriving any earlier than 7:40am as they cannot be supervised. Should we find children arriving too early, being silly or wandering around unsupervised, parents will be contacted and children asked not to return. We appreciate your support of the parents coordinating this activity and any parents present are welcome to assist or join in for their morning dose of exercise!
ACTING ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL (AP)
Later this term in Weeks 9 and 10, Ms Campbell (Assistant Principal) will be enjoying some well deserved long service leave. Then in weeks 1-4 of Term 3, Mr Clarke and his family are embarking on a European family adventure, National Lampoon style! Therefore, for the total period of 6 weeks, we have appointed Mrs Sarah Kavanagh (KB) to undertake the role of Acting Assistant Principal. This will not affect Mrs Kavanagh's Kindy class but she will be taking on extra responsibilities as Acting Assistant Principal within our school. Mrs Kavanagh is an experienced middle leader who recently completed her Masters in Early Childhood Study and her Accreditation to Lead a Catholic School. Both outstanding achievements which set the foundation for her leadership journey. Mrs Kavanagh is excited about the opportunity ahead and we are confident she will do a fantastic job in the absence of Ms Campbell and Mr Clarke.
MID-YEAR REPORTS & PARENT INTERVIEWS
Formal Mid-Year (formerly Semester One) academic reports will be available in Week 10 of Term 2 and will be followed by optional parent-teacher interviews on Thursday 29th June between 1:30pm and 6pm. This year, the academic reports will look slightly different as CEWA aims to provide some consistency across Catholic Primary Schools in WA.
In line with ACARA (Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting) policy, formal grades are provided for Year 1-6 across each of the learning areas. These formal A-E grades are a progress report against the end of year achievement standard required for each year level. Therefore, the mid-year report is a formal assessment of where your child is against an end of year standard. For those parents wishing for more details on learning area achievement standards, these can be accessed via the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (SCSA) WA here:
https://k10outline.scsa.wa.edu.au/home/teaching/curriculum-browser
SEQTA ENGAGE APP
To access academic reports, parents will need to have downloaded the Seqta Engage App on their mobile device or through the web browser. For instructions on how to do this, please visit this link on our website:
https://www.stfrancisbutler.wa.edu.au/seqta-engage
Parents will need a username and password. If you have forgotten yours or need a new one, please contact ithelp@stfrancisbutler.wa.edu.au asap.
YEAR 6 WINTER CARNIVAL
Congratulations to our Year 6's and a number of Year 5's who participated in today's Winter Carnival against local Catholic primary schools in AFL, soccer and netball. The children had a great day and enjoyed the friendly competition. A big thanks to the parents who volunteered to coach a team:
Paul Durer-Jones (AFL)
Nicole Connell (Netball)
Marian Labrooy (Netball)
Chris Wenman (Soccer)
Katherine Kearns (Netball)
IMCC Students as well!
A big thanks also to Mrs Bond, Mrs Freeman, Mr Gorman and Miss Kruenert for their support and coaching of the children. Definitely beats a day of listening to Mr Gorman's stories and anecdotes!
SFOA CROSS COUNTRY CARNIVAL YR 3-6 - WED 7th JUNE
As Ms Hamilton has alluded to below and in previous newsletters, our SFOA Cross Country Carnival will take place next Wednesday, 7th June from 8:40 - 1:30pm for Year 3-6 children. Although there is some rain forecast, at this stage we will push ahead with plans to run the carnival. Parents are welcome to attend and encourage their children as they take on the relevant cross country distances. There will be a coffee van to purchase warm drinks for parents. It is a great opportunity for children to push themselves to complete the course as the focus is on participation and being active. It is a normal school day for Year 3-6 children so attendance is expected.
Thank you to the families and children who turned up for the Mayflower Mass on Sunday. Father Marian was very complimentary of our children and the great turnout. I advised him that the bribery with free dress worked a treat and he endorsed further 'creative incentives' to get our kids to mass in the future.
Finally, this weekend's public holiday is very timely in the middle of the term with illness and COVID rife throughout our community. We hope you take the extra day to rest, get well and enjoy some family time before the very busy last four weeks of term 2!
Have a fantastic fortnight ahead!
Best wishes
Jason Baker
Principal
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
MAYFLOWER MASS
Thank you to all the families who gathered as part of the wider St Andrew's Parish Community at the Mayflower Mass. It was wonderful to see so many familiar faces in our parish Church and staying for a sausage sizzle! Special thanks to Jessica, Lucy, Abby and Sofia for being part of the procession!
FIRST COMMUNION
As we enter June, First Communion is fast approaching! The children have two remaining commitments prior to receiving First Communion, a retreat next week, followed by a rehearsal and Reconciliation at St Andrew's Church. The children will be bussed to and from the church during school hours.
IMPORTANT DATES:
Year 1 Class Liturgy - Friday 2nd June 8:45am in the Hall (all welcome)
Sacrament of First Communion - Sunday 18th June 11am at St Andrew's Church, Clarkson
“Start by doing what is necessary, then what is possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”
St Francis of Assisi
Dee Campbell
Assistant Principal RE
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
This week we celebrate Zac Nilson who participated in the 4km HBF Run for a Reason on Sunday, 21st May. Zac was raising money for ADHD WA and did an amazing job of raising over $850. Zac ran the 4km with his mum and dad, and clocked a time of 25:08 for his first fun run! Apparently, he would've gone faster if his parents weren't slowing him down! Great job, Zac. Start the training for the 12km for next year.
SCHOOL FEE INFORMATION
Dear Parents,
Next week reminder statements will be sent out to families on Bpay & Eftpos payments only. We request families who have not made any payments this year to please commence payment ASAP as we will be contacting you soon. If you are experiencing financial difficulties, please contact me on 089562 9528 or finance@stfrancisbutler.wa.edu.au
All families on Centrelink Health Care Card (HCC) need to provide the school with their current card to continue receiving the discount for 2023. If your card has expired, please bring in your new card to the school office ASAP.
Kind regards,
Geneve Bastian
SPORTS NEWS
Year 3-6 Faction Cross Country Carnival
We will be holding our faction Cross Country Carnival for all children in Years 3-6 next Wednesday 7th June. This carnival is compulsory for all students to attend as they will receive points for their faction. Students will participate in groups throughout the day and the carnival will take place on our oval and part of the IMCC oval. The top 6 boys and girls in each year level will represent the school in the Interschool Cross Country Carnival at Mawson Park on Friday 23rd June. The children have been training hard during their sports lessons and we would love to see parents come along to support the children. Students are to wear their sports uniform including their faction top, running shoes and shorts/skorts on the day of the event. A reminder the times below are approximate and can change throughout the day.
Year 6 Winter Carnival
All Year 6 students participated in the Interschool Winter Carnival today together with the help from some Year 5 students. The students played either AFL, Soccer or Netball. It was a fun day and all the children participated with excitement and showed great sportsmanship towards others. Thank you to the parents and family members who helped coach and who came down to cheer and support the teams.
Ms Amanda Hamilton
Teacher
P&F NEWS
The P & F have a couple of events coming up which we are excited about:
- Wednesday 7th June is the Pizza lunch, a perfect treat for the kids running in Cross Country. Cash orders are due by 9am Friday 2nd June and QuickCliq orders close at 6am on Monday 5th June.
- Thursday 22nd June we have an exciting new P & F event planned!! – Club Fiesta with Gina Vescovi. The posters will be up in the school and a letter with further details is being sent home this week. Get in quickly and order your tickets for this super fun night.
- Our next P & F meeting is Tuesday 6th June at 8:30am
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Happy Birthday to the following students who are celebrating their birthday over the next two weeks:
Arkyn Milton, Valentina Stone, Awan Awan, Kyle Murphy, Azeez Basra, Daisy Pull, Arabella Wilson, Elora Guelfi, Abel Stelio, Jason Modi, Sophia Bassanelli, Isabella Case, Tiarne Connell.
We wish you all a wonderful day!!
IMPORTANT DATES
Friday 2 June - Yr 1 Liturgy (8:45am)
Monday 5 June - WA Day Public Holiday
Tuesday 6 June - P&F Meeting (8:45am)
Wednesday 7 June - Lifelink Day/SFOA Cross Country (Yrs 3-6)/P&F Pizza Lunch
Thursday 8 June - First Communion Retreat
Friday 9 June - Merit Assembly/'Friends of Francis' raffle draw (8:45am)
Thursday 15 June - First Communion rehearsal and Reconciliation
Friday 16 June - Merit Assembly (8:45am) / Lunch with Leadership 1:00pm
Sunday 18 June - First Communion at St Andrew's Church (11:00am)
UNIFORM SHOP
**Please note there has been a delay in the school ties, they should be here for the commencement of Term 3.
The Uniform Shop is open Mondays during the school term from 2:30pm - 3:00pm. Uniform can also be ordered online: sales@jfe.net.au (school code: 2147)
Where: Operating out of the demountable at the rear of the school!
Ph: (08) 9204 1701
Email: mailto:sales@jfe.net.au
Address: 1/85 Guthrie St, Osborne Park 6017
CAMP AUSTRALIA
IRENE McCORMACK CATHOLIC COLLEGE
IMCC Recital Night - Thursday 22nd June 2023
CONTACT US
Mon-Thur: 8:00am - 4:00pm
Friday: 8:00am - 3:30pm
Email: admin@stfrancisbutler.wa.edu.au
Website: www.stfrancisbutler.wa.edu.au
Location: 1051 Connolly Drive, Butler WA, Australia
Phone: (08) 9562 9500
Facebook: facebook.com/stfrancisbutler
Instagram: https://instagram.com/stfrancisbutler
ST ANDREW'S CATHOLIC PARISH
Email: standrewsclarkson@gmail.com
Website: http://www.standrewsclarkson.com/
Location: 53 Belleville Gardens, Clarkson WA, Australia
Phone: (08) 9407 7512
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/standrewsclarkson/