Dear Parents & Caregivers,

It's been a busy two week period to start the school year with plenty of distractions but thankfully, our children have settled extremely well and the transition has been great. As you have received a lot of communication from me in the past two weeks, I will keep this newsletter short!

VENTILATION AUDIT

As discussed in my parent presentation above and communicated earlier this week, every school in Catholic Education WA underwent a ventilation audit. HFM Asset Management were on site yesterday. They visited every classroom, teaching and office space, and I am pleased to report that due to the design, direction of buildings and windows, every space met the necessary standards for adequate ventilation. As a result, no HEPA filters were recommended for our school. Staff will continue to open windows and use mechanical ventilation (air-conditioners) to ensure there is adequate ventilation for our children.

SCHOOL FEES

This week, school fees were sent to parents both electronically and via a paper copy. Payment of school fees are vitally important in enabling our school to provide the resources, both physical and human, to support the development of our children socially, emotionally, spiritually and academically.

Parents are required to indicate how they wish to address their school fees by selecting an option and return the form via email to mailto:finance@stfrancisbutler.wa.edu.au by Friday 25th February. Health Care Card holders need to provide a valid HCC to receive the discount. Please note: even if you are have already setup a direct debit, please indicate this on the form and return. If you are experiencing financial difficulties, please contact the email address above to arrange an appointment with me to discuss.

NEW FAMILIES

We are lucky to welcome a number of new families into our community this year. We would normally welcome our new families with a morning tea, but unfortunately, this has been postponed due to the new restrictions on parents on site. However, we hope the following children and their families have had a great start at our school:

PPB - Deng Baguoot, Lois McSheffrey, Janak Singh

PPW - Jedd Hitchcock, Casey White

1W - Jack Witham

2B - Rylan Hitchcock, Ned Horrocks

2W - Piper Horrocks, Ashlee Schulz, Alfie McSheffrey

3B - Lily Bassanelli, Jasmine Moffatt, Evelyn Witham

3W - Elsie de Laine, Damien Mundawaro, Logan Ravat, Alexandra Tangifua, Ava Victorien

5B - Sophia Bassanelli, Seth Gregory, Ravinderjeet Singh

5W - Oscar de Laine

6B - Ethan Victorien

HOLIDAY PROJECTS

You may have noticed a few changes over the school holidays. Mr Hughes, our Groundsman has been extremely busy coordinating a number of improvements around the school. These include the new shade sails over the Senior Playground and new shade sail over the proposed Prayer Garden. I have attached photos below for parents who have not been on site.

He has also created a doorway in between the demountable at the back of the school. This space will be used for our instrumental lessons, which began today with over 33 children enrolled! It will also be a space for our ECU Speech Therapy Practicum students who will be on site one day a week in Semester 2 and our school Psychologist, who will also operate from these spaces throughout the year.

TRAFFIC WARDEN CROSSING - Connolly Drive

We were advised over the holidays that WA Police are finding it difficult to staff the traffic warden outside our school and they asked for patience if the crossing is unattended. If any Parents/Grandparents are interested in becoming a Traffic Warden they can contact the Children’s Crossings Unit direct on 6274 8731. The current pay rate is around $25.58 per hour - two hours per day/five days per week.

PARENT NIGHT PRESENTATION

I have attached the parent presentation I streamed earlier this week for any parents who did not have the chance to watch the one sent Tuesday. The stream is approximately 13min in length and covers the following:

• School Priorities 2022
• COVID Safe Practices
• Communication
• iPad changes in 2022

I once again thank our parent community for responding so positively to the recent changes in restrictions and cancellation of a number of community events. We are striving to continue quality teaching and learning and maintain a sense of community whilst under these new restrictions. As I have outlined, if you or anyone in your family tests positive, please contact me directly by email mailto:jason.baker@cewa.edu.au

Please stay safe and enjoy the fortnight ahead!

Jason Baker

Principal

Dear Families,

Welcome back to Term 1! Already there have been massive changes to the school calendar - please keep up to date by checking SEESAW and the live calendar for the most up-to-date information.

Sacramental Program Expression of Interest (EOI)

This closes tomorrow, Friday 11 February. Thank you to those families who have contacted me by email to ensure their place in the Sacramental Program, or who have already returned your EOI form.

An information pack for the Sacrament of Reconciliation will come home next week.

Please note the Sacramental Parent Information Night has been CANCELLED.

Ash Wednesday Liturgy

Will take place on Wednesday 2nd March and will be lead by the Christian Service Leaders. The Liturgy will be live streamed to the classrooms and on the school youtube channel.

God Bless

Miss Dee Campbell

When: Every Tuesday/Thursday

Time: 8:00am - 8:20am

Where: Hall

Come in and grab some toast with vegemite or jam and start your day right!

Friday 11 February - Merit Assembly/'Friends of Francis' raffle draw (in class via SeeSaw)

Tuesday 15 February - Year 6 Beach Safety

Saturday 19 Feb/Sunday 20 Feb - Reconciliation Commitment Mass (parent choice)

Tuesday 22 February - Year 6 Beach Safety

Wednesday 23 February - Year 3 Reconciliation Workshop (in class/no parents)

Friday 25 February - Year 6 Mass (streamed)

* Please note the uniform shop is operating ONLY for online orders. Due to restrictions we are unable to have children do try-ons.

Monday: 2:00pm - 3:00pm

Where: NEW LOCATION - Operating out of the demountable at the rear of the school!

Ph: (08) 9204 1701

Address: 1/85 Guthrie St, Osborne Park 6017

Email: mailto:sales@jfe.com.au