St Francis of Assisi News
Term 3 - Issue 13 9th September 2021
PRAYER
PRINCIPAL'S POST
Dear Parents & Caregivers,
Today, we celebrated R U Ok? Day with our children across the school. This initiative was introduced last year to encourage adults and children how to be a good friend and get the conversation started about how we are feeling. As we missed out on our Wellbeing Week celebrations, the children were encouraged to wear their pyjamas to school and provided some community circle time to enjoy a juice box and start the conversation. R U Ok? Day is more than asking a simple question. Teachers spent time today moving through the 4 Steps to starting the conversation:
4 Steps
1. Ask - 'Are you ok?'
2. Listen with an open mind - 'I'm here to listen if you want to talk more?' or 'Have you been feeling this way for a while?'
3. Encourage action - 'Is there a trusted adult you could talk to about this?' or 'What would be a first step to help you through?'
4. Check in - 'Just wanted to see how you are going?' or 'Have things gotten better?'
Whilst the first question is often the easiest, it is asking the follow up questions and being a great listener that really can make a difference. The aim is to equip our children with the skills to support each other and making every day, R U Ok? day! For more information, check out http://www.ruok.org.au
NEW CHILDREN
This week we welcomed Vivienne (3B) and Solomon (6B) Hilary and Olyvh Milton (KB) to our school community. Vivienne, Solomon and Olyvh have settled well and quickly become popular members of their classes.
BILYA KAATIJIN - YIRRA YAAKIN
Thanks to the generous support of our Parents and Friends Association, we welcomed the Yirra Yaakin performance company yesterday. Bilya Kaatijin (which means “Fresh Water Knowledge” in Noongar) is the fourth and final story in Yirra Yaakin’s Kaatijin series for young people. Yirra Yaakin’s priority is to ensure Aboriginal theatre remains under Aboriginal control and provides opportunities for Aboriginal artists at all levels of theatre creation and production. The performance was enjoyed by all children from Kindy-6. Thank you to the P&F and our Aboriginal Education team for coordinating.
CHANGES TO POLICIES UNDER CEWA LTD
You may have noticed a change to our website with our policy page http://www.stfrancisbutler.wa.edu.au/policies-forms now referring to Catholic Education Western Australia Ltd (CEWA) Policies. The embedded CEWA policy hub is a comprehensive ‘one stop shop’ for all community members regardless of which Catholic school(s) they are affiliated with – ensuring clear, consistent messaging on one platform for all Catholic schools in Western Australia. The policy page will continue to contain the most up-to-date policies and executive directives for your easy reference. Should you need to refer to St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary procedures (including Uniform, Attendance, Codes of Conduct and iPad use), you’ll now find them on our newly created procedures section.
NEW SCHOOL ADVISORY COUNCIL (SAC) MEMBERS
With a number of our School Advisory Council members having departed, or departing in the near future, two new members have been co-opted for the remainder of 2021. Congratulations to Jevita Nilson (Zac 1W) and Craig Grantham (James 2B, Brianna 4W) for accepting the invitation to join the SAC for the rest of the year. The positions will be up for election at the AGM in November. Both Jevita and Craig bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to our school and we hope they enjoy the experience.
SFOA SPORTS CARNIVAL - FRI 17th SEP
Weather permitting, next Friday 17th September, is our school athletics carnival. This is a day centred around effort, resilience and teamwork. We want our children to have a positive experience of exercise and we aim to cater for these children with a number of different team events. Regardless of sporting ability, it is a day to encourage physical activity and participation. It is considered a normal school day and children are expected to stay until the completion of all events to cheer on their factions.
While the Wallabies couldn't lift to the standard of the All Blacks on the weekend, it was still quite a spectacle at Optus Stadium. This weekend sees the two AFL Preliminary finals decide who's in the big dance in the last weekend of September. With the P&F Disco scheduled for the same night, you may see a few staff slide off the d-floor to check the Dees v Cats game in the staffroom!
Have a great fortnight ahead.
Best wishes
Jason Baker
Principal
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION NEWS
Dear families,
We wish all the children well as they prepare to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation next Thursday, 16th September at 6pm in St Andrew's Parish. We ask all families in the SFoA community to keep them in your prayers.
CONFIRMATION RETREAT
Today, 24/7 Ministry held our Confirmation Retreat in the hall. The children had a fantastic day full of games engaging with the Holy Spirit as they prepare for their Confirmation. The day ended with some reflection and prayer and was enjoyed by all the students.
CONFIRMATION REHEARSAL AND RECONCILIATION (children only)
Tomorrow, Friday 10 September (9:30am - 12:45pm), the Year 6 children receiving Confirmation will be rehearsing and receiving Reconciliation at St Andrew's Catholic Church. The children will travel by bus with their teachers to and from the Church. This is an important opportunity for the children to experience the different parts of the Mass where they will be asked to participate and respond. The rehearsal allows the children to understand what will happen when they receive the Sacrament of Confirmation and to alleviate any fears or anxiety. Children will also become familiar with where they will be seated.
YR 2 LITURGY
The Year 2 classes will join together to celebrate a liturgy tomorrow, Friday 10th September @ 8:40am in the classrooms. Parents and other family members are welcome to join with us in prayer at the Liturgy.
May God continue to bless us, each and every day!
Miss Dee Campbell
CONGRATULATIONS
Congratulations to the Jefferies/Arthur family on the birth of their baby girl Rose, sister to Lucy Zaehner (4B).
Congratulations also to the Hunt family on the recent birth of their baby girl Violet, sister to Logan (1W) and Leo.
Wishing both families well!
WELLBEING TEAM
Congratulations to our Week 7 Friends of Francis Raffle winners:
Mia (Year 6B) & Emily (Year 6B)
Isla (Year 3W) & Noah (Year 3B)
Braxton (Year 1B) & Katie (Year 1B)
Oscar (PPW) & Macy (PPW).
They received a Friends of Francis Certificate and a Lunch with Leadership Invitation which will be held on Thursday 23rd September. We also have the latest tally of our faction token collection. The winning faction with the most tokens collected so far for this term is Benedict with 358, Kolbe in second place with 345, Agnes in third place with 318 and fourth place McCormack with 250 tokens. Last week, we also reached our first whole school target of 3000 tokens. It was wonderful to see the excitement on our students faces when we announced that they would be rewarded with extra play and an ice cream. We can now work towards our next whole school target! The children thoroughly enjoyed the spoils of victory last Friday!
Liz Ward
Wellbeing Team
SCHOOL FEE INFORMATION
Dear Parents,
School fee reminder statements have been sent out this week. Next week families who have not made any payment throughout this year will be contacted to meet with Jason Baker. Families making regular payments have also been sent their statements. Please note this is for your information only.
If you are experiencing financial difficulties, either contact me on 9562 9500 or email finance@stfrancisbutler.wa.edu.au ASAP.
If your Health Care Card has expired please provide the updated one as soon as you receive it to the front office to continue to receive the discount. Please note discounts will not continue to be given to expired HCCs.
Kind regards,
Geneve Bastian
SPORT NEWS
PP - Year 6 Faction Sports Carnival
Next Friday 17th September is our St Francis of Assisi faction sports carnival on IMCC oval. A note has been sent home this week outlining the day and expectations for both spectators and children. This is a fun day with the focus on participation as well as competition. As a community we approach every carnival or event with the same ethos. We believe the faction carnival is an opportunity to role model some of our school values by focusing on doing your best, having fun and displaying sportsmanship towards each other. This year will be the first year we will be awarding champion and runner up champion medals for children in years 3-6. We are excited for these changes as it allows children to showcase skills outside of the classroom however as it is the first year we ask for patience and understanding as we navigate our way through this new process and changes to the events list from previous carnivals. A programme for the day will be distributed next week via sms and also available on the school facebook page. Please note this does not show times of events. If you are available to help with set up, ribbon distribution and pack up please see me on the morning of the carnival at the scorers tent, many hands make light work.
We look forward to seeing lots of bright colours and hearing loud voices cheering on our students.
Amanda Hamilton
Teacher
LIBRARY NEWS
I hope everyone enjoyed the incursions for Book Week this year. As we near the end of the term could all books be returned, please. If you would like to know if your child/children have books on their names, please contact me.
Mrs Marie Gray
Library
SFOA BREAKFAST CLUB (Supported by Bakers Delight Ocean Keys, Clarkson)
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!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Happy Birthday to the following students who are celebrating a birthday over the next two weeks:
Harper Grant, Henry Smith, Marcus Hofstede, Arie Boschman, Charlie Muir, Isaac Rapi-Beddall, James Markham, Harrison Hansord, Indiana Schmidt, Samuel O'Hare, Leo Ward, Tyler Lee, Nirvana Dos Santos-Viljoen, Everleigh Watson, Akera P'Ogwaro, Brandon West, Tahlia Stelio,
We wish you all a wonderful day!!
IMPORTANT DATES
Friday 10 September - Confirmation Rehearsal and Reconciliation/Year 2 Paraliturgy (8:45am)/School Disco
Wednesday 15 September - School Advisory Council Meeting (6:00pm)
Thursday 16 September - Year 6 Confirmation (6:00pm at St Andrew's Church)
Friday 17 September - SFOA Athletics Carnival
Wednesday 22 September - back up day for SFOA Athletics Carnival
Friday 24 September - Grandparents Day (Make A Move performance)/P&F Community lunch/last day of term for students
Monday 27 September to Friday 8 October - School holidays
Monday 11 October - Students return to school for Term 4
UNIFORM SHOP
Students are required to wear their Summer uniform (summer dress or school shorts and white shirt) for Term 4. No ties or school jumpers need to be worn.
** The Uniform Shop will be open on Tuesday mornings from 8:15am - 9:15am for the last two weeks of term 3.
Monday: 1:30pm - 2:30pm
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
For Parents, the link to the online ordering system is as follows:
https://www.jfe.net.au/orders-2147.html
From here, parents can see the uniforms list (including pricing) and place their orders online.
Also, as an alternative, parents can also go to the JFE website:
From here, they can see all the contact details for JFE.
They can also place orders from this website. They can click on the “Order Now” button or the “Orders” heading and use the School Code: 2147
Online Order Delivery Timing
JFE will deliver all online orders to the school - they will be available for collection/delivery every Monday
The cut-off time for online orders to make the above delivery date is 12midday the Friday to allow for delivery/collection on the Monday.
CAMP AUSTRALIA
VACSWIM SWIMMING LESSONS
Enrolments are now open for VacSwim swimming lessons during the October and summer school holidays. VacSwim offers fun lessons at beach or pool locations. They are a great school holiday activity and they teach valuable safety skills to help keep your child safe in the water. Enrol at education.wa.edu.au/vacswim
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
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/