St Francis of Assisi News
Term 4- Issue 19 1st December 2022
PRAYER
PRINCIPAL'S POST
Dear Parents & Caregivers,
What an amazing performance and turn out last night from our children for the annual SFOA Christmas Concert. Thank you to all the parents and children for making it such a great celebration. The children thoroughly loved being up on stage and performing for their parents. While 'grumpy' Mr Baker had to try and keep the excitement levels down between acts, the children did a great job sitting for such a long period.
Thanks also to Mrs Bond, Mrs Edwards and Mrs Kinder who coordinated all the seating, classes, performances and running of the night. A thanks also to Darren and Christine Knowles from The Pitch Inn Food Truck for providing a great menu to add to the wonderful community atmosphere. It is truly one of the best nights on our school calendar and a fitting end to a busy year! For those parents who were unable to attend, the concert was streamed on YouTube and can be viewed at this link:
2023 FEE DECREASE
It was announced at our Annual Community Meeting last week that due to changes in government funding, we have been able to offer ALL parents a 10% reduction in the St Francis of Assisi School Fees for 2023. We are aware of the financial strain facing families with cost of living pressures and interest rate rises and hope that by reducing our school fees, this alleviates some pressure just in time for Christmas. A letter was sent home to all families on Tuesday outlining the changes to fees and also allowing parents who wish to set up Direct Debits to begin in January.
Thank you to those parents who streamed the ACM or were in attendance. The ACM powerpoint, School Advisory Council Chair report, Principal report and 2023 Catholic School Improvement Plan have all been uploaded to the school website. I have included the ACM powerpoint below as well as the school fee structure for 2023.
SEQTA ENGAGE REPORTING - S2 ACADEMIC REPORTS 9th DECEMBER
A reminder that our Semester Two academic reports will once again be released via Seqta Engage at the conclusion of the school year. Please ensure you have your username and password and can access the SEQTA ENGAGE app. If you have any difficulties, feel free to email mailto:ithelp@stfrancisbutler.wa.edu.au or contact the office.
STUDENT LEADERS/MUSIC SCHOLARSHIP/APSMO ANNOUNCEMENTS - FRI 2ND DECEMBER
Our 2023 Student Leaders will be announced tomorrow at the merit assembly. All current Year 5 children nominated themselves for one of the following leadership positions:
- Sustainability
- The Arts
- Christian Service
- Faction Captains
- Techsperts
- Pastoral Care
Each group will have various responsibilities around our community. Also, our 2023 Music Scholarships and APSMO award winners will be presented at this assembly.
CAMP AUSTRALIA - TEMPORARY JANUARY CLOSURE DATES
For those parents who make use of our holiday vacation care service with Camp Australia, unfortunately, due to staffing shortages we have had to make the decision to close the service for a short period in January. Please see the below date:
January 19 - 24, 2023 - Temporary Closure
We apologise to those families who will be affected but have provided as much notice as possible to ensure that other alternative arrangements can be made for children who would normally access the service.
JOURNEY THROUGH THE NOONGAR SEASONS MURAL
We are excited to unveil the completed Noongar Seasons Mural that has been completed by the very talented Cora Lynch from Ngwarle Untye Art. This project has been proudly funded by our P&F and was instigated by Mrs Coad. We are in the final stages of preparing a reflective print which explains the mural to our community. I think we are beyond happy with the finished product and look forward to sharing the story with many generations of our children at SFOA to come!
CLASS LISTS 2023 & TRANSITION MORNING
Next Tuesday, 6th December, our children will have the opportunity to transition to their new class teacher for 2023. Children will go up to the next year level and spend an hour from 9-10am with their 2023 classroom teacher. This is a 'getting to know you' experience to alleviate some of the concerns children will have with moving teachers. Parents will be sent an email with a link to the class list by the close of business Tuesday. We WILL NOT be posting the lists outside the hall as has been done in previous years - in this age of technology, there is no need to print lists and post. The class lists will also be available via the 'Parent Information' section of our website.
2023 THANKSGIVING & GRADUATION MASS
Next Wednesday, 7th December will be our final Thanksgiving and Year 6 Graduation Mass. The mass begins at 8:45am in the hall and will be followed by our Year 6 Graduation Ceremony. This is an opportunity to celebrate another wonderful year as a community and appropriately farewell our Year 6 students. We will also present gifts to leaving staff. All parents are invited to attend and the whole school will remain for the entirety of the mass and graduation.
Following the graduation, the Year 6 parents and children will remain to share in morning tea. Thank you to our wonderful Year 5 parent volunteers who will be coordinating the morning tea and our fabulous P&F for supporting. Thank you to the three Year 5 parents who have volunteered to help with the serving and setup of morning tea.
- Jess Bassanelli
- Tracey Rebeiro
- Claire Dennis
2023 PUPIL FREE DAYS & TERM DATES
Below is an attachment that outlines the Term Dates for 2023 and any Pupil Free Dates. Parents with children at IMCC will be pleased to know we have coordinated the same dates for 2023 as pupil free days! We have also included the important and significant events in Term 1 for parents who like to plan ahead. You'll also receive communication before the 2023 school year begins from me as usual!'
It was a historic night last night. The anticipation and build up to one of the biggest events this year was suspenseful, yet exciting. I was nervous throughout but so relieved when it was over and it was the ending we all wanted. There were some tense moments but our preparation ensured we delivered a great outcome! Yes - the Socceroos have made it to the knockout round! (See what I did there with the Christmas Concert). An early 3am start on Sunday morning - nothing quite unites our country like the FIFA World Cup!
Best wishes for the last 6 days of the school year!
Jason Baker
Principal
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
CHRISTMAS HAMPERS
Thank you to all our families who have donated so generously to the Christmas Hamper Appeal for St Vincent de Paul. All the hampers will be distributed to local families in need at Christmas. The appeal will finish this Friday, 2nd December. Late donations will be accepted next week.
THANKSGIVING GRADUATION MASS 8:45am Wednesday 7th December
Parents are welcome to join with the school in a Mass of Thanksgiving to celebrate the school year. At the conclusion of the Mass, we will farewell the Graduating Class of 2022.
ADVENT (Year A)
The season of Advent began on Sunday, with the lighting of the first of the Advent candles - HOPE. Advent is a time for preparing our hearts and lives for the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ. It is a special time in the Church calendar.
ST FRANCIS & THE NATIVITY
Nativity scenes have been a beloved Christmas tradition for more than 800 years.
Like many holy traditions, this one originated with a Catholic saint.
In fact, record tells us that the nativity scene originated with St. Francis of Assisi himself!
St. Francis of Assisi had a special devotion to the Child Jesus. His strong devotion inspired him to invent the first nativity scene on Christmas Eve of the year 1223.
It is believed that St. Francis was first struck by the idea after he visited the place of Christ’s birth on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land: the humble stable in a Bethlehem cave.
This visit to Bethlehem must have deepened his devotion to the Child Jesus, who was born into the world in perfect poverty, humility, and simplicity.
After all, Francis had founded his new religious order to live out these very virtues.
PRAYERS
Please keep our school community (students, parents and staff) in your prayers, particularly our Year 6 students as they prepare to finish their time here at St Francis of Assisi CPS.
“All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.” St Francis of Assisi
Dee Campbell
Assistant Principal RE
2023 BOOKLISTS
2023 booklists are now available on our school website and have been sent out via Seesaw.
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT (STAFF)
Sticking with the Staff Spotlight theme from last fortnight, congratulations to Tom (Selleck) Kinder for raising over $200 for Movember by growing some outstanding facial fuzz! Several other male staff wanted to join him but we were all follicly challenged. Movember is a great cause and highlights the importance of checking in on our Dads, brothers and mates. Mr Kinder has nominated himself for the next Magnum PI reboot on Netflix....either that or he is willing to send down some right arm, outswing thunderbolts to go with his nifty 80's chest hair!
SCHOOL FEE INFORMATION
Dear Parents,
Your prompt attention to finalise unpaid 2022 school fees will be greatly appreciated. Please take note that all fees need to be finalised before the 9th December 2022. If you are experiencing financial difficulty, please contact me ASAP on 9562 9504 or email finance@stfrancisbutler.wa.edu.au
All families on Health Care Card (HCC) need to provide the school with their current card to continue receiving the discount for 2023.
Kind regards,
Geneve Bastian
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Happy Birthday to the following students who are celebrating their birthday over the next week and school holidays:
George Phillips, Chloe Anderson, Oliver Knowles, Sofia Scrivener, Godwill Geofry, Yelyzaveta (Lisa) Zaitseva, Mireille George, Conor Keogh, Lara Schulz, Beny Kulang, Leah Ryan, Victoria Yune, Janak Singh, Lia Murphy, Lomena Stipinovich, Marlee Pinkerton, Emma Gerges, Nyawichar Kuol, Georgia Donatti, Jameel Atcha Koli, Axel Clohessy, Addison Thomas, Dau Bol, Ned Horrocks, Piper Horrocks, Brian Freitas Libardi, Hugo Miranda Becker, Zara Dos Santos-Viljoen, Meghna Rakesh, Ava Stankevicius, Ashlee Schulz, Darliah Windeatt, Zachary Martin, Gabriella Mahlangu, Logan Ravat, Aiveen Greig, Jamie Leach, Kamron Makawa, Aryan Virdi, Harry Brown, Corey Morrison, Sebastian Schippers, Liam O'Shea, Atheena Harper, Bol Bol, Ella-Marie Anderson, Maria Clara Pires Gil, Zaire Fernandez, Sean Viviers, Hudson Sibley, Logan Hansord, Sofia Flores, Olivia Rebeiro, Ella Kingsley, Sophie Kinsey, Varsha Rakesh, Summer Jacobs, Ethan Victorien, Adior Jok, TJ Cunningham, Estelle Cartwright, Ronan O'Reilly, Isla Annear, Mijak Jok, Athiey Atuer, Kaetlyn Pollock, Lauren Marais, Tyler Ford, Elyra Gandy, Ante Rados, Eddie Malek.
We wish you all a wonderful day!!
IMPORTANT DATES
Friday 2 December - Merit Assembly (8:45am) / Year 6 excursion
Tuesday 6 December - PP - Year 6 transition morning (9:00am)
Wednesday 7 December - Thanksgiving Graduation Mass (8:45am)
Thursday 8 December - S2 Reports released via SEQTA/Year 6 Graduation Excursion
Friday 9 December - P&F SFOA Fun Day / Community Lunch / Last Day for Students
Monday 12 December - Parent interviews
Wednesday 1 February - Students return for Term 1/staggered start for Kindy
Friday 3 February - Staggered start for Kindy/Whole School Mass
UNIFORM SHOP
The Uniform Shop will be open on Monday 5th December between 2:30pm - 3:30pm for the last time this year.
The shop is open the following times in January:
Monday 30 January: uniform order appointments only 1:00pm-4:00pm (appointments to be made via JFE website)
Tuesday 31 January: 2:00pm - 4:00pm (general shop open)
**For online orders only, click and collect drive through will be available in the kiss and drive area near the school office on Friday 27 January from 1:00pm-2:00pm.
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.net.au
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
St Andrew's Parish Christmas Masses Timetable
Christmas Masses
** Reconciliation Time 7pm Thursday 15 December
Saturday 24 December
6pm - Christmas Eve Family Mass
Sunday 25 December
12am - Midnight Mass
7:30am - Christmas Day Mass
9:30am - Christmas Day Mass
5:00pm - Christmas Day Mass
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/