St Francis of Assisi News
Term 3 - Issue 11 12th August 2021
PUPIL FREE DAY - FRIDAY 20th AUGUST
PUPIL FREE DAY - MONDAY 23rd AUGUST
PRAYER
PRINCIPAL'S POST
Dear Parents & Caregivers,
What a wonderful couple of weeks for our Australian athletes and all other nations represented at the Tokyo Olympic games. Despite the current challenges the pandemic is providing, seeing athletes push themselves to their limits and fulfil sporting dreams is truly reflective of the Olympic spirit. There were some great examples of persistence, sportsperson-ship and resilience in the face of adversity.
PUPIL FREE DAYS - Friday 20th and Monday 23rd August
As noted above, please be aware that next Friday 20th August is a scheduled Pupil Free Day. There will be no staff at school, including administration, as staff will be participating in some professional development off site. On Monday, 23rd August, there is an additional Pupil Free Day. This is the Catholic Day for all staff. As part of working in a Catholic School, and the additional commitments of Sacramental programs, all Catholic school staff are provided one day at their discretion in lieu of the outside of hours commitments of working in a Catholic school. No staff will be on school site on the Monday either. Parents can book outside school hours care with Camp Australia. Please see the flyer below for details.
FRIENDS OF FRANCIS
Our Friends of Francis whole school positive reward system continues to create an engaging, and supportive environment for our children throughout the school. To recognise the implementation of this wonderful initiative, we have nominated 'Friends of Francis' for a Quality Catholic Education Award. As part of our submission for these CEWA awards, the Wellbeing Team produced the above video. Please take the time to have a look and see the positive impact this has had on our children and community.
CATHOLIC PERFORMING ARTS FESTIVAL
Over the past few weeks, we have had a number of our children participate in the annual Catholic Performing Arts Festival. Congratulations to the following children who participated in the instrumental piano performance:
Brianna Grantham (4W)
Taicia Ashley (5W)
Sophia Guelfi (5B)
Erika Caceres (5W)
A big congratulations also to our Liturgical Dance performers who competed in the Christian Dance section. The girls from Year 4/5/6 performed a beautifully choreographed and uplifting dance. Thank you to Mrs Mieschbuehler for supporting the girls and giving up her days off and lunch times. Another example of providing great opportunities for our children to experience. Our Choir will be performing in a fortnight so we wish them luck!
BOOK WEEK 2021 PARADE - 25th August
It's that time of year again parents, our annual Book Week 2021 parade is fast approaching and will take place on Wednesday 25th August. Book week activities will begin next week, but the parade will be the highlight! Book week is a great time to encourage your children to get off screens and get into books - plus it's a great excuse for staff to dress up!
KINDY/PP SHADE SAILS
We are pleased to have finally completed the new shade sails down in the Kindy/Pre-Primary area over the nature play. In line with National Quality Standards, we have been trying to encourage the indoor/outdoor learning environments for Kindy play-based learning in the past twelve months. This has included the exit doors to Kindy classrooms and also the installation of shade over the nature play. Hopefully, as the warmer months approach, there will be sufficient shade for children to make use of the nature play areas. As usual, our Groundsman Mr Hughes has been instrumental in overseeing the construction of the sails. See some of the great photos below.
It would be remiss of me not to mention the Boomers' history making bronze medal from Saturday night. Having watched Australian basketball since 1988, the top three finish to an Olympic or World Cup campaign has continued to elude us. Safe to say, I was a bit emotional on Saturday! The class and integrity of Patty Mills is something to behold. Irrespective of his sporting achievements, he is a wonderful example as a person and something all children can aspire to emulate, using his sporting platform to serve others. A quote from his NBA coach of 10 years at San Antonio, Gregg Popovich, sums up his character,
'He embodies, empathy, awareness, an ability to be actionable after he speaks about things. He's a very special human being, he's doing things to try and make the world a better place.' (Gregg Popovich on Patty Mills)
With the Olympics now over, I'll turn my attention to a must win Game 2 for the Wallabies in the Bledisloe Cup and a very competitive AFL Derby. Plenty to keep me entertained post Olympics!
Have a great fortnight ahead.
Best wishes
Jason Baker
Principal
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION NEWS
Dear families,
As the children in Year 6 and their families prepare for them to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation in September, we ask all families in the SFoA community to keep them in your prayers.
CONFIRMATION COMMITMENT MASSES - THIS WEEKEND
All children who have committed to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation this year must attend ONE mass at St Andrew's Catholic Parish, Clarkson, THIS weekend (14th & 15th August). Children will be called during the mass to join in a short prayer and asked to hand in their RED commitment cards. Families can attend any one of the masses listed here:
Saturday 14th August - 6pm
Sunday 15th August 7:30am, 9am and 5pm.
CONFIRMATION WORKSHOP - WEDNESDAY 18th AUGUST
All children receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation this year must attend a workshop with one or both of their parents. The SFoA Workshop is at 6pm on Wednesday 18th August in the SFoA hall.
The Catholic Performing Arts Dance (Secondary) is the same night as our Confirmation Workshop. Families who have children at IMCC doing the Dance, may wish to attend the Confirmation Workshop on Tuesday 17th August at St Andrew's instead. Please email me for further details if this is your family. dee.campbell@cewa.edu.au
CONFIRMATION GUESTS
At the Confirmation Workshop on Wednesday, parents will be asked to indicate how many guests (including immediate family) the children are inviting to their Confirmation. An example may look like this Eg. 5 (mum, dad, sponsor, grandma, brother) or 7 (mum, step dad, dad, step mum, sponsor, sister, brother). Please do NOT include the child receiving the sacrament.
This will assist in ensuring we can seat as many families together as possible.
CONFIRMATION SPONSOR
The Sacrament of Confirmation requires an adult (over 16 years) to support the child receiving Confirmation in the Catholic Church. This person is committing to continuing to support them on their faith journey. Ideally, it would be one (or both) of their Godparents from when they were baptised, but due to distance and other various reasons, this is not always possible, especially in COVID-19 times. If your child DOES want their Godparent as their sponsor, but they are not able to attend in person, another adult (including a parent) may stand in as a proxy. This will be discussed at the workshop on Wednesday.
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Mass
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary falls on Sunday, August 15. On this day we commemorate the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, when Mary's body and soul were assumed into heaven and she passed into eternal life.
As a school community, we are celebrating this special Holy Day of Obligation on Friday (tomorrow) at 1:45pm. All parents and relatives are welcome to join us.
'“Preach the Gospels everyday & only if you have to...use words.”- St Francis of Assisi
May God continue to bless us, each and every day!
Miss Dee Campbell
CONGRATULATIONS
Congratulations to the Barnes family of Macy (PPW) on the birth of their baby boy, River Nicholas Barnes. Congratulations also to Glen and Jill on the birth of Lucy, sister to Jayda Kinsella (5W).
Wishing both families well as they adjust to the challenges of a newborn!
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT!
ROBOCUP JNR STATE FINALISTS
Last Saturday, I had the privilege of attending the State Finals of the Robocup Jnr Competition at Curtin University. Each year, children from across the state compete in a variety of robotics challenges. This year was the first year Mrs Fenlon (Higher Order Thinking Skills Teacher) entered a number of students from Year 5 and 6.
It was wonderful to see one group make it to the State Finals. The Year 5 team of Taicia Ashley, Julia Pedrini and Sophia Guelfi competed in the open challenge final, programming their Lego EV3 to dance to both Ballet and Hip-Hop! A fantastic achievement in our very first year of the Robocup Jnr Competition. Thank you to Mrs Fenlon, Mr Clarke, Mrs Evans and Mrs McDonald for supporting the children, and to their parents, for enabling them to participate in the finals on a rainy Saturday! Congratulations girls.
SCHOOL FEE INFORMATION
Dear Parents,
School fee reminder statements will be sent out next week (Week 5). Families who are not on a payment plan need to finalise their 2021 fees by 31 August 2021. If you are experiencing financial difficulty, either contact me on 9562 9500 or email finance@stfrancisbutler.wa.edu.au
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
Before and After School Activities
Please read the note below to see what activities are available for Term 3.
Regards,
Amanda Hamilton
Teacher
LIBRARY NEWS
This term the Book Week Parade will be held on Wednesday 25 August. The theme for this year is ‘Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other worlds’. Please keep the costumes simple. There is no need to buy or hire costumes just use what you have at home or borrow something. This is meant to be a fun day celebrating books.
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:
Mario Martin, Bonnie Da Silva Pola, Jamie Bahina, Isla Summers-Juncal, Simon Sokiri, Isabela Gadzambo, Ava Galliers, Javier Villamor, Emily Epple, Jaxon Blake, Austin Jones, Erika Caceres, Sinead Engelbrecht, Ethan Harms.
We wish you all a wonderful day!!
IMPORTANT DATES
Friday 13 August - Merit Assembly (8:45am)/Assumption of Mary whole school mass (1:45pm)/P&F cake stall
Monday 16 August - Library Incursion (PP-Year 2)
Wednesday 18 August - Confirmation Parent Workshop (6:00pm)/School Advisory Council meeting (6:00pm)
Friday 20 August - Pupil Free Day (no school for students)
Monday 23 August - Pupil Free Day (no school for students)
Monday 23 August to Friday 27 August - Book Week
Wednesday 25 August - Book Week Parade
Thursday 26 August - Catholic Peforming Arts Choir
Friday 27 August - Bilya Kaatijin by Yirra Yaakin incursion/Year 6 Spring Carnival/P&F Pizza Lunch
Monday 30 August - Author Incursion
Tuesday 31 August - Year 5 Electoral Commission Voting incursion
Wednesday 1 September - Kindy Fathers' Day morning/P&F Fathers' Day Stall
Thursday 2 September - Kolbe Feast Day
Friday 3 September - Fathers' Day sausage sizzle (7:45am)/Year 4 Performance Assembly (8:45am)
UNIFORM SHOP
Parents, please can you check your child/children's items of clothing to ensure they are wearing their own uniform. We ask that parents clearly label student's names on jumpers, jackets and hats.
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/