St Francis of Assisi News
Term 4 - Issue 16 4th November 2021
PRAYER
PRINCIPAL'S POST
Dear Parents & Caregivers,
It is hard not to be emotionally moved by the events of the past 48 hours in reuniting little Cleo Smith with her parents. It is without doubt a parent's worst nightmare and the past 18 days would have been an unimaginable experience for Cleo and her parents. Much like the rest of the wider community, our hopes and prayers were focused on a positive outcome, which felt less likely by the day. This wonderful outcome is an example of the power of hope as I'm sure Cleo's parents never lost hope for her safe return.
The remarkable work of the WA Police force and individuals involved should be acknowledged, along with the prayers and thoughts of many in our school community. A stark reminder to hug our children tight and tell them we love them more often!
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING - WED 24th NOVEMBER
A reminder to parents that our AGM will take place on Wed 24th November, 6pm in the hall. This annual meeting is an opportunity for the School Advisory Council to report back to our community on the progress and initiatives that have taken place across the 2021 school year. A report is presented by the School Advisory Council Chair, Treasurer and also our P&F Executive. Please note, any changes to school fees and classroom teachers are announced at this meeting. This year, the meeting will be approximately an hour and will conclude before 7pm.
In 2022, we will be electing two new members to the School Advisory Council (SAC). All parents are invited to nominate themselves to the SAC. Election is done through nominating and voting and membership to the council is for a period of 3 years. As per the Terms of Reference for School Advisory Council membership, conditions are:
(a) a commitment and desire to promote Catholic education and give service to the Catholic School Community;
(b) a commitment to the safety, wellbeing and pastoral care of all students and staff;
(c) an ability to work cooperatively and constructively with the Principal, school leadership team and all other members of the Advisory Council;
(d) the possession of skills, competencies and experience that are reflective of, relevant and beneficial to the Catholic School Community; and
(e) a sufficiency of time to devote to Advisory Council duties.
In 2022, the SAC will meet once per term. Should you wish to nominate yourself to one of the two positions available, please advise me via email mailto:jason.baker@cewa.edu.au
MUSIC TUITION 2022 - Year 3-6 children ONLY
Last Friday, we invited an expression of interest for parents of Year 3-6 children interested in registering for music instrumental tuition in 2022. There is no commitment at this stage as we need to see if we have sufficient numbers to make the program viable. To register your interest, click the QR code on SeeSaw or the note sent home. EOI's are due by 12th November.
BENEDICT FEAST DAY LITURGY & CELEBRATION
Today, our children in Benedict Noorn celebrated the feast of St Benedict. Benedict was born in the year 480. He belonged to a wealthy family of Rome. He went to a town called Subiaco, set on a mountain forty kilometres from Rome. There he lived in a cave in the side of a cliff for three years. Men began flocking to Benedict. Soon more than 140 monks were living with Benedict in a monastery at Subiaco. They were busy every day praying, clearing the land, planting crops, teaching school and feeding the poor. Their motto was: “Pray and work.”
In celebrating St Benedict, the older children visited Wheelchair4Kids to see service in action with the many volunteers who support this organisation. Thank you to Ms Campbell for supporting and coordinating this partnership within our community. The Benedict children enjoyed a shared lunch and some games today as well.
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
HIGHER ORDER THINKING SKILLS (HOTS) ACADEMIC ALLSTARS
Wishing our H.O.T.S children the best of luck as we host the Academic AllStars Tournament next Tuesday. We will welcome children from St Andrews, Peter Moyes Anglican College and St James Anglican School on Tuesday 9th November for this extension tournament. We wish our children the best as they compete through a series of 10min challenges for the children.
CLASS LISTS & TEACHER REQUESTS 2022
In preparation for the coming school year, discussions and meetings take place with teachers, students, support staff and leadership. Many hours are spent taking a very measured and balanced approach when preparing these lists and placing children in classes. Classes are always evenly distributed according to academic, social and emotional needs.
Processes are in place across the school so that we can hopefully place every child with at least one friend preference, but with 60 children in each year level, this can be a very challenging task. We do take into consideration every child's personality, learning and social needs, and balance the class accordingly. As a result, we cannot accommodate parent requests. I appreciate parents know their child and want the best possible outcome for them, but please trust that we are striving for the same outcome for the needs of every individual child in the school. I ask that parents please do not contact teachers to make class or teacher requests. Any such requests will be directed to me.
MOVEMBER - Men of St Francis
It is that time of the year again, where some of the men of St Francis of Assisi have committed to growing highly questionable and unsightly facial fuzz for the month, all in the name of raising not only money, but also awareness for the charities that the Movember foundation supports. The money raised during this month goes towards supporting a number of organisations that are seeking answers to some pretty sobering statistics surrounding men’s mental and physical health. All donations great and small are warmly appreciated, and go towards supporting our dads, brothers, sons, nephews, uncles, grandads and friends who may be suffering publicly or silently.
If you wish to donate you can do so at the link below! We would also greatly welcome any members of our school community who wish to join our face-fuzz growing team! Follow the link below to join our school Movember Team. We will keep you posted through the month with updates on just how horrendous our face-caterpillars are looking. Thank you to Mr Kinder for driving this initiative.
https://movember.com/t/the-men-of-st-francis?mc=1
Term Four is moving quickly and before you know it, Christmas will be upon us! Enjoy the fortnight ahead.
Best wishes
Jason Baker
Principal
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION NEWS
Benedict Feast Day
What a lovely day we had celebrating the life and work of St Benedict. Our day began with a whole school liturgy followed by the children in Benedict taking part in some team building games. The Year 4-6 Benedict children visited Wheelchairs4Kids and saw firsthand all the hard work Brother Ollie Rickett and his amazing team of volunteers do on a daily basis. We ended our fun with a pizza lunch. Special thanks to Mrs Mel Carroll and Mrs Rebecca Freeman for their support of the Benedict children today.
Thanksgiving / Graduation Mass
As always parents, relatives and friends are welcome (and encouraged) to come to our final Mass of the year. If any parents (or siblings, grandparents etc) would like to be involved in the Mass as a reader or special minister, please contact me at dee.campbell@cewa.edu.au
the children love it when their family is involved.
Fri 19 November. St Francis of Assisi Official Opening 9:00am (finally)
Wed 8 December. Thanksgiving Graduation Mass 8:45am
Christmas Hamper Appeal
Our annual Christmas Hamper Appeal will take place again this year starting Monday 15 November and finishing on Friday 3 December. A list of items will be included in the next newsletter and also available on SEESAW. Hampers are distributed by St Vincent de Paul to help local families in need celebrate Christmas.
''A joyful heart is the inevitable result of a heart burning with love.'
May God continue to bless us, each and every day!
Miss Dee Campbell
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
Congratulations to Emily Epple, who has been selected in the Joondalup Wolves U12 Girls Championship team for the upcoming State Championships to be held later this year. Emily is passionate about her basketball and is often seen 'breaking ankles' on the courts at lunch. A fantastic reward for all her efforts. Good luck, Emily!
WELLBEING TEAM
Congratulations to Our Friends of Francis Raffle winners for week 2 and 3:
Maribelle George (Year PPB), Savannah Diaz (PPW), Elyse Smith (Year 1B), Gabriela Hampson-Villalobos (Year 1W), Bettysap Sokiri (Year 2B), Krystal Kim (Year 2W), Atheena Harper (Year 3B), Sadie Garrigan (Year 3B), Dhieu Kiir (Year 4B), Lara Viquez (4W), Jack Heydon (Year 5B), Jordan (Year 5W), Tayla Duddy (Year 6B) and Lachlan Clinton (6W). The winners received a Friends of Francis Certificate and a Lunch with Leadership Invitation. The lunch will be held Thursday 3rd December.
We also have the latest tally of our faction token collection. The faction with the most tokens collected for this term so far:
Benedict 201
McCormack 198
Agnes 167
Kolbe 141
Our overall token tally for the year so far is 4,329 so we are getting very close to reaching our whole school target of 5,000 tokens. Once we reach this target the whole school will be rewarded. It is wonderful to see students displaying our school values and contributing to creating a positive, safe and caring school community.
Parent Engagement: Australian Research from ARACY (Australian Research Alliance For Children and Youth) recognises the very important role that parents play in their child’s education. Please find some useful tips below to help you support your child here.
1. Talk with your child – Just spending time talking with your child helps them to learn and grow.
2. Make reading a family affair – It’s never too early or too late to start reading with your child.
3. Support Good Relationships – Children tend to enjoy learning and being at school when they have strong friendships and get along with their teacher.
4. Aim High – One of the most powerful things you can do for your children is show them you believe in them and their ability to do their best at school.
5. Learn about the world together – Children learn by exploring new things and finding new interests.
6. Create a good homework environment – There are two important things you can do to get the most out of home learning: building your child’s confidence and supporting them to learn independently.
Mrs Liz Ward (Wellbeing Team)
SCHOOL FEE INFORMATION
Dear Parents,
Unless you are on an approved direct debit or have met with the Principal, school fees now need to be finalised. For families who have not commenced payment, you will receive a phone call to make an appointment with Mr Baker. Should you not contact the school, a letter will be sent home next week advising of your outstanding amount. As always, if you are experiencing financial difficulty, please contact me on 9562 9500 or email finance@stfrancisbutler.wa.edu.au to arrange an appointment to discuss with Mr Baker.
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
Interschool Carnival Year 3-6
Congratulations to all the students in Years 3-6 who participated at the interschool carnival. It was a wonderful day and so great to see the smiles and enjoyment on the children’s faces. Thank you to Danni Bakker and Katarina Hubkova who volunteered to help run an event and also to those who were there supporting the school. Well done to all the students, it was amazing to see so many ribbons and support for each other.
Running Club
For the past few years Duncan Wild has being coordinating the running club before school every week. Unfortunately Duncan will be looking to hand over this job in 2022 as his youngest child is graduating from SFoA. It would be great to continue the running club into 2022 therefore we are looking for someone or a group of people to take this on. The day of training is completely flexible and we would be happy to work around availability, if you are interested please let myself or the office know before the end of the term.
A huge thank you to Duncan for all his hard work, early mornings and time spent over the years, it wouldn’t have been a great success without you.
Regards,
Amanda Hamilton
Teacher
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:
Hope (Angela) Brecio, Ethan Canzirri, Olyvh Milton, Tejveer Mehta, Jacinta DeDut, Flynn Richards, Lilly Boffin Smith, Mia Whelan, Hollie Keogh, Eden Stipinovich, Sebastijan Rados, Alyssa Unthank, Liam Piwowarczyk, Logan Harms, Grace Barker, Miakol Chol, Ryder Sibley.
We wish you all a wonderful day!!
IMPORTANT DATES
Thursday 4 Nov - Benedict Feast Day
Friday 5 Nov - PP Performance Assembly (8:45am)
Monday 8 Nov - Constable Care Year 4 excursion
Tuesday 9 Nov - Academic All Stars (SFOA hosting)
Wednesday 10 Nov - P&F Pizza Lunch/P&F Meeting (6:00pm)
Thursday 11 Nov - Year 5 Beach Safety incursion
Friday 12 Nov - Year 1 Performance Assembly (8:45am)/P&F Colour-A-Thon
Tuesday 16 Nov - Year 6 Sailing incursion
Friday 19 Nov - St Francis Official Building Opening & Naming of Library (8:45am)
UNIFORM SHOP
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.
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/