Dear Parents, Friends, Staff and Students

Our Year Three students are in their final week of preparation to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, for the first time.  The Year Three students will join with the parish catechist students on Wednesday 22nd September to receive the Sacrament at St Francis of Assisi Church.  Sincerest thanks to Fr Joseph, Mrs Hawley, Mrs Keddie and parents for working with the children to assist them with their preparation.  For most of the children this will be the first Sacrament they will receive that they will remember.  Receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation is a significant milestone in the faith journey for our Year Three students and we offer them our prayers and best wishes.

A Prayer for our Reconciliation Candidates
Loving God help us to teach our children that you love us totally and unconditionally.
Help us to encourage our children to grow in love and to learn how to say sorry, knowing that you always forgive.
Give us the courage to pray with our children and to share our faith with them as we journey together.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen

 

School and Parish 30th Anniversary Lunch

Parents received an invitation earlier this week to a school and parish celebration lunch to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of our school. The lunch is a generous gift from the parishioners of St Francis of Assisi Parish.  The event will take place on Sunday 17th October.  All families are invited and encouraged to come along.  Please rsvp using the link: https://form.jotform.com/212521988878876

 

Congratulations

Congratulations to Mrs Amy Power, and her husband, Tom, who are expecting their first baby early in 2022.  Our very best wishes to them both, and their families, for the months ahead.

 

Teacher Emails

Parents are reminded that teaching staff may not respond to emails outside of reasonable working hours, or during the teaching day.   Staff usually attend to their emails either, before school or after school.  Please do not expect an immediate or same day response to your email.  Teachers will usually get to respond to emails with a 24 hour period.  Please contact the administration office if you have an urgent need to speak to your child’s class teacher.

 

Lost Property

I checked the lost property basket this morning and was surprised by the number of school jumpers and tracksuit jackets with no names, waiting to be claimed.  School jumpers and tracksuit jackets are expensive items.  Parents are reminded that it is essential that all items of clothing are clearly named.  Lost property can be easily returned to the correct owner if it is clearly labelled. One of the jumpers in the basket has the name of a past pupil, Lorelei Noonan.  It is likely that the jumper has been handed down second hand.  Please come and claim it if it belongs to your child.  A child in Year 1 has lost their tracksuit jacket.  The jacket is clearly labelled with the name of Ciara Waddington.  Please double check your children’s jackets to make sure it has not gone home by mistake.  Please check the lost property basket, prior to the end of the term.  Unclaimed and un-named items will be sent to the second-hand shop in the Uniform Centre.

 

Term Four Planner and Dates

Term Three draws to a close at the end of next week.  A term planner will be sent home to families, as a hard copy.  I have listed some term dates for Term Four in this newsletter.  Please keep a close eye on these dates so you do not miss any events that are taking place. 

 

Inter-School Athletics

Best wishes to the Inter-School Athletics Team and to Mr Battistessa for the carnival on Tuesday 21st September.  It will be a big day of good competition with 8 schools participating. We invite parents and visitors to come along and cheer the students on.  Please forward any queries about the carnival to Mr Battistessa.  Thank you to Mrs Jodie Capobianco, and her team of P&F helpers, for organising the lunches for the carnival as a fund-raising initiative.  Fingers crossed for fine weather on the day.

 

Matthew Gibney Day and Grandparents Day Celebrations

Grandparents Day will be celebrated on our 30th Anniversary Matthew Gibney Day on Friday 29th October.  Parents, grandparents and visitors are welcome to come along and enjoy the festivities of the day.  The outline of the day will be as follows (times are approximate):

• 9.00am Mass and official blessing and opening of the new nature playgrounds.
• 10.15am Grandparents are invited to visit the classrooms to view the children’s work.
• 10.45am Visitor’s morning tea
• 11.30am Matthew Gibney Day Concert items.
• 1.30pm Colour-Run on the oval.

An invitation with rsvp dates will be made available to all families.  However, in the mean time please save the date for this significant event in our school calendar.

Best wishes to the Year 4 class for their class assembly tomorrow morning.  I look forward to welcoming parents to the final assembly for the term, on Friday 24th September at 9.00am.

Therese Hussey
Principal