Issue #1 - Term 4, 2022

Welcome Back!

I would like to welcome you all back for the last term of the year, and in particular, our new students, Emanuela and Pradeep that have commenced their SFX journey. In addition to our new students, we also welcome Olivia Sloan to our teaching staff. Olivia is teaching in the Reception team during Term 4.

This is a busy term with many events happening in and around the school. Please keep up to date with what is happening by referring to our 2022 Calendar & Parent Handbook which is regularly amended with the latest information!

I would also like to take this opportunity to farewell Sarah Wildy who will be taking maternity leave in the next few weeks. We wish Sarah all the best for the safe arrival of her newborn.

Please enjoy this edition of our eNews.

Today is World Teachers’ Day in Australia, and the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) launched its annual World Teachers’ Day campaign — “Hats off to Teachers”. 

Teachers have the greatest in-school impact on the learning lives of our students. They should be celebrated and recognised every day, especially on World Teachers’ Day, for the incredible role they play in shaping the future of Australia’s students. 

Our teachers have risen to face so many challenges over the past few years: floods, fires and a worldwide pandemic that have all turned our lives upside down and required us to reinvent the way we live and work. All through that, they have continued to support and educate our students.

As part of our school's celebration, we held a whole school Community Prayer. It was fabulous to see so many families in attendance, and we were also delighted that Blair Boyer, the Minister for Education, Training and Skills could join us and pay tribute to all of our wonderful teachers. Thank you also to Blair for providing morning tea for our teachers. The Krispy Kremes were a hit!

Hats off to all teachers at SFX, and thank you!! 

COVID-19 restrictions are being lifted across South Australia, and below are some things you need to know if your child has COVID-19. To protect our school community, parents and students should note: 

• If you are unwell please stay home.
• If you have cold or flu symptoms you should get tested for COVID-19.
• If you have COVID-19, please stay at home until your acute symptoms (runny nose, sore throat, cough and fever) have cleared. In consideration for the health of others, when you return to school, please wear a mask while indoors until 7 days have passed since your symptoms first started or since you tested positive, (whichever is earliest). 

It would be great to see as many people as possible at our PCC Meeting on Tuesday night (1st November) at 6:00pm in the Xavier Hall Boardroom. We will be discussing the 2023 40th year school celebrations, Sports Day, Colour Explosion School Colour Run, and the rebranding of the PCC. 

I have no doubt that your children would have been coming home telling you about our new Enviro Centre. We have nearly completed the fitout of the room, and the animals are now starting to feel quite at home. We have Fish, Yabbies, Frogs, Turtles, Hopping Mice, Shingle Back Lizard, Bearded Dragons and Stick Insects. 

We are also one of four schools in South Australia breeding the critically endangered fish, the Southern Purple Spotted Gudgeon. In the short time we have been involved, we have already had successful hatchings of this fish, that until a few years ago was thought to be extinct in South Australia and Victoria.

As our “babies” grow, we will be working with Aquatic Scientists from AQUASAVE and Wetland Ecologists from the Murray Lands and Riverland Landscape Board to successfully release our fish into safe wetland environments free from invasive fish species such as Carp and Redfin.

Along with other “critters”, our baby fish and their parents are proudly on show in our exciting Enviro Centre. In order to help maintain our commitment to this program, part proceeds of the children’s book “Gus the Southern Purple Spotted Gudgeon“ go toward maintaining our Gudgeon program. The book is on sale for $15 from the Front Office.

We are always on the lookout for aquariums to accommodate our growing population of fish, so please keep us in mind if you are looking to "off load” one. We can’t wait to be involved in Gudgeon release programs in 2023.

Every Friday at 8:30am dancing and activities will take place outside of Room 3 on the oval. Please feel free to drop the children off and let them join in the Fun Friday festivities. 

On Tuesday, a number of our students received the sacrament of Reconciliation at St David’s Church. We had a lovely celebration! We congratulate and pray for each of them as they continue to become closer to God. 

“I felt really calm and not stressed.” Charlie
“I felt forgiven by God.” Alyssa 

The Tea Tree Gully Parish invites you to join them for their Family Funday on the Feast of Christ the King on Sunday, 20th November. Feast Day Mass is at St David's at 10:30am, with festivities to follow from 12:00pm - 2:00pm. 

This is a multicultural celebration of the Parish, so they are encouraging the community to wear your national dress or colours representing your country or local region. 

The event is free, but there will be food for sale. The Parish are excited to have some local food vans participating in this feast. There will be a sausage sizzle as well as traditional Italian wood-oven pizzas, burgers, chips, Polish pierogi dumplings, Dutch pancakes and a cake stall. There will be live music, dance performances, raffles and games with prizes to win. Fun for the whole family!  

Last Friday, we celebrated World Mission Month by wearing silly socks. Money raised on the day will go towards the charity, Catholic Mission. Catholic Mission works for God’s mission to reach out to those in need. As a school we raised $400.  

Thank you to the students, staff and community for supporting this event to support Catholic Mission’s goal of, ‘Food Security and life-saving nutrition in Ethiopia’.

Please join us for our Family Mass on Saturday, 29th October at St John XXIII Church, 50 Reservoir Road, Hope Valley at 6:00pm. Staff and students are looking forward to gathering as a community. 

THE PURPOSE 
The wellbeing of our students continues to be at the centre of what we do at St Francis Xavier’s Catholic School. We have many proactive and preventative strategies in place to support the wellbeing of children, and to develop their social and emotional competencies. These strategies include a focus on restorative practices and building resilience. Sometimes students will visit the Wellbeing Hub to: 

• Have a restorative conversation with staff
• To manage anger and problem solve
• Transition to class when feeling worried and anxious
• Build on self-esteem
• Work with Daphne our School Counsellor 
• Work in partnership with allied health services  

Students visiting the Wellbeing Hub for a conversation with leadership have followed the SFX Restorative Practice Policy. The Wellbeing Hub is a quiet, calm, reflective and mindful space that is only used for the purposes outlined above.

The musical held in Term 3 was a wonderful spectacle, and throughly enjoyed by all who attended. Sincere thanks to everyone involved in showcasing this wonderful event to our community. For those that may have missed the photos, here's the link to our Facebook album.