Issue #2 - Term 3, 2022

Dear God, 

We remember and give thanks for the life of Queen Elizabeth II.
Thank you for her kindness, wisdom, and generosity.
Thank you for her hard work during her 70 years on the throne.
Thank you for her goodness and her love for you.
Help us to live by the values she showed to us.
We also pray for the Royal family at this time of sadness. 

Amen. 

Well, what a busy few weeks it has been, with school events in full swing! This is the largest number of consecutive events we have had at SFX since I have been here, and it has been wonderful to see the community involved and the children so happy. I am very proud of all we provide at SFX for the children, parents, and the community. Onwards and upwards! 
 
The major events we have celebrated over the last three weeks have been:  

• Book Week 
• Principal Tour 
• Quiz Night 
• Coffee van 
• Father’s Day Stall
• Reception Father's Day Liturgy & Breakfast
• Grandparents (or Special Friends) Day
• Religious Leaders day for CESA staff
• School Disco 

I would like to thank Grace and the PCC for all their hard work, and also acknowledge the behind the scenes work of our staff who have been instrumental in the success of all these events. We are blessed to have such dedicated people in our community. 

Please enjoy this edition of our eNews!

All families received an email from Sonya on 31st August with 2023 Class Placement request criteria. A reminder that any requests must be sent directly to Sonya via return email by 30th September, 2022 to ensure that they are included for consideration as we formulate classes for next year.

Further to our recent email, a reminder that to assist us with class and staffing arrangements, it would be appreciated if you could please email Sonya if your child WILL NOT be returning in 2023. Required in your advice for reporting purposes is their destination school, as well as the reason for leaving, please.

Your assistance in advising us by Friday, 30th September, 2022 would be greatly appreciated.

For Year 6 families, please advise your child's destination school.

Please note: In line with our school Fee Policy, families must give one terms notice in writing of their intention to withdraw their child/ren. Where this is not adhered to, the school reserves the right to charge a full term’s school fees.

As you are all aware, we have one Family Mass a term at our Modbury / Para Hills Parish. The parish thoroughly enjoys these occasions, and in particular, the children assisting in the Mass readings and singing. Fr Manu and Carolyn (Parish Board representative) are very appreciative of our commitment. Next term the Family Mass will be at John XXIII at 6:00pm on Saturday, 29th October, 2022, and we hope to see you there!

Two weeks ago we celebrated Catholic Schools Open Week. During that week we had a School Tour as well as our Quiz Night.

We had approximately 180 people at the Quiz Night, and everybody had a great time at this community event. We even managed to raise $5,500 which will go toward paying for the newly erected playground. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who contributed in any way, but in particular, our major sponsors - Smith Partners Real Estate and Smith Partners Financial Solutions.

The School Tour attracted 37 families! We are in a really strong position with enrolments, with our ultimate goal being 3 streams in each year level across the school.

Next term I will provide you with more information around staffing and class structures for 2023. 

As we start to "improve" in the COVID space, I would like to acknowledge the resilience of our students and staff. The last three years have been tough to say the least, and the staff have been at the forefront of all that has gone on. Their acceptance of the ever-changing guidelines and restrictions has ensured the continuity of learning for all students at SFX.

A number of our staff have had to forego seeing vulnerable family members for weeks on end, as they have been deemed close or classroom contacts. Sometimes we forget about the toll this can take on families. I would also like to acknowledge all front line workers who have been in similar situations during the Pandemic. Your dedication and resilience during a time of great uncertainty is nothing short of heroic.

The school has carried on as normal as was possible, and the staff and children have been amazing. This is my way of saying thank you to our wonderful community.

Don't miss the opportunity for your chance to win a well overdue holiday on us, as well as being able to save hundreds on your home or personal loans!

MAKE AN APPOINTMENT before 30th Septmber, 2022 for your chance to win...

For those of you that were at the Quiz Night, you would be aware that Smith Partners Real Estate and Smith Partners Financial Solutions were the major sponsor for the evening. Families that were at the event had the opportunity to enter the draw for a holiday to Palm Cove**, so now, we are opening this up to all SFX families.

With interest rates on the rise and lenders offering cash incentives to win your business, now is a perfect time to review your lending!

Our service is at no cost, no obligation, private and confidential, and we can even come and see you after hours in the comfort of your own home. 15 minutes is all it could take to literally save you money and put cash into your account!

**Every appointment with Smith Partners Financial Solutions not only puts you into the draw to win a holiday to Palm Cove, but will also contribute $50 to the playground at SFX – and after all, who doesn’t want to do it for the kids!

Contact Matt Barnes today on 0412 314 314 or email: matt.barnes@spartners.com.au

Culture of Learning
Our school has embarked on a new project. It is a national pen pal program fostering connection and community, with handwritten letters being sent across Australia to people feeling isolated and disconnected. Using the words of Mary Mackillop, “never see a need without doing something about it” and “find happiness in making others happy”, we write these letters knowing the joy they will bring, but know that we will never see the impact of our words. This program is a literacy enrichment program, and is only offered to students who have met diagnostic criteria.

This term we ran two interactive Read to Learn Community Workshops. Our community response was exciting with the first session quickly filling to capacity. Wynn Vale Kindy staff were also in attendance. Our focus was to share with you how our staff have been strengthening our teaching and learning capabilities in being literate and effective communicators.

We demonstrated how we have used research and evidence-based practice to improve the reading learning outcomes for the students we teach. Workshop participants were highly engaged in activities and had an opportunity to experience the learning.

The feedback was extremely positive, and we look forward to designing and presenting more interactive workshops in other curricular areas in the future.

A quote from the workshop that really hit home was:

“When a child memorises ten words, the child can only read ten words, whereas if the child learns the sounds of ten letters the child will be able to read 350 three sound words, 4,320 four sound words and 21, 650 five sound words.” (Decodable Readers Australia)

This year for Intercultural Day, we are celebrating the many cultures of our SFX families through food. Earlier this year we requested recipes from our families and from the families from Wynn Vale Community House Kindergarten, to share in a recipe book to sell to our community.

The recipes are family recipes from all our different cultural backgrounds including Syria, Korea, Russia, China, Italy, Croatia, Poland, Philippines, and many more!

The book is finally complete and will be on sale during Week 10 and until the end of Term 1, 2023. You can purchase an A4 hard copy for $5, or a PDF online copy for $3. They will make a great birthday or Christmas gift, as they have wonderful recipes such as traditional Shortbread, Tiramisu, Vereniki, Tabouli, Lasagne, Zeppole and Pierogi, just to name a few!

You can pre-purchase your books in hard copy or PDF online version via the Qkr! App under Fundraising SFX Cultural Recipe Book. There will also be hard copies available from the Front Office in Week 10. All funds raised will go to purchasing resources for Intercultural Day 2023.

Many thanks to all the families and staff members who contributed to this wonderful book.

In case you missed this... congratulations to Year 6 student, Jake, who was invited by Peter Malinauskas, Premier of South Australia to the launch of the VALO Adelaide 500.

Jake was presented with the #1 ticket by the Premier, and also announced the headline entertainment act for the event - The Killers. A fantastic day for Jake!

Coach Mittiga retains his number 1 title!
Just in case you haven't heard (highly unlikely because we are pretty sure Jason has told everyone)... We competed in the TTG District SAPSASA Football Carnival again this year, and the boys were fantastic. A big congratulations on coming away with the win, and a big thank you to all the parents for their support and assistance on the day.

SAPSASA State Soccer Carnival - Tea Tree Gully District Representation
Congratulations to Emilia, Mitchell and Djett who represented the Tea Tree Gully District in the recent SAPSASA State Soccer Carnival held from 22nd - 24th August. The girls team came 6th overall and the boys 5th. A great experience getting to play against the best of those in primary years across the state.

SAPSASA Basketball Championships (8th August) 
It was with much anticipation that we returned to the Championships after our results last year. We had the same coaches, Elisa Chillingworth for the girls and old scholar Alex Trzcinski for the boys. Once again, the carnival was held at Lightsview. Both teams were strong competitors and we made it through to the Grand Final of the day, with the winner to progress through to the State Finals – unfortunately both were unsuccessful in progressing through, but a great achievement to get to the final from all 19 students who participated.

SAPSASA TTG District Girls Football Carnival (scheduled for Friday, 12th August) 
Unfortunately, the SAPSASA TTG District Girls Football Carnival was cancelled due to the weather, and given the tight timeframes for carnivals in Term 3, this couldn’t be rescheduled. 

SAPSASA TTG District Tennis Carnival (Friday, 26th August) 
SAPSASA TTG District Tennis Carnival was held at the TTG Tennis Club, and a big shout out to the parents who attend this carnival with their students (no teachers attend). It was a great turnout, with 15 students from Years 5 and 6 attending. SFX placed 7th overall.

SAPSASA TTG District Soccer Carnival (Thursday, 8th September) 
It was certainly touch and go as to "whether" the "weather" was going to claim its next Carnival victim... thankfully the day proceeded with only a couple of showers, however, it did result in changes on the day to pitch and team sizes. The coaches, Mr G Esposito (boys) and Mrs Samarzia (girls) took it all in their stride. There were some great skills on display, and it came down to the last game of the day for both teams! The girls finished 2nd overall, and the boys 3rd. SFX had 25 students from Year 5/6 participate.

SAPSASA Metro/State Golf Championships (8th - 9th September) 
Congratulations to Oliver who represented Tea Tree Gully at the SAPSASA Metro/State Golf Championships. On the Thursday, in the Boys State Metro Golf Final, Oliver finished 19 out of 56. He then had to compete in the State Championship Final on Friday where he finished 55 out of 108. A great achievement!