Issue #1 Term 2 2023

PUPIL FREE DAY – Friday, 9th June 

We have our Pupil-Free Day next week on Friday, June 9. The staff will be working on finalising student assessment and undertaking further training in the use of the reporting component of the SEQTA Learning Management System. (Further information about SEQTA reports is provided below) 

OHSC is open on the Pupil-Free Day; please make a booking to secure your spot. 

PYJACKIE DAY 

Pyjackie Day will be held on Friday, 30th June. This is an opportunity for children to wear pyjamas or trackies and bring in cans for the homeless and disadvantaged in our community.

Vinnies will be collecting the cans on Friday, the 30th and distributing these to those in need as we get further into the winter months. It is a great cause and one which will make a difference to people doing it tough within our local community.  Your support is always greatly appreciated. 

NEW REPORTS 

This year our school Reports will look different to previous years as we and all other South Australian Catholic Primary Schools transition into reporting via the SEQTA Learning Management System. This is a CESA initiative and will ensure that reporting practices across all Catholic primary schools is consistent. The staff have been working extremely hard to learn how to use the new system and utilise the assessment and reporting components of the program. While the report you see will appear to be more basic than the previous report structure, teachers continue to do thorough assessments of student work in order to provide the grades in the report. 

Following the publication of the new Australian Curriculum Version 9.0 (v9.0), developments in the Learning Diversity and Equity space, the rollout of SEQTA in all Catholic schools, and the construction of the SEQTA report templates, it was deemed timely to update the existing 2012 version of the CESA Reporting Guidelines document. 

The implementation of the Australian Curriculum Version 9.0 (v9.0) in Catholic schools in SA provides an opportunity to ensure that assessment and reporting practices are explicitly centred on the improvement of learning. 

The Australian Curriculum Achievement Standards describe what students are expected to understand and be able to do having been taught the curriculum content. They are the reference point for assessment and reporting against each learning area at each year level. A to E Performance Standards aligned to the Australian Curriculum v9.0 Achievement Standards have been developed, in collaboration with CESA schools, across all learning areas and all year levels. Student learning is assessed using the performance standards (rubrics), which describe the level of student learning required to achieve each grade (A to E).  

The phased implementation of the Australian Curriculum v9.0 over several years will result in gradual changes to curriculum, assessment, and reporting.  

Grade Five-Point Achievement Scale 

A:  Your child is demonstrating excellent achievement of what is expected at  

this year level. 

B:  Your child is demonstrating good achievement of what is expected at this  

year level. 

C: Your child is demonstrating satisfactory achievement of what is expected  

at this year level. 

D: Your child is demonstrating partial achievement of what is expected at this year level. 

E: Your child is demonstrating minimal achievement of what is expected at this year level. 

STAFF AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS 

Sophie Nabradi: Congratulations to Sophie, who competed in her first Australian Gymnastics Championships in Queensland; Sophie is the only South Australian athlete to compete in all four events placing 24th for Tumbling, 12th for Synchronised Trampoline, 8th for Individual Trampoline and 6th in Australia for DMT.  

Amelia Hawkins: Congratulations to Amelia, who placed second in the UME 2023 Composition competition in the 18 and under Blitz Books Rote Repertoire for piano. Well done, Amelia we are proud of you. 

Leila Magnus: Congratulations to our own Leila Magnus! Competing in Hawaii with her team from Blitz FCD Studios - Fitness Cheer & Dance and becoming the 2023 Open & Global Games Hip Hop Grand Champions!!! 

Have a great weekend. 

Jason Mittiga 

Principal SFX 

FOODBANK 

Student Wellbeing is at the heart of everything we do at St Francis Xavier’s. We believe that students demonstrate greater persistence and resilience for learning with a full stomach. For the first time at SFX, we have partnered with Foodbank to start a weekly breakfast club. The breakfast club will commence at 8:30am in Xavier Hall, every Wednesday. All students are welcome. To kickstart the program off, volunteers will be serving toast this Wednesday, 7th June (Week 6) from 8:30am.  

Foodbank SA and the School Breakfast Program 

Foodbank SA wants to make sure that South Australian children, regardless of their circumstances, have an equal start in life which is why a key area in their work is to source and acquire food items to support school breakfast programs across metropolitan Adelaide as well as regional and remote areas of South Australia. School Breakfast Programs (SBPs) help to provide healthy, nutritious food to children who turn up to school hungry and help to provide healthy snacks. 

Benefits of the program 

• Building a sense of community in the school.  
• Bringing children together and helping them to meet people.  
• Students engaging in class a lot better with a full stomach.  
• Improvements to learning, attention span and behaviour.  

• Breakfast is becoming a familiar routine that students follow on these mornings. 
• Having a consistent routine is important to ensuring positive student wellbeing.  
• Providing a safe environment and keeping students focused.  
• Improving student attendance at school. 

Our focus on student well-being informs our subject curriculum and education practices. Our breakfast program will require volunteers to help serve food to our children. If you are interested in supporting with this initiative from time to time, please email me -rsamarzia@sfx.catholic.edu.au  

VINNIES WINTER APPEAL

The Vinnies Winter Appeal is now open for 2023. Help us to help others. Vinnies are seeking non-perishable food items such as canned meat, tinned fruit, rice, canned vegetables, baked beans etc. Donations can be sent via your child's classroom or dropped off at the Front Office. We will be collecting items throughout Term 2. Thank you in advance for our support. 

Upcoming event- Pyjackie Day (Friday, 30th June) to support Vinnies Winter Appeal.  

Support the Vinnies Winter Appeal and bring a canned product to participate in the day. Wear your onesie, pyjamas or trackies. 

MOTHER'S DAY LITURGY  

Thank you to the RE leaders who hosted a beautiful Mother’s Day Liturgy to celebrate mothers and all who are like mothers to us. Thank you also to our events committee who handed each special women a flower as they entered our sacred space. 

We prayed for our mothers who were present, those who are not with, and those who have died and are with God. Thank you to our specialist teacher Roma Chiera-Garnelli for leading a beautiful reflection of the Gospel. Roma invited us into a deep reflection of how important it is for us not to hide our light but shine it for others to see. This is what mothers do.  

Thank you to all those involved who helped may our Mother’s Day celebration so special.  

LITURGIES AT SFX 

Liturgies at SFX provide the students, staff and community with the opportunity to be in the presence of God. Liturgies are celebrated in accordance with the Liturgical Calendar and provide opportunities for students to reflect on Gospel teachings. As we celebrated the month of Mary in May, several classes have had the opportunity to reflect on Jesus` mother Mary. Mary, the mother of Jesus is the greatest example of what it means to be a mother. Thank you to our staff who provide such rich and meaningful experiences for our children to grow spirituality and in faith.  

PARA HILLS/MODBURY SACRAMENTAL PROGRAMME

Congratulations to the following students on receiving their Sacraments of Confirmation and Holy Communion last week at John XXIII Church.  

Olivia Burke 

Logan Burke 

Isabella Camarinha 

George Camarinha 

Chloe McMahon 

Darcy McMahon 

Sophie Nabradi 

Spencer Nabradi 

Catherine Penna 

Hunter See 

Giacinta Polacchi 

Amy Sheen  

Sienna Ceravolo 

A special thank you to our staff and to both our Parishes for all their hard work in supporting our families in preparing the children throughout the programmes. We congratulate these children and pray that the Holy Spirit whom they have received in a very special way will lead them into a deeper knowledge and love of God. 

ST DAVID'S PARISH SACRAMENTAL STUDENTS

We also keep the students receiving the sacrament of Confirmation and Holy Communion this Saturday in our prayers. This celebration will be held on Saturday, 3rd June at 10:00 am at St David’s Church.    

Physical Activity Leaders (PALS) – Scott Hughes, Health & Physical Education

I would like to acknowledge and welcome our newest badged leaders at St. Francis Xavier’s School (SFX).

Recently, eleven Year 5 students were identified as having leadership potential in the area of physical activity and each of the students have been awarded the title of ‘Physical Activity Leader’ for 2023. The 11 students, pictured below, attended the annual Student Leadership Workshop, hosted at SFX by the South Australian Council for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation (ACHPER SA) in partnership with the South Australian Catholic Primary Schools Sports Association (SACPSSA).

The workshop focused on establishing an effective student leadership initiative to support Daily Physical Activity and promote an active curriculum, as well as strategies to engage Junior Primary students in regular physical activity. The PALS have started running daily physical activity with our three Reception classes, with the hope of scaling up the program to include our two Mid-Year Reception classes in Term 3. Congratulations to our PALS on this significant leadership achievement.

We were proud to celebrate Catholic Education Week in Week 3 this term.

We shared some things that we love about St Francis Xavier’s and what makes our community special.

The common theme of gratitude for our school has been our picturesque environment and all the calming elements it brings to our well-being, education, and daily school life.

On Friday, 26^th May, Year 5 and 6 students from SFX competed at the TTG District SAPSASA soccer carnival in both the Boy's and Girl's competitions. Both teams proudly represented SFX showing great determination, skills and sportspersonship throughout the day.  

The girl's team acquitted themselves very well, finishing third overall against some very tough competition with two wins, two draws and a loss from their five games. For many of the girls, this was their first competitive soccer match, and they did a great job working as a team throughout the day. 

The boy's team was one of the strongest that SFX has entered into the carnival in the last few years, so expectations were high. They didn't disappoint, going undefeated with five wins from five matches, scoring fifteen goals and conceding three for the day. The game against Ardtornish Primary School in particular, was a hard-fought 1-0 victory, ensuring that SFX would win the division. 

A big thank you is extended to Mr Esposito, Mrs Samarzia and Tania Krawczyk for selecting teams and coaching on the day. Also, thanks to so many of our parents and grandparents for coming out and supporting both teams.