Term 3, Issue 1

Dear Families,

Welcome to the end of Week 5. It has been another busy term and as always there is so much happening in and around the school at SFX. The children are working hard in class and our concert preparation for the big night is reaching new heights. There is a hype of activity about upcoming events such as Father's Day celebrations including the stall, breakfast and Liturgy, Year 3 camp, School Concert and the School Disco. Please note as advertised at the start of the year and in the Term 3 Calendar, that there is a Pupil Free Day on Friday 8^th September.

BOOK WEEK

Today we hosted our Book Week Parade, and it was a great turn out. It was wonderful to see the children and staff getting into the spirit of Book Week with this year’s theme Read, Grow, Inspire. Each year, the Children's Book Council of Australia holds a book week across Australia to promote the importance of reading and the joy that children can find in it. Schools, libraries, booksellers, authors, illustrators, and children come together to celebrate Australian literature in a whole host of events and parades.

CATHOLIC EDUCATION WEEK

Catholic Education South Australia (CESA) is making it easy to explore the benefits of a Catholic education during its annual Catholic Schools Open Week, from August 21 to 27.The 101 Catholic schools across SA will host over 120 school tours and open days, inviting parents and carers from all backgrounds who are considering schooling options to come and discover what a Catholic education can offer.

“Catholic Schools Open Week is an opportunity for any parent considering a Catholic education for their child to meet their local Catholic school and discover how we work in partnership with families to educate and nurture young people,” says Dr Neil McGoran, Executive Director Catholic Education South Australia. “As an educational sector we are committed to providing excellence for every child and young person whose education is entrusted to our care. We want every student to experience success according to their own unique talents and discover a love of learning and values for life.”

Please see some photos below of two SFX students who participated in the official Catholic Schools Open Week Campaign. These children are featured on bus shelters around our local area and in the Grove Shopping Centre on retail panels. This campaign will run for a month and they have been wonderful represenations of our school.  

SCHOOL CONCERT

The school concert is only a few weeks away and tickets are selling fast. You can buy up to 8 tickets per family and make the night a family event. Seats are not reserved for this event. The venue provides excellent viewing from wherever you sit so please don’t panic about seating arrangements.

The concert commences at 6:30 pm and will finish by approximately 8:00 pm. It promises to be an amazing night with the theme being Together We Grow Through the Decades.

UNIFORM

There have been a few issues with the availability of uniforms in particular sizes. We have met with the uniform shop, and they are working hard to ensure all sizes are readily available for all children.

Please also remember children are to wear SFX socks, white sneakers, white laces, and shoulder length hair must be tied back by navy or white hair ties. There have been a variety of hair ties being worn in previous weeks and it is becoming more about fashion instead of school expectations.

SCHOOL FEES

We are pleased to inform our school families that there will be no increase in school fees for the 2024 school year. Catholic Education SA has announced it will freeze tuition fees at its 84 Diocesan schools for the 2024 school year.

Catholic Education SA are acutely aware how the cost-of-living increases are putting significant pressure on families. SFX and CESA are committed to keeping school fees as low as possible and ensuring a Catholic Education is affordable and accessible to all.

WELLBEING DOG

I am pleased to announce that Molly, our wellbeing dog, will be commencing on her SFX journey on Wednesday next week. Molly is my dog and has undergone extensive 1-1 training sessions to get her ready for life at SFX. As a school we have worked with Dogs Connect to go through the accreditation for Molly to commence work at SFX.

It will be exciting for the students and staff at SFX to have little Molly in and around the school (on a lead) and putting a smile on people's faces. Molly will initially be working on a Wednesday, and we will slowly build up to 3 days a week next term. We will keep you informed of how she is doing and provide you with updates on her days at school.

STAFFING NEWS

Sue Sumsion from the front office broke her kneecap a few weeks ago and will be away for a while she is recovering. Tania Krawczyk will cover her on Monday and Vickie Ivancic will be at the desk Tuesday- Friday in her absence.

Lucy White is taking Long Service Leave for the remainder of the term, and we welcome Daniel Argiro who will be replacing Lucy.

2024

Anne-Marie Wesley, our new Personal Assistant and Enrolment Officer, sent out information today about non returning students for 2024. Please email Anne-Marie at PA@sfx.catholic.edu.au before Friday, 29^th September.

FATHER’S DAY

Happy Father’s Day to all the Fathers, Grand Fathers and Father like figures in our community. We hope to see all significant father figures next Friday at 8:30 am for a bite to eat followed by a short Liturgy at 9:05 am in Xavier Hall. Below is a blessing for our Dads, Grandfathers, and significant role models in our community.

Dear God

Bless all the Fathers, Grandfathers and Father like figures

We ask that you guide them to be good role models for their children and grandchildren.

Give them grace and patience to handle situations in a loving way.

We thank you for these wonderful role models in our life.

FAMILY MASS.

Thank you to all families and staff who attended our Family Mass last Sunday morning at Holy Trinity church.

A special thank you is extended to Mrs Lupone and her class who took on different roles in the Mass. Thank you also to the altar servers who supported our students with taking on this role too.

Finally, thank you to Father Kym and the Parish for making us feel so welcome.

We look forward to celebrating Mass as a community again next term.

SAINT MARY MACKILLOP DAY & WHOLE SCHOOL MASS

Feast Day of Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop.

We celebrated Saint Mary MacKillop Day with a Whole School Mass hosted by our Year 4 students.

Thank you to Father Kym for sharing Saint Mary MacKillop’s story and how we can all take a page out of her teachings.

We appreciate all the families who joined us to celebrate Australia's first SAint. She stands out as an example of great courage and trust in living out the mission of God.

"Never see a need without doing something about it."

NATIONAL TREE DAY.

This year we teamed up with Northpoint Toyota, to promote tree planting across Australia to help our environment. With the kind support of Adelaide Crows AFL players Tom Doedee, Lachlan Sholl and AFLW player, Ebony Marinoff we were able to plant 200 trees in our school to care for our common home.

The words of Pope Francis could be witnessed in our actions, 'All of us can cooperate as instruments of God for the care of creation, each according to his or her own culture, experience, involvement, and talents.'

On the day, Year 6 students and the SRC were treated to a BBQ and merchandise, supplied by Northpoint Toyota. A big thank you is extended to Ben Glover and the team at Northpoint Toyota for their support and generosity

In Mrs. Glasson's class, students have been looking at the impact waste is having on traditional Indigenous Art and Culture. This is linked to their learning in Religion about Creation and the Year 5 curriculum in sustainability, and the Arts, 

Read more about how this impressive traditional art piece was created in this classroom.

Weaving_article

Mrs Costello’s (Room 4) mid-year entry Reception class has started Physical Education at SFX! Room 4 students have settled in well and have begun familiarising themselves with the learning dispositions necessary to develop into competent and confident movers. Room 4’s focus has been on participating in games that require them to be aware of personal safety in relation to game boundaries, rules, and safe use of their own bodies and equipment. Additionally, they have focused on demonstrating spatial awareness when moving around Xavier Hall (our amazing Physical Education space) confidently and safely. Mrs Costello’s class has used a games-based approach to learn the sprint run, one of the fundamental movement skills (patterns of movement that are the foundation of more specialist and complex patterns of movement used to play sport and socially recreate). As it takes between 240-600 minutes of instruction for an average child to develop and then refine proficiency, Mrs Costello’s class has been integrating the movement skill into the school day through the Year 5 Physical Activity Leaders (PALS) Program. Each week, the PALS work with the class to provide a further opportunity beyond Physical Education to refine and develop motor skill proficiency. I hope you enjoy these photos of Mrs Costello’s Room 4 students learning through movement.