Week 10 - Term 1

Dear parents and caregivers,

We have nearly reached the end of term one, and I look back with a sense of gratitude and pride in what we have been able to achieve as a school community, under extraordinary circumstances. Families, staff and children have been under significant stress and pressure throughout the term, and everyone has been able to retain a sense of resilience and positivity in the face of some significant challenges.

The end of term 1, and beginning of term 2 Pupil Free Days directing by CESA are an acknowledgement of the complexities schools have faced this term, and the need to be prepared and agile, as we enter term 2. Moving forward, there remains the potential for schools to have to revert to remote learning for short periods of time, in the event of a significant outbreak of covid. These Pupil free days will allow teachers time to prepare for such eventualities. I acknowledge the impact on families, and I sincerely thank you all for your goodwill. Please note that our original Pupil Free Day schedule remains in place-as per our school calendar, these dates are Friday 10th June and Friday July 8 (last day of term 2)

One aspect of the covid Pandemic that has had a profound impact on the well-being of all school communities has been the restrictions placed on visitors to classrooms. At this stage, there hasn’t been a change in the current restrictions that are in place, and I anticipate that we will commence term 2 in the same vain as term 1-with parents unable to enter the Quad and class areas. Like you all, I very much hope and pray that this restriction can be lifted very soon. One thing that can happen is outdoor celebrations, and we are very much looking forward to celebrating Mother’s Day on May 4, on the oval! Stay tuned for updates.

Families would be aware, from recent media reporting on the issue of vaccination mandates, that Catholic and independent schools are considering their options in regard to the matter of vaccinated workers, volunteers etc. Should families wish to express their thoughts on this matters, they are encouraged to engage in the conversation by providing their views to the overarching parent association, Catholic School Parents SA via their website at https://www.cspsa.catholic.edu.au or to Executive Officer, Trish Jarvis

Week 11 is Holy Week in our Liturgical year. This is the most solemn and sacred celebration of the church year, as we commemorate the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus. During the week, the children will be involved in a number of prayerful activities designed to both commemorate and be a learning experience for the children. I remind all families that the giving of Easter eggs and other gifts before Easter Sunday isn’t liturgically appropriate and I ask that you be respectful of this, as we end our school term next week. Upon our return to school in term 2, we will celebrate the Joy of the Easter season!

It has been exciting to see our Little Francis transition program commence recently! These young children have been visiting for three weeks now, and will continue to visit throughout term 2 as they prepare to start ‘big school’ from term 3! My sincere thanks to Diem Savy for her excellent leadership of the program.

St Francis continues to experience strong enrolment interest and growth. Our reception cohort for 2023 is already very nearly full, and so I strongly encourage all families with siblings who haven’t yet confirmed enrolment for their children, to do so ASAP. If you are aware of other families who are considering an enrolment at St Francis for 2023 (and 2022 mid-year) please encourage them to make contact with Andrea Brown as soon as possible.

I would like to extend a very warm welcome to our newest staff member-Mrs Suzanne Adams! Suzanne has joined our staff team as Communications & Community Liaison Officer and will oversee a variety of aspects of our communications with families, as well as Liaise closely with our parent community. Suzanne brings a wealth of experience and understanding of schools and is a welcome addition to our administration team.

Have a great week everyone, and an enjoyable holiday break-See you in term 2!

God bless,

Phil.

Dear Families,

Student Safety and Supervision

There are a number of students who are being dropped off or are arriving at school very early and waiting on the footpath/oval outside.

Please be aware that:

• our gates will now be opened at 8.25am to help minimise unsupervised student gathering
• Student arriving before 8.20am will be sent to OSHC and fees will apply
• Staff begin student supervision at 8.30am

If possible, please time your child’s arrival at school after 8.30am.

Family Cyber Safety

Technology has provided us with huge benefits. However, there are risks involved with all devices connected to the internet.  Parents need to help their children make good decisions when working, playing and communicating online.  The esafety Commissioner website recommends some key strategies.

A great resources for parents is the following website: eSafety

NAPLAN 2022

Please be aware that NAPLAN Tests 2022 are scheduled to occur on the following dates.  

All catch-up tests will occur in the afternoon of Week May 10-13 and in the following Week May 16-20.

Nives Kresevic

Praying the Stations of the Cross - Father Clifford Hennings

Father Clifford Hennings, a Franciscan priest, shares his reflection about why we pray the Stations of the Cross

HOLY WEEK

Passion (Palm) Sunday, April 10th, will commemorate Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. It also begins the week where we follow Jesus’ journey of sharing a meal, betrayal, arrest, trial and crucifixion.

The season of Lent ends on Thursday of Holy Week.  Then the Church remembers the death and resurrection of Jesus during the Easter Triduum.  These three days are the most important time of the Church year.

Students will commemorate Holy Week beginning with Palm Sunday on Monday followed by Last Supper Liturgy on the Tuesday. 

On Wednesday the year 6 students will set up static Stations of the Cross. Students will have the opportunity to pray at each station, learn & reflect about the path Jesus took in his final days.

JESUS HAS RISEN ALLELUIA!

“He is not here, for he has risen, as he said he would.” (Mtt 28:1-10)

Followers of Christ have long testified that Christ’s story changes those who hear and embrace it.  It changes the way you think, what you love, how you live.  It shapes your apprehension of what is real and true, and forms the imagination. Our journey has just begun, Christ has triumphed and we are to keep our hearts open to the change.

ANZAC Day April 25th

107 years have passed since Australia’s involvement in the First World War. ANZAC commemorates Australia’s involvement in World War I and remembers anyone who has served in a war or conflict as well as those men and women still serving in the Defense Forces today. ANZAC Day is when we remember the anniversary of the landing on Gallipoli in 1915. It is also the day we remember all Australians who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations. The spirit of ANZAC, with its human qualities of courage, “mateship”, and sacrifice, continues to have meaning and relevance for our sense of national identity.

“They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old.”  Yet in our growing we allow them to flourish.

In our days and years, their memory finds an ample place.
“At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we will remember them.”

As this will be the last newsletter for the term, we stop to reflect on our achievements, challenges and growth during the term. What has surprised you?

May the light of Christ illuminate your way toward Easter.

Lord, breathe into us Your gift of new life and allow us to begin anew.

Stay safe during the break, care for one another and enjoy all the blessings of Easter.

God Bless

Angela De Nada

Wow, what a Term! We have had our highs and lows but a massive high has been the implementation of a new way of teaching literacy in our Reception and Year 1 classes. Dedicating the whole morning to explicitly teaching phonological awareness, handwriting and phonics has already clearly shown results and growth for our students. In this article, I will share some successes from our Reception and Year 1 classes. I will also give some practical tips on what you can do to continue the focus on Phonological Awareness throughout the holidays. It’s easy and fun!

Early Years Literacy Block

It has been my pleasure to watch the Reception teachers introduce these new skills to our youngest students and I am just blown away with their progress over the term. Only this morning I was in Mrs Fitzgerald’s class and they were telling me about how the letter y makes the sound (I) at the end of a 2 or more syllable words, and that it makes the sound (E) at the end of a 1 syllable words! Wow!

Reception students in their morning Literacy session. Reading the graphemes and then writing them on their whiteboards.

Our Year 1 classes have also been working very hard on phonological awareness, handwriting and phonics. The explicit instruction delivery of the concepts allow for plenty of revision, practice and participation from every student each day. Once again, the results are speaking for themselves!

Explicit instruction, daily phonological awareness sessions and handwriting practice ensure each child builds on their learning each day.

Each year level is implementing their Literacy block based on the Science of Reading. During the year, I will showcase other year levels to give a broader picture of how literacy is taught all through the school. I must congratulate all staff on their dedication and commitment to teaching to the science this term.

Phonological Awareness in the Holidays

Phonological Awareness (PA) is the ability to hear, recognize, and play with the sounds in spoken language. As previously mentioned, a child’s phonemic awareness is the single best predictor of their future reading ability.

There are lots of fun ways to practice and increase your child’s phonological awareness skills. Here are some activities to try at home during the upcoming school holidays:

• Rhyme time “I am thinking of an animal that rhymes with big. What's the animal?” Answer: pig. What else rhymes with big? (dig, fig, wig)

• Road trip rhymes While you're driving in the car, spot something out the window and ask your child, "what rhymes with tree or car or shop?" Then switch roles and have your child spot something and ask you for a rhyme. This can turn into a game of nonsense rhymes ("What rhymes with tree stump?") but that's great for practicing sounds, too!

• Silly tongue twisters Sing songs and say silly tongue twisters. These help your child become sensitive to the sounds in words.

• Tongue ticklers Alliteration" — where the sound you're focusing on is repeated over and over again. Try these:

o For M: Miss Mouse makes marvelous meatballs!

o For S: Silly Sally sings songs about snakes and snails.

o For F: Freddy finds fireflies with a flashlight.

• Syllable shopping While at the shops, have your child tell you the syllables in different food names. Have them hold up a finger for each word part. Eggplant = egg-plant, two syllables. Pineapple = pine-ap-ple, three syllables.

• "I spy" An old favourite that can be played at home, in the car, on a walk, or at the shops.

o Choose words with distinctive, easy-to-hear beginning sounds

o For a challenge, choose words that start with a blend or a digraph

o Blending I Spy -  “I see a sign that says s-t-o-p” (say the sounds, not the letter names). Your child has to blend the sounds to guess the word — stop.

• Sound scavenger hunt Choose a letter sound, then have your child find things around your house that start with the same sound.

• Snail talk Communicate in "snail talk" with your child. They need to figure out what you're saying. Take a simple word and stretch it out very slowly (e.g., /fffffllllaaaag/), then ask your child to tell you the word. Switch roles and have your child stretch out a word for you.

• Sound Swap Say a word and then swap out a single sound from within the word. Eg Say “keys”. Now say keys but instead of (z – final sound), say (p). The new word will be “keep”. This is a tricky, high-end skill. It will be as hard for you as it is for them!

That’s a wrap from me for the term. I have thoroughly enjoyed my role as Literacy Coordinator and look forward to learning more and working with teachers again next term. Enjoy your holidays everyone (if you are lucky enough to have them) and stay safe.

Keep on reading!

Christie-Lee Hansberry

School Sporting Team

Nomination have now closed for both school Soccer and School Footy. Thank you to those families who have nominated to participate. Unfortunately we did not receive enough interest from the years levels for any football teams to go ahead. Soccer information will be send home next week in regards to teams and the start of the season next term.

AUSKICK Promo Session

Today all students from Reception to Year 2 took part in an AUSKICK Promo session run by the SANFL, we have used the session to not only promote the sport of AFL but to also encourage students to sing up to be part of the St Francis Auskick centre that will run here at our school next term. Please follow the information on the Auskick Flyer that is attached in this week newsletter to sign up. The Government Sports Vouchers can be used to cover the cost of the program.

James Daley
Sports Coordinator