Dear families,
This week we celebrated World Environment Day. At the heart of our mission as a Catholic School we are guided by St Francis patron saint of animals and environment, who could be viewed as the original Earth Day advocate. Francis' devotion to God was expressed through his love for all of God's creation. At St Francis, we are continuing to build our commitment to becoming more environmentally aware, protectors of our Earth-in our learning and in our actions. On Wednesday, our year 6 students visited the Adelaide Botanic Gardens to participate in a forum focussed on the environment. They were fine ambassadors for St Francis, including ‘nailing’ a recycling quiz by using correct terminology!
Last Sunday, we celebrated Pentecost -often referred to as the birthday of the Church. St Francis staff, along with representatives of various parish ministries, were commissioned in their work. Fr Michael used the analogy of ‘the breath of God’ at work amongst us all. It was a beautiful occasion. Last week, the year 4 classes celebrated their class mass on the theme of Pentecost, which was also a very moving occasion.
Tomorrow’s Pupil Free day is an opportunity for our wonderful staff to engage in continued professional learning around ‘The Science of Reading.’ Families will hopefully be aware of our ongoing and targeted improvement agenda around the teaching of Reading, and Language acquisition. This will be an important time to further develop our pedagogical practice.
Now that the winter months are upon us, I would remind families of the need to ensure that children continually wear full and correct school uniform. There are multiple items available to keep the students warm and dry during these months. Students who are not wearing correct uniform will receive a reminder slip home.
I have been closely examining our attendance data in recent times. While the covid Pandemic has played havoc with attendance this year, there are nonetheless some very concerning trends in our data-particularly around students being late, collected early or going on family holidays during term time. Tomorrow, you will receive a letter from me via Szapp, which discusses the significant impact of habitual and chronic absenteeism on student learning. I urge you to read the letter carefully and to consider your children’s attendance patterns.
Have a great long weekend everyone!
God bless,
Phil
Social