Term 4: Week 2

St James’ Parish Fete 19th of October

World Teachers Day Celebration 23rd Oct

Sock-It To Poverty Day (Crazy sock day) 25th Oct

Principal Message….

Dear SFA Community,

Welcome back to Term 4! I hope everyone had a restful break and is ready for an exciting and productive term ahead.

We are off to a fantastic start, and celebration of our patron Saint through a shared mass and a fun and successful Colour Run. I’m thrilled to announce that we raised an incredible $8,000 for our school—thank you to everyone who participated and supported this effort! Your generosity and spirit truly shine. These funds will be directed towards the redevelopment of our urban farm. Look out for opportunities by the end of the year to explore the garden, see what is being grown and be part of the naming of this area.

Looking ahead, our Year 4 students are busy organizing Socktober—Sock it to Poverty Day—on Friday, 25th October. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to support a great cause, with all funds raised going to help children in the Philippines. We encourage everyone to get involved by wearing crazy socks and bringing a donation to make a difference.

We are also excited to celebrate World Teachers' Day on Wednesday, 23rd October. This is a special chance to recognise and thank our amazing teachers for their hard work and dedication in nurturing and guiding our students each day. Let’s take a moment to show our appreciation for the incredible role they play in our children’s lives.

Lastly, don’t forget about the Parish Fete on Saturday, 19th October. It’s always a highlight of our year, and we can’t wait to celebrate together as a community. There will be plenty of fun for all, so be sure to come along and enjoy the day with your family and friends.

Looking forward to a great term ahead filled with learning, community, and connection.

Take care, Michelle

Sock it to Poverty Day

Year 5 Soccer Training 2024

This term, six of the Year five students Ishmael, Lazar, Chloe, Georgia, Shekinah and Luke have been working hard to organize a soccer training group for Year 2s. These training sessions help the Year 2s learn how to improve their soccer skills and try to make an impact on their sportspersonship and collaboration.

The training sessions run on Tuesdays and Thursdays during Lunchtime for 30 minutes.
The first session started on Tuesday the 15th of October. The Year5s are happy to report back that all the Year 2 students were very excited and very well-behaved.

Georgia and Chloe

Year 5s training the Year 2s

THE GARDEN PROJECT

Our garden project is well under way, with lots of new plants growing and thriving! The Year 4s are doing a fantastic job as garden keepers, taking great responsibility for watering and caring for the plants. Their dedication is helping the garden flourish, and we’re proud of their commitment to this important role.

A special thanks goes to the wonderful Mathew family who generously donated an orange tree. George and Elizabeth had the opportunity to plant the tree themselves and are excited to watch it grow and be part of our Urban Farm. We look forward to seeing the garden flourish and are grateful for the ongoing community support!

Sharing our Expertise

On Friday 18th October Michelle sat on a panel at The Western Region Improvement Conference. On this panel Michele spoke about the changes we have implemented in our teaching practice and about the research that supports it.

This is a testament to all our staff at SFA and how we are leading the way in region. We have worked extremely hard as a school and it was amazing to see this recognised at a conference filled with other school leaders.

We are so proud of the great things we have achieved at SFA and also excited for the journey ahead. We wont stop until we are supporting every student to achieve the best possible learning outcomes.

Year 3 Excursion to Kryal Castle 

Hear ye, hear ye!

Our fearless students travelled back in time on October 14th to the Viking era during their visit to Kryal Castle! The day was filled with fierce adventures and hands-on experiences that brought Viking life to the present. We started by mastering the ancient craft of blacksmithing and leatherworking.

Then it was time for battle training—students picked up swords and shields, learning how to fight like the fiercest Norse warriors, ready to defend their longships and villages. They also discovered the rhythm of Viking life by trying out traditional dances, finding out that even these seafaring raiders knew how to have a good time off the battlefield.

The highlight of the day was an exhilarating jousting tournament, where students cheered on brave knights and got to meet their noble horses after the event. Who knew raiding history could be this much fun?

Fort Queenscliff Year 6 Excursion

On Wednesday the Year 6 students visited Fort Queenscliff. They have been learning about World War I and are participating in a novel study with the book, ‘War Horse’ which is also set during that time.

At Fort Queenscliff students were able to better understand the events of World War I and our role. Did you know that Fort Queenscliff fired the first round in both World War 1 and World War II? They fired a warning shot over the hull of a German merchant ship which was trying to make a hasty retreat from Port Phillip Bay, as war was declared!

Our students enjoyed viewing war items they have only read about, and had the opportunity to ask real Army personnel questions. They had an amazing day immersed in our rich history!

Year 6 Excursion to Fort Queenscliff

We have our Parish Fete on October 19th. Please read below to find out how to support our Parish and school!

This Year, in addition to our Potions Stall, SFA will be running a Plaster Painting stall, and you can also get your Photograph taken at the Photo Booth for a gold coin donation! We hope to see you at our Parish Fete!

We need your help!!

We need a parent volunteer that can run the Book Club orders each term. Our current parent, Mel who has organised it for many years is needing to hand over the job to another parent.

A lot of this task can be done at home with very few school visits (perhaps only once a term) It involves organising the running of the Book Club orders that children make. Then once a term making sure the book orders get to the correct class once delivered to the school. Other PIP parents also chip in and help when needed. 

As it is mostly an online job it can be easily done by a parent that isn't able to get into school during school hours. If you are interested in helping help please ring the office or email Andrea at amansour@sfatarneit.catholic.edu.au to let them know. Unfortunately, if we don't get a parent volunteer we will have to stop offering this to our students.