Term 1: Week 8
The school is buzzing with energy this week. Students are engaged in their learning, and it’s wonderful to see the great work happening each day.
We are looking forward to supporting our Year 4 students as they prepare to make their Sacrament of Reconciliation. This is a special milestone in their faith journey, and we keep them in our prayers during this time.
This week, we have enjoyed celebrating Catholic Education Week, highlighting the rich history and mission of Catholic schools. We also officially opened our enrolments for 2026 with our Prep Information Night. If you are an existing family with a child starting Prep next year, please complete an application form via the Enrol button on our website.
I also feel very privileged this week as I prepare for a special pilgrimage. Principals from across Melbourne’s Western Region will be journeying through parts of Greece and Turkey, following in the footsteps of St Paul. This is a wonderful opportunity to deepen my connection with God and reflect on 2025 as a special Jubilee Year for the Church. As Pilgrims of Hope on the Path of Peace, we are invited to strengthen our faith, experience God’s grace, and share hope with the world. Here at St Francis, we embrace this spirit of pilgrimage and look forward to participating in this special year of celebration. I will leave for pilgrimage next week and look forward to sharing my new learnings with you on my return at the start of Term 2.
Finally, we are delighted to share some exciting news that we missed in our last newsletter—Georgia Bailey, our wonderful Year 1 teacher, recently became engaged to her partner, Matt. We extend our warmest congratulations to them and wish them a lifetime of happiness together.
Wishing you all a wonderful week ahead,
Michelle
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27 MAR -10 am Year 4 - Sacrament of Reconciliation - Thomas Carr Chapel
- 7 pm Year 4 - Sacrament of Reconciliation - St James Church
4 APR - 9 am Easter Bonnet Parade
4 APR - 12 pm Term 1 Finishes
22 APR - School Closure Day - No Students
23 APR - First Day of Term 2
25 APR - ANZAC Day - No students
2 MAY - Mother's Day Stall
9 MAY Mother's Day Afternoon Tea
9 JUN - King's Birthday - No Students
18 JUN - 7 pm Sacrament of Confirmation Celebration
20 JUN - Learning Conversations - No Students
30 JUN - Year 5 Camp
Student Free Day
The school will be closed on Tuesday, 22nd April for a staff development day.
Students start Term 2 on Wednesday, 23rd April
Next Thursday, the 27th of March, many of our Year 4 students will be receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation or a special blessing in the chapel at Thomas Carr Chapel at 10 am, or at St James the Apostle Church at 7 pm.
Please keep them in your prayers.
Children’s Mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral
Today, our School Captains and our Faith and Community Leaders will represent SFA by attending a special Catholic Education Week Mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral. They will then join with children from Catholic Schools across Victoria in celebration at a party in a nearby Park.
St Patrick’s Day at SFA
It was great to kick off Catholic Education Week at SFA on St Patrick’s Day. Thank you to everyone who came to school wearing something green. The staff celebrated with an Irish shared breakfast in the staffroom and it was great to see so many children excited to be learning about St Patrick across the school.
Stations of the cross
at Thomas Carr College
Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday, the 13th of April. To help us prepare for Holy Week our Year 2 to Year 6 students will attend the Stations of the Cross at Thomas Carr at 10am On Friday 4th April.
Students in Year Prep & Year 1 will participate in a special liturgy at SFA during this time.
Easter Bonnet Parade and Raffle
Reminder! - Don't forget to get your Easter Raffle Tickets in Qkr!
Cost $2.00 each or 3 for $5.00
Ticket sales close Tuesday 1st April at 4:00pm
There are lots of prizes to be won!
The raffle will be drawn after our Easter Bonnet Parade: 9:00am Friday 4th April on the asphalt area
Year 6 Camp and Leadership Jersey’s
The Year 6 students have had a very busy start to the year. Firstly, the Mill Valley Ranch camp was an amazing experience! Students' cabins were located within the small western town with cabins such as the Barber Shop, Grocery Store and Livery Stables. They participated in a range of adventure activities, including horse riding. For many students, it was the first time they had been on a horse, and they even guided their horses over a small bridge and into a trot!
In Week 7, as leaders of our school, the students were presented with their Year 6 Jersey. Father John came to bless the jerseys and spoke to the students about the significance of receiving such a representation of leadership, reminding them that the rest of the school will look to them as good examples of the expectations here at St Francis.
Seeking Help from Our School Community
A huge well done to our Year 3 and Year 6 students for their incredible efforts in cleaning up the garden after it became overgrown during the summer holidays. Their teamwork has helped prepare the space for new plantings, and we can’t wait to see the results!
A big shoutout to our Year 4 students, who have been exploring Connecting to Country by brainstorming ways to incorporate and celebrate Indigenous culture in our garden. One of their fantastic ideas was to reflect on Creation Stories passed down by Elders, helping us deepen our understanding of the land and its significance.
Another shoutout to our Year 5 community, who have been dedicated to looking after the garden by watering in the mornings and maintaining it every Friday. Their commitment ensures our plants stay healthy and thriving!
Thank you to all our students for their hard work and care. We are excited to see our garden continue to grow! 🌿✨
Seeking Help from Our School Community
We are looking for families with landscaping experience or knowledge of irrigation systems to assist with measuring our garden. This will ensure that when we source materials through our local Bunnings, we have all the correct information for installation.
If you or someone you know can help, please reach out via email. Your support would be greatly appreciated as we work to improve and sustain our garden for the school community!
Year 3 Health Hands-on Experiences
This Term, the Year 3 students have been learning about human senses and movement. When learning about the muscular system, students built playdough models to represent the major muscles in the human body, recognising how muscles sit closely within the skeletal system. Then students dissected chicken legs to identify the meaty parts (muscles), the stretchy parts (tendons) and the joints that connect bones together. There was much excitement as students dissected their chicken legs. Some students chose to watch, while others enjoyed digging in to find muscles, tendons and joints.
This week’s digital news comes from the National Emergency Management Agency
Mobile phones are useful tools when preparing for emergencies, with apps designed to help you plan for and respond to emergencies.
The apps below can help you monitor your local area:
☁️ The Bureau of Meteorology app will use your location details to alert you to severe weather events happening near you.
📻 The ABC Australia listen app allows you to listen to local programs and emergency broadcasts from any ABC Radio station around Australia.
🚑 The Emergency+ app helps you ring triple-0 and provides you with your GPS coordinates so you can tell an operator where you are.
Building primary schools’ capacity to enhance children’s mental health
Mental Health in Primary Schools, or MHiPS, is a partnership between the Centre for Community Child Health (CCCH) at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI) and the Melbourne Graduate School of Education (MGSE) at the University of Melbourne.
Children’s mental health is fundamental to their development and learning. Good mental health means having a positive sense of wellbeing, coping with challenges and being able to realise individual potential. Unfortunately, not all children experience good mental health.
Developed by paediatricians, educators, psychologists, researchers, and teachers, the Mental Health in Primary Schools (MHiPS) program upskills experienced teachers to become Mental Health and Wellbeing Leaders and aims to increase the capacity of Victorian primary schools to support the mental health of their students.
We at SFA are pleased to announce that Michelle Alexander is our Mental Health Wellbeing Leader. She will be sharing information about mental health in primary schools in the upcoming newsletters.
Parish Mass this Sunday 10:30am at St James
This Sunday, in celebration of Catholic Education, our School Captains and our Faith and Community Leaders will represent SFA by joining together with student leaders from TCC and our sister schools at a special Parish Mass. We hope you can join them to show your support.
The Australian Government announced an additional $4.9 million in funding to NBN Co to extend the School Student Broadband Initiative (SSBI) to 30 June 2028 to ease cost-of-living pressures and narrow the digital divide for unconnected families with school-age children.
To qualify you must:
Have a school age student at home (full or part time) enrolled in an Australian school (Including Prep up to year 12).
Not have an active nbn® network internet service at your current residential address now or in the past 14 days. (Having a mobile internet service does not affect eligibility).
Live in a premise that can access the nbn network through a standard connection
To apply, families and carers are encouraged to contact the National Referral Centre run by Anglicare Victoria on 1800 954 610 (10.00 am – 6.00 pm Monday to Friday) or visit www.anglicarevic.org.au/student-internet.
