Term 1: Week 6
Dear Families,
This week marks a special time of the year in our Church as the Lenten season begins. The three pillars of Lent are Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving. To prepare for fasting we celebrated Shrove Tuesday at school this week. Thank you to Andrea and the PIP team, who gave of their time to prepare and distribute pancakes to our community for Shrove Tuesday. It was a lovely way to share in a meal together before the beginning of the Easter season and Ash Wednesday. It has been great to also see so many staff joining each other before school in morning prayer this week to reflect on our Lenten journeys and take time amongst our busy days to be present with each other and our faith.
Congratulations to all our students who participated in the district and divisional swimming events held over the last few weeks. Everyone put in an amazing effort and we are extremely proud of all of our students and their achievements. A special congratulations to Chloe (Yr 6 - backstroke) and Olivia (Yr 4 - freestyle and backstroke) who have qualified for the regional finals on April 1st. We are looking forward to seeing what you can do on the day!
A reminder to all current families with future Prep students that our 2026 Prep Enrolment Information Evening will be held on Tuesday March 18th @ 7pm. You can register your attendance via the school website. This event is a child free evening.
Lastly, we wish all our Year 3 and 5 students well as they undertake NAPLAN testing next week. We hope they get lots of rest over the long weekend ready to come to school and shine during the testing period.
I hope you all enjoy a safe and happy long weekend, Michelle
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10 MAR - Labour Day Holiday - No Students
12 MAR - Subway Orders close on QKR
12 MAR - 5:30 to 7:30pm - Reconciliation Family Workshop
17 MAR - St Patrick's Day Celebration - Wear Something Green
18 MAR - 7 to 8pm - 2026 Enrolment Information Night
21 MAR - Harmony Day - Wear a touch of Orange
27 MAR - 10 to 11am Year 4 - Sacrament of Reconciliation - Thomas Carr Chapel
27 MAR - 7 to 8pm Year 4 - Sacrament of Reconciliation - St James Church
4 APR - 12 Term 1 Finishes
22 APR - School Closure Day - No Students
23 APR - First Day of Term 2
25 APR - ANZAC Day - No students
Over the last few weeks, we have run sessions with Catholic Care. These sessions were a part of the Wonder of Living program and were aimed at supporting our students with growth and development. We ran two different sessions:
- The Year 3 and 4 session was based around how a baby grows and the important role family plays in our lives.
- The Year 5 and 6 session was about puberty and how our body develops.
We thank all our families that attended the session and are continually working in partnership with us.
Wear Green on Monday 17th March
As part of the Catholic Education Week Celebrations, on Monday 17th of March we will be celebrating St Patrick’s Day at SFA.
Although students are still required to wear their sport or summer uniform, they can join in the festivities by wearing a green T-Shirt to school, instead of their yellow shirt.
Students are also able to wear some green accessories.
Our School Captains, Chloe, Ishmael, Meera and Shekinah, along with our Faith and Community Leaders, Adrian and Ariana, will travel to St Patrick’s Cathedral with Michelle Gillett and Andrea to represent SFA at the Catholic Education Week St Patrick’s Day Mass on Friday 21st March.
Wear Orange on Friday 21st March
Please place your Subway orders on QKR by the 12th of March. We do not want anyone to miss out.
Remember to wear a splash of orange on Harmony Day 21st March.
Thomas Carr Gates
A message from Ivanka Spiteri, Deputy Principal ‑ Wellbeing, Thomas Carr College:
Thomas Carr College is a Child Safe school and, as such, has processes that ensure the safety of all children on their site. One such process is that all visitors to the College must be accompanied by a staff member. Some St. Francis of Assisi families have used Thomas Carr College as a shortcut to the primary school. Unfortunately, this will no longer be possible as the College cannot provide an escort in these instances. Students of St. Francis of Assisi may walk through the College to go to school, but their adult carers may not. If a student of St. Francis of Assisi must be escorted by their parent/carer then they will need to enter the St. Francis of Assisi school grounds from Manna Gum Drive. We appreciate that this may be an inconvenience for some families, but we are sure that all families understand the importance of ensuring the safety of every child at St. Francis of Assisi and at Thomas Carr College. Thank you all for your understanding.
SBS Australia created this great conversation starter to highlight some of the content that is being fed to tweens and teens on social media.
This week, we would like to share the Backward Tasks Method. Tired of repeating "Clean your room!" or "Put away your toys!"? If household tasks feel like a daily battle, the Backward Tasks Method could be the solution.
How It Works
Think of when you learned to ride a bike—someone helped until you could do it alone. This method applies the same idea to teaching kids tasks step by step.
Start by doing most of the task yourself while your child helps with the last, satisfying steps.
Gradually shift more responsibility to them over time.
Celebrate progress as they build independence and confidence.
Age-Appropriate Examples
Little Ones (2-5): You tidy most of their room; they place the last few items.
School-Age Kids (6-11): Start with them packing snacks, then lunch components, then planning meals.
Tweens & Teens: Begin with folding laundry, then progress to washing and sorting.
Why It Works
Breaking tasks into smaller steps makes them manageable and enjoyable, rather than overwhelming. Plus, it builds confidence, responsibility, and connection—all while making life at home a little easier!
More information about this method can be found at the Positive Parentng Solutions Website
Positive Behaviours for Learning (PBL)
As part of the PBL process at SFA, we use tokens as our reward system. Tokens are awarded to students when they meet school expectations and are colour-coordinated to align with the PBL values.
Students have the opportunity weekly or fortnightly to ‘cash in’ their tokens at the reward cabinet, which is stocked with various prizes. Each prize has a different value, encouraging students to save up for more significant rewards, such as ice cream sundae making experiences.
Tokens are kept at school and counted by teachers. If you find any in your child’s pockets, please remind them to return the tokens so they can be redeemed.
Congratulations to all our swimmers that made it to the district carnival. It was a beautiful day for swimming and it was really good to see all our swimmers enjoying themselves and having a blast.
Make it stand out
We welcome Br Luan from the Missionary Society of St Paul (MSSP) as he begins his placement and ministry to our Parishioners of St James. Please keep Br Luan in your prayers as we support him in his vocational journey towards missionary priesthood.
