St Francis of Assisi News

Dear Parents & Caregivers,

As we journey through the season of Lent, each week holds its own special meaning and this week we celebrate the fourth week of Lent. The fourth week of Lent is often referred to as "Laetare Sunday," which comes from the Latin word "laetare," meaning "rejoice." This week serves as a midpoint in the Lenten season, offering a moment of joy and encouragement amidst the more solemn tone of the preceding weeks. It's a time to pause and reflect on the progress made in our personal growth and spiritual journey.

For our school community, this week can be a wonderful opportunity to focus on themes of hope, renewal, and kindness. We encourage families to take a moment to celebrate small victories, support one another, and engage in acts of kindness. Whether it's spending quality time together, helping a neighbor, or simply sharing a positive message, these actions can bring a sense of joy and connection.

RECONCILIATION

Congratulations to those children who received the Sacrament of First Reconciliation at St Andrew's Parish on Tuesday. It was a reverent liturgy that was well supported by parents and staff. A special thank you to Mrs Kavanagh, Mr Kinder and Mrs Anderson for their preparation of the children and to all the families who have journeyed alongside their children in receiving this important Sacrament.

YEAR 3 AND 5 NAPLAN

Congratulations to all our Year 3 and 5 children in the way they approached their NAPLAN assessments last week. A huge thanks to Mr Kinder, Mrs Anderson, Mrs Freeman, Ms Hamilton and Mr Clarke for the administering of the assessments and the support and guidance they provided our children.

YEAR 4 HARMONY DAY ASSEMBLY & TRAVEL EXPO

Last Friday, our Year 4's presented a wonderful assembly outlining the importance of inclusion, diversity and belonging as part of Harmony Day. They then treated the rest of the school and their families to the Travel Expo. The Expo was a culmination of the work they had done in class researching and understanding more about various cultures/destinations around the world.

Congratulations to all Year 4's for their presentations and hard work. Mr Haydon and Mrs Landers were extremely proud of their country reports and the high quality of the work was on full display in the hall.

CRAZY HAIR & BIG WATER WALK FUNDRAISER - FRIDAY 28th March

Tomorrow, we will be holding our Project Compassion Fundraiser. Children are allowed to get creative with their best hairstyles for a donation! This year, in partnership with Caritas, parents can choose to either send a gold coin donation, or donate via the link below:

https://fundraise.projectcompassion.org.au/o/st-francis-of-assisi-catholic-primary-school-butler?utm_source=qrcode

In 2025, the school will participate in the 'Big Water Walk.' Students will walk around the school oval throughout the day carrying buckets of water. The aim is to encourage conversations about the challenges that certain communities throughout the world face to obtain something as simple as clean water. Hopefully the children develop an understanding of the importance of water and the privilege of the resources we have in Australia.

SOCIAL REPORTS - WEEK 10

In week 10 this term, social reports will be released via Seqta Engage for children in PP-6. This is a snapshot of your child's transition and work habits in their new year level this year. A formal academic report and meetings are scheduled at the end of Term 2. Please contact the classroom teacher should you wish to discuss your child's social report or progress to date.

BASKETBALL ACHIEVEMENT

Congratulations to two of our Year 6 boys, Joshua Epple and Kamron Makawa. Both boys have made the 20-man squad of the School Sport WA State U12 Boys Basketball team. The final squad will be whittled down to a travelling team to take on the National Championships later this year in Queensland. Looking over the squad, St Francis of Assisi was the only school to be represented by multiple students from the same school - quite an extraordinary achievement. It must be the new hoops Mr Clarke had installed over Christmas!

Well it hasn't been a great start to the season for the two WA footy teams, but the good news is one of the teams won't be sitting on a doughnut after this weekend....the bad news, one will be! Let's hope it's a competitive affair and good luck to your team, unless it's Freo.

Have a great fortnight ahead!

Jason Baker

Principal

SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION

Congratulations to the students in Year 3, 4 and 5 who received the Sacrament of Reconciliation on Tuesday. This was a significant milestone in your spiritual journey, and an important step towards deepening your relationship with God. It was a wonderful, reverent evening and thoroughly enjoyed by all. Thank you to Mrs Anderson and Mr Kinder for preparing the students so well in receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

PROJECT COMPASSION FUNDRAISER

Our main fundraiser for Project Compassion will take place tomorrow with our Crazy Hair Day and Big Water Walk. The Big Water Walk will take place on the school oval and will involve children participating in some fun activities, involving transporting water around a course- a brilliant way to spend a 35 degree day! All donations are greatly appreciated- big or small. Donations can be made through the project compassion money boxes in each classroom or via the link and QR code.

We thank you for the amazing donations received so far!

SPECIAL SHOUT OUT- PROJECT COMPASSION

A special shout out to the wonderful girls in Year 6 who have independently created a stall to sell items with all proceeds going to Project Compassion. Mckinleigh, Elora, Elsie, Ava, Abby, Lily and Evelyn have been spending their recess and lunch selling items to younger students. They have made homemade rings, bracelets, squishies, coasters and small paintings.

The dedication and hard work the year 6 girls have shown, have made a significant impact, and their compassion and generosity are truly inspiring! Through their initiative, they have not only raised a phenomenal $500 but also spread awareness about the importance of helping those in need.

UPCOMING DATES

28th March- Crazy Hair Day & Big Water Walk

4th April- Year Two Liturgy

11th April- Stations of the Cross

Sarah Kavanagh

Assistant Principal

Congratulations to Josephine (3B) who has successfully received an offer to publish her children's book from a New York based publishing company. Josephine is an avid writer and illustrator and her children's manuscript has been well received by Austin McCauley Publishers, describing it as,

'an exciting, inspiring and informative read, well suited for a young audience'.

We wish Josephine well in her writing endeavours and will keep an eye out for 'Spectacular Sports' on the shelves!

Thank you to the students that attended the Swimming Trials on Tuesday March 18th. Congratulations to the students that were selected to represent St Francis at the Interschool Swimming Carnival on Friday, April 4th at Perth High Performance Centre.

Next Wednesday 30 students will be representing St Francis at a girls AFL competition in North Beach. Best of luck to the students that have nominated to take part in the event and I am looking forward to a fun day.

As we move into Term 2 and the cooler months, if your child is sick or injured and is unable to participate in Sport classes for the week, please send me a message or a note to inform me.

Chris Rebeiro

Teacher

Our school photos days are Tuesday 8th April and Wednesday 9th April. Please note the days your child/children will have their photos taken:

• Tuesday 8th April - PP, Yr 2s, Yr 4s, Yr 5s & Yr 6s
• Wednesday 9th April - Kindy, Yr 1s, Yr 3s

Each child would have received an online ordering instruction slip with their student shootkey and instructions on how to order photos on-line. Photos need to by ordered by Wednesday 16 April 2025 to avoid an archive late fee.

Families have the opportunity to have a family sibling photo taken, please come into the office to pick up an envelope. Family photos cannot be ordered on-line, the family photo envelope needs to be handed directly to the photographer on the day. Please come to the school hall at the following times:

• Families with surnames from A-K (8:00am - 8:50am)
• Families with surnames from L-Z (8:10am - 8:50am)

Dear Parents,

Reminder school fee statements will be sent home next week to families on Bpay, Eftpos or cash (not families on direct debit plans).

Please remember to send in your current Centrelink concession card to continue receiving the discount for 2025.

Kind regards,

Geneve Bastian

Places for Kindergarten 2026 are filling up fast. If your child is born between 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022 they are due to commence Kindergarten next year. If you have not already submitted an enrolment application please let the office know.

We are thrilled 🤩 to announce that again from our fundraising efforts from 2024 the P&F has been able to make a generous donation to support our school community!

This time our contribution was $1000 to each year group for the teachers to spend on resources of their choice for their classrooms.

The Kindy and Pre Primary classes have purchased outdoor equipment, the Year 5 & 6’s have chosen to purchase sets of novels for their classes while the Year 1 & 2 classes have opted for Initialit Student Activity Books and Initialit RAD (Read and Discuss) Books.

We are still waiting on the Year 3’s and 4’s to spend their donation but will keep you all updated once the money has been spent.

A very big thank you to our amazing school community and everyone who supports our initiatives. Also a massive thanks to the lovely Kris Bowden for coordinating this incentive.

By now everyone should have received their Easter Raffle Notes and donation letters. Please have all donations for the Easter Raffle into us by no later than Tuesday 8th of April. Each classroom / wet area has a box for you to pop your goodies into.

We will be making up the hampers for the Easter raffle on Tuesday 8th of April. We would love some help. If you are able to volunteer please fill in the section at the bottom of the note and return it to the P&F box in the office ☺️

Lastly keep an eye out for the End of Term Community Lunch note which will be coming home with students today.

SCHOOL DENTAL SERVICE, IT’S TIME TO ENROL!

Every year Dental Health Services (DHS) offers parents and carers the chance to register their kids for free dental care at the School Dental Service (SDS). The offer is open to every student from the year they turn 5 until their 17th birthday and includes check-ups, fillings, and simple extractions.

Your child may have recently brough home an envelope with an enrolment form, Frequently Asked Questions, and reply-paid envelope from DHS. Just fill in the enrolment form, pop it in the reply-paid envelope, and put it in your nearest post box.

Once we receive your form at DHS our team will register your child and arrange for you to receive an appointment in the mail. If you would like further information on DHS services and the SDS please visit our website: www.dental.wa.gov.au

Happy Birthday to the following students who are celebrating their birthday over the next two weeks:

Freya Thorp, Andrew Maggiotto, Rafael Srbinovski, Zack Heron, Cohan Prunster, River Simm, Grace Seneque, Darcy Morrison, Louis Odongo, Noah Thompson, Keira Drummond, Tatenda Mandirahwe, Jose Luiz Pires Gil, Cleo Underwood, Adau Chol, Malika Magistro, Emma Kovac, Vittoria Scalisi, Daniel Deng, Brandon Durer-Jones, Logan Bakker, Leah Thomas.

We wish you all a wonderful day!!

Friday 28 March - Merit Assembly/'Friends of Francis' raffle draw / Crazy hair fundraiser & Big Water Walk (Project Compassion)

Wednesday 2 April - Girls AFL (Years 4-6) competition

Friday 4 April - Year 2 Liturgy / Interschool Swimming Carnival / Lunch with Leadership

Monday 7 April - Year 2 Easter Hat Parade

Tuesday 8 April - School photos for PP, Yr 2, Yr 4, Yr 5 & Yr 6

Wednesday 9 April - School photos for Kindy, Yr 1 & Yr 3 / Social reports released via SEQTA

Thursday 10 April - Year 5 Kings Park excursion

Friday 11 April - Last Day of Term 1 / P&F Easter Raffle / Stations of the Cross / Community lunch

Please see the information below to read what is happening in Camp Australia this week.

Unlock your child's potential with an Academic Scholarship!

One Academic Scholarship will be awarded to an incoming Year 7 student for 2026, based on the results of the Academic Scholarship Examination held in June.

Apply now for a chance to have your tuition covered from Year 7 to Year 12 at Irene McCormack Catholic College.

Registrations close on June 16, 2025.

Don't miss out!

For more information, please see the attachment below.

The Uniform Shop opens every Monday afternoon during school terms from 2:45pm to 3:15pm.

Orders can also be placed online and will be delivered to the office the following Tuesday.

Where: Operating out of the demountable at the rear of the school!

Ph: (08) 9204 1701

Email: mailto:sales@jfe.net.au

Address: 1/85 Guthrie St, Osborne Park 6017

Mon-Thur: 8:00am - 4:00pm

Friday: 8:00am - 3:30pm

Email: admin@stfrancisbutler.wa.edu.au
Website: www.stfrancisbutler.wa.edu.au
Location: 1051 Connolly Drive, Butler WA, Australia
Phone: (08) 9562 9500
Facebook: facebook.com/stfrancisbutler

Instagram: https://instagram.com/stfrancisbutler

Email: standrewsclarkson@gmail.com

Website: http://www.standrewsclarkson.com/
Location: 53 Belleville Gardens, Clarkson WA, Australia
Phone: (08) 9407 7512
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/standrewsclarkson/