Dear Parents and Families,
It has been a wonderful start to the term with many opportunities to celebrate learning, faith and the strength of our school community.
Our Prep 2027 Orientation sessions have been a highlight, as we welcomed our newest students and their families into our community. There is always a wonderful sense of excitement as our future Preps begin to familiarise themselves with their new learning environment, meet staff and make connections with other children. We look forward to welcoming these families officially to St Francis of Assisi and beginning this important journey together in 2027.
We continue to hold our Year 3 students in our prayers as they prepare to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This is an important step in their faith journey, providing an opportunity to reflect on God’s love, forgiveness and mercy. Thank you to the families who participated in our successful Reconciliation family workshop and immersion day. These experiences provide valuable opportunities for children and families to deepen their understanding of the sacrament and strengthen the connection between home, school and parish as we nurture the faith of our young people.
We also recently celebrated World Teachers’ Day, recognising the dedication, commitment and care our teachers bring to their work each day. This year’s theme, “Shine a Light on Teachers,” reminds us of the important role teachers play in illuminating possibilities, nurturing curiosity and inspiring children to reach their potential. At St Francis of Assisi, we are fortunate to have teachers who work tirelessly to ensure every child is known, supported and challenged to succeed. Their work extends far beyond the classroom, and I thank our teaching staff for the difference they make in the lives of our students and families every day.
Our upcoming school closure day will provide staff with a valuable opportunity to engage in professional learning focused on the teaching of writing. As part of our ongoing Science of Learning journey, we remain committed to strengthening evidence-informed teaching practices and ensuring a consistent, high-quality approach to instruction across the school. Writing is a complex skill that requires explicit teaching, carefully sequenced instruction, opportunities for practice and meaningful feedback. By continuing to build our teachers’ knowledge and expertise in this area, we are investing in improved outcomes for every student. These professional learning opportunities reflect our belief that every child can succeed through excellent teaching, every day.
As always, thank you for your continued support and partnership. The connection between our families, parish and school is central to the flourishing of our children, academically, spiritually and socially. Together, we create a community where every child is encouraged to grow in faith, develop a love of learning and become the very best version of themselves.
Warm regards,
Michelle
📅 Term 4 Important Dates
November:
November 2 (Mon): School Closure Day - STUDENT FREE DAY
November 3 (Tue): Public Holiday - Melbourne Cup Day 🏇🏆
November 4 (Wed): Year 1 Excursion - 🌳 CERES 🌱
November 6, 13, 20 & 27 (Fri): TK Tuckshop – Order via Spriggy before 8:00 AM.
November 16 (Mon): Year 5 Excursion - 🏛️ Melbourne Museum 🦖
November 16 (Mon): Prep Excursion - 🐠 Melbourne Aquarium 🦈
November 19 (Thu): Year 2 Excursion - 🎭 Footscray Community Arts Centre 🎨
November 23 (Mon): Prep Incursion - Fairly Tale Fiasco
Looking Ahead
December:
December 7 (Mon): Year 6 - Thomas Carr College Orientation Day
December 9 (Wed): Year 6 - GRADUATION 🎓
December 10 (Thu): Year 6 - 🎡 Big Day Out at Luna Park 🎢
December 15 (Tue): EARLY FINISH - Students finish at 12pm (please ensure arrangements are made for pick up)
📱 Compass App: Are Your Notifications Turned On?
We want to make sure every family stays informed and connected. Please take a quick moment to check your Compass App settings today:
Enable Push Notifications: Ensure permissions are switched on in your phone’s system settings.
Keeping your notifications active guarantees that all important news, event reminders, and emergency alerts land straight on your screen.
🚨 OVERDUE SCHOOL FEES – FINAL REMINDER 🚨
Dear Families,
Please be advised that all unpaid school fees are now overdue! This is a FINAL REMINDER for all families with an outstanding balance to settle their account as a matter of urgency!
Please contact the School Office as soon as possible to make your payment.
If you have any questions or need to discuss your account, please reach out to Vanessa at officemanager@sfatarneit.catholic.edu.au.
If you have already made this payment, please disregard this notice.
Thank you for your cooperation and prompt response.
We Are Now on Social Media! 📲✨
Great news, families! St Francis of Assisi is officially on social media. We’re excited to share more of our school life, student achievements, and upcoming events with our community.
Follow us to stay connected and see what’s happening around the school:
📸 Instagram: @stfrancistarneit
📘 Facebook: sfatarneit
Be sure to like, follow, and tag us so we can celebrate our wonderful community together! 🙏 Tag a fellow parent in the comments once you follow us!
📌 Volunteering at St Francis of Assisi: Link Your WWCC!
We love having parents and carers join us for school events and excursions! If you are planning or hoping to volunteer with us, please ensure your Working with Children Check (WWCC) is officially linked to St Francis of Assisi as an authorised organisation.
How to link your WWCC:
Update your details online via Service Victoria.
Add St Francis as an organisation, using the exact school email address: info@sfatarneit.catholic.edu.au
Once you submit the update, our system will receive automatic confirmation within 1 to 3 business days—so there is no need to send or present any extra documentation to the office.
PLEASE NOTE: Please complete this process ASAP. To ensure student safety and compliance, if your WWCC is not officially linked to St Francis in the system, you will unfortunately be unable to assist with any school events or excursions.
Thank you so much for your time and ongoing support of our school community!
💡 Thanks a Watt! Celebrating World Teachers Day!
Our classrooms are bright because of the incredible teachers inside them! For World Teachers’ Day, we gave a huge “Thanks a Watt!” to our staff for all the energy and heart they pour into our students.
The day was filled with big smiles as students presented teachers with special gifts and heartfelt messages of appreciation. Staff were also treated to an incredible catered lunch from Greek on the Street as a small gesture of gratitude for everything they do.
Thank you to everyone who contributed to making our teachers feel so special!
🚀 Year 6 Space Expo 🪐
On Monday the 19th October, the Year 6 community hosted a Space Expo 🌍💥
Our challenge was to design and create a civilisation on another planet because Earth was dying. During the expo, we presented our projects to students, parents and school leaders. We started our preparation by writing autobiographies with our teachers pretending we are NASA scientists. We had one week this term to create our dioramas and digital resources. Our displays included a model of our civilisation, autobiographies, fact files about our chosen planets, and designs created using Tinkercad. We used our mathematical knowledge on area and composite shapes to create Tinkercad designs to help us plan and develop our models.
It was a pleasure to welcome visitors to explore our designs and learn about our ideas. We are grateful for the support and encouragement we received from our school community throughout this exciting project!
✍️ Written by Alisha Arora & Achai Door
🥢 A Taste of Korea! Year 6 Language & Food Day
On Tuesday, October 27th, Year 6 transformed into a vibrant hub of Korean culture and cuisine!
Our students stepped out of the classroom and into a full-sensory learning adventure, sampling delicious Korean dishes while enthusiastically practicing their language skills on the spot. It was incredible to watch their confidence soar as they brought their vocabulary to life in such a practical, fun way.
Huge thanks to all the supporters and contributors who helped cook up such a memorable, hands-on cultural day for our Year 6s!
💬 Student Spotlight: A Student's Perspective
"On Tuesday, 27 October, the Year 6 students had the wonderful opportunity to sample a variety of delicious Korean dishes, including tteokbokki, japchae, and more! 🥢 Some dishes were quite spicy 🌶️, but we enjoyed trying new flavours and had a fantastic time together. My personal favourite was the Korean BBQ chicken!" 🍗😋
— Written by Sabina Ambala
✨ Sacrament of First Reconciliation ✨
Congratulations to our Year 3 students who celebrated their Sacrament of First Reconciliation last night at St James Catholic Church, as well as our children of other faiths who received a special blessing! ⛪🙏
Fr Jude and Fr Marydas led a beautiful, uplifting, and prayerful service. It was wonderful to work in close partnership with so many of our families, starting from our Family Workshop last Wednesday through to last night’s liturgy.
Thank you for supporting our children as they take this important and meaningful step in their faith journey! 🌟
🎉 Year 2 St Francis of Assisi Jubilee Mass & Sports Day! ⚽
What a vibrant and action-packed day! Tuesday, our Year 2 students came together with friends from our sister schools—St Clare's, St James, and St Teresa of Kolkata—for an unforgettable celebration marking the Jubilee Year of St Francis of Assisi.
Our Year 2 stars truly raised the roof with their enthusiastic, joyful singing during the special Mass! The excitement continued into the afternoon as everyone geared up for high-energy Kaboom Sports games. It was incredible to see so many big smiles, wonderful teamwork, and new friendships blossoming across our school communities.
A huge well done to all our Year 2 students for representing our school with such energy, spirit, and joy! 🌟
📅 TERM 4 PSG MEETINGS
✉️ Reminder for Families: Details for Term 4 PSG meetings (taking place in Weeks 6 & 7) have been sent via email and can be viewed via the Compass app.
To view your scheduled time:
Open the Compass app.
Tap More (bottom right corner).
Select Conferences.
Please ensure you check your time, and contact the office if you are unsure.
🌺 REMEMBRANCE DAY POPPY APPEAL 🌺
As Remembrance Day approaches, our school is proud to once again support the RSL Remembrance Day Poppy Appeal.
Poppies will be available for students and families to purchase at school starting from Wednesday, 4th November, leading up to Remembrance Day.
Purchasing a poppy is a wonderful way to honour those who served while helping raise vital funds for our veterans and their families. Thank you for your ongoing support of this meaningful cause!
🎪 St James Parish Fete – A Spectacular Success! 🎡
What a fantastic day we had on Saturday, 17th October at the St James Parish Fete! The energy was high, the smiles were bright, and our school community truly showed up to make it an unforgettable event.
Our school stalls were a massive hit throughout the day! Children and families loved:
🧪 The Potion Stall: Brewing magical, colorful concoctions!
🎨 Plaster Painting: Creating beautiful artistic masterpieces to take home.
📸 The Photo Booth: Capturing fun, memorable moments with friends and family.
A huge shout-out goes to our incredible School Choir 🎶, who delivered an absolutely stellar performance! You sang with so much joy and confidence, making our whole school community incredibly proud. 🎤✨
An event like this only succeeds with the generosity of our community. We extend our deepest thanks to everyone who donated items, baked delicious cakes 🧁, bought ride wristbands and raffle tickets 🎟️, and volunteered their time to help out. Your overwhelming support made the day a roaring success! ❤️🌟
⚡ Year 6 Alert: Big Fun Ahead with St James Youth Group! 🎉
On Wednesday, our Year 6 students had a special visit from Red at St James Parish! Red dropped by to share an exclusive invitation with our Year 6s to come along and experience all the excitement, games, and great vibes at St James Youth Group. 🤩✨
📅 Mark your calendars! All Year 6 students are warmly invited to join in on the fun on Sunday 8th November and Sunday 6th December (or your updated second date). Don't miss out on an awesome time with friends! 🙌🎈
📄 Check out the full invitation and details here: St James Youth Group Invitation
