• Fri, 25 Feb - School Board nominations close (Wk 4) - CLICK HERE
• Mon, 28 Feb - After School Basketball & Netball Commences (Wk 5)
• Tues, 1 Mar - Shrove Tuesday (Wk 5)
• Tues, 1 Mar - Whitefriars Catholic School AGM 7pm (Wk 5) Now on Microsoft Teams
• Mon, 14 Mar - Adelaide Cup Public Holiday (Wk 7)
  
• *Wed, 16 Mar - P&F Meeting 7pm (Wk 7)
• Wed, 23 Mar - SACPSSA Swimming Carnival (Wk 8)
  
• *Wed, 23 Mar - Board Meeting 7pm (Wk 8)
• Sun, 10-16 Apr - Holy Week (Wk 11)
• Thurs, 14 Apr - Last Day of Term 1, student dismissal 3:05pm (Wk 11)

Term 2

• Mon, 2 May - First Day of Term 2 (Wk 1)
• Fri, 10 Jun - Pupil Free Day (Wk 6)
• Mon, 13 Jun - Queen's Birthday Public Holiday (Wk 7)
• Fri, 8 Jul - Last Day of Term 2 (Wk 10)

Term 3

• Tues, 26 Jul - First Day of Term 3 (Wk 1)
• Fri, 9 Sep - Pupil Free Day (Wk 7)
• Fri, 30 Sep - Last Day of Term 3 (Wk 10)

Term 4

• Mon, 17 Oct - First Day of Term 4 (Wk 1)
• Thurs, 15 Dec - Last Day of Term 4 (Wk 9)

COVID Guidelines for Weeks 5 to 8

On Tuesday I sent a letter home to parents regarding what Weeks 5 to 8 will look like in schools.

In line with a slight easing of restrictions Reception and Year 1 children will return to being dropped off and picked up from their respective classrooms.  Reception and Year 1 children can come into buildings to place their bags on the bag racks or hook their bags in the corridors.  However, it is important to note that we ask parents/family members not to enter corridors with bag racks or bag hooks nor walk into classrooms to best protect our children and staff.  Each respective Reception and Year 1 teacher will guide you to where to wait for your children outside the buildings.

Please note that there will be a teacher supervising in the Carmelite building from 8:25am if you need to leave your Reception child before the 8:45am bell. 

As you know, at Whitefriars Catholic School our procedure is that all Reception and Year 1 children need to be collected by an adult so OSHC staff will return to collecting Reception and Year 1 children from respective classrooms.  If you require to make an alternative arrangement for your Reception and Year 1 child to be collected by an older sibling or another alternative please speak with your child’s teacher to ensure we keep all children in these year levels safe.

Please note that Playgroup parents are allowed to walk in the Carmelite Building to access the Playgroup Room each Thursday morning 9-10:30am.

As a school we will continue to limit mixing children from different classes in classroom environments and in the Library except for Year 5/6 Choir and separate Year 5 and 6 Maths classes.  In these cases, we will track children who were sharing an indoor area, however, as an extra precaution we will inform all Year 5/6 parents of the possibility of your child being a classroom contact.

Approved volunteers such as Canteen volunteers, LAP volunteers, sports coaches can re-commence.  Other volunteers can also begin with my approval.  It is important to remember that all registered volunteers need to show evidence of being double vaccinated.  Thank you for your understanding in this regard.

Instrumental Music Tutors can also commence weekly lessons on the school site.

Annual General Meeting

This year the Whitefriars Catholic School AGM will be held on Tuesday, 1 March from 7pm via Microsoft Teams.  Having this meeting online ensures the AGM can go ahead while we remain in this phase of not allowing parent meetings on school grounds.  In this meeting, I will present the 2021 Performance Report which outlines the school's achievements from last year.  A copy of this Report will be made available following the AGM.

• RSVPs and apologies must be received by 12pm Tuesday, 1 March
• Please provide the following information in your RSVP; Attendee name, contact number, email and names of child/ren attending Whitefriars
• Please RSVP to info@whitefriars.catholic.edu.au

Enrolment Meetings

Next week, Catia Frasca and I will commence Enrolment Meetings for Reception children starting Term 3 2023 or Term 1, 2024.  This intake includes children who were born from the 1st May 2018 to the 30th April 2019.

As you may be aware, we accept 87 Reception children each year and we have already received 74 applications, so I ask that you ensure that you complete an application form promptly if you have not already done so as siblings are priorities and we do not want any to miss out.

We currently have a waiting list for 2023 Reception classes; however, we are happy to continue to receive applications to be placed on that list as movement can occur at any time.

It is important to know that we have limited room in Year 2 and 4 only at this stage.  If you are aware of any families who wish to take up a place in these two year levels please encourage them to contact the school.

From next week, we are able to recommence small sized school tours so I will begin providing tours regularly to enable prospective families to come and see the school in action.

Kind regards

Frank Congedi 

Community Prayer

This week’s Community Prayer was prepared by the Year 2 Unit:

• 2A - Ms Lina Armiento
• 2C - Miss Rachel Cagliuso
• 2ST - Mrs Carmela Sartoretto & Mrs Phuong-Chi Twigden

This prayer acknowledges the Spirit of Presence, in that we are called to recognise the presence of God in our world, and in everyone.

I invite you click on the link below to use the PowerPoint presentation that has been shared for Community Prayer with classes this week.

Year 2 Community Prayer - CLICK HERE

2022 Sacramental Program

This year’s Sacramental Program has begun with parents across the three Parish schools attending the first meeting Tuesday night to explore the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We have 68 students from across the parish involved in the program, with 43 of these students from Whitefriars – a great achievement.

The following students over the following three terms will be completing the Sacraments of Confirmation, First Communion and Reconciliation.

Cruz and Noah Coggins, Tyson Cullinan, Oliver Crispin, Summer Dela Rosa, Dion Di Mella, Alessio Farrugia, Opal Girdham,Zoe Holton, Ben Hutchinson, Giovanni Iacobini, Eithen Jerry, Joel Kercunga, Brock Kilvert, Alannah Le, Lewis Lo Basso, Amelia Mammone, Amelia and Olivia Marafioti, Sebastian Maynard, Aston Nguyen, Megan Nguyen, Jaida and Nahla Nicholls, Ha My Pham, Daisy Pilkington, Vincenzo Piscioneri, Ollie Rawlins, Stella Robertson, Kristian Rugolo, Joe Scarfo, Matilda Scholes, Bethany Seaton, Aislea Silvestre, Mila Takac, Mason Tran, Zoe Tran, Anthony Troiani, Zaria Verrilli, Jessie Vu, Ronald Vukaj, Isabelle Weber, and Jake Wilson.

By completing these sacraments the students will formally complete the process of initiation into our Catholic community – I am asking everyone in the community to please pray for these students and their families as they continue on their sacramental journey and further their understanding of their faith.

Shrove Tuesday

On Tuesday the 1st of March, we are celebrating Shrove Tuesday. Each child will be receiving a pre purchased pancake (Golden Pancake Brand) or a Gluten Free/Dairy free pancake for those children with allergies. I have contacted families whose children have been identified as having a dairy, egg or gluten allergy – if I haven’t been in touch via email and you feel that your child needs a gluten free pancake – please email me as soon as possible on jpage@whitefriars.catholic.edu.au

We are unable to supply toppings to be shared on the day. Therefore each child is asked to bring in their own individual amount of toppings on the day (please avoid peanut butter/nutella due to nut allergies). I will be supplying the compostable plates and cutlery.

Teachers will distribute the pancakes to the students throughout the day when it fits in their timetable, using disposable gloves, ensuring that there is no cross contamination, and students will be asked to hand sanitise before eating to ensure we remain COVID safe.

Ash Wednesday

On Wednesday the 2nd of March we will celebrate Ash Wednesday by having two outdoor liturgies (weather permitting) – one at 12pm for the Year 3 to 6 classes, and the other at 2pm for the Reception to Year 2 classes. Unfortunately we are unable to invite parents to these celebrations at this time.

Ash Wednesday is one of the most important holy days in the liturgical calendar and symbolises the beginning of Lent. The Season of Lent is a season of penance, reflection, and fasting which prepares us for Christ's Resurrection on Easter Sunday, through which we attain redemption. Ash Wednesday occurs 46 days before Easter Sunday, and is chiefly observed by Catholics, although many other Christians observe it too.

During our Liturgy – all attendees are invited to come forward to receive the ashes, however this is not expected of those who are not of a Catholic/Christian faith. Please have a chat with your children about the significance of this celebration, and if you would like your child to receive the ashes then inform them then when invited during liturgy to come forward.

If you have any queries or concerns regarding the receiving of the ashes then please do not hesitate to contact me.

I hope you all have a wonderful week.

Josh Page - APRIM

At Whitefriars Catholic School we are committed to building a positive, inclusive and resilient learning community – where every child, young person, staff member and family can achieve their best possible mental health.  Part of this commitment is supporting our students socially and emotionally.

As part of my role as Wellbeing Leader, I work closely with our Youth Minister, School Counsellor and classroom teachers to support the social and emotional learning of our students. 

Social and emotional learning (SEL) skills involve developing the ability to understand and manage our emotions, establish positive relationships, develop empathy for others, make responsible decisions, handle challenging situations, set and achieve goals and feel good about ourselves.

At Whitefriars Catholic School, we are fortunate to have a Youth Minister and a School Counsellor to support our students when they are seeking emotional and social support.

Introducing Ruby Lai – Our School Counsellor

My name is Ruby Lai and I am the School Counsellor.  I have been a children’s counsellor for 7 years.  I have extensive experience in working with children and schools on a variety of issues including: parental separation, trauma, child abuse and neglect, grief and loss, anxiety, friendship issues, bullying, and self-harm.  I work at Whitefriars Catholic School on Tuesdays.

The school counselling service is provided by Centacare for individual counselling and as a referral service for students from Reception to Year 6.  Students can refer themselves to the service or they can be referred by their teacher, parents, or the principal.  Counselling is a voluntary process, and the students will need to give their consent.  Parental awareness/involvement is encouraged, and we welcome teachers touching base with parents to let them know about the referral if it is safe and appropriate to do so.

Centacare aims to work inclusively with students, teachers, parents and the wider school community with the aim of enhancing children’s wellbeing and ensuring supports are in place for students to develop a network of safe people around them. Whilst we aim to be inclusive, we also respect that counselling is a confidential process for students and we will endeavour to gain their permission to speak with the important adults in their life.

If you would like to refer a student, please don’t hesitate to contact me through the school.

Ruby Lai

Introducing Julie Niedzwiecki – Our Youth Minister

I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce myself as the new Youth Minister at Whitefriars School.  Many of you know me as an encouraging relief teacher but now I am also available every Wednesday for extra emotional support to anyone needing some additional positive guidance.

I love to see children shine and thrive in ways they didn’t think they could. It is so important that students are valued, feel safe, are heard and are inspired so they can practice the emotional skills required to reach their full potential.  If you feel that your child can benefit from having some extra caring quality time to release their concerns, problem solve and increase their self-empowerment skills please email me at jniedzwiecki@whitefriars.catholic.edu.au.

Julie Niedzwiecki (Ms Nedz-ve-key)

Support may be focused on the children and young people or their families.  The goal in providing support is to find the best possible pathway to maintain or improve the wellbeing of children and their families.

Grace Loizos - Wellbeing Leader

Reception D have loved learning about numbers in our first four weeks of school. In Reception we have been focusing on identifying and ordering numbers 0 to 10. We have also been practicing counting forwards and backwards from 10.

The students have been learning to match numerals to objects and have loved using concrete materials to solidify this learning. We have been utilising our classroom smartboard to play fun interactive games as a whole class. The students have absolutely loved this. Reception D have also been practicing their number formation, have a look! They’re doing an amazing job!