Term 1

Dates to remember

Tuesday 17th March

St Patricks Day

24th & 25th March

Conversations for Learning

6th April to 9th April

Holy Week Assembly

Thursday 9th April

Last day of Term 1

Monday 20th April

Students return for Term 2

Dear Families and Friends,

This week we welcomed three new members of staff to the team. Firstly I would like to welcome Mrs Tracy Lindquist. Mrs Linquist arrived in Darwin with her family at the beginning of the year and has accepted the role of Religious Education Coordinator and our release teacher, working with classes in the area of Physical Education and the Arts. We also welcomed Mr William Spinks as our Bookkeeper for the ELC and OSHC program. William is currently studying accountancy at university. We thank Miss Madi for her time and contribution at St Francis in her role as Bookkeeper and wish her all the best as she begins her career as a midwife. Finally, we welcome Heather who is a play therapist and has begun working with a number of our students.

Earlier this year I attended the MacKillop Catholic College beginning of the school year mass. It was a lovely celebration, but what made it truly significant for me was when the Dux of the College was announced, Caitlin Burt. Caitlin attended St Francis in her primary years and I was privileged to teach her when she was a year 2 student. We wish her all the best as she continues the next part of her journey at university.

A number of weeks ago at the Parent Information Evening, Cheryl Edwards, Senior Psychologist/Pastoral Care & Wellbeing Officer at the Catholic Education Office, spoke to families in regards to MindUP. MindUP is a classroom-based social and emotional learning program (SEL) designed to enhance self-awareness, social awareness, attention, self-regulation, problem-solving, and pro-social behaviour. Resources that Cheryl shared with families can be found at https://parenttv.com/?s=mindfulness and https://www.zerotothree.org/resources/2268-mindfulness-for-parents

Our tennis program started this week with Palmerston Tennis. It was such a joy to hear the children's screams of joy and laughter as they were trained by our coach Alex.

Please keep some time free in your calendars on either the 24th or 25th of March as teachers will be hosting ‘Conversations for Learning’ with yourselves and your child. The purpose of these meetings is to discuss the learning goals your child would like to achieve before the end of the semester and strategies that could be implemented to support these goals being achieved.

Grow in Wisdom and Love

Mel

Melanie Bolwell

Principal