St Francis of Assisi News
Term 1 Issue 4 26th March 2026
Dear Parents & Caregivers,
Welcome to our Week 8 newsletter! With a nine week term, there's just a week to go until the end of Term 1. There is a lot happening over the next week, so please take note of some important information below.
SFOA SWIMMING CARNIVAL YEAR 4-6
Last Monday our Year 4-6 children competed in their very first SFOA Swimming Carnival. Whilst there were some outstanding individual performances, it was great to see a number of children giving events a go that may not be as confident swimmers. The participation in the event was amazing and matched by the number of parent volunteers assisting!
Congratulations to all the Champion Award winners as well as the winning faction, Agnes. A big thanks to Mr Rebeiro who put the carnival together and was instrumental in its success. A special mention to the following parent volunteers who without their assistance, the carnival would not be possible. Be warned, next year, we may need a few parents in the water to assist with lifeguarding duties! Thank you to the following parents:
Kaitlyn Milton, Lisette Jones, Ellaine Brecio, Kerry McSheffrey, Rachel Murphy, Danielle Smith, Gurleen Gill, Heather Rapi, Kalo Singh, Vanessa Bonakey, Jevita Nilson, Ryan Beaven-Davis, Meg Goldie, Cara Diaz, Emma Stratfold, Glenn Blackwell, Darren Knowles, Steph Smith, Rose Canzirri and Dairne Maxwell-Farrelly.
HARMONY DAY & NATIONAL RIDE TO SCHOOL DAY
A great day was enjoyed by all last Friday as we celebrated Harmony Day 2026 and National Ride to School Day. The morning started with free fruit on arrival and prizes for those who rode, walked or scooted to school. Then a special merit assembly celebrated our diverse community with many students coming in their cultural dress or orange to acknowledge the respect, inclusion and belonging of the many cultures in our school. We are fortunate to have over 35% of families who speak another language other than English in the home and it was great to see children proudly celebrate their culture and acceptance across our community.
NAPLAN 2026
Congratulations to our Year 3 and 5 children who have been sitting the National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) over the past fortnight. This is just one snapshot in time of their progress and is used to determine the effectiveness of our teaching and learning programs. The children were well prepared thanks to numerous staff throughout the school, but a particular thanks to Mr Clarke - NAPLAN Coordinator, Ms Hamilton, Mr Kinder, Miss McLean, Mrs Anderson and Mrs Bowden/Mrs Ward for their support in ensuring our children had the best chance of succeeding.
SOCIAL REPORTS PP-6
A reminder to parents that Term 1 Social Reports (PP-Yr 6) will be released next Wednesday 1st April via Seqta Engage. The social reports provide a snapshot of how children have transitioned into their new year level both socially and their work habits. Parents must have access to Seqta Engage, of which details can be found here:
https://www.stfrancisbutler.wa.edu.au/seqta-engage
If you have difficulty accessing Seqta Engage, please email ithelp@stfrancisbutler.wa.edu.au
HOLY WEEK
This Sunday marks Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week. It is a sacred time in the liturgical calendar as it forms the basis of our faith, with the culmination of lent and beginning of the lead up to the death and resurrection of Jesus. We encourage all families to get to a Palm Sunday Mass at St Andrew's or their local parish this weekend.
STATIONS OF THE CROSS & COMMUNITY LUNCH
Next Thursday, 2nd April is the last day of Term 1. As is customary, we will conclude the term with our P&F Community Lunch. Prior to this taking place, our students will reverently re-enact the Stations of The Cross from 11:45am. All parents are encouraged to attend the solemn reflection first before joining their children for Community Lunch at 12:30pm. Thank you to Mrs Mieschbuehler and the children who volunteered to give up their time for this performance.
Parents, if you wish to take your child home after the lunch, please ensure you sign them out via the Admin staff at the front of the school.
TERM 2 DATES
Please note the attachment below which highlights relevant school, P&F and Sacramental dates for Term 2. Parents should diarise any dates that are relevant to their children.
This is the last newsletter of the term and I wanted to take the opportunity to say thank you to all the families who have wished me well as I embark on my two term appointment at Padbury Catholic Primary. They always say you should leave on a high note - so what better way than a West Coast Eagles win!!!!
Wishing all our families a wonderful and holy Easter and relaxing school holiday break. When you return, Mr Clarke and Mrs Kavanagh, along with Mrs Bowden will be ensuring our school continues to 'start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly, we are doing the impossible.'
(St Francis of Assisi)
See you all in Term 4. Happy holidays and all the best!
Best wishes
Jason Baker
Principal
CARITAS PROJECT COMPASSION 2026
A very special shout out to our Year 6 classes, especially Elizabeth and Paige G who have gone above and beyond to bring in home made items. A group of Year 6s have created posters, and organised stalls to sell these items, every morning with all proceeds going to Project Compassion. A reminder we will hold a 'Crazy Hair Day' on the last day of term to go towards our final tally.
SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION
Congratulations to our Year Three students and a few Year Four and Year Five students on receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation on Tuesday the 24th March! This was a very special moment in your faith journey. You have experienced God’s love, forgiveness, and mercy in a beautiful and personal way. We are so proud of the courage, kindness, and reflection you have shown as you prepared for this sacrament. A big thank you to Mrs Anderson and Miss McLean for your time and effort in preparing the children for this special Sacrament.
RECONCILIATION FOR YEARS 4-6
Yesterday, our Year 4-6 students had the opportunity to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, a special time to reflect, say sorry, and feel God’s loving forgiveness. I congratulate the students with the reverence and respect they displayed, whilst making their reconciliation and send our gratitude to the six priests who joined us for this special afternoon.
800 YEARS OF ST FRANCIS OF ASSISI
- Did you know… St Francis referred to the sun, moon, and animals as his “brothers and sisters,” seeing all creation as one family under God?
UPCOMING EVENTS
- Benedict Feast Day- March 31st
- Stations of the Cross- Thursday 2nd April 11:45am
- Crazy hair day- Thursday 2nd April
- Good Friday- Friday 3rd April
Sarah Kavanagh
Assistant Principal
The holidays can bring joy, excitement, tiredness, and big feelings. The RULER approach helps children notice, understand, name, express, and manage their emotions.
Recognising Emotions Help your child notice how they (and others) are feeling.
- Look for clues in facial expressions, tone of voice, and body language.
- Ask gentle questions: “I notice you’re quiet. How are you feeling?”
- Point out emotions in everyday moments:“You look excited about our plans today!”
Understanding Emotions Talk about why emotions happen.
- Discuss what triggered the feeling: tiredness, changes in routine, excitement, disappointment.
- Normalise all feelings: “It makes sense to feel frustrated when plans change.”
- Help children see that feelings can change over time.
Labelling Emotions Give children the words to describe their feelings.
- Encourage specific emotion words (e.g. disappointed, nervous, calm instead of just happy or sad).
- Model emotion language yourself: “I’m feeling overwhelmed, so I need a quiet moment.”
- Use emotion charts or feelings wheels at home.
Expressing Emotions Support safe and respectful expression of feelings.
- Remind children that all feelings are okay, but not all behaviours are.
- Offer choices for expression:
- Talking it out
- Drawing or writing
- Taking space
- Listen without rushing to fix the problem.
Regulating Emotions Help children learn ways to calm, energise, or refocus themselves.
- Create a simple holiday “calm plan,” such as:
- Deep breathing
- A quiet corner or break
- A short walk or movement break
- Keep routines where possible (sleep, meals, downtime).
- Praise effort: “You handled that frustration really well.”
A Holiday Reminder for Parents
- Children learn emotional skills by watching adults.
- It’s okay to have big feelings as a parent too—model healthy coping.
- Connection matters more than perfection.
Mrs Liz Ward
Leader of Teaching and Learning
Social Worker Tips
How to help children to manage their emotions
When a child or adult is upset a grounding exercise is a simple way to help calm the body and calm the mind. Grounding exercises encourage children to focus on the things around them, rather than on the thoughts and feelings that are distressing them. Calming down helps them cope in the moment and recover over time. With practice and your help, children can learn to calm down by themselves, and they will then be able to use these skills across a variety of situations. The ability to stay calm and manage upsets is a crucial life skill for each and every one of us to develop.
Click on the following link for more information.
Grounding exercise for children & teens | Raising Children Network
Julie Ford
Social Worker
Congratulations to our Higher Order Thinking Skills Students from Year 6 who recently participated in the Synergy Solar Car Challenge 2026 which took place at St Mark's Anglican School. With over 40 participating schools, the Year 6's came out winners defeating some prestigious schools and earning themselves the right to compete in the State Finals! Congratulations to Mr Clarke and all the Year 6 children - an amazing effort.
This fortnight, we introduce Miss Hannah McLean, Year 3B teacher.
- I'm cooking for someone special, my signature dish would be? Anything Mexican - but only if it has guacamole and pico de gallo!
- Three people alive or dead I would have around for this meal? Vance Joy, Kylie Jenner and Harley Reid - although honestly, any Eagles player would do.
- My spirit animal would be? Why? My spirit animal would be a dolphin because they're loyal, graceful and enjoy learning.
- Favourite TV show growing up as a child? H20 Just Add Water - I tried to convince myself I was a mermaid just like them 🤣
- Peanut butter - crunchy or smooth? Crunchy - obviously!
If you see Miss McLean wondering around the school with her mermaid tail on, feel free to douse her in some water to keep the magic alive!
YOUR MOVE PROGRAM
Walking Wednesday's and Feel Good Friday's are well underway and look out for special star charts to record our active travellers.
NATIONAL RIDE TO SCHOOL DAY
On Friday, 20th March 2026, St Francis of Assisi proudly took part in National Ride to School Day and what a day it was! Coinciding with Harmony Day meant a lot of colour and a lot of reasons to celebrate. Well done to our best dressed bike winners, our raffle winners and a special shout out to Paige G in year 6 who arrived super early to help hand out stickers and star charts.
DOUBLE PLATINUM ACCREDIATION
In 2025, SFOA achieved Double Platinum Accreditation in the Your Move Schools program. We earned $6,768 worth of rewards and posted 41 stories. We now have achieved double platinum status for the last three years and are well on our way to achieving this again this year. Well done to all our active travellers, last year we had an amazing 53% of our school community actively coming to school.
Dear Parents,
Families should now have commenced paying their school fees for this year. If you have not, please do so asap. If you wish to discuss your school fees, please feel free to come and see me in the school office from 8:00am-2:45pm. Alternatively you can email me on finance@stfrancisbutler.wa.edu.au
If your Concession Card has expired please send an updated copy to the school.
Kind regards,
Geneve Bastian
Happy Birthday to the following students who are celebrating their birthday over the next month:
Layla Senior, Isaac Crosby, Hailey Mavinyu, Freya Thorp, Tate Watson, Finn Moriarty-Behan, Libby Deans, Chester Peacock, Lorenzo Brizzi, Makebele Gelaye, Andrew Maggiotto, Rafael Srbinovski, Zack Heron, Harley Lubke, Hailey McGowan, Grace Seneque, Matilda Ladner, Landon Thompson, Joaquin Austria, Cohan Prunster, River Simm, Darcy Morrison, Summer Ireland, Lottie Zych, Knox Underwood, Louis Odongo, Shivay Deswal, Leo Hunt, Isabella Banghi Lago, Noah Thompson, Keira Drummond, Tatenda Mandirahwe, Logan Scott, Cleo Underwood, Adau Chol, Jose Luiz Pires Gil, Malika Magistro, Hyeon (Jayden) Kim, Aazarnah Farmer, Daniel Deng, Emma Kovac, Samara Makawa, Benjamin Ennis, Brandon Durer-Jones, Vittoria Scalisi, Oliver Smith, Aria Everest Pearson, Katie Everest Pearson.
We wish you all a wonderful day!!
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
Please find below St Andrew's Parish Holy Week and Easter Celebrations 2026 schedule.
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/