Choosing a school is one of the most important decisions that a parent makes.

On Wednesday 21st August from 4pm -5pm  we are hosting a School Tour for interested families to come and see what Whitefriars Catholic School has to offer!

Invite a friend or family member who might be interested in discovering the benefits of a Catholic education.

Please email info@whitefriars.catholic.edu.au to register your interest.

#CatholicSchoolsOpenWeek #RaisingHeartsAndMinds @catholiceducationSA

Dear Parents and Community Members

I am delighted to celebrate the outstanding Wakakirri performance by our Year 6 students! Creating this stage performance as a unit fostered incredible teamwork, communication, and creativity. Throughout the process, students developed confidence, responsibility, perseverance, resilience, initiative, leadership, and problem-solving skills. Each student's role was crucial to the success of the group, and it was truly a collective effort.

The theme of ‘Belonging’ allowed students to broaden cultural understanding and empathy, making this experience even more enriching. I was immensely proud of every Year 6 student for their dedication and hard work.

A special thank you to all Year 6 teachers, especially Grace Loizos and our Performing Arts teacher Melanie Harrold, for their guidance and support.

Parents and Friends (P&F)

This wonderful group of dedicated parents plays a vital role in enhancing our school community through various events, fundraisers, and initiatives. Joining the team is a fantastic way to meet other parents, contribute to our students' experiences, and make a meaningful impact on our school.

If you would like to be part of P&F please email pandf-chair@whitefriars.catholic.edu.au

Mater Dei Church

Please note that the Mater Dei Roof replacement project began on 12th August.

Friday morning Mass will be relocated to St Margaret Mary’s while the work is in progress.

Whitefriars classes will not be celebrating Mass at St Margaret Mary’s during this time.

Families who use the kiss and drop area will still have access, but please be aware that there may be some traffic restrictions due to the ongoing work. We kindly ask for your patience and caution during this time.

Thank you for your understanding and support.

We apologise for any inconvenience.

SEQTA

SEQTA Engage will be temporarily disrupted and unavailable from Thursday 15 August until Monday 19 August. A new SEQTA Engage Welcome Email will be sent to all Whitefriars Catholic School users on Monday 19 August.

After School Reminders

We ask that you encourage your child/children to wait at the designated pick-up areas if that is where you will be collecting them. To help keep traffic flowing smoothly, we are asking students not to play after school if they need to wait at the pick-up and drop-off areas.

For Year 5 and 6 parents who pick up in the church carpark, please avoid arriving too early. The older children take a bit longer to come down, and arriving early can cause a backup of cars along Beaufort Street.

If your child is participating in after-school sports, please ensure they have parent supervision during the activity.

Yours faithfully,

Catia Frasca

Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop’s Feast Day

Last Thursday we celebrated Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop’s Feast Day –our Reception students guided us in a beautiful liturgy where we paused, reflected, and celebrated Mary MacKillop as Australia’s most loved Saint.

Mary believed in the power of education to lift communities out of poverty. When she saw injustice, she was fierce to act so that children wouldn't miss out on fair access to education. Mary and the Sisters of St Joseph went wherever the need was greatest. They gave up everything to live amongst the people they served, and they taught with love and compassion.

Annually, during this month, our school community is inspired by Mary’s example to be fierce in the face of adversity, fair when we see injustice and loving towards others by holding our Action Hour Mary MacKillop Today fundraiser.  The fun day is tomorrow – Friday, 16th.  Rain or shine Action Hour will go ahead.  Can we reach our goal of $3000 for the Mary MacKillop Today Foundation? You are welcome to join us at 11:30am.  Please sign in at the front office.

We are so grateful for your dedication towards donating items to your child’s class stall or by sending money along for your child to participate in the activities. Together we are keeping Mary’s inspiring legacy alive.

School Masses

As Catia has mentioned Mater Dei Roof replacement project has begun and workers will be onsite from Monday to Friday over the next 5 weeks. Due to this our Friday Class Masses will need to be liturgies for the remainder of the term. What this means is classes will choose a theme related to the children's learning and decide on a location within the school.  They will communicate this with you via SeeSaw. Our parishioners will be able to celebrate Friday morning Mass at St Margaret Mary’s Church. Weekend Masses will still be held at Mater Dei. Our next Family Mass is Saturday, 7th September at 6pm.  If you would like your child to participate in a reading please let me know.

Monday Community Prayer

Our students, staff and families who attend Community Prayer may have noticed the introduction of a litany at the end of our prayer.  This is a powerful testimony of our Catholic belief and promotes the charism of our school. We have included St Mary of the Cross MacKillop and St Joseph; both highlighting our school connection with the Josephite order. In time we will include saints from the Carmelite order honoring their connection with our school’s history.  

Action Hour Fundraiser 

Our annual school fundraiser is quickly approaching.  On Friday 16th August between recess and lunch students from R-6 will be putting ‘Service’ into action by raising money for the Mary MacKillop Today Organisiation.  If you  wish to make a donation leading up to the event students can add coins to their class money box. Last year we raised $2,552.40.  Can we get to $3000 this year? Your generous donations went towards a mobile education initiative that offers quality education to children in Timor-Leste.  If you go to www.marymackilloptoday.org.au you can see all the wonderful projects and places they support.  It is truly heart-warming and humbling to know we are carrying on St Mary MacKillop’s legacy to be of service to others.  I encourage you to start putting some coins and notes aside for a fun day and most importantly to help those less fortunate than as.  Any little bit counts. Together we can make a difference. 

Book Week - Monday 19th August – Friday 23rd August

We are excited to announce that Book Week is happening in Week 5 and students will engage in some fun activities.

Start planning costumes for the parade on Wednesday 21st August. We encourage you to get creative and use what you already have at home. There is no expectation that costumes are bought for this occasion. This year, the theme is Reading is Magic! Children can come dressed as their favourite book character or a character related to the theme.

Book Swap Preparation- Monday 19th August 

To prepare for our Book Swap Day, students are invited to bring a maximum of two good quality books to the classroom and they will be given a ticket.

Book Swap Day - Tuesday 20th August

Our Book Swap stalls will be held in the old library space where students can come with their class and swap their ticket for a new book to keep.

Book Week Parade - Wednesday 21st August

We will be hosting our whole school Book Week Parade at 10am in the Mary MacKillop Hall. There will be a class by class parade.  We will formally present our Mayoral Make-A-Book Literacy Challenge winners for 2024 and other winners of our Book Week Competition.  Parents and friends are welcome to come along and join us. 

We look forward to the fun-filled celebration of Book Week! 

Welcome Back to Parent Corner.

Parenting with Influence, Not Control

Parenting with influence, not control, requires patience, empathy, and a willingness to understand our children’s perspectives. By setting aside our badges of authority and embracing the Three Es of Effective Discipline, we can navigate the challenges of parenthood with grace and effectiveness, fostering a nurturing environment where our children can thrive.

In this week’s Insights article ‘Parenting with Influence, Not Control, Justin talks about the power struggles between parents and children.  If we really want to help our children, we do it best by working with them rather than doing things to them or simply issuing commands.

For more parenting information, visit the Happy Families website: https://happyfamilies.com.au./

Thank you.

Grace Loizos Wellbeing Leader gloizos@whitefriars.catholic.edu.au

The Catholic School Parents SA are hosting the Positive Parenting Conference.Take the opportunity to hear from brilliant parenting experts in Maggie Dent , Paul Dillon and Madhavi Nawana Parker on Saturday 31 August! 

Tickets on sale now.  They will sell fast! https://events.humanitix.com/stronger-families-conference Stronger Families: A Positive Parenting Conference presented by Catholic School Parents South Australia | HumanitixGet tickets on Humanitix - Stronger Families: A Positive Parenting Conference presented by Catholic School Parents South Australia hosted by Catholic School Parents South Australia. Adelaide Zoo - The Sanctuary , 1 Plane Tree Dr, Adelaide SA 5000, Australia. Saturday 31st August 2024. Find event information.events.humanitix.com

News from the Sports Desk

Cross Country Carnival

Last Thursday saw the extremely gifted Whitefriars Cross Country team compete in the annual Catholic Schools Carnival at East Parklands. In all we had a record 90 students represent the school over the gruelling 2000m endurance course which included creek crossings, torturous hills and mud. All students who represented Whitefriars on the day did the school proud and tried their very best. Each race had between 100 and 150 runners. We had our more experienced runners racing in Division A where we had some great results inside the top 20. Our runners in Division B and C performed very well and surprised themselves at how well they ran.

Congratulations to Madeline R for winning Year 4 Division A which is her second consecutive year of winning. Congratulations also to the Year 5 Division C team for winning the Year 5 team banner – Sebastian M, Kristian R, Leroy T, Aiden D, Tom W, Tanay D and Cruz C.

A massive thankyou to Amanda Burns,  Selena Brown and Edvina Karabegovic for their assistance with student supervision throughout the day.

SAPSASA Basketball

Last Friday, Whitefriars entered a boys and girls team into the State Basketball Carnival at The Lights Sports Centre. Both teams were comprised of some of our school Basketballers who attended trials in the lead up to the event. All day the teams supported each other and tried their best against some very strong teams. Both teams experienced 2 wins and 2 losses. The girls finished 3rd in their group and the boys finished first in their group but lost the next game. Well done to all the students who represented Whitefriars so well on the day. Thanks to Coach Matt Brookes for his tremendous mentoring of the boys team throughout the day and to the parents and grandparents who came to support during the day. Congratulations to our SAPSASA Basketball teams!

SA Table Tennis Tournament

Last Friday Whitefriars entered the SA Table Tennis tournament which was held at the Woodville Table Tennis Centre. This is the second year running where we have entered team students. Our current Year 6 cohort has a huge interest in Table Tennis and are often seen practicing at recess and lunch. Some of the players even play club Table Tennis at Woodville Table Tennis Club.

We sent 4 teams along to the day which consisted of single and double games against other school teams with the boys playing multiple times throughout the day. In the end we had 2 teams finishing 1st and 2nd, receiving a Gold and Silver medal each. Congratulations to each of the boys on representing Whitefriars so well.

Pedal Prix

On Saturday the 3rd August Whitefriars had 6 students represent our school in the Pedal Prix race at Tailem Bend Motorsport Track. Each year we join with Mount Carmel College to create a Primary school team to race for 8 hours around the 3.4km track. This year we had Lewis L, Greyson E, Dion D, Jacqueline N, Jake W and Stella R compete alongside 8 Mount Carmel students.

There were just under 200 vehicles in total, with 29 primary school bikes. Whitefriars were racing in a bike called ‘Road Runner’ and each student did 2-3 laps then pitted and changed riders. While there was a lot of waiting around, students spent their time helping each other in and out of the bike and getting to know the other primary school students. By the end of the 8 hour race, the team had finished 15th in the Primary bikes and 2nd in their combined Primary School category!

Well done to all students and parents who made the early trip up to Tailem Bend, this experience is often once in a lifetime.

• Week 5  - TERM 3
• Monday - -19th August -Help needed
• Tuesday - 20th August -Anne Vu
• Wednesday - 21st August   - No help needed
• Thursday - 22nd August - Tina Bodjo/Helen Burns-Clarke
• Friday -    - 23rd August -Wendy Forrest 

• Week 6 - TERM 3
• Monday - 26th August -Help needed
• Tuesday - 27th August -Anne Vu
• Wednesday -28th August - No help needed
• Thursday - 29th August - Tino Bodjo/Helen Burns-Clarke
• Friday - 30th August   - Wendy Forrest 

We have over 280 registered volunteers who help our school in so many different ways, contributing to our school and supporting children and staff.  Registered volunteers contribute to the school community in just some of the following ways:

• School Board 
• Parents & Friends events
• After School Sports (Coaches and Team Managers)
• Canteen
• Learning Assistance Program (LAP)
• Reading with children
• Assisting at excursions

All volunteers are required to obtain appropriate clearances, including a Department of Human Services (DHS) Clearance and Catholic Clearance.

Once submitted, clearances may take up to 6 weeks to process.

When you receive your clearance or card please bring this into the office for us to update to the Volunteer Register.

If you would like to volunteer, please see staff in the front office for a Volunteer Information Pack and support in registering as a volunteer.

Please see below for current volunteers wanted in our school.

If you child/children will not be attending school for an extended time (more than 5 days) please complete the below form and email back to us at info@whitefriars.catholic.edu.au in advance.

Please note a form must be completed for each child.

Thank you 

Dear Families,

We are currently conducting Term 3, 2026 student enrolment interviews.

Term 1, 2027 interviews will be scheduled in Term 1, 2025.

All interviews are usually scheduled 2 years before commencement date.

PLEASE ENSURE ALL SIBLINGS ARE ENROLLED FOR ALL FUTURE YEARS.

Thank you 

We acknowledge and pay our respect to the Kaurna people as the traditional owners of the land of Mikawomma on which Whitefriars Catholic School is located.  We come with open hearts and minds to listen and learn from Elders - past, present and emerging.