Dear Parents and Community Members

I am honoured and thrilled to again have the opportunity to step up as Acting Principal of our wonderful school community. It is with great pride and excitement that I step into this role, and I feel incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to work with such dedicated and passionate staff, students, and families.

Our school is a vibrant and nurturing environment, where each student is encouraged to reach their full potential. I am committed to continuing the tradition of excellence that defines our community, fostering a culture of respect, inclusivity, and academic achievement.

Parents and Friends (P&F)

Thank you to the leadership of, Lina Sotiropoulos and our Parents and Friends group who coordinated an amazing Bingo Night, where fun was had by all.

One of the auction items on the evening was a reserved carpark space for the last two terms of the 2024 school year, which went for an impressive $200. Thank you to everyone who participated in both the online auction and the auction on the night. Your support truly makes a difference and strengthens our community.

The funds raised through our Parents and Friends (P&F) events play a crucial role in enhancing our school resources. Thanks to your generous support we can invest in new educational materials, technology, and enriching programs that directly benefit our children.

Community Coffee Morning

I would also like to remind you that the first Monday of every month is our Community Coffee morning. Please come and buy a coffee made by our new barista, Nicholas Guidolin on Monday week 3 and join us for community prayer. Our Whitefriars' Keep Cups will be available for purchase on the morning, with a free coffee offered with every cup sold.

Approach to Learning Assembly

Approach to Learning assembly is coming up on Monday week 4,12th August  which will be held in two sessions: 1:40-2:10 PM for R-2 and

2:15-2:50 PM for 3-6.

If you can join us, please come, and support the amazing achievements in learning. The dedication and perseverance our students demonstrate in their schoolwork are the true markers of success. By valuing effort, we encourage a growth mindset, fostering resilience and a lifelong love of learning. It is this commitment to hard work and determination that leads to meaningful and lasting accomplishments.

Yours faithfully,

Catia Frasca

• Reception

Leonardo G.

• Year 1

Mishka B, Madeline C, Benjamin N, Oscar O'N

Maya L, Mackenna W, Isabella S, Andrea S M, Addy K

Zara P, Amshley A.

Mishka B, Madeline C, Silver G, Shubh J, Isabelle L, Benjamin N, Oscar O'N, Ellie S

• Year 2

Madeleine O, Alexia S, Eve S, Mia W, Wudase D, Ava D, Hannah N

Fabian C, Austin T, Elefteria B, Evie K, Celina L, Grace L, Chiara P, Emana S, Xavier B, Emily B, Lorenzo C, Emily B, Joseph C, Frankie D, Lenny E, Mason H, Jagmeet S, Ava T, Zoey D, Aria M, Zachary P.

• Year 3

Anthony B, Ethan D'S, Sydney A, Huxley D, Damian T, Isabella P, Saaksh J, Poppy R, Gabriella B, Mila L, Alexis N, Oliver W, Alesia K.

• Year 4 

Olivia N, Kara H, Mackenzie B, Reshma U, Ariyana P, Esther T, Ryder M, Sara A, Hanna P, Reiko G, Manpriya J, Karen O, Madeline R, Sophia T, Silvana J-T, Angelina O, Lilah B, Charlotte K.

• Year 5

Dylan H, Zen B, Megan N, Tanay D, Ana R, April H, Zara D-F, Ha M-P, Isabelle W, Harrison B, Samuel Rm Nathaniel D, Lotti B, Lynh N, Thea N, Ollie R, Scarlett C, macie H, Florina L, Michael D, Summer D-R, Sandra G, Olivia M, Sebastian M, Leroy T, Stella V.

• Year 6

Hugo B, Eithen J, Tisshya R, Nhi N, Lewis C, Oliver V, Sarvesh B, David JJacqueline N, Yshmael A, Yazhini D, Mila T, Elizabeth T, Aafreen S, Jaida N, Leo C, Parker B, Amelia M, Zoe Holton, Daisy P, Gabriella P, Amelia B, Matilda C, Nicholas K, Alannah L, Ivana C, Raymond T, Amelia O, Elmira S, Vittal B, Amraj G, Isla F.

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 

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. 

St Mary of the Cross MacKillop Spirit Awards 

This term we have started exploring the spirit of St Mary MacKillop and the Josephite tradition by focusing on specific virtues.  This week at Community Prayer and assembly we reminded students the awards will be given out at assembly in week 4, 6, 8 and 10.  The awards will go to children who are nominated by staff or students and chosen by leadership for doing extraordinary things in ordinary life at school.  

A Josephite virtue card will be given to classes each fortnight and added to their prayer space. The goal is to help students explore the characteristics of St Mary MacKillop and reflect on how they can follow in her footsteps.  Our first focus is on ‘Service’. 

Grandparents and Grandfriends Day picture 1F 

Last Friday 26th July the Catholic Church celebrated the feast day of Jesus’ grandparents (Mary’s parents) St Joachim and St Anne.  1F acknowledged this special day by making cards for their grandparents or grandfriends.  The students were so happy to show me their small gesture of kindness and we would also like to share them with you. We pray that all the grandparents around the world feel valued, loved and that they believe they have so much to offer us.  Thank you 1F for the reminder to pick up the phone or visit our grandparents/grandfriends regularly or remember those who have past by looking at photos, sharing stories to keep their memory alive. 

For their very first time, our wonderful Year 3 students had the opportunity to spend the night sleeping in our Mary Mackillop Hall. As Friday night came, student excitement filled the air and the teachers bid farewell to a decent night’s sleep!  

Over 80 students embarked on their overnight adventure to build independence and self-awareness. Their evening unfolded with a scavenger hunt followed by a delicious pasta dinner! The teachers couldn’t believe how much some children could eat! Some seemingly having bottomless stomachs!  Next, the children marched towards the Year 3 classrooms for a range of activities. With torches in hands, (aka. pitchforks) and the determination for more fun, the students worked through a rotation of activities that included; Hedbanz, Pictionary and Four Corners.  

Once they all had a turn, it was then time for bed. (Wishful thinking from the teachers!) The night was still young, so they snuggled into their sleeping bags and enjoyed watching Zootopia with a bag of popcorn.   After the movie was over, that is when the real fun began! Minutes turned into hours and sleep began to seem like a myth! There were rumours that it existed, but the teachers doubted they would see any tonight!  Just when delirium was about to set in, suddenly ‘the number of sleepers were steadily growing. Bed was where more and more people were going!’ (Dr Seuss.)  

We hope all the students had the best time and a BIG THANK YOU to all the staff members who slept over and were involved to make this night possible for our wonderful Year 3s.  

 Teacher Advice: If Friday night taught us one thing, let it be this: If you are going to have a sleepover and you want everyone to go to sleep earlier, set the clocks forward an hour or so. That way the children will feel like they are staying up later than they are and will settle quicker! 

NAPLAN 

During March this year, our Years 3 and 5 children participated in the National Assessment for Reading, Writing, Language Conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and Numeracy. 

The NAPLAN testing is conducted annually and is the only nationwide assessment that all Australian children undertake.  The results provide a ‘snapshot’ of a child’s achievement.  

Last week, the individual student summary reports were sent home, providing an achievement score and proficiency level for each test.  A student report was also included, providing information on performance across the four tests in comparison to the national average and school average. 

Please ensure that the NAPLAN reports are kept in a safe place as it will be required for high school applications.  

Our school results remain strong in all assessment areas in Years 3 and 5. We congratulate our educators and families at Whitefriars Catholic School for their dedication towards students’ learning in literacy and numeracy. 

Book Week 

Children in Reception-Year 6 are invited to participate in some literacy activities by entering in our Book Week competition.  Some children have begun working on their Book Week competition activity in the classroom while others have chosen to work on them at home.

Prizes will be presented to winners in each category at our Book Week Parade in Week 5, Wednesday 21st August at 10am in the hall. 

Book Week Competitions 

RECEPTION-YR 1: Design a bookmark around the theme Reading is Magic (classroom teacher will provide a bookmark template). 

Years 2-4: Design a poster in honour of your favourite children’s book. 

Years 5-6:  Write a poem or short story based on the theme of Magic. 

All entries close on Wednesday 14th August, Week 4 Term 3.  Please write your full name and class at the back of your work and place them in the Book Week competition box in the school library. 

Book Swap

As part of our Book Week celebration, students are invited to take part in a Book Swap and donate a maximum of two pre-loved good quality books into class on Monday 19th August.

On Tuesday 20th August, students who have donated a book will receive a ticket from their classroom teacher.  On this day, students will be able to swap their ticket for another book to keep.  Our Book Swap will be held in the old library.

Whitefriars School Great Book Swap!

Vicky Radetti (Italian teacher) is hosting a Great Book Swap for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation to raise funds to gift culturally relevant books to remote First Nations Communities.Please show your support for this great cause by making a donation to our Great book Swap page and sharing it with your friends, family and community!

 https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fedu.greatbookswap.org.au%2Fwhitefriarsschoolsgreatbookswap&data=05%7C02%7Cptwigden%40whitefriars.catholic.edu.au%7C334efc7a8b1746450c3708dcb1e69c61%7C528df21fbbca4dfc987d491432b146b1%7C0%7C0%7C638580851243185576%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=asDAOekwgY0cH1igMkUmfS5azTBItdLwE9nEhz%2Bfu9w%3D&reserved=0

On the 28th of June, 16 students from Whitefriars Catholic School competed in the interschool chess tournament.

The other schools that participated were Nailsworth Primary School and The Chess School for Kids. 

Congratulations to Vittal for winning the champion boy title for the day. Whitefriars secured both first and second place.

Well done to Vittal, Eithen, Zen, Ethan, Harrison, Tom, Luka, and Archie

Welcome back to another term of Parent Corner.  

Parenting on the Same Page 

Raising children is tough enough without opposition and antagonism from other adults who share in the responsibility. Researchers note that when parents are on the same page, family satisfaction increases, and outcomes for children improve—provided the parents’ habits are positive. 

In this week’s Insights article ‘Parenting on the Same Page’, Justin talks about the importance of united parenting.  When there’s consistency between parents and a willingness to work together toward shared outcomes that matter benefits both our children and our partnerships. 

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

• Week 3  - TERM 3
• Monday - -5th August  -Help needed
• Tuesday - 6th August  -Anne Vu
• Wednesday - 7th August   - No help needed
• Thursday -  8th August  - Tina Bodjo/Helen Burns-Clarke
• Friday -    - 9th August  -Wendy Forrest 

• Week 4 - TERM 3
• Monday  - 12th August -Help needed
• Tuesday -  13th August -Anne Vu
• Wednesday  -14th August - No help needed
• Thursday  - 15th August  - Tino Bodjo
• Friday -  16th 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 above form and return to the Front Office  in advance.

Please note a form must be completed for each child.

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.