Dear Parents

Yesterday was a very busy day as we worked with families to link everyone up through Teams. Thank you for your patience, we are getting there. Life was much more settled today now we understand Teams and can connect with the children via the video conferencing facility. There was lots of excitement as the children saw their classmates and teachers. A reminder to parents that all conferences, involving the children, are videoed and must occur through Teams. This is a requirement by Catholic Education.

While we have sent out lots of information regarding working online I cannot stress how important it is to ensure

• your child has dressed appropriately for their video conference,
• the background to a video conference is acceptable, 
• the student group check-in sessions are not dominated by parent questions as they are a time for teachers to interact with their students, and
• school protocols for remote learning must be followed at all times.  

Staffing Term 2

Like many of our families, we have several staff working from home for personal or care reasons. To accommodate staff needs the following arrangements have been put into place, for the next few weeks, until current arrangements change for Catholic Primary Schools in Canberra.

1R  Monday & Tuesday - Mrs Jodie May, 

        Wednesday to Friday - Mrs Yvette Rosenfeld

3LK  Monday - Friday - Mrs Mira Lustica

6FH - Monday - Friday - Mrs Liz Foster

Condolences and very sad news

The following is a letter from the Principal of SFX College sent to families last week. Mitchell is an ex St Monica's student.

Dear Parents, Carers and Students

It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I write on behalf of the Williams family to inform you that Mitchell Williams, 11D6 passed away on Wednesday 22 April 2020.

You may be aware that Mitchell had been courageously fighting cancer for a few years. He is now in peace and pain-free.

Mitchell’s parents, Bronwen and John,  his sister Jess (9I2) are very appreciative of the support from the College since he has been at SFX.

When speaking with Bronwen yesterday, she shared these sentiments from the family:

“Mitchell was a truly beautiful soul, he was a deeply caring individual who placed the highest possible value on the relationships he formed in life.

He was totally dedicated to his family and he valued the love of both his immediate and broader family so highly. He loved going to family functions and gatherings and spending time with his cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents.

He formed so many wonderful friendships with school mates and also established so many friendships with team mates from the various sports he played.

Mitchell lived life to fullest and just loved having fun and enjoying himself. He loved to laugh and had a fantastic sense of humour which was infectious. He was such a genuine, loyal and honest young man.

The strength, courage, resilience and mental & physical toughness he displayed not only over the last 2 years but throughout his entire life has been absolutely amazing and so inspirational.

Mitchell really thrived at St Francis Xavier and loved the learning environment the school provided. He was deeply grateful for everything the school did for him and for all of the great times he had there with his class mates and teachers.”

Please keep the Williams’ family in your prayers.

May his soul and all the souls of the faithfully departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Stay safe and healthy 

Principal