A Christmas Blessing

May the grace of Christ bring you hope and joy,

and may the peace of Christ be yours.

May Jesus, the Lord, the miracle of God,

fill your heart with Christmas love.

May you hear the songs of the angels this morn'.

May you feel the joy that Jesus Christ is born.

May the beauty of Christmas surround you today.

May you find joy this Christmas Day.

May you thank the Lord for the hope that He brings.

May you know the love of Jesus Christ, the King.

May you always believe that Christ came to save.

May you find hope this Christmas Day.

May the peace of Christmas bring joy with no end.

May you feel the love of family and friends.

May the wonder of Christmas surround you today.

May you feel peace this Christmas Day.

May you share this day with our Jesus in prayer.

May you share this day and show all you care.

May you gather together with loved ones this day.

May you find Christ this Christmas Day.

                  Author -  Marcia A. Newton

Dear Parents and Carers,

It is hard to believe that the 2022 school year is coming to an end! I would like to say thank you to everyone for a wonderful school year.

I want to thank the students this year for their imagination, creativity and dedication to their schoolwork and the community. Our students work hard and strive to meet the challenges placed before them. At the same time, they show great commitment to the school and their fellow students through their incidental and formal leadership roles. The way they continue to embrace our motto Be The Light has been inspiring and we look forward to continuing our work in developing critical, creative and caring thinkers in 2023.

Thank you also to the parents, grandparents and carers of our students. You support the students to be rested on time and ready for school. You listen to them read, help them with homework, visit their performances, listen to their school woes and celebrate their successes. It’s a big job being a parent and we look forward to developing new ways to support you next year in that role. Thank you to those parents who have been an integral part of the school through assistance in the classroom, canteen and school events. Without you we could not offer the opportunities we do. Thank you to the Community Council and Parent Network for their continued support in growing our community. Thank you also to our friends in the Corpus Christi Parish; particularly Fathers James and Josh, whose friendly and thoughtful contributions nourish us in our faith. Farewell to those families leaving us to go forward on the next part of their journey. We wish you every blessing into the future.

Lastly, thank you to our wonderful staff. Their teamwork and collaboration has been a source of strength and their commitment and care for each other has enabled them to ‘be the best they can be’ for their students. I thank them for a successful year and their commitment to the future development of St Clare of Assisi as a supportive, nurturing and enriching community for all.

Congratulations

Tonight, we held our Year 6 Graduation. Graduation day is always such a wonderful reminder of all that we hold dear about St Clare of Assisi. We farewell our graduating class with hope for their wonderful future ahead. As they grow into young ladies and men, we trust that the skills, values and attitudes they have learnt and developed at St Clare of Assisi will stand them in good stead for a bright, happy and successful future. I would like to thank the Year Six parents for the support and encouragement they have provided over the past seven years. Thank you for entrusting us with the care of your children. Thank you for the many things you have done for the school, the hours and the many activities that you have been part of or lead. Your contributions and support have always been valued.

Farewell

Change happens every year. Sometimes change is minor, sometimes it’s large. This year we farewell a number of staff who will be leaving us.

Congratulations to Mrs Kristy Everding who was successful in gaining a continuing leadership position at St Francis of Assisi beginning next year. Mrs Everding has been an integral member of the teaching staff for four years. She is passionate about teaching and her students have been the largest beneficiaries of this drive and enthusiasm.

Congratulations to Miss Deanne D’Ambrosio who has been successful in gaining a position at St Jude’s Holder as classroom teacher. We wish Mrs Baroukas, formerly Miss D’Ambrosio, well in her new position and thank her for the care and support she has shown all the children she has worked with whilst at St Clare of Assisi.

Congratulations to Mr Mike Stoelinga who will take on the Music teacher role at St Clare of Assisi next year.

We farewell Mr Mike McAllister who joined us in Term 2 this year as 5 Blue classroom teacher. His friendly and supportive manner and positive nature will be missed by the community.

We also say goodbye to Mrs Emma Currey, who returned to the school as Music teacher this year. Thank you Mrs Currey for your drive and enthusiasm for each of the different roles you have undertaken at St Clare of Assisi.

We also recently farewelled Mr Ray Green our school grounds man. We thank him for his time and service to our school.

We have a number of teachers who are undertaking a 12 month transfer for the 2023 school year.

Mr Ben Sweeney will be joining the Sacred Heart Pearce community. Mr Sweeney has held both the roles of classroom teacher and coordinator. During his 21 years at St Clare of Assisi he has contributed positively to our strong school identity, the community life of the school and Parish.

Mrs Priscilla Caragh will be joining the Holy Family community. During her 17 years at St Clare of Assisi Mrs Caragh has held both the classroom teacher and coordinator role. She has been a passionate teacher, who has strived to bring out the best in all the students in her care. Mrs Caragh was instrumental in ensuring the continual success of the Extravaganza over the years.

Mrs Bianca Breen will be joining the St Thomas the Apostle school community next year. We thank her for her dedication, her enthusiasm and care for her classes over time at the school. We wish her the very best for her exciting year ahead.

Mr Joseph McGrath will be joining the St Anthony’s Wanniassa school community for the 2023 school year. Mr McGrath has been a valued member of the staff for the last 7 years. I thank him for working with all our students with such a caring and calm manner.

Miss Hannah Dewey will be joining the St Thomas Aquinas West Belconnen school community. Miss Dewey has been a member of the St Clare of Assisi school community for the last 4 years. She has worked hard to provide her students with every opportunity, in a caring and supportive manner.

We thank these staff for their contributions to the St Clare of Assisi story over recent years; a story over 30 years old, with many staff members having been a part of it. We wish them the very best for their future in education and look forward to them spreading something of St Clare of Assisi to the communities they will go to.

Following interviews, I am very pleased to announce that Mrs Brigitte Sutcliffe, Mrs Maria Singleton and Miss Claudia Moritz were successful in gaining ongoing positions in our school. Mr Nick Purcell was also successful in gaining a position at St Clare of Assisi. Mr Purcell is a graduate teacher who most recently has been at St Anthony’s Wanniassa. We are pleased to welcome back Ms Vanessa Dunn, who has worked previously at St Clare of Assisi and is currently at Holy Family Gowrie. Mrs Rachel Kennedy, an experienced teacher is transferring from St Thomas the Apostle, for the 2023 school year. I know you will join with me in welcoming these teachers into our community.

And a final word to our wonderful students……

During the Christmas holidays, your teachers would like you to:

• Spend time with the people that you care about
• Do the things you enjoy
• Eat food that you love
• Watch your favourite programme or film
• Make somebody laugh or smile
• Do something nice for somebody else
• Visit your favourite place
• Play with your toys

And finally……

Come back to school ready to learn!

Wishing all our families a safe and Merry Christmas and Happy and healthy New Year!

God bless.

Rachel Smith

Principal

Principal’s Notes

Classroom Teachers 2023

It is with pleasure that I share with you teaching teams for 2023.

2023 School and Term Dates

Please be aware the term dates will be as follows for next year;

• Term One 31 January       -           6 April
• Term Two 26 April            -           30 June
• Term Three 18 July             -           22 September
• Term Four 9 October        -           14 December

2023 Term One Dates

• Monday, 23 January Staff Planning Day
• Tuesday, 24 January Staff Planning Day
• Thursday, 25 January Staff Planning Day
• Monday, 30 January Catholic Education System Day
• Tuesday, 31 January Students Return
• Wednesday, 1 February Kinder Rest Day
• Wednesday, 8 February Kinder Rest Day
• Wednesday, 15 February Kinder Rest Day
• Wednesday, 22 February Kinder Rest Day
• Wednesday, 22 February Ash Wednesday
• Monday, 13 March Canberra Day Public Holiday
• Thursday, 6 April Holy Thursday
• Thursday, 6 April End of Term 1
• Friday, 7 April Good Friday
• Sunday, 9 April Easter Sunday

Christmas Celebrations

Reconciliation

Thurs 15 Dec @ 6pm Holy Family Church Advent 2nd Rite of Reconciliation. Please come along and take the opportunity to celebrate this sacrament before Christmas. 

Christmas Masses

Christmas Eve Sat 24 Dec - NO Saturday morning Mass or Reconciliation.

• 6pm (outside) grounds of St Francis of Assisi School, Calwell. Children/ families invited to dress up as part of the Nativity
• 9pm Holy Family Church (also livestreamed) 

Christmas Day Sun 25 Dec 

• Holy Family Church Midnight 
• Holy Family Church 8am 
• Holy Family Church 10am 

If your child has any medication stored at school  please remember to collect all medications from the front office before Friday 16^th December.