St Francis Xavier Catholic Primary School 143 Bacchus Marsh Road Corio 3214 Parish Priest: P 5275 4120 Principal: P 5275 1974 Deputy Principal: Fr Pius Kodakkathanath Mrs Maria Scala Mr James Flint www.sfxcorio.catholic.edu.au Enrolment Handbook
Dear Family, We welcome you to our school. We hope the partnership we build with you in educating your child is successful and enjoyable. Our aim is to provide your child with a happy and exciting school experience. Beginning school is a significant step in the life of a child. Every child has different needs, experiences, interests and characteristics. Each child is important to us. By working together in partnership with parents we are able to best provide the rich school experience that all children deserve. Our goal is to help all children to grow, learn and develop as individuals and as members of our school and parish communities. Yours sincerely, Maria Scala Principal
OUR SCHOOL Our school is named after St. Francis Xavier, the patron saint of overseas missions. He is also one of the patron saints of Australia. He was born into a family of minor nobility who lived in the castle of Xavier, in the Basque country of Spain. He was educated at the University of Paris. There he met and was converted to the service of Christ by St. Ignatius Loyola. Together, they formed the Society of Jesus, which is more commonly known as the Jesuits. For some years he worked in Italy and was then assigned to preach the Gospel in the Far East. He left for India in 1542. He had extraordinary success. He baptised thousands of people and worked many miracles. He also had the gift of tongues. Later he worked in Japan. He died in 1552 on Sancian Island on his way to China. He was the greatest missionary the modern church has produced. RELIGIOUS EDUCATION We have close links with our Catholic Parish community. Religious Education is taught daily. We view our role in the Catholic school as one of invitation. We invite our children and families to enter into a conversation about God. We enable children to meet Jesus. We teach our Catholic traditions. Most importantly is our belief in the goodness of all and in the potential of each child in our care. Together with our Parish community we provide a sacramental program each year. Children are offered First Reconciliation, Eucharist and Confirmation.
VISION At St Francis Xavier Catholic Parish Primary school we embrace the courage and compassion of our patron saint, Saint Francis Xavier. We seek to create a culture that values strong relationships between students, family and community based on respect, communication and forgiveness. Our staff use rich engaging learning experiences to nurture students in a contemporary learning community as they aspire to individual greatness. PASTORAL CARE At St Francis Xavier we aim to live the example of Jesus Christ. We believe that everyone has the right to feel and be safe at school. We follow a Restorative approach to discipline. Through this approach we view relationship-building and behaviour management as a means to strengthen community among students and between students, teachers and parents, through educative processes. In the philosophy, conflict or wrongdoing is seen as causing harm to people and relationships, and there is an obligation first to repair this harm in order for the people involved to move forward. It is a way of educating students towards self-regulated right behaviour that is respectful of all concerned. In particular, it puts the onus back on the wrongdoer to be truly accountable for their behaviour and to repair any harm caused to others. Bullying in any form is viewed as unacceptable in our school. The school has implemented strategies to eliminate or reduce the risk to health and safety from bullying. Where it is not practicable to eliminate the risk, the school has reduced the risk, so far as is practicable.
LEARNING FOR THE 21 ST CENTURY As part of learning for the 21 st Century all children learn in newly refurbished open plan learning spaces. Within these learning spaces computer technologies are a valued component of the daily curriculum. Children have opportunity to use imac computers, ipads, digital cameras, video cameras and screen technology daily. We have a highly committed, professional team of teachers. We are committed to ongoing learning and formal study for our teaching staff in the pursuit of excellence. We have a group of trained teacher-aids who work closely with children who have special needs. We provide intervention programs such as Reading Recovery to further assist students having difficulty learning. We aim to keep all class sizes in the low to mid 20 range. School excursions are an important part of our curriculum. Students gain first hand insights and opportunity to meet and learn from various experts. A nutritious diet and healthy lifestyle are priorities in our school. Children are encouraged to drink water regularly during class and play times. Children are taught about health and encouraged to bring fruit and other healthy options to school each day. Canteen lunches are made available three days a week. Nutritional value is considered in the preparation of these lunches and healthy options are promoted.
SCHOOL UNIFORM PRICE LIST
2018 SCHOOL FEES ANNUAL FAMILY FEES Annual Family Fee $800 Building Levy $ 52 ANNUAL FEES PER STUDENT Tuition, Excursion& Swimming Levy $410 Camp - Years 5/6 $195 Fees current: February 2018. Fees are subject to change without notice. Partnerships for Learning Music for the Soul Faith for the Journey Wellbeing for Life