Our School

St Francis of Assisi Parish Primary School is a gospel-centred learning community that lives out the teachings of Jesus Christ. We believe that our Catholic faith and lifelong learning journey is interrelated. We are committed to the continual Faith development of our community where we experience Jesus through our faith and daily life, recognising that the Spirit is alive in people.

Vision Statement

St Francis of Assisi Parish Primary School is a gospel centred learning community who live out the teachings of Jesus Christ. We believe that our Catholic faith and lifelong journey is interrelated. We are committed to the continual Faith development of our community where we experience Jesus through our faith and daily life, recognising that the Spirit is alive in people.

Learning at St Francis enables the formation of knowledge, capabilities and values. We believe that this fosters meaningful engagement in learning in order to become informed, empowered and active global citizens in a contemporary and connected world.

We value opportunities for learning and reflection that challenge us to aspire to individual excellence, whilst maintaining the dignity and worth of the whole person.

Mission Statement

We encourage open communication between children, teachers and parents to foster understanding, patience, trust, forgiveness and loving concern.

We will foster self-discipline, respect for self and others, and responsible decision making.

We will aim to stimulate and encourage the children’s growth in the development of their full potential.

As professional educators we realise our responsibility to expand the knowledge and understanding of parents in current educational trends, new programmes in schools, developments, techniques, procedures and teacher expectations. The forum by which this responsibility may be undertaken would include Information Nights, Newsletters and Open Days.

As staff members we will foster and encourage professional development. Through friendship, support and recreational activities we will strive to create a confident and positive outlook for each individual.

We at St. Francis of Assisi, are committed to the continual faith development of our children. We aim to build and develop knowledge and awareness of the Catholic Faith by strengthening and deepening relationships with their family, school, community and Church.

History

St Francis of Assisi opened its doors in 1981 with an approximate enrolment of 180 students. Since then, the school has grown and developed significantly into a thriving community with over 1100 students.

The school is situated on 10 acres of landscaped surroundings. The landscape has been designed to incorporate active and passive movement around the school. Careful consideration was given to the nature of the trees planted for purposes of shade and general aesthetics.

There are well developed adventure playgrounds for the children, an oval, a synthetic grass soccer pitch and much more. In 2007, our central courtyard was redeveloped with shade-sails, synthetic grass and picnic tables.

Over recent years, we further improved our buildings and facilities. In 2007, we completed an Early Learning Centre and in 2008 a Creative Arts Centre was constructed. In 2011, a state of the art Library Resource Centre was built, encompassing a Computer Lab, a Music Room and a 21st century Children’s Library complete with touch-screen TVs, desktop computers, iMacs, iPads, laptops and MacBooks. In 2013, we completed a Senior School Classroom Complex, which features many new technological features and devices to challenge and assist our students in their learning.

 

Profile

St Francis of Assisi Primary School is centered around the prayer of St Francis of Assisi and focuses on the concept of love, hope and peace. St Francis of Assisi, in building a vital sense of community, upholds beliefs about the worth and dignity of each person. This is a strong aspect of the prayer of St Francis and the culture of the school is therefore centered around the gospel values. Considerable focus has been placed on policies and practices to ensure that the spirit and vision of the Christian story should permeate throughout the whole of the curriculum.

Our vision and mission are linked to our learning and teaching policy where we attempt to offer a holistic education with an emphasis on outcomes where all students succeed but at different times according to varying levels of readiness, and where a caring culture provides the children with a safe and secure environment in which to learn.

St Francis of Assisi is unique by nature of its size having an enrolment of 1170 students, an ESL component of 45.5% and 46 countries represented in our school population. This comprises a significant multi cultured population. All enrolments are either Catholic or Orthodox. With a large staff to support the various needs we ensure that effective communication and appropriate support frameworks are set in place. To this end, we have structures set up and appropriate leadership frameworks in place that support everyone’s needs.

Facilities / Grounds

At St Francis, we strive to provide the most contemporary facilities. The most recent developments are our Parish Church renovations, which are now complete, as well as our Senior School Building Complex which boasts 8 contemporary classrooms and 5 studios. To the rear of this state of the art complex, is our School Oval and Athletics Track as pictured to the right.

Significant building works have provided us with state of the art facilities including:

  • Contemporary Classroom Complex
  • Library Resource Centre
  • Computer Lab
  • Early Learning Centre (Year 1)
  • Creative Arts Centre (Hall)
  • Visual Arts Room
  • LOTE Room
  • Courtyard with tables under shade sails
  • Synthetic Soccer Pitch
  • Athletics Track and Oval
  • Ropes Playground

The school is situated on 10 acres and a landscape plan has been carefully followed. As a result we now enjoy a completely landscaped surround. The landscape has been designed to incorporate active and passive movement around the school.

Careful consideration was given to the nature of the trees planted for purposes of shade, aesthetics etc. There are many signs around our school which guide both our parents and children to different venues within the complex. Our school is well-maintained as we employ school caretakers throughout the week.

There are seven well-developed adventure playgrounds for the children, an oval, four square courts, an athletics track, a synthetic soccer pitch, several basketball courts, four bat-tennis courts and sand pits.

The Parents’ Association regularly raise money to provide extras for our students and our school (e.g. Adventure Playground).

Given the size of the school, classes are given specific areas in which to play to ensure maximum safety. 

New Classroom Complex

Our new classroom complex is also complete. This contemporary building features five studios and eight classrooms, one of which will has state-of-the-art Skype facilities. The facilities in this building engage and challenge our students to develop 21st century thinking skills.

Library

St Francis of Assisi School Library Resource Centre is central to the learning process within the school. It provides a dynamic environment, where all members of the school community can access quality and relevant information services. The library promotes access to literature, information resources and technology.

The Library Resource Centre and the library program in association with school staff aims to:

 

  • Promote and nurture students’ enjoyment and appreciation of a variety of literature.
  • Develop students’ research skills through the use of a wide variety of resources and technological materials.
  • Provide and maintain a relevant and responsive library collection.
  • Promote the Library Resource Centre as an important learning centre within the school.
  • Support the curriculum across the levels.

Staff & Classes

School Leadership Team

Principal
Mr Mark Basile

Deputy Principal (School Community)
Mrs Grace Lucic

Deputy Principal (Religious Education & Wellbeing)
Mr John Dwyer

Learning & Teaching Leader
Mrs Christina Rafael (nee Padula)

Literacy Leader
Mrs Mary Costanzo

Numeracy Leader
Mrs Brooke Brennan

Learning Diversity Leader
Mrs Nicole Federico

 

 

Extra Curricular Teachers

Italian
Mrs Teresa Di Giulio & Mrs Domenica Tartaggia

Japanese
Mrs May Park

P.E
Mr Brett McCarthy & Mr Adrian Talarico 

Library
Miss Michelle James

Art
Mrs Jenny Brown

Computers
Mrs Jo Muir

Music
Mrs Christine Grey & Ms Christina Antoniou

Drama
Mrs Melissa Ferraro Martin (Prep)

Mrs Vanessa Vittorio (Year 1 & 2)

Mrs Kalane Horwood (Years 3 & 4)

Science
Mr Adrian Talarico (Year 3 & 4)

 

Passion Project Teachers

Visual Arts
Mrs Jenny Brown

Robotics
Mrs Jo Muir

Performing Arts
Mrs May Park

Health & PE
Mr Brett McCarthy

Kitchen Garden
Mrs Christine Grey & Mrs Natalie Velevski

Science
Mrs Domenica Tartaggia / Mrs Christina Bagas

Creator Maker
Mr Adrian Talarico

Photography
Ms Teresa Di Giulio

* Passion Projects are offered to students in Years 5 and 6 in place of all other extra-curricular classes, except for P.E and a language study.