St Francis Catholic Primary offers a contemporary learning experience in Religious Education. Based on an understanding of how Catholics Believe, Live and Celebrate, learners invited into a sense of spirituality in their own lives. Our relationships with one another are modelled on the visions and values of Jesus Christ, honoring the dignity of each person, practising Christian hospitality, and proclaiming these Gospel values through word and action.

We each have an opportunity to contribute to positive whole school community relationships. Every day, we have the opportunity to:

• Be respectful
• Be a learner
• Be safe
• Be thankful

As a Franciscan school, we embrace and value the dimensions within a person – physical, cognitive, social/emotional, spiritual, cultural, psychological/personal. Individual identity is fundamental; in the Franciscan Intellectual Tradition it is the unique, different and specific which is important to us.  Witness to the Gospel values of our greatest teacher, Jesus Christ, is central as we ‘journey as family in peace through love’. As educators at St Francis, we provide a loving environment and a supported social context in which each child can grow.

Authentic relationships among students, staff and families are key to building positive behaviours within a learning environment. “Young children experience their world as an environment of relationships, and these relationships affect virtually all aspects of their development.” Building relationships does not happen in a perfect world; it happens in the ordinary-ness and messy-ness that days can bring. The models informing the Positive Behaviour and Wellbeing Framework reflect the unique daily contexts within which we learn and grow.

Three statements underpin our pedagogical practices at St Francis:

• We are learner centered.
• We are caring and supportive.
• We are communities of thinking and learning.

Supporting students beyond simply addressing their behaviours provides a student-centered, family-community approach

Counsellors are vital members of Catholic schools. The changing needs of students, parents and staff require counsellors who are skilled in current evidence based practice. They have the ability to work in collaboration and consultation with others in the school community and external agencies within the community. Counsellors work towards the promotion of mental health and wellbeing. They pursue early identification of mental health difficulties and provide counselling intervention or referral when appropriate. Counsellors work towards reducing the effects of environmental and institutional barriers to students becoming happy, confident and faith-filled learners who will use their knowledge and gifts for the good of all.

Melissa Davey is the school counsellor for St Francis Catholic Primary, and offers support to our students and parents. Melissa comes with many diverse skills in Student Support Services and Triple P Parenting and is a tremendous support for our school community. If you think that your child would benefit from counselling and you would like to touch base with Melissa, please don’t hesitate to contact the Office for a referral form.