Term 4 Week 9 2024

From the Principal

Dear Families,

As we turn the final pages of this year’s school journey, I am filled with pride and gratitude for all that we have accomplished together at St Francis Catholic School. Each day has brought new challenges and triumphs, and it has been a joy to witness our students grow, learn, and thrive.

It is hard to believe that we have almost reached the end of the year.  This will be the final newsletter for 2024.  It only feels like yesterday that we were beginning the year off with our Parent Coffee morning.  As we take time to reflect on the year we have had, we need to remember to be grateful for the many experiences we have had this year, the lessons we have learnt and the memories we have made.  We have a lot to be grateful for and so much to celebrate. 

Throughout the year our students have grown academically, explored their passions and discovered new interests. I was continually impressed by their creativity, enthusiasm, and willingness to support one another. Our playground echoed with laughter, our classrooms buzzed with ideas, and our events brought us closer together as a school community.

We celebrated milestones both big and small—academic achievements, personal growth, and acts of kindness that made our school a better place. Highlights included our Beginning of Year Mass, Holy Week Plays, sports carnivals, Eisteddfod, Founders’ Day, Under 8’s Day, free dress days, our family movie night and fundraisers all of which showcased the incredible talents and teamwork of our students, staff and families.

While we are almost at the end we still have an incredibly busy Week 10 ahead of us. On Monday we start our final week of 2024 with our Step Up Morning. Students will have the opportunity to meet their classmates and teachers for 2025 and learn about what their year will look like. We will then celebrate the end of our Year 6’s journey here at St Francis with their Graduation.  It is sure to be a memorable evening. 

There are many other events being held next week that we warmly invite you to. Our Awards Morning on Wednesday will be a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the success of our students throughout the year as well as acknowledge some other special people. Thursday evening we will be holding our 2024 Christmas Nativity and Community Singing Evening. All students will be performing during the evening and we hope that you are able to come along and lend your voice to this special event.  Friday at 11am is our final farewell where we will say goodbye to not only our Year 6 students but also families and staff who are leaving our school. School then finishes promptly at 12pm. All students need to be picked up from school as there will be no buses running at this time. 

As we move towards the end of the year I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to our dedicated and talented staff who have gone above and beyond to create a nurturing environment that supports our students and provides them with many opportunities to succeed, excel and flourish, thank you. I am incredibly grateful for all that happens in our school on a daily basis and the wonderful staff that are at the core of our school. To our staff leaving us at the end of this year, thank you for all of your contributions to our St Francis family. We wish you joy and happiness for the adventures to come.

To our parents, carers and grandparents, thank you for your unwavering support and involvement. Your engagement in your children’s education has a profound impact, strengthens our entire school community and we are very grateful for all you do.  At a school level we can’t do what we do without the support of our parent and grandparent volunteers whether that be in the Tuckshop, helping in classrooms, at sports days, organising special events such as discos, Mothers and Fathers Day stalls. I would like to thank you for your continued encouragement and support in helping to make our school a wonderful community.

As our Year 6 students finish their time at St Francis so do a number of families. Some families have spent many years as part of our school, some a much shorter time but all have left their mark on our school community.  Thank you for your contribution to St Francis during your time here.  On behalf of the school community, we thank you and wish you all the very best for the future and every success and happiness. 

To our students.  What a year you have had!  You have fully embraced what has been on offer in 2024. The best part of our job as teachers is watching the students grow and discover new things about themselves.  Personally, for me, it is all about the look on a student's face when they finally get something or have achieved a new personal goal.  For some students, this can take longer than for others, but what is important is that no matter what the situation, our students are always trying to do their best.  Each and every student has made some amazing progress throughout the year and they should all be very proud of their achievements. 

On a personal note, I would like to thank the amazing leadership team and Admin ladies for their support this year.  Some of what they do each and every day is obvious to our community but much of what they undertake happens behind the scenes and makes so much of what we achieve as a school possible.

This week we welcomed our new Principal Lisa Fitzsimmons to St Francis. Lisa spent the day with us on Tuesday and had the opportunity to meet all of the staff and students, tour the school and visit the classrooms. Lisa and I spent time together discussing the school, our direction for school renewal and future plans. I know that you will all make Lisa feel incredibly welcome when you meet her and together build on our successes over the past few years to shape a brighter future for St Francis.

Finally, I hope that this Christmas season provides you all with an opportunity to relax and enjoy time with family and loved ones.  If you are travelling, please take care and stay safe.  The true joy of Christmas is the love of Christ, shared with family and friends. May you find His peace, love and joy in the coming New Year.  Have a very holy, happy and safe Christmas. 

Have a wonderful week

Take care and God Bless

Amanda

Religious Life of the School

Dear families,

As the school year ends, I want to thank everyone in our school community for your support. I have enjoyed stepping into the role of Acting Assistant Principal for Religious Education. I have been inspired by the teamwork, creativity, and determination that make our school special. Our teachers, school officers, and dedicated parents have all worked together to ensure every student feels supported and cared for. This shared effort to help our students succeed is what makes our school a wonderful place to be.

This term has been full of exciting events, achievements, and moments of growth. I am so grateful for your involvement, which has helped create a positive and lively learning environment. As we look back on all we’ve accomplished, I am excited to continue working together in the future to help our students grow in both their minds and hearts. 

Thank you to 4A for their assembly on Monday afternoon. They did an excellent job of sharing the true meaning of Christmas, beautifully highlighting the message of love, hope and kindness that this season brings. They reminded us all of the importance of celebrating Christ's birth and spreading His light to others.

THE ADVENT WREATH: 

On Sunday, at Mass, the first candle will be lit on the Advent wreath. The advent wreath is a traditional centerpiece of the Christmas season. A candle is lit on each of the four Sundays preceding Christmas. The first candle (violet) represents hope, the second (violet) peace, the third (rose) joy, and the fourth (violet) love. The central white candle is lit on Christmas Day and represents Christ. The word ‘advent’ means ‘coming’; lighting the candles on the Advent wreath symbolises the coming of Light (Jesus) into the world. The Advent Wreath teaches us about Christian preparation for celebrating Jesus’ birth and making our hearts truly ready to receive Him. Making an advent wreath and praying a blessing each week with your children is a wonderful way to countdown to Christmas.

ST VINCENT DE PAUL HAMPERS

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who has generously contributed to our annual Christmas hamper. Our baskets are overflowing with festive treats and donations that will be used to create hampers for those in need in our community this holiday season. Senior students will be handing over the hampers to our local St. Vincent de Paul representative on Friday. What a beautiful way to kick off the Christmas season by showing kindness and compassion to those less fortunate.

On the 15th  December the Burdekin Parish is having a Christmas Carols event. We would love you to join in this special occasion.

Any children wanting to take part in the carols please contact Mrs Johansen or Sr Carmel .

mjohansen@sfatsv.catholic.edu.au 

CPattinson@goodsams.org.au

Stay safe and enjoy the holidays. I look forward to seeing all of you next year. Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

God Bless,

Maria

Learning Corner

HIGH EXPECTATIONS

Have we achieved our Learning and Teaching goals for 2024?

At the end of 2023 the implementation of English and Mathematics Version 9.0 was postponed to 2025 so that all teachers across the State could be fully prepared to implement the changes. Additionally, TCE mandated days for professional development dedicated to understanding Version 9.0 of English and Mathematics.

 For us at St. Francis, this was a bonus. It gave us time to fully understand the implications of the changes for the way we plan and teach. Teachers were able to trial the changes in the classroom. Many teachers took on the challenge of using the ‘Traits of Writing’ to teach writing skills, many investigated the use of the resources such as ‘Promoting Literacy Development’ and ‘Effective Spelling’.

Two teachers participated in the two year TCE Writing Project to develop their understanding of the traits of writing and ways of engaging children in the writing process. The impact of participation in this project was evident in the quality of the writing produced.

A hands-on and enquiry approach to Teaching Mathematics was trialled through the resource, ‘Learning Through Doing’. The hands-on materials to enable this were purchased or made throughout this year.

Many of you would have noticed the changed layout and extra information included in assessment tasks as teachers across year levels have engaged in designing assessment tasks. The greatest change in this area is that children do not have to complete the same assessment task to show what they know and understand in a particular subject. There is now the acknowledgement that children learn differently and show what they know and understand in different ways.

Our focus this year has been progress, not perfection. Children were guided to identify their own learning growth and not compare their learning progress to that of friends.

Next year we will work on precision, not prescription. This means we use student data to ensure children learn what they need to learn to make progress rather than teaching the same knowledge and skills at the same time in the same way to all children.

Our goals for 2024 to prepare teachers with a thorough understanding of the ‘what ‘ and ‘how’ of Version 9.0 for its successful implementation next year have been met!

 Many thanks to the teachers for their enthusiasm, openness to change, collaboration and professionalism as we engaged with the new curriculum and its implications throughout the year.

Wishing you all safe, happy and relaxing holidays.

Rita

Guidance Counsellor

A SPECIAL REPORT: Surviving Christmas

Many people see Christmas as a wonderful time of celebration and an opportunity to spend time with family and friends. However, there are some that view it as a time of stress and hardship. This may be due to a combination of things: financial pressures, relationship issues and, quite often, loneliness, making it a very challenging time.

Often the true meaning of Christmas can be lost due to commercial exploitation, but there are a number of things you can do to create a magical Christmas, without the financial burden. Creating or maintaining traditions can contribute to a sense of comfort and belonging.

Unfortunately for some, there is also an ugly side to Christmas. Support organisations often report an increase in the number of calls from people seeking help due to their inability to cope during this time. If you, or a loved one, is finding that it is all too much, then it is important to reach out to a trusted friend, family member or medical professional.

In this Special Report, parents and care givers will be presented with a number of ideas on how to achieve a stress-free Christmas and where to seek help should you need it.

Here is the link to your special report:
https://sfatsv.catholic.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/surviving-christmas-au

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