Term 3 Week 4 2024

From the Principal

Dear Families,

It was great to welcome Francis’ Friends Playgroup back this week. We had a large number of families come along for the morning's activities and it was wonderful to see so many children having fun and learning new skills to help them navigate the world around them as well as the parents having an opportunity to support each other. Thank you to all those families who were able to come along. We look forward to seeing everyone again next week.

With the cooler weather that has been around I would like to take this opportunity to remind you of our school uniform for winter. Students are to wear a plain navy blue or maroon jumper and on colder days may wear navy blue tracksuit pants or tights. I ask that you ensure your child is in the correct uniform each day as it is a part of our high expectations culture.

Just a reminder that Friday 30th August is a Pupil Free Day. This day is designated for our teachers to continue developing their knowledge and understanding of Version 9 of the Australian Curriculum.

We wish our District Athletics team all the best as they compete at the District Carnival next Friday.  I’m sure that our competitors will try their very best and do themselves and our school proud by demonstrating wonderful sportsmanship.

Don’t forget that we have our family movie night coming up on Friday 6th September. Keep an eye out for more information. It is going to be a wonderful evening and I hope to see you all there.

Have a wonderful week

Take care and God Bless

Amanda

Religious Life of the School

Dear families,

We are now in August and the term feels like it is happening very quickly. This week our Prep, Year 5 and Year 6 students had their Class Mass. They gave thanks to God for the gifts they have received and learnt about St. Ignatius of Loyola. Father Manoj was able to speak with the Prep students after mass, explaining areas of the Church and showing them the baptismal font. Prep has been learning about baptism so it was great for them to be able to see where it all happens. They also got a tour behind the altar where the Tabernacle keeps the Eucharist. Thank you to Fr. Manoj for his time and wisdom.

Some of our Year 4 students will be participating in their First Holy Communion and Confirmation this weekend. We send best wishes for the joyous occasion, please keep them in your prayers. May they always know the peace of Jesus, the light of his love, and the joy of his life within them.

The Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola

Wednesday was the feast day of St. Ignatius of Loyola. St. Ignatius (1491-1556) was a Spanish Catholic priest and theologian. He was born in Loyola, Spain, and initially pursued a military career. During the Battle of Pamplona, he was injured, leading to a profound spiritual transformation. After a period of pilgrimage and deep reflection, Ignatius founded the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in 1540 with help from St Francis Xavier (our school’s namesake). The Jesuits were dedicated to education, missionary work, and promoting the Catholic faith.

St. Ignatius left an enduring impact on the Catholic Church. Ignatius' "Spiritual Exercises" and the establishment of the Jesuits have had a profound influence on spirituality, education and humanitarian work worldwide.

This year, as a staff, we have been delving deeply into the parable of the Good Samaritan. One of the activities we experienced was Ignatian contemplation (from St. Ignatius). It is a method of prayer that involves using the imagination to bring scripture to life.

Imagine yourself in the Gospel parable of the Good Samaritan. Choose a character to be or one to follow. Use your senses to form a full and intimate picture of the scene in your mind as you read.

Luke 10:25-37

Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”

But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while travelling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, “Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay whatever you spend.” Which of these three, do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

God Bless

Nicole

Learning Corner

Time to celebrate!

This week our Early Years classes commenced the post testing of the TCE Literacy and Numeracy tests completed at the beginning of the year.

At the beginning of the year, the tests identified what the children already knew and what they needed to work on to make progress. This combined with the P(promoting) L (literacy) D Development screener mid-Term 1 and repeated each term enabled teachers to closely target and monitor individual student literacy needs. The post test will measure the progress made by each student. Initial results so far are showing us that all children have made progress. The amount of progress made will help us identify the children who require targeted support, those who are progressing at an age-appropriate pace and the children who are working beyond their year level and are to be provided with extension through challenging activities.

We have found PLD to be such an effective resource that teachers across the school have adopted it. Some classes have only begun using it this term, but already, they are noticing differences in student writing as students are more aware of the relationships between graphemes and phonemes and how words are composed of morphemes.

This week, our collection of 2023/2024 data for NCCD ended. Our next cycle of data collection commences next week. The number of children included in this data collection determines the funding the school receives to support students through classroom support, resources, or staff training relevant to student needs.

The required data are specialist reports and/or a diagnosis of a disability that hinders a child’s learning progress, evidence of adjustments (that relate to the disability) made in class or the school environment, evidence of communication with the parents about the identified disability, and the child’s individual learning plan signed by a parent/carer.

If any category of data is missing the child cannot be included in data for funding. Similarly, if a child is experiencing difficulty with learning but has a high rate of absenteeism, they cannot be included. A child cannot take advantage of teaching to learn if they are absent from class.

If you are concerned about any aspect of your child’s progress at school, your first point of contact is the classroom teacher who will then discuss it with the school IPT ( Inclusive Practices Teacher + APPL) for a referral to TCE Support Services for further advice to determine if enough adjustments have already been implemented. If we have done the best we can at class level and no learning progress is evident, our next step is to recommend to parents a referral to the guidance counsellor for assessment to identify issues, offer advice or make recommendations for specialist intervention.

In most cases, the school-level discussion about a child’s progress and adjustments has already been implemented prior to parent contact and the recommendation for a referral to the Student Support Services.

Sometimes, situations arise that require immediate intervention by the Guidance Counsellor. In these cases, the process above is condensed to provide support quickly.

If you have any concern about your child at school, please do not hesitate to make contact with us.

Enjoy your weekend.

Rita

Guidance Counsellor

In this edition of SchoolTV - RAISING BOYS

Many parents will attest to the fact that most boys are active, loud, rambunctious and prone to rough play, but this should not affect how a parent acts towards their son. Be careful not to pigeon-hole your son into sex-specific behaviours or gender roles. The male brain is distinctly different in its development. A boy’s physical maturity is often at odds with his mental and brain development.

Societal beliefs about how to raise boys can sometimes influence their adult carers. Although we are not determined by our biology, it is a factor. It is important to support boys in their natural tendencies and nurture their strengths and abilities. Teach them the skills they need for their future and to develop a healthy identity. It is important for boys to have a role model they can connect with and acknowledge who they are. One of the most important determinants for a boy’s development is how secure they feel growing up.

In this edition of SchoolTV, adult carers will gain a better understanding into some of the more complex issues relating to raising boys.

Here is the link to the Raising Boys edition of SchoolTV
https://sfatsv.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/raising-boys

Library

Classes in the Spotlight - 1/2B & 4A

1/2B have been super busy this term! Each morning, students start their day with morning yoga, prayer, and handwriting exercises. They then move on to PLD, where they are learning to stretch their sentences and identify verbs, nouns, and adjectives.

In Maths this week, we are focusing on partitioning two and three digit numbers and writing them in expanded form.

Our focus across English, Art, and Science has been on minibeasts. Students have been exploring their life cycles, habitats, and other interesting facts. In Art, they have been designing and creating media posters. Everyone is working hard at learning how to change fonts, adjust writing size, and include images and backgrounds. They were all quite excited when they figured out keyboard shortcuts!

In Literacy rotations, 1/2B have been creating different minibeasts and writing interesting paragraphs about them. They have also been participating in word work, comprehension activities, and reading.

1/2B

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4A

• Doing PLD phonic spelling
• Rotations - Reading with the teacher in small groups
• Rotations - Dictionary work as a group
• Rotations - Number Facts work with support
• Rotations - Researching an animal from Africa or South America 
• Assembly - The various roles taken for 4A Assembly this week
• PE - Practising for Athletics

4A

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P.A.T.H.

Birthdays

Lost Property

We have a large collection of unnamed maroon jumpers and hats in lost property.  Jumpers range from size 6 to 12.  Please call in to the school office if one of these items may belong to your family.

Community