Term 3 Week 5 2024
From the Principal
Dear Families,
The conclusion of this week sees us reach the halfway point of Term 3. The past five weeks have absolutely flown by with events such as our Athletics Carnival and Founders’ Day. I’m sure that the next five weeks will pass just as quickly as we have Under 8’s Day, Year 5 and 6 Camp, a Pupil Free Day, National Child Protection Week, Parent Teacher Interviews and Samaritan Day.
At this point of the term it is timely to review our high expectations culture. At St Francis Catholic School, we believe that high expectations are for all members of the school community and are essential for inspiring excellence and nurturing belonging. High expectations will ensure that our students become capable learners who develop confidence, demonstrate pride in their work, build resilience and develop a strong sense of identity. High expectations help foster positive relationships between students, staff and families and promote our school as a place that values learning and high standards.
We believe that high expectations are achieved by:
A strong partnership between home and school.
Students following The Good Samaritan’s P.A.T.H.
All members of the school community setting an example.
Consistency in all areas.
Cultivating a learning environment that encourages and supports questioning and risk-taking.
Clear and consistent directions, routines and structures.
Consistently following through on expected behaviour and work standards.
The ongoing review of practice to guide strategies for improvement.
Students wearing the correct school uniform.
Treating each member of our school community with respect.
These high expectations are regularly reviewed by our staff and are something that we continually speak with the students about. In order for our high expectations culture to be successful it is important that families are also aware and supporting the conversations that are held here at school. The best way you can help us is to ensure that your child/ren are wearing the correct school uniform each day, that you discuss the Good Samaritan's P.A.T.H. expectations at home and what they look like, stay in contact with your classroom teacher about your child’s progress and behaviour, encourage your child to take a risk and allow them to attempt activities independently.
Over the past week I have been concerned by some actions that I have seen in the carpark. Students should not be crossing the car park unless they are accompanied by an adult. We ask that you walk to the school side of the car park to collect your child/ren. At the roundabout students should only be entering their vehicle from the passenger side. The roundabout is very busy, children are unpredictable and students entering vehicles on the driver side is incredibly dangerous. At the roundabout the driver and passengers must remain in the vehicle. If your child requires help with getting in the car or with their seat belt, please park and help them. It is important that the pick up line is continuously moving. If you know your child takes a long time to get to the roundabout in the afternoon, please consider arriving a little later in order to allow the line to keep moving. Finally just a reminder that all students are to be picked up by 3:20pm. After this time students will be taken to the Office and parents will need to walk into the Office to collect them. Thank you for your assistance in keeping all of our precious little lives safe.
Congratulations to Brock Gorey who won our $2 Number Board with the prize of a Voucher for 2 to the value of $100 to the Escape Academy. We still have numbers left on our $10 Number Board. We will be selling these at school in Week 9 and 10. All money raised is going towards our playgrounds.
I will be away next Wednesday to Friday at a Principal’s Conference. If you have any concerns during this time, please see Nicole O’Connor.
Have a wonderful weekend
Take care and God Bless
Amanda
Religious Life of the School
Dear families,
It is a strange feeling as we progress through the term, and I realise many of the events will be the last time I experience them at St Francis. One of my favourite events was yesterday morning, Whole School Christian Meditation to acknowledge the feast day of St. Mary MacKillop. The students were very reverent walking in and out and during meditation, making it a time of peace and perfect for listening to God. Thank you to them all and their teachers for their preparations.
We also celebrated St. Mary MacKillop on Monday at the liturgy hosted by 5A. Thank you 5A for sharing information about Mary and her life and providing us with our very own ‘Mary’.
This Sunday we celebrate mass as a school community along with the parish community at our Youth Mass in Sacred Heart Church at 5:30 pm. All are welcome to attend, and I look forward to another of my ‘lasts’.
Sacrament Celebrations
Last weekend 19 of our Year 4 students received the sacraments of Confirmation and First Holy Communion. These students took an important step in their spiritual journey within the Catholic Church. In Confirmation, they received the Holy Spirit, strengthening their faith and committing them more deeply to their Christian life. During First Holy Communion, they received the Eucharist for the first time, partaking in the body and blood of Christ, which is a key moment of unity with the Church and with Jesus. These sacraments were celebrated with family and the parish community, marking a significant milestone in their faith development.
To mark the occasion all classes were allocated students to congratulate with a card. To celebrate as a school community, the students were presented with these cards after Monday’s liturgy.
St. Mary MacKillop
St. Mary MacKillop, born on January 15, 1842, in Melbourne, Australia, is celebrated for her dedication to education and social justice. She was canonized as Australia's first saint on October 17, 2010, by Pope Benedict XVI, recognising her profound impact and unwavering spirit.
Mary co-founded the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart in 1866 with Father Julian Tenison Woods, focusing on providing free education to children, especially in rural communities.
Despite facing numerous challenges, including temporary excommunication from the Church, Mary remained steadfast in her mission. Her resilience and commitment to her faith and the poor led to the establishment of schools, orphanages, and welfare institutions across Australia and New Zealand.
Mary is the Patron Saint of the Brisbane Archdiocese where a statue of her is housed in the first church built on the site of St Stephen’s Cathedral. The church which stands like a small offspring next to the much larger cathedral, lays claim to being the oldest existing church in Queensland.
The chapel, made of roughly cut local tuff, still retains its original roof, although it now has a locomotive’s bell, as the original bell tower was destroyed in a storm. Inside, you’ll find a shrine featuring the remarkable, larger-than-life camphor wood carving of Mary Mackillop by sculptor John Elliott. Between 1869 and 1871, Mary would row across the river from Kangaroo Point to worship here.
If you have the opportunity to visit when in Brisbane, it is a beautiful experience. The Chapel is quiet and the camphor smell adds to the ambience. It is a great place to sit and reflect on the life of Australia’s first saint. A famous quote from Mary is, “Never see a need without doing something about it.” This is how she lived her life and she calls us to follow.
SAVE THE DATE
Youth Mass - Sunday 11 August, 5:30pm
Years 3 & 4 Class Mass - Wednesday 14 August, 9am
Years 1 & 2 Class Mass - Wednesday 28 August, 9am
Father's Day Liturgy - hosted by 1/2B - Monday 2 September, 2:15pm
Samaritan Day - Friday 13 September
Prayer
Mary, teach me to trust in God that God will
provide what is needed for me
to be a person of faith.
Amen
God Bless and have a wonderful week
Nicole
Learning Corner
Do you see
The first illustration gives us the total story while the second one gives us only a small section of the whole picture, (or story), and is open to many different interpretations. Our interpretations are influenced by what we already know, our experiences and biases. Trying to understand the ‘full’ picture by gathering all the parts to see the ‘whole’ picture is a challenge teachers face everyday in the playground and in the classroom.
Parents face the same situation when a child presents a section of a full picture as the ‘whole’. This is most evident with sibling interactions that end in an argument. The focus is not on the end result or small part of the whole but rather on the circumstances that led to it.
Whether a child is encountering difficulties or is highly successful with learning we need to look at the total picture of the child’s learning. If they are achieving well, what are the strengths we can extend and what are the areas that need to be further developed to continue progress beyond the year-level expectations? If the child is experiencing difficulties, we need to look for the barriers to progress. If the child’s handwriting is poor, practice may help, but if the cause is poor muscle tone then this is the area for focus to improve not just handwriting but all other parts of learning that rely on age-appropriate muscle tone.
Next week is Science Week celebrated across the Nation.
The Australian Curriculum in Science promotes:
- exploration of the unknown
- understanding of important scientific concepts and processes
- natural curiosity
- critical and creative thinking
- development of STEM competencies.
The Aims of Science in P-10 are for each student to develop:
- an interest in science as a means of expanding their curiosity
- a solid foundation of knowledge
- an understanding of the nature of scientific inquiry
- an ability to communicate scientific understanding and findings
- an ability to solve problems and make informed decisions
- an understanding of the dynamic nature of scientific knowledge.
QUEST FOR KNOWLEDGE
Year 6 students are invited to nominate for the school team to participate in the TCE Quest for Knowledge.
The school team will be made up of 4 with 1 reserve.
They will participate online in a quest of 12 rounds of 20 questions. They work as a team to answer the questions of each round in 7 minutes.
They are provided with breaks throughout the quest.
It will be held on Wednesday, October 2, 9:00am - 12:10pm.
The school team will be chosen via a school-based Google classroom quiz.
Enjoy your week!
Rita
Class in the Spotlight - Italian
Italian
From counting and singing to describing big and small things and sending gifts to Italy. The Prep and Year 1/2 students have been enjoying Italian lessons each week.
Year 3 and 4 are creating their own monsters and labelling different body parts in Italian. Prepare to be scared!
Year 5 and 6 are looking at various games and creating instructions to match, in Italian.
Italian
The Arts - Dance
During Term 3, all classes are moving to the songs of musicals. Each student is creating movements and dance moves, individually or as part of a small group, to chosen songs. What a talented bunch of kids at St.Francis!
The Arts - Dance
PE
This week in 5A, 5/6B and 6A for PE we have been continuing our ‘Kid-Lympics’.
Our events this week were Javelin, Hurdles, Bean Bag Races and Egg and Spoon races. Our teams were awarded points for their placings but most importantly we were awarded points for sportsmanship. It was wonderful to see so many teams cheering and supporting each other.
Over the next few weeks we will be competing in a number of different events such as: curling, fencing, tennis, volleyball and gymnastics. We are going to combine all the movements and knowledge we’ve learnt in PE throughout the years, working as a team to see who will win gold. It’s quite close at the moment but like our athletes have shown us, anything is possible!
Year 5 & 6 PE
What a fun week we had in Junior PE (Prep - 4). We have continued learning about physical movement sequences using basketballs. Students first looked at key basketball skills, counting steps and rhythm. This week students have applied these skills to learn a basketball dribbling routine to a song. Years 1-4 are working in pairs to learn a set routine and are excited to showcase their skills to their class at the end of term!
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.
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