Term 2 Week 2 2022

From the Principal

Dear Parents and Carers,

Thank you to all those families who braved the weather and joined us for the ANZAC Day March.  It was wonderful to have so many families join us. Despite the rain, it was a very moving ceremony and our students did a wonderful job of paying their respects.  While on ANZAC Day we remember the landing at Gallopi, ANZAC Day also recognises the involvement of all Australians, men and women, in all wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations. The endurance, courage and mateship demonstrated by the ANZACs forged the legend of the ANZAC and it is those same qualities that members of the Australian Defence Force live by today and are also qualities that each of us can apply to our everyday lives.  

Last week we were very fortunate to have a table tennis table donated to the school by Bonnie Barton.  I would like to thank Bonnie for her generous donation.  I’m sure that the students will have many hours of fun honing their table tennis skills.

Don’t forget that tomorrow night we are holding our Parent Information Wine and Cheese evening starting at 6pm in the Samaritan Centre.  This will be a relaxed evening where you can meet other parents, hear about the importance of parent engagement and how it is different to fundraising and workshop ideas around what you would like to see happen at our school in terms of parent engagement.  I encourage you to come along to this event as everything that we do is for your children. 

In some great news, there will now be a Mother’s Day Stall on Thursday 5th May. After mentioning in last week's newsletter that there wouldn’t be a stall this year, a huge thank you to Bhree-Ana Perry and Teena Butler for coming forward and offering to organise the stall.  Bhree-Ana and Teena would love some help on Thursday the 5th to help sell items to the students.  If you are able to assist, please let the office know.

This Friday is school photo day.  Please ensure that you have returned your photo envelopes.  Students are required to be in their full formal uniform for this event. Sibling photos will commence at 8am in the Samaritan Centre.

Have a wonderful week.

Take care and God Bless

Amanda

Religious Life of the School

Catholic Identity Model for St Francis:

The first thing we had to do as a school was to discern the special religious character of our school.  Where has our school ethos or character come from?

Looking back through the history of our school we can see that our school evolved from very humble beginnings with four nuns and a parish community determined, with the help of the first priest, Father Bucas to ensure a Catholic education for the children in the community. The school was built through the generosity of the parishioners of the time.  Through all its moves and changes the school has relied on the generosity and commitment of the parents, clergy, religious and parish community.

Students at St Francis are encouraged to follow Jesus’ example through ...

Love of God - Exemplified by Mary, Mother of Jesus and Significant Characters such as…

• Bede Polding, St Marcellin Champagnat and St Francis

Who are these significant Characters that have influenced the character of our school? How did they show a love of God?

In 1835 John Bede Polding became the first Catholic Bishop of Australia. He became a good neighbour to the struggling women of colonial Australia and others on the margins of society: convicts; Aboriginal people; abandoned children. He founded the Sisters of the Good Samaritan and worked to open Catholic schools across Australia to care for and educate children on the margins of society. They were the first religious order in our school and following their calling to be ‘neighbour’ to those in need spent their time when not teaching working in the parish: preparing children for the Sacraments visiting the sick and elderly, and working with those in need.

In 1953, the Marist Brothers arrived in the district and opened a Marist School for boys. In the late ’60’s they began to teach at St Francis with the Samaritan nuns. The Marist Brothers were founded by St Marcellin Champagnat. After his ordination in 1816, Marcellin saw that not enough was being done to help the poor and illiterate in society so he founded the Marist Brothers, a religious congregation of brothers in the Catholic Church devoted to Mary and dedicated to education. His quote "To raise children properly, we should love them and love them equally" became the cornerstone of Marist education. Like the Sister of Good Samaritan, the Marists provided an education, particularly for children in need and became active in the community, teaching, assisting the parishioners and helping people in need.

1 MAY - FEAST OF SAINT JOSEPH THE WORKER: We celebrate two feast days for Joseph: March 19 for Joseph the husband of Mary and May 1 for Joseph the Worker. Saint Joseph is the model for all who work because, in his humble and simple work as a carpenter, he cared for the holy family and provided for the needs of Mary and Jesus. Through Saint Joseph, we can learn the importance of diligence and faithfulness in our daily life and work.

Aiming for Excellence

Ready Set Write! 

This week students Years 3-6 continue to focus on thinking, planning and writing within time limits during the daily Ready Set Write time. Years 1 and 2 have commenced participating in the Ready Set Write time, with the challenge to write as many sentences as possible in a set time. This is to commence building their stamina with sustained writing practice.

NAPLAN

NAPLAN commences on Tuesday, May 10. Please refer to the school NAPLAN Timetable for details.  A reminder that all participating students will require working headphones to access the test. We know our children like ‘trendy’ and ‘different’ headphones but teachers have discovered during the practices that the simpler the headphones the easier they are to use. Thank you to parents who have already contacted the office to let us know their child will require a catch-up test during the ten day window of testing.

SPELLING

The revised Australian Curriculum due to be released within weeks includes a focus on phonological, orthographic and morphological knowledge to teach spelling. We have had a heavy emphasis on phonological knowledge linked to orthography and less emphasis on morphology. VERY briefly, phonological knowledge is about awareness of the sound structure of spoken language while orthography is about the awareness of the symbols used to represent the spoken language. Morphological knowledge refers to an individual’s understanding of morphemes and how they can be used to form words. They are the parts of a word that carry meaning. For example, unhappy is made up of two morphemes; ‘un’ and ‘happy’. Each morpheme carries meaning on its own.

Years 1 and 2 commenced their learning of spelling by developing the understanding that the same sound can be represented in different ways. They are being encouraged to ‘notice’ words and how they relate to other words. In their classrooms, you will see ‘Word Noticing’ words. The phonological knowledge is presented and practised through literature. As they are in a transition from learning sounds, letters and words to learning how to represent sounds to write they are continuing with the weekly spelling tests.  We are working towards assessing their spelling through their daily writing rather than a test result. Children are learning to become word conscious, curious about words and how they can be used to express ideas and opinions.

Parents and carers can help their children by reading to them and showing curiosity about words.

Rita Cranitch

Leaning and Teaching Adviser

Inclusive Practices Teacher

Birthdays

From the Guidance Counsellor

In this edition of SchoolTV - SCHOOL REFUSAL

School refusal, sometimes called school avoidance or school phobia, is not uncommon. It is different to ‘wagging’ or truancy and is often related to worry or anxiety-related issues about going to school. School refusal may start gradually or happen suddenly. Although it is normal for a child to occasionally miss a day of school, parents should only be concerned if a child regularly complains about feeling sick or often asks to stay home due to minor physical complaints.

School refusal is a complex issue as there is rarely a single cause. It affects children of all ages across primary and secondary levels. It can often occur during times of transition at school. More recently, the Coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the educational experience of all students, affecting some more than others. Dealing with a school refusal child can affect the whole family, adding pressure to an already challenging time. School refusal is not considered a formal psychiatric diagnosis. It’s a name given to an emotional and/or behavioural problem.

In this edition of SchoolTV, adult carers will learn how best to approach this issue and work towards a solution.

We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this edition of SchoolTV and we always welcome your feedback. If you have any concerns about your child, please contact the school guidance counsellor for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to the School Refusal edition of SchoolTV
https://sfatsv.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/school-refusal

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