Term 1 Week 8 2025

From the Principal

It has been another busy week with our students celebrating St Patrick’s Day, a beautiful assembly led by 2A, our FACE team coming together to ensure we have a great Disco tonight and our first Board meeting after the AGM on Tuesday. 

Whilst we had a good turn out at the School Board’s AGM it was our current members that were in attendance.  Three of those members will be leaving at the end of this year as their little ones head to high school and this offers a great opportunity to look for some new members. I thought I would share a few things about what a Board is and isn’t.

The Board is a group of people working to ensure our school remains true to our mission, our purpose and our core values. The School Board is a key expression of the importance of partnerships and in particular parent participation within the school community.

The role of our School Board is to provide broad, comprehensive governance of the school. They do this by setting long-term, strategic directions, reviewing key policies, school budget consultation and providing invaluable support to the Principal in administration, policy matters and management of educational change.

The School Board meets twice per term and is composed of school staff, the Parish Priest, parents and other community members.

The School Board is not a place to waste your valuable time and sticks to a clear agenda and timeline.

It is not a group of experts on everything, rather a group of diverse skill sets that support robust conversations to support our school’s directions.

I would be happy to talk with anyone who would like to learn more.

HARMONY WEEK

What a beautiful week of engagement from our students that will of course be capped off with our Harmony themed disco tonight. 

ST JOSEPH’S DAY

When the weather wasn’t on our side to gather for our meditation we didn’t give up. Miss Kelsey Rye led our school via the intercom into each classroom to participate in our whole school meditation. 

FACEBOOK

You can see what our students get up to at many of these events via our Facebook page ‘St Francis Catholic School’. Just search and follow to see the many faces of St Francis in action.

God bless,

Lisa Fitzsimmons

Religious Life of the School

Hello families,

As Easter approaches, we are continuing our fundraising efforts for Project Compassion. A big thank you to everyone who has supported us so far. Don't forget to place your orders for hot cross buns by next Tuesday. You can choose from chocolate, fruit, or fruitless buns, and we'll provide butter and jam. Each bun is $1.50, and they will be delivered to your classroom on Wednesday 2nd April in time for second play.

Our Easter Raffle is also ongoing, so be sure to send in money for your tickets. At 50c each, they give you a chance to win one of three baskets filled with chocolates, cuddly bunnies, and Easter activities. The raffle will be drawn in Week 10.

Harmony Day

Thank you to Class 2A for their assembly on Monday.  We loved your video about all the great things we see happening  around our school. Harmony Day is about being aware of differences and recognising that we are all human. We should treat all people with compassion and justice because everyone belongs.

It was great to see so many of our students supporting Harmony Day today by wearing orange accessories today. In classes, students discussed what Harmony Day is all about and each student decorated a hand to add to our Diversity Tree.  Pop into the office and check it out.

Project Compassion

Catholic Identity  Committee

As we continue to focus on our Catholic Identity in 2025, we will be resuming our Catholic Identity Committee. As mentioned in a previous newsletter ,  we are looking to welcome new parents to join our committee. We need 2 parents to come on board for 2025.  Below is an overview of what the committee is about. Please take a moment to read through it, and if you're interested, feel free to reach out to me by the end of Week 9.

Rationale

The Catholic School Identity Committee/Team (CSIAC/T) is an advisory group within the school community that supports the work of the school leadership team.  The Committee/Team supports the development of a deeper understanding of how the school’s Catholic Identity is expressed and of how faith remains recognisable, credible and meaningful today.  The CSIAC/T affirms the renewed Christian profile, which is relevant within the current pluralistic culture, is enhanced and sustained.

Purpose

The Catholic School Identity Committee/Team reflects, perceives, imagines and expresses the distinctiveness of the Catholic Identity of the school so that specific school-based strategies are adopted and outcomes realised.

Expectations

The Catholic School Identity Committee / Team will:

• build the capacity of school leaders to enhance quality Catholic Identity by contributing to the interpretation of ECSI reports/data and the formation of recommendations
• assisting with strategic goal setting for Catholic Identity in the School Improvement Plan (SIP)
• enhance creativity and excellence in Catholic Identity
• optimise engagement with staff, students and families within the school community
• strengthen partnerships between the school and the parish.

Meeting Frequency

This committee meets a minimum of once per term.

Thanks for your continued support in all we do at St Francis.

God Bless,

Maria

Learning Corner

LEARNING and TEACHING

Every minute counts!

At the beginning of each term, we have a list of TCE (Townsville Catholic Education) expectations that all diocesan schools are  to meet.

Our list for this term was:

Early Years (P-1) pretest in Literacy and Numeracy

DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills in Yrs 2-6) is a quick and straightforward way to check how well children are developing their reading skills. These short, one and three-minute assessments help teachers identify students who may need extra support and track their progress over time. The results guide teachers in selecting the support required to meet the learning needs of individual students.

Our TCE Speech Language Pathlogist and Curriculum Advisor will be meeting with teachers on May 8 to analyse the results and discuss the interventions we are putting in place.

NAPLAN for Years 3 and 5.

This list has now been completed.

At school level we have the following check ups that track student progress:

PLD ( Promoting Literacy Development) an evidence-based approach to Structured Synthetic Phonics (SSP) for primary school.This tells us if children have a knowledge of the relationship between letters and sounds and can apply this knowledge to read fluently,and write with correct spelling.

Writing analysis: A sample of each student’s writing is analysed to identify the writing skills ( e.g. sentence structure, vocabulary, grammar….) that require further practice.

Essential Assessments allows us to continually monitor each child’s learning and understanding of Mathematics at their year level.

During your Parent Teacher meetings in week 10, teachers will draw on this information to describe your child’s learning progress.

NCCD Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD)

NCCD: The NCCD(Nationally Consistent Collection of Data) is a Nationwide annual information collection about Australian school students with a disability. The NCCD enables schools, education authorities and governments to understand the needs of students with a disability and how they can best support them at school. The evidence about how a child is supported and the amount of support they require is submitted by each school, which determines the funding provided to the school.

Each school participates in Moderation activities within the school and with other schools across the state so that there is a consistent understanding of the levels of support provided to students, and the range of information submitted meets the requirements for inclusion in the NCCD process.

The school information is then submitted to TCE and forwarded to QCEC (Queensland Catholic Education Commission).

To include a child in NCCD, we are to provide the following information:

1. Evidence of assessed individual needs of the student
2. Evidence that adjustments are being provided to the student to address their individual needs based on their disability and that the adjustments are effective.
3. Evidence that adjustments provided to the student have been monitored and reviewed
4. Evidence of consultation and collaboration with the student and/or parents, guardians or carers, or associates

All Information is confidential. For the moderation activities, children are referred to as Students A, B, C, or D.

If you have any questions, concerns or positive feedback about your child’s access to the curriculum and their learning please do not hesitate to contact us.

Enjoy your weekend!

Rita Cranitch (Assistant Principal - Pedagogy and Learning)

Guidance Counsellor

A SPECIAL REPORT: Celebrating Harmony Week

Harmony Week is celebration held annually in March across Australia. It’s aimed at promoting diversity, respect and inclusiveness. This event is an excellent opportunity for parents to teach their children about different cultures, traditions and customs. The goal is to encourage everyone to appreciate and celebrate differences and promote a sense of community and belonging for everyone.

During Harmony Week, there are a number of events and activities held to bring people from different cultures together. These activities include multicultural food festivals, cultural performances, art exhibitions and workshops. Participating in these events helps children to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the diverse communities that make up Australia.

As a parent, you can engage your children in discussions about multiculturalism and encouraging them to ask questions. Promoting a more harmonious and inclusive society, can help children grow up with a greater appreciation for the richness and diversity of Australia's cultural landscape.

This Special Report hopes to instil positive values and create an opportunity to start a conversation with your child about understanding diversity and multiculturalism.

Here is the link to your special report:
https://sfatsv.catholic.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/special-report-celebrating-harmony-week-au

Cross Country

Cat's Coffee van will be serving drinks under the roundabout pick up area between 9am and 11am for all your caffeine needs.  Cat's Coffee accepts cash and card for your convenience.

School Photos

Students will need to wear their formal uniform on Wednesday 23 April for school photo day.

All students have received a photo envelope.  If you would like a sibling photo please call in to the school office for a sibling envelope.  Please note: sibling photos will commence at 8am.

Book Fair

Community

Home Hill Tennis is excited to announce that Junior Tennis Coaching is set to start up in Term 2 commencing on Tuesday 22^nd April with a FREE Come and Try Day for everyone. The program will run during the cooler weather for Term 2 and Term 3.

Kayla Accornero will return as Club Coach but as Next Point Coaching having started up her own business. Kayla hales from Ingham so is comfortable working with our regional players.

To sign up for coaching in Term 2 contact Kayla Accornero kaylajodie03@gmail.com or homehilltennis@gmail.com

Cost for lessons $108 ($12 /week when paying for the whole term)

Annual Coaching Membership to the club $20

Benefits aside from physical, social and emotional benefits include public liability insurance, free daytime court hire for kids, Hot Shots shirt and you get to use great facilities with new modern amenities.

Why not get the kids and you into a sport you can enjoy for life – TENNIS!.

With classes for children as young as 3 years, we really do have something for everyone.

Limited places for all classes. Please contact Kayla kayla.jodie03@gmail.com or phone 0408014066