Term 3 Week 4 2022

From the Principal

Dear Parents and Carers,

What a busy Catholic Education Week we had last week!  In amongst our normal teaching and learning we also had Catholic Education Week Mass at the Cathedral, a liturgy here at school with a special visit from Dale Last, Founders’ Day, Spirit of Catholic Education Week Awards, Year 5 Camp, Year 6 Italian Cooking Day, Year 1 Fire Education, Prep 100 Days of School and finally Claire’s Pyjama Party and Movie Night for the Water Festival. All of these events wouldn’t be possible without our dedicated staff and family volunteers.  Thank you for everything that you all do each and every day to enable us to provide our students with so many opportunities.  

This Thursday evening is our first FACE Meeting for this term.  Our meeting will be held at 6pm in the Staff Room. 

Last term at our Parent Engagement Evening a few parents indicated  that they would be interested in attending sessions run by our School Guidance Counsellor, Kerrie-ann Wilson.  Our first session will be on anxiety and how to help your child be the boss of their worries.  This evening will be on Monday 22nd of August.  We hope that you can come along and pick up some handy hints on how to help your child.

Staffing News

Mary Ferguson has decided to take long service leave for 2023.  While we will miss Mary next year, I'm sure you will join me in wishing her all the best for her well deserved break.  We will be advertising for an acting APRE in the coming weeks and will let the school community know once a suitable candidate has been appointed. 

Prep 2023

Yesterday I began Prep Interviews for 2023.  It has been wonderful to meet all  of our new students who will be joining the St Francis family next year.  If you have a child due to start Prep next year and you haven't yet put in your enrolment forms, please do so as soon as possible.  

Expression of Interest - Join the School Board

The School Board is an advisory group where the Principal can seek the Board’s advice on matters of school policy and on ‘big picture’ matters affecting the school’s present life and its future.  The Board helps create a sense of continuity in a school’s life despite changes of staff and the normal comings and goings of families in the school community. Our School Board meets twice per term.  We are seeking one or two additional parent members to join.  For further information, please contact me via the school office or send me an email at ajones16@sfatsv.catholic.edu.au

Commonwealth School Date Collection

Each year, we are required to complete the Non-Government Schools Commonwealth Census.  Below is a link to the Privacy Notice we have been asked to share with our school communities.

2022 Census Privacy Notice

I hope you all have a wonderful week.

Take care and God Bless

Amanda

Religious Life of the School

See that you are prepared is the message from Sunday’s Gospel (Luke 12:32-48). Jesus tells the parable of the master who trusted his servants to be standing ready and complete their usual tasks while waiting for him to return. Just as Jesus trusted his disciples to carry on his work when he left, we are trusted to carry on sharing the good news of the Gospel, opening the doors of our hearts in our words and actions. Thank you to all the students and families who came along to the School Youth Mass last Sunday. Well done to the readers and all who participated in the singing and responses in mass. It was a lovely mass.

ST MARY OF THE CROSS:  Next Monday the 8^th of August is the feast of Australia’s Saint, Mary MacKillop. Mary Helen MacKillop was born in Fitzroy, Melbourne on January 15, 1842. In 1867, together with Fr Tension Woods, Mary founded the Congregation of the Sisters of St Joseph, an Order dedicated to the education of poor children. Saint Mary MacKillop believed that education was a means of empowering those at the fringes of society. An ordinary Australian woman, yet a woman of heroic holiness, goodness, warmth and determination, Mary MacKillop, was declared Saint Mary of the Cross,  a Saint by Pope Benedict XVI on October 17, 2010. One of her best known sayings is ‘Never see a need without doing something about it!’ Next Monday morning, on her feast day, our students will join together in the Hall to participate in a whole school meditation.

Blessed Mary MacKillop
(15 January 1809- 8 August 1909)

Most loving God,

We thank you for the example of Blessed Mary MacKillop,

Who in her living of the Gospel

Witnessed to the human dignity of each person

Trusting in your providence, 

She faced life’s challenges with faith and courage, a deep love of your will and a readiness to embrace the cross.

May we, like Mary MacKillop, reach out to those who are struggling in our community,

And grow each day like her, whom you have given to us, as our truly Australian model of sanctity.

Seeking her intercession we pray for our needs…

And the needs of the Townsville diocese

 Through Christ our Lord 

Amen.

At our staff meeting last week, teachers engaged in mindful meditation and learned to walk the labyrinth. Spiritually, a labyrinth is a guided, symbolic, meditative “journey” into the “center” of ourselves. It aids us in praying. The teachers then spent time in their year levels preparing a meditative walk in the labyrinth for their classes. Over the coming weeks, students will be experiencing this form of prayer and stillness with their classes.

God Bless

Mary

Aiming for Excellence

Ready Set Write! 

This week our focus is on the different ways information is presented and how we use topic specific vocabulary.

WHAT IS SO SPECIAL ABOUT GLASS?

This year is the United Nations International Year of Glass and the theme for National Science Week is GLASS - More than meets the eye.

The following information you might find interesting is  from https://www.iyog2022.org/ 

With its unparalleled versatility and technical capabilities, glass in its many guises has fostered innumerable cultural and scientific advancements:

• Glass is the main conduit for information in our knowledge-based society. Glass optical fibres have led to a global communications revolution; they are the backbone of the internet. Glassmakers have given us touch-sensitive covers for our mobile phones, revolutionizing the way we communicate.
• Glass is the chemically resistant container material for many of today’s life-saving medicines and is playing its part in the world’s quest to deliver a vaccine to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Strengthened glass containers have dramatically improved the reliability of the EpiPen treatment of life-threatening anaphylactic shock from severe allergic reactions.
• Bioglass compositions have advanced health care with their ability to: integrate with human bone; stimulate the human body’s natural defence to heal flesh wounds; aid tissue design and regeneration, and resolve hearing and dental issues.
• Glass sheets support solar cells and give clean energy; glass fibres reduce our carbon footprint by strengthening wind turbine blades, by insulating our homes and through carbon capture and sequestration (CCS); the vitrification of hazardous waste is making nuclear energy safer.
• The evolution of glass optics and optoelectronics means that the James Webb space telescope can study the first moments after the big bang and expand understanding of the Universe.
• Glass melting is being de-carbonised and glassy products are being safely recycled.
• Archaeologists are learning more about ancient trade routes and the politics of raw materials.
• Glass artists across the globe have given humankind an awareness of this wonderful material including its remarkable methods of fabrication, inherent beauty, and ability to capture and display nature’s full spectrum of colour.

On Friday, August 19 we will be celebrating National Science Week . Our event will commence at 9.00 am with a science quiz involving teams of students, staff and parents. The questions are multiple-choice so no memorising is required.

After the quiz classes will make a science learning presentation.

Thank you to parents who have volunteered to participate, but we would love to see more.  Contact the school office if you are interested in accepting the challenge.

Rita Cranitch

Leaning and Teaching Adviser.

Inclusive practices Teacher

From the Guidance Counsellor

In this edition of SchoolTV - ANXIETY

Most young people today experience anxiety at some point in their life. Sometimes that slight rush of anxiety that occurs prior to an exam or sporting event, can enhance their performance. However, experiencing too much anxiety, over long periods of time, can be extremely damaging to their health and wellbeing. There is a difference between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ anxiety.

Statistics show, that the psychological health of young people today is far worse than it was a generation ago. This is having an adverse effect on children in both primary and secondary levels. Some of their issues of concern include stress, school, study, body image and friendship.

Parents need to be aware of the warning signs of ‘bad’ anxiety. There are preventative measures parents can implement as well as teaching kids the skills to cope more efficiently with their anxiety.

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 Anxiety edition of SchoolTV
https://sfatsv.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/youth-anxiety

Volunteer Information

Sacramental Program

Fathers Day Stall

Students of the Week

Sport

Athletics Carnival Presentations

Community