Term 3 Week 5 2022

From the Principal

Dear Parents and Carers,

The end of this week sees us half way through Term 3.  We have already covered so much in the first five weeks of school and there is a lot more to come.  Please ensure you are reading the newsletter closely each week as it contains a range of information about upcoming events and is a great way to stay informed of what is happening in our school community.   

Each Thursday I have duty on the oval with our Year 3 - 6 students.  Last week started like every other week, the kids all ran out eager to play, a few stopped to say hi and tell me about their day and all of the students got busy playing their game.  There were 3 different football games going on in the same area but the one that caught my attention was the large group of about 15 Year 5’s playing.  In this group there were 4 boys and the rest were girls and a group this large always catches your eye as more often than not there are disagreements throughout the game.  As I wandered around throughout play, I kept a close eye on the game and I have to say that what I saw and heard warmed my heart and made me incredibly proud.  What I witnessed was a group of students having a wonderful time playing together.  I heard many words of encouragement between the group and when the bell rang they congratulated each other on such a great game.  It was fantastic to see students enjoying each other's company and praising and boosting each other through their words and actions.  These students were truly living out our school charism and following in the footsteps of the Good Samaritan as they demonstrated love of neighbour and love in action.  It is this example of student interaction that makes St Francis the wonderful school that it is.  

This Friday sees our athletics team heading off to District Athletics.  We wish them all the best and know that they will demonstrate sportsmanship and represent St Francis with pride.  Thank you to Mrs Eathorne for coordinating our District’s team.

Just a reminder to drive carefully and slowly in the carpark.  The teachers on duty will not allow students to walk through the carpark to reach a parked car.  We ask that families collect their children from the school side of the carpark.  Please remember that the Stop, Drop and Go area is purely that.  The driver and passengers are to remain in the vehicle.  If your child requires help with their seat belt we ask that you park and help them in order to keep the pick up line moving.  We also ask that students access their cars from the passenger side, as it is quite dangerous for students to be walking around cars to enter on the driver's side.  I thank you for your assistance with these matters as they will help keep our students safe.

Each term we have a fire and lockdown drill so that we can practise with the students what to do in an emergency situation.  Today we held our Term 3 fire drill.  The students all did an amazing job at evacuating in a timely manner and following our procedures.  We will be holding a lockdown practice later in the term.

We are continuing to have a significant number of people in our school community who are unwell.  Please remember if your child is sick to keep them at home, this is the best way to ensure that not only do they recover quickly but it also helps keep the rest of our school healthy.   

I hope you all have a wonderful week.

Take care and God Bless

Amanda

Religious Life of the School

How strong are we? The early Christians were disheartened to find that they often met opposition not only from their community but from non-Christian family members when committing to Jesus and to living the Gospel values. In Sunday’s Gospel, Luke 12:49-53, Jesus told his disciples that there would be division among people including families. It takes courage to make choices that follow God’s commandments and live the Gospel values in all we say and do. It takes courage for our students to go against peer pressure and make good choices in their behaviour. 

FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION:  Next Monday 15^th August, the church celebrates, the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This Feast commemorates the death of Mary and her bodily assumption into Heaven. Because it signifies the Blessed Virgin's passing into eternal life, it is the most important of all Marian feasts and a Holy Day of Obligation. The amazing thing about Mary was that she was just an ordinary Jewish girl of no particular fame who was chosen to have a special child. Mary was open to God’s presence in her life and ready to say yes to what God asked of her to live a life full of love and goodness.

Yesterday, we celebrated the Feast of Saint Mary MacKillop. We often think Saints are perfect, but in fact, their greatest witness is how they coped with the ordinary difficulties of life and how their love, sacrifice and fidelity inspired others to follow Jesus. Saint Mary MacKillop answered God’s call by dedicating her life to making a difference in the lives of women and children, providing them with an education that would help them create a better life for themselves. Sometimes, we can look around us and see people who are living a holy life, finding blessings within their daily lives and demonstrating the extraordinary power of God working in them through their words and actions.  

CLASS MASSES: On Thursday, Prep and Yr 6 will be celebrating mass at the Sacred Heart Church at 9am. Everyone is welcome to come along and join the classes at mass as they celebrate being a welcoming, inclusive community.

God of all goodness,

We rejoice and are glad because

Mary shares in the glory of heaven with you.

May we be nourished by our sharing in your life and love,

So that we may live with the same faith in you as Mary did.

We make this prayer in your name.

Amen

God Bless

Mary

The Good Samaritan's P.A.T.H.

St Francis Staff have been awarding students with a positive praise note, also known as the PATH awards.  If a student is found demonstrating the appropriate behaviours at school, they will receive a positive praise note.  These notes are then placed into the boxes in the office and winners are drawn at our school assemblies. Every week there will be a winner from every grade cohort.  Last week we focussed on the first letter of P.A.T.H. 'P' is for persist with learning. Teachers looked at the following rules for 'P':  Participate fully and try your best, be resilient and learn from your mistakes, and follow directions, first time every time.  This week we will focus on 'A' which is for Act Safely.  The rules are: Keep hands and feet to yourself,  use walking feet and make SMART choices.  Our lucky winners are: Heidi Lace (Prep B), Ella Burkett (4A) and Riley Piva (6A). 
Congratulations!

Reflection

The Feast of the Assumption

Every year on the 15^th of August, we celebrate the feast of the Assumption of Mother Mary.  

What is the Assumption? Mary’s passage into heaven is called the Assumption. The Bible does not say anything about the death or assumption of Mother Mary. But from the 1^st century onwards, we have evidence of this great belief that Jesus came and took the body and soul of Mary to be with Him in heaven.

We are all born with original sin, so our bodies decay after death.  Jesus did not allow his mother’s body to be decayed because she was born without original sin. So close was Mary to Jesus on earth; she must be with him body and soul in heaven.   After a broad consultation of bishops and laity in November 1950, Pope Pius XII declared Mary’s Assumption into heaven as a doctrine of the Catholic faith.

There is a question that people ask us when they know that we are Catholics. “Why do you honour Mary?” Lk. 1:48 says every generation will call Mary blessed because God, who is mighty, has done great things to her.  So why do you not honour her at all? In Luke 1:27, when the Archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary, how did the archangel address her? “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women!”

When the Virgin Mary visited her cousin, Elizabeth, “she was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she cried out with a loud voice and said: ‘Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb.  In Mathew 12:46, Jesus honoured her as the perfect mother who did the will of God the father.  We must remember that the Son of God lived in Mary’s womb, was handed in her arms, sat on her lap and entrusted Himself to her care. 

Some argue that Jesus is the only mediator and that we need not pray through the intercession of Mary. In the Old Testament, we read how Moses prayed with arms outstretched and interceded with God to obtain the victory of the Israelites over their enemies in a crucial battle. As long as he prayed, they were victorious. When he ceased his prayers, the Israelites began to lose. Because of this, two men needed to hold up Moses’ arms in prayer until the battle was won. Also, we read in the Old Testament how Joshua prayed to God to have the day prolonged in order to win another crucial battle.  If Moses and Joshua had such intercession before God, how much more powerful are the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus?

Let us, then, dear children, do not stop honouring our mother, who is also the mother of God. Let us do everything possible to make her known.   Speak about her to everyone you meet. Let us also feel her presence close to her and receive blessings from Jesus through her powerful protection. 

Happy Feast of the Assumption to each of you.

Fr. Manoj Mathew, C.Ss.R.

Administrator, Burdekin group of parishes.

From the Guidance Counsellor

In this edition of SchoolTV - GRIEF & LOSS

Grief is a natural response to loss. It might be the loss of a loved one, relationship or even a pet. The more significant the loss, the more intense the grief is likely to be. Children and adults grieve differently due to their developmental stage, and this can prove difficult for parents to understand.

Young children fluctuate in and out of the stages of grief rapidly, as they may not comprehend the permanency death. They express their grief more physically. Teens on the other hand may not know how to express their grief and will need some space to process their loss. Some may choose to grieve alone, not wanting to stand out or be seen as not coping. Whilst others, who may have a greater understanding, can start to question their own mortality.

In this edition of SchoolTV, parents can learn how to acknowledge their child’s feelings and the best way to support them through the grief.

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 counsellor for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to the Grief & Loss edition of SchoolTV
https://sfatsv.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/grief-loss

Birthdays

Fathers Day Stall

Sport

Athletics Carnival Presentations

Lost Property

Please call in to the school office if one of these items belong to your family.  School jumper sizes: 4, 8 & 10.

Community

CSPA 2022 Parent Survey on Student Wellbeing and Learning

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