Term 1 Week 9 2024

From the Principal

Dear Families,

It is hard to believe that we are about to embark on the final week of Term 1. It feels as though we only started back at school yesterday.  As our Easter break approaches I would like to thank our students and staff for their amazing efforts throughout the term.  I would also like to thank you for your support throughout a busy Term 1.  This will be our last newsletter for Term 1. 

Our St Francis Cross Country will be held on Wednesday 24th April. Please see the flyer below for further information. In order for our Cross Country to run smoothly we are calling for parent volunteers to help out on the course. If you are able to assist please email Anna Lynch at alynch4@sfatsv.catholic.edu.au. In order to help you will need to have completed your volunteer induction. 

Thursday 25th April is ANZAC Day. We will again be marching as a school as part of the Burdekin commemorations. Keep an eye out for information early next term regarding this event. 

Just a reminder that Friday 26th April is a Pupil Free Day as granted by Townsville Catholic Education. The reason for granting this additional professional development day is to provide the time and opportunity for all teachers to prepare for the implementation of V9.0 of the Australian Curriculum at the commencement of 2025. This planning day will focus on supporting teachers to have a deep understanding of the changes to content and assessment from the current Australian Curriculum to the newly revised curriculum.  There is much planning already occurring in all schools to ensure all teachers are well placed to provide rich learning experiences for their students.  This additional professional development day (pupil free day) will only occur in 2024.

Finally, I hope that you have a safe and relaxing Easter break.  If you are travelling, travel safely.  Enjoy the time you get to spend with your loved ones.  Thank you again for your support throughout the term and I look forward to seeing you all after the holidays.

Have a wonderful week

Take care and God Bless

Amanda

Religious Life of the School

Dear families,

Thank you for your support of Project Compassion this Lenten season. It is now time to send back your Project Compassion boxes no matter how much or little is in them. Donating to Project Compassion forms part of the school living our Catholic Identity Model. Our model which sums up all three charisms of St. Francis Catholic School is love of God, love of neighbour, love in action. Project Compassion is perfect for teaching our students one way to live this.

Thank you to everyone who supported our Hot Cross Bun Day. The money raised will be donated to Project Compassion. From all reports, students enjoyed their second play snack, Prep B certainly did. Chocolate hot cross buns seem to be the favoured flavour at St. Francis.

Harmony Day Assembly

Thank you to Class 1/2B for their assembly on Monday. 1/2B did a great job telling us all about Harmony Day. They related to the Good Samaritan from the parable as a model for Harmony Day. The Good Samaritan helped someone even though they were different to him. 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 yesterday by wearing orange accessories. In classes, students read and discussed a book relating to Harmony Day and then created a drawing of themselves to add to a display in the office. Look out for it soon!

Project Compassion

This year, we shared with you the story of three inspiring women from across the globe, who overcame challenges to complete their education, access water and find secure employment. With the support of compassionate people like you, they are now forging a path to a better future for their families and their communities.

Ronita from the Philippines has now graduated high school and secured a job at a call centre. This job was only possible because of a certificate she gained from completing her studies. 

Leaia and her family now have a water tank at their home in Samoa. She and her family now have a steady supply of clean drinking water. Next year, they will also have a toilet built, with the support of Caritas Samoa, which will further improve their health and living conditions.

Memory completed her vocational training course in carpentry and joinery. After completing a work contract at one of the largest electrical companies in Malawi, Memory now plans to return to her village and provide carpentry services to people in her community.

It’s through the generosity of people like you that we can continue to support people like Ronita, Leaia and Memory.

There is still time to donate! Together, we can help vulnerable communities face their challenges today and build a better tomorrow, for all future generations.

You can donate through Project Compassion donation boxes, online by visiting caritas.org.au/project-compassion or by calling 1800 024 413.

Catholic Identity Committee

Our Catholic Identity Committee is looking for a new parent member. Meetings are on Tuesdays and once a term. The committee comprises of staff, parents and Fr Manoj who all represent different areas of our school community. If you are interested or would like more information please call the school or email me at: noconnor2@sfatsv.catholic.edu.au.

Thank you for a great term and your support of Masses, liturgies, Christian Meditation and Project Compassion. I look forward to seeing some of you at the Holy Week plays next week. Have a safe break and a blessed Easter.

God bless

Nicole

UR STRONG

Parents, Has Your Protective Instinct Kicked In?

“I Knew I Was Giving My Child Bad Advice, But I Didn’t Know What Else to Say!”  

This is one of the most common things that parents have said to us over the years when it comes to friendship issues. And, we’ve heard from numerous children and educators who have shared some of the unhelpful or inappropriate advice well-meaning parents have given children.

When parents are activated by their child’s friendship issues (especially if someone has been cruel or malicious – what we call in our Friendology curriculum, “Mean-on-Purpose”), it is common for a parent’s protective instinct to kick in. This can trigger their FIGHT/FLIGHT/FREEZE/FAWN response, thanks to the autonomic nervous system. These default settings might sound like:

• FIGHT: “Just punch them back!”
• FLIGHT: “Go play with someone else!”
• FREEZE: “Ignore them!”
• FAWN: “Be friends with everyone!”

As we aim to support our children in fostering healthy relationships throughout their lives, it’s critical that parents understand how unhelpful and, in some cases, dangerous these stress responses can be for children.

A parent whose default setting is to FIGHT, teaches their child to respond to conflict with aggression and violence. Encouraging a child to get physical as a defence-mechanism immediately escalates the situation, activating anxiety in the child. Most children are not naturally aggressive and they know punching/pushing/pinching is wrong and will get them in trouble. When a parent tells a child to do something that is socially-unacceptable, it feels deeply confusing for them. Children are less likely to seek help from parents who promote fighting, often withholding information to avoid triggering anger in them. This is scary for children. Encouraging physical aggression is easily the most dangerous, trauma-inducing advice that can have serious long-term impacts.

A parent whose default setting is to FLIGHT, teaches their child to avoid conflict. This inevitably results in unhealthy friendships (and relationships) that lack trust and respect. When conflicts and frustrations are ignored, resentment builds and connections are fractured. A conflict-avoidant mindset prevents authenticity, transparency, and honesty in relationships. It limits the depth of a friendship and, for children, the friendship feels persistently in the Red-Zone on The Friend-o-Meter.

A parent whose default setting is to FREEZE, teaches their child to bottle their emotions. While ‘fight’ is exploding, ‘freeze’ is imploding. This approach teaches children to shut down, preventing them from processing their feelings. Research shows that repressing emotions amplifies them and can lead to feelings of anxiety. Children who keep their big feelings in often experience physical symptoms like stomach aches and trouble sleeping. Similar to avoiding conflict, healthy relationships are impossible when one person is unresponsive – relationships are a two-way street.

A parent whose default setting is to FAWN, teaches their child to be a people-pleaser. Fawning is when a child absorbs all the blame, overlooking their own feelings and doing whatever it takes to make the other person happy. According to Dr Rebecca Ray, “Fawning behaviours are common for people who experience significant levels of anxiety, and who identify as highly sensitive.” Children who fawn feel disempowered and often end up as the “door mat” in their friendships.

So, what can parents do instead to have a more helpful, socially-acceptable response?

 CHECK-IN WITH YOURSELF

First, notice how you feel when your child shares their pain with you. Do you feel yourself reacting? Are you getting angry? Is it triggering something inside of you? Which of the 4 F’s can you feel yourself wanting to default to? The key is to remain calm and objective.

In the field of Positive Psychology, we love the famous Viktor Frankl quote: “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” This space that Dr Frankl describes is where empathy, compassion, and understanding can keep relationships in the Green-Zone on the Friend-o-Meter!

Just by being aware of how you’re feeling will allow you to be more mindful in how you respond to your child’s friendship issue.

FOCUS ON YOUR OWN CHILD

Second, focus on how YOUR child is feeling. Too often parents will focus on the other child (“I can’t believe they did that to you! What’s their problem? Why would they be like that?”), instead of their own.

Help your child name their emotions. Dr Dan Siegal coined the term “name it to tame it” – a very simple, effective technique that helps reduce the intensity of big feelings by labelling them.

Ask them, “How did that make you feel?” Give your child time and space to get their feelings out. Let them cry or be angry and JUST LISTEN. Offer a hug, go for a walk, play catch… Allow them a chance to get it out.

BE A FRIENDSHIP COACH

When you’re both in a calm state, it’s time to be a Friendship Coach and empower your child with evidence-based strategies.

If it was a Friendship Fire, encourage them to find a good time to talk to their friend. If it was Mean-on-Purpose, ask them: “Did you say your Quick Comeback?”

Check out this interactive tool (be sure to activate your FREE parent membership first!) where you can see the questions our URSTRONG Schools ask children when they experience conflict in friendship to coach them along.

Here are a few more resources that might help:

• Think of Yourself as a “Friendship Coach”
• When to Step-In and When to Step-Back
• High-Conflict Friendships
• 10 Reasons to NOT Call The Other Child’s Parents
• Boundaries: How to Use an Exit Strategy

Friendship skills are relationship skills! Teaching your child to manage conflict in a healthy way will help ensure they have positive relationships throughout their lives.

Written by: Dana Kerford
Founder & Friendship Expert

Learning Corner

How time has flown!!!

Next week is oral reporting time. This is an opportunity for parents and carers to meet with teachers to review how their child/children have settled into the year and the progress that has been made with learning. Additionally, it is an opportunity to discuss strategies that are being implemented to address any concerns that may be slowing learning growth for your child/children as well as extension that is being provided.

A summary of the level of achievement is provided at the end of Semester 1 after children have had the opportunity to learn and show what they have learned and understood. One term is not enough time to gather the information required for the teacher to make a well-informed judgement.

NAPLAN

This week, we completed all catch-up tests to complete our participation in 2024 NAPLAN. Congratulations to teachers and students for such a smooth and successful undertaking of the National Assessment Program—Literacy and Numeracy.

TERM 2

During this term, as a staff, we have examined student learning data and the school improvement goals that were developed as part of our school Renewal Process undertaken last year. After listening to teacher and parent inputs, considering student learning and social needs, and discussing with our TCE School Consultancy Team, a way of moving forward to meet the changing demands of implementing Version 9 of the Australian Curriculum and the needs of our students was developed.

Commencing in Term 2, students will remain with their class teacher for all subjects except Music, Italian and Physical Education.

If you have any questions please come to the FACE meeting on April 23 at 5.30pm or contact the office and a member of the Leadership Team will get back to you.

Enjoy a safe and relaxing break with your family.

Rita Cranitch

APPL (Assistant Principal Pedagogy and Learning-Acting)

Inclusive Practices Teacher.

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

Class in the Spotlight - 5A

As our term slowly draws to a close, 5A has had a jam-packed Term 1! We conquered NAPLAN and are now ready to get on with the rest of our classwork. 

In Science, we have been learning about the properties of solids, liquids and gases. We experimented to discover a non-Newtonian fluid, which can also be called Oobleck. It doesn't follow the rules of solids or liquids, Oobleck goes by its own rules!  

Our class is loving the hands-on activities that we are working on in Maths. We have covered units of measurement by choosing the correct units of length to measure a range of objects in our class. We also cut open cardboard boxes to discover the different types of nets of 3D shapes. 

During PE we have been practising for our Cross Country so that we will be ready to go on the big day!

In English, we have been looking at creating and reading Narrative texts. We’ve read Nim’s Island and are now ready to write our own text full of excitement and great description!

5A

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