Term 2 Week 3 2024
From the Principal
Dear Families,
Next Thursday we reach the culmination of our School Renewal Cycle with our Executive Director Jacqui Francis and the Directors visiting our school. This is very exciting for us as a school community and we look forward to welcoming Jacqui, John, Louise, Peter and Jennifer to St Francis. We will begin the day with a whole school liturgy focusing on our Catholic Identity Model of Love of God, Love of Neighbour, Love in Action, our founders and their contribution to who we are as a Catholic school community today. At the end of the liturgy we will be presented with our School Renewal Certificate which you will then find hanging in the Office. We would like to invite families to join us for this special liturgy which will begin at 9am in the Samaritan Centre and will be led by our Mini Vinnies students. Our visitors will be talking with members of our Board and FACE Group as well as Fr Manoj, students, staff and our leadership team. We are looking forward to taking them on a tour of the school and particularly showing off our new Prep classrooms.
In some exciting news, our new Junior Playground has been approved this week. The playground will now be ordered and installed (this will take approximately 16 weeks).
We will now turn our attention to the design of a new Senior Playground.
With Labour Day on Monday I hope that you all enjoy the long weekend.
Take care and God Bless
Amanda
UR STRONG
Friendship Fire or Mean-on-Purpose?
Conflict is tricky! How can we tell the difference between Friendship Fires, Mean-on-Purpose, Mean-by-Accident, and Bullying?
We classify conflict into just two categories to keep things as easy as possible for kids: Friendship Fires® (normal conflicts between friends) and Mean-on-Purpose behavior. By making this distinction and establishing a common language, we can better coach and guide our children towards healthy friendships.
Is it a Friendship Fire or Mean-on-Purpose?
Kids and their parents sometimes mistakenly believe that any conflict with a friend is “bullying” (a word that is typically misused and misunderstood). Instead, however, we want to use simple, kid-friendly language. Here are a few common questions:
So, how can we tell the difference between a Friendship Fire or Mean-on-Purpose?
The difference really lies in intent—was it a misunderstanding or were they really trying to hurt your feelings? From the data we’ve collected so far, the majority of conflict that exists in schools are Friendship Fires (approx. 90%).
Can a friend be Mean-on-Purpose too?
Yes, absolutely, and it really hurts!
Can a friend be Mean-by-Accident?
Yep, this is a Friendship Fire.
Can a Friendship Fire escalate into Mean-on-Purpose?
Definitely. This is why we teach kids that timing is important when we put out our Friendship Fires. Sometimes we’re not ready or our friend isn’t ready to put out the Fire. If we continue to try and Talk-it-Out when the time isn’t right, we will inevitably make the Fire bigger.
Can we de-escalate a Mean-on-Purpose moment into a Friendship Fire?
For sure. Sometimes we misinterpret someone’s behavior as Mean-on-Purpose. When we respond with a Quick Comeback, the person knows we felt it was mean. This then allows that person to respond in a way that explains that their intent wasn’t to be mean. By doing this, they move into the Talk-it-Out phase on the Friend-o-Cycle and, thus, it’s downgraded to a Friendship Fire.
Here’s a scenario that demonstrates our step-by-step friendship strategy in-action:
Your friend starts calling you the nickname, “Sweatpants,” because you always wear comfy pants to school. At first, you think it’s fun and it makes you feel closer to your friend. You both laugh about it and think it’s cool.
After time, it feels less funny and more like your friend is making fun of you. You start to feel offended and it’s really bugging you. THIS IS A FRIENDSHIP FIRE®.
In URSTRONG, we teach kids to (1) Retell the situation, and (2) Explain how it made you feel. This is a conversation.
You ask to talk to your friend and let them know that the nickname is actually making you feel bad. Through the conversation, you explain how you feel and you respectfully ask your friend to not call you “Sweatpants” anymore.
The next day, your friend continues calling you the nickname, fully knowing you don’t like it. THIS IS MEAN-ON-PURPOSE.
In URSTRONG, we teach kids to say their Quick Comeback in a strong voice and then walk away. This is not a conversation.
When your friend calls you the nickname again, knowing it’s hurtful, you say your Quick Comeback: “Stop.” You walk away and try to keep your focus on something that makes you happy.
At this point, we would let kids know that if this is a healthy friendship, your friend would respect you enough to stop calling you the nickname. If your friend continues calling you the name, trust and respect (Friendship Fact #3) break down, and this friendship would be in the unhealthy (red) zone of the Friend-o-Meter.
The URSTRONG advice: Spend less time with this friend. You deserve healthy, feel-good friendships and remember Friendship Fact #4: Friendships change…and that’s okay.
If your friend continued to be Mean-on-Purpose, despite standing up for yourself and communicating it’s not okay (through your Quick Comeback), then THIS IS BULLYING. (We describe bullying as ongoing, Mean-on-Purpose behavior.)
This requires the support of adults to provide deeper interventions.
Written by Dana Kerford
Friendship Expert and Founder, URSTRONG
Religious Life of the School
Dear families,
We are now in May, the month of Mary. This is fitting with Mother's Day at the beginning of May. You will notice we have many celebrations this coming week, some which celebrate mothers. Wednesday, Years 1 and 2 will celebrate a mother’s love at Mass in the Sacred Heart Church. On Thursday we will celebrate our school renewal with a liturgy focusing on the heart of our school. This liturgy will be attended by Townsville Catholic Education’s Executive Director, Jacqui Francis and the Strategic Leadership Team, we would love for you to join us. Friday will be a liturgy for all mothers and mother figures to celebrate the love and care they give to our students. Everyone is welcome to attend as many of these events as they would like.
The month of Mary, celebrated in May, is a beautiful time for reflection and devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It's a period where Catholics honour Mary's unique role in salvation history and her profound example of faith, obedience, and love for God.
For many, the month of Mary is a time of spiritual renewal and drawing closer to the heart of Christ through the intercession and inspiration of his mother. It serves as a reminder of Mary's perpetual presence and her maternal care for all believers, guiding them on their journey of faith.
The month of Mary offers a special opportunity for Catholics to express their devotion to the Mother of God and to seek her intercession and guidance in their lives. It's a time to reflect on Mary's virtues and emulate her example of humility, purity, and unwavering trust in God's will.
Assembly
Thank you to 6A for the assembly on Monday. They highlighted what classes have been learning during the UR Strong lessons. One of the key takeaways was that friendships are not always perfect, they change over time and that is okay.
SAVE THE DATE
Years 1 & 2 Class Mass - Wednesday 8 May, 9am
School Renewal Liturgy Celebration - Thursday 9 May, 9am
Mother's Day Liturgy - hosted by 1/2A - Friday 10 May, 9am
Years Prep, 5 & 6 Class Mass - Wednesday 22 May, 9am
Christian Meditation - Feast of Our Lady, Mary Help of Christians - Friday 24 May, 8:45am
Years 3 & 4 Class Mass - Wednesday 5 June, 9am
Prayer
Hail Mary, Full of Grace, The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death.
Amen
Have a wonderful week
God Bless
Nicole
Learning Corner
HIGH EXPECTATIONS
Have you ever:
Been part of a group conversation when you had to leave for a few minutes only to find on your return that the conversation had changed and it has taken you a few more minutes to identify the topic and be able to rejoin the conversation.
Now imagine if the setting was a child in a classroom. When a child leaves a classroom at a time when learning is being guided, they lose the flow of the learning that is happening. When they return, they are either confused by the step in the learning process the class has reached during their absence or the topic and activity have changed and they missed the introduction to the topic.
Although it is explained to them, they have missed the interaction of instructions, questions and answers that set the foundation for the learning. They will follow along with peers and even though the task will be completed, engagement and learning have been missed. Learning is sequential and links to what was taught already. If sections of the learning sequence are missed learning becomes extremely difficult. If their presence in class is inconsistent so is their learning and this will be reflected in their results.
When regular student absences are known beforehand, teachers rearrange the timetable in consultation with parents to ensure that the teaching is not missed during that time or it is the same subject missed and parents know the assessment of that subject will be compromised. When there are several children in the same class the flexibility to rearrange timetables becomes limited.
Regular attendance promotes learning. If you do have any concerns about your child’s/children’s attendance please see your child’s/children’s teacher/teachers.
NAPLAN UPDATE
Last Friday, the SSR was released. This is the Student and School Summary Report for Reading, Conventions of Language and Numeracy. Writing is not included in these preliminary results. As it is preliminary data it lists raw scores not scaled scores which show how a student’s performance compares nationally with other students in the same year level.
This information is not for distribution to parents or carers as names, year level, and participation need to be checked.
End of Term 2: Scaled scores including Writing will be available to schools.
Early Term 3, ISRs (Individual Student Reports) will be distributed to parents.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher.
Rita Cranitch
APPL (Assistant Principal Pedagogy and Learning-Acting)
Inclusive Practices Teacher.
Class in the Spotlight - 1/2A
It has been a busy start to the term for 1/2A. We have had a great week this week delving into our new units of work and practising our new routines in our new classroom.
In Maths we have been practising our skip counting. We are getting very good and have loved finding the patterns that skip counting makes on a hundreds board.
In English we have enjoyed our literacy rotations and have continued working hard in PLD to continue improving our phonics skills.
In PE this week we started to prepare for our Athletics Carnival by practising some of the fundamental skills we will need to compete in all of our events.
In Technology we have been learning all about data and displaying data on bar graphs and picture graphs. We are getting pretty awesome at creating these on our Chromebooks! This week we surveyed our peers and put the data collected into a table.
1/2A
Guidance Counsellor
In this edition of SchoolTV - FRIENDSHIP & BELONGING
Learning how to make new friends and keep them involves a number of skills every young person needs to understand and develop. For some these skills will come very naturally, allowing them to easily move between different friendship groups, sharing their experiences and opening up to new people. For others, this can be much harder to navigate. Belonging to a group that is like-minded with similar interests is highly beneficial to a young person’s wellbeing. It gives them a sense of security helping them feel valued which in turn builds their confidence.
Positive friendships are an important part of the journey to adulthood. Adult carers can support their child or teenager by providing guidance in the many social and emotional skills required for a healthy relationship. This will help them to obtain, retain and maintain friendships. However, not all friendships are regarded as positive. Sometimes young people develop negative or toxic friendships. Therefore, it is also important for them to learn how to identify, avoid or deal with such a friendship.
In this edition of SchoolTV, adult carers can learn how to support their young person’s friendship so that they experience a sense of belonging.
Here is the link to the Friendship & Belonging edition of SchoolTV
https://sfatsv.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/friendship-belonging
Eisteddfod
Library
Most books borrowed in Term 1 - Ava and Aria
Community
