Term 2 Newsletter 27th June 2025
Principal's Message
DID YOU SURVIVE?
Well, how did you go? Did you manage to survive the last 10 weeks reasonably unscathed from the pressures of illness, tiredness, homework battles, strained relationships between friends, assessment deadlines, sporting events and just getting up on these recent cold mornings? If you can still manage a smile and have enough motivation to get and get things done, you have done very well.
From my experience, generally I have found that Term 2, due to the above-mentioned reasons, is the hardest quarter of the year to manage, especially for parents. Schools are about people and when people, especially our children start to wear down at the halfway mark of the year and tolerance levels fall and what classmates say or do can seem far worse than if they were said at the beginning of the year.
It is also the time of the year when school and schoolwork can seem to become a bit of a drag for some young people. At times like these, as the important adults in their lives, we need to spend time explaining to our children that there will always be ups and downs and homework won’t go on forever. There will be times when things don’t go as well as we would like and other times when things are great. It is important that we train our minds and those of our children to focus on the positives. Too much time spent on the negative aspects of life will drag everyone down. But let us not forget that most progress occurs when we work out something is not going as well as it could, and we change it. Those changes, I hope will keep occurring.
Working together is the key. I really do appreciate the support our teachers receive from parents. Once children know that there is a common message from both school and home, they soon get the idea that characteristics like, respect, resilience, care for others etc. are important traits in life.
One of the things I have admired about St Francis is the level of support I have found from parents. Almost without fail, parents want the best for their children and realize that the staff do as well and are highly supportive of the efforts the staff make on behalf of their children. As this is the last newsletter item for the term, I would like to take this opportunity to thank both the staff, parents and students for your efforts during this very busy and demanding term.
PREP ENROLMENTS FOR 2025 AND ENROLMENTS THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL
Our numbers are beginning to take shape for next year. If you know of families with Prep aged children, please encourage them to call in to the office to collect an enrolment pack or visit our website https://www.clifton.catholic.edu.au/ We are also accepting enrolments throughout the school as well.
REPORT CARDS
Report cards have already been emailed out. Please check the parent portal for these. As our practice here, please make contact with your child’s teacher if you have any concerns about your child’s education.
SPORTING NEWS
Congratulations to our winning house for 2025, Cosgrove. The athletics carnival was a great day. All the students represented their houses with great pride and respect. Many people don’t realise the time and effort that goes into organising such a huge undertaking. It truly is a team effort, and both staff at St Patrick’s and St Francis really deserve a big thank you for the time and effort they put into working on the day. In particular, I would like to send a VERY big thank you to Mrs. Petrie, Mrs. Wigan, Mrs. Heit and Mr. Blaikie for their efforts behind the scenes and Mrs. Nash for the endless hours of line marking and grounds preparation. Also, a big thank you to the families for helping out during the carnival, your support and efforts were amazing. We look forward to travelling to Allora for next year’s carnival.
CHANGES TO CALENDAR EVENTS:
The list of school events is located on the school’s webpage – https://sfdssclifton.schoolzineplus.com/calendar
This is a great way of keeping up to date with upcoming events. Emails, notifications and Facebook posts will also occur throughout the year to inform and remind you of upcoming events etc. Please see the next couple of events happening very soon: -
Week 10
Fri 27 June – NAIDOC Celebrations and Semester One Report Cards emailed out to families
Week 1
Mon 14 July – Pupil Free Day
Tues 15 July – First Day Back
Thurs 17 July – OT and Speech visit from TCS
Week 2
Wed 23 July – Track and Field – Allora
Fri 25 July - Track and Field - Allora
Week 3 – Catholic Education Week
Mon 28 July – Mass at 9:00am
Wed 30 July – 1500m Warwick – 10-12yrs
Fri 1 Aug – Pupil Free Day
Week 4
Mon 4 Aug – Track and Field – Southern Downs 10-12yrs
Fri 8 Aug – St. Mary of the cross MacKillop Assembly
Week 5
Week 6
Tues 19 Aug – Book Week Celebrations
Sun 24 Aug – Parish Family Sunday Mass – 9:30am
Week 7
Thurs 28 Aug – DD Track and Field
Week 8
Thurs 4 Sept – Father’s Day BBQ 8am
Fri 5 Sept – CTJ Day
Week 9 – Student Protection Week
Fri 12 Sept – Ball Games
Week 10
Fri 19 Sept – Last Day of School
Thanks for reading…
Regards,
Mr. Red
Middle Leader News
It’s a Wrap!
Well done to our St Francis de Sales students for all their efforts this term. Report Cards have been placed on the Parent Portal for viewing. Please email me and let me know if you are having trouble accessing your report.
This week, we celebrated NAIDOC week with some learning rotations. It was wonderful to see the students come to school and dress in First Nations colours for this event.
Mrs. Busiko
Prep/1/2 News
As Term 2 comes to a close, our P-2 students have had a wonderful and engaging few weeks filled with learning, fun, and friendships.
This term, our students explored the rich cultures and histories of First Nations People of Australia. As part of our NAIDOC Week celebrations, we learned about traditional stories, art, and the importance of caring for Country.
In Mathematics, our students worked hard to tell the time. They practiced reading clocks and recognising o’clock, half past, quarter to, and quarter past times. Through games, hands-on activities, and interactive lessons, they became confident timekeepers—ready to plan their playtimes and snack breaks perfectly.
One of the biggest highlights of the term was our Athletics Carnival, where students showed their amazing sportsmanship and skills. From running races to long jump and relays, everyone gave their best effort. We also had a fantastic time joining our friends from St Patrick’s for a day of team spirit and fun games. New friendships were made, and we all cheered each other on.
As we head into the break, we wish all families a restful and happy holiday. We look forward to another exciting term ahead!
Mrs. Skillington
Oscar
At the Athletics carnival everybody in our whole class did ball games and the then the year three, four, five and sixes did the ball games. After the ball games we did sprints. Some McKenna, Cosgrove and St Pat's kids did the 60 m race, but the older kids did the 80m sprints. In the race I came first in the race, and I loved the relay race it was fun.
Nell
On Friday at St Francis de Sales we had our Athletics day. I met my friends Rose, Neva and Addison at the Athletics day. I met Rose's friends, and her name is Hannah. I came second in everything. I tried my best at discus, shot put and long jump. We got tuckshop. My Daddy came to watch me and Matilda. I was exhausted.
Billy
On Friday we had our Athletics carnival. We had lots of events. Our first was the sixty meter race. We had lots of fun activities. They were lots of fun. I had lots of fun. It was the best fun ever. I felt happy.
Hudson
On Friday we had our Athletics Carnival with St Patrick's Allora. I won the running race. I felt happy.
Olivia
On Friday I did a relay, and I enjoy the fun. I liked doing the activities and games. I did a 60 m race with St Patrick's; After I went to the park with Billy Nora. I felt excellent.
Grayson
At the athletics carnival, I ran really fast in the relay. I gave my orange ribbon to St Pat's I came first in my sprint at the end of the day. I felt happy, I left early.
Yr. 3/4 News
In mathematics, Year 4 students have been learning to multiply and divide numbers by 10, 100 and 1000. They have been learning to complete equivalent number sentences and round numbers to the nearest 10, 100, 1000 and 10 000. Students in year 3 have been Year 3 students have been learning to identify and continue number patterns and identify multiples of 2, 3, 4, 5 and10. They have been learning to compare and rate the effectiveness of column and picture graphs
This week, students entered The Farm Safety calendar competition administered by the Queensland Government. Students were asked to illustrate a key farm safety message. Below are competition entries for Years 3-6.
In English, students have been learning about the structure and language used when writing a description. Below are a few samples of student animal descriptions.
Mrs. Malbon
Yr. 5/6 News
This fortnight, Year 5/6 made ‘loopy planes’ in Mathematics. We measured their travel and graphed these as a dot plot. We discussed if the planes flew best with the small circle or the larger circle being thrown first. The students enjoyed this series of lessons and enjoyed finding their group average.
We congratulated our Class President and Deputy this week. It was a fun way to conclude the term and watch the ‘democratic’ process in action. President Patterson and Deputy Newman are to be congratulated on their excellent four-day leadership.
Additionally, the class learnt about World Ocean Day that occurred on the 8th of June this year. We discovered some fascinating facts during their research about the Earth’s oceans.
Did you know…
- The Earth’s largest mountain range is found underwater
- The ocean produces most of the oxygen we breathe
- The ocean covers about two-thirds of the Earth’s surface
- Less than 20% of the ocean floor has been mapped.
Mrs. Busiko
P.E with Mr. Red
PE with Mr Red
Congratulations and all the best for everyone who was able to help out, assist and compete in our combined athletics carnival for 2025. For term 3, students will be doing a combination of Netball and Rugby League Skills culminating in match against the Year 6’s and staff
Yours in sport
Mr. Red.
Athletics Carnival
