Term 3 Newsletter, 5th September 2025
Principal's Message
Reflection Time and Check In
In the hustle and bustle of life, knowing where we have come from is just as important as where we are heading (goals for the year). In recent years, the school has seen a continued focus on what makes our school very special. The strong teaching and learning delivery that has academic rigor for every child (academic success for all). We have also seen pleasing results for our Year 3 and Year 5 NAPLAN results, maintaining a level above the state. We have participated (and hosted) in a number of extra-curricular events, increased our public profile across the area which has resulted in the school enrolments sitting significantly higher than previous years as well as maintaining the charism (or life blood) of the school – our welcoming and nurturing vales aligned to the parable of the Good Samaritan and St Benedict’s teachings. In summary, this all means that your child is perfectly placed to receive a very valuable education through a wonderfully supported and challenging environment where learning and well-being is at the forefront. As with any enterprise, we are still focusing on areas of improvement and will continue to. We are proud of St Francis de Sales, and I know you are as well.
Making a difference – Being involved in your child’s education
I have noticed the number of exciting activities that have and will continue to occur for the remainder of the term. The event calendar is certainly getting a workout. The reassuring thing about this is that even though disruptions can occur throughout the term (staff/student illness, personal challenges etc)… we haven’t used this as an excuse not to do things just because they may be harder to do. Life goes on and the staff and students adjust and get on with things.
While providing a range of opportunities is important to maintain engagement levels in the students, the need for parents to be involved and engaged in their children’s schooling is vital. There is plenty of research that shows the direct link between success at school and the level of parent involvement. I don’t mean parents have to be at the school every day of the week to be seen as involved. Your level of engagement with the school can occur in many ways. Taking an interest in what is happening in the classroom, assisting with homework, reminding children of upcoming events, ensuring the correct uniform is being worn, helping out in the classrooms, being part of your kid's show and share moments, attending as many school/classroom events as possible, celebrating successes along the way, talking positively at home about school and teachers, volunteering whenever you can, coming along to PEN gatherings…the list is almost endless and nothing on the list is too difficult to do.
With our Fathers’ Day celebration taking center stage this week, I would like to give a big shout-out to all the dads. One thing I have noticed over my time here is the increasing number of dads bringing their kids to school. Unlike me, I’m sure you are not scared of your wives or partners and are not just following orders…I hope you enjoy this time with them walking hand in hand to school each day. What a perfect opportunity to share time and be part of school life.
Children just love seeing their parents being present and involved and from personal experience as a parent of three kids, their years at primary school (Benji being in Prep now) will go by in a blink of an eye….so don’t waste this time…get in and enjoy the little things because one day you will look back and realise that they were the big things. It is true…it’s the little things in life that matter. What makes us remember things is how we felt at a particular time. If children have a positive and enjoyable experience at primary school, the odds are that they will carry this forward to secondary school and then one day hopefully provide their children with a positive attitude towards school.
Children will remember how the important adults treated them; how they listened to what they had to say; how they established clear rules and boundaries; how they were fair but firm; how they knew how to have fun together and with us; how they modelled respect to one another; how our parents and teachers praised us for our efforts rather than our results. And if parents and teachers don’t do these things, then, they’ll remember that instead.
There is no doubt that we as parents and teachers are a very important influence on the degree to which our children will have a healthy self-image. The memories we give our children to take forward in their lives will be based, in great part, on the type of influence we provided.
Uniform Matters
As representatives of our school community, students wearing the school uniform are not only showcasing their pride in belonging—they are also ambassadors of our values, even beyond the school grounds.
We kindly ask for your support in reinforcing and continuing the importance of respectful and responsible behaviour when students are in public while wearing their uniform. Whether they’re at the shops, around the town, outside the school, community events or walking home, their actions reflect on our entire school community.
Why It Matters:
Visibility: Uniforms make students easily identifiable. Positive behaviour builds community trust; poor behaviour can damage our reputation.
Responsibility: Wearing the uniform is a privilege. It comes with the expectation that students uphold the same standards as they would on school grounds.
Safety and Respect: Courteous behaviour in public spaces promotes safety and respect for others, including younger children, the elderly, and local businesses.
What We’re Asking:
Please talk with your child about the importance of respectful language, safe conduct, and kindness when in uniform.
Remind them that their actions—good or bad—can be noticed and remembered by others.
Encourage them to be proud of their school and to show that pride through positive behaviour.
Together, we can ensure our students continue to be seen as respectful, responsible, and valued members of the community—no matter where they are.
Family Life and Child Protection Next Week
The theme for Child Protection Week this year is a follow on from last year’s theme of “Every Conversation Matters.” As parents and carers, conversations between you and your children are vital – you are the most important people in your child’s life to advocate for them, listen to them, and share messages of safety and support.
This year during Child Protection Week we encourage parents and carers to speak with their children about their understanding of safety and their support networks. In particular, we encourage parents to educate themselves and have conversations with their children about online safety – an area we know that is a growing risk for our children and young people. You can access useful resources about online safety on the eSafety Commissioner’s website here: The hard-to-have conversations | eSafety Commissioner
During Child Protection Week our students engaged in a number of activities to reinforce safety messages – for primary school students, they were provided with two activities to complete in class time including a “Keeping Safe” activity and a “Circles of Yarns and Chats” resource to help them identify their personal safety networks. High school students were provided with a sticker with a QR code that links to our Toowoomba Catholic Schools website, to a webpage containing links to external support services (such as Headspace and Kids Help Line) as well as a reminder about our School Student Protection Contacts. You can view the webpage here.
Should any student be concerned about how they are being treated by an adult, or another child or young person, they are encouraged to speak up to a trusted staff member or one of our School Student Protection Contacts (SSPCs). All students were reminded who our SSPCs are, and that they are depicted on the ‘Keeping Safe’ posters located around the school.
Child Protection really is everyone’s business, and we are committed to making our school a safe, secure, and protected place of learning for every student. Please contact your child’s teacher if you need any further information.
Parent Teacher Interviews
Over the coming weeks, teachers will be sending / arranging parent teacher interview times for you and your child. Just a reminder that if you are unavailable to attend your parent teacher interview please contact the school so another time can be arranged. These meetings are of great value to your child, your child’s teacher and to you, the parent. I sincerely thank the teachers for their efforts in preparing and organising these interviews and to you, the parents for scheduling time for this important meeting.
Prep 2026 Transition Days
Please keep an eye out for our Prep 2026 transition days. This will be a time for getting to know our Prep teacher/students and our school community, also sharing of information of what to expect as a Prep Parent.
Ball Games/Sports Expo - Friday 12th September
Students are to arrive at the Clifton Show Grounds at 9:30am (not at school please) and be picked up by 2:15pm from the same venue. St Francis de Sales school will not be operating as per normal, with all students and staff expected to attend the Ball Games/Sports Expo. Loads of fun activities have been planned for this day. Please wear your Sports Uniform and bring your hat, water bottle and own sunscreen (for those with sensitive skin). Reminder to order Meal Deals via QuickCliqs online or parents need to supply their child with lunch for the day. If you can help out on the day with assisting in preparing the meal deals, please let me know.
Regards,
Brendan
Week 9 - National Child Protection Week / Daniel Morcombe Curriculum Lessons – all week
Week 10
Fri 19 Sept – Last day of school for term 3
Upcoming dates for term 4
Sun 5 Oct – Grand Final Fundraiser – 5pm School Grounds
Mon 6 Oct – King’s Birthday – no school
Tues 7 Oct – School Resumes
Mon 13-15 Oct – Qld State Athletic Titles
Thurs 16 Oct – Prep 2026 transitions and Yr 6 Clifton High School Transition
Sat 18 Oct – Show n Shine Car Show at St Francis and the beginning of Country Week
Sat 25 Oct – Clifton Races
Sun 26 Oct – Family Sunday Mass – 9:30am
Fri 31 Oct – World Teacher’s Day; St Francis Speech Competition
Fri 7 Nov – Back Plains Speech Festival
God bless and thanks for reading…
Regards,
Brendan
Middle Leader News
Parent Teacher Interviews
Parent Teacher interviews will go from Week 9 to Week 10 of this term. If you have missed the window to book your interview, please email your classroom teacher and they will be happy to help you to book an interview. Remember, that we as staff are open to meetings during term time. If situations change at home, we appreciate being ‘kept in the loop’ so we can support your child with their learning.
In addition to meetings, Mr Chris is our school counsellor. He is available to assist your child at various points in your child’s educational journey. After parent permission is given, he assists students to practise various strategies and provides a good listening ear. Please let your child’s teacher know if you would like your child to see Mr Chris.
Next Term, we will launch into our Back Plains Speaking Competition! This competition has three stages –
- Classroom competition where all students present a persuasive text or an information text
- The top two students are chosen to compete in the school competition
- The top three students are chosen to compete at Back Plains State School.
Please note, all work needs to be completed by the students themselves. Parents are welcome to give topic ideas but not write this for the students. At various stages, the speeches will come home to be rehearsed. Please assist your child with actions and voice projection etc.
Mrs. Busiko
P/1/2 News
This week in Prep to Year 2, students have been immersed in the delightful Australian classic Wombat Stew. Through this text, they explored procedure writing, learning how to sequence steps clearly and use action verbs to describe how to make a stew—thankfully, not one involving real wombats! Students practiced saying and writing key vocabulary from the story, such as “blubbery,” “gooey,” and “chewy,” and used these words in sentences to build descriptive language skills. They also explored synonyms and antonyms to deepen their understanding of word meaning.
Students demonstrated success in their reading assessments, showing growth in decoding strategies, comprehension, and fluency. Many students confidently identified story elements, made predictions, and answered questions using evidence from the text. Their ability to engage with texts and express ideas in writing continues to develop strongly.
In Mathematics, students began learning about division through hands-on activities like sharing counters equally and grouping objects. They used language such as “shared between” and “groups of” to describe their thinking and began connecting division to real-life situations.
In Religion, students reflected on the story of Jesus healing the crippled woman. They discussed how Jesus showed love and compassion, and how we can show kindness and care to others in our own lives. This story helped students understand the importance of empathy and the power of healing through love and faith.
We’re looking forward to catching up with families during parent-teacher interviews. Please ensure you make a time to meet with your child’s teacher—we value the opportunity to share your child’s progress and celebrate their learning journey.
Mrs. Skillington
Yrs. 3/4/5/6 News
Year 3/4/5/6 Classes on a Friday
This term has been a fantastic term of learning for us! Children have settled into the routine of a different classroom with a different teacher and different classmates extremely well. Fridays are fun but very, very busy for years 3/4/5/6!
In Science we have been learning about the Water Cycle and where our water is sourced in Clifton and surrounds. We have been reading and remembering about the big drought of 2020 when Clifton ran out of water and have looked at the plans that were made to stop this from ever happening again. We have discussed water treatment plants and process by which our water is treated before we get it. One of the interesting facts that we will be looking at during our next lesson will be the fact that 98% of all water on Earth is salt water, only 2% is freshwater with only 2% of that water being available as usable drinking water – no wonder water is such a precious commodity!
In Health we have been learning about ways of keeping safe. We are learning strategies for what we might do if we are feeling unsafe. We have looked at safe and unsafe situations on-line and off. This is also tying in well with the unit we have just started and will continue to study next term, in the library where we have started a unit of Media Literacy.
In Technology this term we have been exploring Digital Systems. We have looked at ways of transmitting data as well the digital realities of augmented and virtual. We have currently been looking at user interfaces in readiness of designing an app to solve a particular problem in fourth term.
The highlight of our Friday program for most children this term is Drama! In Drama we are learning about empathy and exploring different emotions. We are using skills of improvisation. Children were given a scene and each person in the group were given a line to work into the scenario. The trick was that they were not able to read these lines until the moment that they decided to pull them out of their pockets and read them; teammates were then required to say something to make sense of the line that was given. Children did a great job at doing this and many laughs were had as they read their lines.
Mrs. Groombridge
Book Week 2025
As always one of the highlights of our 2025 Book Week Celebrations was Allora man, Mr. Douglas Partington sharing with us his book, “The Story of the Little Red Racing Car” about his little red racing car that he bought as a 14-year-old 50 years. What a delight it was for children to be able to see and sit in the oldest racing car in Australia. Thank you Mr. Partington!
P.E with Mr. Red
It has been a busy two weeks with a very strong focus on Oz Tag and on ball games, being ready for the upcoming sports expo next Friday 12 September. We will finish we a serious of netball activities to round out the unit on ball skills.
Father's Day Breakfast
