Term 2 Newsletter 26th May 2022
PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGES
WAY TO GO ST FRANCIS
I really do need to give our St Francis kids a big rap. Throughout this year and especially over the last 5 weeks I have observed some extra-ordinary behaviour from students across all the grades. Especially when you consider the amount of time spent indoors due to the unrelenting wet weather. Our Year 5 and 6 students are leading by example. They are certainly setting the tone for the school.
I am always somewhat hesitant in delivering too much praise for great behaviour, reasons being that we should always expect high standards of respectful behaviour at all times. In other words, it shouldn’t be something that kids do just to get rewarded. Not only should students know what is expected but more importantly understand the benefits of contributing and belonging to a positive school culture. The other reason is that I’m conscious of Murphy’s Law!!
We are highly aware of the insidious nature of bullying and recent nationwide initiatives to rid this cowardly behaviour which are well worth government funding. I’m pretty sure that there wouldn’t be anyone who disagrees with me – especially those among us who have been on the receiving end over the years. Throughout each term, the teachers and I spend time talking to students about the issue. Our Guidance Counsellor also spends time speaking to the students about various types of bullying. So, here at St Francis, we take this issue very seriously. “Is there bullying at this school?” is a common question raised at enrolment interviews. I can’t promise any parent that there won’t be a case of bullying here at St Francis, but what I can promise is that we will never ignore bullying that is reported to us and that as a strong and supportive community we will do all we can to ensure that every student at the school will feel safe.
“Positive Behaviour” and “No Bullying” policies exist and are regularly reviewed. Like all behaviours, I believe they should all be dealt with on an individual basis. From my experience here we have not experienced any severe cases of bullying. More commonly we experience name-calling and teasing that can escalate as parties attempt to have the last word in an argument. Rumours and gossip at times have caused hurt, and this is just not the domain of students. Adults too have been guilty of not checking out the facts. People, young or old, love a story. Whether or not the facts are true often does not matter as much as sharing the story with whoever will listen. This can and does cause people great harm. All of us have a responsibility not to participate in tearing down someone else’s reputation.
Bullying can be insidious and is always destructive. Too often it goes unreported. Far too often, teachers only hear of it after a long period of time has passed and as a result, it is very difficult to resolve the issue. The vast majority of disagreements, perceived relationship issues etc. can be resolved fairly simply if those who can make a difference are informed. It is always better to deal with issues before they go too far. Please encourage your children not to be reluctant to share their concerns.
As I mentioned in newsletter articles, we urge students in the first instance to be resilient. That is, some stuff you just learn to put up with – life and people are not always fair, if however, a pattern develops, and the next skill they need is to be assertive. To learn to say, calmly and directly, “Stop I don’t like that, give it a break!” If then, the perpetrators continue, the inappropriate behaviour needs to be reported.
Everyone needs to expect respect. This is a core element of our beliefs here at St Francis and is central to our school culture. All of us have a part to play, especially those who witness people being treated unjustly. A topic that I have been focussing on his year…”try and be the best version of yourself everyday.” This will lead to encouraging kids to be courageous and call out inappropriate or poor behaviour, especially behaviours that are directed at those who can’t stand up for themselves.
ATHLETICS CARNIVAL
Our annual athletics carnival will look slightly different this year with it being held at Allora for the second day of events. Day 1 (Prep to Year 6) is on Wednesday 22nd June (at St Francis) and Day 2 will be on Thursday 23rd June (at Allora).
Day 1 will consist of 9yrs – 12yrs running a 200m and 800m event, while our 5yrs – 8yrs will be running a 200m event.
Day 2 will consist of sprint races for all students including relays, field events for 9yrs to 12yrs (not high jump as it will be run here at St Francis on Wed 8 June (9-10 yrs Boys and Girls) and Wed 15 June (11-12yrs Boys and Girls). There will also be ball games for the students as well.
A more detailed information letter will go out next week which will have further explanations of what is happening on these two days.
FRANKIE THE GIRAFFE
Hopefully, by now you should have received the news of our new school pet, Frankie the Giraffe. I will make contact with the successful family... (name picked out of a hat) and outline what Frankie would like to do around the town of St Francis. We all sincerely appreciate everyone’s willingness to support and get behind this great initiative.
P & F MEETING NEXT WEEK - THURSDAY JUNE 2
We are very lucky to have such a hard-working and supportive P&F. Please feel free to come and support the school at our next P&F Meeting, in our school library, starting at 6:00 pm.
SCHOOL FEES
Thank you to all the families who maintain a regular financial commitment to the school. Your ongoing support by paying school fees goes a long way to assist the school to meet its financial responsibilities and continuously providing contemporary resources for the students. Families who have fallen behind in payments will be contacted by the school over the next week. To avoid any unnecessary embarrassment, please take the necessary steps to bring yourself up to date with school fees before the amount owed accumulates to an unacceptable level.
PREP AND ENROLMENTS FOR 2023
This year we have seen an increase of 10% in our total school enrolments, which is a wonderful acknowledgement for the school. Please continue to promote and talk about our beautiful community. Word of mouth is still the number one way to advertise what we offer here.
We are currently taking enrolments for Prep for 2023. If you know of any families with Prep aged children please encourage them to make contact with Linda in the front office or visit our website https://www.clifton.catholic.edu.au
PLAYGROUP
Please check out the flyer for our playgroup which will take place every second Thursday. Our next Playgroup will be on Thursday, June 2 and again on June 16. Please spread the word. Much fun is sure to be had.
Regards,
Mr Red
CURRICULUM COORDINATOR
CURRICULUM COORDINATOR
Why do we assess?
Term Two. The term of many sporting events and the dreaded assessment. Assessment is a useful tool for teachers to let us know how we as teachers have gone. Have our students understood what they have been taught? Can they apply their knowledge to new situations? What are the teachers' next steps?
Even though it is an official reporting term, the teachers and school officers are always assessing. We are always looking for ways to encourage growth in your child’s learning.
I thought I would share with you the different types of comprehension questions we have been asking your child when they read to us:
Literal - Finding answers that are right there in the text.
Reorganisation – Reconstructing two or more literal pieces of information from the text.
Inference – Deducting information not given directly in the text.
Vocabulary – Determining what the words mean from context.
Evaluation – Gathering information and drawing inferences.
Reaction – Expressing an opinion based on the information given in the text.
As we, the teachers continue to mark our observations, record data, and share our findings with you the parents through report cards this term, we hope you join with us to celebrate the growth in your child’s learning. Well done students! We are all proud of how hard you are working.
CLASS NEWS
Prep/Year 1
Last week, in maths, we were learning about fractions. There was much excitement as the students made their very own fairy bread and cut it into halves and quarters. Folding paper into halves and quarters to create a chicken for our farm corner was another skill learnt. This week, students are learning about Australian money. They are leaning to recognise, describe and order Australian coins according to their value. A pretend play shop has been set up in the classroom, by the students, to enhance this learning.
Our term 2, Chemical Science Unit has already created much excitement as we predict, explore and investigate the properties of ice blocks, spaghetti, marshmallows and chocolate. Our engaging experiments have led to discussions and findings around the properties of everyday materials and how they can be changed by heating and cooling.
In writing, students have been learning how authors write sentences to tell us their ideas. The big book, ‘Mrs Wishy Washy and the Big Farm Fair’ by Joy Cowley has been shared during reading and writing sessions. Students have discussed the importance of sentence punctuation and how it is used to make meaning. They have focused on learning to use capital letters and full stops and form all upper and lower-case letters correctly.
Year 2/3
During the passed fortnight we have completed several tasks. It is always wonderful to get to the final product and feel success in our learning. This feeling helps us to feel motivated to strive for future success especially when we feel stuck in the learning pit.
The learning pit is a growth mind set around learning. When learning something new or challenging we are encouraged to take a risk and jump into the pit. When we are deep in the pit we may need persistence, resilience and strategies to gradually climb out of the pit. On the climb we learn many lessons on the road to success.
We have been learning to solve addition and subtraction problems in math. The strategies we've been working on are doubles, near doubles, rainbow facts, counting on, split addition, bridge to ten and algorithms.
In shared and guided reading we have been learning to monitor and clarify tricky/ unfamiliar words. This week we have done a deep dive on the following words- situations, distance, dangerous, harmful and celluloid.
Year 4/5/6 News
The Fruit of the Spirit
What is the Holy Spirit and how does it impact on the lives of believers? These two important questions have been studied in our classroom this week. We have discovered what the Fruits of the Spirit are and how we as believers should demonstrate these in our daily lives. The students have begun designing artwork to display their knowledge and understanding of one of the fruits of the Spirit. You will see these artworks proudly displayed around the school in the coming weeks. Then, during upcoming assemblies, our class will teach the fruits to the rest of the school.
Please click the link below to see the video
The Turtle Method
In Mathematics, we have been consolidating our knowledge of the four operations. It has been wonderful to see the Year 5s and 6s consolidate their knowledge by teaching the Year 4s how to multiply and divide. Of course, parents like to know how we teach these operations. One of the ‘cute’ ways to teach double digit multiplication so the students remember the process is the ‘turtle’ method.
It is essentially, the same method that has been taught for decades! It just has some cute memory tools to help the students remember what they must do.
Please click the link below to see the video
Science & Technology
In Science and Technology, the students are going to design a package! This process will begin on Monday. They will be given the task to create a package to protect two biscuits. This fits into our Science unit which focuses on materials and how the best material is selected to suit a purpose. In Technology, we are designing and creating for a specific purpose! The students will then take their package to our local post office and send them to St George. Whose biscuits will survive the journey?
SPORT NEWS
Sport
GALA DAY TRAINING
During lunchtime, the children have been training in soccer, netball and rugby league for our upcoming Gala Day.
During PE, we have been learning many athletic disciplines which include shot put, discus, sprints and ball games.
Everything else looks good…
Gala Day Practice
P & F UNIFORM SHOP
Uniform Shop Co-Ordinator: Kylie Hay
Contact Details: kurlz@live.com.au or 0487 582 107
Uniform Shop Days: MOST Thursdays & Fridays
If you would like uniforms, please fill in the updated Invoice Sheet and email or text Kylie to either arrange a time to meet or for the order to be sent home with your child. If you have an old invoice copy, please bin it and replace with our updated one. This can be found on the Facebook Page or request one from me directly.
UNIFORM SHOP NEWS
- We now have EFTPOS available in the Uniform Shop at the time of collection
- We have some good quality second hand winter uniforms and also summer uniforms available for $5 per item if you’re looking for an extra jumper, shirt, shorts etc. Please note that only limited sizes and items are available but you are welcome to request second hand if available.
- We are no longer stocking the following items however we still have limited stock available for a discounted price if you would still like to purchase them.
- Green Fleece Vest $10
- Sizes 4,6,8,12 & 14 available
- Long Sleeve Boys Polo Shirts $15
- Sizes 4,10,12,14 & Small available
- Girls Green Long Formal Pants $10
- All sizes except 10 available
- Girls Green Long Sports Pants $15
- Sizes 4,6,8,10 & 16 available
- Green Fleece Vest $10
If you urgently require uniforms on a day other than Thursday or Friday, please let me know and I can arrange this with the staff at St Francis De Sales. Please note I do work and will get back to as soon as I possibly can.
STUDENT PROTECTION CONTACTS
Feeling Safe- All students have a right to feel safe and be safe.
If you are concerned about any form of abuse that is immediate, you should call 000. A significant risk or harm to a student, whether or not you have formed this belief on reasonable ground, should immediately be raised with one of our Student Protection Contacts.
ADMINISTRATION
School Fees:
We do recommend the setting-up of a direct debit facility to pay regular amounts into the school account. This alleviates overdue bills.
SCHOOL Bank Details
BSB: 064786
A/C: 100023789
Reminder: All P&F payments & Uniform payments are paid to a different bank account NOT the school account.
P&F Bank Details
BSB: 084610
A/C: 508684159