2022 Term 2 Week 3 Newsletter
Prayer Focus
From the Principal
Staffing Announcements
On behalf of the entire school community I would like to congratulate Mrs Tracie Paton on her recent appointment to St John Paul College, Coffs Harbour. Tracie has been employed at St Francis Xavier for the past 16 years as the school’s Canteen Supervisor. Over this extended period Tracie has relentlessly toiled to ensure the school canteen delivered meals and treats to literally thousands of students. Needless to say, Tracie will be greatly missed.
With much excitement, I would like to announce that our School Counsellor position has now been filled. Please join me in congratulating as well as warmly welcoming, Ms Alessandra Isgro, on her appointment. Alessandra (Alee) will be commencing her new role in a couple of weeks.
School Canteen Survey
I am seeking some feedback from families and our Stage 3 students regarding our school canteen. Before advertising for a new Canteen Supervisor I want to gauge the actual need for this service. Please bear in mind that the current purpose of our school canteen is to:
- Provide a service for families (twice a week on Wednesdays and Fridays).
- Provide an onsite extra-curricular experience for our students.
Also, the approximate annual costs to keep the school canteen open is $26,000. This sizable expenditure is mostly covered by school fees. Please complete the basic school canteen survey by Friday 20/5/22, please click on the link below.
Yours in Faith
Warren Niethe
Principal
All Things Learning & Teaching
NAPLAN Commences
This week saw Year 3 and 5 embark upon their very first experience with NAPLAN. Having missed out on the opportunity in 2019 Year 5 students had their first taste of the online assessment. NAPLAN is generally an annual assessment and examines the types of skills that are essential for every child to progress through school and life in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. The students were very proud of themselves and we commend them on their positive ‘can do’ attitudes. The NAPLAN online window of testing closes on Friday, 20 May.
A Little Ray of Sunshine
It was brief but wonderful. The playground provided students with an opportunity to run, jump, skip and play in relatively dry conditions this week. Luckily we continue to be adaptable and blessed with such flexible spaces.
Stage 2 Science Focus
Stage 2 enjoyed the outdoor classroom while investigating the sun’s power as part of their science unit. This term students will inquire into the Earth’s relationship with the Sun and how the Sun, Earth and Moon interact. Throughout the term students will conduct scientific investigations about the Earth’s relationship with the Sun and how they interact and be given the opportunity to design and make a sundial. Lots of wonderful learning taking place.
Sharon de Dassel
Assistant Principal Learning and Teaching
Faith & Mission
Catholic Schools Week and Mother’s Day
Week 2 saw the recognition of two important events in our school calendar: Catholic Schools Week and Mother’s Day.
This year’s Catholic Schools Week theme 'COMMUNITY CARE COMPASSION' was well and truly evident as we celebrated a whole school Mass and welcomed families for a picnic lunch on Tuesday.
On Friday, we welcomed an overwhelming number of mums, grandmas, aunts and special guests for the Mother’s Day Afternoon Tea and Assembly. Thank You to the Parent Forum for hosting the afternoon tea and organising coffee vouchers as gifts (sent home with students on Friday). Thanks also to the students for preparing a wonderful Assembly with prayer, poetry and song all dedicated to our wonderful mums. It was a fantastic celebration filled with smiles, scones and a big dose of St Francis Xavier spirit!
For those who were unable to attend or missed it on Facebook, please enjoy our special Mother’s Day Presentation.
Katrina Ryan
Assistant Principal Mission
Communicating Diversity
This week staff enjoyed professional development around supporting English language learning at St Francis Xavier. We discussed how to build vital skills through encouraging structured talking in the classroom and you can do the same at home! Speaking and listening are an important part of language and literacy development for all students. If your child is working to build his/her writing skills, speaking and listening tasks can be beneficial. Learning sentence structure and vocabulary can be built with daily reading to your child. Conversing about your day is also valuable and gives you an opportunity to model language skills. If you’re looking for a fun language game to play at home, check out this website:
Laura Cooke
Leader of EAL/D
A Focus on Inclusion
We are blessed at St Francis Xavier School to have many wonderful support staff working with students and teachers to make our school the great place it is! Monday, 16 May is World Support Staff Day. The teachers and students, would like to take this opportunity to say a great big THANK YOU for all that you do in our school.
You are a dedicated team who give so much love to our students and work so hard behind the scenes in your roles. We appreciate all that you do! Thank you to Robyn and Lainie in the Office; Dave and Sleeman in maintenance and cleaning; Dustin and Jacob in I.T; Mel, Di, Kylie, Amy and Hayley our Learning Assistants, for all the work you do with our children who need a little extra support.
Fiona Jupp
Leader of Inclusion
Sporting Roundup
Zone Cross Country
Well done to all competitors who represented St Francis Xavier at the Zone Cross Country held on Wednesday, 4 May in Grafton. Congratulations to Rune, Victoria and Ava who were place winners and who were presented with their ribbons today, and to Ellie who was awarded Age Champion on the day. We have 11 students progressing to the Diocesan Carnival on Tuesday, 24 May also in Grafton.
Basketball Clinics
The feedback from all Stages is that the Basketball Clinics have been thoroughly enjoyed by the participating students and they have loved learning new skills and tricks.
I interviewed a few Stage 2 students about the Basketball Clinics. They were asked for a rating out of 10, and what they liked about the program so far. Here’s what they had to say:
Eli "10/10 It is fun, very fun. I like that the coach splits up teams and all students are practising their basketball skills, running and shooting."
Silas "10/10 You get to shoot and learn a sport that is really fun. You learn tricks and how to lay up."
Jennifer "10/10 The coach is nice. I was thinking about doing basketball and he teaches skills, really nicely. We learnt how to shoot a hoop and how to dribble with our fingers."
Alyssa "10/10 There are lots of fun games. I like basketball because I think it is a fun sport."
Olivia "8/10 I like that we get to play games and I like how it’s really fun."
Olive "10/10 We can play fun games and the coach encourages us to have a go."
Ava "10/10 It is really fun and the coach is really nice and supportive."
Sage "9.5/10 I like it because you get to let go of your energy and when you get back to class you feel calm. Everyone gets a turn using a ball."
Bonnie "8/10 I like that you get to shoot and you get to move fast. It is fun to play with friends."
Rebel Sport
I have asked students what sports equipment they would like to see in the playground and the responses were handballs, netballs, basketballs and volleyballs.
These have been purchased from Rebel Sport on the weekend.
Don’t forget to nominate our school when you make a purchase at Rebel. All points nominated go towards the purchasing of new sports equipment.
Thank you to the Stage 1 students for helping to label the new equipment before it went out to the playground.
National Walk Safely to School Day
On Friday, 20 May our school will be participating in National Walk Safely to School Day. This is an annual event when all primary school children will be encouraged to walk and commute safely to school. It is a community event seeking to promote road safety, health, public transport and the environment.
If you and/or your child wish to join us and walk to school, simply meet some of our staff at either of the two meeting places listed below by 8.20am.
- Corner of Ocean and Queen Streets (on concrete near the pool, NOT on the grass)
- Corner of Scarborough and Gordon Streets
Students and staff will then walk from this point to school.
Please Note: Children are not to be left unattended, please wait with them until a staff member is present.
If the event is cancelled due to wet weather you will be notified via email on Thursday.
Corner of Scarborough and Gordon Streets
Corner of Beach and Queen Streets
Gold Token winners
Congratulations to all token recipients this week and congratulations to the Gold Token winner! Keep up the great work everyone!
Enrolments for 2023
If you would like to enrol a child in Kindergarten for 2023 at St Francis Xavier Primary School please complete an online enrolment application form on the school website before Friday, 27 May 2022.
St John Paul College, Year 7 2023 enrolment applications must be in by Wednesday, 18 May 2022. Please visit their school website to download an enrolment application form.
McAuley Catholic College Year 7 2023 enrolment interviews will begin on Wednesday, 25 May 2022. Please contact the College or visit their school website for further information regarding enrolment applications.
