Newsletter-Term 2-Week 7-Friday 10th June 2022

Principal's News...

Dear Parents,

Our Confirmation candidates presented themselves very reverently last night as they received the Blessed Sacrament in our parish church. The students were well prepared, having engaged in the sacramental program at school and home throughout the term. Thank you to Mr Ritchie, Mrs Bateman, Miss Kearney, and our parish administrators, John and Bianca for ensuring our children were well prepared to receive their Confirmation last night.

As we approach the end of the term and our first semester of 2022, our teachers have been preparing the end of semester student reports which will be available to parents in week 10. The reporting process provides feedback in all Key Learning Areas (subjects) as well as feedback on your child’s learning habits and behaviours. It is important to engage in conversation with your child in relation to his/ her report to celebrate successes and to establish goals for next semester. Although we have already held our formal Parent/Teacher interviews for the year, please remember to keep close communication with your child’s class teacher to ensure we are all supporting our children in their targeted goals throughout Semester Two. You may request to meet with your child’s teachers at any stage throughout the year.

Next Thursday we will be holding our school Athletics Carnival out at Xavier Catholic College. It’s always exciting to see how our students perform as they endeavour to beat their personal bests and compete for their houses. We will proudly compete under our new house logos this year. Be sure to come along if you are available to cheer our children on.

Peace in Christ,

Dan Gubby

Principal

School Calendar-Term 2

Assistant Principal Mission News...

Confirmation

On Thursday the Confirmation candidates from St Francis Xavier, Holy Family and the local State Schools came together at our school for a special reflection day in the school hall. The day began with a liturgy led by our Pastoral Associate John Kearney. Students then enjoyed a series of fun rotational activities including crafts, movie making and walking a giant labyrinth. The Parish supplied a delicious BBQ lunch for the candidates and a big thank you to Mrs Moran, Mrs Coster and Mrs Conte for helping out with lunch.

In the evening, students and families gathered in the church to converse with Bishop Greg before the ceremony. Our Bishop is a kind and caring man who loves getting to know his parishioners before the formal Confirmation Ceremony.

Confirmation is a special and sacred time for both the candidates and the families that they will remember for many years to come. This would not be possible without the massive effort and time given by all the staff involved. Teachers from both our school and Holy Family Primary have spent several months organising and preparing in the lead up to Thursday and I am so grateful for everyone involved.

Matthew Ritchie

Assistant Principal Mission

Parish News...

Parish Information

Revised NSW Government Restrictions for Places of Worship

• Hand sanitiser is provided at entrances to our Churches
• Masks are not mandatory, personal choice can be made if you prefer to wear a mask
• Receival of Holy Communion in the hand only
• Singing is allowed
• Social distancing may be maintained if practical
• Density limits are not mandatory
• If unwell please stay home until you feel well again

Parish Mass Times

Learning & Teaching News...

Communication

Good two-way communication between families and schools is necessary for your childs’ success. Positive and thoughtful communications can support educational outcomes by involving parents and carers in school life and the educational journey of the student.  As a parent or carer of a student at St Francis Xavier, your first point of contact for your child’s academic progress and wellbeing is your child’s teacher. Should parents have any questions, concerns or information to share about your child throughout the year, we encourage you to arrange a meeting with the class teacher. 

If you feel a concern has not been addressed after first talking to the classroom teacher, then you can contact the school office to arrange a meeting with the Principal or Assistant Principal.

Semester One Reports

The reporting process is one avenue for teachers to provide feedback to parents about their child’s progress. Semester One reports will be made available via Compass. You will receive a Compass news message in Week 8 confirming the release date and instructions about how to access your child’s report. This year the report format has returned to normal. That is, the Semester One reports will include a grade from A to E for each Key Learning Area for students in Years 1 to 6. 

The A to E grading scale allows teachers to report student academic achievements at any point in time using clear standards. Teachers make a professional on-balance judgement to decide which grade best matches the standards your child has achieved, based on assessment information collected. 

The scale used to describe Kindergarten achievement at a point in time is: Working Towards Expected Level, At Expected Level, and Above Expected Level. 

The grade descriptors for all year levels will be supported by written comments designed to give you more information about your child’s achievements and goals.

Our formal parent-student-teacher conferences were held in Term 1; therefore there will be no formal booking system this term. However, you are most welcome to contact your child’s teacher directly to arrange a meeting to discuss your child’s progress.

Kristie Coster

Assistant Principal Learning & Teaching

Canteen News...

We Need Volunteers for our School Canteen

Tammy is looking for volunteers for the canteen. If you are able to spare a couple of hours, between 9am and 11:30, once a month please contact the school office on 66863370 or contact Tammy in the canteen and let her know what day suits you.  Please note: to volunteer in the canteen, you will need to be double vaccinated and upon signing into the school, the office staff will need to sight your COVID vaccination certificate.

Canteen Roster-Week 6

Monday, 13th June to Friday, 17th June

Pie & Sausage Roll Day

We will be having a Pie & Sausage Roll Day on Wednesday, 15th June. 

Please order via the QKR App no later than Tuesday, 14th June at 8:30am.

Please note that no other items are available for lunch and late orders will not be accepted. 

Sushi Day Special-Term 2

$3.90 each - Chicken, Tuna, Avocado or Vegetarian

Please note that all sushi orders need to be placed via the QKR App by 8:30am Monday morning prior to Sushi Day. 

Week 9

Tuesday, 21st June

Sports News...

Sports House Banners

A massive thank you to Andrew Brisbane for attaching the Sports House Banners to the wall in the Hall. They are a fantastic edition to our school hall.

Power- Named after Sister Patrick Power. She was a Presenation Sister who came to Ballina to teach.  Sister Patrick was also St Francis Xaviers first principal. The first site of the school was our old school hall.

Doyle- Named after Jeremiah Joseph Doyle. He came to Australia to establish the Catholic Church. He was the first Bishop of Lismore. One of his achievements was building St Carthages Cathedral in Lismore.

Cole- Named after Sister June Cole. Sister June was an Assistant Principal and Librarian at St Francis Xavier. Xavier College Library is named after her. Sister June loved rugby league and cricket.

Murphy- Named after Father J Murphy. He was appointed first "Priest in charge" of a Parish in our Diocese. Living in Grafton, he had to travel long distances by horse and buggy. He returned to Ireland after only 1 year due to him being sick. Sadly, he died on the ship back home.

NSW CPS Cross Country

On Tuesday 7th June this week, St Francis Xavier, Ballina had three students, Luke Dogan, Alexandra Dogan and Erika Wisemantel, travel all the way down to Eastern Creek in Sydney for the NSW Catholic Primary Schools Cross Country. This competition sees the best Catholic Primary School runners in the State compete against each other.

Congratulations to Luke Dogan and Alexandra Dogan who both finished 1st to qualify for the NSW PSSA Cross Country Championships at Eastern Creek. Well done also to Erika Wisemantel who finished 21st in her age group. To reach this representative level is an outstanding achievement.

St Francis Xavier Athletics Carnival

Next Thursday 16th June St Francis Xavier will be holding their annual Athletics Carnival at Xavier Catholic College in Skennars Head. We thank XCC once again for allowing us to utilise their facilities.

This year it is a refined program of events with only the Competitive Track Events occurring on the day. Times below are estimates. Long Jump and Shot Put will be competed at school during PE lessons.

Richmond Zone Athletics-Event Qualification Numbers:

100m - 3 students x 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13yrs

200m - 3 students x Jnr (8-10), 11yrs, Snr (12-13)

Long Jump & Shot Put, 800m & 1500m  - 2 students x Jnr (8-10), 11yrs, Snr (12-13)

1 Snr (11-13) and Jnr (8-10) Relay Boys and Girls

Student Awards...

Term 2-Week 7

Congratulations to all our award recipients for this week

Happy Birthday...

Friday, 10th June to Thursday,16th June

Kinder 2023 Enrolment Information...

Library News...

Book Club Orders due on Wednesday, 15th June. 

Choir News...

Our school choir performed at the whole school mass on Tuesday this week to celebrate Pentecost. Due to the ease of restrictions, this was the first time the choir has been allowed to sing together in over two years and they did an amazing job. The choir sang “All Are Welcome” and “Go Now in Peace”. We hope this is the first of many performances to come! Choir practice takes place in the Year 1 rooms every Thursday at lunch time. All are welcome!

Danielle Niland and Chris Hosie