Newsletter-Term 4-Week 4-Friday 4th November 2022

Principal's News...

Dear Parents,

Grandparents Day is always a special occasion at St Francis Xavier School, and last Friday was not only no exception to this, but perhaps one of our best ever. With an estimated 180 grandparents present for the celebration, the children enjoyed sharing in classroom activities and afternoon tea before our traditional Grandparents Day Liturgy. Understanding that many of our grandparents were not able to attend in person, we collated video messages from a considerable number of our beloved distant grandparents. Comprising of subtitled messages from Brazil and France, messages from England, New Zealand, the USA and many of the further reaches of our own vast continent, the video was a lovely, and at times humorous surprise for many of our children. I’m sure they will cherish lasting memories of these beautiful personal messages. Thank you to all of our grandparents. The guidance, love and understanding you provide our little ones has a profound influence in shaping them. Your presence in our community makes us all the richer. 

With one more session to go in our Kinder 2023 Transition program, it has been great to see our new Kinders settling in so well to their new “Big School” environment. I thank our Kindergarten 2023 teachers for their dedication to our transition program that serves to minimise any anxieties in our new students around starting their formal education. The children have all had a wonderful experience in meeting their teachers and new classmates, and having some experience of the routines that will be in place next year. We hope our new Kinders enjoy the rest of the year – we will hopefully see them at Carols on the Green and look forward to welcoming them back in full school uniform in February next year.

Today I received personal nominations as the first stage in the process of determining our 2023 School Captains. Following stringent discernment by staff, considering behaviours, attitudes and application of the nominees, the students will be shortlisted to present speeches on Thursday, 24^th November. Students from Years 2 to 5 and staff will vote, and successful applicants for the roles of Captains and Vice Captains will be announced at our Carols Night on Thursday, 8^th December. Children wishing to nominate for the role of Sports Captain will then have the opportunity to present a speech to their respective house colour groups on Tuesday, 13^th December in preparation for our handover of leadership at the Year 6 Graduation Ceremony on the students’ last day, Thursday, 15^th December.

Peace in Christ,

Dan Gubby

Pupil Free Day

Friday, 16th December 2022

(Staff Development Day)

School Calendar-Term 4

Assistant Principal Mission News...

Save the Date: Saturday, 26th November at 6.00 pm

St Francis Xavier Parish Bambinelli Advent Mass

Preparing for and remembering the true meaning of Christmas is important during this holy and joyful season. To celebrate the 1st weekend of Advent, all families are warmly invited to attend a special St Francis Xavier Primary and Holy Family Primary Schools' Parish Mass in the church at 6.00 pm on the 26th of November.

One tradition we hope to establish this year, to support our preparation for Christmas, will be the Blessings of the Baby Jesus.  This tradition was first instituted by St. John Paul II for the children of Rome when he encouraged families to bring their baby Jesus (Bambinelli) from each of their home nativity sets.  It became a special way for children to connect their nativity scene at home to the celebration of Christmas at their church.

On Saturday the 26th of November, we invite all families to bring their baby Jesus from their family Nativity set to our 1st Week of Advent Mass for a special blessing.  While the baby Jesus traditionally gets placed in Nativity Scene on Christmas Day, having the baby Jesus at this special Mass will be a special way of remembering what we are truly preparing for during this Season of Advent and then into the celebration of Christmas.

For families who don’t have a nativity set, you may consider purchasing or even making your own.

Step Up For The Homeless Walkathon

Thank you so much to everyone who contributed to the Step Up For The Homeless Walkathon. So far we have raised nearly $6,500.00 which is an amazing effort. This money will help so many local families in need and St Vincent De Paul are extremely grateful to the school community. Certificates and prizes were given out during today’s assembly.

We were very fortunate to have several local businesses get involved and support us with the prizes. Thank you to Swish Cafe, Sunrise Cycles, Big W Ballina and to the Book Warehouse. 

Year 1 Biblical History Museum

Last week I had the pleasure of attending Year 1’s special Biblical History Museum. The students have been learning about the Bible’s Creation Story through the lens of the Three Worlds of the Text Model. This scriptural analysis tool is made up of the world behind, the world of and the world in front of the text.

As Catholics, we do not believe in a literal fundamentalist interpretation of the Old Testament but rather celebrate these ancient stories in the context of the Jewish people of the time and their understanding of God. It is very similar to how other cultures like the indigenous people of Australia have their stories from the Dreaming. The use of a textual model in the learning process helps students deepen their understanding and avoids any misconceptions.

The museum that the Year One team created is an excellent use of the Three Worlds of the Text Model. The pictures, models and artefacts let the students gain reference to what life would have been like thousands of years ago in ancient Israel. Learning about life in ancient Israel then helps the class to understand why, at that time, the people used these sacred stories to explain time, the creation of the planet and everything living on it. Great work Year One!

Year 1 Biblical History Museum Gallery

Matthew Ritchie

Assistant Principal Mission

Parish News...

UPDATE TO PLACES OF WORSHIP

Easing of restrictions within our Churches from November

• Collections by way of passing the plate may recommence. Plates to be sanitise before and after use.
• Communal sign of Peace may be exchanged physically.   It is up to the individual.  Bowing and waving are also commonly being used.
• Administering the Eucharist on the tongue may recommence. As far as possible those who receive on the tongue should come after those who receive on the hand. This is for the safety of the person distributing Holy Communion and those later in the queue.
• Offertory procession to recommence. If you would like to be involved in this, please advise the Parish Office and a roster (if needed) will be prepared for our weekend Masses.

Parish Mass Times

Learning & Teaching News...

YEAR 3 SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

In Science & Technology in Year 3 the students have been learning about energy. They were investigating whether a Bee-Bot is a digital system? Is there input and output? What are they? How can digital systems like this be used in our community? They designed and made a course for the Bee-Bot which concluded with the popping of a balloon. The students worked in pairs to design their course, considering things such as materials, Bee-Bot movement (eg. Length of each move), level of difficulty within the course etc. Students were also asked to write the algorithm to a possible solution to their course. The students discussed what happened in their algorithm and what they would do differently next time. They reflected on how they could have made their course more challenging.

Science & Technology Gallery

Kristie Coster-Assistant Principal Learning & Teaching

Lisa Conte-Leader of Pedagogy

Sports News...

Richmond Zone Summer Sports Trials

Last week St Francis Xavier had 18 students competing at the Richmond Zone Summer Sports Trials. Congratulations to the following students who were selected to attend the Diocesan Summer Sports Trials in Lismore on Friday, 25th November. Good luck boys and girls!

• Gali Amit - Boys Tennis
• Jack Keough - Boys Touch Football
• Dekyra Layton - Girls Touch Football
• Isabel Hudson - Girls Touch Football

St Francis Xavier Intensive Swimming Program

Our Intensive Swimming Program for all classes starts in Week 6 of this term. The following dates and times have been locked in with Francis Quinn at Ballina Memorial Pool. We thank Francis, once again, for being so accommodating for our school. Students should come to school with their swimmers underneath their school uniform and bring a towel, goggles, wet shirt, change of underwear, a bag for wet items and a pair of thongs to wear to the pool. Students will be taught by qualified swimming instructors and supervised by class teachers. They will be walking with school staff to and from the pool each day. A reminder for parents that consent and payment is due by 13/11/2022. 

Kinder to Year 2 (8 sessions)

Monday, 14th November-Friday, 18th November (5 days) and Monday, 21st November-Wednesday, 23rd November (3 days) 

• Kindergarten-2:00pm-1:00pm 
• Stage 1 (Year 1 & 2)-1:00pm-2:00pm 

Years 3 to 6 (6 sessions)

Monday, 14th November - Friday, 18th November & Monday, 21st November

• Stage 3 (Year 5 & 6)-9:30am -10:30am 
• Stage 2 (Year 3 & 4)-10:30am -11:30am 

SFX Swimming Carnival

A reminder that the annual St Francis Xavier School Swimming Carnival is this Term on Friday,25th November. We have traditionally held our Carnival in the first couple of weeks of the new school year which can be problematic with regards to weather and the short turn around to the Richmond Zone Swimming Carnival which is generally at the beginning of Week 3. 

The Competitive Carnival is for students from Year 2-6 for the 2023 school year (8 years up to 12/13 years). 

Next Week a Compass Event will be sent home via the Compass App, which will have a “Competitive Swimming Event” Nomination Form to complete in the Resource Folder. Students can nominate in the following events:

• Open 100m Freestyle
• 50m Freestyle
• 50m Backstroke
• 50m Breastroke
• 50m Butterfly
• 200m Individual Medley

Please do not nominate your child in an event if they cannot complete the stroke or the distance competently.

Paddy Wilde

Sports Coordinator

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.  

Canteen Roster-Term 4

Week 5

Monday, 7th November- Friday, 11th November

Week 6

Monday, 14th November- Friday, 18th  November

Tuesday Sushi Day

All Sushi Orders need to be placed via the QKR App by 8:30am Monday morning prior to Sushi Day

Week 5	Tuesday, 8th November
Week 7	Tuesday, 22nd November
Week 9	Tuesday, 6th December

Student Awards...

Term 4-Week 4

Congratulations to all of award recipients this week. 

Happy Birthday...

Friday, 4th November to Thursday, 17th November

Wishing all our students a wonderful birthday!

Parent Reminders...

Newsletter Update

We will now be publishing our School Newsletter on a fortnightly basis. The newsletter will be published in Week Two, Four, Six, Eight and Ten of each Term. All important notices and events will be communicated via Compass on a regular basis. Our school Facebook page will be updated regulary with exciting events that have happened at school.

School Assembly Update

School Assemblies are now on a fortnightly basis, in line with our Newsletter. 

Student Absences

Parents are reminded that if your child/ren are absent from school you must follow the following steps:

• Reply to the text message that is sent via Compass before 3pm, or
• Email the school office on balp@lism.catholic.edu.au

All absences must be received in writing. 

Notification of Extended Leave

All notification of extended leave MUST be submitted prior to the  leave commencing. 

Travel outside of the school holiday period is counted as an absence for statistical purposes.  If your child/ren are absent for 10 to 100 days, please ensure that you complete a Form A4 Notification Extended Leave Travel (available at the School Office or click on the link Extended Leave Form).  An absence in this case will be recorded using the Code ‘A’ (Unjustified Leave).

In exceptional circumstances parents may complete a Form A1 Application for Extended Leave-Travel for consideration, explaining why an absence for extended leave is in the best educational interest of the student.  The Principal may accept or decline this application. 

Please note relevant travel documentation such as an e ticket or itinerary (in the case of non-flight bound travel within Australia only) must be attached to these applications.

Please note, a return text message notification will NOT be accepted for Extended Leave. 

Compass Events-School Excursions

The Compass Event Module will be where you will receive all the information about an excursion. It will also be where you are required to give consent and make payment. 

The Event Module has replaced the hard copy note that would normally be sent home.  If you receive an event notification or email, this means your child/ren are required to participate in the event. Please do not disregard the notification or email. If you have any questions about an event, please contact the class teacher or the school office.

Parents are required to action the Excursion Event in Compass prior to the due by date that is stated in the event, unfortunately if you miss the due date your child/ren may miss out on attending. Event notifications will come via email and Compass notification on your Compass App. 

A kindly reminder that this is a new process for everyone, parents, teachers and administration staff, we are all learning together.

School Uniform

With the warmer weather upon us, please make sure your child/ren are in our summer uniform.

Parent Sign In

All parents are reminded that if they are entering the school grounds, for what ever the reason, you MUST sign into the school via the Ipad in the front office or via the QR codes at our gates. There are no exceptions. 

Student Travel to and from School

Students are supervised at school from 8:30am. If your child/ren are walking, riding or being dropped off, they should not arrive before 8:30am. When they do arrive at school they are to sit under the Shelter Shed until instructed by the teacher on duty. 

When leaving school, students depart in one of four ways:

Bus - Children are to sit in bus lines and wait for teachers’ instructions to board their bus.  Bus pass forms are available online.

Bike - Students are to move quickly to their bikes or scooters and walk these to the gate at the front of the school.  They must not ride these on school premises and they should take the shortest and safest route home.

Walking - These children should leave through the front school gate without delay.  Any child needing to cross Swift Street should wait at the crossing and be directed by the Crossing Supervisor.

Pick up - Children being picked up should wait in the School Hall with the supervising teacher until collected and then leave with their parent or guardian. Students should be collected no later than 3:20pm. 

Term 1 2023 Start Dates...

• Friday, 27th January 2023-Staff Administration Day (staff only)
• Monday, 30th January 2023-MAI (Years 1 to 6) & Best Start Assessments (Kinder 2023)
• Tuesday, 31st January 2023-MAI (Years 1 to 6) & Best Start Assessments (Kinder 2023)
• Wednesday, 1st February 2023-First day of Term 1 2023 (Years 1 to 6) & Best Start Assessments (Kinder 2023)
• Thursday, 2nd February 2023-Best Start Assessments (Kinder 2023)
• Friday, 3rd February 2023-Best Start Assessments (Kinder 2023)
• Monday, 6th February 2023-1st day for Kinder 2023

Parent Assembly News...