Newsletter-Term 3-Week 10-Friday 22nd September 2023

Principal's News...

Dear Parents,

Another term has come to a close and with that we've shared in a number of celebrations and seen some wonderful achievements from our students. The talents of our children in school based events such as sporting, public speaking and the arts has seen many find success in higher level competitions. We have also celebrated the successes of many students who's specific talents lie outside our school based curriculum in areas such as martial arts, surf life saving and line dancing..... Well done to all these children for their wonderful achievements. 

Throughout the term our older children have been trying to reach particular targets with their multiplication facts recall (100 seconds times tables). Their personal goals all contribute towards the greater class average goals that have been our overall focus. Attaining automaticity in these basic facts supports a greater ability to address more complex mathematical challenges with greater confidence and efficiency. On Thursday, November 16th we will hold our 2023 100 Second Time Tables Challenge- students vs parents and teachers. Please email me if you would like to nominate as a competitor on the adults' team. We need to try to reclaim the trophy after a near loss to the students last year. 

Thanks to some additional funding from the Catholic Schools Office, we have been able to appoint Mr John Nulley to a 3 day support role for Term 4 which will see him conducting Maths intervention with a number of small groups. John comes to us with expansive experience as a teacher and school leader. We welcome John to our staff for the remainder of the year. 

We were truly blessed last week to have Mr Tony Llewellyn perform a number of songs for us at a whole school mini concert. It was a pleasure to have Tony share his talents with us as a professional musician. I'm sure he has inspired many students to consider learning an instrument if they aren't already. As a surprise support act, one of our Year 6 boys,  Hayden Kealy also made a debut performance. Well done Hayden. 

It has been lovely to see our new families settle in this term. I hope you have really felt welcome and thank you for your respective contributions to our school community. 

It has become a tradition at SFX to include our distant grandparents in our Grandparents Day celebrations via video messages. Again this year we will be compiling a video montage of well wishes from our grandparents who will not be able to attend on November 3rd. If your parents would like to contribute to the video, please have them record a 20 sec (approx) video message and email it to the school: balp@lism.catholic.edu.au by Thursday, 12th October.

I wish you all a safe and relaxing break and look forward to seeing you all back next term. 

Peace in Christ
Dan Gubby

School Calendar...

Term 4

Pupil Free Days

(Staff Development)

Friday, 1st December 2023

& 

Friday, 15th December 2023

Assistant Principal Mission News...

The Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

This coming weekend's reading is from Matthew 20:1-16 - In the parable of the workers in the vineyard, Jesus teaches about God's generous mercy.

This Parable sounds like squabbling children, complaining about what they have been given and comparing it to each other. For some, they equate love with gifts and material things. This can lead to a spirit of entitlement which may counteract the spirit of gratitude. 

As a family, read together this Sunday’s Gospel, Matthew 20:1-16. Consider the following

Why do the workers grumble? Is the Landowner’s assessment accurate?

Prayer together, remembering that our love for our families ought not and cannot be measured in material things.  Source: https://www.loyolapress.com 

Crescente Simul - Growing Together

One of the activities from our retreat related to the value of Education. Students were asked to think about education in Australia, compared to other countries around the world. From this, they were tasked with writing a song or a rap. 

Here’s a sneak peak at some of the students' raps… 

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At school it is pretty cool, we learn about Jesus and he rules! (Alyssa, Ayla, Marley, Lily) ??

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We love going to school. Math and writing are so cool

School with my friends is the best, when I’m learning I never rest.

Building in science is so much fun. It is a blast we like to run. (Anonymous) 

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Education fuels our imagination, lights the fuse for our dedication.

We ain’t got no limitation, we're so good at multiplication.

We ain’t need to vacation, here is our explanation.

School shows how we can rule, if you ain’t got that go back to school.

The playgrounds here are way on point, you should come and rock this point.

The teachers are blessed cause they know we’re the best.

Mr Hosie, Mrs Miles never fail to make us smile.

It is clear the Year 6 class of 2023 is the best to ever be.

Especially Alex, Noah and the Twiny Towers, have just rocked you with their rapping powers.

Mic drop!!  (Maggie, Charlotte, Noah, Alexandra)

Light of Jesus Awards

Congratulations to the students who were awarded a Light of Jesus ticket at our last Assembly.

• Summer Macpherson - Year 1
• Mia Dayman - Year 1
• Flynn Haysom - Year 1
• Olivia O’Brien - Year 2
• Samantha Turnbull - Year 4

Congratulations to the following students on receiving 10 or 25 Light of Jesus Tickets. They will receive a certificate and a blue or green armband plus a free drink voucher from Zarraffa's Coffee Ballina at the term 4, week 2 assembly. 

• Jessica Dogan - Kinder x 25
• Lewis Parker - Kinder x 25
• Mia Dayman - Year 1
• Lea Leturgie - Year 1
• Oliver O’Donnell - Year 1
• Ari Hilyard - Year 2 x 25
• Knox Thomas - Year 2 x 25

Parish News...

St Francis Xavier Catholic Parish of Ballina

• St Francis Xavier Church-47 Cherry Street, Ballina
• Holy Family Church-94 Ballina Street, Lennox Head 

Parish Mass Times

Learning & Teaching News...

Dear Parents and Families,

At St Francis Xavier, a core goal of our School Improvement Plan is to improve Literacy learning outcomes through embedding a culture of feedback that builds students’ capacity as assessment capable learners. This includes teacher-student, student-student (peer feedback) and self-feedback. 

Peer feedback involves students giving and receiving information about performance or understanding in relation to learning intentions and success criteria. It is used as a supplement to, rather than substitute for, teachers’ feedback.

Why use Peer Feedback?

• Encourages collaborative learning and can build and enhance students’ capacity for judgement. 
• Students are able to detect errors and provide suggestions for improvement when processes are scaffolded.
• Helps learners understand what they are supposed to learn, monitor their own progress, set goals, and reflect on their learning.
• Can increase student achievement and growth.
• Holds students accountable for their learning, in partnership with teachers.

Our classroom teachers have been working alongside our students to coach them in developing quality, rigorous feedback. Teachers model and discuss effective and ineffective feedback with our students, use the TAG Peer Feedback protocol to support students to give effective feedback and provide prompts such as questions, sentence starters, and learning intentions and success criteria to guide peer feedback.  

Feedback Photos

Congratulations Maggie and Charlotte!

Maggie and Charlotte from Year 6 recently competed in The World Dance Masters in the UK. The girls competed in the Starter Junior division for dancers aged 10 - 12 and also competed in the Junior Duo.

Their outstanding results are as follows:

• 3rd in Junior Duo
• 4th in Teen Quad
• 1st in Country Classic, dancing with Team Australia, making them World Champions!! 

It was an amazing 3 days, and the girls were delighted to represent Team Australia along with their local Lennox Beach Line Dancing team, plus other dancers from Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. Well done girls!

RICHMOND ZONE PUBLIC SPEAKING COMPETITION

A big congratulations to our Year 6 students, Ava Morley and Charlotte Doyle, who were duly selected to participate in the Stage Three section of the 2023 Richond Zone Public Speaking Competition, last Friday, at St Carthage’s Primary School. Both students who progressed to the next round represented our school family with distinction. Their speeches enthralled the audience and the judges were delighted with the callibre of the participants in the competition. The overall 2023 zone winner of the Stage Three competition was Charlotte Doyle. We congratulate Charlotte on her exceptional and well deserved achievement!

YEAR 5 Newspaper Article

Sports News...

SFX Intensive Swimming Program

Our Intensive Swimming Program for all classes will be commencing next 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 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 Compass Event has been sent to all parents, please check your emails and Compass app. Payment and Consent will need to be completed by the end of Week 4 of  Term 4 (Friday, 3rd November). If you have a Ballina Pool Pass, please call the office before you make your payment and give consent. A copy of the pool pass will also need to be supplied to the school office. 

K to 2 (8 sessions)

Monday, 6th November - Friday, 10th November (5 days)

and

Monday, 13th November - Wednesday, 15th November (3 days)

Kinder-12:00 Noon-1:00pm 

Years 1 & 2-1:00pm - 2:00pm 

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Years 3-6 (6 sessions)

Monday, 6th November - Friday, 10th November

and 

Monday, 13th November

Years 5 & 6-9:30am -10:30am 

Years 3 & 4-10:30am -11:30am 

Paddy Wilde-Sports Coordinator

Canteen News...

We Need Volunteers for our School Canteen

Tammy & Kaylene are looking for volunteers for the canteen. If you are able to spare a couple of hours, between 9am and 11:30am - Monday to Thursday, once a month please contact the school office on 66863370 or contact Tammy or Kaylene in the canteen and let them know what day suits you.  

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Canteen Roster-Term 4

Week 1

Monday, 9th October - Friday, 13th October

Canteen Roster-Term 4

Week 2

Monday, 16th October -Thursday, 20th October

Wednesday Specials-Term 3

PLEASE NOTE THAT ON OUR WEDNESDAY SPECIAL DAYS STUDENTS CANNOT ORDER ANY OTHER FOOD ITEM FROM THE LUNCH MENU

Sushi Specials Term 3

$3.90 each Chicken, Tuna, Avocado or Vegetarian-Sauce 20c each.

Student Awards...

Congratulations to all of our students who received an award.

Welcome Awards

We welcome the following student and family to our school community.

Happy Birthday...

Wishing all our students a wonderful birthday!!

Friday, 22nd September  to Thursday, 19th October

Kinder 2024 Information...

The schedule for the remainder of our enrolment program is as follows:

Parent Reminders...

Students NOT Returning in 2024

As we have a number of perspective students on our wait list, parents of current students NOT intending to return to St Francis Xavier Primary School in 2024 are asked to notify the school in writing as soon as possible.

We are currently in the process of planning our 2024 classes and this information is essential.

Student Messages

If you need to contact the school to give your child/children a message regarding a change to arrangements for after school transport, please ensure you phone the school office prior to 1:45pm to ensure the message can be delivered in time. Unless it is an absolute emergency, we are unable to ensure messages can be delivered at such short notice and PLEASE NO EMAILS to notify your child/children of any changes, as we cannot guarantee that the message will be delivered in time to your child.

All after school care arrangements should be relayed to your child/children prior to arriving at school and in the case of infant’s children, the teacher should also be notified of any change to arrangements, particularly in relation to bus travel, by a written note/email.

As you can appreciate the school is a very busy place at home time, so your assistance and consideration in this regard would be greatly appreciated.

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. 

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

All absences must be received in writing. If your child/ren are absent for 3 days or more due to a medical illness, you are asked to supply a medical certificate. This can be uploaded onto Compass or emailed to our school office. 

Student Partial Absences

Parents are reminded not to enter a partial attendance note in Compass for their child/ren. To be compliant with the attendance SOP, we need to ensure that child safety is maintained as far as possible. Parents are to come to the school office to drop/collect the student. This gives the parent the opportunity to provide the reason for the early departure/late arrival at that time. 

Community News...