Newsletter-Term 1-Week 8-Friday 22nd March 2024

Principal's News...

Dear Parents,

It has been a big week with all our Parent-Student-Teacher conferences.  I hope everyone found these beneficial and I encourage anyone who missed out this week to contact your class teacher to arrange a meeting as soon as is practically possible.  A shared active interest in our children’s learning will benefit them greatly.  Thank you to our teachers for their dedication to this process this week.

I congratulate our 19 Reconciliation candidates who celebrated the blessed sacrament on Tuesday night, and I thank Miss Kasey Miles, Mrs Darke, Mrs Ons and Ms Egan, and all our candidates’ parents for their dedication to supporting our children through the preparatory process.

We celebrated Harmony Week this week in recognition of all of our children who come from such diverse cultural backgrounds.  I see our school as a little snapshot of our broader Australian demographic, and feel our children are blessed to have friends who can enrich their lives through shared cultures.  Thank you, Mrs Bagraith, for your efforts in preparing our Harmony Week activities.

Thank you to everyone for supporting our Down Syndrome Awareness Day yesterday.  Your efforts in wearing mismatched socks was appreciated as it creates an opportunity to discuss with others the need to better understand our friends with Down Syndrome.

Well done to all our cross country competitors, and congratulations to all those who have made it through to our Richmond Zone Cross Country carnival on May 7th.  I wish you all the best as you represent our school in this event.  Please see Mr Wilde’s report for all the details of our carnival.

Tomorrow we will hold our inaugural Welcome BBQ for new families to our school community.  If you didn’t have a chance to reply, we would love to see you here at 3:30pm.  I have sufficiently over catered so you might still get a sausage.

Today we farewelled Mrs Darke as she heads off on maternity leave. I am pleased to announce we have appointed Ms Megan Flynn to our Year 4 class commencing next term. In the interim, our Year 4 students will have Mrs Ons and Ms Egan as well as Miss Sophie Sullivan. Ms Beecher will be away on maternity leave from next term. I am pleased to announce that Miss Sophie Sullivan will be joining Miss Kearney in our Year 5 classes for Terms 2, 3 and 4. Congratulations to both ladies.  

As we venture on through our Lenten experience, preparing ourselves for Easter, we come, this weekend to Palm Sunday.  This special day reminds us of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem in the lead up to the events of Easter.  Over the course of the following week, we will recall the journey Jesus travelled, through his persecution to his resurrection.  For our parents unfamiliar with the story of Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection, many depictions such as Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” are quite graphic and therefore only appropriate for mature audiences.  This simple Youtube animation however, explains the events of Holy Week in a more child appropriate fashion.  On Easter Sunday, we celebrate Jesus’ rising from the dead, and hence why we give symbols of new life such as eggs.  In Catholic tradition the Hot Cross Bun is prepared and eaten on Good Friday (not Boxing Day) and the giving and receiving of Easter Eggs takes place on Easter Sunday.  It is important for us to recall the whole story to understand Christ’s sacrifice for us.

Peace in Christ,
Dan Gubby

School Calendar...

Term 1

Term 2

Assistant Principal Mission News...

Palm Sunday

This coming weekend's reading is from Mark 14:1—15:47 (shorter form: Mark 15:1-39)

Jesus is sentenced to death and crucified.  The centurion who witnessed his death declared, “This man was the Son of God.”

Palm Sunday, also known as Passion Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week.  During this week we prepare ourselves for the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Because of the length and complexity of the Passion narrative, families can make it a tradition to read a portion of this Sunday’s Gospel each day of Holy Week.  This way, the entire week can become the ‘way of the cross’. 

As a family, reflect on the readings together and conclude by praying the Lord’s Prayer. 

Source: https://www.loyolapress.com 

Holy Week - 'Eyes Closed...Eyes Open' - Stations of The Cross

On Thursday, 28 March at 9:30am, some of our Year 6 students will be presenting 'The Stations Of The Cross' to our school community in the School Hall.  All families are most welcome to join our school for this event.

Holy Week is a very important time in our Liturgical Calendar, and the 'Stations of The Cross' tells the story of Jesus' journey, during the week leading up to his crucifixion.

The following Tuesday, 2 April, at 10:30am in the School Hall, the students will conclude the telling of Jesus' journey with our Easter/Resurrection Liturgy.  Again, all families are invited to this short presentation.

School Community Groups (formally known as the Parent Forum)

Our inaugural School Community Group meeting took place on Thursday, 14th March.  Although we had a small number of parents in attendance, it gave us the opportunity to discuss the new format for our community group, go over the code of conduct and develop norms for our meetings. 

The norms for our meetings will be:

• Chairperson - Stacey Briggs
• Minute taker - Kasey Miles and parents (shared role)
• Timing of meetings - once a term, Tuesdays of Week 3, with the potential for another meeting later in the term (if needed)
• Agenda items - emailed to Stacey Briggs 7 days prior to the meeting

Stacey Briggs will Chair our meetings.  For parents who wish to add an item to the agenda, please email Stacey (sbriggs@outlook.com.au) 7 days prior to the meeting.  The agenda will then be emailed out via Compass before the meeting so the parent community are aware of what will be discussed at the School Community Group meeting. 

The minutes for each meeting will be added to our school website (balplism.catholic.edu.au) for the school community to view.  The minutes can be found under the Parents and Families menu - School Community Group. 

Our next meeting will take place on Tuesday, 14th May beginning at 5:30pm.  All agenda items for this meeting will be due to Stacey by Tuesday, 7th May. 

Xavier Catholic College - “Popstars - the 90’s Musical”

Xavier Catholic College will once again be showcasing their musical talents through the musical “Popstars - the 90’s Musical”. 

As a school we have been invited to attend their matinee performance on Thursday, 4th April. 

A Compass Event has been shared to all families, we ask that you please give consent for your child to attend by Monday, 25th March.  The cost of this Event is covered by the Extra Curricula Levy. 

Students will eat an early lunch at 10am as we will be leaving school at 10:20am.  Students will return to school in time for afternoon tea. 

SRC Report

The SRC are continuing their push on the war on rubbish at our school.  In the coming weeks, the SRC will be partnering with the Ballina Shire Council’s “Let’s Get it Sorted” program to conduct a waste/rubbish audit.  From this, the SRC will create an action plan and meet with the Wipe Out Waste Team to assist us in engaging and interacting in a positive way to promote sustainable waste practices. 

We look forward to sharing the results of our waste audit early next term. 

Light of Jesus Awards

Congratulations to the students who were awarded a Light of Jesus ticket at our last Assembly.  They now receive a canteen voucher. 

• Ellie Harrison-Lewry - Kindergarten
• Maebh Flynn x 2 - Year 1
• Lily Lindquist - Year 4
• Fletcher Bernades Skelton - Year 5

Congratulations to the following students on receiving 10 or 25 Light of Jesus Tickets.  They now receive a certificate and a blue or yellow armband plus a free drink voucher from Zarraffa's Coffee Ballina. 

• Cooper Base - Year 1 (green band) 
• Kyro Harris - Year 1
• Frankie Daenerys Valdellon - Year 2
• Fletcher Bernardes Skelton - Year 5

Attendance Matters - Make getting students to school on time every day a top priority.

Attending school regularly helps children feel better about school and themselves.  Ensuring that students arrive at school on time every day is crucial for their academic success and wellbeing.  Parents play a crucial role in instilling the importance of punctuality in their children.  Here are some strategies for parents to make getting students to school on time every day a top priority:

• Establish a Consistent Routine.  Set a daily routine that includes specific times for waking up, getting ready, having breakfast, and leaving for school.  Consistency helps children develop good habits.
• Model Punctuality.  Children often learn by example.  Demonstrate the importance of punctuality by being on time for family events, appointments, and other commitments.
• Limit or Have No Screen Time in the Morning.  Minimise distractions such as excessive screen time in the morning.  This helps your child stay focused on getting ready for school without unnecessary delays.

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...

Kindergarten

In Kindergarten Blue the students have been learning different ways to represent an amount.

The students have also been identifying different ways to make the quantity of the number.  For example, 6 can be 5 and 1, 2 and 4, 3 and 3 etc.  They used their fingers, drawings, and concrete materials (blocks) to represent that quantity.

In Kindergarten White the students have been learning about measurement.  They informally measured the length of their shoes and the area of shapes.

In Kindergarten Green the students have been learning to write, read and represent numbers.  The students practised writing their numbers, rolling a dice and representing that quantity on a bead string. 

Year Three

In Year Three, the students have been avid artists painting and recreating a different front cover for the English text they have been studying, Iceberg by Claire Saxby.

Visual Arts

Our CAPA Specialist Teacher, Mrs Watt, has been teaching the children about portraits.  They have been studying and appreciating the artist Pablo Picasso.  Picasso inspired a new style of portraits called cubism.  Cubism features different viewpoints of the same features.  Check out our budding artists in Year One!

Library

Many of our students visit our Library during scheduled breaks at lunchtime and recess.  This allows our students to embrace a variety of activities that allow them to access quiet calm zones.  That may be reading, mindfulness colouring, playing chess or being creative with Lego, blocks or magnetic shapes.

NATIONAL DOWN SYNDROME DAY

Yesterday Saint Francis Xavier students celebrated National Disability Day by wearing mismatched socks!  The idea is to start a conversation, so when people ask about your socks you can tell them, “I’m wearing them to raise awareness of Down Syndrome". 

Lisa Conte

Leader of Pedagogy

Compass-Online Enrolments...

Our school has moved from paper-based enrolment applications to online enrolments using Compass.   As an existing user of Compass, you will find a new tile in the Compass app called Family and Enrolments, found under the “More” icon in the Compass app or under the Cog icon in your preferred browser.  As a parent, you can update your contact details at any time.  We strongly encourage you to log in to confirm your details.  If you update your details, they will update across all schools where you have a child enrolled.

See our website for more details on how to enrol and where to get assistance if you need it.

Online applications for Kinder 2025 are now open!

Asthma in Schools Information...

All parents are reminded that Asthma Plans need to updated for 2024. These plans can be collected from the school office. These plans will need to be signed by your GP. 

Sports News...

Diocesan Winter Sports Trials

The Diocesan Winter Sports Trials were held a fortnight ago on Friday, 8th March  (Boys Football, Girls Football, Rugby League 11’s, Rugby League Opens, Netball) at various locations across Grafton. Congratulations to the following students who impressed selectors on the day and will now compete at the Polding Winter Sports Trials in Tamworth on the 3rd of May.  Good luck boys & girls.

Boys Football (soccer)

• Gali Amit
• Luke Dogan

Girls Football (soccer)

• Jessica Aslin

Rugby League 11’s

• Reef Molyneux

St Francis Xavier Cross Country Carnival

The annual St Francis Xavier Cross Country was held at Kingsford Smith Park this week on Tuesday, 19th March.  We were blessed with sunshine and the forecast afternoon showers managed to stay away. Humidity made the course challenging for the runners and students did extremely well in the trying conditions.

Congratulations to Murphy House who finished on top at the end of the day.

• 1st       Murphy  318 points
• 2nd     Cole         262 points
• 3rd      Power     215 points
• 4th      Doyle      212 points

Congratulations to the following students who finished in the top five in their respective age groups and will progress to the Richmond Zone Cross Country Carnival on Tuesday, 7th May:

Please Note: Year 1 and Kinder DO NOT PROGRESS to the Richmond Zone Cross Country Carnival

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Canteen News...

We Need Volunteers for our School Canteen

We are looking for volunteers for the canteen. If you are able to spare a couple of hours, between 9am and 11:30am - Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday, once a month please contact the school office or Kristie on 66863370  and let us know what day suits you.  Volunteers MUST sign into the school via the school office.

Canteen Roster-Term 1

Week 9

Monday, 25th March - Friday, 29th March

Canteen Roster-Term 1

Week 10 

Monday, 1st April - Friday, 5th April

Canteen Special Day-Thursday

Thursdays will now have normal menu available as well as special.

Sushi Day-Thursday

REMINDER

Canteen is CLOSED on Wednesday's

Student Awards...

Congratulations to all of our students who received a

Learning or Class Award!

Harmony Week Awards

Happy Birthday...

Wishing all of our students a wonderful birthday!!

Friday, 22nd March  to Thursday, 4th April 2024

Parent Reminders...

Newsletter 

We publish 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.  tOur school Facebook page will be updated regulary with exciting events that have happened at school.

School Assembly

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

School Bell Times

Please note- Supervision of students begins at 8:30am and finishes at 3:30pm.  Please do not drop your child earlier than this and remember that after school care arrangements need to be made if your child cannot be picked up before 3:30pm.

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)
• Add an attendance note via Compass; 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.