Term 3 Newsletter 31 August 2022
PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGES
WALKING ADVERTISEMENTS
As a school, we do what we can in getting the ‘good word’ out about what we do from day to day. Social media platforms, local publications and signage are some of the ways that we try to achieve this. Yet remarkably, for all the resources invested in this worthwhile endeavour, this type of advertising is not the most effective.
When we conduct our enrolment processes, we ask our families how they came to hear about us. Generally, they tell us it’s you—our parents. Their reasoning for choosing St Francis is mostly to do with the fact that they have spoken to a member of our community that has told them about their good experiences. You play the main part in building good experiences with your school. Thank you for:
→ Seeing us when you’ve got a concern— Good experiences aren’t always about the ’warm and fuzzies’. Good experiences can be about how the school responded to a concern of yours regarding your child’s progress.
→ Being engaged in your child’s learning— When you involve yourself by simply asking; “How is my child going?”; you help create relationships that ensure the progress of your child;
→ Supporting a ‘solutions focused’ way of thinking— any problem involves all parties working together towards a solution. When we support each other, great things can be achieved for your children.
As a part of our community, you are a ‘walking advertisement’. On behalf of our school community, I thank you for your ongoing support of your children and, in turn, our school.
Data Wall – Putting Faces on the Data
One effective strategy for school improvement is the use of a Data Wall, which visually represent student progress and allows staff to monitor change that occurs over time. Data Walls are a visual display of student data that create an opportunity for staff discussion. Data Walls promote the shared understanding and collective agreement of what our data says, what interventions have been put in place and the level of impact.
At St Francis, our moral imperative is to help each student to achieve their best. By having the Data Wall up and visible, “you can’t close the lid of the laptop and turn it off, the student data ‘is in your face.” Collegial support allows us to achieve this success (collective efficacy).
“So, whilst I think you can get some great data on laptops and create learner profiles and all that sort of stuff, you need the psychological and cognitive and emotional push of that face staring at you, saying you need to do the best by me.” Gabrielle Doyle, Director of Teaching and Learning at Catholic Education Western Australia.
50 years as a priest – Congratulations Father Rod MacGinley
On the weekend, members of his family, friends, the Clifton and wider communities had the opportunity to help celebrate Father Rod’s golden jubilee. This is a significant milestone for Father Rod and the many, many lives he has had an impact on. Father Rod’s infectious personality and his ability to tell a good yarn (much like Jesus), has made him an important part of so many lives. On behalf of the school and wider community, I would like to thank Father Rod for all the work and effort his has done for our school and community. We wish all the very best and we hope that the future can hold many more successes. A lovely quote which reminds me of Father Rod… “A smile is the light in your window that tells others that there is a caring, sharing person inside.” Denis Waitley
Thanks for reading,
Brendan
CURRICULUM COORDINATOR
CURRICULUM COORDINATOR
It has been a hub of activity at St Francis for the teachers and the students in the last two weeks! The students in each grade have all written a story on a given topic, then the teachers assessed their writing against our Writing Monitoring Tool. We have then used this information to demonstrate how their writing is progressing, and then, we can use this information to develop further writing lessons.
What has been the writing focus in the classrooms this week?
In our youngest class, the Prep/1 class has been learning all about adjectives. They have been busy writing a story about amazing dads! The Year 2/3 students have been describing the Grand High Witch from the Roald Dahl book, ‘Witches’. The Year 4/5/6 class has been writing historical narratives. This links directly to their HASS unit about Gold.
We can’t wait for you to come along and talk with the teachers about your child/ren’s learning this term. Please remember to book the parent-teacher interviews through Sentral. If you are needing assistance, please reach out so we can help you to book in.
PREP/YEAR 1
Prep/Year 1
This fortnight, Prep/1 have been busy preparing for the Father’s Day Liturgy and creating a small gift to give their dads on Father’s Day. Using the theme, Our Dads, Our Heroes Prep/1 were asked the question ‘How is your dad a hero to you?’ Pictured below, are the published versions of some students writing.
In Religion, students learnt how God worked through people in the Old Testament to protect and save the Jewish people. Students were introduced to the story of Moses and how Moses grew up in Egypt and received a mission from God – to free all the slaved Israelites who lived in the country.
In Mathematics, Prep students investigated the combinations to 10 and discovered the relationship between addition and subtraction. Year 1 students solved simple addition and subtraction problems. They reviewed the strategies of counting on, combinations to ten, doubles and adding 10; and the bridge through ten strategy to add and subtract numbers.
YEAR 2/3
Year 2/3
We are nearing the end of the Roald Dahl text- The Witches. Reading this book together brings so much joy. Mr. Red often quietly shuts the classroom door during reading as the joy and delight spills into the hallway. The children have written character descriptions. We have focussed on writing four different sentence types to build a paragraph. Our four sentence types are red, white and blue, adverb start, simple and compound. See if you can spot them in the published work below.
The Grand High WITCH
Baylee Cole
The Grand High Witch has no hair, has to wear a wig glove to hide her sharp nails. She has no toes and wears a black hat. She is scary and mean. Curiously the witch has sharp teeth.
The Grand High Witch has long nails so she can scratch her head. She has a curvy neck, and she has a black hat. Surprisingly, witches don’t like children.
The Grand High Witch is very smelly, she is very mean. The Grand High Witch is horrible to kids. The Grand High Witch is very disrespectful because she doesn’t brush her teeth. The Grand High Witch is very ugly.
The Grand High Witch
Daniel Chalmers
The Grand High Witch's body has wig rashes, bald head, and no toes. The Grand High Witch is very evil and also she is very ugly. She is evil and clever. Obviously, she is the leader of all witches.
The Grand High Witch looks like a normal lady but in reality, she is a witch. She is smelly, ugly, and tiny. Unusually, witches are clever in disguises. She is smelly.
She is evil and gross. The Grand High Witch is very evil. Strangely, witches do very ordinary things. The Grand High Witch is evil, clever, and rrrrude.
The Grand High Witch
Matilda
The Grand High Witch is nasty, horrid, nose. She has blue spit, square feet and is mean. The Grand High Witch’s head is as bald as a boiled egg and her mouth goes up to her nose. Her teeth are sharp. Sneakily, she wants to kill the children in the world.
The Grand High Witch’s mouth goes up to her nose so she has trouble saying W and R. The Grand High Witch’s face is grey, pink, red and white. She plans to turn all children into mice. The Grand High Witch’s heart is crushed so she is mean.
Curiously, the Grand High Witch is the smallest witch in the meeting. In the end Boy and Bruno gets turned into mice.
Year 4/5/6 News
Year 4/5/6
During Religion we have begun looking at the question, “How did Jesus' messages impact His follower’s lives?” We have been exploring relationships in the Bible and looking at how Jesus communicated his message with his followers. The students had many conversations about how society has changed. They had a bit of trouble understanding that messaging hasn’t always been instantaneous! It would be wonderful to continue this part of the conversation with your children at home. When you were younger, how did you communicate with your friends?
In the 4/5/6 room, we have been demonstrating a growth mindset during our learning. This week, while completing a narrative, the students were given feedback on their writing. The students worked hard today to improve their original story by adding in adverbial phrases and adverb starts. We learnt when to include a comma to separate the adverbial clause and the independent clause. The students were then asked to look at their writing and make changes to enhance their work. It was fabulous to see all students demonstrating a growth mindset and striving to do their best.
Last week, during Mathematics we completed our learning on fractions, decimals and percentages. This has led to some interesting investigations on shopping and calculating change and discounts. Our class has been calculating amounts from our menu! We went shopping at a burger shop and calculated change.
SPORT
PE News
Congratulations to Mick Willett for his outstanding effort in the recent Darling Downs Trails last week. Mick performed admirably placing 15th in his 800m event, throwing a PB in Shot Put, and coming 5th in his heat for the 100m. Way to go Mick and we can’t wait to see you go one better next year.
All the best to the students for their upcoming ball games carnival on Friday 9th September. This event will be hosted at the Clifton Show Grounds and will begin at 8:45am and conclude at 2:15pm. The day will include a variety of different sports where fun and participation will be had by all.
P & F UNIFORM SHOP
Uniform Shop Co-Ordinator: Kylie Hay
Contact Details: kurlz@live.com.au or 0487 582 107
Uniform Shop Days: MOST Thursdays & Fridays
If you would like uniforms, please fill in the updated Invoice Sheet and email or text Kylie to either arrange a time to meet or for the order to be sent home with your child. If you have an old invoice copy, please bin it and replace with our updated one. This can be found on the Facebook Page or request one from me directly.
UNIFORM SHOP NEWS
- We now have EFTPOS available in the Uniform Shop at the time of collection
- We have some good quality second hand winter uniforms and also summer uniforms available for $5 per item if you’re looking for an extra jumper, shirt, shorts etc. Please note that only limited sizes and items are available but you are welcome to request second hand if available.
- We are no longer stocking the following items however we still have limited stock available for a discounted price if you would still like to purchase them.
- Green Fleece Vest $10
- Sizes 4,6,8,12 & 14 available
- Long Sleeve Boys Polo Shirts $15
- Sizes 4,10,12,14 & Small available
- Girls Green Long Formal Pants $10
- All sizes except 10 available
- Girls Green Long Sports Pants $15
- Sizes 4,6,8,10 & 16 available
- Green Fleece Vest $10
If you urgently require uniforms on a day other than Thursday or Friday, please let me know and I can arrange this with the staff at St Francis De Sales. Please note I do work and will get back to as soon as I possibly can.
STUDENT PROTECTION CONTACTS
Feeling Safe- All students have a right to feel safe and be safe.
If you are concerned about any form of abuse that is immediate, you should call 000. A significant risk or harm to a student, whether or not you have formed this belief on reasonable ground, should immediately be raised with one of our Student Protection Contacts.
ADMINISTRATION
School Fees:
We do recommend the setting-up of a direct debit facility to pay regular amounts into the school account. This alleviates overdue bills.
SCHOOL Bank Details
BSB: 064786
A/C: 100023789
Reminder: All P&F payments & Uniform payments are paid to a different bank account NOT the school account.
P&F Bank Details
BSB: 084610
A/C: 508684159