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Term 2 Newsletter 24th May, 2024

Principal's Message

WAY TO GO ST FRANCIS…

I really do need to give our St Francis kids a big rap. Throughout this year and especially this week, I have observed some extra-ordinary behaviour from students across all the grades. Especially when you consider last week and the unsavoury weather, also with the principal being away, children can tend to test the boundaries a little more frequently than normal. Our students are certainly setting the tone for the school and our future students.

I am always somewhat hesitant in delivering too much praise for great behaviour, reasons being that we should always expect high standards of respectful behaviour at all times. In other words, it shouldn’t be something that kids do just to get rewarded. Not only should students know what is expected but more importantly understand the benefits of contributing and belonging to a positive school culture. The other reason is that I’m conscious of Murphy’s Law!!

We are highly aware of the insidious nature of bullying and recent nationwide initiatives to rid this cowardly behaviour which are well worth government funding. I’m pretty sure that there wouldn’t be anyone who disagrees with me – especially those among us who have been on the receiving end over the years. Throughout each term, the staff and I spend time talking to students about the issue... So, here at St Francis de Sales, we take this issue very seriously. “Is there bullying at this school?” is a common question raised at enrolment interviews. I can’t promise any parent that there won’t be a case of bullying here at St Francis de Sales, but what I can promise is that we will never ignore bullying that is reported to us and that as a strong and supportive community we will do all we can to ensure that every student at the school will feel safe.

“Positive Behaviour” and “No Bullying” policies exist and are regularly reviewed. Like all behaviours, I believe they should all be dealt with on an individual basis. From my experience here we have not experienced any severe cases of bullying. More commonly we experience name-calling and teasing that can escalate as parties attempt to have the last word in an argument. Rumours and gossip at times have caused hurt, and this is just not the domain of students. Adults too have been guilty of not checking out the facts. People, young or old, love a story. Whether or not the facts are true often does not matter as much as sharing the story with whoever will listen. This can and does cause people great harm. All of us have a responsibility not to participate in tearing down someone else’s reputation.

Bullying can be insidious and is always destructive. Too often it goes unreported. Far too often, teachers only hear of it after a long period of time has passed and as a result, it is exceedingly difficult to resolve the issue. Most disagreements, perceived relationship issues etc. can be resolved simply if those who can make a difference are informed. It is always better to deal with issues before they go too far. Please encourage your children not to be reluctant to share their concerns.

As I mentioned in newsletter articles, we urge students in the first instance to be resilient. That is, some stuff you just learn to put up with – life and people are not always fair, if however, a pattern develops, and the next skill they need is to be assertive. To learn to say, calmly and directly, “Stop I don’t like that, give it a break!” If then, the perpetrators continue, the inappropriate behaviour needs to be reported.

Everyone needs to expect respect. This is a core element of our beliefs here at St Francis de Sales and is central to our school culture. All of us have a part to play, especially those who witness people being treated unjustly. Everyday we say… “try and be the best version of yourself everyday and think of those people who are less fortunate than us.” This will lead to encouraging kids to be courageous and call out inappropriate or poor behaviour, especially behaviours that are directed at those who can’t stand up for themselves.

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 interviews are conducted, we ask our families how they came to hear about us. 95% of the time they tell us it’s you—our parents. Their reasoning for choosing St Francis de Sales School 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.

ATHLETICS CARNIVAL

Our annual athletics carnival will look slightly different this year with Day 1 (Wednesday 12 June) being held at St Francis de Sales and Day 2 (Friday 14 June) being held at St Patrick’s, Allora.

Day 1 (Prep to Year 6) is on Wednesday 12 June and Day 2 will be on Friday 14 June.

Day 1 will consist of 9yrs – 12yrs running a 200m and 800m event, while our 5yrs – 8yrs will be running a 200m event.

Day 2 will consist of sprint races for all students including relays, field events for 9yrs to 12yrs (not high jump as it will be run here at St Franics on Monday 10 June (9-12yrs Boys and Girls). There will also be ball games for the students as well.

A more detailed information letter will go out next week which will have further explanations of what is happening on these two days.

SCHOOL FEES

Thank you to all the families who maintain a regular financial commitment to the school. Your ongoing support by paying school fees goes a long way to assist the school to meet its financial responsibilities and continuously provide contemporary resources for the students. Families who have fallen behind in payments will be contacted by the school over the next fortnight. To avoid any unnecessary embarrassment, please take the necessary steps to bring yourself up to date with school fees before the amount owed accumulates to an unacceptable level.

PREP AND ENROLMENTS FOR 2025

Please continue to promote and talk about our beautiful school within the community. Word of mouth is still the number one way to advertise what we offer here. We are currently taking enrolments for Prep for 2025. If you know of any families with Prep aged children, please encourage them to make contact with Jen in the front office or visit our website https://www.clifton.catholic.edu.au/

EVENTS COMING UP

Week 7

Sun 26 May – Family Sunday Mass – 9:30am – Pentecost

Fri 31 May – Reconciliation Week Liturgy

Week 8

Wed 5 June – Dress up State of Origin Colours

Fri 7 June – Gala Sports Day in Allora – Under 8s Day at Clifton State School

Week 9

Mon 10 June – High Jump Trials at St Francis – 9-12 years Boys and Girls

Wed 12 June - 800/200m events at St Francis – just our school

Thurs 13 June – Be a preppie for a morning (Prep 2025 interested students)

Fri 14 June – Athletics Carnival combined with St Francis and St Patrick’s at St Patrick’s Allora

Week 10

Fri 21 June – NAIDOC Celebrations and Semester One Report Cards emailed out to families.

Thanks for reading…

Regards,

Mr Red

Middle Leader

We are a team. This week, I would like to give a shout out to the team. At St Francis, we are so blessed to know your children. The word ‘we’ is used, as in our classrooms, as you know, we have many staff who work together in the pursuit of excellence. This week, as testing continues, I have had the opportunity to reflect on our team. After completing Year 4/5/6 Mathematics tests, the team – Mr Red, Mrs Malbon and Mrs Groombridge have all looked at the testing, and we, as a team, have brainstormed, pondered and planned how we can improve student results. We are so fortunate to have Mrs Groombridge and Mrs Malbon assisting in this space, and in the upper classes, we have a system in place to support each child with their learning. How special is that?

I have also spoken to Mrs Skillington this week about her class and their learning. Well done to P1/2/3 on their fantastic reading results! The team – Mrs Skillington, Mrs Groombridge and Mrs Malbon have all had conversations too around supporting the learning of students.

Mrs Malbon said this week, “The students are not just one teacher’s students. They ‘belong’ to all of us.”

Mrs Busiko

Prep/1/2/3 News

We are learning addition strategies. The Year 2/ 3 students are motivated by the success of learning algorithms. We are challenged by the trading and borrowing for subtraction. We will continue to practise. Prep and Year One are working on doubles, near doubles, friends of ten, counting on and using our every popular finger calculator.

We've started our science unit on living and non- living things. This is a popular topic with students offering much prior knowledge. We have the vet clinic set up taking new patients on Fridays. We are writing persuasive letters and procedures on how to care for our pets later in the term.

Congratulations to all students on their recent reading assessments. We are super proud of your growth and improvement.

Mrs Skillington

Yr 5/6 News

This fortnight, the students have been studying the fruits of the spirit and how people can demonstrate these fruits in their everyday life. We have also studied confirmation, and learn about the words, symbols and actions used during confirmation.

In English, we have been learning about themes in writing, and we have identified the types of writing that authors use. We are enjoying the novel, “Refuge”, a Jackie French book which has the theme of the plight of the refuge, hope, love and overcoming adversity. We have studied the types of writing used in the book and learnt many new words during vocabulary lessons with this text.

During Mathematics, we have studied the concepts of area, 2D shapes and angles. The Year 4 students have enjoyed the hands-on opportunities to count in rows when calculating area by using the MAB blocks, while the Year 5 students have developed their understanding of using a formula! Year 6 has been busy learning about percentages, area and fractions. Please look to Seesaw to see your child’s Mathematics assessments this weekend.

Mrs Busiko

Sport News

PE with Mr Red

Gala Day practise and ball games skills have been our focus for the last couple of weeks. Due to the recent weather and heavy dew in the morning, before school athletics practise has been cancelled. Good luck to our Gala Day representatives for this Friday. We will culminate these activities with our athletics carnival in week 9 (please see information above).

Yours in sport,

Mr Red and Mrs Malbon