Term 1 Newsletter, 21st February 2025

Principal's Message

Welcome to Week 4 – How are you fairing so far?

Quite often I receive many positive comments about the standard of behaviour of St Frannie's kids, especially at events outside of school such as carnivals, excursions etc. Whilst it is reassuring to receive such comments, it should not come as any great surprise. We place high regard on regular check-ins with students on our expectations of behaviour, manners, and how to act in different contexts. I suppose you could call it “fence” or “boundary” maintenance. Children have an innate ability to detect a weak boundary and failure to maintain boundaries sends a wrong message, expectations fall, and strong culture diminishes.

There is an adage that school should be an extension of the home. One challenge for parents and schools is in this area of permissible behaviours and the establishment of appropriate support to ensure children’s potential can be developed and nurtured during these important formative years. “When must lights go out? When is homework to be done? Amount of screen time? When must you say please and thank you? What is the proper etiquette when entering a Church, theatre, friends’ house? Sportsmanship? And a host of other battlegrounds that can lead to the premature whitening of hair!

Some parents get exhausted by the warfare. Worn down by pester power and intimidated by their children’s growing physical strength and ability to have the last word, some parents capitulate. Others prefer to be their children’s best friend rather than their best parent. Kids need boundaries within which to operate. If the fences are weak and undefended, kids will break through. Repeatedly asking them not to lean on the fence is about as useless as playing the flute and expecting the rats to follow. It only happens in fairy tales. If a fence is weak as some parental and academic fences can be, many young people run the risk of crossing the boundaries of acceptable behaviour.

A weak fence tells a young person that this particular expectation is not thought very important by adults…I wonder why it's not worth defending…I’ll give it a little nudge.

I have often said that primary school is the training ground for life. Kids won’t know what permissible or acceptable behaviour is if they are not taught to know what the boundaries are and experience regular reminders and consequences if the fence gets lent-on or at times jumped! There of course is no expectation of perfection. School is the training ground for becoming decent human beings. There will be times of trial and error. Kids will make mistakes and overstep the boundaries but how we respond will determine the success of turning these times into learning opportunities.

If we take the trouble to build a strong fence and expectations that will withstand the odd bump or two, the boundaries become both known and respected. Young people generally admire strength. The teachers who are strong are the ones who are remembered with genuine fondness. Care needs to be taken not to confuse the setting of boundaries with oppressive restrictions. The strong teacher and firm parent need not be strangers to compassion and sensitivity.

One particular area I always struggle to understand is weak boundaries around the uniform code and acceptable haircuts. Parents have a perfect ally in the school rules and Mr. Red when it comes to ensuring the correct standard of uniform is worn or the most recent haircut fads is a cause for argument. School expectations and rules provide a clear boundary. Unfortunately, some parents may think…it's just a haircut or no big deal if they have different socks…why make a big deal about it? What this thinking fails to understand is that choosing to be a member of a community means that sometimes we have to accept things that we may not like, and that is a part of life. Most of us work out that we cannot just do what we want to do all the time.

Your ongoing effort in maintaining strong boundaries and supporting school expectations will greatly assist the ongoing success of the school community.

Welcome BBQ and PEN (Parent Engagement Network)

Thank you for your attendance at our Welcome BBQ and our First Parent Engagement Forum last week. The amount of people who were able to make it on the night shows the value, commitment and pride you have for our school community – thank you!

In the coming weeks, we will advertise topics and dates for term 2 – if you would be interested in a particular topic for discussion/more information or are just interested, please email Mr. Red – Brendan.redinger@twb.catholic.edu.au Topics of interest could include Cyber Safety, Zones of Regulation, Decodables and reading etc.

I am sure you will join me (and when you see them next) in welcoming our roles in the PEN for 2025.

Chair – Ms. Kylie Hay

Secretary – Mrs. Kate Patterson

Principal – Mr. Red

Co-ordinators for our Working Parties: -

-              Uniform Shop – Ms. Kylie Hay / Mrs. Ellen Bridge / Mrs. Emily Johnson

-              Tuck shop – Mrs. Nelia Moss (with the support of other parents)

-              Chip Van – Mrs. Angela Skillington

-              Bull Sales – Mrs. Kate Patterson

-              Show n Shine – Mrs. Jess Johnson

-             Bunnings BBQ-Ms. Kylie Hay

-             O'Donnells Pie Drive-Ms.Melissa Nolan

(if you are interested in assisting with future events, please let one of our amazing committee members know – we are always in need for helpers)

School Master Plan Survey, Homework Policy

Please allow yourself sometime to complete the Master Plan survey https://forms.office.com/r/3tBxR9mGqU and look at/provide feedback about the Homework Policy.

Cross Country Training – starting in week 6 – Wednesday 5 March

One particular fitness activity we have on offer for our students is cross country training on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday mornings at 8: 00 a.m . These sessions are not just for those interested in cross country running but a great way to improve fitness and train with your mates. In previous years, it has been great to see the increase in numbers in attendance. Spread the word as it would be great to see even more show up for a run on the oval on these mornings. A reminder that our annual cross-country carnival will be held on Friday 14 March on our oval.

Prep 2026 -

Please continue to spread the word and promote this wonderful school. If you can direct interested families to enrol via our website, I would be sincerely grateful.

School Fees – Term One

Families should have received their first school fee invoices for the year this week. Please double check your emails and if you have not received one, contact the office asap. We have several options for families to pay these fees. Please do not hesitate to contact the offices should have you any questions or need assistance. It is vital that all families meet their financial commitment to the school. Not only is regular payment of fees a condition of enrolment, but school fees are also a major source of income. Consequently, our ability to continue to provide the best possible staffing levels and student resources relies heavily on your timely payment of school fees and levies.

Why do school fees exist?

They exist because Catholic schools, only receive 74% (Federal 58.4%; State Gov 15.6%) of the total cost associated with per student funding compared to 96.8% (76.3% State Gov; 20.5% Fed Gov) which Ed. Qld schools receive. School fees and levies exist to bridge the government funding shortfall. As you can see from the above figures, Ed. Qld schools’ main source of funding is received from the State Government while the majority of funding for Catholic Schools is sourced from the Federal Government.

Where do school fees & levies go?

As mentioned before, the fees and levies you pay are a major source of income and are directed towards additional teacher and support staff wages, classroom resourcing, capital projects, IT upgrades, building & grounds maintenance, library and curriculum resourcing and of course general operating expenses such as insurance, rates, electricity etc.

Families also need to keep in mind that the school has always strived to keep fees and levies to an absolute minimum. School fee amounts are reviewed at the end of each year and any necessary increases are discussed at length. When you consider the resourcing levels and amount of free of charge opportunities available for students here at St Francis de Sales, the level of fees is extremely reasonable. Of course, we do understand that from time to time, families fall on financial hardship. Our fees and levies are not designed to be a burden on any family. All we ask is that you contact the office to make an appointment to come in and discuss alternative payment options or concessions.

Thank you for reading and your continued support.

Changes to Calendar Events:

The list of school events is located on the school’s webpage – https://sfdssclifton.schoolzineplus.com/calendar

This is a great way of keeping up to date with upcoming events. Emails, notifications and Facebook posts will also occur throughout the year to inform and remind you of upcoming events etc. Please see the next couple of events happening very soon: -

Week 4

21Feb –B&G Soccer – Clifton; CD – Netball – St Pat’s Allora; CD – RL 11/12 yrs – Clifton – 12pm

23 Feb – Family Sunday Mass – 9:30am

Week 5 – Family Week

24 Feb – AFL Southern Downs

25 Feb – SD Swimming – WIRAC

26 Feb –

27 Feb –

28 Feb – Meals on Wheels

Week 6

3 Mar – Basketball SD; Cricket Trials Stanthorpe; SLP and OT visit

4 Mar – Shrove Tuesday – gold coin donation for pancakes

5 Mar – Ash Wednesday Liturgy 9:00am DD Swimming – Gatton

6 Mar –

7 Mar – SD B&G Soccer – Warwick; SD Netball – Warwick; SD RL – Warwick ; Meals on Wheels

Week 7

10 Mar –School Photos; Cricket DD trials – Warwick

11 Mar – Cricket DD Trials – Warwick;

12 Mar – NAPLAN test window

13 Mar – NAPLAN test window

14 Mar – Cross Country, Meals on Wheels

Week 8

17 Mar –  St Patrick’s Day; NAPLAN Testing; Harmony Week begins

18 Mar – NAPLAN Testing

19 Mar – NAPLAN Testing

20 Mar – NAPLAN Testing;

21 Mar –Nobby Triathlon; Harmony Day

23 Mar - Family Sunday Mass – 9:30am

Week 9 - NAPLAN ONLINE; Parent Teacher Interviews

24 Mar – Swimming Titles – Chandler; NAPLAN Testing;

25 Mar – NAPLAN Testing; Swimming Titles Chandler 

26 Mar –

27 Mar –

28 Mar – Twmba Show Holiday

Week 10 – Newsletter Week Holy Week Celebrations; NAPLAN ONLINE; Parent Teacher Interviews

31 Mar – AFL DD

1 Apr – Netball DD – Twmba; Swimming State – Chandler

2 Apr – Cross Country – Central Downs

3 Apr – Holy Week Celebrations 

4 Apr – Meals on Wheels

Thanks for reading.

Regards,

Brendan

Middle Leader News

We are offering Parent-Teacher Interviews for families in Weeks 9 and 10 this term. All interviews will take place in your child’s classroom. The purpose of these meetings is to provide you with feedback as to your child’s current progress, achievements and challenges, and to begin discussing goals for your child’s continued progress for Semester 1. 

Parents who would like to take advantage of this opportunity are asked to use the Parent Portal. Registrations for this session will be open from 9:00am on the 14 March 2025 to 11:00am on the 21 March 2025. Consistent with past practice, we will be offering face to face parent interviews in School Terms 1 and 3, whilst formal Report Cards will be issued at the end of Terms 2 and 4. We look forward to seeing you. 

NAPLAN (National Assessment Program - Literacy & Numeracy) - Year 3 & 5 Students 

NAPLAN is a nationwide measure through which parents, teachers, schools, education authorities, governments and the broader community can determine whether or not young Australians are developing the literacy and numeracy skills that provide the critical foundation for other learning and for their productive and rewarding participation in the community. NAPLAN is a point-in-time assessment that allows parents to see how their child is progressing against national standards in literacy and numeracy, this year and over time. The tests provide schools, states and territories with information about how education approaches are working, the areas to be prioritised for improvement, and those schools requiring support in the teaching and learning of literacy and numeracy.  

NAPLAN is made up of tests in the four areas of:  

• Reading 
• Writing 
• Language conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) 
• Numeracy 

For more information parents can visit the NAPLAN website at www.nap.edu.au  

This site provides information as well as demonstrations for children and parents as to what can be expected in the tests. If you have any queries or concerns about your child’s participation, please contact Mr. Red or Mrs. Busiko. 

Mrs. Busiko

Prep/1/2 News

Congratulations to Our Clifton Show Winners!

We are thrilled to celebrate the achievements of our talented participants at the Clifton Show. Your hard work and dedication truly shone through, and we are proud to support our country show.

Thank You for Attending the Parent Information Session

We appreciate your presence at the recent parent information session. Your involvement is crucial, and we look forward to a successful year together.

Math Lessons Update

We have started learning about 2-dimensional shapes in our math lessons. The children will learn to name, recognise, describe, and classify these shapes. It's an exciting journey into the world of geometry!

Religion Unit Conclusion

We have concluded our unit on the charism of the school. Our school was founded by the Good Samaritan Sisters in 1917. The Sisters traveled from Sydney by train to establish schools in the area. We have become familiar with the Parable of the Good Samaritan and considered ways we can be Good Samaritans at home, school, and in the wider community.

English Lessons Update

The children have been studying fairytales in English and learning to write retells. It is important that retells include details from the text and are sequenced in order of beginning, middle, and end. This helps them understand the structure and key elements of storytelling.

Homework Reminder

Homework begins this week. Please remember that week five is designated as family week, and therefore, there will be no homework during that time.

Mrs. Skillington

Yr 3/4 News

This fortnight in English, we have read and viewed a range of persuasive text. Students discussed and shared their own opinions on topics and respectfully listened to the opinions and reasons of others. What do you think? Should all students Play Sport? Are Books better than Films? Do we spend too much time on Technology?

 We began the new (Years 3-6) Diocesan Approach to Spelling. Students embraced this approach engaging in a range of daily spelling activities including, cloze passages, word building fun, finding mis spelt words in sentences, spelling games, counting and identifying the number of digraphs in words and dictations.

In Math, Year 4 students have been using their understanding of place value to read, write and order numbers up to 100 000. Students have explained and used the properties of odd and even numbers and practised their number facts and times tables through several team games and timed activities. Solving subtraction algorithms has been a focus as students continue to persist and strive to achieve their first set goal in math.

Year 3 students have worked on recognising, ordering and representing numbers to 10 000. They have used place value charts to demonstrate how a number changes when counting on and back by ones, tens and hundreds from a given number. Students discovered a link between addition and subtraction to create fact families. Learning the three times tables is the current Year 3 math goal. Students have learnt to skip count by threes and are working on demonstrating proficiency with multiplication facts for 3.

In Religious Education, students learnt how the Ten Commandments came to be. Students learnt that The Ten Commandments are special rules that God gave to help people live good and happy lives. The Ten Commandments teach us to be kind, honest and respectful. By following these rules, we can create a loving and peaceful community.

Mrs. Malbon

Yr 5/6 News

Welcome to Week 4! So far, we have cemented our understanding of the Benedictine Values and these are now on display in our room. It was very interesting to break these apart, by linking them to our prior understanding of the Fruits of the Spirit. We saw that they can be quite similar in many ways.  

We have now begun our HASS unit by developing an understanding colonial Australia in the 1800s, including the expansion of the British colonies and why they developed. Students have been using a range of resources to understand chronological sequencing of events while analysing sources, using historical terms and recognising cause and effect.  

We are nearly finished our first narratives. In class, we have spent a lot of time breaking open stories and what makes a good one! We have studied sizzling starts, plot structure and how to build tension. Next week, we will wrap up our work on narratives.  

Mrs. Busiko

P.E with Mr. Red

PE with Mr. Red

We continued our tennis skills by working on hitting the ball and landing it in specific areas of the court. We also worked on serving with the upper students. Cross country practice has also begun by working on familiarisation of the track, running styles and having an efficient breathing recovery technique. Don’t forget the Cross-Country Event on Friday March 14.

Sporting Trials – please continue to check calendar dates, with your child and with Mr. Red if you have any questions in regard to sport at St Francis de Sales.