St Francis Catholic School - Hughenden eNewsletter

From the Principal

Dear Parents, Carers and Community Members,

Earlier this week I attended the Enhancing Catholic Identity Professional Development Days in Townsville. What an insightful 2 days it was with Teresa Brown and Robyn Horner from Australian Catholic University. I look forward to continuing to develop our identity and faith at St Francis using my learnings from these 2 days!

This week we have embarked on our Lenten Journey. With Lent came Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday and the Launch of Project Compassion for 2024. Project Compassion is Caritas Australia’s main annual fundraising campaign. It mobilises Australians to raise much-needed funds to help alleviate poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity in the most vulnerable and marginalised communities in the world. Held during Lent, the six-week period before Easter, Catholic schools, Parishes, and the wider Australian public participate in a diverse range of fundraising activities and events to support Caritas Australia’s programs both overseas and here with our First Australian partners. Project Compassion is an extraordinary demonstration of the faith, empathy and generosity of our supporters. It is the lifeblood of Caritas Australia; without it, we could not do the vital work that we do. The theme of Project Compassion is For All Future Generations. This year, we focus on the stories of three remarkable, resilient people from the Philippines, Samoa and Malawi. Each of these stories demonstrates the powerful impact that each one of us can have For All Future Generations. Together, we can create lasting change for people living in some of the most vulnerable and low-income regions in the world.

View these stories here: https://fundraise.projectcompassion.org.au/stories

We also celebrated Lent with a lovely Ash Wednesday Liturgy led by Miss Eriksen, what a wonderful morning it was. As we enter the solemn and transformative season of Lent, we are reminded of the importance of reflection, repentance, and renewal in our lives. Lent offers us a unique opportunity to deepen our relationship with God and grow in faith as a community.

As we embark on this sacred season of Lent, let us walk together as a community, supporting and encouraging one another along the way. May our Lenten observance be a source of spiritual growth and transformation, leading us closer to the heart of God.

Blessings to you and your families during this Lenten season.

Mrs Sharn Greenaway

Principal

Additional Pupil Free Day 2024

Dear Parents and Carers,

Townsville Catholic Education Office has approved an additional professional development day in 2024. The date will be Friday 26th April, 2024 and will be a pupil free day. This day follows on from the ANZAC day public holiday on Thursday 25th April. The reason for granting this additional professional development day is to provide the time and opportunity for all teachers to prepare for the implementation of V9.0 of the Australian Curriculum at the commencement of 2025. This planning day will focus on supporting teachers to have a deep understanding of the changes to content and assessment from the current Australian Curriculum to the newly revised curriculum. There is much planning already occurring in all schools to ensure all teachers are well placed to provide rich learning experiences for their students. This additional professional development day (pupil free day) will only occur in 2024.

Student Of The Week

P/1 - Bonnie Freier

2/3/4 - Hayley McClymont

5/6 - Rhianna Angus

School Captains Report- Adley Crozier

Hi my name is Adley Crozier, and I am so excited to be elected as school captain of St Francis for 2024. Anybody that knows me, knows that I love animals. We can learn so much from animals. I think the greatest lesson that they teach us is being kind and how they respond to kindness. This is a lesson we can use in everyday life. Firstly, let's always try to be kind to our teachers. They are more than just teachers. If we are kind to them we make their day so much better and so much easier, And in turn their kindness helps us grow. Secondly, be kind and helpful to your parents. It's a big job looking after children and little things like making your bed, setting the table and eating the food they make for you, are just a few ways to show kindness to your mum and dad. Being kind is not hard. It's always easier to smile and be a good person than to not be one. I think if we all continue with this in mind we will achieve great things together. As always I am here to serve the student body. I look forward to any suggestions and any other ideas or problems you might want to come see me about. Till next time - please choose kindness!

Kind Regards,

Adley Crozier

School Captains Report- Bob Harriman

Hi my name is Robert Harriman, but most of you call me Bob.

I am one of the 2024 School Captains . I grew up in Muttaburra and Hughenden. We now live in Hughenden where my family runs the local vet clinic which services many rural towns across Queensland. My family also runs both cattle and horse studs.

Saint Francis School is an enjoyable, friendly school. One of my biggest passions is Animals, I have recently started my own pet sitting business. As a School Captain my goal for 2024 is to ensure everyone feels included, shows kindness and are respectful. At St Francis we are all friends.

Until Next Time,

Bob Harriman - School Captain

Prep/1 Happenings

Look at Prep/1 working through our fun Gross Motor Course! Gross motor skills assist in refining our balance, strength, muscle endurance and coordination. By nurturing these skills we

Promote long-lasting health
Encourage physical literacy
Boost their confidence and self-esteem
Provide an avenue for energy release
Relieve their stress and frustration
Promote brain development
Assist school readiness
Boost their ability to assess risk.

Miss Brown,

ebrown17@sfsh.catholic.edu.au

Persuasive writing has filled our 2/3/4 English books this week! We have been discussing the particular structure of persuasive paragraphs, using old NAPLAN test papers to delve into some interesting topics. This week, 2/3/4 wrote a persuasive piece to convince Miss Allison to give someone amazing the Hero Award. Each student chose someone amazing and gave reasons as to why they deserved the Hero Award.

Year 5/6 Happenings

This week in Year 5/6 our focus has been on our narrative writing! We have been practising our writing skills whilst looking at simple, compound and complex sentences. Using a specific image to prompt our imagination, we transferred our big ideas from paper to our laptops. The students have come up with incredible stories by using the stimulus image and have shown a spark of imagination. We have a talented bunch of writers within our classroom!

Miss Rowe,

growe@sfsh.catholic.edu.au

Library News

Library Lunch time Fun!

The library is open Monday ,Wednesday and Friday lunch times

The students get to choose a variety of different activities including

Robotics
Craft
Board Games
Sea Animals
Lego
I pads
Puzzles
Puppets
Reading Books

This gives students the opportunity to have some quiet time or be creative with our huge range of activities that are available during lunch time play.

It's also a wonderful time to play, construct and build with our friends.

The under the sea coral reef is a favourite amongst our younger students the students build using material ,animals and coral.

Stay tuned for more library Fun!

Miss Margy

Specialist Lessons- Miss Eriksen

In Prep/1 for Art this week we went on a nature walk of the school. We collected lots of different leaves and flowers. The students used all of the things we collected to make a picture by rubbing oil pastels over the top

Welcome to 2024! We have lots happening through the year including: our aged care pen pals, kindy visits, fundraising campaigns for various charities, weekly breakfast club and a few extra activities. Once again our weekly breakfast club had a fantastic crowd this morning. Thank you to our wonderful local businesses for their donations, we couldn’t continue without your support.

Throughout last year we held many fundraising projects for our chosen charity, Ronald McDonald House. With the generous support of our students, families and community members we were able to raise $452.80. This is a great effort. Thank you all for your support.

Wonderful Writing at St Francis

At St Francis this year we are continuing to participate in the writing project. We have seen some great progress within our students' writing. To celebrate all of the writing we are doing and the progress we are making, each week we are going to publish a writing piece of the week.

This week's writing piece was written by Hayley McClymont in Year 3:

For Sale:

Don’t forget we have school scrunchies available in the office to purchase. They are $3 each. Funds raised will go towards student resources.

Reminders & Notices

Uniform Reminder:

Formal Academic - Monday, Tuesday, Thursday

Sports - Wednesday & Friday

Senior Shirts (Yr 6 Only) - Wednesday & Friday

Important Information:

As part of our ongoing efforts to support families, we wish to provide you with information regarding the Non-State Schools Transport Assistance Scheme (NSSTAS), an initiative funded by the government and managed by Queensland Catholic Education Commission.

About:

What is it: The Students with Disability program helps reduce transportation costs for families of those students whose disability necessitates transport assistance to and from non-state schools.
Application Process: We encourage you to visit https://www.schooltransport.com.au/ for a straightforward online application.
When to apply:

Semester 1 Travel: Please apply in May 2024.
Semester 2 Travel: Application opens in October 2024.

What’s New in 2024:

Following the discontinuation of the Education Adjustment Program (EAP), the eligibility criteria has been updated.

Revised Eligibility Guidelines:

NCCD Requirement:

The student must be recognised in the most recent NCCD submission as requiring supplementary, substantial, or extensive adjustments due to a disability. OR
If the student is in Prep or a new student, the student must have a diagnosed disability and the school must confirm by the end of Term 1 that the provided adjustments align with the descriptors of supplementary, substantial or extensive in the NCCD guidelines.

Individual Education Plan:

An Individual Education Plan or equivalent document must highlight transport needs unique to the student’s disability, that are demonstrably different to those of their same age peers.

Travel Capability Rating (TCR):

The student must have a TCR of C, D, E, or F as per the Student Travel Capability Rating Scale.

Or meet Exceptional Circumstances eligibility:

Additional provisions are in place for those meeting specific exceptional criteria.

We recognise the complexities surrounding these changes and wish to assure you of our support throughout this process. Our goal remains to facilitate a seamless and hassle-free travel experience for your child and family.

Should you have any questions or require further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us