St Francis Catholic School - Hughenden eNewsletter

From the Principal

Dear Parents, Carers and Community Members,

As we close out on week 6 we are looking down the barrell to a very busy last few weeks of school. Our calendar is filling up with NAPLAN, Parent Teacher Interviews and Holy Week Celebrations.

I am away attending the principals conference in Townsville from Monday to Wednesday next week and in my absence we will be welcoming Ms Karen Pearce to our school in an acting capacity! Karen has 22 years experience in the principal role, starting out in Winton and most recently at Marion in Townsville before retiring from a full time position. We look forward to working with Karen next week and throughout the year.

It was lovely to see parents at our first FACE meeting of the year on Tuesday with very productive conversations about our year ahead! You can find the meeting notes on COMPASS if you were unable to attend.

Whilst Midwest sport was cancelled in Julia Creek this week due to rain, we do have a new date to prepare for. The students will now travel for the three sports- Touch, Netball and Rugby League on Monday March 11. More communication about travel and supervision will be provided in the coming days!

Have a wonderful weekend,

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.

School Drop off:
As we navigate through our daily routines, we want to ensure that everyone is aware of an essential policy regarding drop-off times. We kindly remind all parents that classroom doors will not open until 8:00 AM each morning. We request that there are no early drop-offs before this time.

This policy has been put in place for the following reasons:

Staff Preparation: Our dedicated educators use this time to prepare their classrooms, ensuring everything is set up for a successful day of learning ahead.
Supervision: To guarantee the safety and security of all children, our staff members are ready to supervise and assist students promptly from 8:00 AM onwards.

We understand that mornings can be hectic, and schedules can sometimes be tight. However, adherence to this policy is crucial for the smooth operation of our facility and the safety of all children in our care.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation in ensuring a safe and structured start to each day for our children.

Road Safety:
As our students head home from school each day, it's crucial to reinforce the importance of road safety. With busy streets and various modes of transportation, it's essential that our children are equipped with the knowledge and habits to stay safe.

It has come to our attention that students need to ride on the roadside due to their being minimal access to footpaths in our streets (Mowbray & Flinders). We ask parents to please discuss with your children about riding on the road safely and where possible, in a single file line as to not take up the road. With heavy traffic during drop off and pick up we are concerned for our students safety as we have noticed an increase in children using the middle of the road to ride home. We will continue to work with our local council and police to ensure road safety is a key priority for our students and their well-being.

Student Of The Week

P/1 - Jahkeim Bounghi

2/3/4 - Danica Howie

5/6 - Rory McNamara

Please come along this Friday to hear about all the wonderful things 2/3/4 have been doing!

Small Talk with The School Captains- Bob Harriman & Adley Crozier

Hi this is Bob and Adley, we are here to tell you just what the St Francis students have been doing this week! This Wednesday Bob and Rory tried out Robotic Wednesday. It was a day where all the students that were in the library participated in the robotics / lego. It was designed so younger grades could get more of a brief look at how robotics work! Next week the boys will be trying out makey makey,which is when you get a fruit if your choice to make a musical instrument.

Palms Australia- Bishop Tim

Palms_Australia_Flyer.pdf

PALMS_AUSTRALIA_GLOBAL_MISSION_19FEB2024_1_.pdf

Prep/1 Happenings

We have been measuring Mass in Prep/1. We used the balancing scales to compare the weight of our plasticine creations! Prep/1 were tasked with making an animal of their choosing, once they were created we compared the weight of the different animals. It was great fun and a fantastic way to learn about Mass!

Miss Brown,

ebrown17@sfsh.catholic.edu.au

This week, 2/3/4 are showing you a variety of different activities! Morgan and Aki are showing us some awesome 3D shapes they made with playdough and toothpicks. Elias is showing us how to measure the perimeter of his desk. Bella and Sophie are showing us a 2D and 3D matching game on their Chromebook. Danica and Flynn are showing their ideas for their writer’s notebook. James is about to start a fantastic story on his Chromebook

Year 5/6 Happenings

This week, year 5/6 have been working hard on their English assessments. We have been exploring the picture book, My Place by Nadia Wheatley and Donna Rawlins. Students have been writing their own versions of My Place using the structure and sequence of the book. They also put their art skills to work and included a map and drawings of their place and pets! How wonderful do the students' maps of Hughenden as well as their writing look!

Miss Rowe,

growe@sfsh.catholic.edu.au

My New Gallery

This week we launched our Robotics Wednesday!

Our year 6 students Bob and Rory helped our younger students to build a working windmill and a racecar with our lego robotics. They used their skills in construction and coding that enabled the windmill to turn and light up. Robotics will be offered every Wednesday during lunch time using our large range of robotics and stem equipment.

Next week Bob and Rory will be helping to guide students through the Makey Makeys to make music with fruit!

Specialist Lessons- Miss Eriksen

In health this term we have been learning all about the different ways that we can be and keep healthy. In Prep/1 we explored our anytime and sometimes foods. We looked at the different foods that go into each of these categories and how we can fuel our bodies to be strong. Using pictures of different fruits and vegetables, the students created a picture. WE had lots of fun!

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 wonderful writing was by Bella Fryer and Charlie Price in Year 1. Great work!