St Francis Catholic School - Hughenden eNewsletter

From the Principal

Dear Families ,

Welcome back to Term 4! It’s been a busy start to the term, and that energy will continue throughout the coming weeks. We are looking forward to all that’s ahead.

This Friday, we celebrate our Patron Saint, St. Francis of Assisi. St. Francis was known for his deep love for all of God's creations, his humility, and his devotion to living a simple life. He dedicated himself to helping those in need and spreading peace. Here at St. Francis, we strive to follow in his footsteps by fostering a spirit of service, kindness, and respect for all life in our school community.

We warmly welcome everyone to join us for a liturgy and morning tea to celebrate on Friday at 8:30am. It’s a wonderful opportunity to come together and honor the legacy of St. Francis as a community.

We are also excited about our upcoming Flinders Mix & Mingle Cocktail Evening! If you’re available to assist with event setup, pack up, or on the night itself, please contact the office. Our dedicated team of parents have done a fantastic job organising this event, and we hope to see many of you there.

Wishing everyone a lovely long weekend!

Sharn Greenaway

Principal

School TV Topic of the Week-Raising Girls & Raising Boys

In this edition of SchoolTV - Raising Girls

Raising girls in today’s modern world can be a difficult path for parents and carers to navigate. These days, girls are transitioning to puberty a lot earlier than they used to and the physical, psychological and emotional changes they experience are challenging. As a result, by mid-adolescence, girls are twice as likely to develop mood disorders more so than boys.

Some parents and carers may feel uncertain about how best to support their daughter through the ups and downs of adolescence and how to keep the lines of communication open. With the rise of social media and technology, mental health difficulties in girls are increasing as often they are faced with online images that make it difficult to see themselves as acceptable. Ensuring a daughter’s opinions are heard and her views listened to, will go a long way towards making her feel loved and supported as she tries to establish her own identity.

In this edition of SchoolTV, adult carers will attain a clearer picture of what girls are wanting from their adult carers and how best to support them through adolescence.

We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this edition of SchoolTV and we always welcome your feedback. If you have any concerns about your child, please contact the school counsellor for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to the Raising Girls edition of SchoolTV
https://sfsh.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/raising-girls

In this edition of SchoolTV - Raising Boys

Many parents will attest to the fact that most boys are active, loud, rambunctious and prone to rough play, but this should not affect how a parent acts towards their son. Be careful not to pigeon-hole your son into sex-specific behaviours or gender roles. The male brain is distinctly different in its development. A boy’s physical maturity is often at odds with his mental and brain development.

Societal beliefs about how to raise boys can sometimes influence their adult carers. Although we are not determined by our biology, it is a factor. It is important to support boys in their natural tendencies and nurture their strengths and abilities. Teach them the skills they need for their future and to develop a healthy identity. It is important for boys to have a role model they can connect with and acknowledge who they are. One of the most important determinants for a boy’s development is how secure they feel growing up.

In this edition of SchoolTV, adult carers will gain a better understanding into some of the more complex issues relating to raising boys.

We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this edition of SchoolTV and we always welcome your feedback. If you have any concerns about your child, please contact the school counsellor for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to the Raising Boys edition of SchoolTV
https://sfsh.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/raising-boys

Assembly

No Assembly this week due to St Francis Day Celebrations!

Student Of The Week

P/1: Charlie Fryer

2/3/4: Ashin Alwin

5/6: Rory McNamara

2nd of October- Alex Gray

Prep/1 Happenings

Prep/1's Story Adventure Begins!

Prep/1 have begun an exciting journey of creativity and imagination as they write their very own storybook! Today, they took the first big step by designing the front cover for their storybook, which will be titled The Lost Princess. Each student poured their creativity into making their cover unique and colourful.

Next week, the adventure continues as we start writing our story. The students will not only bring their words to life but also illustrate each page, creating a book that's entirely their own. We can't wait to see the wonderful stories and illustrations that will unfold! Stay tuned for more updates on our storytelling journey!

Miss Brown,

P/1 Teacher

This week, 2/3/4 have been hard at work improving both our handwriting and typing skills! We are focusing on cursive writing using the Writing Time textbook, where students are learning how to form letters smoothly and neatly. Cursive writing helps develop fine motor skills and allows us to write quickly and efficiently.

We are also practising our typing skills with Typing Club, an engaging online tool that teaches us how to type accurately and with speed. By learning to type, we're preparing for the future where technology and writing come together. It's a fun way to challenge ourselves, and the students are making excellent progress!

Miss Allison,

Year 2/3/4 Teacher

This term in Science, Year 5/6 students have been exploring the states of matter, learning all about solids, liquids, and gases! They began by investigating what matter is made of and why it plays such an important role in our daily lives. In small groups, students took on the roles of atoms, acting out the different states of matter. They discovered how atoms behave in each state, tightly packed in solids, freely flowing in liquids, and bouncing around in gases. Students had fun putting their acting skills to the test through role play and charades.

Miss Rowe,

Year 5/6 Teacher

Specialist Lessons- Miss Eriksen

In Health this term, the students are exploring the concept of identity and what makes up our identity. The students in P/1 drew self portraits. Over the next few weeks we are going to add to our wall things that make up our identity. We have been discussing how everyone’s identity is different and we are all different and that’s what makes us all special.

Miss Eriksen,

Specialist Teacher/Inclusive Practices Teacher

School Captains

The day we have all been waiting for, the annual pet blessing day to celebrate St Francis Day! This Friday at St Francis most students will bring along their favourite pet to be blessed at the 2024 St Francis day liturgy. Some students unfortunately won’t be able to bring a pet to get blessed, but they can print out a photo of their animal or bring a stuffed toy that is needed to be blessed. St Francis day is all about caring for mother nature and things it has done for us over the years! St Francis became a Saint for his love of animals and how he preached many birds and animals!

Kind Regards,

Your Fellow School Captains Adley Crozier and Robert Harriman

Library News

We are preparing for our bookfair in Term 4! This years theme is Bookaneer!

Tuckshop Notices

We will no longer be serving Homebake treats in Tuckshop.
Tuckshop requires more helpers. If you can volunteer your time on a Friday from 9am-11:30am that would be greatly appreciated. The staff serve second break so parents are only required to cook & serve first break and then cook and package second break meals.