St Francis Catholic School - Hughenden eNewsletter

From the Principal

Welcome back to Term 2!

It’s been a busy and joyful start to the term with Cross Country, ANZAC Day commemorations, Parent-Teacher Interviews, and a Pupil Free Day on the horizon.

Our Cross Country was a wonderful morning out at the Lake. It was heartwarming to see all students giving it their absolute best, running with determination and smiles. The morning finished with a well-deserved sausage sizzle and lots of cheering from our community—thank you to everyone who came along to support the event.

Our ANZAC Day memorial was a particularly moving occasion. Our students represented the school with pride, both in the march and during the service. A special mention to our students, who sang with such heartfelt emotion—it’s always a highlight for me and a beautiful way for our school to honour those who served.

This Friday, we have a Diocesan-wide Pupil Free Day. All schools in the Townsville Diocese will engage in professional development focused on the new Version 9 of the Australian Curriculum. This updated curriculum ensures learning is aligned with the most current educational research and practices. It streamlines content, provides clearer achievement standards, and places a strong focus on essential knowledge and skills—making learning more relevant and accessible for students today.

Next week, I will be attending the Principal’s Conference on Magnetic Island from Tuesday to Friday. This year’s gathering is a Spiritus Retreat led by Archbishop Christopher Prowse, offering a unique opportunity for principals and ministry leaders to deepen their faith and focus on evangelisation in today’s world. I look forward to engaging in this rich experience, sharing insights with other leaders, and continuing to strengthen our school’s Catholic identity and mission.

Lastly, this weekend marks a special celebration for our local community—the Festival of Outback Skies! I hope many of you can take advantage of the long weekend to enjoy the festivities with family and friends.

Have a wonderful week and I look forward to seeing you all in Week 4!

Sharn Greenaway,

Principal

School TV Topic of the Week- Mindfulness

In this edition of SchoolTV - Mindfulness

Over the last decade, mindfulness has been slowly rising in popularity with many individuals practising it on a regular basis. Evidence based research has found that there are many benefits to mindfulness which has prompted schools across the nation to implement this practice into their daily routines.

Mindfulness can be described as attention training for your brain, enabling you to focus on something without judgement and to stimulate curiosity. Mindfulness can be practised in a number of ways and is something that can be done by everyone - no matter what your age! It has been practised by many cultures around the world, but it is not exclusively affiliated to any particular philosophy or religion.

Mindfulness helps improve memory, engagement and performance. Its positive effect on the brain can improve immunity, mental wellbeing, learning ability, emotional health and even, time management. It is especially important in this era of information overload as our attention is constantly being pulled in many directions making us more distracted.

In this edition of SchoolTV, parents can learn the best way to introduce this mindfulness to their children, implementing into their daily lives to have an overall positive impact on family relationships.

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 Mindfulness edition of SchoolTV
https://sfsh.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/mindfulness

Student Of The Week

Week 2

P/1: Elijah

2/3: Ashin

4/5/6: Shaira

🎉 Happy Birthday Kalyn, Charlie F & Miss Rowe! 🎉

Wishing you all a wonderful day filled with love, laughter, and happiness! 🎂🎈 May this year bring you lots of joy and special moments. Enjoy your celebrations! 🥳💐

Prep/1 Happenings

🌺 ANZAC Day in Prep/1

Our Prep/1 class explored the meaning of ANZAC Day through stories, discussions, and hands-on activities. We began by reading the beautiful book ANZAC Biscuits by Phil Cummings, which helped us reflect on the importance of remembrance and family.

After the story, our little learners got creative—drawing and writing about their favourite parts of the book. Their responses were heartfelt and thoughtful 💬🖍️

To bring the learning to life (and add a little sweetness to our day!), we also made our very own ANZAC biscuits during Maths! Measuring, mixing, and munching—what a delicious way to explore measurement and capacity! 🧁📏

Lest we forget ❤️

Miss Brown,

P/1 Teacher

Year 2/3 Happenings

We have had a great start to Term 2 in 2/3! In HASS, we’ve been exploring the importance of rules—not just in our classrooms, but in the wider world. One fun activity involved playing a game where Miss Allison kept changing the rules—students had to try playing with one foot, one hand, sitting down or even with their eyes closed! Afterwards, we reflected on how these changes made the game easier or harder, and how it felt when rules were unclear or unfair.

In Maths, our focus has been on learning to read analogue clocks. Year 2 students have been working hard to tell the time to the hour, half-hour and quarter-hour, while Year 3 students have been extending their skills to reading time to the minute. Everyone has enjoyed using the interactive clock tool on their Chromebooks to explore different times in a fun and engaging way.

It’s been a great week of learning, thinking and teamwork!

Miss Allison,

Year 2/3 Teacher

Year 4/5/6 Happenings

We’ve had a fantastic start to Term 2 in Year 4/5/6! In Mathematics, we’ve jumped straight into our unit on Money and Financial Mathematics. Students are exploring real world financial skills such as budgeting, calculating costs and understanding the value of money. This week students had the opportunity to explore which grocery store would be the cheapest to feed a family of four on a budget.

In English, we’ve launched into our persuasive text unit. Students are learning how to express their opinions clearly and convincingly using strong arguments, emotive language, and persuasive devices. This week, students had the opportunity to put their persuasive skills to the test by choosing a random item from around the classroom and convincing Miss Rowe to buy it! There were some very entertaining pitches and clever arguments that showcased their creativity and confidence.

We’re looking forward to a productive and inspiring term ahead!

Miss Rowe,

Year 4/5/6 Teacher