St Francis Catholic School - Hughenden eNewsletter

From the Principal

As mentioned in the last newsletter, last week I had the opportunity to attend the Principal’s Spiritus Retreat alongside other Principals, Education Consultants, and the Senior Leadership Team from Townsville Catholic Education. It was a valuable three days filled with time for reflection, learning, and growing in leadership and faith. I’ve come away feeling refreshed and inspired to continue supporting our wonderful school community.

Back at school, our Under 8s Day was a fantastic success! We welcomed over 60 children for a fun-filled morning packed with exciting activities. It was great to see so many happy faces enjoying the games, crafts, and challenges. A big thank you to our amazing Year 4/5/6 students who helped run the stalls and made sure everything was set up and packed away so smoothly. They showed great leadership and teamwork—well done!

Thank you also to our dedicated staff, who put in many hours behind the scenes to plan, prepare, cut, and package everything needed for the day. It was a massive effort from everyone involved, and we are so grateful.

This week, our school leaders and Year 5 students were invited to take part in the YLead workshops at Hughenden State School. The workshop focused on leadership skills and how students can apply these in their school communities. They also took part in activities that encouraged teamwork, communication, and inclusion. The students shared that they had a great time and learned some valuable skills to bring back to St Francis.

We’ve also welcomed Danikka McMillan to our school this week for her first university placement. Danikka has been working alongside Miss Brown and the Prep/1 class. We love being able to offer pre-service teachers the chance to experience life in a small, rural school and all that our friendly outback community has to offer. Experiences like these are so important in university training and can help encourage more graduates to consider taking up positions in rural and remote areas once they complete their degrees.

Have a great week,

Sharn Greenaway,

Principal

School TV Topic of the Week- Confidence & Motivation

Building confidence and motivation in young people is essential for their overall wellbeing and is a key aspect of their development. These qualities can have a lasting impact on their success and happiness. Confidence helps children believe in their abilities and face challenges with a positive attitude, while motivation drives their desire to learn, explore, and achieve their goals.

Fostering these traits involves creating an environment that encourages children to take risks, learn from their mistakes, and celebrate their achievements. Confidence is built when children feel capable and valued, while motivation is fuelled by the belief that their efforts will lead to growth and success. By actively supporting both, we can help young people thrive in the academic, social, and personal areas of their life.

By offering positive reinforcement, setting realistic expectations, and celebrating their efforts, we can model a positive mindset that can go a long way in helping young people develop both confidence and motivation. Nurturing these qualities, will help them grow into self-assured individuals who believe in their ability to succeed, setting the foundation for a fulfilling future.

In this edition of SchoolTV, discover how to provide opportunities for autonomy and support your child in persevering through challenges.

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 Confidence & Motivation edition of SchoolTV
https://sfsh.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/confidence-motivation-au

Student Of The Week

Week 3

P/1: Hamish

2/3: Charlie

4/5/6: Morgan

Week 4

P/1: Mason

2/3: Angus

4/5/6: Bella

Prep/1 Happenings

Welcome Miss Danikka!

This week we have had the pleasure of welcoming Miss Danikka, a First Year Education student from James Cook University, into our Prep/1 classroom for her professional placement. It has been an absolute delight having her join our learning community!

Miss Danikka has jumped straight into classroom life—supporting our students in their literacy and numeracy lessons, helping with small group work, and bringing her enthusiasm and warmth to every activity. The students have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know her and have responded so positively to her kind and caring nature.

Whether it's reading with students, helping with writing tasks, or joining in our class games, Miss Danikka has already made a wonderful impression. Her presence has added a fresh energy to our classroom, and we feel very lucky to be part of her teaching journey.

We look forward to spending more time with Miss Danikka and watching her continue to grow and shine as an educator!

Miss Brown,

P/1 Teacher

Year 2/3 Happenings

With the cooler weather, we took the chance to enjoy some fresh air and do our learning outside. Armed with our English books, we headed downstairs to practise writing informative texts, focusing on what Miss Allison calls the “Big 4”: correct handwriting, punctuation, spelling, and sentence structure. After writing each sentence, students stop to check if they’ve nailed all four, and if they do, they earn a stamp! The class has loved collecting stamps and keeping track of their progress.

In Maths, we’ve started learning all about fractions. Students explored the parts of a fraction, created their own examples, and used fractions in real-life situations, like sharing a batch of cookies evenly between four friends. It’s been a fun and hands-on way to learn about equal parts and fair sharing!

Miss Allison,

Year 2/3 Teacher

This term, Year 4/5/6 students have been busy exploring science through the water cycle and states of matter. We've investigated how solids, liquids and gases change from one form to another, starting with water and its journey through evaporation, condensation and precipitation.

While learning about the world around us, our school captains, Miranda and Rhianna, along with some Year 5 students, had the amazing opportunity to attend the YLEAD program. They spent the day developing leadership skills, building confidence, and learning how to be positive role models in our school community.

Check out our water cycles in a bag!

Miss Rowe,

Year 4/5/6 Teacher