2025 Term 4 Week 3
- Prayer Focus
- From the Principal
- Attendance Matters
- Faith & Mission
- All Things Teaching & Learning
- Communicating Diversity
- Sporting Roundup
- Wellbeing Corner
- School Community Forum
- Playgroup
- 2026 Enrolments
- School Business Directory
- Gold Token winners
- Awards
- Good News
- Free Webinar
- Maldon Place reminders
- St John Paul College news
Prayer Focus
From the Principal
Community Fete - Thank you!
Thank you so much for all your incredible support with the fete! Whether you volunteered your time and energy or simply came along to enjoy the day, you helped to make it a massive success. A great time was had by all. Your support means the world to our school community.
Please use this link to share your feedback so we can make our next Fete even better:
Please check the school Facebook page for lots of great photos from the Community Fete
Key Questions
We know that getting your children to share details about their school day can sometimes be a challenge.
To help parents gain a clearer insight into their child's education, we've been encouraging students to use specific language to talk about their learning.
Instead of just asking, "What did you do today?", try these questions to spark a more detailed conversation:
"What are you learning right now?",
"How are you going with it?"
Encouraging them to respond with specifics, like: “I'm doing well because I can now do X and Y, but I still need to work on Z.”
"Where do you go for help?"
Bump-It-Up Walls
Students might mention their Bump-It-Up Walls, which are visual displays in the classroom that clearly explain the steps and criteria needed to achieve the expected level or move above it. Using this focused language at home can help reinforce the reflective learning habits we are building at school.
Attendance Matters
We'd like to extend a sincere thank you to all parents for effectively using Compass to notify the school when your children are absent. We've seen a great reduction in the number of unexplained absences, which is fantastic! This simple but important action is vital for ensuring the safety and well-being of all our students, and we appreciate your prompt cooperation.
Caroline Lewis
Principal
Faith & Mission
Family Mass - Saturday 1 November
Katrina Ryan
Assistant Principal Mission
All Things Teaching & Learning
During English in Stage 1, students have been learning about context and exploring how people with disabilities use Braille and Sign Language to communicate. They each created a page to add to their class book, using descriptive vocabulary to explain what a colour is like through their senses. The accompanying artwork from our Year 1 and 2 students was also very impressive and beautifully complemented their writing.
Michaela O’Shea Miller
Assistant Principal Learning and Teaching
Communicating Diversity
Diwali - Thank You!
St Francis Xavier School would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who joined us for our Diwali celebration last week. We are especially thankful to our wonderful parent community, whose support helped make this event so memorable.
A special thank you to Joginder and Vikram Singh for organising the prayer and music; Susie and Taj Dosanjh for leading the drumming and dancing; Rajwinder Rai and her team from the Temple for preparing the delicious food; and our artistic parents — Abby Jauffret, Zlata Yablochkina, Mel Richmond, and Bec Wilson - for creating the colourful rangoli chalk designs.
We are truly blessed with such generous families, dedicated staff, and enthusiastic students who all contributed to the day’s success. Our Diwali celebration was a beautiful reminder of the shared values of light, hope, and unity that bring our school community together.
Laura Cooke
Leader of EAL/D
Sporting Roundup
K-2 Water Awareness and Safety Program - Week 5: Wed 12th Nov - Fri 14th Nov
Our K-2 Water Awareness and Safety Program is coming up in Week 5 for our K-2 students. The Program has been designed and implemented each year to allow students from Kindergarten to Year 2 to engage in activities focused on developing their knowledge around water awareness and safety.
The Program will address key curriculum content such as:
- perform water safety, familiarisation and awareness skills, eg blow bubbles, floating on back, entering and exiting the water safely with confidence
- perform a range of water safety and survival skills, eg treading water, throwing a buoyant rescue aid
- propel through the water in a streamlined position, using arm action and continuous kicking explore actions to stay safe in a range of water environments, eg safe places to swim
A Parent Handbook and Google form was sent out last week to all K-2 parents.
A Compass Event will go out to families this week.
A friendly reminder that if you have NOT completed your child’s Google form, could you please do this by Wednesday 5 November so we can make sure your child is in the correct swimming group, link below.
Whole School Swimming Carnival - Week 6: Friday 21st November 2025
The 2026 Inter-House Whole School Swimming Carnival is fast approaching!
This event is an opportunity for all students from Kinder to Year 6 to use effort and perseverance in a friendly competition to gain points for their house and encourage and support each other. Success on the day will look different for all students, with some aiming to place in their age group, whilst others might celebrate personal improvement and achievements or simply enjoy getting wet.
This year the carnival will look a little different with students choosing whether they will be a competitive or non-competitive swimmer. Students will not be able to do both. I have explained this clearly to Stage 2 and Stage 3 students during sports lessons.
The Parent Handbook and Swimming Carnival Nominations form will go out to families this week. Followed by a Compass Event next week.
Lisa Hutton
Leader of Sport
Wellbeing Corner
Wellbeing Groups
We have had a number of successful groups this year and have thoroughly enjoyed seeing the children flourish and benefit from these wellbeing interventions. We will not be running any new groups this term and will recommence groups in 2026.
Wellbeing Wednesday
Postitive Behaviour Support (PBS)
Alessandra Isgro
School Counsellor
Hayley Evans
Wellbeing Officer
School Community Forum
Your Voice Matters: Join the School Community Forum!
The School Community Forum is the heart of the partnership between home and school, a vital component of our school's success and strategic goals. It’s where your perspective helps shape our school community!
It’s time for our Annual General Meeting (AGM), and we'd love for you to be a part of leading the way.
Join us on Monday, November 3rd, at 6.30pm.
Roles to Fill – Everyone is Welcome!
We're looking for enthusiastic people to step into leadership roles for the coming year. Remember, you don't need a specific background - just a desire to contribute!
The time commitment is very manageable - it typically involves attending a meeting just once or twice a term.
We are looking to fill the following roles:
- President: Helps guide the discussions and set the agenda.
- Vice President: Supports the President and steps in when needed.
- Treasurer: Manages the forum’s finances (onboarding provided).
Interested in learning more, or ready to nominate yourself or another amazing parent? Please reach out to the school office.
If a formal role seems a bit much, please still come along - many hands make light work! Your contribution and involvement - no matter how big or small - makes a real difference. We can't wait to see you there and build a stronger community together!
Salina McIvor
President
Playgroup
The last Playgroup session for 2025 will take place on Wednesday 26 November.
Our Kindergarten 2026 Classroom Teacher, Mrs Alex Seirs will be a special guest at Playgroup on Wednesday 19 November and Wednesday 26 November.
2026 Enrolments
School Business Directory
The St Francis Xavier Primary School Business Directory is designed to serve as a valuable resource for our entire school community. This directory will be made available to all St Francis Xavier families, through our school newsletter and social media, with the intention of fostering a stronger sense of community and connection among us all. Not only will it facilitate networking and support between our families, but it will also provide our school with access to local businesses capable of meeting any needs or services required. Through this initiative, we aim to strengthen bonds within our community while also supporting local enterprises. If you are interested, please complete this Google form.
Gold Token winners
Well done to all token recipients for this fortnight and congratulations to the Gold Token recipients. Keep up the great work everyone!
Awards
Congratulations to all award recipients at the recent Assembly. Keep up the great work!
Good News
Congratulations to Noah and Chloe de Campos who recently competed at the Pan Pacific Championship in Melbourne, the largest Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament in Australia, they both won gold medals!
Cricket is a popular Summer sport amongst St Francis Xavier students and their siblings! Have a great season everyone!
Free Webinar
The Changing Face of Cyberbullying - Help protect your child online
For parents and carers of young people in primary and secondary school.
AI tools are evolving fast – and some are being misused in ways that can harm or exploit children and young people, including through the creation of deep fakes and digitally altered images. This 45-minute webinar covers how these technologies are being used, their impact and how to support and protect your child. It’s suitable for parents and carers of upper primary and high school students.
Maldon Place reminders
To ensure the safety of children and to maintain good relations with our neighbours, please be mindful of the following parking restrictions.
When parking in Maldon Place, please help us maintain clear sightlines for children by observing the following:
Keep all driveways clear for resident access.
Avoid parking on nature strips.
Ensure the footpath entrance to the school remains unobstructed.
These simple steps keep the area safe for everyone entering and exiting the school and vehicles.
We appreciate your commitment to student safety.
St John Paul College news
Please click on the link below and follow St John Paul College, Coffs Harbour to see the many wonderful academic and sporting achievements by their students, many of whom are former students of St Francis Xavier, Woolgoolga!
Kayla Hallawell is a former St Francis Xavier student and school leader! Congratulations Kayla!
