2023 Term 2 Week 9 Newsletter

Prayer Focus

Term 2 Date Saver

From the Principal

Staffing update

Alison Hammond, one of our fantastic teachers has finished up at St Francis Xavier and is moving on to new opportunities.  Alison has been a valued member of our community since 2009. She will be greatly missed and we wish her well on future endeavours.  We are currently in the process of advertising for a new support teacher for four days a week.

Condolences

We offer our condolences to Mrs de Dassel whose mother (Mrs Maria Moran) sadly passed away last week. Mrs de Dassel has been supporting her mother throughout her battle with cancer and we keep the de Dassel family in our thoughts and prayers at this time.

Camp Survey

Thank you kindly to all those parents who filled in the camp survey. The results are as follows:

Year 5 Camp results

From the results we have decided to include a Year 5 Camp, this will commence from 2024 for our current Year 4 students.

Year 5 results for Year 6 Camp 2024

Year 4 results for Year 6 Camp 2025

Year 3 results for Year 6 Camp 2026

Year 2 results for Year 6 Camp 2027

Based on the data collected from our camp survey, we have decided to secure our bookings at the Gold Coast for the next two years and we will review based on prices at the time for Moreton Island for our current Stage 2 families in 2025.

Athletics Carnival

We hope you enjoyed the athletics carnival this year. Thank you kindly to Mrs Jennings for all her hard work in organising this event. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated and can be emailed to myself or the office.

Morning Supervision from 8.30am

Our school opens for supervision from 8:30am.  Staff members are present from 8.30am to supervise and ensure the safety of all students. Therefore, we kindly ask that you drop off your child after 8:30am and not leave them unsupervised on school grounds before this time. 

Parents who require care for children before 8.30am are requested to enrol in Community OOSH Before & After School Care located in 8 Hawke Drive, Woolgoolga (phone: 6658 9757)

It is a child safety issue if children are left on school grounds before supervision commences at 8.30am.

Furthermore, arriving before 8.30am can also cause disruptions to the staff members who are preparing for the day's activities and lessons. We appreciate your cooperation and understanding in this matter. As always, the safety and wellbeing of our students are our top priorities, and we thank you for helping us maintain a safe and supportive learning environment for all. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me or the school office.

End of Term

As we approach the end of Term 2 on Thursday, 29th June, I would like to take a moment to express my heartfelt appreciation for the dedication and hard work of our staff. We are incredibly fortunate to have such exceptional teachers who consistently go above and beyond to ensure our students receive the best education possible. Your commitment and passion make a remarkable difference in the lives of our students, and we are grateful for your unwavering efforts.

I would also like to extend my gratitude to our parents and families. Your continuous support and involvement in our school community play an integral role in creating a nurturing and enriching environment for our students. We recognize and value the partnership we have with you, and we appreciate the trust you place in us to educate and care for your children.

As the school term comes to a close, I encourage everyone to take this opportunity to rest, recharge, and spend quality time with loved ones. If you have plans to travel, please ensure your safety and well-being, and may your journeys be filled with joy and wonderful experiences.

We are looking forward to welcoming everyone back on Tuesday, 18 July to continue our educational journey together. Our dedicated staff will be ready to inspire, guide and support our students as they embark on new learning adventures.

Once again, thank you to all our staff, parents, and families for your incredible contributions and support. Your commitment to education and the success of our students is truly commendable. Enjoy a well-deserved break, and we eagerly anticipate a fantastic term ahead.

Wishing you all a safe and enjoyable holiday!

Caroline Lewis
Principal

Faith & Mission

NAIDOC Week Activities - Tuesday, 27 June

• One Mob Radio Brekkie with Lockie Skinner, from 7am 
• Assembly, at 9.15am
• Indigenous colours & designs mufti day for all students

Baptism

Congratulations to Year 2 student Taya and her little sister Addie who were welcomed into the Church through Baptism on the weekend. May the Lord bless you and keep you always.

Kindergarten Liturgy

Kindergarten celebrated a Liturgy on Wednesday with Fr Joe. Kindergarten have been learning about the Church, Mass and Liturgy of the Word in their Religion unit.

Stories to Celebrate

We have lots of talented students at St Francis Xavier! While we look for opportunities to recognise achievements at school, we are aware that there are many students who participate in extracurricular activities outside of school and we would like to celebrate these also! If you have an achievement to share, be it sporting, cultural or community service, please email us with details and if possible, a photo. 

Katrina Ryan
Assistant Principal Mission

All Things Learning & Teaching

Semester 1 Student Reports

Next week our Semester 1 Student Reports will be available to access on Wednesday, 28th June. These reports are accessible via Compass. If you require assistance see the guide below or contact the school office.

Reports are a formal way of celebrating our students learning. We congratulate all students on their efforts and growth this semester and we look forward to continuing to support them in their learning journey in Semester 2.

Work Experience

This week we had the pleasure of hosting Matilda, Rylee and Emely from St John Paul College as part of their Year 10 Work Experience. The three girls enjoyed spending the week at their old primary school and our students certainly enjoyed spending time with them. They would all make great teachers if they choose to pursue education! All the best girls.

Sharon de Dassel
Assistant Principal Learning and Teaching

A Focus on Inclusion

Having open and honest conversations with your children about disability is an important step towards true inclusion in our community. This video might be a nice way to open a conversation with your kids about people with disability and how we can be more understanding and supportive of them in our communities.

Fiona Jupp
Leader of Inclusion

School Counsellor's Corner

Stage 2 Group for Term 3

In Term 3, Tree of Life will be run for Stage 2 students. Please see below for the information about Tree of Life. If you would like your child to participate please contact the office to receive a permission slip and consent form. 

Tree of Life: For Stage 2 ONLY
Number of sessions: 10
Facilitated by: Alessandra Isgro
The Tree of Life is a support tool based on narrative practices facilitated in a group setting. The intervention uses different parts of a tree as metaphors to represent the different aspects of our lives. It involves students drawing their own “tree of life” and unpacking their roots (where they come from), their skills and strengths, hopes and dreams and the special people in their life. The students then join all their trees to create the “forest of life”, and in groups discuss some “storms” or challenges they have faced or are currently facing and use their tree’s to explore different strategies to help them through these storms. The intervention helps students strengthen their relationships with their own history, culture and significant people in their lives in a positive way to build confidence, self esteem and emotional resilience. 

Alessandra Isgro
School Counsellor

Walking the Camino

Hello Everyone,

I wanted to share a little of our recent journey on the Camino and a few photos.

The Camino is a pilgrimage across France and Spain that people have been walking for hundreds of years since the discovery of the bones of St James who was one of the twelve apostles. He was the first apostle to be martyred and after his grave was discovered in Spain pilgrims began to travel to this sacred site and the city of Santiago grew up around it. 

We began our Camino in Saint Jean Pied de Port in France on 29th May and took two days to walk over the Pyrenees. This was amazingly beautiful but also very challenging! 

After four days walking we arrived in Pamplona which was the hometown of our very own St Francis Xavier. From there we traveled by train to Ponferrada and continued the final 200km to Santiago.

During our walk we met pilgrims from all over the world, slept in albergos in bunks, some with six in a room, others with up to 130 in a room (a lot of snoring). 

We picked cherries by the side of the road and cooked meals in shared kitchens. We have tried many different dishes, lots of eggs and potatoes, delicious tapas and pastries, and have navigated the Camino with little Spanish but lots of gestures, good will and fun! 

We have celebrated Mass in Spanish, and once in English with a priest from Boston, in amazing churches and Cathedrals hundreds of years old. Our walk has covered 260km of the 750km Camino France and it has been a very special experience, one that we would recommend to anyone.

Looking forward to reconnecting with our St Francis Xavier family in Term 3.

Happy holidays to everyone!

God Bless,
Helen Hunt

Bus Bay - Car Parking restrictions

Open Day for Prospective Parents

Gold Token Winners

Well done to all token recipents this week and congratulations to the Gold Token winners!

Congratulations also to the Year Group of the Term - YEAR 1 will receive their reward on Wellbeing Day in Week 10.

Canteen News

Canteen Roster

If you would like to volunteer in the Canteen on a Wednesday or a Friday from 9am-10.15am or 10.15am-11.30am please contact the school office on 66541981 or click on the link below.

All volunteers will receive a free morning tea and coffee!

Coffee & Conversation

Coffee & Conversation will take place tomorrow (Friday, 23 June 8.45-9.15am). The topic will be "Accessing your child's school report through Compass".

Parent Forum

The next Parent Forum Meeting is on Monday 31 July, 6.30pm in the school library.  If you are interested in finding out more about the 'Tell Them from Me Survey' response, this will be shared at this meeting.

Lost Uniform Items

We have a large number of jumpers, jackets and hats in lost property.  All items have no names on them.  Please remember to label all items that come to school with your child so we can return them when they are misplaced.