This Issue Belonging P.1

Inclusivity P.2

Cybersafety Workshop P.3

School Board/P&F AGM P.4

St Francis Feast Day P.5

Junior Science P.8

Dates to Remember

Thursday 15th Nov

ThinkUKnow Cybersafety Parent Workshop

7pm School Library

Tuesday 20th Nov SFX Board Meeting

5.30pm

Friday 23rd Nov Kindy Orientation

9.30am

Tuesday 27th Nov Board and P&F AGM 7pm School Library

Friday 30th Nov

St Francis Xavier Feast Day

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1 4 t h N o v e m b e r

2 0 1 8

I S S U E

F O R T N I G H T L Y

N E W S L E T T E R

St Francis Xavier

Primary School

From the Principal’s desk…

Dear Parents and Caregivers Belonging Last week, I had the opportunity to learn and participate in this year’s harvest. Riding with Phil, conversations ranged from moisture to yield and the intricacies of farming but landed on the importance of belonging. As a farmer who spends hours working isolated, listening to the value he placed on belonging was unexpected. It emphasized the important role belonging has in our all of our lives and, in particular, the lives of schools. The need to feel included is part of who we are and is integral to good mental health and wellbeing. It also helps to improve children’s learning, behaviour and ability to form relationships. A sense of belonging has been shown to improve children’s ability to learn and increase their skills in developing relationships. When children feel included, they are able to develop a sense of pride in who they are, which helps build positive self-esteem. It also helps them to appreciate and value differences in those around them. There are many practical ways you can help your child to feel safe and secure, including:

listening to your child, asking them about their day and talking through any concerns they may have

taking time to play with your kids without distractions – show them

God Bless

Ben Doyle

Principal

that you value spending time with them giving plenty of encouragement that

values effort over success

Over the final weeks of 2018, families are invited to be involved in many ways. The Feast Day celebrations, End of Year Concert and School AGM are all ways that we can connect with each other to strengthen our community. Staff Training In 2017, St Francis Xavier undertook the process of develop staff capacity to support students with literacy needs. I am extremely excited that in 2019, will now have two qualified Dyslexia-SPELD Foundation of WA Inc. tutors. Mrs Turner will continue to work directly with staff and commence individual and small group sessions aimed at supporting literacy, whilst Mrs Wells will continue her exemplary work in class and promoting successful practices with colleagues. Congratulations and thank you to Mrs Wells and Turner for undertaking the study and supporting children at St Francis Xavier.

Join Us

Friday 16th November Yr 3 First Reconciliation

9am

CHRIST Awards Ryder Watson (2W) Bodhi Halden (5C) Taylah Dean (5C) Keziah Philip (5C) Bella Watson (5C) Lilly Fehlauer (5C)

Mathijs Travasso (5C) Tom Pitcher (5C)

Oakley Singleton (3B) Shyla Morris (3D) Henry Doyle (3D)

Conner Grimley (3D) Jack Curley (3D)

Amber Fishwick (3D) Sophie Crothers (3D)

Tex Kuser (3D) Ryan Lynas (3D)

Ashleigh Jones (3D) Jojo Baynes (3D) Zak Sellar (3D)

Lincoln Vlahov (6V) Connor Ramage (6V) Draydon Wingo (6P) Sophie Clements (6P)

Amy Hay (6P) Lilly Murszewski (6P)

Alexander Essenson (PPR) Stella Parasiliti (PPR)

Aussie of the Month

Congratulations to:

Addison Littlely (1S) &

Jessica Atkins (4R)

With Christ as our light we aspire to nurture the whole person in a community centered on gospel values.

‘…see the future and the possibilities that lay ahead as a mission and not a burden…’

Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP

This Week’s Value

Inclusivity The best thing we can do is to empower kids to act as “includers.” When we instil children with this prosocial skill, we spread kindness and compassion. We can develop this as we: 1. Listen and empathize. When we empathize with our kids, we teach them to do the same for others. Empathetic kids can create giant ripples of kindness in this world. All we have to do is be there for them and let them work through their emotions. 2. Be an “includer.” If we want our kids to learn to reach out to others and include new people (or people they wouldn’t otherwise sit with), we need to do the same. Show your kids how to make

new friends by introducing yourself to new people and striking up conversations with people they don’t know. 3. Look for someone who needs a friend. Young children like routine and tend to sit at the same table at lunch or play with the same groups at recess, but this can be limiting. Teach your child to scan the room (or field) to look for someone who might need a friend. Practice ways to invite a new kid into the group or ask others to join a game. When kids practice these skills at home, they are better able to use them out in the world.

4. Talk about unintentional exclusion. Talk to your kids about what it means to exclude. Ask your kids to draw connections between being excluded and possible negative emotions and between being included and possible positive emotions. In helping our children process emotions, we show them that kindness really does count.

Neither you nor your child can control how other children act. What you can work on is how your child responds to relational aggression or exclusion and how your child can take the lead to be an “includer” of other children. (Taken from The Happy Kid Handbook: How to Raise Joyful Children in a Stressful World by Katie Hurley).

Commitment Masses It was great to see so many students and their families join in the Eucharist over the past few weeks. Thank you to Miss Drennan and Mrs Bonavia for their special efforts in preparing the children and journeying, with families, throughout this sacramental program.

Thank you, also, to Father Bernard and Bishop Michael for their valuable input to preparations and for their spiritual guidance.

Discipleship

Merit

Awards

PPD Chloe Muir, Coby Dale

PPR Whole Class!

1A Mahreen Hussain, Samara

Jones

1S Hailey Dale, Jacob Burns

2S Asha Pirrottina, Mitchell

Mann

2W Frankie O’Neill, Abisha

Sagy

3B Charlotte Boyd, Luca

Priolo, Maisie Vollmer

3D Coen Lamb, Lily Wheeldon

4P Hudson Morgan, Flynn

Pinkney

4R Judiya Boddington, Taj Miles, Michar Michar

5C Josh Papertalk, Timothy McCarthy, Tom Pitcher, Linette Louis, Kingston

Warren

5H Nash McAullay, Koby

Browne, Declan Coyle, Isah Jobar, Dakoda Gaudio,

Kaley Lynas

6P Lilly Murszewski, Patrick Holdsworth, Hudson Kelly,

Makenzie O’Neill

6V Lincoln Vlahov, Wynand Neethling, Henri Laurent

Science Jeffery Joyner (5H)

Learning

We are committed to providing an education that empowers all to become life-long learners.

Cybersafety Workshop Due to the overwhelming positive response from parents, our school will be hosting another presentation on Thursday 15th November at 7.15pm in the School Library and all parents, carers and teachers are encouraged to attend. A creche will be provided for children.

ThinkUKnow Australia is a cyber safety education program that educates parents, carers and teachers of how people are using technology, the challenges they may face online, and how to help them overcome these in a safe and ethical way.

Technology plays an important role in how young people maintain their friendships and communicate with those closest to them. It is no different to anything else a young person encounters. They will make mistakes, and we need to be able to support them through this, arm them with the right information and empower them to make the right choices. Join us to learn how you can assist.

National Recycling Week At St Francis Xavier we endeavor to minimise waste and manage material resources responsibly. While recycling food waste, aluminium cans and reducing single use plastic bags, we also support the following organisations to reduce our impact on the environment:

How are you making choices that positively impact the earth and ensure that it will be an amazing place to live for our children and their children?

We are starting to review our Sustainability Plan and would appreciate your input. Email admin@sfx.wa.edu.au if you have further suggestions on how we could work together to be good stewards of the Earth.

Remembrance Day One hundred years ago, on 11 November 1918, the guns of the Western Front fell silent after four years of continuous warfare, bringing to an end the First World War. On Monday the school gathered to observe one minute’s silence and pay tribute to the memory of those who died or suffered in all wars, armed conflicts and peacekeeping activities. Thank you to the Year 5 students who led the service so reverently.

School Board AGM The AGM of the SFX School Board and P&F will be held at 7pm on Tuesday 27 November in the School Library. Several positions on both the Board and P&F need to be filled so please consider nominating either yourself or someone you know who would be able to successfully fill the role. It’s that time of the year when the School Board calls for nominations to the Board for 2019. The overall role of the School Board is to help the school fulfill its educational responsibilities in accordance with various guidelines. Nominations can be through self-nomination or nominate a friend, as long as the friend agrees of course! To help you decide that being a member of the Board is both rewarding and challenging, I’ve outlined a few points of interest below.

· Possession of an enthusiasm for and a willingness to promote Catholic schooling

· A deep interest in the welfare of all students and staff

· A desire to give service to the Catholic school community

· An ability to work co-operatively and constructively with all other members of the Board

· Sufficiency of time to devote to Board duties

· An ability and desire to uphold confidentiality in Board matters; and

· Possession of special skills that will be an asset to the Board

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… SCHOOL BOARD NOMINATION FORM

ST FRANCIS XAVIER PRIMARY SCHOOL Name of Nominee:

Phone No:

Signature of Nominee:

Nominated by:

P&F AGM Nomination Form We are seeking nominations for positions on the P&F Executive Committee for 2019. If you are interested could you please complete the nomination form and return to the school office

…………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………………… SCHOOL P&F EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE NOMINATION FORM

ST FRANCIS XAVIER PRIMARY SCHOOL

I (name of Nominee): would like to nominate for a position of:

President

Vice President

Secretary

Treasurer

on the SFX P&F Executive Committee. Phone No: Signature of Nominee:

P&F News

Secondhand Uniform Shop The secondhand uniform shop is open on Wednesday’s from 2.30-3.30 or by appointment with the co-ordinator Mary (ph: 0402 096 309). We are currently seeking donations of all uniform sizes, especially smaller sizes.

Compassion ⸭ Honesty ⸭ Respect ⸭ Inclusivity ⸭ Self-control

What’s happening in Junior Science