Our Kinder 2021 enrolment interviews commenced this week and it was great to meet with many new

prospective families. Although we have had limited opportunity to engage with our parents in person this

year, it is always wonderful to be able to talk to new families about the strength of our parent community at

SFX. As we still have spaces available for our 2021 Kinder classes, please encourage friends and family to

contact the school to arrange an interview. I would be very pleased to personally welcome any new families

and discuss how we can provide the best possible Catholic education for their child.

Active Kids is now in operation at our school. This before and after school care service operates from 6:45 to

8:30 and from 3:15 to 6pm each school day. Additionally, they operate a vacation care program to cater for

children during school holidays. Please ensure that you register your child to attend Active Kids if you wish

to use this wonderful service. It is great to have this facility on site to better ensure the safety and wellbeing

of our children.

Please be aware that, with the exception of those attending Active Kids before school care and those arriving

on the early buses, no child is permitted to enter the school grounds before our 8:30am morning supervision.

If you wish to drop your child off before 8:30am you will need to enrol them in Active Kids.

Every year we engage in the Diocese of Lismore School Improvement

Survey (DOLSIS) to collect feedback from staff, parents and students

about our school culture. This afternoon, 60 randomly selected

parents were sent a survey which can be completed either online or on

paper. The survey period ends next Friday, August 7th. If you have

received a survey pack this afternoon, please take the time to provide

quality feedback that will assist us in making our school even better.

Peace in Christ,

Dan Gubby

Principal

SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Week 2 Term 3 Friday, 31st July 2020

ST FRANCIS XAVIER PRIMARY SCHOOL

38-50 Swift Street, Ballina NSW 2478

PO Box 1647, Ballina NSW 2478

Phone: 66 86 33 70

Email: balp@lism.catholic.edu.au

Website: www.balplism.catholic.edu.au

Message from the Principal…..

Assistant Principal News…

In Year 1, the students have been learning to write letters but not just any letters. The boys and girls all wrote

a special letter to the children’s author Aaron Blabey. Aaron has written many different books for children

such as Pig the Pug, Pearl Parley, Piranhas Don’t Eat Bananas, Thelma the Unicorn and The Bad Guys. Aaron

was very impressed with their letters and wrote a letter back. Below is a description of the students’ task,

some wonderful writing examples and the letter back from Aaron. Well done Year 1 and great job to the Year

1 teaching team for creating such an authentic, real-life task.

From Mrs Sciascia - Year 1 were exploring characters in

different stories and how they can change. We did a

character study of Thelma the Unicorn by Aaron Blabey and

discussed the ways that she changed during the story. We

also looked at the vocabulary that the author used, and the

students used this in their letters. Each student was asked to

think critically and give a reason for their feelings about

Thelma and her change. They were also required to ask the

author one question they had about any of the characters, or

the story.

Dear Ms Sciascia and Year 1 of St Francis Xavier Primary,

Thank you so much for your wonderful letters. I loved hearing

that you are enjoying “Thelma the Unicorn” and reading your

fabulous responses to the story.

I have attached a hand-drawn ’thank you’ for you all to print.

Thank you once again and

best wishes,

Aaron

Regards and God Bless,

Matthew Ritchie

Assistant Principal

Parish Mass Times

Whole School Mass - Feast of Mary of the Cross

The students will celebrate the Feast of Mary of the Cross with a Whole School Mass in the school hall on

Friday, 7th August at 9.30am. Due to COVID-19 restrictions we are unable to all gather in the Church, so the

Hall will become our sacred space and Father Peter will celebrate this Mass with us. Unfortunately, parents

and friends cannot attend this Mass.

Feast of Mary of the Cross - 8th August

Never See a Need - This song is based on the words of Mary

Mackillop and is a beautiful tool for prayer and reflection.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjMwcktKOzU&feature=youtu.be

Keep safe and well

God Bless

Kerrily Jelfs

Leader of School Evangelisation

Kristie Coster

Leader of Catechesis

SFX Ballina Parish (max 45 people)

Lennox Head Parish (max 20 people)

5.00 pm Saturday Vigil Mass 5.00 pm Saturday Vigil Mass

9.00 am Sunday 7:30am Sunday

11.00 am Sunday All weekday Masses will be at 12.00 noon in SFX Church with a capacity of 45

people at each Mass, including our weekend Masses. Registration is essential.

If you wish to attend a Mass, please contact the Parish Office on 66811 048

by 3pm on Fridays to register your name and contact details.

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION NEWS

Canteen Roster – Term 3 – Week 3

Monday, 3rd August to Friday, 7th August

CANTEEN VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Tammy is looking for volunteers for the canteen, if you are able

to spare a couple of hours, between 9am and 11:30, once a month

please contact the school office on 66863370 or see Tammy in the

Canteen and just let her know what day suits you.

Monday, 3rd August HELP NEEDED

Tuesday, 4th August Justine Dayman, HELP NEEDED

Wednesday, 5th August HELP NEEDED

Thursday, 6th August Christiana Whitty, HELP NEEDED

Friday, 7th August Sandra Gale, , HELP NEEDED

Qkr! App for

Canteen Lunch Orders

Please click on the link to view the

Qkr! “How to Guide”

Qkr! App Link

CANTEEN NEWS

PLEASE NOTE Students are only able to order from the

Normal Menu - Monday to Friday.

There will be NO Friday Specials or

Sushi Days.

Orders to be made via the QKR App or orders to

be placed on a paper bag.

ALL orders to be placed by 8:55am.

31st July to 6th August

Kinder

Evie Skimmings Teo Amit Archie Tozer Joy Meany

Year 1

Molly Gerada Kayson Loo Sameer Harshad-Patel Dhkyra Jarrett-Torrens

Year 2

Emma Piercy Xavier Ritchie Willow Hilyard Max Jarzynski

Year 3

Jett Jones Indiana Hughes Zion Apanui Charlotte O’Neill

Year 4

Mya Poptie Ryan Waldock Toby Thick Kayden Clark

Year 5

Amalia Anderson Luca Maddalena Ethan Macpherson Sianah Steele

Year 6

Ruby Balcombe David Greenhalgh Jed Rotherham Tegan Ralph

MacqLit

Brayden Willems Pracy

Please click on the link below to visit our website for enrolment information and an overview of our school.

Joy Meany

Kayden Clark

Arianna Black

Layla Ross

Noah Johnson

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

KINDER 2021 ENROLMENT INFORMATION

STUDENT AWARDS Term 3, Week 2

SFX Website Link

If you are seeking to enrol your child in our school, please:

Download a copy of our enrolment form and school

prospectus from our school website

Complete the enrolment form and return by post or drop

it into the school along with copies of all relevant

documents (birth certificate, baptismal certificate and

Medicare immunisation records)

St Francis Xavier Catholic Primary School

PO Box 1647

BALLINA NSW 2478

Please note that we will be holding Kinder 2021 Interviews from Monday,

27th July 2020 to Friday, 7th August 2020. Please contact the school office on

66863370 to make an appointment.

All of our enrolment decisions are made by the Principal, taking into account current enrolment numbers and

the needs of each student. Offers of enrolments to families will be prioritised in accordance with the School

Enrolment Policy.

Facebook Page

The school Facebook page has now been published. We will be using this platform as a celebration of events

that have happened within our school community. This will not be the main communication page for parents,

so please ensure you continue to read our weekly school newsletters and class communication pages for other

important information and updates. Go ahead and like us @ St Francis Xavier Primary School, Ballina. Or

click on the link below.

SFX Facebook Page

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Change of Contact Details

Have you bought a new mobile?

Maybe started a new job?

Moved house?

Changed your email?

PARENT NOTICES

It is important that the school has up to date contact details for parents and carers in case of an emergency. It

is imperative that you inform the school office of any updates, you can do this via telephone 66863370 or

email balp@lism.catholic.edu.au

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Absences Please remember to answer the SMS that will be sent out the day of the

absence. This SMS must be answered on the day it is sent. The SMS is

for absences only. Remember, all student absences need to be accounted

for. Accounting for student absences is a legal requirement for all

schools. Your assistance in providing the relevant information to us

regarding your child’s absences daily is appreciated.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Signing Students In and Out of School

If students are arriving late to school, they must be signed in at the school office.

If students are leaving school early they must be collected and signed out at the school office.

___________________________________________________

Students Feeling Unwell

We cannot stress enough the importance of the advice that if your child is sick

or exhibits any symptoms of being unwell, they must not come to school.

You must keep them at home and away from others. While most are following

this advice we do, from time to time, have someone who does not.

If a student falls ill while at school or exhibits symptoms of being unwell, the

current procedures apply and a parent or guardian will be contacted to attend to

collect the student. If the parent or guardian is not available to collect the student, contact will be made with

the student’s emergency contact who will be asked to collect the child.

Your cooperation and support are appreciated as it is important for the safety of all members of our School

Community. Student should not return to school until they are well and symptom free.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Enrolments for 2021

Could you please encourage anyone you are aware of who is looking to enrol their child in any year level in

2021 to do so now – we are starting to make decisions about 2021 and we would hate anyone to miss out on

a place.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

School Banking News

School Banking re-commenced for Term 3.

School banking day is Tuesday.

Due to the current situation regarding COVID-19, the Inter-School Public

Speaking Competition will not be taking place this year. However, we can

still carry out a grade based Public Speaking learning task within our

classrooms to allow for the participation and growth for our students in this

important skill.

The task is completely optional for students and preparation is done at

home. Students wishing to take part need to return the nomination form sent

home today to their class teacher as soon as possible. Then they should

prepare a poem or speech according to their Grade level listed in the table

below. They will deliver the speech or poem in front of their classmates on a date that their class teacher

specifies to students and their parents. We appreciate your support and encouragement for your child to

participate in public speaking. If there are any questions, or you require another note, please feel free to email

me.

Kindergarten Poetry recitation Recite a poem from memory for about 1 minute.

Year 1 and Year 2 Poetry recitation

or speech

Recite a poem from memory for about 1 minute or speak on a

topic of their choice for about 1 minute.

Year 3 and Year 4 Poetry recitation

or speech

Recite a poem from memory for about 2 minutes or speak on a

topic of their choice for about 2 minutes.

Year 5 and Year 6 Poetry recitation

or speech

Recite a poem from memory for about 3 minutes or speak on a

topic of their choice for about 3 minutes.

Hayley Loadsman

hayley.loadsman@lism.catholic.edu.au

School Photo Day - Friday, 14th August 2020

EACH STUDENT MUST HAND IN THEIR OWN COMPLETED ENVELOPE

Sibling Envelopes are available at the school office – Please do not

place your sibling envelope inside the student’s individual photo

envelope. ALL Photo Orders need to be returned to the school

office by Thursday, 13th August. The School Photographer accept

the following payment methods: -

SCHOOL PHOTO DAY

PUBLIC SPEAKING NEWS

CASH – Enclose correct money in student envelope NO CHANGE will be given.

MONEY ORDER – All money orders are to be made payable to The School Photographer.

ONLINE CREDIT CARD – Visit www.theschoolphotographer.com.au and follow the prompts –

please write your receipt number in the space provided below. (Handling fees apply).

COMBINED PAYMENTS – If combining payments for more than one child please complete the

‘combined payments’ box.

LATE ORDERS – Any orders placed after school photographs have been delivered to the school will

incur a $15.00 handling fee (includes postage).

NO CHEQUES – Due to a change in bank policy Cheques are no longer accepted.

During our 2020 Parent Information Evening, we shared with you an excellent

initiative involving our school, Project Based Learning (PBL). Currently,

this involves our Year 5 and 6 teachers and students. Teachers have been

engaging with professional reading about PBL to deepen their own

understanding and they are about to participate in virtual workshops to begin

planning their first PBL unit.

But why PBL?

In addition to traditional subject-area knowledge and skills, students joining the modern workforce need to be

good critical thinkers, problem-solvers, and creative innovators. They have to know how to work well in

teams and they need to be able to communicate using a variety of media and to various audiences. When

students engage in high-quality PBL, they solve highly complex problems requiring them to apply both

fundamental skills (reading, writing, and math) and 21st century skills (teamwork, problem solving, research

gathering, time management, information synthesizing, utilizing high tech tools).

With this combination of skills, students become directors and managers of their learning process, guided and

mentored by a skilled teacher.

PBL has been shown to increase student engagement in learning as students are captivated by personally

relevant learning that makes connections between their classroom and the real world.

Video: Project Based Learning Explained

Watch this space for a series of short weekly articles that will continue to explain what PBL is and how it

works.

LIVE LIFE WELL

PROJECT BASED LEARNING

TERM 3

Week 3 Monday, 3rd August 2020 Kinder 2021 Interviews

Tuesday, 4th August 2020 Kinder 2021 Interviews

Wednesday, 5th August 2020 Kinder 2021 Interviews

Thursday, 6th August 2020 Kinder 2021 Interviews

Friday, 7th August 2020 Kinder 2021 Interviews

Whole School Mass (Students ONLY) 9:30am - School Hall

Week 4 Thursday, 13th August 2020 School Photo Orders Due

Friday, 14th August 2020 School Photo Day

Week 6 Monday, 24th August Book Week

Tuesday, 25th August Book Week

ACTIVE KIDS AFTER SCHOOL CARE

DATES TO REMEMBER

Wednesday, 26th August Book Week

Writers Festival

Thursday, 27th August Book Week

Friday, 28th August Book Week

Week 7 Friday, 4th September Brainstorm Production – Buddies – K-6

School Photo Day

Term 3 - Friday, 14th August 2020

PARENT ASSEMBLY NEWS