Newsletter 12th November 2009

Thursday 12th November 2009 Message Board: Nov: Th-F 12-13 Fri 13 Tue 17 T&Th 17&19

Teacher interviews Assembly, year 4N item School Board meeting at 6pm Transition Orientation

Dec: Fri 11 Fri 18

Last school day for 2009 Last day for ELC students

Jan: Thur 7 Thur 28

ELC opens for 2010 School students return for 2010

Volume 13

Issue 36

WEEKLY REFLECTION International Day of Tolerance On the 16th November we are asked by the United Nations to observe a day tolerance towards all people, views and perspectives that are different to our own. This asking is no different to what Jesus was calling his follows to do and what we as Christians are called to do today. Jesus in his mission sought out the people others would not accept, the poor, the sick and the foreigners. He befriended and helped these people. We to as Christians are called to do the same and International Day of Tolerance should only be a reminder to us of how we should always act. Also thank you for supporting for Mission Week. We raised $435. God bless - Shayne (Deputy Principal).

Dear Parents/ Care Givers, In recent weeks we have been experiencing some difficulties with uploading our newsletter to the website. The company hosting our website has upgraded the servers which caused our issues. Hopefully all has now been rectified. Classes 2010: in the next few weeks our teaching staff will begin to look at class placements for 2010. The teachers work together to come up with what we believe will best suit the individual students. If parents have requests, for reasons that teachers may be unaware of, please send a letter/email to your child’s teacher or myself. We will attempt to meet requests but, obviously, cannot guarantee this. Class lists will be displayed at the School Office on the Friday before school resumes for 2010 (22nd Jan).

Transition Orientation: On Tuesday 17th and Thursday 19th November we are holding our annual Transition Orientation. Both sessions will be from 8.30 to 10.30am. On the Tuesday morning the parents of our 2010 Transition students will be invited into the staffroom for an information session and morning tea. On Thursday parents are asked to drop off their new Transition children and then come back to collect them at 10.30am.

Special visitor: today the Director of Catholic Education (& ELC Licensee), Mr Michael Avery, visited our School. After Michael and I had a meeting, we visited a few classrooms and the ELC. Michael always has many positive comments about our School and its community. Award: late last term we trialled an addition to the Principal’s Award. Students ‘doing the right thing’ in the playground can be given a special ticket from the duty teachers. The students write their name and class on the ticket and place it in the box at the Canteen. Each week a name is drawn out and the student receives a special edition of the Principal’s Award. This award has certainly been received positively by the students. School Uniform: please ensure your child/ren is/are in full uniform. Teachers have been asked to issue uniform notices to parents if a child is out of uniform without a note from home. Correct uniform includes not wearing jewellery or nail polish. Your assistance with this is appreciated. An excerpt of the School Uniform policy is attached. Hope you are having a good week.

Neal Neal Maxwell PRINCIPAL.

Head Lice Over the past week there have been several cases of head lice in the school. Would you please take the time to check your child’s hair? If you detect head lice on your child, they must be kept at home until they have been treated. If your child is detected with head lice at school, you will be called to come and collect them. All parents need to check their children regularly to help prevent the spread of head lice throughout the school.

Year 6 Dental Checks Parents of Yr 6 students who have not received a final dental check are asked to contact the Humpty Doo School Dental Clinic if they wish to make an appointment on 8988 1511. Any treatment required can also be scheduled with follow up appointments. Once students begin middle school they are no longer eligible to receive free dental care through the Children’s Dental Service School Clinics and parents will be responsible for arranging ongoing care with either the Darwin or Palmerston Community Dental Clinics or a private dentist. The health of our teeth and gums has been proven to be directly linked to a number of other health issues including heart disease, diabetes and low birth weight in babies. Maintaining good oral health should be a priority and dental checks are the best way of keeping on top of any developing problems. If your child (of any age) is new to the school or you would like further information please contact the Humpty Doo Clinic. Jo Leonard Dental Therapist

Linda Lewsley Dental Assistant

Just a reminder that Student Banking is EVERY Wednesday. This term we have averaged 50 bank books each week, well done to those students who are remembering! Students receive a ticket into a raffle every time they bring their bank book in and the prizes will be drawn at the end of the term. Remember that the school receives commission from every deposit made and student banking teaches children the importance of saving money.

Principal’s Awards:

Spirit Cup Award:

Anthony – (blue) 540 points: Principal Award – Dan Breen, Idelle Bolwell, Indi Hickling, Will Anderson SFAS Award – Brock Dunn Clare – (yellow) 370 points: Principal Award – Alice Hoare, Jack Burt, Liam Balette, Sean Whitcombe, SFAS Award – Alice Hoare Francis – (red) 310 points: Teresa – (green) 350 points: Principal Award – Luke Griffin, Zahli Gibsone

FARIS BOLTON For lovely manners, thinking of others and always smiling.

Ou r Cl asses, Wh at ’s h ap p eni ng ?

Early Learning Centre

T/1KR Ms Robbins

T/1JR Mrs Roberts

Hello and Welcome to all new Families and Children. A sad farewell to Miss Sam this week. We had a sausage sizzle farewell afternoon tea on Wednesday. Please take the time to meet with Sam before she leaves on Friday 13th. I would like to welcome Miss Myrna to the permanent team at ELC. She will be taking over from Miss Sam and will commence this roll on the 7th January 2010. I would also like to welcome Miss Summa and Miss Liz to the casual team. Can all parents please ensure they have returned there re-enrolment forms for 2010. Amendment to dates for centre closure over the Christmas break. We will be closed from Monday 21st December and will re-open on Thursday the 7th January 2010. This week we have focused on Remembrance day and the lucky country that we live in. Children wore red and made poppies to wear. We stood for 1 minute silence with the School to remember and reflect. Cheers from Team ELC. Ethan has glasses for reading and working on the computer. They look great! – Olivia. We have been learning about the blends 'cr' and 'fr' – Dan. We have been learning about rain and the water cycle – Harry. The water evaporates back up into the clouds – Tyson. We celebrated Remembrance day by making poppies – Gabby. We went to the church for our liturgy with the other T/1 and 1/2 class – Liam. We learnt a new song for the liturgy. It is called "Side By Side" – Jack. Wednesday 11th - Transition & Year 1/2 ventured to the St Francis of Assisi Church for our Liturgy - Ashleigh & Nhi, and we have been learning the Hail Mary Prayer - Grace. We also enjoyed singing the songs for the Liturgy - Josiah. Remembrance Day was 11th November and the students learnt that this special day was for the fallen soldiers who fought for our country and the significance of the poppy - Emma & Tyler. In Literacy we are revising the alphabet and the students are concentrating on the directionality of the letters - Andrew. In Numeracy we are revising ordinal numbers (1st - 10th) position - Josiah. In Religious Education we are speaking about The Good Samaritan - Ami. Yesterday we took time and coloured Mandalas - Hannah. In SOSE we have been learning about the weather - low/high pressure systems - Josiah.

1/2B Mrs Bolwell

We had our liturgy today - Caitlin. We are writing narratives - Ella. We are going to have a new teacher on Thursday and Friday - Emerald. We have been writing explanation texts on why it is important to brush you teeth - Preston. Yesterday was Remembrance day - Brinn. We have got our spell-a-thon prizes - Lydia.

2/3T Mrs Tsoukalas

We have really improved with our handwriting - Nick. We are getting very excited about Christmas and the holidays - Hugh. Hailey taught us how to make a Christmas stocking Olivia. We have been playing T-Ball with Mrs Barnes and having ball dribbling competitions with Mrs Tsoukalas - PJ & Nick. We did a puppet show about Lazarus being raised from the dead - Ellie.

2/3M Ms McCall

3/4R Ms Rice

4N Ms Niland

5/6M Ms Monty

5/6T Mrs Talbot

We have been learning about the brain. The nervous system helps us to feel different sensations - Christina and Peta. We made origami goldfish in art and Jason taught some people how to make a frog - Mana. We have been partner reading to practice talking in character voices and using expression - Sinead. We researched honey ants because they looked interesting - Jackstan, Ben and Dean. We have been completing our partner stories – Caine. We played T-ball in sport – Regan. We have been doing our fractions – Max. We have been doing our weather projects – Dakota. We have been learning lots about fractions – Bryce. We have been doing Math mentals – Alvaro. We had a whole class quiz using the Atlases – Ruben. We learnt about suffixes and prefixes – Michelle. Tomorrow we will present our assembly item, hope to see you there - Mitchell. We tested our bouncing eggs and they bounced because the vinegar caused a chemical reaction and the egg shell dissolved - Sarah G. We made a fraction wall to help us understand more about equivalent fractions - Sarah S. We made poppies for Remembrance Day on Wednesday to remember the soldiers who went to war and who are at war today – Bella. This week 5/6 M has been working together to design a leisure space as a part of our mathematics project. We have measured different parts of the school's play areas and have used this information to calculate area and perimeter. We have also discussed the purpose of using a scale, to create a scaled drawing of our leisure space. In addition to this we made poppy's on Remembrance Day to remember fallen soldiers as well as those still fighting for our country today. We have finished our Indigenous projects and now we have to make a model relating to these projects – Gavin. We have watched the movie 'The Rabbit Proof Fence" to learn more about the British Impact on indigenous people in Australia. We had a lot of fun playing a cross cultural game about two different cultures trying to communicate - Georgia Falconer. In Maths we are completing a project and we have to design a leisure space – Caisen. Our spellathon prizes are really cool and we would like to thank Parents and Friends for all their hard work!

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8931 1192 0412 89282 St Francis of Assisi Parish Sunday Mass Times:

Weekday Mass Fr Milton Arias

St Barbara’s, Batchelor 8.00am. CHILDREN’S LITURGY – St Francis of Assisi, Humpty Doo: EVERY SUNDAY… Saturday Vigil 6.00pm …at the 9.30 Mass. Sunday 9.30am and 6.00pm. All children who have not Mon - Wed & Friday 7am, done First Communion are Wednesday 9.30am is School Mass.welcome to participate. Parish Priest Phone 8988 2235.

STUDENT UNIFORM The uniform policy of St Francis School addresses the total appearance of the student travelling to and from school and while at school. The uniform is seen as an external statement of the discipline of a student to be a successful student. As such the uniform presents the School to the public and ensures a positive image in line with the School Ethos as a Catholic School. The uniform eliminates any consciousness of wealth or class distinction. Requirements The Uniform Policy is ratified and supported by the School Board. All students are to comply with the Policy in all its requirements. Winter Uniform: Students may wear a dark blue windcheater and/ or track pants with the uniform during the colder months. Hairstyles The hair of all students must be clean, neat and tidy. The length of hair is at the discretion of the students, however the following rules apply to all students: Neat and casual - hair must not fall or obscure the face. If hair is longer than the collar it must be tied back. Unusual cuts or styles will not be allowed. Inappropriate hair variations including coloured dyes/hairspray or gel is not allowed. Other Requirements Make-up or nail polish are not allowed. A simple gold or silver chain with one religious pendant may be worn. Bangles/ bracelets are not to be worn. Earrings - only studs or sleepers are allowed. School hats are compulsory. Sunscreen - students are encouraged to use sunscreen, 30+ when outside. Watches may be worn. Observance and Interpretation All students are to observe the full Uniform Policy requirements travelling to and from school as well as at school. The uniform may be required at other official functions. The Principal has the final decision on any interpretation of this policy. Students failing to observe this policy will receive one caution. Refusal to comply with the policy in all its aspects will result in disciplinary action and, in specific cases, the student may be suspended until such time as the Principal is assured that the policy will be adhered to. Availability of Uniform All uniform items, apart from shoes and socks, are available from the Office. A selection of ‘pre-loved’ items is also available.

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