Thank you to all our wonderful staff and families for all the efforts to regularly test and only coming to school when well. We have appreciated your shared commitment to prioritising safety and learning during this challenging time.

The NSW Premier and Minister for Education recently announced changes to school settings for the remainder of Term 1. These updated settings were developed in close consultation with NSW Health and key stakeholders to ensure we continue to keep our schools open for learning, while keeping up with changing community settings.

The following changes are due to come into effect:

· From Monday 28 February, we will move to symptomatic testing. Tests are to be used at your discretion such as when your child is symptomatic or there are cases in their year group. We will provide each student with a further 10 tests next week. Beyond that, families are to access their own PCR tests or RAT tests.

· Masks will continue to be required indoors for all school staff, volunteers and visitors until Friday 4 March. From Monday 7 March, masks will no longer be mandatory for all staff. However, those who wish to continue to use them will be supported to do so.

· From Monday 28 February, visitors can be allowed back on school sites. Our school will consider activities such as assemblies, meetings and other gatherings in the coming days. We will plan these to occur in a COVID-smart way. All visitors are asked to follow our usual sign-in and sign-out process.

Our school will continue to ensure our layered COVID-smart measures are in place, including continued good hand hygiene practices and enhanced cleaning.

We strongly encourage our students and their families to consider vaccination including boosters when eligible. Thank you again for your continued support and care for us all.

Term 2

 Monday 25th April - ANZAC Day - Public Holiday - ANZAC March - meet at Post Office at 10.45am please

Tuesday 26th April - Staff Day beginning of Term 2

Wednesday 27th April - First Day for students

Friday 29th April - WR Cross Country at Gundagai

9th - 20th May - NAPLAN for students in Year 3 and Year 5

Friday 20th May - Biggest Morning Tea 11am

Ash Wednesday – 2 March ~ Join us for Mass at 2pm

Next week the season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, which also marks the beginning of the annual Caritas Australia Project Compassion Appeal. Donations to Project Compassion allows Caritas Australia, the Catholic Agency for International Aid and Development, to work with local communities around the world to end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity.

The theme of Project Compassion 2022 is ‘For All Future Generations’ and reminds us that the good that we do today will extend and impact the lives of generations to come. It invites us to make the world a better place by working together now and finding long-term solutions to global issues. 

We are encouraging our students to put compassion into action this Lent through prayer, fasting and almsgiving (by supporting Project Compassion).

Each student will receive a Project Compassion box for their donations or students can bring money into the class Project Compassion box. More information for families can be found at the website at: lent.caritas.org.au

Year 1/2

On Mondays homework sheets and readers will be sent home and can be returned by Friday.  

Year 3/4

On Mondays homework folders will be sent home and can be returned by Friday.

Your child's homework contract is to be completed over the week, along with reading each night. We encouraged reading for 15-20 minutes. Please help your child fill in their reading logbooks and sign off on the nights they have read.  

Year 5/6

Homework for 5/6 is currently focused on reading each night and practising our times tables in order to establish our homework habits. Times tables laminated sheets will be heading home in students’ notebags. We are excited to hear about what the students are reading each night as well as how they are travelling with their maths multiplication facts.

We invite families of Year 3/4 studetns to join us on Friday, 4^th March at 1:00pm for a Sacramental Program Information Session.  The session will be held in the Library. 

We will provide important dates relating to both First Reconciliation (Term 1) and First Eucharist (Term 2). We will also provide a brief outline of both Sacraments and how you can support your child preparing to receive these Sacraments.

Fr Dominic Byrnes will take us through the Sacraments and discuss his expectations. We request that families provide a copy of your child’s Baptism certificate.  Students enrolled in St Francis should have these on file but if we don't have this certificate please bring it with you to this meeting. 

Please let Mrs Rachael Morris know if you are UNABLE to attend so I can arrange to catch up with you at another time.  Mrs Morris' email is Rachael.morris@cg.catholic.edu.au. 

Kindergarten had another busy week. Students are settling into school life and are engrossed with their learning. Students completed an activity last week around why school is important which led to students thinking about what they want to be when they grow up.

Students' learning goals and intentions are important to assist students with retaining information. Here are some of Kindergartens' learning goals and intentions.

Fine Motor

Cutting along the lines and turning the page when we cut

Literacy

I can clap the syllables in a word 

I can recall a nursery rhyme (Patty Cake) 

I can recall the who, what, when, and where of the story. 

Numeracy

I can draw squares, rectangles, circles, oval and triangles. 

I can name and sort 3D shapes

I can write my number 0-6.

Other Learning Areas

I can explain where plants come from

I can use colours that make sense

I can use my kind actions, kind voice and kind words to work with my classmates. 

Leigha Brooks, Rose McFadyen and Sophie Phillips represented our school at the Western Region Swimming Carnival yesterday in Cootamundra. The girls competed in many events and made us all very proud! Thanks in particular to Kirsty McFadyen and Therese Stenhouse for supporting the girls and transporting them to Cootamundra.

We are very proud of the girls and congratulate them on their terrific efforts in representing St Francis Xavier. Special congratulations to Leigha Brooks who achieved a third in her 50m freestyle and will continue onto Canberra.

5/6 have had a wonderful start to the year! We’ve been loving learning lots of card games and having fun using problem solving skills when facing challenges like building card houses and domino lines. We are excited to have some wonderful new projects starting next week in Tinker Time. Stay tuned!