This week we held the second of our two transition days for our 2021 Kindergarten children.

The connection that they all made with their Year 5 buddies during the program gives great

reassurance that they will commence their formal schooling with great confidence and

enthusiasm. It also gives us great reassurance that our Year 6 student leaders for 2021 will be

dedicated to supporting the younger children in our school. Although we have completed our transition

program, we still have some spaces available for Kinder 2021. If you have any friends or neighbours who

might be interested in enrolling at our wonderful school, please encourage them to contact our school office

for more information.

Our current Year 6 children have been engaged in their Canberra experience this week. The plan for the week

provided opportunity to explore many of the key features of our Nation’s Capital, albeit from afar. Well done

to our Year 6 team for preparing such an eventful experience for our graduating class. On Tuesday, I took the

students on a virtual tour of the Royal Australian Mint in which we explored the history of Australian currency

and the minting process. More details of the week will be included in next week’s newsletter.

Earlier this week, I attended a meeting at St John’s College, Woodlawn to share my thoughts with other local

Principals about the future direction of our Catholic Education system here in the Diocese of Lismore. A

collation of thoughts from across the diocese will enable the Catholic Schools Office to best design a future

plan that caters for our most immediate needs. The Strategic Direction will be prepared in the coming weeks

and a concrete plan presented in the new year.

Periodically we are required to make parents aware of current and/or modified school policies and standard

operating procedures. Our school has around 50 policies on file – many of which are more relative to the

management of the school and thereby affect the students indirectly, others are more specific to the needs of

the students and staff. Certain key policies are accessible on our school website for you to access at any time.

All policies at some stage in our compliance cycle are required to be reviewed and updated as necessary.

Whether this requires input from our parent community or not, you will be notified of any updates as they

occur.

In the coming weeks teachers will be compiling student reports for Semester 2 2020. Whilst it has been

difficult for us to connect with parents in person this year, it is important to connect with your child’s class

teacher if you wish to discuss any matters in relation to your child’s end of year report.

Peace in Christ,

Dan Gubby

Principal

SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Week 5 Term 4 Friday, 13th November 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…..

Dear Parents,

This week we celebrated two special events at opposing ends of our year levels. One event

being our final Kindergarten transition for 2021 and the other was our Year 6 ‘Canberra comes

to us’ week.

The new Kindergarten students were very happy to be greeted by their buddies again as they arrived and

quickly settled into a morning of fun activities. The Kinder staff were set up in the hall which allowed for an

opportunity to introduce ourselves to the parents while remaining COVID-19 safe.

The ‘Canberra comes to us’ week was a great success and a big thank you must go to the Year 6 teaching staff

for the amount of effort that went into organising this event. Our Year 6 Canberra trip has been a long-held

tradition and students were sad to see it cancelled this year. With schools all over the country in the same

situation, Canberra’s many attractions adapted to provide schools with online resources and Zoom guided

experiences for 2020. To add some extra fun into the week our students also enjoyed ten pin bowling,

McDonald’s, laser skirmish, pizza, bbq breakfast, water slides and a trivia night.

The school leadership team had the opportunity to lead several lessons: Mr Gubby took the students for a

Royal Australian Mint experience, Mrs Coster facilitated a Science Centre lesson and I ran a drama lesson

with a mock House of Representatives voting through a new Bill. I can certainly see some future politicians

in these students with them arguing through a rich debate in our school parliament. A more detailed account

will be included in next week’s newsletter.

Contact Details

It is important that the school has up to date contact details for

parents and carers in case of an emergency. If you have changed

your address, telephone numbers, including work, email address

or the alternative contacts have changed, it is imperative that you

inform the school office and update.

Regards and God Bless,

Matthew Ritchie

Assistant Principal

Parish Mass Times

SFX Ballina Parish

(max 92 people)

Lennox Head Parish

(max 35 people) 6.00 pm Saturday Vigil Mass 5.00 pm Saturday Vigil Mass

9.00 am Sunday 7:30am Sunday

11.00 am Sunday

Religious Education News

Assistant Principal News…..

Remembrance Day

Students celebrated Remembrance Day COVID-19 style with a lovely prayer service in each classroom.

Thank you to those families who sent some flowers in to lay on the prayer spaces.

Year 4 Class Mass

Yesterday, Year 4 students had the opportunity to celebrate Mass.

Father Anselm reminded the children that Mass should be a joyful,

happy experience. The Gospel reading from John 14:23-26 gave

the children an opportunity to reflect on what “If anyone loves me,

they will obey me.” The Year 4 students gave some great

suggestions of what this looks like in their lives. I have placed their

responses in a word moodle. Father Anselm spoke with the

children about how they show love at home and at school by

obeying their parents and teachers. Next week our Year 3 students

will have the opportunity to celebrate Mass.

Prayers for HSC Students

Many thanks for your continued prayers for our friends from

Xavier Catholic College who have just completed their HSC

exams. We wish them well for their future endeavours.

Praying with Music

● Father Son Holy Spirit

All weekday Masses will be at 12.00 noon in SFX Church with a capacity of 92 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 12 noon on Fridays

to register your name and contact details. You will be allocated a booking number, please quote

this upon arrival for Mass.

● This unique version of Nearer My God to Thee is not only vocally beautiful, but also pushes the

boundaries of visual collaboration.

● Like Jesus calls Peter to walk on water, Oceans (or this version of Oceans) encourages us to trust in

Him and keep the faith, especially when stepping out into the unknown.

God Bless

Kerrily Jelfs

Leader of School Evangelisation

Kristie Coster

Leader of Catechesis

Canteen Roster – Term 4 – Week 6 Monday, 16th November to Friday, 20th November

Monday, 16th November HELP NEEDED

Canteen News

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.

Swimming with Francis

Could you please ensure all belongings are clearly labelled with your child’s name. A reminder that if your

child has a season pass, they will be required to bring it to the pool for their swimming session.

Kinder to Year 2

Monday, 7th December to Wednesday, 16th December (8 sessions).

Year 1 & Year 2: 9:30am - 10:30am

Kinder: 10:30am - 11:30am

Paddy Wilde

Sports Coordinator

Tuesday, 17th November Melonia Llewellyn, HELP NEEDED

Wednesday, 18th November Natalie Hannah, HELP NEEDED

Thursday, 19th November Karen Kelly, HELP NEEDED

Friday, 20th November Gabi Wisemantel & Sue Keough

Happy Birthday

Sports News

Qkr! App for

Canteen Lunch Orders

Please click on the link to view the

Qkr! “How to Guide”

Qkr! App Link

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.

13th November to 19th November

Kinder

Evie Skimmings Kace Peachey Jessay Jobin Honor Hodges

Year 1

Stella Marboeuf Molly Gerada Lincoln Lockwood Jackson Deacon Charlie Mattinson

Year 2

Isla Noble Dustin Kennedy Adelaide Boronski Mason Glasby

Year 3

Emmie Nesbitt Madison Ellis-Lang Hayden Kealy

Zion Apanui Charlie McCoy Bella-Jaye Soelkner

Year 4

Zahlia Chilcott Erynn Ralph Max Davy

Finn Freeman Hayley Geddes Cody Flatley

Year 5

Oliver Rehwinkel Ivy McLennan Rhys Suffolk Paris Kelly McKayli Etuati Kiarna Hickey

TERM 4 - 2020

Week 6 Monday, 16th November Swimming (Years 3-6)

Wednesday, 18th November XCC Orientation Day – Year 7 2021

Friday, 20th November 9.30am – Year 3 Mass

Nano Nagle Performance – 11:45am to 12:45pm

Zoom Assembly – 2.30pm (Kinder)

Amalia Anderson

Harlym Parkinson

Indi Williams

Dakota Bostock

Student Awards Term 4, Week 5

Dates to Remember

Saturday, 21st November Presentation Feast Day

Week 7 Monday, 23rd November Year 5 Leadership Speeches – 9am to 11am

Tuesday, 24th November Cricket Clinic – K to 6

Diocesan Summer Sports Trials (Tennis) Lismore

Wednesday, 25th November Cricket Clinic – K to 6

Thursday, 26th November Cricket Clinic – K to 6

9.30am – Liturgy (Year 1)

Friday, 27th November Zoom Assembly – 2.30pm (Year 4)

Diocesan Summer Sports Trials (Basketball, Cricket,

Softball & Touch Football) - Lismore

Week 8 Tuesday, 1st December Cricket Clinics – K to 6

Buddies Show – K-6

Wednesday, 2nd December Cricket Clinics – K to 6

Thursday, 3rd December Cricket Clinics – K to 6

9.30am – Liturgy (Kinder)

Friday, 4th December Zoom Assembly – School Captains

Week 9 Monday, 7th December Intensive Swimming – (K-2)

Tuesday, 8th December Intensive Swimming – (K-2)

Wednesday, 9th December Intensive Swimming – (K-2)

Thursday, 10th December Intensive Swimming – (K-2)

Friday, 11th December Intensive Swimming – (K-2)

Week 10 Monday, 14th December Intensive Swimming – (K-2)

Tuesday, 15th December Intensive Swimming – (K-2)

Wednesday, 16th December Year 6 Graduation

Intensive Swimming – (K-2)

LAST DAY OF TERM 4

Brainstorms Productions

Buddies Show

K-6 Week 8

Tuesday, 1st December

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Year 6 Graduation Wednesday, 16th December – 9am

_______________________________________________________________________________________

TERM 1 2021 IMPORTANT DATES

Wednesday, 27th January to Friday, 29th January 2021

Years 1 to 6 - MAI Assessments

Wednesday, 27th January to Tuesday, 2nd February 2021

Kinder 2021 Best Start Assessments

Monday, 1st February 2021

Years 1 to 6 First Day Back for 2021

Wednesday, 3rd February 2021

Kinder First Day Back for 2021

Students Not Returning in 2021

As we have a number of prospective students on our waiting list, parents of current

students not intending to return to St Francis Xavier Catholic School next year are asked

to notify the school in writing as soon as possible. We are currently in the process of

planning for 2021 and this information is essential.