Last week we received news that Pope Francis had accepted the resignation/retirement of

Bishop Brian Heenan, Bishop of the Rockhampton Diocese. Within this Newsletter you will find

a Diocesan announcement of Fr. Brian’s retirement plus news of Fr. John Grace being appointed

as Diocesan Administrator. I however would like to share a brief personal reflection on our

wonderful Bishop Brian.

St Francis belongs to the wider Catholic ‘Church’: organisation, hierarchy and the people who

make up the living Body of Christ. Fr. Brian above all things has been very much the ‘shepherd’

leader of our Catholic Church in this Diocese, the ‘Human face of Jesus’ in his outward love,

compassion, patience, understanding for all people and wisdom of God’s Mission for each of us

within the larger Church.

At Mass on Sunday the following words of Jesus in the Gospel placed me in the mind of Fr.

Brian as I know these words will sit comfortably in his humble nature: “So you also, when you

have done all that you have been told to do, you must say, ‘We are no more than servants; we

have only done our duty.’”

Our Bishop has done all that he has been asked to do by God and now he takes more time to

share with his family and reflect on his amazing ministry of service. We assure him he will

continue to be in our prayers and that his gift of Jesus bought to us through his person, is

indelible in the life of the St Francis Community.

Also in this Newsletter you will find a Parish Information Form from OUR LADY STAR OF THE SEA

PARISH: ‘We are in the process of updating our parish records and we would greatly

appreciate if all families who are a part of our parish would fill out the attached form.’

SUNDAY OCTOBER 20TH is St Francis School

MARKET DAY

This is another wonderful, traditional celebration of our St Francis Community. I encourage you

all to take part in what should be a great day.

We welcome Dannika Wass, Grace Johnson and their beautiful families to our St Francis

Community. I know they will feel welcomed, nurtured and loved by our school family.

I look forward to once again sharing in the lives of you all in this final School Term for 2103. We

continue to journey together as our school is such a lovely and privileged place to be a part of

but also a place of learning opportunity, change, challenge and vital relationships.

God Bless

Andy

20th Oct—Market Day

21st Oct—Student Free Day

5th Nov—Recital Day Instru-

mental Students

21st Nov—Recital Night

Private Music & Drama

5th Dec— Graduation Mass

Fri 11 Oct 2013 9:00 am -

QUEST -

Awards and

Thankyou

Ceremony

Mon 14 Oct – Tues 15 Oct

EISTEDD-FOD - Drama Section

Fri 18 Oct 2013 9:00 am - 10:00 am

Assembly 5's

From Lorrie’s APRE’s desk:

Yours in Christ….. Lorrie Columbus

From Nanette’s APC desk:

Jesus used to spread his message through stories. The

Making Jesus Real (MJR) format aims to reflect on at

least 50 of the Good News stories that are going

unnoticed in your school yard every day. Jesus’

message was : “Love God by loving your neighbour” –

the MJR message is very similar – “The way you greet

and treat people”. The main aim is for students to

recognise their own growth in attitudes and values

through MJR. For the teachers the Good News is that

it is not a programme, but the Christian way of life

reflected each day. Congratulations to all our ‘W.E.S.T.

- ies’ :-) Let’s have a fantastic Term 4 and live Jesus in

our hearts while we look for our Walking God

Moments.

Homework. Generally parents, teachers and students either love

homework or hate it with a passion. Below is a link to a

document: ‘Homework Policy’ which refers to current research

about this topic. The findings are objective and look at the

reasons for and against homework and refers to data from

research overseas as well as from recent Australian studies.

https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/policies/curriculum/schools/homework/Hwk_Res%20scan.pdf

Conclusions below are from the summary within the

document

The ‘more homework the better’ view has no research

support (Cooper, H, 2001). ‘Homework for All ‘– In

Moderation, Educational Leadership, 58(7), cited in

Queensland Government Department of Education and

the Arts, 2004).

The quality of the homework assigned is likely to be more

important than the quantity (Canadian Education

Association, & Ontario Institute for Studies in Education,

2010).

Homework must be purposeful and relevant to student

needs and should not jeopardise the right of children to

enjoy a balanced lifestyle (Dixon, 2007).

The amount of homework and time spent on it should

accord with the student’s age and developmental level

(Canadian Council on Learning, 2009).

Effort spent on homework is a stronger correlate of

academic achievement than time spent on homework

(Canadian Council on Learning, 2009).

Year level appears to be a determinant of homework’s

academic effectiveness (Blazer, 2009; Cooper, 1989).

Most researchers conclude that for primary students,

there is no evidence that homework lifts academic

performance. There is only a small correlation between

homework and achievement in middle school (Cooper,

1989; Walker, 2011). Only in the senior years of high

school does homework clearly raise academic

performance.

These findings are very interesting - as well as being for

some - quite controversial. Families today struggle to find a

balance in their busy lives between work, school and ‘down

time’ - so essential for nurturing strong relationships.

Homework most agree—has its place in children’s lives and

currently we are reviewing our Homework Policy to ensure

it is up to date and relevant for the times and culture we

live in.

Have a great week,

Nanette

Happy ChappyGrinners and Winners

Givers

Welcoming:

Wave

Smile

Thumbs up

Wink

Make eye contact with any member of the school community.

Don’t look away

Encourage words with:

Class members

Family members

Teachers

Say “Sorry”

Use “Thanks” (10 times a day)

We sadly farewell

Sister Beryl from our

community. On

Wednesday the 30th

October she will be

at the Rosary Group

as her final goodbye.

She has been an

inspiration to our

staff and students

and will be dearly

missed, we wish her

the best of luck for

her future doing

ecumenical work in

Melbourne.

Tuckshop Dear Parents and Students

Welcome back to Term 4!

Thank you to the parents of grade 7H that are helping in the Tuckshop

this week and to the volunteers who are helping in the Tuckshop next

week. A reminder to the parents of Prep CW that your tuckshop turn is

in week 3 and the class roster response is due back this Friday 11

October 2013.

Important Notices:

The Tuckshop is now open on a Wednesday as well, but only for

online orders and over the counter sales. Please note that no

written brown paper bags will be accepted.

Tuckshop online ordering system: Go to www.flexischools.com.au

and click on “Register Now”. Enter your e-mail address and follow the

prompts. Please note that the cut-off time for online orders are 08:10

am each Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Please remember to order your sushi order on a Wednesday before

12:00pm. Sushi can only be ordered online via Flexischools.

Very Important Information:

If you order via a written brown paper bag, please make sure that you

have the new limited menu . This menu was distributed in the last

week of the 2nd term. If you do not have a new menu please get a copy

from the office or the Tuckshop. If you order anything that is not on

this menu, the order will be changed to an item available on the

menu with the same monetary value.

When ordering from Tuckshop via a written brown paper bag please

also include the correct money for 1st break and 2nd break as this will

greatly help and reduce the time it takes to stick change on the bags.

To access the full menu you will need to register and

place your order via flexischools.

Students can still buy ice blocks, slush puppies, cold drinks and

certain snacks over the counter.

Please contact me if you have questions or queries and also if you want

to volunteer in the Tuckshop.

WEEK CLASS

Week 01—08/10/2013 and 10/10/2013 7H

Week 02—15/10/2013 and 17/10/2013 Volunteers

Week 03—22/10/2013 and 24/10/2013 Prep CW

Week 04—29/10/2013 and 31/10/2013 Prep H

Week 05—05/11/2013 and 07/11/2013 Prep HF

Week 06—12/11/2013 and 14/11/2013 1H

Week 07—19/11/2013 and 21/11/2013 1W

Week 08—26/11/2013 and 28/11/2013 2R

Week 09—03/12/2013 and 05/12/2013 2S

WEEK TUESDAY VOLUNTEERS THURSDAY VOLUNTEERS

Term 4

01

08/10/2013

7H

C Boshoff

10/10/2013

7H

C Boshoff

C Backman

02

15/10/2013

C Backman

Rachel Curro

17/10/2013

Debbie Shaw

Bec Penhaligon

03

22/10/2013

Parents/

Guardians of

Prep CW

24/10/2013

Parents/

Guardians of

Prep CW

Reminder

Francis Way

Congratulations to Kirstin &

Daniel Nutley, Logan (Year 1H)

and Xavier on the birth of Kai

William on the 23rd September.

Book Covering Morning

We will be holding a book covering morning on

Wednesday 23rd October, 2013 at 8:30am to

10:30am. Please come along and help cover books

for our students to start using. We will supply a

cuppa and a light morning tea in the comfort of air

conditioning. Your help would be greatly

appreciated.

Book Fair – 2 days only

Wednesday 6th November, 2013 – 8am til 3:15pm

Thursday 7th November, 2013 – 8am to 9am &

1:30pm to 3:15pm

Every book that you purchase you will receive a

second book of equal or lesser value FREE to keep

for yourself or you could donate back to the library.

Resource Centre

QUEST AWARDS & THANKYOU ASSEMBLY will be held tomorrow, Friday 11th October in the hall commencing at the revised time of 8.45am. Please join us to celebrate and acknowledge the people who contributed to the success of our second whole school musical.

School Banking ….. Every Friday.