Term 4 Week 1
Weekly 5 With Leadership
Gullarn ngheeree - Welcome to this beautiful place,
Welcome back to St Francis Catholic Primary for our final term of 2024. I hope that your holidays provided a break from the routines of early rises and lunchboxes!
Today marks the feast day of St Francis of Assisi, a saint whose life was simultaneously traditional and revolutionary. ‘He stood barefoot on the earth and yet touched the Heavens’ (Rohr, p.17). Our school joined in festive celebrations on our last day of Term 3, a most beautiful gathering at Canoe Point.
Humans are wired into ‘routines’, and in many ways, the consistency of knowing where our day is heading is important for our wellbeing. One of my ‘before school’ routines is to sit with a book of ‘substance’ over breakfast (as opposed to the chilled fiction books in my evening routine).
Richard Rohr’s book, ‘Eager to Love’, is my current pick with the first pages turned this week. Richard’s years of sharing the Franciscan tradition of living helps to make sense of the life of St Francis and its connections to living in today’s world. For Francis to commit his life to the Gospel of Jesus, his life journeyed from son of a wealthy merchant to an embracing of poverty and a discovery of what Rohr describes as a radical simplification - the letting go of the old to make room for the new. In doing this, Francis drew strength from his love of Jesus and his life subsequently drew many to join in community with him.
Living at the pace of today’s world can feel like an endless stream of "to do’s, to check out's and to tick off's". These first few pages with the following quote from Neale Donald Walsch had me reflecting on the countless things in my life that consume my every day, with an encouragement to consider their place, their priority and their worth. May this also be an invitation to us all.
Something Old and Something New
Yearning for a new way will not produce it.
Only ending the old way can do that.
You cannot hold onto the old, all the while declaring
that you want something new.
The old will defy the new;
The old will deny the new;
The old will decry the new.
There is only one way to bring in the new.
You must make room for it.
Melissa Davey, our school counsellor, has been on personal leave to care for her mum, with an indefinite time of returning to her role. We join as a community to send love and prayers to Melissa.
God’s blessings upon your weekend,
PAX et bonum - Peace and all goodness,
Meredith Grove
(Principal 2024)
From Libby's Desk - APRE
Feast Day of Saint Francis of Assisi.
As he lay dying, Francis said, “I have done what is mine; may Christ teach you what is yours!”
We can only change the world insofar as we have changed ourselves.
We can only give away who we are.
We can only offer to others what God has done in us.
Open your heart, keep your eyes on My God and My All!
(Franciscan Schools Australia 2024
Happy St Francis Feast Day
Welcome to New Staff for Term 4
Mr Greg Kelly will be leading the PE program at St Francis for Term 4.
Mrs Melissa Wilkings joins our Administration team at St Francis.
Greg Kelly
Melissa Wilkings
Parent Orbit App
We already have almost 100% of our parent community who have downloaded our new mobile Orbit App.
The App, Parent Orbit, which is connected to Parent Lounge, improves our communication with each other as it offers a quick and easy way to receive notifications, add Student Absences, view and pay School Fees, accept or decline excursions via the Events and Activities, check the school calendar, update details and permissions and much more.
Some of you may already be using the Parent Orbit App for Chanel College and you will simply add St Francis as another school you can access.
The App uses your Parent Lounge log in to access and will be a great way to access Parent Lounge features as you will not have to log in every time.
To download the App to your mobile device you can click on the link https://parentorbit.page.link/sosg or visit your APP store or copy the QR Code below.
Most of our Term Dates for the rest of the year are already installed on the App so it really is a good resource for you.
Uniform Update
School Assembly Week 2
Snake Safety
Transport Assistance Scheme
Tuckshop News
Community News
St Francis Catholic Primary School is excited to announce that the Football Queensland & Brisbane Roar After School Program is coming to our school!
Key program details can be found in the attached flyer.
All participants must be registered prior to the clinic starting, using the link below.
For any questions, please contact the FQ x Roar team at community@footballqueensland.com.au.
Gladstone Basketball
We have a new Aussie Hoops program and our Summer Season commencing next week.
Tannum Sands Junior Tennis
All days, times and sessions remain the same. If anyone is interested in a private lesson child or adult, or would like more information on our Monday night Cardio sessions, please send me a message to see what available times we have.
Red Balls Mondays 3:30pm - 4:15pm
Orange Balls Mondays and Tuesdays 4:15 - 5:00pm
JDS Squad Thursdays 5:00pm - 6:00pm
Super Squad Tuesdays 6:00pm - 7:30pm
