St Francis Catholic Primary School - Tannum Sands eNewsletter

A Message from Leadership

The Importance of Oral Language Development

This week, we were privileged to have Jane Walsh, our Oral Language Development Project Officer, visit St Francis and work with our Education Support Officers (Teacher Assistants). The focus of these sessions was on enhancing oral language skills, covering key areas such as:

Vocabulary Development
Sentence Development
Active Listening and Following Instructions
Narrative Language
Phonological Awareness

Jane shared valuable insights and strategies for supporting children’s oral language development, which is so critical in their early years of learning.

Jane shared an eye-opening research study conducted as part of Dr Mary Brushe’s PhD at the University of Adelaide. This study explored the relationship between screen time and parent-child interactions for children aged 12 to 36 months.

Children wore Fitbit-like devices that measured electronic noise and parent-child talk during 16-hour periods. The devices used speech recognition technology to count:

Adult words spoken around the child
Child vocalisations (sounds/words made by the child)
Conversational turns (back-and-forth exchanges between parent and child)

Even when parents followed the World Health Organisation’s screen time guidelines (one hour of screen time per day for 3-year-olds), children missed out on:

397 adult words
294 vocalisations
68 conversational turns PER DAY

The average screen time in the study, however, was much higher—172 minutes per day! At this level, children missed out on:

1139 adult words
843 vocalisations
198 conversational turns PER DAY

The study also highlighted that these numbers are likely underestimated, as it couldn’t capture silent interactions when parents used their devices in front of children.

The findings are a timely reminder of how technology can unintentionally reduce parent-child interactions during the early years, a critical period for language and cognitive development.

As we head into the long weekend, it’s worth reflecting on how we might reduce screen time and increase opportunities for meaningful interactions with our children. Last weekend, we had some trees removed from our property. While my eldest was off playing in a golf competition, my youngest declared she was bored and asked to watch TV. Instead, I handed her a box of chalk and sent her outside.

She spent the next two hours quietly and happily drawing pictures, completely forgetting her earlier boredom. This small moment reminded me of the enriching alternatives we can offer our children to foster creativity, imagination, and connection.

This long weekend, let’s consider small changes that can reduce screen time in our homes. Whether it’s drawing, reading, or simply spending time outdoors, these moments can have a lasting impact on our children’s development - and create beautiful family memories in the process.

Let’s work together to build a strong foundation for our children’s future, one word, one conversation, and one interaction at a time.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Mrs Samantha Suthers- Principal

Reflection- Sr Kym Harris

Once I was talking with a mum who was taking her daughter to the State Swimming Trials in Brisbane and she spoke of how well she hoped her daughter would do – which really came down to doing a personal best. But I’m sure the daughter’s hopes were for more, maybe even much more, perhaps even being noticed for Olympic training. So, what if her hopes were too high, they sure got her out of bed long before dawn each day for training.

Having hopes, even high hopes, is crucial for growth. We aim for what we hope for. This week the Church celebrates the Feast of the Transfiguration, the moment in Jesus’ life when his glory shone through him. Up till now, the disciples had known Jesus as just an extraordinary human, now they saw the glory of God shining through him, even when he was talking about the shameful death he was to face. This moment of Transfiguration was not just to show them who Jesus was but also to give those disciples a future glimpse of the glory that God desires for each of us. St Peter, writing years later as an old man, was still fired by this moment of glory. It had inspired him to see what life in God could mean – both at the end of life and also in living gracefully through all the trials of life.

The glory that God desires for each of us is greater than Olympic glory…and far more lasting but we need to actually access it, especially in the difficult and even dull times of life. We need to regularly imagine what our unique personality would be like at its ‘best self’ and then ask for God’s grace to live towards that life. One thing of which we can be certain: God’s hopes for our glory are greater than what we have for ourselves.

Loving God, your desires for me are even greater than I can have for myself.
Send me your Spirit to reveal to me, even in a small way,
the glory you desire to give me through Jesus.
I ask this in his name confident that you will hear me.
Amen

Sr Kym Harris os

Parent Teacher Conversations

Parent Teacher Conversation bookings on Parent Orbit open on Monday 11th August at 8am and close on Friday 22nd August at 3pm.

Please book a time to meet with class teachers.

Monday 11th August - Public Holiday

Show Holiday

Feast Day of St Rufino and St Clare of Assisi

Our sporting houses reveal the story of the Franciscan charism of our school. Today we celebrate the feast day of St Rufino and St Clare.

Tuesday 12th August

Physical Education Lessons

All students will participate in PE with Mrs Kylie Linforth today.

Students are to wear their sports shirts. Hats and water bottles are essential.

Private Music Lessons

If you would like any information regarding our instrumental music or piano lessons, please contact Mrs Meredith Grove.

Digital Technologies Lessons

Students from Years 3 to 6 will participate in Digi Tech lessons today with Mrs Meredith Grove. They are learning all about digital photography.

Tuckshop Day

Lunch Club

Board Meeting

Tonight our School Board will meet to continue conversations regarding our Mobile Phone and Wearable Technology Guidelines.

Wednesday 13th August

Lunch Club

Curriculum Gathering

Mrs Linforth will be attending the annual Curriculum Gathering in Rockhampton.

Guitar lessons with Mr Wayne Dunnett today.

Thursday 14th August

Feast Day of St Maximilian Kolbe

Our sporting houses reveal the story of the Franciscan charism of our school. Today we celebrate the feast day of St Maximilian Kolbe.

Our Year 2 - Year 6 students will gather in prayer and celebration of the lives of Rufino, Kolbe and St Clare at 1:35pm.

Students are encouraged to wear their sports shirts today!

Specialist Lessons today: