Issue 4, Term 1, 15th March 2024

Principals Report

Dear Parents and Community,

I would like to begin by saying a heartfelt thank you to the wonderful community we have here at St Finbarr’s. I am extremely thankful for everyone, especially to Bridget Wells who along with my amazing staff supported each other and the students in ensuring that in my absence the show did go on, smoothly. Thank you to parents who reached out, I am very blessed to be apart of this journey with you all.

Leadership Forum

Thank you to Mrs Mary Rutledge for deputising while I was away. The leadership forum is so important especially for small school Principals who at times can feel quite isolated and alone in their leadership. It is a chance to network with others, challenge your mindset and become more familiar with system processes, procedures and keep us up to date with the ever-changing aspects of education, which will build my capabilities in improving my own leadership capabilities at St Finbarr’s which is something we value for our ongoing commitment to all our staff.

Harmony Day

Harmony Week is the celebration that recognises our diversity and brings together Australians from all different backgrounds. It’s about inclusiveness, respect, and a sense of belonging for everyone.​

An enormous thank you to students, families, and our staff! We had an overwhelming response to our “shared morning tea”. I have never doubted the dedication our parents and staff have at our school and today was a beautiful and timely reminder of just how great you all are. We had an overflowing abundance of morning tea ranging from Maldon’s Granny’s Alabama Cornbread, Mexican Dip, Dumpling, Sushi, Croissants, Pizza, Spring Rolls, Lots of orange food and so much more! Thank you so much, the children all were so excited to share in the celebrations!

Cross Country

Cross Country will be held on Monday, 25^th March at the Quilpie Golf Club. All students are to be dropped off to the Golf Club no later than 8.30am. We would really appreciate parents to come and help serve in the canteen and help with setting up the marquees at 8am on the Monday morning of the Cross Country.

Students are encouraged to wear their house colour shirt with their school shorts/or skorts. Students are allowed to wear joggers – black school shoes are not compulsory at Cross Country.

NAPLAN

Year 5 completed their first day of NAPLAN this week and will continue their tests Monday-Wednesday next week. They took it in their stride, and all did a great job this week. We wish them luck for next week.

Instrumental Music

Next week on Tuesday, 19^th March, Mr Keith Waples our Instrumental Music Teacher will be visiting the school. He will be holding a parent meet and greet at 8.30am for all students and their parents.

Bridget Wells

It is with great sadness that we announce Ms Bridget Wells will be leaving at the end of Term 2, 2024. We will deeply miss her humour, encouragement, wealth of wisdom, travel experience and worldly approach to her pedagogy. Bridget has encouraged and assisted in incredible growth in students’ academics since she arrived and has been an asset to our school community. We will miss her, but we wish her every happiness on her next chapter and hope she knows that she will always be apart of our St Finbarr’s Family. You never really leave St Finbarr’s it stays with you.

10-12 Years Charleville & District Cricket Trials

Today a note went home to 10–12-Year-olds for Charleville & District Cricket trials. If you didn’t receive a copy, please contact the office. They are to be returned by Tuesday, 26^th March.

Project Compassion Boxes
Please note that Project Compassion boxes can be returned any time before the end of term, but no later than Thursday 28th March. We hope that as a family you have been speaking about the meaning of Lent with your children and why we participate in the Caritas Project Compassion initiative.
Lent is an important period of reflection, growth, and new beginning in the Christian calendar. It is a time when Christians prepare for Easter. Our celebration of Lent began on Ash Wednesday, the day after Shrove Tuesday, and six weeks before Easter. The traditional practices of Lent are almsgiving, prayer, and fasting and a time when we practice new ways of doing good. 

Parent Teacher Interviews 
Thank you to all of the parents for your effort in ensuring everyone organised a time to see their teacher for parent teacher interviews. Just a reminder Parent Teacher Interviews will be in Week 9 from Tuesday – Wednesday. 

​​Kind regards Mrs Marsh 

APRE

Support Project Compassion 2024, each year we send home Caritas boxes  to each family for students to donate any spare change. Below is a link if you would like any more information.

Please return your Boxe at the end of Term 1. 

Caritas Australia | Donate to Caritas Australia

St Finbarr's Church Palm Sunday Mass

Father Peter will be in Quilpie to host the Palm Sunday Mass, Sunday 24th March at St Finbarr's Church 6pm. All are welcome 

Many churches celebrate Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter (March 31). Palm Sunday is the first day of the Holy Week and celebrates the arrival of Jesus into Jerusalem for Passover. Maybe your church has children waving palm branches to help them connect to the story. But while this is a triumphal entry, it is Jesus’ first step toward His death.

What Is Palm Sunday?
Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter that begins the Holy Week. It is the day that we remember and celebrate the day Jesus entered Jerusalem as Savior and King. As Jesus rode a donkey into the town of Jerusalem a large crowd gathered and laid palm branches and their cloaks across the road, giving Jesus royal treatment. The hundreds of people shouted ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!’ -Excerpted from 5 Things about Palm

Palm Sunday 2024 is the start of the Holy Week, which contains:

Palm Sunday, March 24
Maundy Thursday, March 28
Good Friday, March 29
Holy Saturday, March 30
Easter Sunday, March 31

Student of the Week & Gotcha Winners Term 1

Gotcha tickets are given out each week when students are seen to be following our school rules and values.  Actions may include caring for each other, greeting other students, staff and parents warmly or showing respect and responsibility.                                                                                                                                           Actions may also be following the words of Mary Mackillop -  'Never see a need without doing something about it'.                                                                                                                                                                                                            All the Gotcha  tickets a placed in the 'Gotcha box' and two names are drawn out each week, the remaining names stay in the box and are added to each week.

Gr 3-6 Classroom

The Term is quickly, too quickly, drawing to a close. It has been pleasing to see the dedication shown by the class towards training for their upcoming cross country.  

In Maths, students have been working on their number facts, shape names, decimal awareness, prime & composite numbers, factors and multiples, and fraction knowledge. The students have been working hard on Reflex to attain 100% fluency with their number facts. Many students have made more progress this Term, than the whole of last year combined. Great effort. 

 In English, students have been developing their opinions, selecting emotive language, creating settings and characters, collecting interesting words, identifying sounds, synonyms, antonyms, syllables and sounds and practising their typing skills. Very busy individuals.  

Additionally, students have been conducting experiments, investigating the Age of Exploration, appreciating all the support that Caritas Australia can provide with our Project Compassion donations, experimenting with poppy designs, presenting information to their classmates and lastly, enjoying spending time with each other. 

Preps Library day

Prep-2 Science Unit

Prep-2 students have been observing how living things grow and how the environment around living things effects growth. Students began the term with growing beans and looking at the change in the growth of beans in different environments.

Breaking News! We have chickens hatching this week (Week 8). P-2 have been reading and writing about a hen’s lifecycle. Students are now observing eggs as they begin to hatch in an incubator in our classroom. Students have learnt that chicks need humidity, warmth, and a strong beak to break through their shell and hatch. P-2 have been observing, questioning, predicting, and enjoying this time. It has been very rewarding and exciting to see the love for learning in our P-2 Finnie’s. They have hatched just in time for Easter.

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Last week of Cross Country Training

This will be the last week of training for the Quilpie and District Cross Country Carnival which will be held the 25th March. 

Training at School- Monday to Thursday 8.15am, please only send students that are willing to train as we cannot cater for spectators unless accompanied by a parent. It is also suggested that students do as much training as possible at home and on the weekends.

Good Luck and GO PEGLER!!!!

Home bake for Cross Country carnival, every year we ask parents who are able to smake some home-bake to  be sold at the cross country canteen eg Muffins, cup cakes, slices. Please only make 12 serves for example not 70. 

We are asking  if parents can make some home bake for Cross Country, prefably something 

Quilpie & District Swimming Presentations

Due to flooding in the Quilpie Shire last year during our Annual Swimming Carnival, Eromanga State School were unable to attend the carnival, so  the end of day  presentations were postponed . Presentations will now be made  after the conculsion of the Quilpie and District Cross Country carnival 2024

Harmony Day

Australia is one of the most successful multicultural countries in the world and we should celebrate this and work to maintain it.

Harmony Week is about inclusiveness, respect and belonging for all Australians, regardless of cultural or linguistic background, united by a set of core Australian values.

Today we celebrated with Song ,Food and our friends. Thankyou to the amazing parents who sent a plate in for the students to eat at morning tea, we had alittle Japanease, Mexican, Australian, Italian and Ameraican to name a few!.

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Happy, International Womens Day 8th March

School Fee's Reminder

Volunteer Declaration

Can parents who haven't returned their form please do so. Please speak to the office if you need another form .

Term 1 Whole School Swim Lessons

This term our swimming lessons at All About Aquatics is fosusing on Life saving skills. 

 Students require lightweight T-shirt and shorts for Prep - 1 students and lightweight long sleeve top and pants for Grades 2-6. Next Friday will be the final week of swimming lessons for the students. 

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Tuck-Shop 2024

Please make sure you read the  Operating Procedures in the Tuck shop to familiarize  yourself with how it runs, always ask Office questions if your not sure.                                                                                                                     10am Please supply 3 small fruit/veg platters - snack attack                                                                                                11am  Fruit/veg option and  homebake  - morning tea                                                                                                     1pm   Lunch and dessert   

Parents on Tuck shop will not be sent home an envelope for their student. Please see the office if you have any issue's or need some money to pay for items (please bring receipt)

Please note : Please dont send PEANUT related snacks to school. Peanuts only are not permitted, other nuts are fine.                                                                                                                                                                                              A link to the Operating Procedures can be found below.                                                        

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Assembly

Dont forget each Friday we have assembly in the Mary Mackillop room, where student awards are presented and School notices are shared with students and familiies present , at 8.45am when the bell rings take the Mary Mackillop room 

PPF 2024

The next scheduled meeting is this coming Thursday 21st of March 5pm 

All are welcome to come and have some input into our school.

President -Mr. Sam Bartlett
Vice president-Mr. Dan Hoch
Treasurer - Mrs. Amy Kuhn
Secretary – Ms. Kerri Thompson
Fundraising C0-Ordinator - Mrs. Lousie Hoch

School Website & Calendar

Please make youself familiar with our School Website, below is the Website link and a direct link to the school online calendar which has future dates on it that may not have been included in the Term planner, such as AGM and Fete dates.

Below shows you in 4 steps on how to subscribe the school online  calendar onto your phone's calendar, when reading school newsletter on your phone 

 St Finbarr's School, Quilpie, Calendar 

 St Finbarr's School, Quilpie Website

District & Regional Sport

Below is a copy of the Regional sport calendar for those students 10years and over.

2024 Term Planner

Please find the Term Planner for T1 and T2, please also keep a look out on our website for other dates

School Absences

School Yard access

School Bell Times

Term Dates 2024

St Finbarr's Student Protection Contacts

It is a legislative requirement that all non-state schools have at least two nominated staff members to whom a student can report the behaviour of another staff member that the student considers inappropriate.  We call these specially trained staff members School Student Protection Contacts, or SSPCs.  Each SSPC has been nominated by the principal in recognition of their integrity, approachability and knowledge in the area of student protection.  Whilst students are encouraged to speak up to any trusted adult in the school community, it is important that they know they can access these specific staff members at any time should they have worries, queries or concerns. You will have noticed posters throughout the school depicting our current SSPCs.  The SSPCs are also published on our school website along with information about our student protection processes.  In everything we do at St Finbarr's student safety is our highest priority, therefore the SSPCs at our school are key personnel in our overall safeguarding processes.  Please see the poster depicting our current SSPC team.