Friday 5, September 2025

From the Acting Principal's Desk

Dear Parents, Carers, and Community Members,

It is with great pride that I begin my time as Acting Principal at St Francis Xavier. I’ve already been so impressed by the kind and thoughtful behaviour of our students. This is a big, busy school with so much happening every day, and the energy and learning taking place is something we can all be proud of.

A special congratulations to our Opti-MINDS teams on their recent success! These events create lasting memories for our students, and I’d like to sincerely thank Ms Donnelly for generously giving her time to support and guide them.

Thank you also to the dedicated staff who have supported the Year 4, 5 and 1 excursions, as well as the Prep incursion. These rich learning experiences are what make SFX such a special place to be. They reflect the commitment of our staff and the enthusiasm of our students to explore, discover and grow.

Class placements 2026

We are about to begin the process for formulating our classes for next year (2026). Our process is a very thorough one, which takes in many considerations, and our decisions for placing children in certain classes are not made lightly. As has been our usual practice, we will consider feedback from parents should you feel the need to request a certain placement for 2026. As such we would ask for this input to be made by Friday, 17th October 2025.  Any letters after this time will not be considered.

Please note that this information forms only one part of our process and often requests cannot be accommodated. It is our professional responsibility to place the children where we believe that their educational needs can be best met. Once our decision is made and the class your child is in is sent home, we will not be making any further changes, as one change may cause a knock-on effect for other placements. We have confidence that the system we use best meets our overall school needs. I would ask that parents not nominate respective teachers as our staffing (i.e. teacher placements) may change from what it is for this year. Any information for requests should only be on medical or specific educational grounds. All class placement details need to be either emailed to secretary.manunda@cns.catholic.edu.au or sent to our office in a written form so that we have a hard copy of your request. Thank you for your assistance with this important matter.

I look forward to continuing to work alongside our wonderful community to ensure every child feels safe, supported and inspired to learn.

Warm regards,
Theresa Redgwell
Acting Principal
St Francis Xavier

Assistant Principal Administration

Recently, our Year 5 students had the chance to experience life as it was in early Australia during their visit to Herberton Historical Village. Guided by volunteers in period costume, the students had the opportunity to experience a classroom from the 1800s and witness a blacksmith in action. The students were then able to explore the Village with their teachers, offering a glimpse into daily life over a century ago.

Year 4 enjoyed an eye-opening excursion to the Resource Recovery Centre, where they discovered the importance of recycling and sustainability. Students observed how various materials are sorted and processed and explored the principles of “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.” Many students returned inspired to make a difference both at school and at home by adopting greener habits.

We’re excited to announce the upcoming Year 5 Leadership Day, where students will hone their teamwork and leadership skills through engaging workshops and activities. This special day aims to build confidence, encourage collaboration, and help students discover what it means to be a positive role model in our school and community. The purpose of this day is to prepare our current Year 5s for their future roles as leaders of SFX. It also enables students to understand the expectations of being a School Leader, House Leader and a Tier 2 Leader and determine if they are positions they wish to apply for.

We are proud of our students’ enthusiasm and growth through these experiences, and thank our staff and parent volunteers for their invaluable support.

Throughout all excursions and events, our students have demonstrated positive behaviour, showing respect, kindness, and responsibility. As a school, we are deeply committed to creating an environment where every student feels secure, valued, and confident in coming to school each day. The school remains committed to the safety and wellbeing of every student by following our Whole School Behaviour Support Plan. This framework ensures that all students understand and uphold school expectations, and that staff provide a safe, supportive environment where everyone can thrive. We thank families for reinforcing these values at home and supporting a positive school culture.

We understand that open communication plays an essential role in maintaining this safe and supportive atmosphere. If parents or caregivers have any concerns about their child’s wellbeing or experiences at school, we encourage them to reach out to their child’s teachers as the first point of contact. Together, we can work collaboratively to resolve issues and ensure that all students continue to thrive in our school community

Until next fortnight.

Kristina Armstrong

Assistant Principal Religious Education

Week 7 saw the last 2 afternoon visits for the Japanese Student Visitors from Kansai. We farewelled them with an assembly on Wednesday 27th August, and they performed a song and a Japanese traditional dance for us. We thank Banora staff for all they do to support the school to facilitate this wonderful cultural exchange. Kansai started visiting our school in 2005 - so they celebrated 20 years of partnership with us.

On Friday 29th August, Prep had their Incursion. Rooms were decked out to represent the Rainforest, Ocean and Unique Australian animals, including a ‘croc inhabited pond’ to navigate into the classrooms. I was fortunate enough to join in the activities, and the classes were split for 3 rotations between Mrs Smith, Mrs Price and myself. The morning was spent as junior wildlife explorers learning a little more about a range of animals and completing different craft activities. The day ended on a high with Roaming Wild giving each class a 1 hour interactive session with animals including snakes, lizards, ring tail possum and crocodile.

On Wednesday 3rd September, Year 1 had their “Promise and Hope of God” Liturgy in the church, to reflect on their learning about Old testament stories including Noah’s Ark and Moses. We thank the parents and grandparents that were able to attend in support of this liturgy.

This weekend I hope all of our fathers’ have an extra special day with their children. Thank you to our P&F, parent volunteers, and Mrs Jennings for the organisation and support of our Father’s Day Stall on Thursday and Friday. The students selected the gifts with great care.

Let us offer a Father’s Day Prayer to our father figures in our lives: 

Loving God,

We thank you for the love we receive from the men in our lives who are fathers, grandfathers, uncles, and those who are like fathers to us. 

Bless all our father figures, give them strength and courage, tenderness and gentleness, so that they may reflect the love you have for us.

We ask this prayer in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Under 8s Day, Thursday 18th September for our Prep to Year 2 students. We will be welcoming some students from nearby daycare centres as well as our 2026 Prep students. Parents if you have siblings that are due to start school next year, and you haven’t had an interview - please contact the office to arrange your place for 2026. 

Check out the dates for our 2026 Prep Student Orientation sessions that start from Week 2 next term.

Blessings for the rest of the Term, Debbie McGuinness.

Leader of Learning and Teaching

Opti-MINDS REGIONAL CHALLENGE DAY

Our Opti-MINDS teams proudly represented our school at the Regional Challenge Day held at JCU last Sunday. Each team participated in a spontaneous challenge, where they had just 10 minutes to collaboratively solve an open-ended problem—demonstrating impressive problem-solving and teamwork skills. In addition, they presented their long-term challenge solution, developed over six weeks, through a creative and dramatic performance.

Congratulations to Team 1 for receiving the Honours Award in Division 1:

Kiera, Elyse, Olivia, Victoria, Billy, Scarlett, and April.

Well done also to Team 2, who were recognised with the Spirit of Opti-MINDS Award:

Jaggar, Minou, Georgia, Madoka, and Manato.

We are incredibly proud of all students for their creativity, collaboration, and commitment!

STUDENT LED CONFERENCES– 8th to 12th September

Student Led Conferences will take place next week, from Monday 8th to Friday 12th September. Bookings through BOOKED have now closed. If you were unable to secure a time, please contact your child’s teacher directly to make alternative arrangements.

To support your child’s self-reflection during the conference, we encourage you to use the following guiding questions:

1. What did you learn in this unit?
2. How did you go?
3. What strategies did you use when faced with challenges or when something was unclear?
4. How can you continue to improve your learning?
5. What are you most proud of?

We trust you will find these conferences a valuable and rewarding opportunity to engage in your child’s learning journey.

Meg Donnelly

Mackillop Centre

Dear Families, 

We’re excited to celebrate Indigenous Literacy Day on Tuesday, September 3rd, and we invite you to join us in promoting Indigenous stories and voices. We will be holding two special library events.

Blak Books 30-Day Reading Challenge

We are encouraging each class to read 30 Blak Books—books by Indigenous authors. The challenge is simple and fun: each class will read one First Nations book a day throughout September and October, and record each title on their chart. Our library has a rich collection of First Nations literature ready for borrowing. 

Week 9 Book Swap

We will be hosting a Book Swap on Tuesday and Wednesday of Week 9 between 3 - 4pm in the upstairs room of the library. Families are invited to donate good quality books (no damaged or marked copies, please) that they no longer need. Students who donate will receive a ticket to exchange for a book at the swap.

Students who haven’t donated can still participate by giving a gold coin donation, with all proceeds going to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation, a not for profit organisation that supports reading and learning in remote communities.

Students who are donating books can deliver them to the library and collect their tickets.

Let’s work together to celebrate Indigenous voices and foster a love of reading across our school community!

Happy reading,

Mrs Reilly, Mrs Havill and Mrs Ross

Student Highlights

🌟 Star Student Awards

Congratulations to the following students who received Star Student Awards yesterday, as chosen by our wonderful SFX School Officers:

Rihan, Maika, Isaiah, Aria, Adaleen, Arlo, Elena, Aradhya, Mackenzie, and Mary

🌟 Opti-MINDs Awards

Congratulations to our Opti-MINDs teams that participated in the Regional Challenge Day at JCU on Sunday.Team 1, consisting of Kiera, Elyse, Olivia, Victoria, Billy, Scarlett, and April, earned Honours in the Language & Literature (Div 1) category.Team 2, featuring Jaggar, Minou, Georgia, Madoka, and Manato, received the Spirit of Opti-MINDS award.What an outstanding effort from both teams!

🎶 Well Done, Emily!

One of our talented Year 6 students, Emily, performed with the Cairns Youth Orchestra last weekend. The orchestra played at three venues over two days, including:

• Carinya Home for the Aged
• Herberton Hall
• Atherton Performing Arts Centre

What a fantastic achievement, Emily

Parent Portal and MYCE App

Accessing the MYCE App

Parent and Caregivers can download the latest version by clicking the following links:

• ​MyCE Mobile App - Apple App Store​
• ​MyCE Mobile App - Google Play

Accessing the Parent Portal

https://sway.cloud.microsoft/jjlLuzLFbAEbPGfC

Mary Amongst Us Awards - Week 7 & 8

P & F Uniform Shop

Thanks to the wonderful support from our school community, we’re excited to announce that the Uniform Shop is now back to opening on Thursday afternoons!

We currently have excess stock available, so if you're in need of uniforms, be sure to drop by and take a look.We also have extra used school bags in stock – perfect if you're looking for a spare or replacement.

2025 Term Dates

Prep Enrolments for 2026

Children who were born between 1 July 2020 and 30 June 2021 are eligible to attend Prep in 2026.

Enrolment applications for the 2026 Prep year are currently being accepted! Interviews for placement in the 2026 Prep classes are underway, with offers now being made to families.

A friendly reminder to existing families: please ensure that enrolment applications are completed, and interviews are scheduled for younger children transitioning to Prep. It's important to note that having a sibling at SFX does not automatically guarantee the enrolment process.

For those with family or friends seeking a high-quality education for their children, we kindly urge our school community to share your experiences with St Francis Xavier’s School and the positive impact of a Catholic education. Encourage them to reach out to the school at 4037 9900, explore our website, or visit us in person so that we can engage in a discussion about enrolling their child.

Tuckshop News

Tuckshop is now Open 3 Days per week

Monday, Wednesday and Fridays from Week 7 until the end of the Year. 

Place all your school orders online quickly and easily with Flexischools. Flexischools is a well-established organisation allowing you to place all your canteen orders online at any time.

Download the Flexischools app from the App Store or Google Play for details on how to set up your account. https://www.flexischools.com.au.

Volunteering

Parents, grandparents, and carers are always welcome to come and assist with the preparations in the tuckshop. Please contact the front office on 07 4037 9900 if you are able to assist.

Upcoming Events