St Francis Xavier Primary School Woolgoolga eNewsletter

Prayer Focus

From the Principal

Thank you

Thank you all for a fantastic term filled with great learning and community spirit. We truly appreciate your support and involvement throughout these past months. As the school holidays approach, we wish everyone a safe and restful break.

Please save the date for an important event in Term 4, the Community Fete on Saturday, 25 October. This event relies heavily on volunteers to run the stalls, so we encourage anyone who can help to please get involved. Links to the volunteer signups for Fete Stalls are listed under Fete News in this newsletter.

Enjoy the holidays, and we look forward to seeing you next term!

Attendance Matters

Unexplained Absences

At our school, student safety is our top priority. We are aiming for 100% of student absences to be explained. It is essential that parents or caregivers submit an Attendance Note through Compass whenever their child is absent from school. Unexplained absences can raise serious safety concerns, as we may not know the reason a student has not arrived at school. Please help us keep our school community safe by informing the school promptly if your child is absent.

Thank you for your support.

Fete News

Donations Wanted

The Community Fete is fast approaching and preparations (and excitement) is ramping up!

We are currently accepting donations of WINE and CENT AUCTION PRIZES.

Donations for the WHITE ELEPHANT STALL will be accepted from the start of next term. Unfortunately, we are unable to store donations brought in before then, so please keep hold of them until then.

SHOWBAGS are on sale via Flexischools until Friday 19 September. A limited amount of showbags will be on sale at the Fete.

UNLIMITED RIDE WRISTBANDS are on sale via Flexischools until Wednesday 22 October for $30. Wristbands will be on sale on Fete Day for $35.

Volunteer Signup for fete stalls

We need lots of parent volunteers to man the stalls at the Community Fete. Please click on the links below to volunteer your time.

Kindergarten Fete Stalls volunteer signup:
https://volunteersignup.org/FWHKH

Stage 1 Fete Stalls volunteer signup:
https://volunteersignup.org/8XEKP

Stage 2 Fete Stalls volunteer signup:
https://volunteersignup.org/MJ4DC

Stage 3 Fete Stalls volunteer signup:
https://volunteersignup.org/APAQX

Fete Canteen volunteer signup:
https://volunteersignup.org/EPYB8

Hair Spray, Temporary Tattoo and Facepainting - Fete Stall volunteer signup:
https://volunteersignup.org/ABP7M

Faith & Mission

Parish Mass

Stage 1 students attended the Parish Mass at St Francis Xavier Church on Wednesday this week. Parishioners and families enjoyed the injection of youthful and enthusiastic singing, as well as a lovely morning tea and chat after Mass. Special mention goes to Bonnie and George from Stage 3 who came along to play the organ and guitar.

Charism Day

Please join us on Friday 26 September to celebrate our amazing school! Our Charism Day this year takes the place of our traditional SFX Day which usually takes place in December.

We hope to see you there.

**Katrina Ryan**
**Assistant Principal Mission**

Learning & Teaching

Clarence Schools Regional Public Speaking Competition

Congratulations to the following students who were selected to represent our school at the Clarence Schools Regional Public Speaking Competition being held at St John Paul College, Coffs Harbour on Monday 22 September.

Year 6 - Leo Wakefield
Year 5 - Nivaran Dosanjh
Year 4 - Sebastian Sandwell
Year 3 - Samuel Marks

Good luck to all four students, we know they will do us proud!

**Michaela O'Shea-Miller**
**Assistant Principal Learning & Teaching**

Communicating Diversity

Join us in celebrating Diwali at St Francis Xavier!

Join us on Friday, October 17th for a special Diwali assembly from 9.15am in the school hall.

There will be traditional Indian dance, music, and delicious treats to enjoy. Little ones can get creative with Diwali-themed craft, and families can capture memories at our fun photo booth.

Students are encouraged to wear traditional Indian clothing or come dressed in brightly coloured mufti to add to the festive spirit.

What is Diwali?
Diwali, also known as the Festival of Lights, is celebrated by many communities across India and the world. Many religions celebrate Diwali. Sikhs celebrate Diwali to mark the return of Guru Hargobind Ji after his release from imprisonment - an event symbolising freedom and light over darkness.

We look forward to celebrating this special day with our school community.

Sporting Roundup

Touch Football Gala Day

Last Wednesday a number of Stage 2 and Stage 3 students participated in a non-competitive Touch Football Gala Day at Woolgoolga, encouraging the development of the sport in our region. St Francis Xavier sent 7 teams! The NSW Touch Football Primary School Gala Day allows for schools of differing school systems to contest against each other, an opportunity not provided elsewhere within the school system for Touch Football.

If your child has shown an interest and wants to play Touch Football, below are links to local affiliates:

Coffs Harbour Touch Association | Touch Football Association
Woolgoolga Touch Association | Touch Football Association

Elective Sports

Elective Sports is now well under way with Stage 2 and 3 students now half way through their program. It has been great to see the students trying new sports, being active and most importantly having fun. A massive thank you to all local sporting organisations and coaches for their support with the running of our Elective Sports. This year the students were given the opportunity to choose from Touch Football, Surfing, CrossFit, Gymnastics, Basketball and Pickleball.

A reminder that this week's Elective Sports will be a double session, except for surfing.

Students will take their recess with them to Elective Sports this Friday.

Photos from one of our new sports this year, Pickleball:

Diocesan Primary Football Knockout Finals

Next Wednesday our Girls Soccer Team will be competing at the Diocesan Primary Football Knockout Finals in Grafton. The girls will be competing against the winning teams from all the other zones in our Diocese. We know they will represent our school with pride and we wish the following girls all the best:

Wellbeing Corner

Wellbeing Wednesday

Postitive Behaviour Support (PBS)

**Alessandra Isgro**
**School Counsellor**

Reminders regarding afternoon pick-up

Thank you for your patience and support during the implementation of our new Drive Thru system. It is working well and we've had lots of positive feedback from parents regarding its efficiency. There is very little wait time when using this pick-up option, with the bulk of students picked up within 10 mins.

There are a few things regarding pick-up that we'd like to clarify for families at this time:

1. There is NO ACCESS through the Bus Bay at home time, either by car or on foot. Parents must park in Maldon Place, High Street or Nelson Street if not using the Drive Thru. A reminder not to park on the island or block driveways in Maldon Place - these infringements may incur fines.

2. Parents who arrive at the Drive Thru BEFORE 3.10pm are asked to start the queue before the Bus Bay. Currently, parents are waiting in the No Parking zone, which only permits cars to stop for 2 mins. When the teacher on duty arrives at 3.10pm, this is the time to start moving forward into the cul-de-sac.

3. Cars must stop at or before the sign near the house. Stopping after the sign (in the NO STOPPING zone) is not allowed.

4. Parking restrictions in Queen St are enforceable and fines may be issued for non-compliance.

If you need any further clarification or have any feedback for us to consider, please don't hesitate to get in touch.

School Community Forum

Next Meeting

The next School Community Forum meeting will be held on Monday, 3 November at 6.30pm in the school library. There is a Zoom link below for those who are unable to attend in person.

Zoom Link

Salina McIvor
President

Playgroup

School Business Directory

The St Francis Xavier Primary School Business Directory is designed to serve as a valuable resource for our entire school community. This directory will be made available to all St Francis Xavier families, through our school newsletter and social media, with the intention of fostering a stronger sense of community and connection among us all. Not only will it facilitate networking and support between our families, but it will also provide our school with access to local businesses capable of meeting any needs or services required. Through this initiative, we aim to strengthen bonds within our community while also supporting local enterprises. If you are interested, please complete this Google form.

Well done to all token recipients for this fortnight and congratulations to the Gold Token recipients. Keep up the great work everyone!

Award recipients

Congratulations to all award recipients at last week's Assembly. Keep up the great work!

2026 Enrolments

St John Paul College news

Please click on the link below and follow St John Paul College, Coffs Harbour to see the many wonderful academic and sporting achievements by their students, many of whom are former students of St Francis Xavier, Woolgoolga!

St John Paul College Facebook page

Lost Property

We have accumulated 15 jumpers and 7 jackets in lost property. All of these items have no names on them. Feel free to pop into the office and have a look if you think one of these items may belong to your child.

Please label all items that come to school with your child, this will help us to return lost items to the correct owner.

2025 Term 3 Week 9 Newsletter