Activities and Events
SPECIAL VISIT FROM LAURA GOURLEY
Our school welcomed a very special guest to assembly last Monday, local town hero Laura Gourley!
Laura shared her rowing journey and the wonderful experience she had at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The students enthusiastically asked questions such as “how often do you train?”, “what sport would you play if you weren’t a rower?” and “what else did you get to do in Paris?”. Stage 3 were invited into the Library for a more in depth discussion about the dedication required to become a professional athlete. Laura was excited to show them the boarding pass she received for Paris, her kit including her Zootie (rowing outfit) and other Olympic merchandise.
Thank you so much to Laura for visiting us and sharing your story. Thank you also for gifting us with our very own Olympic merchandise including beanie and lapel pin.
We wish Laura all the best as she commences training to be selected for the 2028 Olympics in LA.
BRAIN OLYMPIA
On Wednesday 28th August, two teams comprising of students from Stages 2 and 3 travelled to Walgett to compete in Brain Olympia.
Brain Olympia is a competition that involves five rounds of general knowledge trivia-style questions, drama, public speaking and mathematical problem solving. Also competing were two teams from St Philomena’s Moree, two teams from St Joseph’s Walgett and one team from St Joseph’s Wee Waa.
Each team was asked to prepare a speech around the topic ‘If I could change three things in the world…’. One speaker from each group delivered this speech to the audience. There was a wide range of issues requiring change identified by the students, including climate change, rising inflation and the shrinking size of McDonald’s cheeseburgers. Finally, teams were also asked to prepare a short skit based around the line ‘We should have listened…’. These items were very entertaining and humorous.
Our students did very well and we are very proud of their efforts. Congratulations to the Moree 1 team who placed first.
FATHER'S DAY BREAKFAST
A huge thank you to all the fathers and father figures who attended our annual Father’s Day breakfast at school last week. Last Friday we celebrated all the men who are special to our students with a memorable morning filled with love, laughter, sausage and egg burgers and hot beverages. Thank you also to our wonderful staff for organising breakfast, cooking the burgers and serving the beverages as well as everyone who donated eggs.
We hope everyone enjoyed their Father’s Day yesterday.
KINDERGARTEN 2025 TRANSITION
A huge welcome to St Francis Xavier's to our Kindergarten 2025 class who commenced their transition program today!! Our transition coordinators, Mrs Capp and Mrs Leitch, have a lot of fun in store for the children during their next six visits.
WII GAAY LEARNING HUB
Last week Mr Hynch accompanied students Andiah Walsh and Amalia Suckling to the first Wii Gaay Learning Hub for 2024. They travelled by bus to the Yarra Adventure Centre in Grassy Heads. The Wii Gaay Learning Hub is an innovative program for students based on high potential learning, resilience and culture.
Together with 23 other students from around the Diocese, Andiah and Amalia engaged in a variety of activities throughout the week-long learning hub. They completed tasks surrounding literacy, numeracy and digital storytelling. Mr Hynch attended as an AEA supporting and mentoring the students as they worked through the lessons.
Andiah and Amalia are looking forward to attending the next Learning Hub to be held in Sydney in Term 4.
MUSIC LESSONS AT ST FRANCIS XAVIER'S
St Francis Xavier’s students from Years 3 to 6 have the opportunity to participate in music lessons at school under the guidance of the very talented conductor, Mrs Rosemary Smith. Mrs Smith has been teaching lessons at our school for over 25 years including flute, clarinet, trombone, trumpet and percussion.
The music students are eager to join the band, where they can collaborate with their peers and perform amazing music together. Our School Band continues to grow each year with a total of 46 members this year. Everyone is always excited to attend their weekly lessons where they prepare for performances at the Eisteddfod, assemblies, their end of year concert in December and Presentation day, to name a few.
Music lessons foster creativity and a lifelong love of music!
