Issue 1 - 2 February 2016

Newsletter Articles

VISION STATEMENT

St Rita’s School will be a compassionate and supportive community built on the Gospel of Jesus Christ, specifically incorporating the Mercy Values which are lived out. We will be a values-based community reaching out to and welcoming the wider community. Our strong school spirit will shine. St Rita’s will be a school in which every member is respectful of self and others.

PRINCIPAL’S PEN

Dear Parents and Carers,

I extend a very warm welcome to all for the 2016 school year! I hope you have had a restful and happy school holiday. As we welcome new families to St. Rita’s, I wish everyone in our school community an enjoyable and fulfilling experience during the coming year. I encourage you to be an active part of the St Rita’s community and enjoy being involved in your child’s growth and development at school.

It is pleasing that our staff will remain constant this year, and there are no new staff members to welcome to our community this term. I believe that the students settled in so easily to the school routine last week because of there being no change to our permanent classroom teachers. Participation in the Term 4 Pre-Prep program had greatly benefitted the new Preps easy transition into the Prep/Year 1 classroom last week.

Although I have been fortunate to catch up with many parents visiting school last week, I am looking forward to welcoming parents to our first whole school event next week. We have scheduled our annual Parent Information sessions on Tuesday 9th February. During these sessions, which are held in each of our classrooms, you will be able to meet teachers and learn about the curriculum, classroom routines, homework tasks and being a volunteer in the classroom. Specific session times can be found on the Term 1 Calendar in this newsletter issue. I hope to see you there!

We also invite parents to join us for the first social event on the St Rita’s P & F calendar. A ‘Meet and Greet’ afternoon has been planned to coincide with these Parent Information sessions next Tuesday. Either before or after your classroom session/s, you are invited to join us for afternoon tea provided by the P & F and spend a little time socialising with other parents, even if it's for a half hour or so!

Blessings for a happy and successful 2016 at St. Rita’s School!

Kind Regards,
Judy Billiau
Principal

PRAYER FOR THE BEGINNING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR

Loving Creator,
Map your goals for us in our hearts.
Make our classrooms oases in the busy world.
Make them places of warmth and trust.
May our affirmation of our students enable them to know that their opinion counts.
Free them to stretch themselves as they seek holistic growth in a safe, nurturing, Christian environment.
Amen

APRE THOUGHTS …..

Hello Everyone,

Welcome all to 2016! It has been so wonderful to be back this week, seeing how the children have grown and hearing about all of their holiday adventures. The renewed energy and spirit of heart has been obvious in both the classroom and on the playground. I hope you all enjoyed your summer break and had a very special Christmas period. I did take some time for reading over the holidays and as the year progresses I hope to share some of the beautiful stories of hope, forgiveness and inspiration I have recently discovered.

We will commence 2016 with our Opening Mass on Friday February 5th at 11.30am. Father Kerry will be coming to celebrate Mass for our school which falls on the feast day of St Agatha. St Agatha was a Sicilian lady who lived during the third century. She became a martyr because she refused to denounce God during the time when the orders were to arrest all Christians. She was imprisoned and tortured yet refused to deny her beliefs. She is Patron Saint of Breast Cancer and Malta. We can learn a lot from Saint Agatha, even though she lived so long ago, in a different time. Knowing our values, as an individual, a family and a community is very powerful. Even more so, is having the strength and determination to stay true and stand up for your beliefs, when others disagree or hold power over you.

This Mass will also include the blessing of our new Lectionary and the commissioning of School Captains, parents, staff and students. We would love to see you here on this special day. Also I would like to add a personal invitation to all St Rita’s community – if you have any special prayers or intentions that you would like included in this or future Masses or liturgies please let me know so they can be incorporated into the service.

This year has been declared the ‘Year of Mercy’ by Pope Francis. At St Rita’s we will continue to work this year on how we can use our hearts and hands to make our community a better place with the idea of Mercy guiding our activities. I have included the logo for this year with a brief explanation. Further information can be found at www.im.va

“The logo and the motto together provide a fitting summary of what the Jubilee Year is all about. The motto Merciful Like the Father (taken from the Gospel of Luke, 6:36) serves as an invitation to follow the merciful example of the Father who asks us not to judge or condemn but to forgive and to give love and forgiveness without measure (cfr. Lk 6:37-38). The logo – the work of Jesuit Father Marko I. Rupnik – presents a small summa theologiae of the theme of mercy. In fact, it represents an image quite important to the early Church: that of the Son having taken upon his shoulders the lost soul demonstrating that it is the love of Christ that brings to completion the mystery of his incarnation culminating in redemption”.

http://www.im.va/content/gdm/en/giubileo/logo.html accessed 29.01.2016

I look forward to seeing you all during 2016.

Bec Burns
Assistant Principal (Religious Education)

SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING NEWS

Ready Set Go! This is the name of the unit that will be taught this Term in our Social Emotional Learning Program and it is certainly how the children have begun the school year! I would like to congratulate all of the children who have started this Term with confidence and enthusiasm. I have seen wonderful examples already of resilience in our Prep children who are busy learning all the new routines and procedures found in their new world of primary school.

On the playground the seniors this week have displayed exemplary Getting Along skills with each other and the younger students. The games of soccer have been wonderful to watch and, if this is a sign of the year to come, then I’m excited!

Sometimes the real work of SEL is seen in the coming weeks. As we get back into routines and homework starts, the work level can become increasingly difficult. We recently attended a very valuable professional development day on what impacts most on a child’s growth at school. It was not surprising for me to see at the very top was “the student’s expectations of themselves.”

For me, what this really brought home was the importance of our SEL program at St Rita’s. Our children’s success is largely based on their belief in their own abilities. This involves seeing mistakes as a part of learning and not giving up when things are tough. Explicit lessons in these areas involve goal setting, articulating emotions, tools for organisation and habits of the mind to assist with persistence. It also involves teaching how to ask for help with work, without having someone else complete the work for you.

As parents, one way we can help at home, especially during homework is by the language we allow our children to use (I’m not talking swearing!) A teacher/friend of mine taught me a great one that I use at home and in the classroom. If your child is in the habit of saying “I can’t do it” – Repeat back to them – “You can’t do it yet.” Then explore steps the child can take to come closer to being able to complete the task. If they say “It’s too hard” say back “It seems too hard at the moment” and then again break down the task to smaller steps that they can complete. This use of language may seem trivial but the research is now telling us it is actually very important.

Bec Burns
SEL Co-ordinator

CASTING THE NET

What is Mercy?

‘He knew this moment was coming months before the rock left the child’s hand and made its swift arc into the windscreen of his new car. Even before the shattered glass began to fall, his hand was in his pocket, the mobile out, turned on and he was scrolling for the local cop shop. As he went to tap the green button to make the call, the question arose, “Is this an act of mercy?”’

Good question and one we should ask early in this ‘Year of Mercy’. We see in the Bible that mercy is not the ineffective reaction of a bleeding heart that lets a person get away with vandalism, and worse. In Hebrew, mercy-‘hesed’- is used essentially of God and means loving-kindness towards the weak. Human beings don’t usually have such mercy of their own accord. Sure, we’ll look after our own, but as strangers, well…we do have to look after our own. But when we act with mercy, it is actually God’s mercy –‘hesed’- that flows through us.

What is ‘hesed’ like? It’s oft companion word, ‘reman’- compassion, shows us. ‘Reman’ is based on the word for womb, seen as the home of the child for nine months. The person who shows mercy and compassion acts like a parent concerned for the best interests of their child. Only now, under God’s grace, their actions of loving kindness are not confined to their family and friends. They can even deal with the rock-throwing neighbour.

Loving God, the feeling that comes from my depths when I want to do the best for my child is a hint of your mercy. Open my mind and heart so that I can offer your mercy in my community, especially to those most in need. I ask this in Jesus’ name, confident that you will hear me.

Sr Kym Harris osb

COUNSELLOR’S CORNER

Dear Parents,

Return to Routines

I know I sent out a similar article last year, but it really is a good way to start the year. Routines are a core part of our day. It is important that we return to having routines for ourselves and our children, now the school holidays are finished.

The holidays are a time when we can eat at different times, go to sleep and wake up at different times and enjoy each day as it happens. This is a wonderful time to enjoy a less structured day.

Once school has returned, this changes. There are sports to start, school to attend on time, homework to complete and lunchboxes to pack. With all these activities starting again, it can be great to help us restructure our day. However, it also means we have to be at places at particular times and this can be frustrating for everyone.

It takes time to adjust back into a routine for yourself and your children, but the more time we spend not returning to our routines, the harder it will be for children to settle into their class and commence their work for the year.

Some tips for returning to a routine are:

• Make sure you give yourself and your children enough time to get ready.
• Give children timeframes. For example in 20mins we need to leave the house. Don’t wait until there is only 5 mins to go before you leave, to start preparing, as this is bound to cause arguments.
• Make a game of being the first to get ready.
• Praise your children when they do things on time.
• And most importantly…..be a good example for your children.

Yours in Counselling,
Carmel Parisi

AFTER SCHOOL ROUTINES

As we are beginning our second week at school, it is important that we revisit our after school practices to ensure the safety of St. Rita’s students at the end of each day. When the bell sounds at 2:55pm, all children move to the front of the school to either catch a bus, ride or walk home, or be picked up by their parents.

For your information, we ask that the following procedures be observed:

• Parents who pick up their children are asked to park on the school side of the street to reduce the risks associated with students crossing the street.
• Students who ride bikes or walk leave the school promptly after the last bell.
• A list of students who catch the bus is compiled each term. Please inform the school, in writing, of any permanent variations to the normal routine. A phone call will suffice for last minute or unexpected changes for that day.

SCHOOL UNIFORM

St Rita’s has a school uniform for the purpose of school identity, spirit and pride. Much consideration has gone into making the uniform functional, attractive and suitable for students of primary school age. If students are out of uniform, parents need to provide a reason by way of a note in your child’s Student Diary or email to the Office.

• Hats - Navy blue broad-brimmed hat or legionnaire cap
• Shoes - All black closed-in shoes for dress uniform and joggers for Sports uniform
• Socks - Navy socks for both day and sports uniforms
• Girl’s uniform - Navy skort with teal and navy shirt
• Boy’s uniform - Navy shorts with teal and navy shirt
• Sports uniform - Navy shorts/Navy skort with green and navy polo shirt

For the convenience of parents, the School Office stocks all items of the St Rita’s uniform. We also stock waterproof library bags which the children need for book borrowing each week. Let’s keep St Rita’s students looking smart in their school uniform!

CURRICULUM

One of the Professional Development days St Rita’s teachers attended before school was to further our learning of John Hattie’s ‘Visible Learning’. ‘Visible Learning’ will be implemented in all schools in the Cairns Diocese as a way to maximise our impact and improve learning for all students. In school newsletters, I would like to share information on what ‘Visible Learning’ is and how we will be making learning ‘visible’ in St Rita’s classrooms.

Hattie’s key message is that it doesn’t matter where schools (or individual students) start from because we can all help our students to progress even further in the years ahead. This doesn’t mean that there are not external factors that can help or hinder how well students do at school. It simply means you can help your students excel despite the things that you do not control.

The school’s stories give us concrete evidence that we can all improve, whether we work in a low-performing school or a school that already exceeds international benchmarks. Improvement is about helping each student make significant progress from where they already are no matter where that may be. It is about preventing high-achieving students from coasting, as much as it is about helping struggling students to pass.

Hattie’s view of school improvement is simple yet profound. He sees it as, “An opportunity to re-define its aspirations for students and to re-visit its basic beliefs and practices, evaluating them in light of their contribution to the intended student outcomes” (John Hattie, 2015).

PERPETUAL AWARDS

St Rita’s School congratulates those students who were presented with special end-of-year awards at the final Assembly last year.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

P & F NEWS

Dear Parents,

Welcome back to 2016. We hope you all had a great holiday and are looking forward to another fruitful year at our wonderful school.

You should have received our invite to the ‘Meet and Greet’ afternoon on Tuesday 9th February, starting at 3:30pm. While the Parent Information Sessions are happening, coffee, tea, cold drinks and light refreshments will be available at the Tuckshop. You can have a chat to new and old families, which is always a great way to start the year. It creates a welcoming atmosphere, builds friendships and can offer support to families in this amazing community.

Our Annual General Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday 16th February beginning at 5:00pm. As you all know, this is a really important date and, more than ever, we hope for your interest in being involved in our parent group. We will vote and elect a P and F Executive Committee at the AGM. Please come along and share your ideas and participate in the election of this year’s Committee members.

Have a great week!

Julie Parker
2015 P & F President

TUCKSHOP MUNCHIES

With the help and support of wonderful parents, we will be opening the Tuckshop this Friday, 5th February. We hope to fill the position of Tuckshop Convenor very soon, so if you are interested in taking on this role, please contact the school Office or myself.

Week 2 Menu:

Hot Dog (with/without cheese) $3.00
Chicken/Salad Wrap $4.00
Flavoured Milk (Straw/Choc) $2.00
Orange Juice Popper $1.00
Fruit Ice-cream $1.00

For the remainder of Term 1, a Tuckshop Menu, which includes a call for parent helpers on Fridays, has been sent home with your child this week. If you did not receive your note, please ask the Office for another copy.

Thank you,
Julie Parker

SPORTS

COMMUNITY NEWS

GOONDI SCOUT GROUP

Goondi Scout is open to new members aged 6years – 15years. Scouting offers and educational program for all ages. Scouting is the largest youth organisation in world teaching life skills and survival skills. With outdoor activities e.g.; abseiling, canoeing, bushwalking and camping. See you at the Goondi Scout den in Wattle Street, Friday nights 6pm for 6-10yrs 7pm for 10yers and over, closed in shoes to be worn. More info call GL. Elizabeth Seymour. 40616220

BABINDA HOSPITAL CLINIC