Issue 2 - 17 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,

Classroom teachers were pleased to have excellent attendance at last week’s Parent Information Evening. During the sessions, teachers shared important information about classroom routines, teaching programs, curriculum outlines and homework expectations. The sessions were longer this year, which gave teachers more time to share and discuss information about their classes. Thank you teachers for organising such informative presentations and I also thank parents who joined us for the evening.

I appreciate families have after school commitments, so if you were unable to attend the parent session for your class or classes last week, I encourage you to speak with your teacher if you have any queries regarding the parent letter that was distributed on the evening. Communication between teachers and parents is vital in our aim to work as partners in the education of St Rita’s students. We want you to know what is happening in our classrooms!

I would also like to acknowledge our active P & F Committee ladies for organising the ‘Meet and Greet’ afternoon tea last Tuesday. These wonderful ladies all have jobs and after school commitments, but they still found time to bake and prepare treats for our parents and families. Thank you from us all Julie, Jenni and Loretta!

To show your appreciation of the successes of the 2015 P & F Executive Committee, I urge you to join us on Tuesday afternoon, 16th February for the Annual General Meeting. At this meeting, highlights of the past year will be acknowledged and the election of a new Committee will be undertaken. I know many parents are reticent to attend AGMs for fear of “getting a job”, however there is no pressure for you to take on a position if you are unable to commit at this stage. We also aim to keep our meetings short and sharp, mostly taking only an hour or so of your valuable time.

I cannot stress enough just how important active involvement by parents is in schools. Educational research describes the positive impact your involvement has on your child’s education. “Good schools make a difference, but parent involvement better predicts a child’s academic performance than the qualities of the school he or she attends.” (Federation of Parents & Friends Associations of Catholic Schools in Queensland, February 2013).

As a parent, you can be involved at St Rita’s in many ways; attending P & F meetings, participating in parent workshops, joining us for special events and school assemblies, and helping in the classroom or tuckshop. Being involved really is an enjoyable and rewarding experience for parents, and the role of the parent volunteer is much appreciated by the whole school community. I encourage you to be as active as you can be this year!

Another highlight of last week was being able to accompany our School Captains to the annual GRIP Student Leadership Conference in Cairns. What a valuable day it was for our two School Captains and our four Sports Captains! They workshopped ideas on their leadership roles and responsibilities, interacted with leaders from other schools, and initiated a leadership plan for the year ahead. The conference participants learned that “being involved in leadership at your school is an important responsibility and a fantastic opportunity to make an impact on others, whilst growing as a leader yourself”.

What I particularly liked was the emphasis placed on how the leaders should “grow” with their new roles. Being elected a school leader is an awesome responsibility, one that does not end on the day of the election. St Rita’s staff will continue to work with our student leaders throughout the year as they mature and grow both as individuals and a leadership team. Altogether, I was very proud of the enthusiasm and participation demonstrated by our school leaders at the GRIP Conference this year.

Stay cool this week!
Regards & blessings,
Judy Billiau
Principal

A LETTER FROM BILL DIXON

Catholic Education in the Diocese of Cairns is developing a new strategic plan to guide us from mid 2016 to the end of 2018. It is our intention that this plan will be focussed around a small number of key strategic objectives and be inclusive of all involved in the mission of Catholic Education. Our expectation is that the plan will see a further alignment of our commitment to focussing on the needs of our students.

We have engaged consultant Philomena Billington to guide us through this process. Philomena has more than 43 years’ experience in education across five rural dioceses and four states and recently retired as Director of Catholic Education in the Diocese of Sandhurst, Victoria. We value her skills, insights and passion for Catholic Education as we set about renewing our strategic plan.

Wide consultation with as many stakeholders as possible will be integral to the development of the new plan. This “shared wisdom” approach recognises that all of us have something of value to contribute.

There will be several opportunities for your input. These include:

• confidential surveys of staff, families and Religious that can be accessed through the CES website (www.cns.catholic.edu.au). This online survey will be open until 22 February.
• consultation with key groups such as the Council of Priests, Board of Governance, and school Principals.
• locally driven focus groups at a school level involving staff, school boards and P&Fs.
• interviews conducted by Philomena with key stakeholders.

We expect this process will provide us with a rich source of feedback and insights that will inform the development of the plan. Our intention is to launch the 2016 - 2018 plan in May 18, 2016.

I encourage you to take advantage of the opportunities for consultation, including, in the first instance, accessing and completing the on-line survey.

Executive Director
Catholic Education Services – Diocese of Cairns

APRE THOUGHTS …..

Wow! What a wonderful start to 2016 we have had. I firstly would like to thank all the students, parents and staff for their participation in our Beginning of Year Mass. It was a fantastic opportunity to celebrate our Faith Life with all members of the School and Parish community.

The Lenten Season has begun and we started our Caritas fundraising with our annual Shrove Tuesday Pancake Sale. A great big thank you to Mrs Stone and the children from our SAKG who slaved over the frying pan to provide the school with yummy pancakes to enjoy. The toppings were a hit and we raised $45 in our first Caritas event. This is the 50th Anniversary of Project Compassion and the theme for this year is “Learning more, creating change”. During this time, children will be looking at six countries that are assisted by the work of Caritas. If you would like to read more about the work of Caritas and Project Compassion, I would highly recommend exploring the Caritas website at caritas.org.au/projectcompassion

To learn more about the meaning behind Lent an easy to watch clip is

You may also hear your children discussing Lenten Promises. Lent is a traditional time in the Catholic Calendar of almsgiving, practise of self-discipline and fasting. Fasting does not apply to our children, and they may be looking at extra ways they help their community (home, school or other) during this time. I would encourage you to discuss your child’s Lenten Promise with them and encourage them to keep up their promise for the 40 days of Lent (ending on Easter Sunday).

At the end of last week I was lucky enough to attend a workshop focussed on the continued implementation of the new Religious Education Curriculum into our school. As our school contains multi age classes, we are receiving additional assistance from the Identity and Mission Team from Cairns Catholic Education to ensure our children are receiving the best quality Religious Education. Our teachers this week will be spending a day with teachers from other small schools to create Religious Education Units suitable for our multi-age settings. The hours that the teachers put into these (and every) unit of work they create is to be commended. I believe the depth of teaching will certainly be of benefit to our children, now and in the future.

Finally, in Term Two we will be beginning our Sacramental Program. This will involve the Sacraments of Reconciliation, Confirmation and Eucharist. If your child is in Year 4 or above, is Baptised (or is being Baptised this term) and you would like them to participate in the program, please let me know by Week 7 of Term One. We will be holding an information evening during Week 8. If you know of anybody else in our community who would benefit from this information, please ask them to contact the school.

Have a wonderful week everybody,

Bec Burns
Assistant Principal (Religious Education)

SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING NEWS

The first three weeks of school in SEL have largely focussed on setting up what a successful classroom looks like. This has involved discussing learning environments, working with others, the values of St Rita’s and how we can make sure we look after ourselves and others.

A large part of a child’s success depends on their mindset. Professor Carol Dweck is a leading researcher in the field of Growth mindsets. Research states,

“In a fixed mindset, people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits. They spend their time documenting their intelligence or talent instead of developing them. They also believe that talent alone creates success—without effort. They’re wrong.

In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment. Virtually all great people have had these qualities.”

http://mindsetonline.com/whatisit/about Dwek 2010. Accessed 12/2/2016.

The Growth mindset works hand in hand with our integration of Visible Learning into all curriculum areas this year. It is interesting to ask ourselves as adults what type of mindset we operate out of, and what type of mindsets do we encourage in our children, by our actions and our language. To read more about growth mindsets I would strongly encourage you to have a look at www.mindsetonline.com.

In discussing the power of language and labelling children (either clever or not clever) there is a very interesting article “How not to talk to your kids: The inverse Power of Praise” at http://nymag.com/news/features/27840/. We sometimes struggle to find time to read articles, and I hope that providing the links you can click and read and be given the opportunity to explore further ways we can work together to assist the growth of the children in our care.

Thanks for reading,
Bec Burns
SEL Co-ordinator

CASTING THE NET

Growing up, constantly

Settling down isn’t a Christian image. Even if you live in the town in which you were born or the house your parents owned or hold the same job since leaving school, you are meant to move on, grow up, change. Not change for change’s sake but change for your own sake – we are meant to grow up to heaven. Imagine your best ideal self, multiply it and you will have some vague image of the fullness of life that God wants for us.

Just like trying to lose weight, get fit, we do not drift into our best self. We have to work on it. So each year the Church gives us Lent - six weeks to stop, take stock and then work out a plan to become a better Christian, a more loving human being. Six weeks – that is about one eighth of the year – long enough to set down good habits, but not too long to tire us.

So go back to your image of your best self and stop for a little while in prayer. Ask God what you together could work on so that by the time Easter comes you are a few steps forward on your pilgrimage through life.

Loving God, you want the best for me. Let me stop this Lent, listen to your Spirit in my heart and then do what I can to bring about the change you desire for me. I ask this in Jesus’ name, confident that you will hear me.

Sr Kym Harris osb

COUNSELLOR’S CORNER

Dear Parents,

Persistence

When faced with a new challenge or experience do you see it as exciting and want to “give it a go” or do you see it as too difficult and ”not worth trying”. Depending on how you view new challenges and experiences, may depend on whether you encourage or discourage your child when your child is faced with a similar decision.

It is important for children to feel that if they don’t succeed, it is okay. No one can be good at everything, all the time. However if we never try anything new, we can never actually get better at something we are not so good at or have never tried.

Some children seem naturally talented or gifted and it seems no matter what they do, they always achieve or succeed. What we forget is these children are often keen to try new things and therefore they not only have a positive mindset, they are constantly allowing their body and mind to work together to achieve their goals. They have learnt a set of skills that makes them more likely to succeed, because they try something more than once and don’t say, “This is not achievable”. They ask, “What do I need to do?”, “What do I already have to help me?” and “Whom can I ask to help me with what I don’t have yet?”.

Being persistent is not easy. It requires courage to try, confidence to know what you have already; a positive mindset; an ability to plan and see what you need and how you will get what you don’t have. Share your knowledge and wisdom with not only your children, but those who come to seek your guidance in a positive and helpful manner. We all have something to learn from someone else.

Yours in Counselling,
Carmel Parisi

CURRICULUM CORNER

READING IS THE ESSENTIAL LIFE SKILL

Research shows that learning to read is one of the most important factors in school success and that an early exposure to books and stories substantially contributes to success in early literacy. There are strong links between literacy, school performance, self-esteem and life chances with poor literacy skills being linked with lower education, earnings, health and social outcomes.

Literacy transforms lives

It often surprises people to learn that Australia has a significant literacy issue. Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that 44% of Australian adults don’t have the literacy skills they need to cope with the demands of everyday life and work. The Australian Early Development Census shows that 24% of five year old children starting school in Western Australia are developmentally vulnerable or at risk in their language and cognitive skills. A survey by the Australian Industry Group, carried out as part of their National Workforce Literacy Project in 2010 found that more that 75% of employers reported that their business was affected by low levels of literacy and numeracy.

Reading aloud to children is the single most important activity for building the skills and knowledge necessary for children to successfully learn to read when they begin school. Children who are good readers are usually successful learners.

At St Rita’s, we encourage an interest in reading and aim to develop a lifelong love of literature in all of our students. Come into our Library and see the Dr Seuss display that is encouraging our young readers to pick up one of these fun books and enjoy reading!

LIBRARY LINKS

Welcome to an exciting 2016 at St Rita’s Library.

A love of reading, whether for pure enjoyment or the gaining of knowledge, is a wonderful gift and we want to inspire that love of reading in our St Rita’s students throughout 2016.

Weeks 2 and 3 of Term 1 have seen us celebrating the amazing stories given to us by Dr Seuss, stories enjoyed by Pre Preps through to adults. Since parents and children first shared Cat in the Hat in 1957, Dr Seuss has delighted us with his charming stories, including my personal favourite Oh the Places You’ll Go.

Congratulations to our Dr Seuss competition winners Roisin Stager (for colouring an outstanding Cat Hat!) and Sorayah Salvestrin (for performing a unique recitation of a favourite Dr Seuss quote ‘There is no one alive who is youer than you’).

Look out for a celebration of all things ‘spooky’ during Weeks 4 and 5.

I’ll leave you with a final quote from the amazing Dr Seuss:

You’re never too old,
Too wacky, too wild,
To pick up a book
And read to a child

Until next time….enjoy reading!

Lisa Calcagno
Library Assistant

AROUND THE CLASSROOMS

Last week the Preps and Year Ones had a Teddy Bear’s Picnic. We brought our teddies to school. We all dressed up in costumes. Timmy dressed up as Spiderman and Elijah was a ninja. The girls were princesses. Teelah was dressed up like Snow White. We went around the circle and introduced our teddies to the class and took a photo of us and our teddy in front of the garden. Then we measured our teddies to see how long they were. Elijah’s teddy was the longest. Some of the names of our teddies were Ruby, Kate O, Tiger, Tom and Dog.

Everyone brought some food to share and we ate grapes, cupcakes, sandwiches and quiche. Our teddies shared the food with us and thought it was very yummy. After we ate, we played ‘Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear Turn Around’ and ‘Duck, Duck, Teddy’. It was a great day and our teddies were tired and needed a big rest when we took them home.

By Timmy Pham, Eva Masina, Nicole Bland and Elijah Geary

SKOOLBAG PHONE APP

St Rita’s School successfully uses the phone app, Skoolbag, to communicate with parents on a daily basis. Skoolbag is an iPhone and Android App which has been developed to help schools communicate more effectively with the parent community.

We ask all parents, who have not already done so, to install the St Rita’s Skoolbag App on their devices. It is simple and quick to install by just searching for “St Rita’s School Babinda” in either the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Be sure to set your phone for the push notifications function so that important messages can be alerted upon upload.

This year, we look forward to continuing our successful “Smartphone school to parent communication” with Skoolbag. Please come in if you are having difficulty installing the app and we should be able to help.

Skoolbag is a great way to keep in touch!

STUDENTS OF THE WEEK

St Rita’s School congratulates those students who were awarded ‘Student of the Week’ at Assembly on Monday 15th February 2016.

BIRTHDAY CONGRATULATIONS

St Rita’s wishes Teelah Geary, Harper Wiles and Cooder Postic all the very best for their recent birthdays. We hope you all had a wonderful birthday celebration. Congratulations Teelah, Harper and Cooder!

The staff has also enjoyed celebrating two birthdays this term. Mrs Debbie Kurucz (25th January) and Mrs Maryjane Masina (4th February) were the special guests at birthday morning teas in the past weeks. Best wishes Debbie and Maryjane!

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

P & F NEWS

Dear Parents,

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 & 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

COMMUNITY NEWS

MULGRAVE SPORTS DISTRICT TRIALS

JOHNSTONE CROC FUN RUN