Issue - 10- 19 July 2016

Newsletter Articles

MERCY WORKS

Mercy is central to the Christian story and, where Mercy describes the particular characteristic or identity of a school, it does so in relation to an understanding of God as merciful. It is also named in connection with the educational endeavours of the Sisters of Mercy, a group of women who have an historic commitment to the expression of mercy in their schools. Students at Mercy schools can be invited into a lively and rich educational culture which they share with a long line of other women and men who have been educated in the Mercy tradition.

PRINCIPAL’S PEN

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back to the new term to all St Rita’s students and families. Term 3 is bound to be another busy one, so we were pleased to see the smiling, happy faces of our students last Monday morning. This term we have a range of exciting whole school events which are being organised; NAIDOC Week, Catholic Education Week, Book Fair, Science Week, Children’s Book Week and cultural excursions for the Prep/Year 1 and Year 5/6 classes. Parents and families are most welcome to join us.

Staff have also returned to school looking refreshed and invigorated, especially Mrs Lisa Calcagno who enjoyed Long Service Leave in Term 2 to travel to Europe. Mrs Debbie Kurucz has been holidaying in Europe since the end of last term, and we are most fortunate to have Mrs Julie Cross ‘back at the helm’ for weeks one and two of this term. Our counselor, Mrs Carmel Parisi, is also pleased to be working with us again at St Rita’s. Unfortunately Mrs Marie Torrisi’s term got off to a bad start with a minor accident last Monday. We hope her injured arm heals well in the coming weeks.

Since our last newsletter, the level of volunteering by parents of St Rita’s has been inspirational. Before the holidays, Rob McEwan, dad of Caleb and Nathaniel, spent many hours repairing and painting our junior playground equipment and putting up fencing for the athletics carnival. The children were thrilled to be able to use their fort again when the maintenance was completed. During the holidays, Kim Kross, mum of Steele, did an outstanding job pruning, weeding and planting the front and side gardens. It was so nice coming back to and seeing grounds looking so neat. Also, the Year 2/3/4 excursion to the Tanks Arts Centre at the end of last term was made possible by Vicki Jago, Sharon Salvestrin, Alana Mellick and Peta Maxwell providing transport for the students. Thank you so much on behalf of the St Rita’s community!

We will celebrate NAIDOC WEEK at St Rita’s this week. NAIDOC celebrations are held around Australia each July to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. A Liturgy in the church and an afternoon of NAIDOC-themed activities have been organised by APRE, Mrs Burns, and Miss Snowball, our Indigenous Liaison Officer, for Thursday 21st July. Parents and families are most welcome to join us for one or both of these activities.

During Week 3, CATHOLIC EDUCATION WEEK will celebrate and highlight the significance of education in Catholic schools in Queensland. I invite all families to join us as we celebrate this event in a variety of school activities that will be taking place during the week. Next Tuesday 26th July, the whole school will travel to Good Counsel Primary in Innisfail to celebrate CEW with the other five schools in the southern cluster. Your child will bring home a permission note this week for this excursion.

As we commence Term 3, I would like to once again remind you that St Rita’s is a community of staff and families who, in partnership, provide a holistic education to our students. Adam Voigt describes a school as being like a brain, with each brain cell representing a person in the school; a teacher, a leader, a student, a school officer or a parent. “It is not individual strength, but the connections and relationships between the individuals which will determine whether your community of learners reaches its potential”.

I encourage all members of our school community to help us continue developing a strong ‘brain’ throughout this second semester. I believe that we have had a positive start to achieving this goal in 2016, and we need each and every one of our ‘cells’ to build a strong culture of community and relationships at St Rita’s. I urge you to participate actively in all we offer at St Rita’s.

Have a good week and I hope to see you around the classrooms soon.

Regards and blessings,
Judy Billiau

APRE THOUGHTS

Welcome back to Term Three. I hope everyone had a very relaxing break. I know I did, and it really did remind me of the importance of taking time to be with family when there are no time restraints or a million activities to be completed. Time away with my family refreshed by whole spirit and I do feel that I have started this term in a very positive frame of mind, due to this opportunity. Lucky, because Term Three is once again actioned packed.

One of the most important events in our calendar, Catholic Education Week, occurs in Week Three. During this week, we will celebrate all the positive factors that contribute to our Catholic Identity. As a part of this celebration our school will be attending Good Counsel Primary on Tuesday 26th July. More information will follow in relation to this, early next week. To find out more information about Catholic Education week please visit the Catholic Education Week website. The theme for this year is “Opening Doors in the Year of Mercy.” This Mass will be our first whole school Mass. Our second whole school Mass will be held on Monday 15th August to celebrate the Feast of the Assumption. Times and details will be sent out closer to the time for this celebration.

This week in our Parish community eight parish members, including three children from St Rita’s celebrated the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is often also known as Confession and is based on the unconditional love God has for all creation. It is closely linked to the concept of Mercy and Pope Francis has stated the importance of Reconciliation during the Year of Mercy. The lead up to this involved sessions which included prayer, Scripture Study and a lot of personal reflection. I would like to congratulate these children and their families for the commitment they have made to study and extending their faith.

The next step in the Sacramental program is to prepare for First Holy Communion. This is traditionally a very special occasion for Catholic families and I ask that we keep these families and children in our prayers during this time. The First Holy Communion Mass will be held on August 27th at 6:00pm and it would be wonderful to see our school families there supporting these children. Finally, on a sad note, I would ask that we keep the Anthony and Lansdown families in our thoughts and prayers as Mrs Bernadette Anthony’s mother passed away during the holidays.

Blessings,
Bec Burns
Assistant Principal Religious Education

SEL NEWS

This term in SEL we are covering the topic of Persistence. One of the biggest times we see this at home may be when our children are completing their homework. Tired and hungry after a big day at school, homework can be a battle for many parents. The ‘You Can Do It’ program we follow at school does provide a number of suggestions for parents to help in this area. This excerpt from the Parenting Program may offer some assistance as we start Homework in Term Three.

“The importance of clear expectations concerning the importance of completing schoolwork to the best of their abilities, including the rules for homework”.

While it is easier and perhaps even a popular parenting technique to allow children to set their own rules, research shows that permissive parents who provide their children with little guidance or structure generally produce under-achieving children who don’t function well within the boundaries of school.

Bec Burns
SEL Coordinator

OPENING THE DOORS IN THE MERCY YEAR

All of us have experienced pausing before a door, full of emotion, knowing that what lay beyond would transform our life, for better or for worse. It may have been a proposal or a dismissal, a feared diagnosis or a release from blame. Our hand, perhaps shaking, would reach out, open the door and we would step through…and then live with the consequences.

This year we have been invited to see the Mercy of God as a door through which we have been invited to step: the scope for transformation is beyond anything we can imagine – not that ‘things’ would necessarily change in our lives. What would change, and this is far more profound, would be our outlook. Life would not be a battle that needs to be fought but an arena in which we know and accept that God is on our side. Held in the Mercy of God, all joys and loves, all griefs and challenges, all disappointments and delights can work for our growth as people and teach us how to life and love more deeply. All freely given, no deserving on our part.

The only demand is that when we experience this Mercy we give it away freely in return.

Loving Father, I stand before your Door of Mercy, knowing that stepping through will transform my life. Give me the courage this day, to step into that fullness of life you passionately desire for me and, as I receive, may I open doors of mercy for others. I ask this in Jesus’ name, confident that you will hear me.

Sr Kym Harris osb

INTERHOUSE ATHLETICS CARNIVAL

One of the highlights of last term was the successful completion of our Interhouse Athletics Carnival. After days of rain, Thursday 23rd June turned out to be the perfect day for sport; cloudy and cool with just a few light showers during the day. I was especially proud of all students during the competition. Everyone tried hard, showed good sportsmanship and proudly competed for Palmerston or Dalrymple in all events.

Congratulations especially to our 9 year olds, who showed resilience and persistence when competing in the 800m event for the first time. An awesome effort! Special congratulations must also go to the winning team, DALRYMPLE, who won the carnival by eighteen points. Captains Ariah Salvestrin and Vito Musumeci proudly accepted the Aggregate Team trophy, from Mrs Masina. Well done Dalrymple!

We thank Mrs Masina and Mrs Kurucz for preparing and organising such a successful carnival this year. The children were pleased to have a large crowd of appreciative spectators, as we had many parents, friends and grandparents join us at Bill Wakeham Park for the track events. Thank you also to those parents who helped us with field events or in the Tuckshop this year. It’s one of the things I love about St Rita’s; there is always someone around to lend a hand at school events!

DATE CLAIMERS

STUDENTS OF THE WEEK

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

ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

We congratulate Roisin Stager who successfully contributed to the Cairns Post ‘Inspire’ feature on Tuesday 21st June. Roisin wrote an enthusiastic recount of the enjoyable time the students in Years 4/5/6 had while on Camp at the Echo Creek Adventure Centre. Well done Roisin!

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

SCHOOL FARM SAFETY CALENDAR COMPETITION

The Queensland Government seeks to improve awareness of farm safety among primary school students in rural arears. Primary school students (Prep to Year 6) are invited to submit drawings to illustrate one of six farm safety messages. Twelve winning entries will be published in a 2017 calendar which will be distributed free in November this year. Winning students will receive a $250 store voucher, plus $500 will be given to their school.

Entries should illustrate a key message from one of these six topic areas below:

• Using quad bikes safely
• Preventing drowning in bodies of water
• Being safe around electricity
• Riding horses safely
• Safely storing hazardous chemicals
• Hazards around farm machinery

Entries should be submitted using the downloadable template from our website, and include the student’s name, school and the school contact details. Each entry should also have a consent signature from a teacher or parent before being sent to:

Awareness and Engagement Unit
Workplace Health and Safety Queensland.
PO Box 820
Lutwyche QLD 4030

Entries must be received by Monday 8th August 2016 and the winners will be informed.

Visit the Worksafe website or call 1300 362 128 for more information.

COMMUNITY NEWS

• Tree Removal / Trimming
• Qualified Arborist
• FREE Quotes
• Fully Insured
• No job too big or too small

FARINELLI TENNIS ACADEMY

St Rita’s Babinda after school coaching.

Tuesday from 2:55pm for all ages
Cost is only $5 per lesson and you will be invoiced for the term.

Sign your child up and they will be given free membership of Farinelli Tennis Academy and go in the draw to win a Family weekend at Kurrimine Beach Holiday Park. Forms are available at the school.

Coach Travis Farinelli

ORAL HEALTH SERVICES

Oral Health, Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service offers free routine dental treatment for all children aged 0 -17. Parents or Legal Guardians are required to attend all appointments with their pre and primary school aged child/children and initial examination for high school students. This attendance is required to ensure Queensland Health complies with the requirements of full and proper, informed consent.

Children’s clinics are situated within the Innisfail Hospital and the Tully Hospital. For an appointment, please call 1300 300 850 or drop into the clinic closest to you. Please note: Treatment is available all year round, including school holidays, but excluding public holidays/weekends.