Issue 13 - 31 August 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 hope you have enjoyed being part of one of the whole school events that we have had in the past few weeks. Science Day, SAKG Market Stall and Book Week have been the highlights of learning and teaching at St Rita’s. We had the Babinda Kindergarten visit last week and participate in our Children’s Book Week celebration. Our students thoroughly enjoyed working in the mixed groupings of Kindy children through to Year 6. It was heartening to see older children assisting the younger ones with delicate craft activities. Thank you for joining us Babinda Kindy!

I have been proud of the wonderful St Rita’s staff on so many occasions this term. Working in teams, teachers and school officers have successfully planned and implemented all these special events. I would like to especially congratulate Mrs Maryjane Masina who organised the most exciting Science Fun Day, and Book Week would not have been so successful without the hard work and effort of Mrs Lisa Calcagno and Mrs Darelle Horsford. Mrs Jenni Stone and the SAKG students have astounded us all with their cooking skills and their commitment to showcasing the SAKG program at market stalls in downtown Babinda. Well done everyone!

This week St Rita’s celebrates National Literacy and Numeracy Week, with our particular focus being on literacy. Mrs Darelle Horsford, District Librarian, and Mrs Lisa Calcagno have been excitedly making plans for ‘A Poem in Your Pocket’. This specific NLNW activity encourages imagination and inspires children to write and read poems by keeping a poem in their pocket to share with family and friends during National Literacy and Numeracy Week. I hope you also get to enjoy a poem this week as I am looking forward to sharing mine with staff and students.

Last Thursday and Friday, I attended the Term 3 Primary & Secondary Principals’ Meeting in Cairns. The Agenda was full and the outcomes satisfying for all school leaders who attended. We further explored the new CES Strategic Directions and their influence in the development of School Annual Improvement Plans. Leaders and CES staff had the opportunity to work together on beginning their own SAIP for next year. I hope you have enjoyed reading the articles I have included in the newsletters this term. This week’s Strategic Direction is ‘Optimal Learning and Wellbeing for all students’, the core business of St Rita’s School.

Next weekend, I hope to see many of our families join us on Saturday morning for a fun social event organised by the P & F Committee. Following a short Working Bee that begins at 9:00am, a BBQ lunch will provide an opportunity for families to enjoy a little fun and games together on Father’s Day weekend. Please return your RSVP to the Office this week so the Committee ladies can have numbers for catering purposes. If you are unable to come for the whole morning, do drop in whenever you can. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I wish all the dads of St Rita’s School and Parish a “Happy Father’s Day” this Sunday. I hope you have a wonderful day celebrating the specialness of fatherhood with your children. As you open the hand-made gifts and cards made at school, you should know that you are loved and appreciated every day of the year, not just on Father’s Day. I would like to share one of my favourite quotes about dads:

“Being a father is the most important role I will ever play and if I don’t do this well, no other thing I do really matters”.

(Michael Josephson)

As parents, the education of our children is one of our most important responsibilities, and for this reason our choice of school has to be given considerable priority. When I ask Prep parents why they wish to enrol at a Catholic school, the answer is typically about the value-added education that we provide. As a primary school in the Cairns Catholic Education diocese, we offer “a quality education that is more than academic, but also nurtures the spiritual, social, emotional and physical development of individuals”.

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

Regards and blessings,
Judy Billiau

STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS 2016 - 2019

Direction 2: Optimal Learning and Wellbeing for all students

Evidenced by:

• Inclusive, innovative and futures directed educational practice grounded in research
  Catholic schools are open to all who wish to share in their life and values. Our schools strive to embrace a futures direction whilst at the same time building core skills and emotional intelligence.
• Diverse learning opportunities for all students
  Catholic schools cater for student diversity through knowing the individual needs of students and having a focus on the development of the whole person.
• Families as partners in student learning and wellbeing
  Catholic schools warmly welcome parent engagement in the education of their child and look for opportunities for parents to contribute their skills and knowledge.

At St Rita’s School Babinda, we aim to provide all students with the opportunity to reach their full potential and use the pedagogies of Explicit Instruction and Visible Learning to build student learning capacity. The individual needs of students are catered for through classroom differentiation, individualised learning plans and targeted intervention programs. We also provide students with opportunities to participate in extra curricular activities which support our school values, such as the Community Carers group.

APRE THOUGHTS …..

It is almost Father’s Day. It is a good time to stop and appreciate a unique person that God has put in our lives – our fathers. I know that I have been particularly blessed in my life with male role models, especially my two grandfathers, my own dad, incredible uncles and of course my husband.

The love of these people in my life shows me each day how Jesus is present in our actions. When I think about the greatest gift these blokes gave me, it was and is their time. I couldn’t tell you a Christmas or birthday present they gave me, but I can certainly remember playing cards and table tennis, talking football, drinking coffee together (as I got older) and even just watching TV in silence.

As I watch my husband with my own children, I can also see the times they cherish the most are those that involve time spent together, whether in their interests or those of their dad (sometimes these overlap, but not always).

Scripture gives us many examples of loving Fathers, none more so of course than God the Father of us all. In more human terms, Joseph was chosen and accepted the role of being the guardian of Jesus. A role that I imagine would have been challenging and rewarding as fatherhood can be now. I have included a Father’s Day prayer written by St. Pope John XXIII for all fathers in our community. We will be celebrating all fathers at our Prep – Year 4 liturgy on Friday at 9.15am. The senior students will be attending and all parents and friends are welcome to join us too. This link provides a beautiful summary of what being a father means to so many;

In other news this fortnight, Saturday saw us celebrate First Eucharist with seven candidates across our parish. It was a lovely service, made more special with the choir, and we shared a decorated cake after Mass. These children have put many months into their preparation and have now completed their Sacraments of Initiation. The children from St Rita’s involved were Harrison, Georgina and Nicholas Stone. I have truly enjoyed running the Sacramental Program in 2016 and would like to thank the parents, Father Kerry and Father Grundy for their time during this program. The next program will run in 2018.

Have a wonderful week everyone!

Bec Burns
Assistant Principal Religious Education

SCHOOL RESULTS SURVEY NOTIFICATIONS

Dear Parents,

As part of our ongoing commitment to continuously improving the school, we believe it is critical to seek each parent and guardian’s opinion on a range of issues relating to St Rita’s School. Your feedback is very important to us as we continue to build a successful school and strengthen our reputation as an ‘educator of choice’.

As such, Cairns Catholic Education Services has engaged the professional services of MYP Corporation to undertake a strictly private and confidential Schools Results Survey on our behalf. The survey should take approximately 10-15 minutes and will need to be completed online between 29th August 2016 and 12th September 2016. There are no right or wrong answers and we ask that you respond honestly to each statement.

Please note that this survey will be confidential. No member of the leadership team at St Rita’s School will have access to your individual responses, and we will be provided with a summary of collated results only.

MYPCorp will undertake the following process to ensure anonymity:

1. Parents and guardians will be emailed individual survey logins.
2. Results will be collated externally.
3. A summary of collated results will be provided to the school leadership team.

On the survey start date, Monday 29th August 2016, survey instructions and a personalised login link will be emailed to all parents. You will continue to receive reminders during the survey period until you have submitted the survey. If you do not receive your survey instructions on the survey start date, please check your spam and junk email folders before contacting the school office.

Thank you for your assistance in helping to shape the future direction of St Rita’s School.

Kind regards,
Judy Billiau
Principal

CASTING THE NET

Stories of Dad

Everyone loves a good ‘Dad story’, or that should be a ‘good Dad story’. (Think of the programs you watched as a kid.) Jesus knew the power of a ‘good Dad story’ to convey what God was like as a loving father and his stories often began like this, ‘The kingdom of God is like a king who gave a wedding feast…’. His imagery was of a person who combined strength and generosity, who was wise and kind….and who would do anything to bring his children to true happiness.

We all have stories about our own fathers and grandfathers – even being absent is a story – and our children can be keen to know those stories. Some are good stories, some sad and some can be tough and challenging. Each has its place in telling your children their family history and helping them form their own identity. We have to shape and present our stories in ways that respect what our children can process well at the age they are. Start with the funny, tell the good and eventually, when they are old enough, share the challenging. Letting them know how you, or others, have faced people’s failings could be the inspiration they need.

And remember, as you live your life, as you tell your stories, you are creating the stories that your children will pass on to their children. You yourself will become a story. What character do you want to be like?

Loving Father, in the stories he told and the life he lived, Jesus showed us what type of Father you were. Inspired by him, may be the loving parent, grandparent, relative or friend that our child/ren need to grow in love. We ask this in Jesus’ name, confident that you will hear us.

Sr Kym Harris osb

COUNSELLOR’S CORNER

Parenting Pyramid

The following Pyramid is by “Incredible Years Parenting”. I thought this was a useful one to think about and reflect on your own style of parenting.

Some questions to think about might be:

• Where do I fit in the pyramid?
• Does this work positively with my child?
• How nurturing is my parent-child relationship?
• Is this the type of parent I want to be?
• What might I try next time, so I am closer to being the type of parent I want to be and have the type of relationship I want with my child?

If you are keen on knowing where to go, or how to access some further support in relation to any family difficulties you may be experiencing, please remember there is the new Family and Child Connect Service that can be contacted on: 13 FAMILY (Phone 13 32 64)

Yours in Counselling,
Carmel Parisi

CURRICULUM CORNER

A lot of wonderful learning takes place in the St Rita’s Library each week. Students are busy finding reliable information; using the information effectively; working productively with others; building knowledge and understanding of the world; safely navigating the internet; communicating and sharing their ideas; and finding great reads to meet personal interests and abilities.

During Science Week was no exception, as our Library became a scientific learning lab with a difference. Students were able to find out more about the way electricity works and experiment with a range of different circuit-building equipment.

The circuit boards were designed to allow students to tinker with electricity using everyday objects and components. Batteries, lights, coloured LEDs, fans and switches were a few of the types of electrical components the students were able to hook together using leads with alligator clips. By approaching circuit-building with simple components and direct connections students were able to focus on exploring and trying things out. After each successful circuit completion, students began setting new challenges for each other, such as adding a fan with a switch or a fan/light combination with a switch.

It was very rewarding to see students of all different ages and abilities working together scientifically in our Library Learning Lab.

Darelle Horsford
District Librarian & Information Officer

‘STEPHANIE ALEXANDER KITCHEN GARDEN’ PROGRAM

What a fantastic, yet hectic, couple of learning packed weeks we’ve had lately in the SAKG Kitchen Garden Program! The aromas emanating from our kitchen have varied from the fragrant tones of citrus, when we’ve been making our very popular range of fruit butters and marmalades, to the rich and hearty aroma of our homemade pasta sauce simmering away on the stovetop, to last week’s enticing aroma of six different types of freshly baked cakes. If you are the parent/carer of a Year 4-6 student, then your child has been very busy making these delectable delights and has been equally frustrated by only being able to have a mere taste test of their wonderful creations.

Firstly, I want to acknowledge the thoughtfulness and generosity of St Rita’s families and parents and my fellow staff who have made donations of fruit, cooking ingredients (flour/sugar/butter), fresh eggs, jars and labelling supplies to the program. There is an old saying, “Raising and educating children takes a village”; and I feel truly blessed to be in a village with such wonderful, encouraging and supportive families. I am immensely proud of each of the students participating in my classes. Their mature and practical approach to fundraising to achieve their goals through our produce stalls has provided them with a wonderful opportunity to discuss what they are learning in SAKG lessons with members of the wider Babinda community and the visiting Grey Nomads.

The students who volunteered to work the first stall were in awe of their own success. So many of the towns more mature residents and visitors willingly purchased our homemade spreads, spoke to the children about the program, the children’s interests and complimented the children for being so innovative and resourceful. To quote one lovely gentleman who insisted his wife spend nearly $20, “You boys are a credit to your school and your parents. Look at you, in your school uniforms on a Saturday morning! It is not often these days that you see young people passionate about gardening and cooking things the old ways. Keep it up lads.” At this time, I wish to acknowledge our St Rita’s parents who have made purchases from the stalls to support the children.

This week we are once again making the fruit butters which we will be selling this Saturday (3/9) morning out the front of the Babinda Bakery, along with our frozen containers of homemade pasta sauce and few remaining jars of marmalade. Our items have been selling out fast, so if you wish to reserve an item please place your order, with payment, at the school office.

Sale items 3rd September:

Passionfruit Butter (with or without seeds), Orange Butter, Lemon Butter, Lime Butter and Lemon and Lime Butter – Small $4, Medium $5 and upon request Large $6
Homemade Pasta Sauce $4
Marmalades – Orange (Small) $4 and Grapefruit (Medium/Large) $5/$6

Our final cake stall for the term will be on Tuesday 13th September outside Spar. Our cakes sold out in thirty minutes last time, so please order yours to avoid disappointment.

Sale items 13th September:

Cakes are $4 each and you can choose from Passionfruit Swirl Butter Cake, Orange and Poppy Seed Cake, Lemon Sultana Cake, Lime Coconut Cake, Banana Loaf Bar and Date, Ginger and Walnut Mini Loaf.

BREAKING NEWS!

Announcing the introduction of “Tuckshop Tuesday”. This will be a periodic, not weekly, event totally prepared by the SAKG students. Our first date will be Tuesday 6th September. The students will showcase to the rest of the school and staff the skills and techniques they have been learning and developing in class. Funds raised will remain within the program to purchase additional equipment to support the learning outcomes of the program. It is hoped that if this session goes well we will be able to invite parents and friends in future. We have on offer a delicious Meal Deal consisting of a pizza and drink for $5. The SAKG students will be making and shaping the dough and then topping pizzas with the selected toppings and our “secret” homemade pizza sauce before cooking it to perfection (hopefully!). They will also be making refreshing pink grapefruitade drink – YUM!

Pizza toppings are:

Tropical Aussie – Ham / Pineapple / Cheese
Italian Supreme – Salami / Tomato / Capsicum / Mushrooms / Black Olives / Cheese
Island Dream – Pineapple / Tomato / Capsicum / Mushroom / Black Olives / Cheese

To order, please write ‘SAKG Tuckshop Tuesday’, your child’s name and class on a brown paper bag. Mark the bag with your child’s pizza selection and enclose your payment. All orders and payments must be received prior to 3pm on Friday 2nd September.

Thank you for your support.

Jenni Stone
SAKG Coordinator

AROUND THE CLASSROOMS

Celebrating Book Week at St Rita’s

Book Week

My favourite time at our Book Week celebration was reading the story ‘Ordinary Heart’ and making the black cat in our own classroom. We made a heart out of paper with Mrs Masina in her class. I liked the Dress Up Parade because there was a lot of people there and the little children came from the kindy. I enjoyed dressing up as the turtle from my book ‘Turtle Song’. My dad helped me make the turtle out of a square box and then we painted it. I won a prize for my costume.

By Timmy Pham (Year 1)

Fun at Book Week

My favourite thing for Book Week was reading all the different books and making things from the stories. It was fun! We made the heart from ‘The Ordinary Heart’ story and the black cat from the book, ‘The Cat wants Custard’. My favourite story was ‘Piranhas Don’t Eat Bananas’. It was really funny and after the story we made our own piranha out of pegs and glue. First we had to colour the piranha and then glue it on to the peg and push down. When they were dry we put our finger on the end of the peg and you had made your own piranha. I came to the parade as the ‘Cat in the Hat’.

By Nicole Bland (Year 1)

DATE CLAIMERS

STUDENTS OF THE WEEK

St Rita’s School congratulates those students who were awarded ‘Student of the Week’ at Assembly on Friday 26th August 2016.

BIRTHDAY CONGRATULATIONS

St Rita’s wishes Vito Musumeci all the very best for his recent birthday. We hope you had a wonderful birthday celebration. Congratulations Vito!

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

COMMUNITY NEWS

BABINDA HOSPITAL - WELL WOMEN’S CLINIC

(This clinic is available to Medicare eligible clients)
Wednesday 14th September 2016
All services are provided by a specially trained Women’s Health Nurse.
For appointments phone 4067 8200