Issue 15 - 11 October 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

APRE THOUGHTS

Welcome back to Term Four everyone! I trust you all had a restful break and are ready to tackle Term Four with enthusiasm. A lot will happen in this short period of time and it is important that we remember to take care of ourselves and our children during this busy and exciting term.

Mrs Billiau will return from her leave on Wednesday 12th October. I would like to thank all the staff, families and students who have been so supportive during this time and throughout my time at St Rita’s. As was mentioned in the last newsletter, next year I will be taking a new position of APRE/APA at St Joseph’s Parramatta Park. I would like to express how grateful I am for my time at St Rita’s and offer my heart-felt thanks to the families and students who have offered their best wishes and congratulations. At this stage with eight exciting weeks to go, my focus is on my work at St Rita’s and we certainly have a lot to focus upon.

Last week we celebrated International World Teacher’s Day. This day is recognised around the world on October 5, however in Australia due to some states being on holidays it is often celebrated on October 28th. I wanted to take the opportunity this year to offer my very special thanks to the amazing teachers and school officers we have this at our school, so we chose to celebrate last Wednesday. This was done with a special morning tea, liturgy and cards signed by the students of the school.

October is the month of the Rosary and the 7th of October is the feast of the Rosary. The Rosary is a very special part of the Catholic tradition and dates back to St Dominic in the early 13th Century. Rosary Beads are often given as gifts or passed down through families, but more and more people are not taught how to pray the Rosary, or the importance of these powerful prayers. For myself, I have the most beautiful set of Rosary Beads that were passed down and used by Great Grandmother on her trip from Malta to Melbourne in 1928. I treasure these as I understand the strength these prayers gave her during this frightening time, traveling with her four-year old son, to meet up with her husband, who had left earlier in search of a better life.

An easy to read article on how to pray the Rosary can be found at the link below. I would encourage you to look at this as a family and perhaps make October a time to spend some time praying the Rosary.

October is also Mission Month. This year Catholic Mission is focusing on the needs of children in Cambodia. St Rita’s will be raising awareness and funds this month via a number of initiatives. We will be raising awareness firstly with our Whole School Mass next Wednesday 12th October at 9am. All children are involved in this service, and we would, as always, love to see as many families and friends there as possible.

On Wednesday the 26th October we will be holding two fundraising events. The first is an idea, first organised by Melina and Vito Musumeci in 2015. The Paper Plane competition will be held at first break, entry will be via a gold coin donation and there will some wonderful prizes on offer for first, second and third. On the same day in the last session we will run a coin race. Here the two sports teams, Palmerston and Dalrymple will race against each other to create the longest line of silver and gold coins. We will ask children to bring in as many coins as possible to add to the line. All money donated will go to Catholic Mission. This all coincides with our Crazy Sock Day where children are encouraged to wear their favourite socks – or odd socks also for a gold coin donation. This was a great day last year and we are looking forward to this year’s activities.

Have a wonderful fortnight,

Bec Burns
Assistant Principal Religious Education

CASTING THE NET

The Rosary

I discovered a new author recently and I’m making my way through her books. In the latest read I was surprised so much fuss was made of a character’s Catholicism, and, sorry, it didn’t ring true. I kept wondering why it was there at all until the resolution of the plot turned on Rosary beads. It worked but it wasn’t well done. But it set me to thinking on what the Rosary means in the Catholic tradition, so over this month of October we’ll try to explore this practice so identified with our tradition.

You all know what a Rosary looks like as movie directors introduce one when they want to point to the Catholic. It is that string of beads, formed in a ring, with a few extra beads and a crucifix hanging from one side. And when you see a person praying the Rosary, they look like they are mumbling the same words over and over…they are! The words they are saying are the prayers of the Our Father, the Hail Mary and Glory Be: one Our Father and ten Hail Marys and the Glory be in each set, usually called decades. During each decade the person praying is supposed to be meditating on an aspect of the life of Jesus. Confusing, yes and no. Can you get lost, or mixed up praying it? Yes, of course. And strange to say that is the point. The prayer takes us beyond ourselves into the presence of God. The purpose of the boring repetition is to wind down, relax, let go and just be loved.

And why is Mary related to this prayer – the tradition is that she taught it. It is under her care that we are led to rest in God’s love.

So for the concluding prayer just try one decade: If you haven’t got Rosary beads, use your fingers to count off the Hail Marys. Find a quiet spot, relax, consider the mystery of Jesus’ birth and begin with the Our Father, then say ten Hail Marys and conclude with the Glory Be. If you aren’t familiar with those prayers, here they are:

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit as it was in the beginning, is now and ever will be. Amen.

Sr Kym Harris osb

COUNSELLOR’S CORNER

Happiness

Dear Parents,

Too often we regret the past, which we cannot change. We spend tireless hours worrying about the future that has not happened. It is time to live in the moment by celebrating, enjoying and appreciating everything we do have in the here and now.

Below is a little quote to think about each day and inspire your children with.

Yours in counselling,
Carmel Parisi

DATE CLAIMERS

STUDENTS OF THE WEEK

St Rita’s School congratulates those students who were awarded ‘Student of the Week’ at Assembly on Friday 7th October 2016.

BIRTHDAY CONGRATULATIONS

St Rita’s wishes Sorayah Salvestrin, Melina Musumeci and Lachlan Mellick all the very best for their recent birthdays. We hope you had wonderful birthday celebrations. Congratulations Sorayah, Melina and Lachlan!

ICAS CERTIFICATES

Recently, some of our students chose to participate in the ICAS testing for Reading and Maths. The International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS) is an independent, skills-based assessment program which recognises and rewards student achievement. Awards are presented as follows:

This year two St Rita’s students, Emerson Burns and Ariah Salvestrin received Credits for both Maths and English. Two further students, Sorayah Salvestrin and Georgina Stone received Merits in English.

Congratulations to all of the students who participated in this challenge.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

COMMUNITY NEWS

FREE CLINIC WITH AN OLYMPIAN

TRIVIA NIGHT

ART EXHIBITION

Babinda RSL Art Exhibition – Sponsored by the Babinda Bendigo Community Bank runs from Wednesday 19th – 22nd October.

Wednesday 19th is opening night with live music, bar and nibbles from 5pm to 9pm. Entry $5.00

All other days $2 entry to view exhibition. All proceeds to Babinda RSL. Thursday and Friday opens 2pm – 5pm. Saturday 10am to 7pm. Prize monies available for entrants. Entry is open to all ages. Anyone wishing to exhibit can contact Karen Lacey on 4067 2474. Entry forms are available at the office.