Issue 18 - 24 November 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,

A highlight of the school year is Year 6 Graduation, and this very special event was held last night at St Rita’s. Graduation is a whole school community event and the large number of families who participated was testament to that. After Mass in St Rita’s Church, a ceremony and supper was enjoyed by the graduates, Father Kerry, Father Grundy, fellow students, families, staff and parishioners.

The evening was a sensational celebration of the end of primary schooling for our Year 6 graduates. It was heartening to see children of all ages come back to school for graduation, as it is not only the Year 5/6 class who wanted to be part of the celebration. Mrs Burns and Mrs Masina did an awesome job of organising the Mass and presentation events. I sincerely thank all other parents for ironing those extra sets of formal uniforms and coming back to St Rita’s last night. Thank you everyone!

Last week, nominated senior students presented their Student Leadership speeches to their peers and staff. The quality of the speeches this year was even more exceptional than last. All were worthy candidates for leadership positions, and I congratulate each and every one of the nominees for their commitment and effort to the process. On behalf of the St Rita’s School community, I congratulate Andy Pham, Melina Musumeci, Leon Schep, Ariah Salvestrin, Caleb McEwan and Roisin Stager on winning student leadership positions for 2017.

Just to ‘round out’ a busy term, our annual Swimming Carnival will be held on Friday morning, 25th November. The carnival will once again have a non-competitive focus, with the children showcasing their swimming skills in individual swims and team relay events. Families and friends are most welcome to join us at the Babinda Pool. We thank Mrs Maryjane Masina, our coach, who has prepared the morning’s program of swimming and novelty events this year.

Under the direction of Mrs Jago, staff is enthusiastically preparing for the annual Christmas Concert evening on Wednesday 30th November. Everyone enjoys such a showcase of the talents of our students in music, drama and public speaking. We ask that you please bring a plate to contribute to the shared supper which will follow the performance. Tea and coffee will be served, and cold soft drinks will be for sale through the tuckshop. See you there!

Book Lists for 2017 have been compiled and these will be sent home with Reports and Work Folios on Wednesday 30th November. It probably seems like a long way off until school starts in January, but those parents who like to be organised before the beginning of year rush, most of your child’s requirements for next year can be purchased at your leisure. Roddo’s Newsagency has been given copies of the St Rita’s book lists if you choose to source your school supplies locally.

I look forward to seeing you at St Rita’s in the coming weeks. Enjoy the end of term!

Regards and blessings,
Judy Billiau

STUDENT LEADERS 2017

We are excited to announce the St Rita’s school leaders for next year:

School Captains: Andy Pham & Melina Musumeci
Palmerston Sports Captains: Caleb McEwan & Roisin Stager
Dalrymple Sports Captains: Leon Schep & Ariah Salvestrin

APRE THOUGHTS

It is with a sense of sadness that I write this last newsletter article for St Rita’s School. I would like to say thank you so much to the staff, students and parents of this wonderful school, for all of the support I have received in my two years of service. Having been privileged to have seen the leadership speeches last week, I was assured that the future of the school is bright, full of students with great leadership potential and true understanding of the values of Community, Respect, Learning and Faith. It was amazing to hear so many of the students refer to Christ in their lives as a part of their speeches, and that we do have young people who look to role models such as Jesus, in a world full of flashy media stars, we turn to a poor baby, born in manger to parents who became refugees.

It is this beautiful narrative of the nativity and Christmas that makes this time of year so special to us all. As the trees and decorations go up, our spirits seem to lift and the goodness of our hearts becomes more evident in this time of year. In this spirit I would like to remind you that the St. Vincent de Paul hamper is at the office, eagerly awaiting your kindness to fill it to the brim, to help those in need this Christmas.

This week sees the Graduation ceremony. I would like to congratulate all graduates and wish them all the best in their future endeavours. May the values you have learnt at St. Rita’s stay with you as you journey on with your education. I would like to thank all the teachers who assisted with the Mass and Service on Tuesday night. It is always special to see people working together in community to showcase our beautiful students in our school.

Our final Mass will be held on the last day of School at 11.00 am. The students will be dismissed following Mass at 12 noon. This will be an opportunity to reflect and remember the year that has been 2016. It would be wonderful to see as many parents there as possible. The children are practising their singing and are ready to end the 2016 school year in great voice. Please feel free to join us and bring any family or friends that may like to attend.

I would like to wish you all a very Happy and Holy Christmas. I hope the spirit of our Lord is with you and your families, and that the peace that represents the seasons is felt deep within your hearts. Thank you once again for all you have given me during my time here and I look forward to hearing about the growth of all your children in the future. St Rita’s is truly a special place ‘Under God’s Protection’.

Bec Burns
Assistant Principal Religious Education

CASTING THE NET

To Grow is to Change

There are few constants in our lives. Change is one of them. The rate at which children grow never ceases to amaze most parents and as the end of the year approaches we prepare for change in our school. Some children, and even some teachers, will be changing schools, others changing levels. There are all sorts of reactions to change: from excitement at the new to fear of the unknown. For our children, change is the stuff of life.

But what about we adults? What can it mean to us? John Henry Newman, said “To grow is to change and to be perfect is to have changed often”. Some people want change for the sake of change, others don’t want it any at any cost yet change offers us possibility: we can become better people, or we can become worse. We can be open to life or we can close down on life. God’s desire for us is to be fully alive, according to the style of our unique personality. When a change comes upon us, instead of just going with the flow, or reacting against it, we can stop and ask ourselves, how can I become more full of life in this new situation. Pray for God’s spirit to guide your imagination to see the different scenarios and when you choose your response, let the Spirit be the wind beneath your wings.

Loving Father, give us the wisdom, joy and creativity of your Spirit as when encounter the changes of life. With Jesus our brother, at our side, may we face all situations confident in your love. We ask this in his name, confident that you will hear us.

Sr Kym Harris osb

CURRICULUM

At St Rita’s, student achievement is recognised and celebrated in many ways throughout the school year; at informal meetings, through awards at assembly, parent/teacher interviews, through class work that is sent home and through written reports. At this time of the school year, teachers are developing your child’s individual Student Report for Semester 2. Reports will be sent home with the students on Wednesday, 30th November.

Reporting communicates information that has been obtained from a variety of assessment processes and involves a professional judgment made on a body of evidence about a student’s progress and achievement against a set of clearly articulated standards. In Catholic schools in the Diocese of Cairns the key principles of reporting are:

• Teacher professional judgment is at the heart of reporting student achievement.
• Teachers’ knowledge and observation of the students’ progress contributes to this professional judgment.
• Teacher professional judgment is informed by assessment data and referenced to the curriculum framework.
• The teacher develops assessment tasks and identifies the criteria which inform judgments about the child’s achievement.
• Teachers utilise the evidence from a body of work to make a judgment against standards at a point in time.

Each semester, a comprehensive range of assessment and reporting records is collected in a Student Work Folio. Samples of class tests and assignment tasks are sent home for your information. Most importantly, those books, scrapbooks and pads that your child has completed during the year provide comprehensive information. I appreciate that you are often unable to peruse these books when they are first brought home, however I encourage you to do this at a later date. This is very valuable information!

AROUND THE CLASSROOM

On the 12/11/2016 St Rita’s Babinda hosted a Hawaiian disco. Many children around the town came to have fun, compete in competitions and more! The girls dressed in their leas and Hawaiian skirts. I wore a long, tropical, blue dress with a lea.

I arrived at the disco at 6:30 to see children dancing, singing and eating yummy pizza. Loud music played as I hit my boogie on the dance floor. My favourite song was “Everything is Awesome” from the Lego Movie.

I met an old friend there called Isla. She is a friend of mine from another school. We played ‘Mirrors’ and ‘Limbo’ together.

Some of the games we played were ‘Freeze’, ‘Limbo’, ‘Knights and Cavaliers, Musical Hoops, Mirrors and a Dance Off. I really enjoyed playing Freeze with my friend Georgina.

At 7:30, I ate an Aloha pizza which was a vegetarian pizza made out of pineapple, spinach, olives, mushrooms, cheese and homemade pizza sauce.

At 8:30, I went home and went to bed. Overall I enjoyed the disco with my friends and I want to do it again.

By Saffron Ripps
Year 2/3/4 class

COUNSELLOR’S FAREWELL

Dear Parents,

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the wonderful children, families and staff at St Rita’s Babinda for the amazing journey I have had with you. It is with great sadness that I will be reallocated to different schools next year and therefore will be biding you farewell for now. As we know I have had a few comings and goings since I have been with St Rita’s. This was initially due to health and then to reallocation to another school for a term. You will have a new counsellor starting with you in 2017. I hope you all have a fantastic Christmas and I am sure to see you around.

Thanks,
Carmel Parisi

COUNSELLOR’S CORNER

Graceful Christmas

Dear Parents,

This is my final segment for 2016 in the newsletter. I thought I would focus on just how important the holidays are for a time to be gracious. This is the longest of the school holidays and often as parents as the days turn into weeks, we start to count down how long it is until they return to school.

This year I encourage you to just be grateful and gracious for what you have as a family. Too often we think, “Wow, I wish I had…”, “I wish we could…” and “I wish my children…”. I encourage you to think about and really focus on how special each of your children is and how you work as a family team over the holidays.

There will undoubtedly be some tough days on the holidays, but it is about how you approach these days that will make them memorable. Will you spend today, tomorrow and the day after fighting about the same things or will you choose to forgive and move on and start each day afresh. Encourage your children to move forwards by saying, “Well that happened yesterday, how about we focus on what we are going to do today. Let’s go and …”.

Look for and talk about special times you have had as a family over a meal. Laugh, enjoy each other’s company and really focus on the positive. It helps us to want to recreate this feeling and remember that we can have fun, happiness and laughter as a family through the time we spend together.

Happy holidays!

Yours in counselling,
Carmel Parisi

St Vincent De Paul Christmas Hamper

The annual St Vincent De Paul Christmas hamper appeal organises food hampers for our local families who need a helping hand to enjoy this special time. Please give generously to support our local community. Any donations can be left at the Office. We thank you for your continued support and generosity!

LIBRARY LINKS

It is hard to believe that the school year is almost over…..and Christmas is just around the corner. We have shared some wonderful adventures in the library in 2016. It is always such a pleasure to see children enjoying reading and the many different things libraries can offer. I have noticed that our library has become a very popular place and it brings me a lot of joy to know that our students and staff feel welcomed into this inspiring place of learning, enjoyment and relaxation.

There are celebrations aplenty at my home over the Christmas period, and my wish for each family is that you are also able to spend some special time together during ‘the most wonderful time of the year’. There are so many beautiful Christmas books available this year. If you can find some time to sit together with your children and share one or two, please do. There is nothing like a Christmas tale to get you all into the festive spirit.

Merry Christmas to all! I look forward to catching up with you in 2017 and I will leave you with one of my favourite quotes….for any time of the year.

Lisa Calcagno
Library Assistant

PREMIER’S READING CHALLENGE

Congratulations to all St Rita’s students who participated in the 2016 Premier’s Reading Challenge. This Challenge is an excellent way to support Queensland children and students to develop a love of reading and improve literacy skills. Reading builds their vocabulary and knowledge, supports their confidence and stimulates creativity and imagination.

St Rita’s is extremely proud that 100% of our students have been awarded Certificates of Achievement this year. Well done readers!

DATE CLAIMERS

STUDENTS OF THE WEEK

St Rita’s School congratulates those students who were awarded ‘Student of the Week’ at Assembly on Friday 18th November 2016.

BIRTHDAY CONGRATULATIONS

St Rita’s wishes River Nelson, Roisin Stager and Eva Masina all the very best for their recent birthdays. We hope you had wonderful birthday celebrations. Congratulations River, Roisin and Eva!

ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

We congratulate Ariah Salvestrin who successfully contributed to the Cairns Post ‘Inspire’ feature on Tuesday 16th November 2016. Ariah wrote an interesting and informative article about the St Rita’s Socktober fundraiser, ‘Lining up coins to create change’. Well done Ariah!

P & F NEWS

Dear Parents,

Thank you for the support and assistance you have given to our parent group throughout the year. Helping at working bees, school functions, fundraising activities, the tuckshop and attending meetings has been very much appreciated.

We would like to invite you to our last Parents and Friends meeting for the year to celebrate a happy and successful year. Please join us for a

WINE & CHEESE EVENING on THURSDAY 1st DECEMBER AT 5:00pm

To cater for the evening, please RSVP to the School Office by Tuesday 29th November 2016.

We are looking forward to seeing you there.

St Rita’s P & F Committee

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

COMMUNITY NEWS

Well Women’s Clinic – Babinda Hospital

(This clinic is available to Medicare eligible clients)

Wednesday 7th December 2016

All services are provided by a specially-trained Women’s Health Nurse.

For appointments phone 4067 8200

A Christmas Wonderland in Babinda

The Christmas season is a special time of the year and a very special group of people in Babinda want you and your family to have a very unique Christmas Experience. Some of you might know the Babinda Christmas Wonderland Experience event from its inaugural showing last year. For those who have had the experience, and those new to the event, it is on again this December from the 9th to the 15th

Our dedicated volunteers, also known as Christmas elves, are back at work transforming the Babinda R.S.L Memorial Hall into an amazing adventure into the world of Christmas fun and fantasy. Travel through the old-world charm of Victorian London to a good old Aussie Bush Christmas with visits to the lands of the Mediterranean, Asia, Australia, the Arctic, the Christmas Tree Forest and Santa's Workshop along the way. There have been new displays added this year and lots of twinkling lights will illuminate the whole hall. All the dioramas are interactive and there are many fabulous costumes for you to wear for that unforgettable Christmas photo to share with friends and family. Yes, we encourage you to record your visit to this fun event, so make sure you bring your camera, tablet, smart phone, etc with you. As a special treat this year, Santa has made time in his busy schedule to drop into his workshop on a regular basis and is looking forward to meet you when you visit.

The Babinda Christmas Wonderland Experience will be held in the Babinda R.S.L Memorial Hall in School Street Babinda. Opening night is Friday 9 December from 7 pm to 9 pm and from Saturday 10 December to Thursday 15 December the Wonderland will be open from 2 pm to 4.30 pm and 7 pm to 9 pm daily. Entry fee is $5 per person with children under 3 years of age admitted free of charge. All proceeds from this event go to support the Babinda R.S.L.

If you are looking for some family friendly fun this December, do visit this really remarkable event and put some wonder back into your Christmas Season.

School holiday dental newsletter