Issue 18 - 8 November 2017

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 was proud to be part of our Grandparents’ Day celebration last Monday. Each year, I am thrilled that we have grandparents who travel some distance to join us for this very special event. Your grandchildren appreciated the effort you had made to be with us for the afternoon. A special thank you also to the P & F who organised a beautifully decorated cake from the Babinda Bakery. Well done St Rita’s!

In Week 4, all students from Years 1 – 6 participated in PAT Testing, an educational resource developed by ACER (Australian Council of Educational Research). Over a period of three days, PAT testing in Reading and Maths forms an integral part of our whole school assessment schedule. From the test results, valuable information is provided to the classroom teachers to inform future planning, as specific learning needs are determined for the individual student.

“The ACER Progressive Achievement Tests are an Australian, nationally normed series of tests designed to provide objective, norm-referenced information to teachers about their students’ skills and understandings in a range of key areas. At the centre of each PAT test is a described proficiency scale, providing both quantitative and qualitative data on student performance, making the PAT tests ideal for understanding students’ current strengths and weaknesses, informing teaching and learning, and monitoring progress over time”.

Last Thursday and Friday, I attended the two-day Primary and Secondary Principals’ Conference for Cairns Catholic Education at Kewarra Beach. The very full agenda included discussions on strategic planning for 2018, the development of the SAIP (School Annual Improvement Plan), Critical Incident Management Strategies and the review of current CES policy documents. On Thursday evening, principals and CES staff farewelled colleague who are leaving the diocese. One of our southern deanerys colleagues, Mr Brad Williams, will be farewelled from St Rita’s South Johnstone to return to Adelaide. Best wishes Brad!

This week we acknowledge Remembrance Day at St Rita’s. At 11:00am on 11th November 1918, after four years of continuous warfare, the German army called for an armistice and accepted the Allied Forces terms of unconditional surrender. On Friday this week, we will acknowledge Remembrance Day with a whole school liturgy organised by Mrs Gaul. Parents and friends are most welcome to attend this special event which will take place in the church at 11:00am on Friday 10th November.

“This year 11 November marks the 99th anniversary of the Armistice which ended the First World War (1914–18). Each year on this day Australians observe one minute’s silence at 11 am, in memory of those who died or suffered in all wars and armed conflicts”.

The highlight of this term is the St Rita’s Graduation celebration. All students and their families are invited to celebrate the completion of primary education for St Rita’s Year 6 students on Thursday 23rd November. Following a Mass beginning at 6:00pm in St Rita’s Church, a light supper and formal presentations will complete the occasion over at the school.

You are encouraged to be part of this special event on our school calendar as we farewell our Year 6 students and several long-standing St Rita’s families whose youngest children will be graduating this year. For catering purposes, we ask that you RSVP to the Office by either phone or email. See you there!

In the busyness of this term what comes to mind for me, a number of times, is how important the ‘little things’ are in the everyday life of a school. The help we receive in completing the many small tasks that need to be done to keep a school running: working in the tuckshop, baking for the Trivia Night, having an extra turn mowing the lawn, liking us on our facebook page or sending a ‘Thank You’ email. It is these ‘little things’ that let us know that we are appreciated and supported in our work. Thank you!

I hope to see you around the school this week. We have so much for you to be part of and to enjoy!

Have a good week!

Regards,
Judy Billiau

ST RITA’S HAS TALENT SHOW

On Thursday afternoon 30th November at 2:00pm we are showcasing the many and varied talents of our students by staging a ‘St Rita’s Has Talent’ Show. This yearly event is organised for individual children to be given an opportunity to confidently perform in front of a small audience of peers and families. It is not a competition, however, and there will be no prizes or awards for participants!

For the show, children can perform individually or in small groups. The range of possible acts is endless; singing, dancing, playing a musical instrument, joke telling, magical tricks, martial arts routines and gymnastics. All music/songs must be brought into school beforehand for the lyrics to be checked to ensure the rating is appropriate for primary aged children.

See you at the St Rita’s Has Talent Show!

APRE THOUGHTS

Refuge of the Poor

O God, the refuge of the poor, the strength of those who toil, and the comforter of all who sorrow, we commend to your mercy the unfortunate and the needy in whatever land they may be. You alone know the number and extent of their sufferings and trials. Look down, father of mercies, at those unhappy families suffering from war and slaughter, from hunger and illness and other severe troubles. Spare them, O Lord, for it is truly a time of mercy.

Peter Canisius

SOCKTOBER SUCCESS

St Rita’s staff and students really ‘socked it’ to poverty for Catholic Mission at our Crazy Sock Day recently. There was a colourful array of wacky socks worn in some weird and wonderful ways, and the money line competition was fiercely entered into, with students fastidiously lining up their coins within their sports teams. This year, Dalrymple claimed the longest coin line, measuring close to eight metres!

The day’s excitement did not end there though! In the senior school, an astounding 12.8m throw was recorded by Snowball Jnr Snowball, and Tony Pham took out the junior school’s record measurement with a 9.05m throw! Cooder Postic’s paper plane was judged as the most creative design on the day. Most impressive though, was the whole-hearted spirit in which the children entered into the prayer celebration and fundraising activities which highlighted the importance of justice for the poor and dignity for others. Thank you St Rita’s for your generosity and compassion for those in need, as we raised approximately $140 for the appeal.

PRAYER HIGHLIGHTS

Some significant prayer events were held last week, for which I would like to express my gratitude to staff, students and friends of St Rita’s. Our Grandparents Afternoon began with a liturgy to honour the rich and significant role that grandparents play in the lives of our children. It was a touching ceremony, beautifully engaged in by our students. Thank you to staff members for organising thoughtful gifts and to those families whose grandparents were able to share in the special occasion. After the liturgy, we enjoyed afternoon tea together and some fun time with grandparents in our classrooms.

Father Kerry spent time with our students on Friday, presiding over our Reconciliation Liturgy with a group of students, and later, in visiting the classes. He noted that there were some interesting and deep ideas discussed, which he was pleased to hear! Our senior class also presented a short prayer liturgy with a focus on the Feast of All Saints’ at Assembly. At this, we were reminded of the values of tender, compassionate love and merciful forgiveness towards others that our Patroness St Rita espoused, and her devotion to Christ, which we look to emulate in our school. Thank you to Father Kerry and to our senior class for celebrating in prayer.

ST VINCENT DE PAUL’S CHRISTMAS HAMPER APPEAL

Within the Catholic Church, the celebration of Christmas is a much anticipated and joyous event celebrating the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Sadly though, it is estimated that as many as 731,000 children may not get their Christmas wish this year, since 13.3% of Australians are living in poverty. St Rita’s Primary School is out to make a difference and is proud to support the work of our local St Vincent de Paul Society through the 2017 Christmas Hamper Appeal.

Later this term, families will be invited to donate goods, such as non-perishable food items and Christmas fare, and spread the Christmas cheer to members of our local community who may be experiencing difficulties. A flyer containing more information about suitable items to donate will be sent out when our appeal begins.

Blessings,

Maureen Gaul
Assistant Principal (Religious Education)

CASTING THE NET

Practise what you preach

I was recently sounding off about people who take drugs. My niece’s boyfriend quietly brought me down to earth with a simple observation on the type of families that some of these people come from. Without attacking me or condoning drug use, he challenged me to be more understanding and realistic. He didn’t preach, but he sure did practise compassion.

In last Sunday’s Gospel, which contained a number of challenging sayings, Jesus said ‘Call no-one on earth your Teacher as you have only one teacher, the Christ’. (I wonder how ‘teachers’ felt about that!) It made me think about the way I had been taught by the young man above. It was so subtle I could have missed it, but obviously God thought the time was ripe and was able to get through my thick skin.

We so often are ‘giving out’ our views on many things. Every time we criticise we make value judgements on others and ourselves. But are we right? Isn’t life more complex and messier than we realise? What we can be certain of is that God is waiting in the wings trying to teach us, trying to crack open the shell of our certainty. What we need to do is be ready to listen to the lessons that will most likely come from the most unlikely people and situations.

Loving God, let me listen to what I say and see if it aligns with what I do.
Let me be open to the many situations in which you are trying to teach me to be compassionate and wise as you are.
I ask this in Jesus’ name, confident that you will hear me.

Sr Kym Harris osb

LIBRARY LINKS

Author Visits St Rita’s

Our school was lucky enough to host one of Australia's most exciting and inspiring author-illustrators last week. Students from Prep to Year 6 leapt into an adventure of colour, creativity and imagination with an interactive workshop run by Dr Cameron Stelzer.

The session included a big screen book reading where students were encouraged to interpret and respond to the story. Following the reading, Cameron revealed how some of his characters and illustrations were created and students were shown how to draw their own illustration through a hands-on follow along drawing activity.

Students from years 2-6 took part in a descriptive writing session where Cameron used examples from his stories and exciting visuals to explore a range of expressive and dynamic strategies to encourage students to make their own writing more descriptive and exciting.

Cameron showed a genuine interest in the students learning and it was wonderful to see the students interacting with such enthusiasm. Using a good of dash of humour and excitement, Cameron's workshop engaged both students and teachers alike.

Keep an eye out for Cameron's next exciting spinoff series, ‘Scallywags’ which is set to be released in 2018.

Darelle Horsford,
District Teacher Librarian and Information Officer

BOOK FAIR

What a busy fortnight in the library! A much anticipated visiting author and our ever popular Book Fair. A HUGE thank you to our wonderful families for giving such enthusiastic support to our recent Book Fair. I had so many favourable comments, from students and parents alike, throughout the week. With your help we have been able to exceed our target, which will ensure we can look forward to holding a Book Fair again next year! As always, the commission we receive from Scholastic will be put to good use, supplying additional library resources for the continued enjoyment of all. THANK YOU!

Lisa Calcagno
Library Assistant

AROUND THE CLASSROOMS

Sock It To A Better Way For Living!

Socks danced! Colours flashed! Paper planes whizzed through the air! It was a day to raise money and sock it to poverty! On Thursday 26th of Socktober - we mean, October - St Rita’s students from Babinda, showed their generous spirits by supporting World Mission Month to fundraise for people in need across the world.

St Rita’s participated in a fun crazy sock day for donations of money. It was a zany day! All loose change was meticulously placed in a moneyline as our sport teams, Dalrymple and Palmerston battled it out for the prestige of who had the longest line! This year, Dalrymple claimed victory in the moneyline, but the real winners are the recipients of the donations.

Such is the compassion of St Rita’s students, that most children were prepared to give up their playtime to take part in the annual paper plane competition. For a gold coin donation, students folded their planes precisely, and competed to see whose plane would ‘rule the sky’ in the hope of winning a prize for the longest flight or most creative design. Judges were impressed by everyone’s enthusiasm and for the record distance thrown of 12.8m! What a day of fantastic fun and all for a great cause! Thanks to all staff and students at St Rita’s, as our donations make a big difference towards the lives of others less fortunate.

By Jack Whitling and Melina Musumeci Year 6

DATE CLAIMERS

STUDENTS OF THE WEEK

St Rita’s School congratulates those students who were awarded ‘Student of the Week’ at Assembly on Friday 3rd November 2017.

ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

We congratulate Harper Wiles who successfully contributed to the Cairns Post ‘Inspire’ feature on Tuesday 17th October 2017 with an article on the Community Carers visit to the Babinda Hospital.

On 24th October, Katara Ambrum and Hayley Geary wrote a fun article about their recent Teddy Bear’s Picnic. Congratulations and well done Harper, Hayley and Katara!

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

COMMUNITY NEWS

CAIRNS REGIONAL COUNCIL eCARD COMPETITION

DISASTER CO-ORDINATION CENTRE OPEN DAY

BABINDA GROUP FITNESS

STATE ELECTION 2017