Issue 7 - 9 May 2018

Newsletter Articles

MISSION STATEMENT

St Rita’s School mission is to create a community which inspires a love of holistic, life-long learning grounded in the Catholic Christian faith. Childhood is celebrated and nurtured by caring adults. A student’s capacity for their best future is realised in the context of our small rural community. We provide a safe and supportive environment, characterised by strong, life-giving and respectful relationships with students, staff, families, parish and the wider community. The school strives to ensure we are living out the Mercy values.

PRINCIPAL’S PEN

Dear Parents and Carers,

St Rita’s staff was especially proud of the school community’s role in the local ANZAC Day commemoration on Wednesday 25th April. Beginning with our own school event on Tuesday afternoon and ending with the P & F Morning Tea in the RSL Hall, the support of so many people in our community truly displayed the ‘ANZAC Spirit’ as present in Babinda. I express my gratitude for the address by Mr Ben Stone, Mrs Maureen Gaul’s moving liturgy, parents who presented their children in best uniform for the march, and staff working alongside parents to serve morning tea. I was proud to be in St Rita’s School community!

We finished last week with our senior student, Max Schep, participating in the Mulgrave Cross Country event at Gordonvale. Max competed in the 10 years age group, running a distance of 2kms, and we heartily congratulate him on placing in the top 20! The next school sport competition for the 9 – 12 year olds will be the Combined Schools Athletics Carnival scheduled for Friday 15th June. In P.E. lessons this term, Mrs Masina will coach the track and field events, such as high jump, long jump and sprints, for all our classes. Sports uniform will continue to be worn each Wednesday for P.E. lessons.

Next week our Years 3 and 5 students take part in NAPLAN Testing. While the tests will no doubt provide a snapshot of the children’s learning; it is a fitting time to remind all parents and students that NAPLAN is just that - a snapshot. The results of these formal tests are only one of a comprehensive range of assessments which provide information on the individual’s learning and development. Every school day, classroom teachers are determining children’s learning and formulating ways to assist the progression of this learning.

During NAPLAN this week, if your child is in Year 3 or 5, I would simply ask you to ensure your child is in bed early and is eating a healthy breakfast to give them every opportunity for optimal performance on the testing days. However, please do not place unnecessary stress on your child with negative conversations about NAPLAN, keeping the notion of these tests in perspective by encouraging them with positive talk about the tests so as to avoid unnecessary stress. “Do your best!” is all that should be encouraged.

With NAPLAN being the ‘big ticket’ item in Australian schools at present, it seems timely that I have been especially interested in Professor Stephen Dinham’s debate with Teacher editor, Jo Earp, on the characteristics of a ‘good school’. There is one thought that an effective school, often known as “an academic school”, is one that achieves outstanding academic results, for example in standardised tests such as NAPLAN. On the other hand, Dinham argues that a focus on student wellbeing, rather than an academic one, causes “people to have low expectations for those students” and for the school to be branded as non-academic.

Dinham suggests that the best schools achieve the right balance between the academic and the personal. “They know them (the students) as learners, through assessment, but they also know them as people. So that relationship between teachers and students we know is very important in student learning, a good, healthy, professional relationship”. I agree with Dinham that the ‘right balance’ must be reached for young children to achieve best results in the classroom, and a good school must also develop social-emotional skills needed for personal wellbeing in the individual student. We aim to get the balance right at St Rita’s!

This weekend, the second Sunday in May, we will celebrate Mother’s Day in Australia. It is a special day for showing our appreciation of mothers and mother figures. Although Australians follow the Mother’s Day traditions that stem from observances in countries such as USA and the UK, it is an Australian who is credited with having started the tradition of giving gifts on Mother's Day. Janet Heyden, a resident of Leichhardt Sydney, started a campaign in 1924 to collect gifts for lonely aged mothers.

To begin Week 5 with an especially exciting event, our wonderful Mother’s Day Pampering Afternoon kicks off at 1:30pm next Monday 14th May. We are very much looking forward to welcoming mothers, aunties, grandmothers and friends to St Rita’s for an afternoon of relaxation and happiness. You have massages, class performances, music and afternoon tea to look forward to.

It is a special day of fostering love and respect for mothers in our students, and I leave you with beautiful words in a ‘Prayer for Mothers’:

All-loving God, we give you thanks and praise for mothers young and old.

We pray for young mothers, who give life and count toes and tend to our every need;

May they be blessed with patience and tenderness to care for their families and themselves with great joy.

We pray for our own mothers who have nurtured and cared for us;

May they continue to guide us in strong and gentle ways.

We remember mothers who are separated from their children because of war, poverty, or conflict;

May they feel the loving embrace of our God who wipes every tear away.

We pray for women who are not mothers but still love and shape us with motherly care and compassion.

We remember mothers, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers who are no longer with us but who live forever in our memory and nourish us with their love.

Amen.

On Friday morning, St Rita’s will participate in the 2018 ‘Walk Safely to School’ event. This is ‘an annual, national event that encourages all primary school students to walk safely, and commute actively, to school. Now in its fourteenth year, this community event promotes better attitudes to road safety, health, public transport and the environment. Parents and carers are encouraged to walk their children to school on the day.

Meeting at the Showgrounds at 8:00am, staff and students will walk to school together and then share a healthy breakfast of toast, fruit and milk. Parents who drive their children to school, can drop them at the Showgrounds from 7:50am. You are also most welcome to join us for the walk. With the glorious weather we are having, walking to school will be a great start to the day for us all! Remember the motto of Walk Safely to School Day, ‘Active kids are smarter kids!’

On the topic of the cooler weather, we have noticed that children may be need to wear their jackets to school in the morning. Our school uniform includes a navy blue winter jacket for the colder season, and this should be worn in the coming months. The jacket and long pants can be purchased from Debbie in the Office. Please ‘name’ these items as the children have a tendency to take them off in the playground!

Have a lovely Mother’s Day with your families on Sunday, and I look forward to seeing you all next Monday afternoon.

Enjoy your week!

Regards,
Judy Billiau

APRE THOUGHTS

Mary, Mother to All!

In the Catholic Church, the month of May is devoted to Mary, who is revered as the first disciple of Jesus, and a model of active faith and steadfast courage in accepting God’s Will. Mary trusted in the Word of God. She was bestowed the great honour of mothering Jesus - an honour that came at great personal cost, as at the end of his human life, she endured her son’s violent and shameful crucifixion. Though familiar with Jesus’ humanity, Mary also experienced the divinity of Jesus. Scriptures tell us that she was present as he performed his first miracle at the Wedding of Cana, and was witness to his resurrection.

In May, we celebrate the gift that mothers and other female role models bring to us. Like Mary, mother-figures often embark on a journey of love, hope, compassion and courageous leadership. As Mary did, all women are invited to place their trust in God, and respond to the Word of God. Mothers can be witnesses of hope and peace for the betterment of our world. Happy Mother’s Day to all women who nurture young and older persons alike!

Loving God,
We give you thanks for all who care for us,
Who have encouraged us and helped us grow,
Who have forgiven us,
And cared for us when we are unwell,
Who have supported us when times were hard,
Who have challenged us,
Who have told us about you.
Thank you, Lord.
Amen

Bath & Wells Diocese Children & Families Adviser

Adoration

Father Nathan McKay will visit our school this Friday, to lead staff and students in a Christian prayer practice known as ‘Adoration’. This will take place in our Church, and involves taking time in silence and stillness in the presence of Christ as The Blessed Sacrament (a consecrated host). The meditation will centre on Mary’s unwavering faith in God, and draw from the story of ‘The Annunciation’ from the Gospel of Luke. May I extend my thanks to Father Nathan who has made preparations for us to be able to experience this Christian meditation. In the busyness of our everyday living, it is indeed a luxury to just sit and ‘be’ with our God.

Sacramental Program

The St Rita’s Parish Sacramental Program begins this week, and we welcome six candidates from the local area, who will prepare to receive the Sacraments of Reconciliation, Confirmation and Eucharist over the coming months. While God’s presence and love can be felt through the joy of life, such as the natural beauty of our world, life-giving relationships between family and friends, generosity of spirit in giving and receiving, and through both joyful and sorrowful moments, Catholics believe that the sacraments are the greatest means by which humans can come to experience God. It is through the sacraments that our human lives may tangibly encounter God, be ‘touched’ or ‘embraced’ by God, and drawn more closely into relationship with God. Please keep these young people in your prayers as they move forward in their sacramental journey.

St Rita’s Feast Day Mass

On Tuesday 22nd May, St Rita’s School will gather as a faith community to praise and thank our God for the life of St Rita of Cascia. St Rita was widely known as the ‘Peacemaker of Cascia’ and is the patroness of those in need. She was a model disciple in her love of God, and led by example with tender, compassionate love and merciful forgiveness towards others. Our whole school mass to celebrate St Rita’s extraordinary gifts of faith and love will commence at 12:15pm in our parish church. Parents and friends of St Rita’s are warmly invited to join us for the occasion.

Blessings,

Maureen Gaul
Assistant Principal (Religious Education)

SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING

CASTING THE NET

Mary, our help

The first Catholic Cathedral in Australia was built on a rubbish dump. In the early colony, giving that land to the Catholics was intended as an insult. Not that you would notice it today. St Mary’s Cathedral looks, to the tourist and casual observer today, like it is on prime real estate while the Churches of the other denominations who received land in that early distribution are crowded beneath the skyscrapers of the city. A similar thing happened in Melbourne.

Catholics had a hard time in the early colony. Their faith was illegal. For the first forty years they rarely saw a priest and then only under strict supervision of the authorities. But many did ‘keep their faith’. They kept alive in their hearts the belief that God was with them even in those difficult circumstances. Love of Mary expressed though praying the rosary sustained and supported this belief so when they were finally allowed to publicly practise their faith they expressed their thanks to her by dedicating the first Cathedral in her honour and then later making her the patron of Australia under the title Mary, Help of Christians. They knew that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was their support in the hard and difficult times they faced.

On Wednesday the 24th May, is the Feast of Mary, Help of Christians. Just as she helped the early Australian Church, she helps us as well…so what type of help do you want? We all have times and situations so difficult we feel we are in the rubbish dump – both personally and as a community. Most likely, with God’s help and with Mary’s, we will not be taken out of our rubbish dumps but will be given the grace and opportunity to turn them into prime real estate. This week offer your difficult challenges to Mary and imagine what she, with her mother’s heart, could do for you.

Loving God, thank you for the gift of Mary, Help of Christians.
You know I could do with all the help I could get,
so let your Spirit guide me in turning to her and receiving what I need.
I ask this in Jesus’ name confident that you will hear me.

Sr Kym Harris osb

CURRICULUM CORNER

LESSONS IN THE LIBRARY

Commonwealth Games Reading Challenge

Congratulations St Rita’s on your fabulous efforts in the Commonwealth Games Reading Challenge! Many students rose to the challenge and earnt Gold, Silver or Bronze in one or more reading events. Keep up the great reading St Rita’s!

Stop Motion Animation

The Year 5/6 class is becoming creative with a Stop Motion app called iMotion. Using the iMotion app the students have been learning how to animate a still object or image. Some students have made toys run, jump and wiggle, and others have been successful in making a drawn image blink and appear to speak. We look forward to seeing what wonderful animations the students can create for their History assessment this term.

Michelle van Dugteren
District Librarian & Resource Teacher

AROUND THE CLASSROOMS

And in the morning, we did remember them!

ANZAC Day, April 25th, is always a special day of remembrance for the students and staff of St Rita’s School, Babinda. Decorating our sacred space at our school Liturgy were images from the War Memorial in Canberra, a bible, a sprig of rosemary, candles, a pair of army boots, a slouch hat and military service medals. We had a special guest speaker during the Liturgy, Mr Ben Stone from Babinda RSL. He spoke to us about the importance of ANZAC Day and the values of respect, mateship, courage and trust – these values are always on display at St Rita’s. I felt very sad when I heard how many Australians died fighting during the First World War. That’s a lot of people! They died to keep us all safe and protect our Australian way of life. By the end of the liturgy I was almost crying. I felt sad for all those brave ANZAC soldiers who had died or been terribly hurt so far away from their homes in Australia so long ago. I was very sad for them and their families.

At the Babinda ANZAC Day commemorations, Dad walked me across to the RSL where the local school children were getting organised in school groups to march. While waiting for the parade to start, I stood admiring the old men and women proudly wearing their medals. Soon we were marching through town to the cenotaph at ANZAC Park. I thought about my great, great grandfather who went away to the war and how he might have felt when he marched to go away to fight. Even though it was hard to hear the speeches that morning, I still enjoyed listening to them. I waited patiently to lay my wreath on the cenotaph. As I laid it, I thought about my family members who had bravely fought during wars. Fortunately, many survived and returned to Australia. Later in the afternoon I remembered how much I had liked listening to “The Last Post” played by the bagpipes.

Written by Jack Clarke, Year 3

DATE CLAIMERS

CLASSROOM AWARDS

On Friday’s Assembly, Mrs Masina presented M100W (Magic 100 Words) Certificates to two children in her class. We especially congratulate Hayley Geary and Hannah Lansdown for working so hard at learning high frequency words and achieving their Green Level and 300 Words Level certificates!

ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

We congratulate Hallie Lansdown (Year 5/6) who successfully contributed to the Cairns Post ‘Inspire’ feature on Tuesday 24th April 2018 with an article about the recent Futsal Gala Day. Here is a short excerpt from Hallie’s recount of the wonderful experience she had playing futsal with her team mates. Well done Hallie!

The great goal that got away

For Gala Day last term, we went to Babinda State School to play futsal for Combined Schools. Our team was called the ‘Rabbitohs’ and we played four games against other schools in the district. I hadn’t played futsal before this year, but I enjoyed learning how to play the game with Mrs Masina coaching us in PE lessons and at lunch breaks.

At the start of the day, our first game was quite easy as we were playing against one of the bigger schools and their players kept slipping and sliding all over the court. But the other teams were difficult to score against, because these teams had really good players and they were older than us.

In one of our last games, it was Round 3 and we only had minutes on the clock. Everyone was shouting from the sideline, “You are running out of time!” I really thought I could score. I was close to the goal, so I aimed at the net and booted the ball.

BANG!

After I kicked, I suddenly heard a loud noise and looked down to see the ball slowly rolling and stopping before the goal. Everyone roared laughing! We had to stop the game just at that moment as the ref blew the whistle for the end of the game. It was the perfect shot and I probably would have scored another goal! I was so disappointed, but it had been an amazing day.

By Hallie Lansdown Year 5

YEAR OF THE YOUTH

Youth Mass at Mother of Good Counsel Catholic Church Innisfail.
Sunday 20th May at 5:00pm. A meal will be supplied afterwards.
Contact Father Nathan for further information on 4061 6633.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

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