Issue 11 - 24 July 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,

Welcome back to all St Rita’s students and families to the new term! Term 3 is bound to be another busy one, so we were pleased to see the smiling, happy faces of our students last Monday morning. This term we have a plethora of whole school events we hope to share with you; NAIDOC Week, Catholic Education Week, Science Week, Children’s Book Week, Lawn Bowls with Sporting Schools, a cultural excursion for the Prep – Year 2 students and the Senior camp. Further information will be made available on the Parent Portal shortly.

Staff has also returned to school feeling refreshed and invigorated. Mrs Vicki Jago, however, has another three weeks of Long Service Leave to enjoy. Mrs Gaul and myself will be teaching Vicki’s classes during her absence. I will also be taking four weeks of Long Service Leave this term, during weeks 6, 7, 8 and 9, with Mrs Maureen Gaul acting as principal in my absence. Mrs Michelle Van Dugteren will continue to work at St Rita’s each Tuesday fortnight in her role as District Teacher Librarian and Resource Teacher. Great things happen in Mrs Van’s digital technology lessons!

The highlight of last term’s ending had to be the staging of the St Rita’s Inter-house Athletics Carnival for 2018. I find it so exciting to witness the progress the children make with Mrs Masina’s athletics program throughout the term. High Jump training is always especially popular, with the focus being on achieving a higher P.B. (even of one centimetre!) and aiming to break the school record. A focus on improvement and skill development during Physical Education lessons has enabled all children to feel a sense of personal achievement regardless of their physical abilities.

Wednesday 20th June turned out perfect weather for our Inter-house Athletics Carnival. After completing a program of track events at Bill Wakeham Park, we returned to school for the field events, followed by the fun of ball games in the afternoon. A large contingent of parents and families joined us for the carnival and this support is always very much appreciated by the young competitors. St Rita’s especially congratulates Max Schep (10 years) who achieved outstanding results in both the inter-house and Combined Schools competitions. Best of luck Max when you compete at the Mulgrave District event on Friday!

During Week 3, CATHOLIC EDUCATION WEEK will celebrate and highlight the significance of education in Catholic schools in Queensland. I invite all families to join us as we celebrate this event in a variety of school activities that will be taking place during the week. Next Tuesday 31st July, the Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 students will travel to Good Counsel Primary in Innisfail to celebrate CEW with the other five schools and one college in the southern cluster. A range of activities, at the school, college and Warrina Lakes, will be enjoyed by the children after Mass in Good Counsel Parish Church. Your child will bring home a permission note later this week for this excursion.

We will celebrate NAIDOC WEEK at St Rita’s during the fourth week of this term. NAIDOC celebrations are held around Australia each July to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. A Liturgy in the church, beginning at 12:15pm, and an afternoon of NAIDOC-themed activities have been organised by APRE, Mrs Maureen Gaul, and Miss Alannah Dewis, our Indigenous Liaison Officer, for Friday 10th August. Parents and families are most welcome to join us for one or both of these activities.

As we commence Term 3, I would like to once again remind you that St Rita’s is a community of staff and families who, in partnership, provide a holistic education to our students. Adam Voigt describes a school as being like a brain, with each brain cell representing an individual in the school; a teacher, a school officer, a leader, a student or a parent.

“….. it is not individual strength, but the connections and relationships between the individuals which will determine whether your community of learners reaches its potential”.

I encourage all members of our school community to help us continue developing a strong ‘brain’ throughout this second semester. I believe that we have had a positive start to achieving this goal in 2018, and we need each and every one of our ‘cells’ to build a strong culture of community at St Rita’s. The staff works exceptionally well together and I am proud to be a member of this team. I urge you to ‘get on board’ as an active member of the parent team of St Rita’s and to participate in all that we offer at our wonderful little school.

Regards and blessings for a happy Semester 2,

Judy Billiau

NAIDOC WEEK 2018

Under the theme - Because of Her, We Can! - NAIDOC Week 2018 will be held nationally from Sunday 8 July and continue through to Sunday 15 July. As pillars of our society, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women have played – and continue to play - active and significant roles at the community, local, state and national levels.

As leaders, trailblazers, politicians, activists and social change advocates, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women fought and continue to fight, for justice, equal rights, our rights to country, for law and justice, access to education, employment and to maintain and celebrate our culture, language, music and art.

They continue to influence as doctors, lawyers, teachers, electricians, chefs, nurses, architects, rangers, emergency and defence personnel, writers, volunteers, chief executive officers, actors, singer songwriters, journalists, entrepreneurs, media personalities, board members, accountants, academics, sporting icons and Olympians, the list goes on. They are our mothers, our elders, our grandmothers, our aunties, our sisters and our daughters.

Sadly, Indigenous women’s role in our cultural, social and political survival has often been invisible, unsung or diminished. For at least 65,000 years, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women have carried our dreaming stories, songlines, languages and knowledge that have kept our culture strong and enriched us as the oldest continuing culture on the planet.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women were there at first contact. They were there at the Torres Strait Pearlers strike in 1936, the Day of Mourning in 1938, the 1939 Cummeragunja Walk-Off, at the 1946 Pilbara pastoral workers' strike, the 1965 Freedom Rides, the Wave Hill walk off in 1966, on the front line of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in 1972 and at the drafting of the Uluru Statement.

They have marched, protested and spoken at demonstrations and national gatherings for the proper recognition of our rights and calling for national reform and justice. Our women were heavily involved in the campaign for the 1967 Referendum and also put up their hands to represent their people at the establishment of national advocacy and representative bodies from the National Aboriginal Congress (NAC) to ATSIC to Land Councils and onto the National Congress for Australia’s First Peoples.

They often did so while caring for our families, maintaining our homes and breaking down cultural and institutionalised barriers and gender stereotypes. Our women did so because they demanded a better life, greater opportunities and - in many cases equal rights - for our children, our families and our people.

They were pioneering women like Barangaroo, Truganini, Gladys Elphick, Fannie Cochrane-Smith, Evelyn Scott, Pearl Gibbs, Oodgeroo Noonuccal, Celuia Mapo Salee, Thancoupie, Justine Saunders, Gladys Nicholls, Flo Kennedy, Essie Coffey, Isabel Coe, Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Eleanor Harding, Mum Shirl, Ellie Gaffney and Gladys Tybingoompa.

Today, they are trailblazers like Joyce Clague, Yalmay Yunupingu, Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Nova Peris, Carol Martin, Elizabeth Morgan, Barbara Shaw, Rose Richards, Vonda Malone, Margaret Valadian, Lowitja O’Donoghue, June Oscar, Pat O’Shane, Pat Anderson Jill Milroy, Banduk Marika, Linda Burney and Rosalie Kunoth-Monks – to name but a few.

Their achievements, their voice, their unwavering passion give us strength and have empowered past generations and paved the way for generations to come.

Because of her, we can!

CATHOLIC EDUCATION SERVICES

Whistleblower Hotline

Catholic Education, as part of the Diocese of Cairns, recently commenced a Whistleblower Hotline through an independent and confidential service provider, STOPline. This service is available to all members of the Catholic Education community including staff, volunteers, parents, and students.

The Whistleblower hotline is not for complaints or grievances, nor does it replace our obligations for mandatory reporting for Student Protection matters. While we encourage you to use our existing processes to report and resolve concerns, the hotline service is available when our existing processes have not been able to resolve an issue relating to reportable conduct (see link below to our website for further information) or where absolute confidentiality is required.

Information on the STOPline service and how to access it, as well as a range of information on our conduct, complaints and grievance processes can be found on the Cairns Catholic Education website.

CATHOLIC EDUCATION WEEK

29 July – 4 August 2018

‘DISCOVERING NEW HORIZONS’

The theme for Catholic Education Week this year has been aligned with the official Year of Youth theme for 2018 and is derived from a speech given by Pope Francis at World Youth Day 2016 where he called young people and the Church to ‘open new horizons for spreading joy’:

My friends, Jesus is the Lord of risk, he is the Lord of the eternal “more”. Jesus is not the Lord of comfort, security and ease. Following Jesus demands a good dose of courage, a readiness to trade in the sofa for a pair of walking shoes and to set out on new and uncharted paths. To blaze trails that open up new horizons capable of spreading joy, born of God’s love and wells up in your hearts with every act of mercy.

APRE THOUGHTS

St Rita’s Mercy Award

Mercy is a central tenet to the Christian faith; Catholics believe in the merciful love of God. The Mercy Education Values of Compassion, Justice, Respect, Hospitality, Service and Courage were the inspiration for Catherine McAuley – the founder of the Sisters of Mercy – in making known the fullness of God’s mercy and love, as she worked alongside the poor and needy. Following in their foundress’ footsteps, the Sisters of Mercy have shown commitment in the expression of mercy to the communities they serve, and as a Mercy School, we too are inspired to embrace this mission and uphold their charism.

With this in mind, our school will introduce the ‘St Rita’s Mercy Award’ this term. It will be presented to a student who is seen by a staff member to be enacting the Mercy Education Values in their everyday lives, and given during school assembly. Acts of kindness and care will be carefully sought out. Staff will be on the lookout for behaviours which exemplify the values of: Compassion, Justice, Respect, Hospitality, Service and Courage on a daily basis, with a view to recognise children with our new St Rita’s Mercy Award.

Confirmation Liturgy at St Rita’s Babinda

When we speak of the Holy Spirit, images of the wind, a dove, tongues of fire, or the breath of God come to mind…The addition of a ‘roar’ as of a lion issuing from Bishop James during our recent Sacrament of Confirmation ceremony was, to say the least, unexpected, but evocative nonetheless. Perhaps unintentional and whimsical, it was certainly delightful when Bishop James referenced to the bible story of Daniel and the Lions by ‘roaring’ (literally!) during the celebration upon hearing a candidate’s name ‘Daniel’. And just as the legendary Daniel was spared the dreadful fate of being a lion’s supper through the intervention of God, we can parallel this with the guidance and protection offered to us through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Confirmation is a significant event in any parish, and at St Rita’s in Babinda, doubly so, as it is only celebrated biennially. On behalf of the parish and school community, may I offer congratulations to those five young people who received the Sacrament of Confirmation at the end of last term, and extend heartfelt thanks to both Bishop James Foley and Father Kerry Crowley for presiding over our Confirmation ceremony. It was a warm, close and, I felt, very personal liturgy for our candidates and parish community to experience.

Preparations for the Sacrament of Eucharist commence this week.

Community Carers

Co-written by Georgina, Hallie and Jamie with Mrs Gaul

On the final day of Semester 1, Georgina, Hallie and Jamie from the St Rita’s Community Carers Group visited ‘Cootharinga Gardens’ (formerly known as ‘Abbeyfield’). They went there to spend time with the residents and to socialise with them - and no, it was not all about the delicious and delectable treats for morning tea, that Gail, our host, had prepared for us. (Well, maybe just a little bit!)

The group organised some tuneful violin and vocal performances, and they were accompanied by Mrs Bernadette Anthony on the piano. Mrs Anthony kept everyone singing along as she played, and there was laughter as jokes were shared.

It was heart-warming to hear personal stories from the residents, about where they came from, and they gave advice to us for when we are eighty years old! They informed us that we should find a hobby to continue, so that we have something to do when we are older. A good suggestion!

Although the weather was a little dreary, we brought happiness into each other’s lives. Maybe, over the holidays, we could all start a new hobby to last us a lifetime!

Blessings,
Maureen Gaul
Assistant Principal (Religious Education)

CASTING THE NET

Looking out for the other

It looked impossible. Even the experts involved doubted that they would be able to bring out of the cave all the Thai soccer players and their coach alive. But they did. The rescuers were a diverse group separated by language and culture who joined together and achieved the impossible. The Thais welcomed the international help because the boys needed it. The Brits asked for the Australian, Dr Richard Harris, because the boys needed it. He asked for his diving partner, Craig Challen, because he needed him to be able to help the boys in their need.

This whole group of people sunk their own needs in service of a group of boys they did not know. This selflessness has continued after the rescue when they seem to be vying to give the praise for the success to others. The amazing event happened because all worked together to care for others.

One of the last pieces of advice St Benedict gave his followers is that everyone should look out and work for the good of another. ‘What about me?’ our culture screams. But what do we get when we only look after Number 1? Too often a group of individuals who in working to get attention for themselves end up at loggerheads with each other.

But what happens when we look out for each other? We form a community that in turn looks out for us, cares for us. We become part of a web of relationships that nurture and challenge us. Caring for others also sustains our heart as it is more important to our well-being to love than to be loved. ‘How good and how pleasant it is when people live in unity’, we pray in the Psalms. In Thailand, we have seen this. Now this day we can make it real in our families, our communities and our workplaces by looking out for each other.

Loving God, give me the wisdom to see the needs of others
and the courage and strength to serve them in love.
I ask this in Jesus’ name confident that you will hear me.

Sr Kym Harris osb

TERM 2 SPORTS UPDATE

This semester has been explosive with sporting achievement by St Rita’s children. Last term, students in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 participated in an ALF Program hosted by the Sporting Schools initiative. Every week Mr Nigel Liddle delivered fun and engaging AFL lessons to teach the basic elements of marking, kicking, ball handling skills, defence and spatial awareness. On Thursday 28th June, St Rita’s students applied their AFL skills as they excitedly participated in a ‘scratch match’ against students from Mission Beach district schools. This was a wonderful opportunity for our students to experience ‘healthy’ sporting competition and meet new friends.

Earlier in the year, the senior students in Years 4 - 6 participated in the Term 1 Gala Day of ‘Futsal’. This was an engaging day enjoyed by all and gave all competitors an opportunity to showcase their futsal skills. The remainder of Term 1 focused on fitness and stamina as children prepared for the upcoming Cross Country interschool and the St Rita’s non-competitive Fun Run events.

On Tuesday 24th April, we began Term 2 with the Combined Schools Cross Country long distance run at Bill Wakeham Park. This has to one of the hardest races as eligible children participated in either a 2km or 3km long distance run. Georgina Stone, Harrison Stone, Max Schep and Cooder Postic participated with excellent stamina. All other students didn’t miss out on all the fun as they participated in the annual St. Rita’s Fun Run.

On Friday 15th June, eligible students from Years 4 - 6 represented St. Rita’s at the Combined Schools District Athletics Carnival. Georgina Stone, Harrison Stone, Hallie Lansdown, Max Schep, Cooder Postic, Kylee Hansen and Elijah Geary, showcased their sporting talent and competed at a district level. Max Schep will be going to the next level, to the Mulgrave Track and Field Carnival in Term 3 to complete in the 100, 200, High jump, Long jump, Shotput and 100 metres boys relay team. Congratulations Max on your sporting achievement this year!

St Rita’s had such an enjoyable day participating in our Inter-house Athletics Carnival on Wednesday 20th June. The weather was perfect! What an exciting and fun day for the children! The level of effort given and student participation was amazing. Our carnival proudly showcased our student’s team spirit, sportsmanship and determination to give their very best. Starting with the March past, led by their Captains, the houses Dalrymple and Palmerston proudly march out of the front gate down towards Bill Wakeham Park.

Both teams were equally strong as war cries could be heard all over town. Local businesses even came out on the footpaths to cheer us on! This year we saw the aggregate team trophy change hands as Dalrymple Captains Harrison Stone and Max Schep lead their team to victory by amassing 326 points. Palmerston displayed excellent sportsmanship, participation and team spirit as a direct result of their Captain’s leadership, Hallie Lansdown, who was ably assisted by Matthew Mellick.

St Rita’s congratulates the following Age Champions for 2018:

A huge thank you to parents and families who came along to our sporting events this semester, to support and encourage the children. It is always wonderful to see parents cheering their children on from the side line and getting into the team spirit. This definitely adds to the day’s atmosphere! Thank you to Mrs Julie Schep who worked as our team manager at the Combined Schools Athletics Carnival this year.

Yours in sport,
Maryjane Masina
Sports Coordinator

LESSONS IN THE LIBRARY

Prep/Year 1

The students in Prep/Year 1 will be learning how to use directional language and basic programming skills with Bee-Bots this term. Bee-Bots are programmable floor robots. They are a wonderful tool for teaching students how to sequence a series of steps and for developing coding concepts.

The Prep/Year 1 students were ‘busy bees’ last week as they took turns to write and follow directions in the role of ‘human Bee-Bot’. The classroom was a hive of activity as they navigated the ‘human Bee-Bot’ from the bee-hive to the flower. It was an awesome learning experience for everyone!

Year 5/6

The Year 5/6 classroom was a flurry of activity and excitement when the students were introduced to Lego WeDo 2.0. The class took to the ground running as they created Milo the Science Rover, a robot designed to find and retrieve a plant specimen from a remote location. Students have definitely risen to the challenge of collaborating and problem solving. We look forward to seeing what creative solutions Year 5/6 can come up with in response to the projects and challenges set before them this term.

Premier’s Reading Challenge

The 2018 Premier’s Reading Challenge is underway! This is a wonderful opportunity for children to improve their literacy skills by reading widely for pleasure and learning. School reader record forms are due back to the library by Friday 24 August. Happy reading St Rita’s!

Michelle van Dugteren
District Librarian & Resource Teacher

LIBRARY LINKS

CHILDREN’S BOOK WEEK 2018

Welcome to a busy Term 3 in the Library, with our eagerly anticipated Book Week event taking place on Thursday 16th August. With a little less than a month until our Book Character Parade, children are already discussing what book character they will come dressed as. There has been much excitement and secrecy around character choices!

I know most parents enjoy working on the costumes with their children, but for those who may find it difficult because of time constraints etc., please feel welcome to contact me. I will be happy to help your child create a simple costume at school, for them to wear in the parade. Please remember that it is not always necessary to dress your child from head to toe. Sometimes a creative hat or decorated shirt, umbrella, funny shoes etc. make for a simple and fun costume.

For those stuck for inspiration, I will send home some ideas next week. All we ask is that your child dresses as a character from one of their favourite books. The most important thing is that you and your child have fun putting a costume together.

Cheers till next time,
Lisa Calcagno
Library Assistant

DATE CLAIMERS

BIRTHDAY CONGRATULATIONS

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

ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

We congratulate Katara Ambrum (Prep/Year 1) who successfully completed pink and purple levels in her M100W high frequency words recently. Katara was presented with two M100W certificates on Assembly last Thursday. Well done Katara!

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

COMMUNITY NEWS

FAREWELL FOR JOHNATHAN THURSTON