Issue 12 - 8 August 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,

Yesterday, a staff member from our Cairns Office commented on the excellent state of our school grounds and gardens, offering congratulations to our hard-working groundsman. I was pretty chuffed to be able to say that we actually don’t have a ‘paid’ groundsman, rather our St Rita’s families participate in a roster of mowing and whipper snipping edging to keep the lawns looking so tidy. Special thanks to the Lansdown family for last weekend’s super job, and to everyone who has filled the roster up to this time. St Rita’s is looking good!

Since our last newsletter we have celebrated the first of many significant events for Term 3. St Rita’s School engaged in a wonderful celebration of Catholic Education Week last week. Our students participated enthusiastically in a wide range of special activities focused on this year’s theme, ‘Discovering New Horizons’. The theme enabled us to engage in a broad range of activities which showcased the opportunities that Catholic education provides to students in schools throughout Queensland.

As a school community, it was a week focused on highlighting what makes a Catholic school different and to feel pride in being part of Cairns Catholic Education. We were especially proud to belong to St Rita’s School during our CEW excursion to Innisfail last Tuesday. At the mass, which started the day in Good Counsel Parish Church, our school captains represented us in the entrance procession, prayer readings and the Gospel procession with other school leaders of the five schools and college in the southern deanery.

Following morning tea at Good Counsel Primary, our students dispersed to a wide variety of activities at Warrina Lakes and Good Counsel College. Many positive comments of this special celebration reflected the success of the day. ‘It was special that all schools came together to celebrate Catholic Education in Queensland and I really enjoyed participating in Rubber Band Shooting over at the College’ (Jamie Brose). ‘As a School Captain, I was chosen to carry the school banner in church and it was fun meeting up with old friends from other schools. At the College, we went to the Drama room and played an improvisation game’ (Georgina Stone).

We finished the week with a special whole school assembly, the highlight of which was my presentation of this year’s ‘Spirit of Catholic Education’ Awards to students nominated and chosen by our classroom teachers. Certificates were presented to Katara Ambrum, Elijah Geary and Hallie Lansdown. The St Rita’s School community proudly gives special congratulations to these students who have demonstrated our school values both in the classroom and playground throughout this year.

We have more exciting and engaging school events planned for this term and I hope you can join us for as many of these as possible. This Friday, St Rita’s has planned a wonderful NAIDOC Week celebration beginning at 12:15pm. Our thanks must go to our Indigenous Liaison Officer, Miss Alannah Dewis, who has worked with Mrs Gaul in the past weeks organising this significant event. Please RSVP to the Office, by phone or email (secretary.babinda@cns.catholic.edu.au), if you are joining us on Friday afternoon.

Each year across Australia, The Children’s Book Council of Australia brings children and books together celebrating Children’s Book Week. During this time, schools, libraries, booksellers and authors celebrate Australian children's literature and you will often see children’s book character parades and talented librarians creating amazing displays.

Next week, we are excited to be celebrating Children’s Book Week at St Rita’s with the theme, ‘Find Your Treasure!’ During CBW, we will be celebrating the wonderful resource of books and acknowledging our talented Australian authors and illustrators. Mrs Calcagno, our Library Officer, works enthusiastically to make this week the most special time of year for our school library. The significance of reading for children will be further highlighted in the classroom next week, and teachers are busy planning stimulating lessons around the short-listed books that we have purchased.

The most exciting event for Children’s Book Week is our Dress Up Day which is planned for Thursday 16th August. As we have the kindy as our special guests for the morning, we will be combining Book Character Dress Up Day with an Open Morning this year. Beginning with a parade, which all families are invited to enjoy, the children will be later participating in rotational activities which explore some of the short-listed books. All students are encouraged to come to school dressed as a ‘book character’, and bring along the book from which the character has been taken.

In Week 6, we will be celebrating National Science Week at St Rita’s by hosting our sixth annual ‘Science Fun Day’. The organisers of this year’s event, Mrs Masina, Mrs Harbour, Mrs Gaul and Mrs Jago have busily planned a day filled with mayhem and experimentation as the children rotate through a number of fun science activities. Keep your eye out for the Science Day information letter that will be sent home next week. It will let you know the plans for the day and what your child requires to be transformed into a ‘Mad Scientist’ on Wednesday 22nd August.

Once again, our goal this year is to create an atmosphere that will inspire the children and ignite their interest in Science through practical activities, while at the same time teaching them the basics of different science phenomena through modelling and whole group discussions. McDonnell Creek State School will be participating in our Science Fun Day again this year, and parents are most welcome to join us for any sessions also. The afternoon showcase will be the ‘60 Second Science Show’ and the Year 5/6 class are excitedly preparing their scientific demonstrations.

Letters from your classroom teacher were distributed last week informing parents about what is happening and what is being taught in your child’s class in Term 3. This important source of information sharing is recognised as being an integral part of enabling the partnership between home and school to be most effective. If you have any queries regarding what your teacher has planned for this term, please arrange a meeting to further your information.

On the topic of student learning at St Rita’s, could I please take this opportunity to advocate for full school attendance by all students.To maximise learning outcomes for your child, it is imperative that he or she be at school every day for learning in the classroom. Late arrival similarly impacts on the level of learning a student can achieve in one school day. Arriving before the bell each morning also allows children time to socialise with peers and ready equipment for the start of the day’s lessons. I appreciate that children can become sick or have family commitments, and for these absences we ask that you contact Debbie in the office by email or phone before 9:00am for notification.

Altogether we have an exciting few weeks ahead in and around our classrooms. I hope to have a super turn-out of families at all our upcoming school events. Come and have fun learning with us at St Rita’s! As you know I am taking four weeks of Long Service Leave from Monday 20th August to Friday 14th September. I know that I will be leaving the school in the capable hands of Mrs Gaul and the staff in my absence.

Enjoy your week!

Judy Billiau

NAIDOC WEEK 2018

NAIDOC Week 2018 celebrates the invaluable contributions that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women have made – and continue to make - to our communities, our families, our rich history and to our nation. We celebrate as Christians, Indigenous and Non-Indigenous, with the theme: Because of her, we can! Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women play active and significant roles at community, local, state and national levels of Australian society.

This Friday 10th August, St Rita’s staff and students will gather as a faith community to remember the Indigenous peoples of this Nation, and to celebrate and honour their efforts and their dream. Family and friends of St Rita’s School and Parish family are most welcome to attend our celebrations, which are outlined below:

2018 NAIDOC Day Schedule of Activities
Friday 10th August

St Rita’s NAIDOC Day celebrations coincide with National Aboriginal and Islander Children’s Day and International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, which are celebrated annually each 4th and 9th August respectively.

Maureen Gaul

SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING

General principles for supporting children’s friendship skills

Parents, carers and teaching staff have important roles to play in helping children develop friendships. They set examples for children to follow through the ways they manage relationships. They can also act as coaches and mentors for children, teaching them helpful social skills and talking through friendship issues to help with solving problems. As they learn how to manage social situations, having opportunities to talk about relationships with parents, carers and teachers helps children feel supported and develops their communication skills.

• Provide children with opportunities to play with peers
  Children gain experience and learn important social skills from playing with friends. For children who are still learning how to get along, it can be helpful to plan what to do before having a friend over for a play date. This could involve deciding whether to share all of their toys or only some, or encouraging them to think about what games the other child would like to play when they arrive.
• Teach positive social skills
  Observe your child to work out which negative social behaviours your child uses too often and which positive social behaviours your child could use more. Little things like smiles, looking at the person, knowing names and using a confident, friendly voice can make a big difference when making friends. Being able to better control negative emotions and paying attention to the needs and wants of others are also very important.
  Teach one behaviour or social skill at a time and make sure the child is able to do it before introducing another skill. Show your child what to do. You may act out the situation and even demonstrate what to say. Take turns ‘acting’ until your child can demonstrate what to do. Don’t be too serious. Make it a fun experience.
• Be a coach
  Coaching is critical for helping children use new skills in real-life situations. Coaching involves prompting, reminding and encouraging (but not nagging!) children to use the skills they have learned. Coach your child to practise positive social skills in everyday situations with family members and friends. Support children’s learning by giving positive feedback and praise.
• Help children solve friendship problems
  Talking problems through with a supportive adult helps children to think about what happens, how they feel about it and what to do next. Thinking things through like this helps to build more mature social skills.

APRE THOUGHTS

St Mary MacKillop’s Feast Day

The Feast Day of Australia’s First Saint, Mary MacKillop is celebrated this week on August 8th. Interestingly, many common threads exist between her life and the life of Catherine McAuley, who you may recall was the foundress of the Sisters of Mercy in Ireland. Both women championed for social justice, and in particular ministered to women and children, providing them with access to education and shelter. Both acted with courage to overcome resistance and hostility shown towards them, as they acted in service to the poor and marginalised. And both remained steadfast in their faith and committed to the continuation of Christ’s work on earth. Their unwavering dedication to their cause shaped Catholic Education during our nation’s founding years, and their work epitomises the core beliefs and teachings of our faith. Below is a short summary of the life of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop which you may find of interest.

Mary came from humble beginnings and dedicated her life to the service of those in greatest need. She was born in Melbourne in 1842 and established a school in a disused stable on St Joseph’s Day 1866. The school was for children whose families could not afford to educate them within the township of Penola, South Australia.

A year later, she took her religious vows and began the Congregation of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart. She recruited young women to join the order and established more Josephite schools to provide free Catholic Education. Mary MacKillop’s outreach extended to providing housing and education to women and children in poor circumstances, and comfort by way of visits to the sick and those in prison, through The Sisters.

Her life was not without controversy though. She faced ongoing opposition from both the Church and Government - and was even excommunicated in 1871 for one year - but, her strength and determination to realise her Vision won through! She is the Foundress of Australian Catholic Education and the Josephite Sisters, and was instrumental in setting up schools and welfare systems to provide opportunity to the most vulnerable members of society, namely poor women and children. She died on the 8th August 1909.

Mary MacKillop was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1995 and later canonised as Australia’s First Saint in 2010. She is known as St Mary of the Cross MacKillop.

Mary MacKillop Prayer

Holy God, source of all goodness,
You show us in Mary MacKillop
A woman of faith
Who lived by the power of the cross.
Teach us to embrace what she pioneered:
New ways of living the gospel
That respect and defend the human dignity of all in our land.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Catholic Education Week

The Spirit of Catholic Education was clearly evident last Tuesday as staff and students from St Rita’s Babinda, St John’s Silkwood, St Rita’s South Johnstone, Good Counsel Primary School and St Clare’s Tully gathered together in song and prayer to celebrate Catholic Education Week. The theme of ‘Discovering New Horizons’ stems from a speech given by Pope Francis in which he urges us to be motivated to work for justice. He challenges us to be courageous and stand up for people who are without a voice, and to take risks to achieve a more just world for all.

A highlight of the mass was viewing the various initiatives that each of our five schools engage in to support less fortunate members of our society. Even in our own small ways, we can make a difference in the lives of others by acting with compassion and love. Our thanks must be extended to our host, Good Counsel Primary School, who showed great hospitality and welcome towards us, and to our staff for assisting with transportation and organisation on the day.

In addition to our day’s festivities for Catholic Education Week, staff of St Rita’s had the unenviable task of deciding on three only students who would receive our Spirit of Catholic Education Awards; it was a difficult task! Congratulations to the recipients of these awards - Hallie, Elijah and Katara - who demonstrate in their daily lives the joy of living out our school values of Community, Respect, Learning and Faith.

Date Claimer

Our next whole school mass will be held on Tuesday 15th August to observe the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, commencing at 9:00am. Parents and friends of St Rita’s are warmly invited to attend.

Blessings,

Maureen Gaul
Assistant Principal (Religious Education)

CASTING THE NET

Discovering New Horizons

I watched the moon eclipse last week but not from here. The range of hills at the back blocks the western horizon so, after a little researching, we went and sat on the side of a dirt road that is near but with a different aspect. The eclipse was wonderful, but not what I expected. Our view was clear till the moon darkened then the mist came. So not only did I have to change the horizon of my place, I also had to change to horizon of my expectations to appreciate that now we wouldn’t experience a blood red moon but the stillness of fog in the dark. It was quite something to sit and feel the subtle shifts of the mist in the subtle breeze. At least that was my experience.

My companion was someone I have known for years and am very close to. But I know that her experience was shaped by her knowledge and experience of star-gazing. We may have been in the same place but her horizon was very different as the few comments passed between us showed. If I wanted to know more about her experience, I would have needed to ask questions, to wait and try and see things her way.

One of my brothers is seriously ill. Of course I have strong and troubling questions to ask of God and as usual, God doesn’t answer them in a way that I want. I have to live with not understanding what is going on. But when I try to see the situation from ‘God’s’ point of view, in fact from a wider and higher horizon than the pain and distress we are having in the moment, my vision changes, just as it did in the dark on that dirt road. I see how all of us in the family are being challenged to rise to the occasion and find strength and compassion within ourselves that we didn’t know was there…and indeed it wasn’t. The situation is making it. My brother’s illness remains painful but shift the horizon by which I try to understand makes it easier to deal with the pain.

If we want to have a rich and full life, we constantly have to be prepared to change the horizons by which we understand what is happening to us. From small things God is calling out of our complacent horizon to discover the wonder of life.

Loving Father open the eyes of my mind and heart that I may appreciate the wider horizons of life that you are giving me each day. I ask this in Jesus’ name, confident that you will hear me.

Sr Kym Harris osb

AROUND THE CLASSROOMS

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Performance

Do elephants live in tanks? Yesterday my class and I saw one at the Tanks Art Centre in Cairns. We went to see ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ stage show and there was an elephant in the wall. It was funny and everybody laughed at it. After the show we went to St Michael’s School and learned a new song. We also played on their playground and ate our lunch there.

My favourite part of the day was learning the song called Taba Naba. St Michael’s teacher Mrs Hardy taught us the new song. She played the guitar and everybody was singing and doing the actions. All of the singing sounded beautiful!

It was lots of fun on the excursion. I hope we can go on another one soon and I hope we can go back to St Michael’s soon too.

By Latoya Ambrum
Year 2

LESSONS IN THE LIBRARY

Fun with Bee Bots

Prep/Year 1 students have been continuing to have fun with Bee Bots. They are learning how to plan and record a sequence of steps to navigate their Bee Bots from one location to another. They are also learning how to code their Bee Bots to complete different journeys. The enthusiasm and energy of the students as they work with the Bee Bots is contagious!

Collaborating with Lego WeDo 2.0

Year 5/6 have been doing a wonderful job of collaborating and problem solving to build and program Milo, the Science Rover. Last week, teams had to work together to create and program a model that was strong enough to move a heavy plant specimen. This required the combined strength or man power of two Milo rovers!

Premier’s Reading Challenge

There is still time to participate in the 2018 Premier’s Reading Challenge! This is a wonderful opportunity for children to read for pleasure and learning. School reader record forms must be returned to the library by Friday 24 August. Keep up the wonderful reading St Rita’s!

Michelle van Dugteren
District Librarian & Resource Teacher

LIBRARY LINKS

CHILDREN’S BOOK WEEK

As mentioned last newsletter, Children’s Book Week is fast approaching! There is lots of excitement amongst the children, whispering about their book character costume choices; always an exciting and fun time of the year! For any parents stuck for inspiration, I have placed pictures of many costume ideas on our library main display board, to assist you if needed. There are some terrific costume ideas, and acknowledging how busy families are, the majority are very basic and simple to organise. Please feel very welcome to drop in and have a look at any time. Alternately, let me know if you would like me to send home some ideas.

In relation to our Scholastic Book Club offers, sent home each month with your children, I want to remind parents that while we appreciate your support of this Book Club, please don’t ever feel obliged to purchase. Scholastic Book Club is offered to families to keep you abreast of some of the latest reading material available. Any orders will continue to be gratefully accepted, on the understanding that there is never any pressure on our families to buy.

Until next time……Happy Reading!

Lisa Calcagno
Library Assistant

DATE CLAIMERS

TERM 3 2018

SPIRIT AWARDS

St Rita’s School congratulates those students who were presented with the ‘SPIRIT OF CATHOLIC EDUCATION’ awards at Assembly on Thursday 2nd August 2018. These annual awards acknowledge those students who consistently demonstrate St Rita’s school values throughout the year. We especially congratulate Katara, Elijah and Hallie!

ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

We congratulate Tony Pham (Year 2) who successfully contributed to the Cairns Post ‘Inspire’ on Tuesday 17th July 2018. Tony wrote an article about his class’s excursion to the Cairns Tanks Arts Centre to see the stage production of ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’. Well done Tony!

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

COMMUNITY NEWS

AN EXTRAORDINARY FUTURE

MULGRAVE SPORTS DISTRICT AFL TRIALS

MULGRAVE SPORTS DISTRICT CRICKET TRIALS