Issue 16 - 17 October 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 St Rita’s! I hope you had the opportunity during the school holidays to have a relaxing and enjoyable break. The staff has returned to school refreshed and eager to begin a very busy and eventful Term 4. Although it is a short term, of only nine weeks, there are many exciting events being planned and organised for our school. I urge you to add the Date Claimers noted in this first newsletter to your diary. We will be celebrating the important event of Grandparents’ Day this term!

The first week of Term 4 was an incredibly busy and exciting one at St Rita’s as we threw ourselves wholeheartedly into the Babinda Harvest Festival celebrations. The community spirit, which is so evident in our school, was especially highlighted last week. Beginning with our annual Trivia Night last Wednesday, participants enjoyed an evening of social fun and games. I thank Donna Lauridsen and our staff team for organising a very successful evening, and once again Mrs Vicki Jago kept the evening running smoothly as hostess.

Congratulations to the winning team this year, ‘Well Done’, who won dual prizes of the winning quiz masters as well as the ‘best dressed’ team. This team has been coming to our Trivia Night for quite a few years, and were thrilled to finally claim victory over the second-placed team, the Brainiacs, by a mere one point. Congratulations ‘Well Done’!

If you couldn’t make it this year, I urge you to come along next year to join in the fun. Getting a team together, dressing up for fun, and finding out how much you know, or don’t know, is all part of this fun social event.

It was highlighted last week what an active parent community we have at St Rita’s. Throughout the first week, many parents contributed so generously of their time and talents to school events. A special thank you to those who baked or donated goodies for the Trivia Night supper. Your generosity and support of this fundraiser, organised by the staff for the benefit of our students, is much appreciated.

Staff needs also to be congratulated for organising a vibrant school display and colourful parade float for the Harvest Festival. Everyone had to ‘hit the deck running’ last week to complete these extra tasks before Saturday. I appreciate that older children are often not ‘keen’ to participate in a street parade, so staff was pleased to see a good turn-out of our senior students this year. Representing the school with pride in community events sets a good example to younger students. Well done Mrs Harbour and the Year 5/6 class!

Last week our ‘Dance Fever’ program commenced with Alyssa and Mia arriving from Brisbane for lessons. The strand of Dance is integral to the Australian Curriculum learning area of The Arts. ‘Dance Fever’ is an organised program designed to teach children social interaction through the enjoyment of dance. This popular program, which has been implemented in many Catholic Schools across Cairns, will run over nine weeks of this term. After participating in lessons each Thursday, the program will culminate in a ‘Dance Fever Display’ at the end of this term.

This month we will be celebrating three significant events in our school community. On Friday 26th October, World Teachers’ Day is celebrated in over 100 countries to acknowledge the efforts of teachers in an increasingly complex, multicultural and technological society. At our school, we do not distinguish between the various teaching roles, so we will celebrate the extraordinary work that our teachers and school officers do at St Rita’s. I know that parents and students also appreciate the dedication and commitment of our teaching staff, so you might like to send a special message to school with your child that Friday!

“World Teachers’ Day was inaugurated on 5 October 1994 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to commemorate the 1966 joint signing of the UNESCO/ILO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers. In adopting this recommendation, governments unanimously recognised the importance of competent, qualified and motivated teachers in society. Internationally World Teachers’ Day is celebrated on 5 October. However, as this is usually during Australian school holidays, Australia celebrates the day on the last Friday in October of each year”.

On Sunday 28th October we celebrate a third community event in Queensland, Grandparents’ Day. This day is a chance for children to thank grandparents for their love and support, and for the community to acknowledge the significant contribution that grandparents make to their families. It is also an occasion to recognise the important role grandparents play in our society through their wisdom, skills and experience. All grandparents have a story to share about their life and experience.

I know we have many very active grandparents in our school community, and I hope all St Rita’s grandparents have happy celebrations on the weekend. Grandparents are such very special people in our lives; they are significant role models in our families who provide love, advice and support. On Monday afternoon, 29th October, grandparents are invited to be our special guests at St Rita’s, as they join us for a whole school liturgy, classroom visits and afternoon tea.

At the end of last term, meetings with our CES Southern Schools Support Team provided us with a platform to begin planning for the 2019 school year. This process is lengthy, and involves St Rita’s staff working closely with CES to carefully and thoughtfully plan for next year’s school budget, the School Annual Improvement Plan, class structures and staffing for 2019. I would like to share with you changes to classroom teacher placement which will occur next year.

We are pleased to announce that we will continue to provide the three-class structure at St Rita’s in 2019. Mrs Maryjane Masina will continue teaching Prep/Year 1, Mrs Gaul in Year 2/3/4 and Mrs Jago will move to the Year 5/6 classroom. I will be teaching in both the senior and middle years classrooms for one day per week next year. We are sad to lose our current senior class teacher, Mrs Mollie Harbour, to St Rita’s South Johnstone, as our staffing budget cannot ‘stretch’ to having four classroom teachers.

In future newsletters this term, I will be sharing curriculum initiatives and technology improvements that we are planning for next year also. As NAPLAN Analysis, the comprehensive evaluation of the Year 3 and 5 test results, has been completed last week, this important information is being used by staff to further inform the development of the school-based Literacy and Numeracy Action Plan for 2019. Busy and exciting times ahead for our teachers!

To all parents, I thank you again for your continued support and assistance of our school. Have a happy week and I look forward to seeing you around St Rita’s!

Regards and blessings,

Judy Billiau

DAY FOR DANIEL 2018

The 14th annual Day for Daniel will be held on Friday 26th October. The Daniel Morcombe Foundation held the first Day for Daniel in November 2005. This ‘National Day of Action’ aims at raising awareness of child safety, protection and harm prevention. It is about educating children and adults about keeping children safe through child safety and protection initiatives. It also aims to help empower our children to ‘Recognise, React and Report’ if they feel something is not right.

The objectives of ‘Day for Daniel’ are:

• To raise awareness about child safety and protection and to promote a safer community for children.
• To educate children regarding their personal safety and empower them to ‘Recognise, React and Report’.
• To provide free safety and educational material.
• To honour the memory of Daniel Morcombe.
• To have over 1 million people Australia Wide to participate in Day for Daniel.

On Friday afternoon 26th October, our school will go on its annual ‘Walk for Daniel’ through the Babinda township. By wearing red shirts and carrying red balloons, St Rita’s will be making a statement about the importance of child safety. I invite all parents and families to join us for this short walk as we promote the message of keeping our children safe in our community. We will have one of the local police officers join us for this significant event.

TERM 4 SWIMMING

The Term 4 Swimming Program will commence on Friday 19th October. It is expected that all students participate in the six-week swimming program during Weeks 2 - 7 of this term. It is a safety requirement that slip-on style footwear (such as thongs) be worn when walking to and from the pool, and that a sunshirt or t-shirt provides sun protection during the lessons. Each class will have three instructors; Mrs Masina, the accredited instructor, a school officer and parent assistant.

We encourage all students to have their own roll-on sunscreen in their school bags so it can be applied before leaving for the pool. Because of the possibility of allergies to specific sunscreen products, the school cannot provide sunscreen to students. H.P.E. is not an optional subject, so students will need to bring a note (written in student diary) if they are sick and unable to participate in a lesson. Students who are well enough but are not swimming will walk to the pool and read quietly while the class is swimming.

APRE THOUGHTS

Dear Parents and Carers,

Catholic Missions Healing Myanmar

God of Love,
through baptism, your Spirit sends us on mission.
Your Sacred Word teaches us to reach beyond ourselves.
Make us generous of heart that we might see and respond.
May the needy ones in our midst know the joy of the Gospel
through the care and kindness we give.
We ask this prayer through Christ our Lord
and in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

The theme of this year’s World Mission is ‘Healing a nation through education’, with a special action focus on Myanmar. We are invited to personally consider two questions: What response do we make to Pope Francis’ call for each one of us to reflect on the fact that ‘I am a mission on this Earth; that is the reason why I am here in this world’? How do we contribute to Jesus’ mission of life for all and for everyone to have life to the full?

World Mission Day (part of World Mission Month here in Australia) is celebrated every year in every country wherever there are Christians committed to building a better world for all of God's people, a world where everyone has all they need to live a dignified and fulfilling life. It is the day on which we reflect on the urgency to proclaim the Gospel in our times. This year, World Mission Sunday is 28th October 2018.

Missionary activity is, fundamentally, a going out of oneself in love, a reaching out to see God in everyone and to share God’s love with each person we meet – especially our poor and marginalised. Catholic Mission around the world has the responsibility of promoting a dignified and fruitful celebration of World Mission Day.

Jesus’ mission of creating a world where all can live a fully dignified life is still far from completion. Therefore, the whole month of October has been dedicated to reflecting on the central mission of the Church to help all Christians in their commitment to Christ’s mission of love, mercy, forgiveness, peace and justice for the world.

Myanmar is the largest country by area in mainland Southeast Asia and is bordered by China, Bangladesh, India and Thailand. It has a diverse population of around 53 million people with approximately 135 separate ethnic groups. Despite its size and location, Myanmar is also placed in the lower half of the region’s economies, with around one quarter of its population estimated to be living below the poverty line.

Myanmar is faced with many challenges today. Much of Myanmar’s modern history has been characterised by civil and ethnic conflict, and freedom of expression and peaceful assembly are limited. The high incidence of poverty is exacerbated by barriers to education, and has contributed to adverse health outcomes. World Mission invites us to wonder about the importance of education as a path to dignity, opportunity and peace for the people of Myanmar.

On Wednesday 24th October, St Rita’s will host a number of fundraising activities – crazy sock day and our annual paper plane competition – which will contribute to the Catholic Mission Myanmar appeal. Further information regarding this events will be forthcoming closer to the date. On behalf of World Mission, may I thank you in anticipation of your efforts to give generously to this most worthy cause.

THE ROSARY

In October there is a special devotion to the Rosary. The Rosary is a meditation on the life of Jesus and Mary and was developed as a breathing prayer. The Rosary is a mantra; a centreing prayer involving the repetition of a particular word or phrase as part of one’s breathing pattern. Take some time over the month of October to pray and read the scripture stories associated with each of the mysteries of the Rosary. The Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne’s website contains some excellent information about The Rosary, which can be found at the link below. Follow the links through ‘Catholic Faith’ and ‘Prayers’ to learn how to pray The Rosary and read about the Mysteries of The Rosary.

Blessings,
Maureen Gaul
Assistant Principal (Religious Education)

SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING

Learning to value others

Some girls in Grace’s year four class were taking turns at skipping. Grace watched them closely and decided she would like to have a turn too. She asked to join in but Sally said, “It’s too hard for you.”

Grace had an intellectual disability. This meant she sometimes took longer to learn things. She was also not as well coordinated in sports as the other girls. “Come on. Let me have a turn,” said Grace. “Anyone can have a turn,” said Donny. “Have your turn after me.” So Grace tried to skip over the rope, but it got caught at her feet. “Try again,” a few of the girls said. “You have to jump just as it hits the ground.” Grace tried again. They gave her extra tries because she was learning. On the last try she managed two skips in a row. “You did it,” said Donny. Grace was really proud. “I did it!” she said, “and you helped me.”

Learning to see another person’s point of view is important for getting along with others and building positive friendships. Understanding others helps children know what to do in social situations and is the basis for developing caring and responsibility.

It’s not always easy for children to see the point of view of someone who is different from them. Being different could mean having a disability, coming from a different country, being a different age or gender, or having different values and interests. Children who are seen as different may be left out of activities. They may face discrimination because others think they are not as good, as talented, or as important as they are. Discrimination can have very negative effects on children’s self-esteem and mental health.

SPORTS UPDATE

Oztag Gala Day

Term 3 was wrapped up by sports and more sports! On the final Thursday 20th September, the Years 4-6 students represented St Rita’s at the Combined Schools Oz Tag Gala Day. Alongside Mrs Calcagno and myself, parents Mrs Hansen and Mrs Schep were cheering for our Small School Panthers Team, which was a combination of Mirriwinni, McDonnell Creek and St Rita students.

Oztag is a fast paced, non-tackling game, which encourages passing, catching and tagging skills. It is played with a football similar to Touch Football, players wearing a Velcro tag attached to their hips. The aim of the game is to score tries. Our rules were slightly modified with a team of six on the field which meant we had plenty of subs to keep up momentum. We played 12-minute halves with a 1-minute halftime break for teams to swap over players.

I must admit, we were a little nervous entering this competition. Oz Tag has been a brand new game for all of us to learn in Term 3. We had to quickly improve our footy skills of ball handling, catching and passing, and passing the ball down the line and minimising our forward passes to avoid a penalty. Improving our overall fitness and stamina for the day meant we had to practise a lot of running forward and backward drills in our PE lessons. We also knew we would be playing all games outdoors in warmer weather.

There was a lot of new ‘footy’ language to become accustomed to, such as ‘play the ball’ and ‘who’s under?’ or ‘who’s the dummy half’. We also learnt how to become more vocal by making calls when we had stripped a tag off an opponent, ‘Yes!’ ‘Here it is!’ Visualising us being the superhero ‘Thor’ definitely helped!

I was blown away on the day by the level of team work and sportsmanship. This is a true strength our St Rita’s students have. They were making decisions on team combinations for the first and second halves of the game. Our girls Georgina, Hallie and Kylee got amongst it all. They were excellent markers, not letting anyone pass them. There were even some attempts to score tries. There were a few stars of the day Shamus, Cade, Joshua and Riley who ran alongside our boys Jamie, Max, Harrison and Cooder. It was wonderful to watch new friendships grow on and off the field.

Again, we surprised ourselves. We played a total of six games back to back, as we had an early bye in the second round. We made it through to the semi-finals, where we played off against Mirriwinni. Another strong team! We won that round sending us into the grand finals. They were hurting! Two even teams were quickly arranged around a few minor injuries (everyone wanted to play in the finals even with sore knees and ankles). A tight and close game was played against Babinda. We lost out by two points. Small School Panthers were just warriors on the day. They never gave up and they kept on pushing to the very end!

Softball

We have had a wonderful opportunity to have coach Nigel Liddle teach us how to play soft ball. The Years 3-6 students went down to Bill Wakeham Park weekly to practise throwing and catching with a glove. We soon became very familiar on how to bat, field and pitch the ball. We definitely have some great little pitchers; Timmy, Cooder and Georgina who were improving this skill each week.

To finalise the program, we had Lulu and Charlie from Mission Beach Primary join our girls to form a team which was captained by Max. Our parents couldn’t resist getting in there and having a bat. Jack’s mum Chloe showed us that she still has her past softball skills and Jack’s dad John batted a few outfield. Chelsey (Kylee’s Mum) batted a few, making it around all bases for points. Softball has been a fantastic game to learn and the children have really enjoyed getting down to the Park to play on a larger field.

Maryjane Masina
Sports Co-Ordinator

LESSONS IN THE LIBRARY

Lego Mindstorms

Year 5/6 have embarked on an engaging and challenging learning journey with the Lego Mindstorms EV3 this week. The Lego Mindstorms resource, which have been generously donated to St Rita’s by the Babinda Community Bank, will give students the chance to develop their skills in coding and robotics. Students displayed intrigue and fascination this week as they learnt how to program and control the motor, touch sensor and colour sensor.

Over the coming weeks, students will build a robot and bring it to life by programming it to move, spin and steer. We look forward to seeing the creative solutions students come up with in response to the robotics challenges that are placed before them.

Movie Trailers

Lights! Camera! Action! This term, Year 3/4 will have the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of Australia’s convict history through the creation of their own movie trailers. Students have been learning about the process involved in successful movie/video creation through the iMovie Trailer app.

This week Year 2/3/4 learnt how various camera shot types can be used for different purposes and effects. We hope to see students’ creativity blossom as they combine photos, video, text and music to produce powerful and engaging Hollywood-style trailers.

Michelle van Dugteren

District Librarian & Resource Teacher

LIBRARY LINKS

WELCOME TO OUR BOOK FAIR!

There is much excitement buzzing around St Rita’s with the arrival of our Book Fair. The Fair has now officially opened, in the school library, and will remain open until Friday afternoon at 3:30pm. Please come in and visit at some time during the week; you are sure the find some wonderful gift ideas for Christmas. With that in mind, I have decorated the library with a Christmas theme and I must say, it has certainly put me in the Christmas spirit.

Your children will be bringing home their wish lists showing their favourite Book Fair choices over the next couple of days. Have a chat with them about their choices and ask them why they are so interested in particular books; it always makes for interesting conversation! I hope to see each of our families visit Book Fair this week. Your support each year means that we can purchase some terrific books for our own library, as well as ensure that we are able to hold Book Fair again next year.

Until next time……happy reading!

Lisa Calcagno
Library Assistant

DATE CLAIMERS

BIRTHDAY CONGRATULATIONS

St Rita’s wishes Kylee Hansen all the very best for her recent birthday. We hope you had a wonderful birthday celebration. Congratulations Kylee!

P&F News

Dear Parents,

We were pleased to be able to have a food stall at the Babinda Harvest Festival this year. Without the support of parents once again contributing their time on our Mexican wrap stall, its success would not have been possible. We would very much like to thank those parents who helped on the stall on Saturday. Your support is appreciated!

Kind regards,
Maryjane Masina
St Rita’s P & F Secretary

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

COMMUNITY NEWS

ST RITA’S CHRISTMAS CENT SALE

BUS SUBSIDY REBATE

GIRL GUIDES CENT SALE

CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS AT MIRRIWINNI

COWBOYS CHRISTMAS CARD COMPETITION

As the festive season draws closer, the North Queensland Toyota Cowboys, together with Stockland Townsville are inviting schools in our region to participate in our annual Christmas Card Competition.

The competition is open to primary school children, aged 5 - 13, to show off their artistic skills by designing the front cover of our 2018 Cowboys Christmas card.

All entries will be displayed in the Stockland Townsville shopping centre for students and families to see over the festive season.

For all competition details, including the great prizes on offer, go to and download the entry form.

The competition closing date is Friday 2 November 2018. Electronic copies or hardcopies need to be received by the Cowboys before competition close.