Issue 14 - 3 November 2020

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,

We are this week nearing the midway mark for this last term of school. We have been especially busy with the swimming program this term, and I am excited to let you know that a team of St Rita’s students will be competing in the Small Schools Swimming Carnival for the first time. Mrs Masina and Mrs Grimshaw, who have been coaching our children, will be selecting competent swimmers aged 9 – 12 years to compete in this carnival on Wednesday 25th November. Those students will be notified of their selection at the end of this week.

On Friday 30th October, St Rita’s proudly participated in the 16th annual ‘Day for Daniel’. On this day, staff and students wore red, representing the shirt colour that Daniel was wearing on the day he disappeared, and walked around Babinda town with Acting Sergeant Justin Benvenutti and Councillor Brett Moller. Walking in memory of Daniel and supporting the Daniel Morecombe Foundation, which held the first Day for Daniel in November 2005, are integral to our students learning about their personal safety both on this particular day and throughout this term. The Daniel Morecombe Child Safety Curriculum is taught to all year levels in fourth term each year.

‘Day for Daniel’ events not only target fund-raising for the Foundation but have as their goal to increase public awareness of child safety, protection and harm prevention throughout Australia. The St Rita’s aim is to increase our children’s awareness of their personal safety and to empower them to ‘Recognise, React and Report’ if they feel something is not right. St Rita’s community was proud to have participated in this important community event for the eighth consecutive year, and thanks Justin and Brett for supporting us on our travels through the town.

By participating in ‘Day for Daniel’, we aimed:

• 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 be part of the more than 1 million people Australia-wide who participate in ‘Day for Daniel’.

PAT TESTING

Last week, all students from Years 1 – 6 participated in PAT Testing, an educational resource developed by ACER (Australian Council of Educational Research). PAT testing in Reading and Maths is undertaken as an integral part of our whole school assessment schedule. From the analysis of test results by teachers, valuable information will 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”.

I hope you have a good fortnight.

Regards and blessings,

Judy Billiau
Principal

APRE THOUGHTS

First Eucharist

The culmination of our Parish Sacramental Program occurred last Wednesday 28th October at St Rita’s afternoon parish mass, where four candidates received the Sacrament of First Eucharist. Receiving Holy Communion for the first time is the final Sacrament of Initiation. It draws recipients into their first experience of sharing intimately in the life of Christ and the unity of the Church and, through the repeatable sacrament of receiving Eucharist, we are all sustained in our belonging to Christ, as members of the Catholic Church.

Congratulations to Eva, Katarina, Jade and Anthony, who have participated so willingly in our sacramental program and to their families for supporting them through their faith journey. May I offer sincere thanks to Father Kerry Crowley and Father Mathew Kochuveettil for their spiritual guidance and assistance throughout this time. My thanks also go to the parishioners for their prayers and support shown to the candidates, and to the St Rita’s staff members for their preparations to ensure a memorable mass was enjoyed by all.

World Mission Fundraiser

St Rita’s students are invited to share in a nutritious meal on Friday 6th November. Through the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden program, the years 5 and 6 students, along with Mrs Jenni Stone, will prepare a delicious vegetarian fried rice and an apple juice to raise money for our World Mission appeal. Students of St Rita’s may purchase a meal deal for $5.00 to enjoy on this day.

To participate in our fundraiser, simply pre-order your meal on a brown paper bag (or envelope), place your money inside and hand in to classroom teachers by Wednesday 4th November. The fried rice and juice will be served to students at second lunch. Please note that here will be no other tuckshop available on this day. Share good food with good friends! All the money we raise will help people in need to create better lives for themselves.

NAIDOC Day

Always Was, Always Will Be is the theme for NAIDOC Week 2020. Always Was, Always Will Be recognises that First Nations people have occupied and cared for this continent for over 65,000 years. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were Australia’s first explorers, first navigators, first engineers, first farmers, first botanists, first scientists, first diplomats, first astronomers and first artists. NAIDOC Week 2020 acknowledges and celebrates that our nation’s story didn’t begin with documented European contact whether in 1770 with Captain James Cook, or in 1606 with the arrival of the Dutch on the western coast of the Cape York Peninsula. The very first footprints on this continent were those belonging to First Nations people.

NAIDOC 2020 invites all Australians to embrace the true history of this country – a history which dates back thousands of generations. It’s about seeing, hearing and learning the First Nations’ 65,000-plusyear history of this country - which is Australian history. NAIDOC Week is to be celebrated at a later date this year, from 8th-15th November.

Source: https://www.naidoc.org.au/get-involved/2020-theme Accessed 1st November 2020.

Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day is celebrated in Australia each year on the 11th November. All Australians are urged to observe one minute of silence at 11:00am to remember those who have died or suffered for Australia’s cause in all wars and conflicts. While we honour and pray for those who have fought to protect this land and bring peace, we also focus on the place of peace in our own hearts, families and communities. Jesus is our model for true peace and shows us how to be makers of peace. This year our Remembrance Day ceremonies will be celebrated a little differently. Since the Year 5/6 class is away at this time on school camp, the Year 4 class will represent St Rita’s at the community commemoration in Babinda. Children in Prep-Year 3 classes will join together for a prayer liturgy at school to mark the occasion, commencing at 11:10am. Parents are welcome to attend our Remembrance Day Liturgy, which will be held in the Prep/Year 1 classroom.

Blessings,

Maureen Gaul

GET SET FOR PREP 2021 PROGRAM

Today was our fourth day together at Pre-Prep. We talked a lot about friends, and what it looks like to be a good friend. Some of our ideas were that friends share and take turns; friends listen to each other and friends care for each other. The children practiced friendly words to invite each other to play, and we drew pictures of our friends. We read a book about a dog named Fred who had an unlikely friend – a cat! From this story, we realised that friends can be very different to us, and it makes us happy to be friendly with each other. Everyone worked together to add their fingerprints to make colourful ‘Friendship Trees’ for each other. The children were all very friendly!

Outside, there was dinosaur digging, tomato picking (always a favourite!), more painting, and playdoh of course. We practised our bouncing, throwing and catching skills with different balls, and had a wonderful time playing on the playground and in the sandpit. There was also a funny little song we learnt about catching a bumble bee! In the afternoon, the home corner was very busy yet again, while others chose to cut out and glue facial features to make emoji faces. There were lots of smiles to share.

It was great to spend time with some parents to talk about everyday experiences that can help to develop literacy and numeracy skills. The coffee, cake and company were a pleasure to share! Parents, please feel very welcome to join us at our next parent session on November 16th. We look forward to next week!

Mrs Gaul
Prep/Year 1 Teacher

SCHOOL COUNSELLOR

Respect

Dear Parents,

The ideology of respect is being challenged more and more as our world becomes increasingly individualistic, focusing on the ‘me’ instead of the ‘we.’ So how do we safeguard our children from becoming too self-centred? Through the insistence of the use of manners in their daily discourse. Manners tell others that they are important and that we respect them. In respecting others and caring about their wellbeing, we create trust and trust is the basis of community. With this in mind, I encourage families to talk to their children about the importance of showing respect for one another through the use of good old-fashioned manners. Good morning, good afternoon, please, thank-you and looking someone in the eye when they are talking to you (if culturally appropriate) is a foundational life skill that we can gift our children. It is important for children to look out for the well-being of others by taking the time to see if their classmates are ok. Try to “catch” your child(ren) being responsible/respectful and reflect positively on this behaviour.

Respect is one of the most important virtues a child can have. Teaching your child how to respect others will better ensure they develop positive relationships with their family, friends and teachers throughout their life. Respect can be taught in many ways, but ultimately it’s about ensuring your children lead a happy life and treat other people kindly.

Below are some of the most important traits your child can gain from learning the virtue of respect.

Good manners: Teaching your child good manners might seem difficult, especially at a young age. However, good manners stem from respect. Saying a simple “please” and “thank you” can go a long way and, with practise, these gestures can become natural to your child. By practising manners, your child will learn that all relationships benefit from give and take.

Tolerance: Your child is bound to face conflict throughout their life. While they might not always agree or understand what’s being said or done, teaching them respect will ensure they do their best to address conflict in a productive way. Teaching your child respect will allow them to communicate in a way that is effective and also will encourage them to take responsibility for their own mistakes, and better tolerate the mistakes of others.

Listening: Listening is an important part of having a productive or positive conversation. Learning how to communicate effectively means knowing how to listen, and this can be taught by understanding the importance of respect. Show your child how to listen intently, not interrupt and take their turn in order to help them better engage conversationally with others. This will also help your child to better understand rules and avoid conflicts.

Open-minded: Teaching your children respect ensures they will get to know a person before making a snap judgement. This behaviour will help them throughout their entire life, and ensures they treat everyone with kindness. As well, for some children, diversity is a hard concept to understand. However, teaching children respect at an early age ensures they accept everyone for who they are.

For all children, learning respect takes time, but it’s never too early to start practising this essential life skill. Ultimately, teaching your children respect will help them to create more positive relationships with their family and friends.

Larissa Juniper
Guidance Counsellor

SCHOOL PHOTOS

Once again, St Rita’s was fortunate to engage the services of photographic company NQ School Photography last week. Class and individual student photos of all children were taken by the photographers last Tuesday 27th October.

NQ Photographers have had a low level of response to the online ordering of students’ class and individual photos, and we are concerned that parents have missed this method of ordering photos they have wished to purchase.

If you are interested in purchasing a memory of your child’s class this year, an individual photo or one of the several packs, we encourage you to review the information provided below for photo ordering. For queries, please contact NQ Photography at Aumuller Street Cairns on 4035 5388 when convenient.

AROUND THE CLASSROOMS

Book Week 2020

Hi! I am Braden Hansen and I’m getting ready for Book Week! There's stress all around the house. I’m thinking about an idea for my costume. But I didn’t know what I was going to dress up as. Yes, I have an idea! I can dress up as MR TICKLE! He’s funny because he likes to tickle people. So, to make Mr Tickle I’ll need cardboard, orange fabric, cotton, two sticks and a marker.

Firstly, we cut out a circle of cardboard, then we cut out the fabric and glue it onto the cardboard. Secondly, we sew the hands and fill them with cotton and attach the stick to the hands. We then make straps to connect the cardboard so I can wear it! And lastly,

I find a marker and draw the face and eyes, then I go off to bed.

Ten hours later, I wake up, get ready for school, and GO, GO, GO! At the start of the day, we do activities in my class after reading a book called ‘Tilly’. Tilly was a girl who wanted to keep her stuff in a secret place, so she found a hidden place that no-one else knew about. Then, one day the floor was covered up with carpet where the hidden place was. Oh no!

Then we go out and MARCH, MARCH, MARCH around in the costume parade. As we march around the guests, I’m giving out ‘Hi Fives’ and calling out “Hi!” to everyone. We finally stopped marching, and we had turns telling the guests what character we were. After we finished the parade, Clovel cut the Book Week cake, which was covered with coloured icing, and we all had a piece.

Books are so entertaining! And so is Book Week!

By Braden Hansen
Year 2

LIBRARY LINKS

WHAT WONDERFUL SUPPORT!

A HUGE thank you to our wonderful families for giving such enthusiastic support to last week’s Book Fair. I had so many favourable comments, from students and parents alike, throughout the week. Your generous support means we have been able to exceed our goal and rebook our Fair for 2021. Commissions we receive are always put to good use, supplying additional library resources for the continued enjoyment of all. THANK YOU!

Book Week

Big smiles on happy faces dominated our parade of favourite book characters. Book Week could not be a success each year without the support of our families, getting behind your children as they celebrate literature and their favourite storybook characters. A fun morning was had by all! A lively and colourful parade of characters kicked off the event, followed by morning tea over a delicious slice of cake, the sharing of stories and creation of craft activities. Many thanks to all.

Lisa Calcagno
Library Assistant

DATE CLAIMERS

STUDENTS OF THE WEEK

St Rita’s School congratulates those students who were awarded ‘Student of the Week’ at Assembly on Friday 23rd October 2020.

BIRTHDAY CONGRATULATIONS

St Rita’s wishes Elijah Geary all the very best for his recently celebrated birthday.

We hope you had wonderful birthday celebrations Elijah!

Turn Your Trash into Cash!

The P & F is contributing to the St Rita’s sustainability initiative by organising the collection of recyclable containers that earn 10c upon return to Cash 4 Containers FNQ. Although we are yet to receive our collection bins, the school is keen for parents to begin collecting at home.

Please view the poster in this newsletter to show which specific containers will incur the 10c refund. Although it seems like an insignificant amount paid for each container, it ‘all adds up’ if all families start collecting and sending in their containers. We thank you for your interest and support of this fundraising activity!

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

MUNRO THEATRE

Well Women’s Clinic – Babinda Hospital

(This clinic is available to Medicare eligible clients)

Tuesday 10th November 2020

All services are provided by a specially - trained Women’s Health Nurse.

For appointments phone 4067 8200