Issue 8 8 June 2021

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 Families,

During this term, we as a staff have noticed that some of our students are quite unsettled as they return to class after the play breaks. For the final 4 weeks of Term we are going to trial flipping our eating and play times. When the first bell goes at 10.35am the children will play for 20 minutes and then have their eating time after that. Same goes for the second break at 1.05pm.

A result of this means that our children will not eat until 10.55am. This can be a long time, especially for children who haven’t eaten much for breakfast. I’d encourage all families to make sure your child had a full and nutritious breakfast before coming to school. If they haven’t eaten before they arrive we would appreciate if you let us know, so we can organise something for them. I appreciate family life is busy, especially getting the kids out the door in time for school, so if your child hasn’t eaten, text or call the school so we can make sure they have some food in the tummy before they commence learning.

This Wednesday is School Officer Day in Queensland. I would like to acknowledge the wonderful work our school officers do in our school. We are blessed at St Rita’s to have such amazing support staff who work tirelessly to improve learning outcomes for our students. I have had a number of ex-principals at St Rita’s remark on how outstanding our school officers are. This is certainly true, and one cannot question their positive impact on our school, with all the knowledge, skills and patience they exhibit each day.

Our P & F committee are hosting our annual school disco on Friday the 18th of June. It promises to be a great night and terrific fun for the kids. This year, tickets are prepaid through the office. The $5 entry will include a sausage on bread and a drink. Please place your orders at the office as soon as possible for catering purposes.

I’d like to thank our families for your ongoing support, please remember we are here to help, so come in and see us if you have any concerns.

We are currently accepting enrollments for 2022 preps. Please encourage any prospective parents to call in to visit our great school. I’d be more than happy to show them around.

Regards and blessings,

Michael Rowe
Principal

STUDENT REPORTING

At this stage of the term, teachers have been extremely busy preparing Semester One Reports for the students at St Rita’s School. In the last week of term, on Wednesday 23rd June, these formal written reports will be available for viewing and downloading on the Parent Portal. I encourage you to review your child’s Report thoroughly and to contact your classroom teacher for an interview if you have any concerns or queries.

For your information, I am including an excerpt from the Cairns Catholic Education Services Guideline on Student Reporting document, which provides instruction to schools for complying with Australian Government and Diocesan requirements for reporting student achievement:

Rationale and expectations:

In Catholic schools, student achievement is recognised and celebrated in many ways throughout the school year; at informal meetings, through awards at school assembly, parent/student/teacher interviews, through class work that is sent home, through class oral presentations and through written reports.

Reporting communicates information that has been obtained from a variety of assessment processes and involves a professional judgment made on a body of evidence about a student’s progress and achievement against a set of clearly articulated standards. In Catholic schools in the Diocese of Cairns the key principles of reporting are:

• Teacher professional judgment is at the heart of reporting student achievement.
• Teachers’ knowledge and observation of the students’ progress contributes to this professional judgment.
• Teacher professional judgment is informed by assessment data and referenced to the curriculum framework.
• The teacher develops assessment tasks and identifies the criteria which inform judgments about the child’s achievement.
• Teachers utilise the evidence from a body of work to make a judgment against standards at a point in time.
• Teachers should keep a folio of the evidence of a student’s work.

When reading your child’s Report and reviewing, please keep in mind that these are only two sources of feedback about student progress. Throughout the year there are opportunities for parent-teacher interviews to provide parents with comprehensive feedback on individual student progress. This includes feedback on your child’s behaviour in class and discussion of potential learning goals that the teacher has targeted for the individual student.

Kind regards,
Michael Rowe

THE 3Rs: RIGHTS, RESPONSIBILITIES AND RULES

St Rita’s School-wide Positive Behaviour Framework, the 3Rs, is committed to providing students and staff with a safe and happy learning and working environment. The policy promotes the development of quality interpersonal relationships between all members of our school community through positive attitudes and behaviour.

The Framework provides set guidelines for student behaviour, helps students develop appropriate strategies for solving problems and resolving conflicts, and fosters positive relationships between all members of the school community. It includes an outline of a three-tier process for consequences of inappropriate behaviour that is used within the classroom and playground settings.

The overarching emphasis of the Framework is the concept that RIGHTS and RESPONSIBILITIES go ‘hand in hand’. Put simply, for every right that a child has at school, there is a related responsibility. Rights, responsibilities and rules are therefore linked together to ensure a safe, caring and positive learning environment for all members of our school community.

• I have the RIGHT to be respected in our school.
  And it is my RESPONSIBILITY to respect self, others and the environment.
• I have the RIGHT to learn.
  And it is my RESPONSIBILITY to allow others to learn and to do my best.
• I have the RIGHT to be safe.
  And it is my RESPONSIBILITY to act safely and not to hurt anyone.

The aim of the 3Rs Framework is for students to take ownership and responsibility for their own actions and behaviour, to respect the rights of others and acknowledge their responsibilities towards others, and to support positive relationships within the whole school community.

Regards,

Michael Rowe

QUEENSLAND PREMIER’S READING CHALLENGE

The Premier's Reading Challenge is an annual statewide initiative for state and non-state schools and home-educated students up to Year 9, as well as children (aged up to five years) enrolled in an early childhood centre, and individual home readers. The reading period for Prep - Year 9 students is 10th May - 27th August 2021.

The Premier's Reading Challenge is not a competition, but aims to improve literacy and encourage children to engage in reading for pleasure and learning. This year, the Premier has challenged students from Prep - Year 4 to read or experience 20 books, and Year 5 to read 15 books. Experiencing books can include shared reading, listening to stories or reading picture books.

St Rita’s School is once again registered to participate in the Challenge, and we encourage all students to be part of this initiative through our regular Home Reading and library borrowing programs. Every student who participates will receive a Certificate of Achievement signed by the Premier. Parents are encouraged to play a part in improving children’s literacy by assisting their children in the Premier’s Reading Challenge 2021.

Let’s get reading now!

Michael Rowe

APRE THOUGHTS

Prayer for Unity

Creator God,
may the power of Your grace transform us.
Christ, give us courage and hope
to manifest the unity we have in you,
and to share our life with each other and the world.

Holy Spirit,
empower us to work for justice
for the people of the earth.
God, in your grace,
transform the world.
Amen.

The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ecumenical Commission (NATSIEC) of the National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA), 2007.

World Refugee Day

Annually, June 20 commemorates World Refugee Day. Across the globe we acknowledge the strength and courage of those who have fled their own country, escaping conflict or persecution, seeking protection in another land as a refugee. The life of asylum seekers is perilous. They leave their own country often in fear of their life or that of their family. They travel by boat, in vehicles, or on foot, across borders. These are our most vulnerable people; yet in the face of despair and suffering of those who arrive on the Australian shores, most are met with an inhospitable response and consigned to detention centres.

Identifying as a refugee is not limited to those who cross borders. The experience of displacement from Country for our First Nations brothers and sisters as a direct result of European colonisation, continues to impact Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, families and communities; refugees in their own land.

How would Jesus have acted in an encounter with a refugee? Likely, extending hospitality and welcome, seeing the face of God reflected in each and every one. Jesus often questioned injustices and challenged boundaries, particularly those that promoted blind compliance in the face of inhumane practices. Indeed, Pope Francis reminds us that ‘the plight of the Holy Family calls to mind the sufferings of the many men, women and children escaping war and persecution’. “Just like many migrants and refugees in our world today”, he added, “the Holy Family experienced ‘the anguish of persecution’ when fleeing to Egypt. Little Jesus reminds us that half of today’s refugees in the world are children, blameless victims of human injustice,” the Pope said. (Francis, 2018).

Christ’s hospitality brought people, in particular outsiders, to his table to share a meal. In sharing food and drink, people marvelled at his courage and companionship. St Paul writes to the Hebrews, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.” (Heb 13:2). Social and cultural boundaries serve to isolate those who are weak, foster inequality and protect privilege. In what ways do you seek out and witness to those who are hungry, thirsty, naked, imprisoned in your community?

Mercy Education

In the latter years of the 1800s, and throughout the 1900s, the Sisters of Mercy were instrumental in establishing many of the Catholic schools in Far North Queensland, as populations in small towns grew. Indeed, the history of the Catholic Church in the far north is intrinsically linked to these religious women’s commitment and ministry through their work in the order of the Sisters of Mercy.

Many of these women journeyed from Dungarvan in Ireland, leaving their families, to live in service to Catholic communities in an unfamiliar land. They established and administered many Catholic schools, beginning with St Mary’s in Cooktown in 1888 (following the discovery of gold in the region) and ending with Our Lady of the Sacred Heart School of Thursday Island in 1968. St Rita’s Parish School, in Babinda, was established in 1926.

Founded by Venerable Catherine McAuley, the Sisters of Mercy were dedicated to serving those who experienced injustice borne out of poverty, illness or lack of education. Much ministering was provided to vulnerable women and children in particular, with a focus to empower them through further education and skill development; hence the creation of fifteen parish schools in the Far North Queensland, most of which are still in operation.

Though Catholic schools in the Cairns Diocese are no longer staffed by religious women, those established by the Sisters of Mercy are still regarded as ‘Mercy’ schools. Still today, connections to the order are deeply valued, and the Mercy history and traditions are celebrated. In all Mercy schools, we try to emulate the Mercy charism and ethos. Mercy Education Values include: Compassion, Justice, Respect, Hospitality, Service and Courage.

Blessings,
Maureen Gaul

CURRICULUM CORNER

SEMESTER 1 REPORTS

At the end of this term, your child will receive their formal Semester 1 Report. Teachers must report on the parts of the Achievement Standards that have been taught, and are therefore assessable, in each Learning Area. They will be a true reflection of content that has been delivered, and depth of understanding that has been demonstrated by your child/ren.

Maureen Gaul
Curriculum Support Teacher

PARENT PORTAL

St Rita’s School has a Parent Portal for the purpose of engaging with the parent community. Access to this portal is restricted to parents and guardians of students at our school, so an individual logon is required. An account has been created for you using the email address you have provided the school, and the details on creating a password are outlined in the attached set-up document.

The Parent Portal will enable easy access to information about happenings in the school, permission slips that need authorising, contact details for staff, forms, documents and much more. There is also a special section to allow you to check the details we have recorded in our enrolment system about your children, and if necessary, advise us of any changes. You can also check on information about your child’s Attendance, academic Student Reports, teachers, timetables, and NAPLAN performance (if applicable).

We will be making increasing use of the Parent Portal to provide a range of information to parents in the future. The initial login requires you to verify your identity and create a password. The attached document will lead you through the process. Please follow the steps carefully and enjoy using the St Rita’s Parent Portal in the future!

DATE CLAIMERS

STUDENTS OF THE WEEK

St Rita’s School congratulates those students who were awarded ‘Student of the Week’ at Assembly on Friday 26th May 2021.

ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

We congratulate Prep/Year 1 students Abel Rowe, for completing Level Blue, Ayden Lock, for completing Level Gold and Carleigh Geary for completing Levels Indigo and Violet of the M100W high frequency words. Abel, Ayden and Carleigh were presented with their M100W Certificates at Assembly on Friday 28th May. Well done!

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

MUNRO THEATRE