Issue 10 21 July 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,

Welcome back to Term 3, I trust that everyone had a relaxed break and were able to spend some quality time with your children. At the same time, I am sure many of you are happy that they are back at school and ready for another full-on term of learning, play and fun.

Next week we have Catholic Education Week which is being celebrated at Catholic schools throughout Queensland. This year’s theme is ‘A Spirited Tomorrow’. Next Friday we are hosting a special assembly and invite all our parents to attend. During this assembly we will be announcing some special award winners for the Spirit of Catholic Education Award. We will be also announcing the winners of our first ever St Rita’s Artwork Competition.

Last term we launched a competition to coincide with St Rita’s Feast Day. The challenge was for all students to create an artwork that depicted our blessed patroness, Saint Rita. I was blown away by the high-level of entries, we have some fantastic artists at our school. Our staff members (with the exclusion of myself and Mrs Masina) voted on the artworks, that not only needed to be visually fantastic but needed to include several other requirements as well. Our winners and finalists will be announced at this assembly. There will be a winner from each class who will receive a prize pack and have their artwork permanently displayed in their classroom. Our overall winner will also receive a prize pack as well as having their Artwork enlarged onto canvas and permanently displayed in our schools front office.

During this term we are going to notify parents via text, if your child is receiving an award at any of our assemblies. I know you all have busy lives and many of you live out of town, however giving you some extra notice might allow you to attend, when possible. It is always a highlight to see the big smiles on faces when our students are recognised for their great work at school and it would be great if you could share that joy with us.

Our dance program commenced last week and it was great to see so many of our children having such a great time in the lessons. The students will learn several different dance routines including hip-hop, jazz and other contemporary dances. The sessions are physically strenuous, so students are permitted to wear sports uniforms on Wednesdays for the next 6 weeks if they wish.

At the end of last term, we acknowledged our students that have sustained exceptional attendance at school throughout the semester. Special mention must go to James and Flynn who achieved 100% attendance and were presented with an award and special treat to recognise their outstanding longevity, health and persistence. With your support, we would love to raise the overall attendance of the children at our school this semester to better last semesters rates. Please let me know if you are having any issues and we can work out a plan to support you in this. As you know, missing too much school makes it incredibly hard for your child to catch up on what they have missed. Please remember to call or text the school if your child cannot make it on any given day.

On Tuesday we acknowledged 100 days of school for our preps. A special dress-up day took place in the prep room, where children and teachers dressed up like they were 100 years old. It is great to acknowledge this milestone as our preppies have come a long way in such a short period of time. The level of reading, writing, numeracy and social skills in increasing all of the time and our 9 preps share a special bond and often play together as a large group. It was a triple celebration as we also acknowledge Miss Wilson’s first 100 days as a teacher as well as my first 100 days as principal. While I dressed up as a 100 year old, it’s not as bad as they say. I don’t feel a day over 80!

Regards and blessings,

Michael Rowe
Principal

APRE THOUGHTS

Annual Celebration of Catholic Education

Catholic Education Week will be held from 25th – 31st July this year, providing an opportunity for all Catholic education communities around Queensland to celebrate the distinctive mission of Catholic schooling. This annual event promotes the special ethos of Catholic schools and highlights the great things that take place in Catholic schools every day.

Catholic education strives to make a difference in the lives of those in our schools and in the wider community by challenging young people to live out the message of Jesus and to reach their full potential as compassionate, contributing, life-giving members of society.

The theme of Catholic Education Week in 2021 is A Spirited Tomorrow, which acknowledges the long tradition of Catholic education and its continued relevance in preparing students for the future. It also references the work of the Plenary Council in discerning the way forward for the Church in Australia and complements the Faith in the Future theme of the 200 years of Catholic education celebrations.

There are 309 Catholic schools in Queensland that educate around 154,000 students and employ more than 20,000 teachers and staff, and most will celebrate Catholic Education Week in some way. During Catholic Education Week 2021, St Rita’s staff and students will attend mass and participate in planned activities with other schools in the Southern Deanery. This will take place next Tuesday 27th July at Good Counsel Primary School in Innisfail. Further details about this excursion will be forthcoming this week.

Plastic Free July

Next month, the Australian Catholic Bishops will release their Social Justice Statement of 2021-22 ‘Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor’. It will echo Pope Francis’ call for a sustainable ecology, and is founded in Scripture, Catholic Social Teaching, and the ways of Australia’s First Nations people. The Statement will reflect on ‘creation in and through the Trinity’, and urges us to change our ways of living to respond with greater care for our earth. We can all play a part in protecting our planet by participating in Plastic Free July. Some simple ideas for helping the plastic pollution problem include reducing plastic waste, increasing reuse and recycling efforts, and using food resources efficiently. More safe ways to reduce plastic waste - even during the global pandemic - can be found at:

St Mary Magdalene

On 22nd July, we honour the Feast Day of Mary Magdalene, a biblical character of some fascination. She was judged as a sinner and saved by the love of Jesus; penitent and devoted to him. According to the Gospel of John, Mary Magdalene was present at the tomb on Easter morning, and a witness to the resurrection of Jesus. Hence, she is known as the “Apostle to the Apostles". Mary Magdalene exhibited loyalty, trust, and humble service to our Lord. She is a model of faith for humanity, reminding us to seek Jesus when all hope seems lost.

Traditional Litany of St. Mary Magdalene

Saint Mary Magdalene, Pray for us.
Who anointed the feet of Jesus, Pray for us.
Who washed his feet with tears, Pray for us.
Who received the pardon for her sins, Pray for us.
Who restored from darkness to light, Pray for us.
Wounded with the love of Christ, Pray for us.
Last at the cross of Jesus, first at his tomb, Pray for us.
First to see Christ risen, Pray for us.
Constant woman, Pray for us.

Apostle of apostles, Pray for us.
Loving advocate for sinners, Pray for us.

Blessings,
Maureen Gaul

SCHOOL COUNSELLOR

Welcome back to Term 3! My name is Wendy Smith, and I am the School Counsellor at St Rita’s School. I hope that you and your family had a restful break.

The role of a school counsellor focuses on student wellbeing by providing counselling and working with school communities to promote and foster the development and mental health of all students. Counselling services support the development of life skills, social skills and emotional strength and resilience.

School counsellors work in partnership with families and school staff to support students in overcoming any social or emotional barriers to their learning, so that they can achieve educational success. Counsellors provide the opportunity to discuss issues in a safe and confidential setting to explore unconsidered possibilities and opportunities to set goals and develop strategies for change. Issues include:

Friendship issues
Bullying
Bereavement
Parental Separation
Stress / worry
Feeling down
Self-harm
Anger
Conflict resolution
Communication skills
Study skills
Time management
Decision making
Mental health concerns such as depression or anxiety

School counsellors help to ensure that students have the skills needed for social, academic, and personal growth by providing short term individual or group counselling to students to help them improve the way they feel and about themselves and to think about issues in different ways. School counsellors partner with the school community to help foster practices that promote positive relationships and positive emotional wellbeing. The counselling, consulting and referral services is confidential within the limits required by student protection legislation and Catholic Education Services Policy.

I work at St Rita’s School on Tuesdays and if you would like to know a little more about my role or would like to contact with me directly, please contact the school office for further details. I am looking forward to the term ahead and continuing to work with St Rita’s families.

Wendy Smith,
School Counsellor

AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS – CENSUS NIGHT

LIBRARY

Dear Parents,

We have noticed there are a large number of outstanding library books on loan. We would very much appreciate it if you could return any overdue loans that you may have at home.

Thanking you in anticipation with your help in this matter.

Kind regards,

Debbie

DATE CLAIMERS

ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

We congratulate Prep/Year 1 students Izaac Shaw for completing Blue Level, Ayden Lock for completing Blue, Red and Green Levels, Abel Rowe for finalising Levels Indigo and Violet, Jessie Burrows for completing Levels Gold, Red and Blue in the M100W high frequency words. Izaac, Ayden, Abel and Jessie were presented with their M100W Certificates at Assembly on Friday 25th June. Well done everyone!

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

MUNRO THEATRE

Position Vacant for School Officer

Term 3 Contract Position

18 hours per week

Commencement Date: Negotiable

Applications Close: 5pm, Thursday 29 July

Applications are invited from suitably qualified and experienced candidates for this position.

Intending applicants must:

• Be fully supportive of the ethos of Catholic Education;
• Be eligible for or hold a Working with Children Blue Card.
• Be fully committed to creating and maintaining a child safe organisation;

Applicants are invited to drop in their CV and Letter of Application to the office before close of business on Thursday 29th of July. Alternatively email - principal.babinda@cns.catholic.edu.au

PLAYGROUP AT ST RITA’S