Issue 16 27 October 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,

It’s been nice to have a more ‘normal’ fortnight after getting through the whirlwind of the Harvest Festival. Swimming lessons commenced last Thursday, and it was great to see our kids enjoy their time in the pool. All the children were exceptional in their attitude and listened to the instructions from Mrs Masina, Ms Benvenuti, and Natasha with great intent and respect. Please remember this will continue each Thursday for the next 5 weeks.

Last Friday, I was taken out of my comfort zone as a photographer came to take some shots of myself and others, as we are updating the billboards, currently at Mirriwinni and on the corner of Munro Street and the Bruce Highway. Seven students were involved in the various photos so keep your eye out in the future as these are updated. A big thanks to Trudi for agreeing to be our parent representative in the photoshoot.

We have a big week ahead with Socktober- Crazy Sock Day on Wednesday, with a paper plane competition as well. Please remember a gold coin, which will go to Catholic Mission who do a great job supporting the marginalised in our society. We also have the ‘Day for Daniel’ town walk on Friday which raises awareness for child safety. We encourage students to wear a red shirt for the day. Please return the permission slips if you haven’t already done so.

Friday is also World Teachers’ Day which is a nice occasion to acknowledge the roles our educators play and have played-in our lives. We are very blessed to have an amazing staff at St Rita’s. They continually go above and beyond what is expected of them and will do anything to put a smile on a child’s face.

Sadly, Angela Middleton will be leaving our staff this week. Angela has been a dedicated school officer at our school for the past 17 months and has an outstanding rapport with our students and staff. She will be greatly missed by us all but we wish her well as she moves on from the Babinda area. I will work towards finding a replacement for Angela in the coming days.

I’d encourage our families to visit the Book Fair this week. Mrs Calcagno has set this up in the library and there is a wide range of books, at reasonable prices, for students to browse and buy. Look out for your children bringing home their ‘Wish Lists’. The Library is open between 8.00am - 8.30am and 3.00pm - 3.30pm for this week only.

Michael Rowe
Principal

APRE THOUGHTS

PRAYER FOR PEACE BETWEEN PEOPLE OF ALL FAITHS

Father of all goodness,
mercy and love,
You call people of all Faiths
to live and work together
for the coming of your
Kingdom on earth.

Make us instruments of your peace
and cultivate in us
the fertile seed of your healing love.

Create in us the spirit of
understanding, acceptance,
and respect for one another,
irrespective of our differences.

Stir within our hearts a renewed
sense of reverence for all life.

Give us the vision to recognise
your spirit in every human being
and help us to break the cycle
of violence by realising
that peace begins with me.
Amen.

Source: https://missio.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/WMS2021-Prayer-Card.pdf

accessed 24th October 2021

SOCKS OFF (OR ON REALLY!) TO CATHOLIC MISSIONS

There is nothing quite like dressing up to brighten up the day and fill it with smiles, and wearing colourful, zany socks to raise money for Catholic Missions through our Crazy Sock Day was no exception to this. There were peals of laughter when children and staff came to school with feet and hands donning socks (despite the warm temperatures) and uniforms covered in a dangling array of assorted sock designs. It was a comical sight, with such an array of foot-coverings to be seen – neons, glitters, pastels, frills, stripes and plain colours in both knee-high and anklet length!

Our paper plane competition has been reintroduced, after a break with the sockball goal-scoring challenge from last year, and has been creating a lot of interest with children intensely working on the best design for the longest throw. Thanks go to all staff involved, as well as students in Years 5 and 6 for hosting this competition. We will announce the winning distances as they come to hand.

Please join us for Friday’s assembly, where the Years 2/3/4 class will lead our school in a prayer liturgy based on Mission Month. During the prayer service, we will pray that we may be ‘the Gospel in action’ so that all man feel treated with dignity and respect. We are called for us to be people of peace, justice, equality, compassion and love, which mirrors our Mercy school values. It is through these projects of giving that our hearts are able to overflow with compassion and justice and we can continue to grow as an open and caring community. Many thanks to all for supporting Catholic Missions by way of prayer and donations. Monies raised from both events will all contribute towards the efforts of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd in Thailand, to provide education and opportunities for women and children.

ALL SAINTS AND ALL SOULS’ DAY

Following the death of Christ, Christians who were martyred were considered saints, and then lived forever in the presence of God. From these early times, on the anniversary of the martyr’s deaths, Christians would visit their tombs and celebrate Eucharist, thus filling the Church calendar with memorials of the saints. November 1st – All Hallows’ Day - is a Solemn Day also known as the ‘Feast of the Saints’ designated by the Catholic Church to remember and honour all saints throughout the ages who have attained God’s heavenly presence.

In contrast, on November 2nd – All Souls’ Day - the Church honours our deceased relatives, friends and all who have passed and are awaiting the joy of heaven. In Catholic Churches, names of the faithful departed are listed to be prayed over, in order to cleanse the souls in preparation for their entrance to heaven. Prayers to commemorate the dead are continued throughout the month of November.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them,
with your Saints forever, for you are merciful.
Amen.

You may be intrigued to know that a Holy Day from centuries ago was the source from which what is now known as Halloween is derived. On the ‘Eve of All Hallows”, Christians gathered to ask for God’s blessing and protection from evil, donning costumes to act out the battle between good and evil. While our modern celebration has its roots in this religious ceremony, it is important to note that Halloween is a secular event and not associated with the Church.

WORLD TEACHERS’ DAY

St Rita’s would like to acknowledge the outstanding efforts of our motivated and dedicated teachers and school officers who nurture our students and share their knowledge and understanding of the world with our students every day! As a profession, teaching is becoming increasingly complex to meet the changing needs of our learners in the 21st century. World Teacher’s Day is officially celebrated on the 29th October, so we thank our fine teaching staff for their devotion and commitment to our school community, as they offer of themselves whole-heartedly on a daily basis, and strive to make a difference in the lives of our children. Thank you also to the parents and children for their continued support of our staff members; it does feel special to be working in such a vibrant and caring community!

Blessings,

Maureen Gaul

COUNSELLOR CORNER

A Growth Mindset

Without the right tools and strategies, many children get stuck in a fixed mindset. A fixed mindset is the belief that our abilities, talents, and intelligence are static: we are either good at something or we aren’t. This way of thinking is limiting and holds children (and adults) back from reaching their fully potential.

A growth mindset is the belief that our abilities, talents, and intelligence can grow or change through effort and perseverance. A growth mindset equips children with the skills to work through challenges, set and achieve goals, and think creatively. It boosts self-esteem and encourages educational risks.

Here are some tips for how you can support children through this process:

• Use and encourage language that reflects your own growth mindset. For example, instead of saying, “I can’t do it” to your child, try saying, “I’m still working on improving”.

• Accept mistakes as learning opportunities. Share examples of your own mistakes and discuss how you were able to learn and grow as a result.
• Help children regulate emotions. There are a lot of uncomfortable emotions associated with trying new things, making mistakes, and failing. Some simple strategies for regulating these emotions include taking deep breaths, counting to ten and back, going for a short walk, and drinking a glass of water.
• Give praise for effort, creativity, and problem solving. Recognize growth, rather than just achievement.
• Encourage curiosity.
• Familiarize yourself with the brain science behind a growth mindset and remind children as they struggle that their brain is growing and changing.

The shift from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset isn’t easy. It involves risk taking and required children to try and fail and try again. Practising a growth mindset can help children to tackle just about anything. They learn how to foster a “can do” attitude and celebrate their mistakes as a path to ultimate success.

Reference : Growth Mindset by Peyton Curley

Wendy Smith
School Counsellor

HAPPY GRANDPARENTS DAY

DATE CLAIMERS

STUDENTS OF THE WEEK

St Rita’s School congratulates those students who were awarded ‘Student of the Week’ at Assembly on Friday 15th October 2021.

BIRTHDAY CONGRATULATIONS

BIRTHDAY CONGRATULATIONS

St Rita’s wished Eyvi Tanner, Aadi Nair and Jude Rowe all the very best for their recently celebrated birthdays.

We hope you all had wonderful birthday celebrations Eyvi, Aadi and Jude!

PREMIER’S READING CHALLENGE

Congratulations to all those students who participated in this year’s Premier’s Reading Challenge.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

MUNRO THEATRE

Well Women’s Clinic – Babinda Hospital

(This clinic is available to Medicare eligible clients)

Tuesday 9th November 2021.

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

For appointments phone 4067 8200