Issue 14 - 13 September 2022

Newsletter Articles

VISION STATEMENT

PRINCIPAL’S PEN

Dear Families,

Another term done at St Rita’s, and time for all our children to take a well-deserved break. It has been a pleasure to see the many smiling faces that present each day, ready to immerse themselves in their learning. Our teaching team never ceases to amaze me, the enormous dedication, and exhausting hours they all work, with little complaint, in inspiring. I want to thank them all for their amazing work ethic in this vocation of Catholic education. They are the most kind, generous and forgiving people I know.

Vale Queen Elizabeth

It’s been unprecedented the death of Queen Elizabeth and as we tried to comprehend this news on Friday, we weren’t quite sure how to respond. Out of respect, our Australian flag was lowered to halfway and our students offered a minute silence in prayer for her soul and her family. As I said to our school children, we need to respect all we encompass in our life, whether we agree with them or not, and whether they are a Queen or child. The Queen is currently our head-of-state, so we need to show her that respect, which they all did splendidly.

I‘ve never been one to take much notice of the Royal Family but am aware that the Queen herself took her role very seriously, and to rule for 70 years is a terrific example of service for others. She was a faith-filled woman, who was inspired by the example of Christ, much like we are at St Rita’s. May God rest her soul.

Parent-Teacher Interviews

Thanks to the many families who have taken up the opportunity to attend parent/teacher interviews this week. Research tells us, that to give our children the best chance at success, our school and our parents must form a united front and enter a powerful and robust partnership. I love that our families are very trusting in what we do, but we always enjoy the opportunity to catch up and discuss your child’s progress and set goals for the future.

As a parent, it is a great opportunity for my wife and I to hear about our children’s progress but also learn about areas we can support their improvement at home. If you haven’t booked in yet, that’s no problem, please see your child’s teacher or call the office to make an appointment next term.

Positive Behaviour

This week we have began to roll out our school-wide positive behaviour rewards system. We have recognised as a school that we need to do better at recognising the many children that show positive behaviour each day. Each week, we will have a school-wide theme. This week is ‘Use polite language and manners’. Each teacher has a raffle book that they carry, and if they see this positive behaviour, they write the child’s name on the ticket and put it in the barrel. At the end of the week, the raffle is drawn, with one lucky child getting to choose their prize. The idea being, the more tickets you have in the draw, the better your chance of winning. We will then have a new focus in Week 1 of next term and continue to trial this. This is just one of the many behaviour initiatives we are putting in place. We hope to have a parent meeting early next term to explain this plan further and gain parental advice and support.

Senior Camp

A tired and exhausted group of 5/6 students and teachers returned to St Rita’s last Friday evening. It was pleasing to hear that it was largely an enjoyable experience. A group of our senior students helped plan this experience and budget for it with a special thanks to Rhylee and Teelah for their input and insights. The girls enjoyed two nights and Cairns Coconut resort, explored the local Cairns area, participated in high and medium ropes courses and zip-lining at Cairns Wildlife & Zoom, and explored the Great Barrier Reef on Friday at Green Island. A huge thanks goes to Ms Douglas and Ms Benvenuti for providing outstanding care to our girls while they were where away, it is a huge ask to be required around the clock, but the girls knew they were in very safe hands. Thanks to all our parents who donated the food and treats, which was certainly enjoyed, and a special shout out to Mrs Lock who also provided the girls with a little something extra for their time away. Your generosity is certainly noticed and appreciated.

P-2 Excursion

This term our P-2 class have been learning about all things Queensland. A huge feature of our local area and also a large part of our local economy is the Sugar-cane industry. Our junior class was very fortunate to welcome Kasey, Lance and Stephen from the Canegrowers association to teach us about all things sugar cane, before we drove to a local farm to see a harvest in full swing. It was a terrific opportunity to immerse many of our children in this vital industry of our region. We thank Kasey, Lance and Stephen for being very patient and extremely generous with their time on Monday.

Harvest Festival

As I’m sure you already know, our Babinda Harvest Festival is coming up fast, with the main event happening on Saturday the 8th of October with the parade starting at 3:00 pm sharp. It has been great to see many dedicated parents meeting to assist with the production of our school float. They are gathering again next Tuesday (in holidays) to continue some more work, all are welcome to attend at 9am in the school eating area. More details to come about the parade in the first week back.

Or staff are running the Harvest Festival Trivia night on Wednesday the 5th of October, tables are still available for a fun and entertaining night. Please see the office if you would like to book a table.

I trust that everyone will enjoy their holiday’s and break from school and pray that it is a time to revitalise, re-energise and reflect. I also pray for the safety of our school families and for the safety of all those who are travelling. I can’t wait to see everyone next term.

Michael Rowe
Principal

DEPUTY PRINCIPAL

Dear parents,

What do We Need to Remember When the School Holidays Start?

What to do during the school holidays.. It’s the big question parents have when school finishes and our children are going to spend more time at home or even on a holiday away. Either at home or out discovering the world, having your children with you requires planning, without a doubt.

In both scenarios, there are two important things to be sure of. It’s important that holidays don’t mean a waste of time or a day in front of a screen. Not that either of these things is completely banned, but holidays are a chance to combine many different types of activities, both active and relaxing, in such a way that both children and parents are comfortable and satisfied.

It’s also important that you don’t go to the other extreme and turn holidays into a non-stop activity whirlwind with no time to rest. Many people see holidays as a time of year where it’s their work to have fun. In the case of children, this is a mistake, children need to be active, but occasionally they also need time to stop, be bored, free their minds and work their imagination.

The key is to not fall short or to go over the top. It’s not easy, but precisely because of this, as we said, to begin with, it is essential to plan ahead and decide what to do during the school holidays.

School Holidays at Home with Children

Generally, we tend to think that spending holidays at home makes them less of a holiday. As if we were missing something. Even more so with children as it becomes a shame when we haven’t taken them somewhere or that we haven’t contributed to them discovering new things.

Well, no! Spending holidays at home with your children can be exciting, fun and beneficial. It all depends on your effort, imagination and one more time, your planning. Here are a few ideas on what to do with your children at home during the school holidays:

Plan a timetable

that includes as many different types of activities as possible (walks, bike rides, trips to the park, swimming pool, cinema, sports, meetings with friends etc) as well as the days that your children will need to do their homework. This way, you should avoid empty days where you are left with nothing to do, and they will not have to rush their schoolwork during the final days.

Include in the diary a few special plans

that will help you break up the monotony and avoid your children from becoming too bored. What you decide depends on what your children enjoy (and what you enjoy!) but here are some options. A visit to the zoo, a game of football, basketball or other sports, a trip to the beach or mountains, go-karts etc.

Include your children in doing the housework and preparing food

It’s a good idea to start giving them responsibilities, which can also be very entertaining if you use your imagination and make them into games.

PREP YEAR 1&2 EXCURSION

This week we were fortunate enough to have Canegrowers Association come to visit our school. A hands on and relevant experience for our students, we are now able to share some interesting facts about why Queensland is famous for our beautiful sugarcane. During our presentation at school we learned that Australia’s 4,000 cane farming businesses grow 30-35 million tonnes of sugarcane each year. The farms are all along the east coast from Grafton to Mossman. 24 sugar mills process the cane into 4-4.5 million tonnes of raw sugar and 80% is exported through six bulk storage ports.

• Australia is the second largest supplier of raw sugar onto the world market.
• Sugar production is worth $2 billion to the Australian economy each year.
• Australia has around 378,000 hectares under sugarcane each year, 95% of it in Queensland.
• Sugarcane is a giant tropical grass that takes between nine and eighteen months to reach maturity depending on the weather.
• It is cut and re-grown as a ratoon crop for up to six years before being ploughed out and replanted.
• 85% of the crop is now harvested green, without being burned, and the trimmed leaves are left as mulch on the ground.

Kind regards,
Sam Benvenuti

Deputy Principal – Leader of Learning and Teaching

Counsellor’s Corner

Happy Holidays

Although school holidays are a great time to relax and rejuvenate, it can get stressful. So here are Triple P’s top five school holiday survival tips.

1. Set ground rules for screen time, such as turn-taking and time limits. Although it’s okay for children to have a little more TV or computer time during the holidays, it’s important to balance indoor and outdoor activities.

1. Plan activities with your children that they can look forward to. Make a list of free activities, things to do at home, and outings within your budget (see next tip!). Put the list on the fridge and refer kids to the “activities at home” section when you hear “I’m bored” or “can’t I go on the computer”?
2. Organise and discuss a holiday budget. It’s important for children to understand that you don’t have a bottomless pit of money and that you don’t need lots of money to have fun.
3. Don’t fall into the trap of having to be a full-time entertainer. Children need to learn to find themselves interesting things to do in a safe environment. Depending on your child’s age, you may need to help them start an activity but don’t take it over. Show an interest when your child is busy, not just when they're bored and seeking an audience.
4. Set aside some child-free time for yourself. If our own needs as adults are neglected, it’s much more difficult to be calm, patient, and consistent with our children. So set up a play-date at a friend’s house or enlist the help of relatives to give you a break.

Lastly don’t forget to enjoy your children, be present, have fun, try something new together. Make happy memories.

Warm regards,
Miss Jo
School Counsellor

Year 5/6 camp recount

It was the best experience that I ever had, probably because it was my first time going on the one and only 5/6 camp!

It was so cool where the teachers booked us for things like the Cairns Wildlife Zoom and going to the Great Barrier Reef. When we arrived on Green Island we went snorkelling in the ocean and after we got to ride in one of the coolest boats ever, it was the ultimate see-through floor glass bottom boat! It was even more exciting when we saw the fish jump when we fed them little biscuits.

At the Cairns Wildlife Zoom we got to go on all these obstacles and the best part was going on the zipline! It was SUPER terrifying because I thought it would snap but it didn't because it was super strong! I couldn’t believe the horror of the two teachers that went with us which is Ms Benvenuti and Ms Douglas. I just saw as they slowly did the obstacles one at a time, it was definitely funny though when Miss Douglas went on the zipline with her face looking terrible as if her soul just left her body. It definitely made the whole class laugh because of this.

Okay, enough about the teachers and onto the great Coconut Resort! It was amazing with all the water slides, jumping pillows, food, milk bar and more! I have a whole list of the AWESOME things we did there. But of course, the one place that we all desired was the adult hot tub. It was soooo relaxing when we hopped in and the warm water made us feel as if we were swimming in the Hot Springs. I don’t know what else to tell you about because those are the main things we did at the Coconut Resort. I would say it was the greatest experience for all of us, especially as we all had the time of our lives!

by Hannah Lansdown, Grade 5

DATE CLAIMERS

STUDENTS OF THE WEEK

St Rita’s School congratulates those students who were awarded ‘Student of the Week’ at Assembly on Friday 19th August 2022.

BIRTHDAY CONGRATULATIONS

St Rita’s wished Jack Schulz, Jaxon Costello and Joseph Geary all the best for their recent birthdays. We hope you all had wonderful birthday celebrations!

P & F NEWS

Father’s day breakfast

Thanks to all the dad’s, grandfathers and others who came along to our breakfast on Thursday morning. Thank you to Joe Kurucz for cooking on the barbeque. It was so nice to see so many happy faces celebrating this special occasion. Congratulations to the seven raffle winners. The P&F raised $170 in ticket sales and $115 for the cooked breakfasts.

Thank you for supporting the P&F’s fundraising efforts and to all the parents who donated prizes for the raffles.

P&F Committee

Turn Your Trash into Cash for our school

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. The school is keen for parents to begin collecting at home and bring them into the recycle bin at school.

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!

Thank you

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

MUNRO THEATRE

BABINDA HARVEST FESTIVAL – TRIVIA NIGHT

Well Women’s Clinic – Babinda Hospital

(This clinic is available to Medicare eligible clients)

Tuesday 4th October, 2022
All services are provided by a specially trained Women’s Health Nurse.
For appointments phone 4067 8200

RUGBY SIGN ON – INNISFAIL

Babinda Library, holiday activities