Issue 18 - 29 November 2022

Newsletter Articles

VISION STATEMENT

PRINCIPAL’S PEN

Greetings Families and Friends,

Last Thursday, our four year 6 girls officially graduated from St Rita’s school. This closed another small chapter on their life, and while it’s the end of an era for them, I’m sure they all have bigger and better things to come. The theme for my graduation speech was gratitude, and as I write my final newsletter for 2022, I have many reasons to be grateful for the 2022 school year at St Rita’s Babinda. This year, I have had the pleasure of watching our students grow, physically as well as academically, socially, and spiritually. We have tinkered with how we do things, the introduction of Discovery for P/1/2 and Project-based learning for 3-6 have been a hit, with the students having more voice and ownership over their learning. They have learnt to be critical thinkers, to research and to work in collaboration with others.

As I write this, it is currently 5.49am on Sunday morning, and I’m at the Cairns Airport, impatiently waiting for my flight to Melbourne. I cannot be helped but be filled with gratitude for the previous 12 months. Tomorrow I will meet our 2023 5/6 teacher, Miss Bridie Naughtin as we visit both St Stephen’s and St Gabriel’s Primary School in Melbourne. We will work with Ms Gemma Goodyear, who has worked closely with our staff in implementing some of these exciting changes over the last year. Although tired and weary, I am very much excited what the future has in store for St Rita’s school as we strive to be truly world class but also contextual to the needs of our community. We know our children certainly deserve it.

Staffing News

As mentioned above, Bridie Naughtin will be the teacher replacing Ms Douglas in year 5/6 next year. Bridie is very excited to join our school community and sink her teeth into the St Rita’s way of learning and teaching. She will zoom meet with her class for next year this week. We look forward to welcoming her officially in 2023.

Sadly, Ms Shelley Douglas leaves us after 12 months, having left a lasting impression. Shelley has made the decision to gain employment in South East Queensland and be closer to family, which I can certainly understand. We wish her well and thank her for her role in shaping our Year 5/6 girls this year. She was very much a ‘mother figure’ who continually inspired them and pushed them out of their comfort zones. Farewell Shelley.

Last week the Cairns Catholic Education director, Mr Bill Dixon visited our school to announce the candidate who would be filling in for me while I’m on long service leave for 3 months next year. It might seem strange to some, as I’ve only been at St Rita’s for two full years, however, this leave was portable, and something I’ve been saving up over my last 15 years working in Catholic Education. After a bit of a health scare this year, and Evie going into year 6, it was a good time to take it and I’m sure the caretaker will do an excellent job as acting principal in my absence.

Mr Brendon Napier has been given the role and I’m sure with his experience, the transition will be very smooth. There will be some hand-over leading up to my departure in Week 6, Term 1.

Fortunately, any other changes will be minor at this stage, with Anna Wilson and Maryjane Masina continuing in their current year levels. Ms Benvenuti will teach the Arts, Mrs Jago Science, and I’ll teach PE Prep-Yr 6. Other staffing arrangements will also remain similar to 2022.

Graduation

Best Wishes to Latoya, Rhylee, Teelah and Pearle who will finish officially at St Rita’s this Friday. All four girls attended the Graduation Mass, supper and Presentations last week and I’d like to thank Fr Kerry Crowley for presiding, and the members of our school community who attended this wonderful evening. It was telling that all our year 5’s attended the ceremony this year, a sign of how closely they have become under the guidance of Ms Douglas.

End of Year

On Wednesday we will hold our end of year Mass at St Rita’s church at 9.30am. We welcome all families and parishioners as we give thanks for a stellar 2022. At the conclusion of Mass we will announce the winners of the Christian Leadership Award and the Sports Award, as well as our 2023 school leaders after it was voted on last week.

After Mass we will come back to the school for morning tea and then each class will perform some Christmas songs as a part of our Christmas concert. It promises to be a great morning, I hope you can make it.

 

A Touch of Crazy

We had a great day last Thursday with a fundraiser for the Cancer Council, in honor of Peter Anthony’s memory. We were able to donate $480.50 to the Cancer Council in the name of St Rita’s which was a stellar effort by our school and wider community. Thanks for all who dressed up. Zoe, Tia, Mia and Mrs Masina where judged our winners as best dressed. The Anthony/ Lansdown family have certainly expressed their gratitude for this donation.

Swimming

Last week, we concluded our swimming program with a wonderful and well attended Swimming Carnival at our local pool. It was amazing how much skills, water safety and technique improved over this time. A huge thanks needs to go to Swim coach extraordinaire Mrs Masina for her organisation, as well as the newly trained Ms Benvenuti and Mrs Jenni Stone, who was also in the pool each week.

St Rita’s Food Drive

We are continuing to collect non-perishable food items at our office. Please let me know if your family is in need of a hamper, privacy will be respected at all times. It’s just a small way we can spread some Christmas cheer.

Wet Day

Please note that this Thursday the first of December is our ‘Wet Day’. Children will be getting dirty and wet as they clean classroom furniture and enjoy the slip and slide. Children need to bring appropriate sunsmart rashies, swim wear and a towel if they wish to participate.

Final Thanks

As most of you know, this year has had its ups and downs, but I am eternally grateful for our wonderful staff who have supported me and our students throughout. My resilient staff have been thrown many curveballs such as Covid, staffing changes, personal health battles, my health battles, new learning and teaching strategies, changes to classroom structures and changes to curriculum, just to name a few. Undeterred, they have soldiered on admirably, always putting the needs of the children first, even sacrificing much of their own time and money. I feel so blessed to have them a part of our school and I truly believe our students are in very good hands. How blessed we are.

Wishing everyone a safe, happy and holy Christmas, a time to remember the birth of God’s only son, Jesus, he who bought salvation to the world. A sign that from humble beginnings, anything is possible.

Looking forward to seeing you all again in the new year.

Michael Rowe
Principal

DEPUTY PRINCIPAL

As we reach the end of the year, I can’t help but feel inspired by our students who day in day out are committed to learning about the world around them. This year, our students engaged in Project Based Learning. Through discovery hour, our students discussed and shared personal observations and perspectives on their histories and special places, contributing to their sense of identity, connection and belonging. They continued to develop skills and processes for investigating their personal worlds, strengthening dispositions for learning such as curiosity and imagination, and resourcing their own learning through connecting with people and places. Through studies of Babinda, students explored, recognised and appreciated the history of our community.

Throughout the year our P-2 students explored the world around them by asking key questions such as:

• Who am I, where do I live and who came before me?
• Why are some places and events special, and how do we know?

Over the course of the year our 3-6 students inquired through four different projects, one each Term. Students’ demonstrated their understandings of democratic decision-making by investigating the role of their local government and contribution of citizens to their community. They examined how rules and laws affect them and the importance of these in our society. Students explored cultural diversity with Babinda and beyond and how belonging to different groups can shape personal identity. Using contextualised learning and real life concepts students investigated the world around them using a number of processes:

Our teachers are to be commended for their efforts in guiding our students through these processes. As Leader of Learning and Teaching it has been rewarding to see the huge benefits we have seen amongst our students. Students are becoming more inquisitive, directing their own learning and becoming more confident, critical thinkers.

When designing a project our teachers consider the following:

• Starting with an essential question: Use a real-world topic and devise a question that poses a real-life situation or problem that students can tackle.
• Design a plan for the project: Engage students in decision making so that they have a sense of ownership from the outset; select activities that support the question and utilise the curriculum; recognise what materials and resources are available to support students.
• Create a schedule: Design a timeline for project components. This will have some flexibility but is important to keep students on track.
• Monitor the students and the progress of the project: Facilitate the process of the project, encourage collaboration and keep the project on track while maintaining students’ sense of ownership and authenticity. Use rubrics to help guide the project.
• Assess the outcome: Assessment can provide diagnostic feedback for educators and students and evaluate the progress of the project. Wherever possible, allow students the opportunity to conduct self-assessment.
• Evaluate the experience: Educators and students will benefit from reflecting upon the experience both during and after the project through journaling, group reflection and discussion

We look forward to continuing our Projects next year and thank you for your continued support. A massive congratulations to our teachers who worked tirelessly to set up our “Museum In Motion” and who kindly opened their doors to our families. Please see some wonderful photos from our excellent event.

Kind regards,

Sam Benvenuti
Deputy Principal – Leader of Learning and Teaching

Counsellor’s Corner

Dear parents and carers,

Farewell 2022

The end of the School year is upon us, and it is great to see students working hard on their end of year assessments. Soon it will be time to stop and reflect on the great work you and your children have achieved and celebrate their growth. A theme that has been highlighted this year is gratitude and kindness to ourselves and others. We hope this practice continues into the holidays and everyone can find moments of peace and fulfilment.

As much as the holiday season can bring much joy, happiness, and connection; For some of us it can also be a time of great stress, sadness, expectations, and pressures. It is important to look after our mental health and wellbeing and recognise when we need to pause and ask for support. Please find below a list of options that are available to you or your children.

Be kind to yourself, find time to pause and take a moment to notice the wonderful things in your life. Wishing you all a wonderful holiday season and looking forward to seeing you in the new school year.

Warm regards,

Miss Jo
School Counsellor

DATE CLAIMERS

STUDENTS OF THE WEEK

St Rita’s School congratulates those students who were awarded ‘Student of the Week’ at Assembly on Friday 11th November 2022.

BIRTHDAY CONGRATULATIONS

St Rita’s wished Evie Rowe, Madeline Rowe, Annabelle Ford, Tia Thomson and Kodi Petryszyn (Kodi’s falls in the holidays) who celebrated their birthday’s recently. We hope you all had/have wonderful birthday celebrations Evie, Madeline, Annabelle, Tia and Kodi!

POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR

 

 

Over the past three weeks Jack Schulz, Evie Rowe and Ebony Geary have been our winning students, all picking their preferred prizes. Congratulations to Jude, Evie and Ebony, well done!

 

Yesterday Madeline Rowe’s name was picked, she chose an activity book from the prize box. Congratulations Madeline!

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

MUNRO THEATRE

COMMUNITY NEWS

INNISFAIL STREET PARTY