Issue 18 - 11 November 2015

Newsletter Articles

ST RITA’S SCHOOL PRAYER

O compassionate God, look on me today
with tenderness and give me the grace
to walk on the path of mercy and kindness.
May all I do today reflect our school values
of learning, respect, community and faith.

St Rita, pray for us.

PRINCIPAL’S PEN

Dear Parents and Carers,

Tomorrow, St Rita’s will acknowledge Remembrance Day with a whole school ceremony organised by our APRE Mrs Bec Burns. At 11:00am on 11th November 1918, after four years of continuous warfare, the German army called for an armistice and accepted the Allied Forces terms of unconditional surrender.

“This year 11 November marks the 97th anniversary of the Armistice which ended the First World War (1914–18). Each year on this day Australians observe one minute’s silence at 11 am, in memory of those who died or suffered in all wars and armed conflicts”.

Last week, in my role as Curriculum Support Teacher, I attended an ACER (Australian Council of Educational Research) workshop on PAT Testing used in primary schools. All children sit PAT (Progressive Achievement Test) in Reading and Maths each year as part of our whole school assessment schedule. Test results provide valuable information to classroom teachers to inform future planning and to determine the specific learning needs of the individual student.

“The ACER Progressive Achievement Tests are an Australian, nationally normed series of tests designed to provide objective, norm-referenced information to teachers about their students’ skills and understandings in a range of key areas. At the centre of each PAT test is a described proficiency scale, providing both quantitative and qualitative data on student performance, making the PAT tests ideal for understanding students’ current strengths and weaknesses, informing teaching and learning, and monitoring progress over time”.

Also, I worked with the CES Curriculum Education Officer last week to thoroughly review and analyse our Year 3 and Year 5 NAPLAN results for 2015. It was pleasing to learn that our students achieved at a high level in all components of NAPLAN; Reading, Spelling, Language Conventions, Writing and Numeracy. Comparing our school with Diocesan, Queensland Catholic, State and National achievements, St Rita’s scored above all other sectors in NAPLAN results this year. Very well done St Rita’s!

In the busyness of last week what came to mind for me, a number of times, was how important the ‘little things’ are in the everyday life of a school. The help we receive in completing the many small tasks that need to be done: buying supplies for the school fair, getting balls off the roof, having an extra turn mowing the lawn, or sending us a ‘Thank You’ note or email. It is these ‘little things’ that let us know that we are appreciated and supported in our work. Thank you for the ‘little things’!

Community is one of our school values, so we purposefully plan to build community in our school. Most recently, our celebration of Grandparents’ Day saw many visitors welcomed to St Rita’s for classroom visits and morning tea. Our ‘Day for Daniel’ Walk saw the whole school walking through the streets of Babinda. Last weekend, staff, parents and students joined in the fun of the Babinda Catholic Womens’ Group ‘Cent Sale’. This week, a combined effort of the school and P & F will celebrate community at Saturday afternoon’s Fair. Community really is thriving at our school!

This term, the senior students have been focusing on the topic of student leadership in their SEL lessons and ‘Circle Time’ activities. Mrs Masina has been very impressed with the leadership potential of many of our senior students, and speeches for Sports Captains and School Captain are being eagerly prepared. I encourage you to continue the conversation with your child at home if they have expressed an interest in a student leadership position for 2016.

I hope to see you around the school this week. We have so much for you to be part of and to enjoy!

Regards,

Judy Billiau
Principal

YEAR 6 GRADUATION

All students and their families are invited to celebrate the completion of primary education for St Rita’s Year 6 next week. Following a Mass beginning at 6:00pm in St Rita’s Church, a light supper and presentation will complete the occasion over at the school. You are encouraged to be part of this special event on our school calendar. For catering purposes, we ask that you RSVP to the Office by either phone or email. See you there!

2016 SCHOOL CALENDAR

Catholic schools to follow suit on pupil-free day

Catholic school children will have a pupil-free day on Monday, January 25 after Education Minister Kate Jones declared that state schools would start next year on Wednesday, January 27, after the Australia Day public holiday on January 26. Catholic Education Services Executive Director, Bill Dixon said as some parents had students in both education systems and to avoid complications with the school bus transport system, it made sense for Catholic schools to fall into line with the state system and also declare a pupil-free day.

“I am sure many families will be grateful for the extended summer break,” he said. The pupil free day on January 25 will be a once-off additional pupil-free day for the year.

APRE THOUGHTS …..

Hello Everyone,

We are heading down a very quick path to the end of the year and with this being the second last newsletter of the year I thought it would be timely to reflect on 2015. This year has certainly been a learning curve for me and I am very grateful for the support I have received from the whole school community as I have learned what is involved in the role of APRE at St Rita’s.

This year we have implemented the new Religious Education curriculum and it certainly has added depth to what has been covered in previous years. I will be working with teachers to ensure we have creative units to trial next year for our children to develop their knowledge and understanding of the Catholic faith and tradition, as well as exposing them to the awe and wonder that surrounds us in our world.

During November we have two types of ceremonies in our school. The first are two commemoration ceremonies, All Souls’ Day and Remembrance Day. We commemorated All Souls’ Day Mass on Monday 2nd November. It was fantastic to see members of our Parish join with us on this special day. We were also able to welcome Father Nathan, who is a newly ordained priest based in the Innisfail Parish working with Father Kerry. He took the opportunity to celebrate Mass with Father Grundy, and we thank them both for giving up their time to work with the children of our school. All Souls’ Day is largely a Catholic and Anglican tradition which dates back to the Fourth Century. It is a time to pray for, and with, all of those who have died.

Remembrance Day is commemorated around the world by many members of the community. This year Mrs Maryjane Masina and the senior students will be leading us in liturgy to remember all of those who have given their life while standing up for the issues of justice, peace and freedom. One minute of silence seems such a small offering to those who gave so much. All are very welcome to join us on Wednesday for this occasion.

The next two ceremonies will be celebrations! The first is our graduation Mass for Nicholas Blonner. It is an exciting time when primary school comes to an end and a new part of the school adventure begins with high school. Celebrating these milestones with friends and family allows children time to reflect on their growth over the years, and to feel that they have been, and are, supported by their community. All are welcome to join us for Mass and for supper afterwards, held at the school on November 19th.

Finally our end of year Mass will be held on Friday November 27th. It will be held in the afternoon. This will be a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the year that has been 2015 and to start to imagine how wonderful it all will be in 2016. I look forward to seeing you all at our upcoming celebrations.

Bec Burns
Assistant Principal (Religious Education)

ONLINE SAFETY

In the process of delivering the Virtual Classrooms Activities in 2015 , the Office of the Children’s eSafety Commissioner has become aware of two Apps that are causing quite some concern in school communities. These Apps are Animal Jam and Subway Surfer. One of the main concerns with these Apps is that they contain an in-built global chat facility. This facility enables anyone in the world to make contact with users of the Apps. The potential for children to be exposed to phishing scams, grooming and cyberbullying is substantial.

The Office of the Children’s eSafety Commissioner maintains an excellent resource page that assists parents to better understand these Apps amongst a range of others. This resource may be accessed at:

John Hession,
Education Officer: eLearning K - 12
Curriculum, Learning and Teaching Team
Catholic Schools Office, Diocese of Broken Bay

CASTING THE NET

In gratitude to volunteers

Most of us are aware of the extraordinary contribution that volunteers make to our Australian community. Many, many of us do something to build up the community around us. It doesn’t take much thought to draw up a wonderful long list of what is done around our school: library support, reading support, gardening working bees, sports coaching … What we see here is the phenomenon of different people bringing out their different talents in differing situations. When this happens strong bonds of community are made. And this runs very deep. This is the way God has made us: to be a community sharing with and receiving from each other.

But there is something that builds even deeper bonds between us. It is the expression of gratitude to these volunteers for what they have done. Every now and then we hear of the monetary value of the work of volunteers, ‘They have saved the economy x amount of dollars.’ That, to me, is an odd way of giving it value. The best way we can give value is to say ‘Thank you.’ Expressing our gratitude to those who help us and our community releases a peculiar form of love that inspires others to do the same. Expressing our gratitude draws us into the very life of God where the Father, Son and Spirit give and receive from each other in joy. Expressing our gratitude fosters joy both in our community and within us.

Loving God, let me express my thanks and appreciation to the many people who build up my community by their volunteer work. Let their work be guided by your Spirit. I ask this in Jesus’ name confident that you will hear us.

Sr Kym Harris osb

COUNSELLOR’S CORNER

Dear Parents,

As the year comes closer to the end of Term 4, our senior classes have been thinking about what one needs to be a leader. We have been talking about the importance of skills and qualities in a good leader, not just whom our best friend is or who is most popular.

These have been very important discussions for the class, as they start to consider who they will choose to be their school and sports leaders for next year. It makes children think more deeply about inner strengths and qualities first and less about the outside of a person. This helps children learn that it takes more than friendship to be a leader, it takes a set of skills and knowledge that not everyone has. It also challenges us to think that sometimes we may feel someone has these skills, but they may choose not to lead for a whole range of reasons.

I have been encouraging the senior class to really challenge themselves to think about skills and qualities in others first so they can be truly objective about what is needed, before they turn their minds to reflect on what skills they have to offer to their group. This will assist each of them to objectively think about whether they are actually the best person for the leadership job or whether there is someone else who is more suited.

It takes many different skills to live in our world and we should always appreciate that some of us are better at doing certain things and some are better at doing other things. This does not make anyone less important or less worthy, but teaches us to appreciate difference and celebrate how we can work together and be ourselves.

Yours in Counselling,

Carmel Parisi

CURRICULUM …….. continued

In the last newsletter the topic of Reading and how children are taught reading strategies was discussed. The next section of the ‘First Steps’ text talks about ‘reading strategies’ and how these are taught to the young reader.

Many teachers have attempted to catalogue a list of the strategies that readers use as they comprehend text. This is a challenging task as the reading process is silent and motionless and involves cognitive strategies that are often not observable.

Reading research over the past two decades has provided insights into the identification of the processes most commonly used by skilled or efficient readers. The work of Keene and Zimmerman (1997) focused on the instruction of strategies used by efficient readers. This work has also provided a springboard for those looking to document specific reading strategies to introduce to students. Although educators will list and categorise strategies in different ways, most lists contain similar elements.

The common element in all work is the focus on what ‘good readers’ do as they identify words and comprehend text. This focus provides a valid framework for determining the strategies to introduce to students.

Efficient readers are active as they read, simultaneously using a range of processes to identify unknown words and comprehend text. These may include a combination of any of the following processes.

• Clarifying the goal of reading the text (purpose)
• Skimming or looking through a text before reading
• Making predictions about what might be presented next in the text
• Refining predictions as the text is read
• Making connections to what is already known
• Determining which information is the most important in the text
• Re-reading any information considered important or difficult to understand
• Reading on when searching for some specific information
• Making inferences about information not explicitly stated in the text
• Synthesising information in the text to summarise and monitor understanding
• Generating questions about the text
• Creating images from what is read
• Paraphrasing the information read
• Seeking clarification when meaning is lost.

The list of behaviours is not an exhaustive one, but certainly provides useful information about what is important in reading. As a result of the analysis of these behaviours, a list of reading strategies has been compiled. The following strategies are not hierarchical or phase specific. In any reading event a number of reading strategies will be used simultaneously to aid comprehension and/or to identify unknown words.

A List of Reading Strategies

• Predicting • Connecting • Comparing • Inferring • Synthesising • Creating Images • Self-questioning • Skimming • Scanning • Determining Importance • Summarising and Paraphrasing • Re-reading • Reading On • Adjusting Reading Rate • Sounding Out • Chunking • Using Analogy • Consulting a Reference

(‘First Steps’ Reading Resource Book, Department of Education, Western Australia, 2013, pp 113 - 114)

DATE CLAIMERS
Term 4
Wednesday 11th November	Remembrance Day Liturgy 10:55am ‘Auskick’ AFL 1:15 pm Week 6 Tuckshop orders due
Friday 13th November	Swimming program Tennis Coaching Prep - Year 3: 2:55pm - 3:25 pm Year 4 - 6: 2:55pm - 3:40pm
Saturday 14th November	St Rita’s Community Fair 3:00pm - 7:30pm
Tuesday 17th November	Homework Club 3:00 – 3:30 pm
Wednesday 18th November	‘Auskick’ AFL 1:15 pm Week 7 Tuckshop orders due
Thursday 19th November	Year 6 Graduation Mass 6:00pm Presentation & Supper 6:45pm
Friday 20th November	School Assembly Swimming program Tennis coaching Prep - Year 3: 2:55pm - 3:25 pm Year 4 - 6: 2:55pm - 3:40pm
Tuesday 24th November	Newsletter Issue 19 Homework Club 3:00 - 3:30 pm P & F Committee Meeting & Farewell

2015 TERM DATES
TERM 4	Tuesday 6th October - Friday 4th December 2015 9 weeks
2016 TERM DATES
TERM 1	Wednesday 27th January - Thursday 24th March 2016 9 weeks

STUDENTS OF THE WEEK

St Rita’s School congratulates those students who were awarded ‘Student of the Week’ at Assembly on Monday 9th November 2015.

Prep/Year 1	Rhya Maxwell	For showing persistence when writing her ‘Dreamtime’ story.
Year 2/3	Alec Forrest	For being caring to others by inviting them to join in with games.
Year 4/5/6	Billie Luce	For having a more positive attitude in Maths and giving new tasks a ‘red hot go’.

BIRTHDAY CONGRATULATIONS

St Rita’s wishes Claro Fay all the very best for his recent birthday. We hope you had a wonderful birthday celebration Claro!

ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

We congratulate the students who successfully contributed to the Cairns Post ‘Post Ed’ feature on Tuesday 10th November. Vito Musumeci and Nicholas Blonner wrote about the recent ‘Grandparents’ Day’ celebration we held at school.

St Rita’s congratulates our young writers!

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

P & F NEWS

Dear Parents,

The Fete is almost here! We have been busy getting everything ready for the past few weeks. Thank you for donating items and dropping them off at the Office. We would still appreciate some glass jars for jams and ingredients for our confectionary stall (sugar, choc melts, condensed milk etc).

If you are able to help at one of our stalls for an hour or two that would be great too! Many hands make light work, and everyone will be able to have a break and enjoy the fair if we have a few helpers on each stall. Please let the Office know if you can help.

Our monthly P & F meeting has been postponed to Tuesday 24th November. This will be our last meeting for the year 2015 so we hope to have a light supper to celebrate our successes throughout the year.

We are looking forward to seeing you at the Fair this Saturday!

St Rita’s P & F Committee

BABINDA HOSPITAL – WOMEN’S CLINIC

(This clinic is available to Medicare eligible clients)

COMMUNITY NEWS