30 April 2019

Newsletter Articles

Principals Report

Welcome  back to all, I hope that your holiday was very relaxing and that you had the chance to spend some quality time with your family. Below are some of the events that will be happening within the school this term.

• Sharing in the sacramental life of students as they receive the Sacraments of Confirmation and First Holy Communion.
• Academically, students are expected to be working diligently as we work towards Semester 1 reports and our Year 3 and 5 students will be continuing their preparation for NAPLAN, delivered online, in mid-May.

• Students are preparing for the Mount Isa Eisteddfod.
• Some will be attending District Cross Country and Athletics and Inter School Gala Days.
• Some students will also be participating in the Mount Isa Show. This year we are sponsoring the kid's art, photography and cooking section. We have been given 21 kid's entry passes. I am planning on having a raffle draw for every student that places a piece in the show. More information on this later in the term.

I would also like everyone to know that if you are picking up your child in the afternoons the pick up and drop of zone will be out the front of the office in the car park area. This can be a bit crazy. Please do not stop in there. If your child is running late you will need to park the car. Can you also please keep a watch out for all of the children. We are unable to use the other section at this stage due to truck and the workers completing the fence. I will be keeping you informed as the fence continues.

Just to remind parents in regards to “Brain Break”. This is for Prep to Year 6 students it occurs each day at school between 9.30am - 9.45am. This gives the students time to refuel on vegetables, fruit, dry biscuits and  rehydrate on water. Students who are not hungry and are well hydrated perform better in the classroom, show increased concentration, and are less likely to be irritable and disruptive. Many students are not eating enough vegetables and fruit or keeping sufficiently hydrated. SO PLEASE pack something small for your child so they can take it to class for brain break.

God Bless
Claudine Dank

APRE Report

This Sunday the 5th of May at 6pm members of our St Kieran’s School family will be leading Mass at the Good Shepherd Church.  St Kieran’s will be in charge of leading Mass on the first Sunday at 6pm of every month. All are welcome to attend and if you would be interested in doing a special job during the mass please let me know in advance so I can put your name down.  This is another great opportunity for our St Kieran’s family to share in prayer with our parish and wider community. This Sunday we celebrate the third Week in the Easter Season.

The Word

The disciples went fishing but caught nothing.  At dawn, Jesus stood on the shore though they did not know it was him.  He called to them to put the net out on the other side of the boat. When they did, they could not haul it in.  (John 21:1-9)

When the disciples came with the boat, Jesus was cooking a breakfast of fish and bread.  John recognised Jesus and Peter jumped into the water and swam ashore.

Lord Jesus, you feed our bodies and nourish our souls.  Give us faith to follow you. Amen

Confirmation 2019

This Tuesday the 3rd of May at 7pm, members of our school family will receive the sacrament of Confirmation with the Bishop. Although the Holy Spirit was received at Baptism, Confirmation focuses on this gift by recalling the promise of Jesus to send the Spirit.  Please keep the following candidates and their families in your thoughts and prayers: Scarlett Venz, Kiana Jacobs, Christopher Byrnes, Katelyn Boyce, Gabe Kelly, Lola Villanueva, Mackenzie Campbell, Isabella Dolzan, Lilly Glover.

A big Congratulations to Lily Glover who was Baptised on Sunday the 28th of May.

Upcoming Feast Day and Assembly Celebrations

Week 3    Mother’s Day Year 1
Week 4    International Day of Families Year 3
Week 5    Mary Help of Christians Year 2
Week 6    Reconciliation/Sorry Day
Week 7    Pentecost  Year 5
Week 8    The Holy Trinity Year 6
Week 9    Corpus Christi  Service Leaders
Week 10  Whole School Meditation

On the 1st of May, our school leaders will travel to St Joseph’s Catholic School to join in the mass to honor the feast day of St Joseph the Worker.  On the 5th of May we remember Edmund Rice - The Feast of Edmund Rice is significant to our school community as it is part of our history. Edmund formed the Christian Brothers in 1822.

Parish Information

Parish May Retreat

Application brochures for the Parish Retreat are at the parish Office. Please take one, complete the application information section, and return that section to the Parish Office as soon as possible.

Children’s Liturgy

Interested in helping at Children’s Liturgy on Sunday at 9.00am Mass? All literature and support is provided. Please contact Lorna at the Parish.

Christian Meditation

Is held in the Good Shepherd Church each Tuesday morning from 8.30 - 9.30am. It begins after Mass. All parishioners are welcome.

Camooweal Mass

The annual trip to Camooweal is one again this coming long weekend. If people leave by 8.00am we can have Mass at 10.30am and then lunch at the Drover’s Camp. You can drive to the N.T. border, if you wish, as well. Bring your own food and drinks to share.

Diocesan Information

Catholic bishops’ federal election statement

The bishops call for respect in public debate, share Catholic social teaching and detail some key issues to reflect on before you vote. “Politics in service of peace: a statement by the Catholic bishops of Australia for the 2019 federal election” can be found at

Hospital Admission

Dedicated priests and trained volunteers visit as many of our sick parishioners as possible in all our hospitals. If you are admitted to hospital remember to ask staff to mark your religion as 'Catholic' if you would like the ministry of a priest or Catholic hospital visitor

2019 Mission: One Heart Many Voices

Australia's premier conference on mission is being held between the 13th and 15th of May at SMC Conference & Function Centre, 66 Goulburn Street, Sydney. The event offers a unique opportunity to listen, converse and experience the many and diverse voices that are an expression of the one heart of mission. Above all, the conference is a time to read the signs of the time with an aim of affirming what we do well, nurturing our growth and rethink and reformulate how we effectively live and lead mission today and tomorrow. To find out more and to register visit the link below or call 1800 257 296

Curriculum

Social/Emotional Curriculum

Here at St Kieran’s we believe in developing the whole child, following this belief we offer a strong Social/Emotional curriculum to all of our students.

What does Social/Emotional Curriculum look like in our school?

You Can Do It

All of our P-3 students participate in the You Can Do It program weekly with Mrs Karissa Smith. The You Can Do It Program teaches our children the 5 Keys to Success which are:

• Confidence
• Resilience
• Getting Along
• Organisation
• Persistence
• Bounce Back

Our Year 4-6 students enjoy weekly lessons which work on a combination of the You Can Do It and Bounce Back Programs. Bounce Back provides practical strategies to improve student wellbeing and help students cope with the complexity of everyday life. Bounce Back provides students the skills to ‘bounce back’ when they experience sadness, difficulties, frustrations and challenging times.

Zones of Regulation

Self-regulation is something everyone continually works on whether or not we are cognizant of it. We all encounter trying circumstances that test our limits from time to time. If we are able to recognize when we are becoming less regulated, we are able to do something about it to manage our feelings and get ourselves to a healthy place. This comes naturally for some, but for others it is a skill that needs to be taught and practiced. This is the goal of The Zones of Regulation (or Zones for short). Zones happens weekly in the Years 4 & 6 classroom as well as in a small group setting across other grades as needed.

We Thinkers

We Thinkers! Social Explorers is a multi-sensory, social-emotional learning package for children. Kids learn about thoughts and feelings, following the group plan, thinking with your eyes, body in the group and whole body listening. Initially designed for children with higher functioning learning challenges – now used by all students! This program is offered in a small group setting targeting specific students.

Secret Agent Society

The Secret Agent Society (SAS) Small Group Program help kids 8 to 12 years of age crack the code of emotions and friendships. Junior Detectives graduate from SAS equipped with the skills to feel happier, calmer and braver while making new friends and keeping them. This program is offered to individual students who then join the group missions once they have completed their training.

All of these programs help to develop happy, resilient and confident children within our school. Any questions concerning any of our Social/Emotional programs please feel free to see me.

Regards,
Mel Siemer

Prep Enrolment

Families seeking enrolment of their child into Prep for 2020 or 2021 are invited to complete an Application for Enrolment, available on our website, in the link below, or alternatively collect an application package from the School Office.

As we are anticipating that there will continue to be strong demand for placements for 2020, it is important that applications are received by the school as soon as possible.

Please note that if you have a sibling of a current St Kieran’s  student you will also need to complete an enrolment application for your child for Prep 2020. Students enrolled at St Joseph’s Kindergarten or St Mary Mackillop Early Learning Centre are also required to complete an application form.

St Kieran's Catholic School works in partnership with St Joseph’'s Catholic School and Good Shepherd Parish to coordinate the Prep enrolment process so that the best opportunity is afforded to all.

Physical Education with Mrs Lloyd

Hello everyone!  Welcome back and we are off and racing for another super exciting term ahead!  Firstly however, a huge congratulations to every student who participated in the 2019 Cross Country at the end of last term - it was wonderful to see so many bodies out there getting active!  Also, well done to those who went to the effort to dress up and get a bit crazy with the outfits! It makes for a wonderful day when everyone gets involved in every way possible! There were some fantastic times on the course and in some cases there was a race to the end for a ribbon :)  But the overall house winner for the event was Corella! Well done and we will see if you can make it 5 in a row next year - Moondarra has some work to do!  Congratulations to the place getters below.  I have said it before but it doesn’t cease to amaze me, the level of sportsmanship displayed by St Kieran’s students - we should all be proud of how our students conduct themselves during sports events.  The Cross Country District team has been selected (please see below) and will represent our school on Thursday 9th May at the District carnival. Letters have gone home to students and I really do need all letters back ASAP please.

Term 2 is already off to a fast start - we have our athletics carnival coming up on Thursday and Friday of Week 2.  Letters will go home ASAP outlining the program. We will have some special little awards to hand out during the day - one of which will be Zooper Dooper vouchers from the tuckshop for best dressed students in each class!  So please encourage your student to wear the house colours and participate in as many events as they can! There will be the 200m and 800m events (for 9-12 year olds) on Thursday 2nd May in the morning. These should only take an hour to complete.

Friday 3rd May will be the main athletics carnival starting first thing in the morning with best dressed from each class (receiving a Zooper Dooper voucher from the tuckshop) and war cries, followed by sprints and then the remainder of the carnival events.  Again, program of events will be distributed to parents ASAP. We will be rotating students through the tuckshop this year to try and relieve some of the pressure on our wonderful tuckshop ladies so please be understanding.

This term our gala day sports are rugby league (11+12 years only) and netball (10,11 or 12 years).  If your student is interested in playing these sports, please let me know. I will be getting teams together in week 3.

For the first few lessons this term, students will be practicing for the athletics carnival.  We will then be starting our Term 2 units. Preps will be doing a throwing and catching unit focusing on hand-eye coordination and Years 1 + 2 will be doing an Indigenous Games unit focusing on hand catching and passing as well as team work and spatial awareness on field during games.

Years 3 + 4 are doing a soccer skills unit this term and Years 5 + 6 are also doing a soccer and fitness unit.

I look forward to another fun and exciting term!

Week 2 - Thursday (morning only) and Friday = Athletics Carnival
Week 3 - Will from Rugby League All Stars will be here to play some games with the kids
Week 3 - Thursday - District Cross Country
Week 4 - AFL Auskick program (individual program offered AT school not BY the school) kicks off
Week 5 - District Athletics Carnival

Cross Country stars :)

Congratulations to you all!

Leaguestars

This term we are fortunate to be participating in the League Stars program.

Leaguestars is a non-contact skill based participation program. It provides the perfect introduction to Rugby League for Primary School. The program is designed to cater for Primary School students all ages and ability levels. This action packed program ensures all participants are highly engaged and finish each session sweating and smiling.

League Stars is designed to be delivered in two phases. Phase 1 provides all school students with an opportunity to experience the game of Rugby League in the comfort of their school environment. Phase 2 is delivered after school who are interested in extending their experience beyond the school setting.

All students will be participating in Phase 1 during PE lessons on Wednesday in Week 3. Following that Phase 2 will run from Week 4 to Week 9 on Wednesday afternoons from 3-4pm.

Wahoo

Year 1/2: In Wahoo the Year 1/2 group have just begun learning about the environment and weather. We have been looking at seasons and why and how the Earth has seasons. We will be looking into weather events, drought and rain and survival techniques in different weather situations.

Year 3/4: The Year 3/4 Wahoo group have just finished their Ancient Egypt unit. They gave a presentation about the information they found interesting relating to Ancient Egypt to their parents and friends. We learnt how to create PowerPoint Presentations, how to upload images, change fonts and add flair to a presentation. We also focused on how to speak in front of an audience. All students did a fantastic job, well done!

Year 5/6: The Year 5/6 Wahoo group are finishing up their Survival Techniques unit including creating a presentation that they will present to their peers.

We are also responsible for creating the MAZE for the Mothers' Day Fete and have been busy creating and  planning to ensure the maze is amazing.

Student Protection

Our school Safe People are:

Get to know our staff – Mrs Cameron

Hi all, Mrs Cameron here. I have been lucky enough to be a part of the St Kieran’s community for the past 6 years and I have been working in the office for 3 years. My family and I moved from Cairns to Mount Isa 10 years ago. We love it here. A little about our family my husband Stuart works crazy hours so he is very rarely at the school. (Some say he does not exist) Tristan is in Year 5 and Aiden in Year 3. I have a “healthy” obsession for triathlons and pushing the mind and body to do things I would not normally dream of. I have achieved some pretty awesome goals in the last few years and hope to see a few more this year. Pop in and see me at the front desk anytime for a chat

School Event

2nd / 3rd May - Athletics Carnival (Week 2 Term 2)

P&F Dates

Tuckshop

All meal deals are $9.00

St Kieran’s Buy, Swap, Sell

Teacher Desk, great condition $50

Community Notices

Just a reminder that if you would like to book for the Mother’s Day breakfast at Terrace Gardens to shout Mum or Grandma to a morning off cooking to please get in contact with Kellie Pigliafiori on 044 777 6384 as soon as possible. Mother’s Day Raffle tickets available to purchase on the day! This event is on Sunday 12th May 2019 from 9am-11am.

Little K’s Playgroup

Little K’s Playgroup is free and all are welcome. Mondays 8:30am to 10:00am.