19 September 2019

Newsletter Articles

IMPORTANT DATES

Principals Report

Dear Parents / Carers,

The smiles on the faces of the students (and staff of course) tell me that it is the end of term. We all deserve a well-earned break for all the hard work generated throughout the past ten weeks.

A fortnight ago the Director of Catholic Education Office, Townsville spent time with myself, students and staff as part of her annual visit. Jacqie Francis was pleased with St Kieran’s quiet and industrious students and the way teachers had set up their rooms for learning and teaching. She was also impressed how the grounds are looking and she was very thankful for the amount of work the Leadership Team and teachers are placing into the school. It is always a warm fuzzy to be thanked by the Director.

Excursions and camps;

• This week the Year 1 students visited the Riversleigh Fossil Centre at Outback at Isa. This educated and explained the fossils extracted from the nearby Riversleigh Fossil Fields. The students loved digging for fossils in the sand pit and seeing the different types of animals they have found at Riversleigh. Looking for fossils and visiting the centre linked in with the students science unit on dinosaurs.
• On Monday Year 2 went and visited the Underground Hospital, Tent House and the Mount Isa Museum at the Outback at Isa. These places linked in with their Mount Isa History unit. The students absolutely loved it and couldn't believe how people could live in a tent house and the way the instruments were used by doctors in the past.
• In week 1 of Term 4, year 3 are having a sleepover in the library and will be learning about the celebrations of different cultures through activities and a visit to the Parish.
• Last week Year 4 went to Winton and had the most amazing time. Learning about dinosaurs, Banjo Patterson and met some new friends from the St Patrick’s Catholic School. The are still talking about the camp as it was all amazing and everytime I speak to students what was their favorite part they all say “all of it”. The camp finished off on Friday by watching the movie “The Man from Snowy River”.
• The first week back at school Year 6 and 5 students are heading off to Gumbru and Maggie Island for their camp. I am sure many memories will be made at camp and I am sure each child will have a wonderful time experiencing things outside their everyday life.

On that note I would like to congratulate and thank all of the staff for organising and managing camps and sleepovers throughout the year. The amount of work that goes into ensuring camps are part of the curriculum is greatly anticipated and valued.

It is with sadness that at the end of the year we will be saying goodbye to Miss Katherine Spring. She has decided to follow her partner to Brisbane as he is in the police force. She will be greatly missed as she is such a great asset to our school and the students love seeing her around.

Just so you are aware, I will be going into surgery in the second week of the holidays and I am not allowed to fly home for a while. I will be back at work on the Thursday of week 1. Then in week 2 I am away for the week at the Principal’s conference. If you need me I will be checking my emails from time to time. Peta will be here taking care of the school so you are welcome to email her as well.

I wish everyone a happy two weeks off and enjoy spending time with your children. Make sure you make some fun memories with them.

God Bless
Claudine Dank

APRE

Catholic Mission 2019

Pope Francis has called for an Extraordinary Missionary Month this October. This will be a worldwide occasion of prayer, sharing stories of mission, formation and charity.

This year, students across Australia are encouraged to learn about how the Church in Ghana is taking a lead in providing life-saving care to children with disabilities and fostering their personal development for a brighter future. During the first two weeks of Term 4, students will be given a chance to do something extraordinary for mission, learn about Ghana and the work of the Church there, and contribute through their fundraising, advocacy and prayers. Please get involved where you can and listen for further details during the month of October.

In Ghana there are many children who go to school, hang out with friends and family, and do fun things like sport. Distressingly, some children, especially those with a disability, struggle to have their basic met, such as nutritious food and clean water, healthcare, education and safety. Thankfully, there are missionaries like Sister Stan Therese Mumuni who are reaching out to provide unconditional love and care to these children when they need it most. She is the founder of the Nazareth Home for God’s Children.

You can have a look at the website below for further information around the Catholic Mission project in Ghana.

The Pope’s World Mission Day message he declares:

‘Faith in Jesus Christ enables us to see all things in their proper perspective, as we view the world with God’s own eyes and heart.’ As we begin to explore Ghana let’s carry this vision of the world with us.

St Vincent De Paul Christmas Appeal 2019

At the end of the year St Kieran’s would like to donate ready made care packs to St Vincent De Paul to be handed out to those in need in our own Mount Isa community. To fill the packs for this year can you please consider donating the following items:

• Non perishable food items that will make up the ingredients for a meal.
• Toiletries - soap, shampoo, conditioner, shaving cream, razors, deodorant etc
• Small toys (only for both boys and girls)

These will be arranged so packs are functional and will be topped up with money raised throughout the year.

Have a happy and safe break!

Parish Information

St Vincent Pallotti Scholarship Trust

The St Vincent Pallotti Scholarship Trust offers scholarships to enable lay people to further their understanding and skills in leadership/ministry or a specialised activity, such as promoting faith enhancement, social justice and pastoral care.

More information and Applications Forms are available on our website at the link below. Closing Date 18 October 2019

Teaching Religion in the State Schools

If you are interested in helping out with teaching Religion. Barkly school and Happy Valley are still needed some help. Please call the Parish if you are interested.

Hygiene Products

If you have any new hygiene products or if you go away please collect the little free samples in your room. This is always useful for those in need at the Parish. Give them to the schools to collect.

Diocesan information

Plenary Council 2020

The Plenary Council invites people to continue to participate in the journey towards the Council sessions in 2020 and 2021. The “Listening and Discernment” phase recently opened, and a guide has been developed to encourage groups to take part in communal discernment on the National Themes for Discernment. Learn more about the Christian practice of discernment and download the guide, “Let’s Listen and Discern”, at the link below.

Understanding the Rite of Ordination

The Litany of the Saints: Whenever we celebrate the Eucharist, earth and heaven are united in praise and thanksgiving. During the Ordination, while the Elect lies prostrate humbly before God, we kneel and call on the whole host of heaven to join us in prayer for him. The final invocations of the Litany during Ordination are: Bless this chosen man; Bless and sanctify this chosen man; Bless, sanctify, and consecrate this chosen man; Bring all peoples together in peace and true harmony; Comfort with your mercy the troubled and the afflicted; and Strengthen all of us and keep us in your holy service.

Curriculum

Environmental Education

As Saint Kieran’s moves towards becoming a more sustainable school we have introduced some new initiatives to get the children involved with sustainable practices. The first step is the introduction of the Eco Warriors Group. Eco Warriors consists of students from across the school who volunteer their time to work on a variety of projects. These include Garden Club, recycling, composting and energy monitoring. Currently, we are averaging $20 a week through recycling which goes towards Garden Club projects. We are also collecting the Woolworths Discovery Garden plants for our Garden Club, so if you are out shopping and do not wish to collect the seeds for yourself please drop them in to school! This week our energy monitors have begun checking each break that classroom lights and fans are turned off. Thank you to all of the fantastic students who have volunteered their time to make these projects work.

HPE

As we come to the end of term, we are currently working on our assessment in our junior classes. The senior classes are doing a mini-softball unit which everyone is enjoying!

Next term:

• Week 3 Friday 25th Oct = gala day for year 5 and 6 students who are participating in softball and volleyball.
• Week 4 Thursday 31st Oct = swimming carnival for all students Prep-Year 6. Information and permission forms will be handed out at the start of next term.

Congratulations to Marnie Caldwell and Sienna Wilson who travelled to Cairns for the State Schools Softball competition. The girls played extremely well and had lots of fun doing so!

Indigenous Education

Term Three has flown by and it has been wonderful having Mrs Germaine back on board for the past couple of weeks. We would also like to welcome our new team member officially replacing Mrs Jodie Wilson, Mrs Tiana Young. Tiana has recently moved to Mt Isa with her family and has past experience working with children. Last week we met with all of our Indigenous students for a yarning circle and talked about our personal goals and how we have all been tracking. We also sat with the children and worked through past goals and whether they had been achieved and set new goals for Term 4. It is wonderful to see our children so engaged with their own learning and looking to make improvements at school.

Get to know our staff – Mrs Terri Grosser

Hi My name is Terri Grosser and I am currently a school Officer working predominantly with Grade 2 and 4. Although I am relatively new to working in the school environment, having three small children of my own means I am very passionate about helping children learn. My own children are 5,6 & 7 and are in Prep, Grade 1 and Grade 2. I have recently enrolled in a Bachelor of Education degree and hope to be teaching my very own class in about 5 years time. Before working at St Kierans I worked in Human Resources, which was also a wonderful career.

In my spare time I enjoy camping, four wheel driving and spending time with my husband and family. I love baking, cooking and decorating fancy birthday cakes for friends and family. I am originally from the Sunshine Coast but have spent the past 15 years in rural and remote parts of Queensland. I think that Mount Isa is a beautiful place and has a wonderful community atmosphere. We hope to live here for many years to come.

Playgroup

P&F Dates

All meetings start at 5.30pm

Thursday 24th October
Thursday 28th November

Tuckshop

St Kieran’s Buy, Swap, Sell

Dual Kitchen sink for sale

Large light covers

Community Notices