2 April 2020

Newsletter Articles

IMPORTANT DATES

Friday 3rd April - Last Day Term One
Friday 10th April - Good Friday
Sunday 12th April – Easter Sunday
Monday 20th April - Term Two Commences
Saturday 25th April – ANZAC Day

PRINCIPALS REPORT

Dear Parents and Carers

The current situation has meant uncertainty and placed pressure on all families. Many are keenly feeling this at the moment and the last thing we need to do is add more pressure to our homes. Children need to be active and engaged and at home as the Premier has clearly stated. This again does not mean that they need to be in a virtual classroom all day. Reading, playing games, writing stories, taking time as a family will be as valuable as trying to recreate classroom conditions at home in the final week of the term or during the holidays. Be kind to yourselves. You have a lot to deal with and keeping things as normal as possible will help everyone. Please keep in mind that they too have been working hard this term and are looking for a well-deserved break.

All education departments are taking steps to support at-home learning and are developing resources to support families in this area should the need arise. Please be assured that significant time and resources are being directed to this area. Parents and Carers are not responsible for developing these resources or seeking them out. Quality educational alternatives have been and continue to be developed.

As parents and carers, you have on other things to focus on at the moment. Your well being and the well being of your families is at the top of that list. Closely followed I'm sure by the desperate search for groceries that you are unable to collect!! Do what you need to do for your families first and foremost. We will be here, after the Easter break to support you with your child's education in whatever form that may take.

Thank you again to our amazing school staff. They have done and continue to be nothing short of wonderful. I am very grateful for their support and dedication. I am also very grateful for your patience and understanding. It is difficult keeping up with a situation that changes by the day, and I am very appreciative that you allow us space and time to get clear messages to our community. I know there have been many disruptions to our normal routines and again am grateful for your understanding. I am also incredibly grateful to our amazing students who continue to take this all in their stride. They have been great this term and deserve a break as much as anyone.

I sincerely hope that you stay safe and healthy over the break. Enjoy time together as a family, look after one another and those who need our help the most.

APRE

To our St Kieran’s Community,

Over the past few days I have watched our teachers prepare for online learning. Their dedication to provide the best possible learning alternative for our children is amazing! This is a new experience for us all and we ask for Jesus to help the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit in all of us to shine even brighter.

I know it is hard when we are all separate to keep connected. Religion lessons provided by your child’s teacher each week will include the Sunday Gospel readings. Reading and discussing these with your family will allow you to be part of the wider school and church community as we will all be doing the same. Also take the time to pray together as a family and even partake in Christian Meditation. I am sure your children can lead you in both. Links on how to partake in Christian Meditation and Daily Prayer can be found on Google Classroom sites.

The Sunday (Passion Sunday) or as it has become known and Palm Sunday we remember the Lord’s joyful entry into Jerusalem, The Gospels (Matthew 26:14-27:66) tells of crowds laying branches on the road before Jesus and proclaiming him as king, yet before the week is out, he has been betrayed and crucified. Palm Sunday highlights the paradox of Christ’s kingship; our palms represent his victory, but a victory that only comes through suffering and self-sacrifice.

The Easter Triduum refers to the three days in the Church’s calendar which expresses the central mystery of our Christian Faith. It begins with Holy Thursday as we focus on Jesus’ farewell work and deeds at the Last Supper. Good Friday is when we ponder the events of his suffering and death. It finishes with the Easter Vigil when we celebrate the liberation of humankind through Christ’s resurrection. The three stage sequence of worship allows us to take in an enormous mystery in small parts and to relate it to our own loves - the sorrows, joys, successes and failures. Of all the Church’s celebrations throughout the years, the Easter Triduum is considered the highpoint.

Our Parish subscription to Cath Family will help your family access children's liturgy resources each week. Here is the link to the 5th Sunday in Lent.

Your family can hear the Gospel reading, reflect, complete an activity and then join together in prayer. This resource is available free to families until 30th June 2020.

Username: GSP2020

Password: church

May we all be held in the Palm of God’s hands!

Peta Laffin
APRE

PARISH INFOMATION

DIOCESAN INFORMATION

Mass Livestream

During this closure of our Churches, there will be daily Livestream from the Sacred Heart Cathedral. This will happen at 10am Monday to Friday and Sundays. You can find the stream here

Prayer resources and other important information can be found the link below:

STOPline Service

The Diocese of Townsville has recently enhanced its Whistle-blower Program, which enables all workers, volunteers, parents of students and parishioners to play an active role in eliminating improper conduct in the Diocese. The Diocese has contracted an independent external whistleblower service STOPline to allow for confidential reporting.

The Diocese has defined Reportable Conduct in the Policy which can be found on the Diocesan website.

Reportable conduct includes suspected abuse, misconduct, mismanagement and policy breaches,

The Whistleblower Policy applies to the Diocese (including parishes), Townsville Catholic Education, Centacare North Queensland, Saints Catholic College and NWQICSS.

Information can be shared anonymously.

P: 1300 30 45 50
E: tsvcatholic@stopline.com.au
W: tsvcatholic.stoplinereport.com

Poster for Parish Noticeboards

CLASS PIECE – YEAR 4

CURRICULUM

Today we have begun sending out folders of work to each child for the first two weeks of school. Week One (20th - 24th April) and Week 2 (27th - 1st May). Work for your child is presented both electronically in the form of google classroom as well as booklets for Prep - Year 1. Other year levels have provided some photocopied sheets that are related to the google classroom work. Although it may be tempting to give this to your child to do in the holiday period please wait for the term to begin as we need all children to be working on the same topics at the same time.

If the school is still open to children of essential workers next term your child will be completing the same work at school and they will need to bring their folder of work to school with them to complete with their teacher.

At this stage we are unsure of what is happening beyond week 2. We will continue to keep families updated with what is happening as the information is given to us.

We have endeavoured to make the work as clearly set out and easy to follow as possible. The work has been set out in a timetable format. This timetable is at the top of each google classroom as well as printed in your child’s folder. This timetable is a guide, if you choose to present the activities in a different order or complete more on one day that is ok, as long as you are trying your hardest to complete as much work as possible within the week. There is not a specified length of time each day that children need to be working as each child works at their own pace to complete activities. If you feel they have been working too long for that day stop work and start again fresh the next day.

Once the term begins your child’s teacher will be contactable via email to help with anything you may need. Remember we are all on a steep learning curve, there is no such thing as a silly question.

Thank you to all of our amazing teachers and school officers for tackling this new challenge with such positivity and hard work. Be assured we all have the best interest of your beautiful children at the heart of everything we do.

Enjoy the time you have with your children and have a safe and restful Easter break.

PREP ENROLMENTS 2021

Families seeking enrolment of their child into Prep for 2021 are invited to complete an Application for Enrolment, available on our website 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 within our Prep groups for 2021, 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 2021. 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.

ESMART (CYBER SAFETY)

For the Students -
Some things online can trick us

Here are some things online that could be fake or designed to trick us:

• A news story that does not tell the truth or is not based on facts.
• A website that looks like a real business or app but is really trying to steal your money or personal information.
• An image that does not tell the whole story — it might be cropped or altered in some way to leave out important information.
• Someone who pretends to be someone else online. See things to watch out for with online friends for more info.

Look for clues that something is fake:

Be an online detective.

1. Ask lots of questions — question what you see and read online.
2. Check information — if you think a news story or something online is fake, check it by doing your own web searches. Look to see if the same facts are repeated in other news stories.
3. Check images — if you think an image or video might be fake or not tell the whole story, search online to see if there are different versions of the same image.
4. Correct the story — if your friends are spreading fake info or news online and you know the real story, share it with them.
5. Is it too good to be true? — if a website or story is hard to believe, or it offers you prizes or something for free, then it probably is fake.
6. Are things not adding up? — if the way someone chats online doesn’t match their profile and who they say they are, talk to your mum, dad, carer or an adult you trust.
7. Learn more about things to watch out for with online friends.

Talk to someone if you are unsure if something is fake, ask your mum, dad, carer or teachers. Together you can work out if it’s real or fake. Talking about it can also help you see things from a different viewpoint or angle.

LIBRARY

In the event that our St Kieran’s School remains student-free next term,

Week 1(Mon 20th-Fri 24th April) and Week 2(Mon 27th-Fri 1st May),

We would like to invite students to exchange their borrowed library books and home reading books from our Library.

Please feel welcome to visit our St Kieran’s Library during allocated times to exchange your books. If you have children in various year levels, simply attend one of the allocated times to exchange ALL books.

If you have any questions in regards to the Library, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Mell Anderson – manderson8@skm.tsv.catholic.edu.au

PLAYGROUP

Welcome to another year of fun at Little K’s! Playgroup will run every Monday from 8:30am-10am.

Little K’s Playgroup Term 1, 2020

TUCKSHOP

Did you know the tuckshop can make cupcakes for your child’s birthday? $1.00 each, please enquire at the office. Phone orders can also be made.