25 June 2020

Newsletter Articles

IMPORTANT DATES

Friday 26th June - Last Day of school
Tuesday 14th July - First day of school - Term 3
Sunday 26th July - Saturday 1st August - Catholic Education Week
Friday 7th August - IPRASS Rodeo Holiday

PRINCIPALS REPORT

Dear Parents and Carers,

As we quickly come to the end of a very different few weeks once again, amidst the difficulties it is important to look for some positives and to be grateful. We are living in turbulent times and in recent weeks have been confronted and challenged on many levels. So amongst all of these challenges what am I grateful for?

I am grateful for our students, for their perseverance, for their flexibility in adapting to new situations, for their kindness and their willingness to support one another. How amazing has it been to see all of our students playing with one another during lunch times. I am incredibly proud of their efforts.

I am grateful to our staff for the myriad of ways they have continued to provide our students with opportunities despite restrictions and cancellations. The fact that despite everything that has been thrown at them in the last 13 weeks, our staff have looked for and delivered upon, new ways and opportunities to work with students and support their learning.

I am grateful for your ongoing support of the school. Our Parents and Friends association are once again looking for opportunities to support our families and events for the school. While we were unable to hold the Mother’s Day Fete this term, the P&F have supported this and we may hold something slightly different next semester, so stay tuned. Again obstacles have been placed before us but their ability to be flexible and supportive means that our students will not miss out.

There are many other reasons to be grateful and I would urge everyone to look for something, even the smallest of things for us to give thanks for in 2020.

With this being our last week for Term 2. I am very happy that it is over. It has been an interesting journey to say the least. I do hope that you all enjoy your family time, maybe travel around QLD, but just to spend time with family without other interruptions I think will be amazing. We are off on a small road trip and I cannot wait. Just to be in the company of my family is all that I need.

Have an amazing holiday and I will see you all in Term 3.

God Bless
Claudine Dank

APRE

Over the next two weeks the Catholic Church celebrates the birth of John the Baptist (24th of June), The feast Day of St Peter and St Paul (29th of June) and St Thomas the Apostle. John the Baptist was a contemporary of Christ who was known for evangelization and his baptizing of Jesus Christ. John the Baptist was born through the intercession of God to Zachariah and Elizabeth, who was otherwise too old to bear children. According to scriptures, the Angel Gabriel visited Elizabeth and Zachariah to tell them they would have a son and that they should name him John. When Elizabeth was pregnant with John, she was visited by Mary, and John leapt in her womb. This revealed to Elizabeth that the child Mary carried was to be the Son of God. John began public ministry around 30 AD, and was known for attracting large crowds across the province of Judaea and around the Jordan River. When Jesus came to him to be baptized, John recognized him and said, "It is I who need baptism from you." Jesus told John to baptize Him anyway, which he did, whereupon the heavens opened, and the Spirit of God was seen like a dove. The voice of God spoke, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

Lord, we will sing forever of your love! Make us your disciples and to welcome your Holy Spirit into our hearts.
Amen.

PARISH INFOMATION

Welcome back to Mass!

We are allowed 100 people to come to each Mass. However, attendance will be rostered for the 9am Sunday Mass so you must book in if you wish to attend that Mass as we usually have more than 100 attend at this Mass each week. Please contact the Parish office on 47498555 to be added to our contact list.

Remember: 3S’s - Sign in - Sanitise - Social Distance!

Jangawala - Calling for volunteers to help on Saturdays or Sundays for the meal at 3.30pm. If you can help, let the Parish office know. You can prepare some food for a meal or come along and help serve and clean up.

School Holidays - With school holidays upon us, please let the Parish Office know is you will be away and are usually rostered on for Ministries at Mass of a Sunday.

SCHOOL RENEWAL PLAN AT ST KIERANS

Each fortnight we will profile a section of our Annual School Improvement Plan for 2020. This is the document that guides our plans and priorities for the year. We prepare this document based on initiatives set by the Townsville Catholic Education Office and through consultation with our school stakeholders: parents, staff and students.

CURRICULUM

Compass Parent Portal / Semester Reports

A reminder that Semester Report Cards will be uploaded to the Compass Portals on the last day of Term 2. If you do not have access to your Parent Portal, please contact the School Office as soon as possible so that we can assist.

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 at 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 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.

Refer an enrolment to our Prep class for 2021 and receive a $100 Kmart voucher:

• This promotion applies to Prep enrolments at St Kieran's Catholic School, Mount Isa only
• For every Prep enrolment referred by one of our existing school parents/carers, the referrer will receive a $100 Kmart voucher. The referral must be validated by both the enrolling family and the referrer at the time of the enrolment application being received.
• $100 Kmart voucher can only be claimed by existing families of St Kieran's Catholic School, Mount Isa (enrolment must be valid up to and including 20 January 2021)
• This promotion is being conducted by Townsville Catholic Education (ABN 13622319794) 2 Gardenia Avenue, Kirwan QLD 4817
• Information collected as part of this promotion will only be used for the purpose of notifying the families of their vouchers, in accordance with the Diocesan Education Council Privacy Policy. Information collected for enrolments will be used for the purpose outline in the Diocesan Education Council Privacy Policy

ESMART (CYBER SAFETY)

Due to the school holidays coming up. I am sure there will be plenty of online gaming. A link to esafety will give you a guide to online gaming. A brief outline of the page below.

Online games can be great fun for your child, but make sure you can help them manage the risks.

Many games can improve your child’s coordination, problem-solving and multi-tasking skills, as well as help build social skills through online interactivity with other players. But it is also important to understand what might go wrong and have a negative impact on your child.

This page is for parents and carers. It covers:

• How to create a safer gaming environment for your child
• Is your child spending too much time gaming?
• Grooming and bullying through in-game chat
• Limiting in-game purchases
• Games with gambling themes

LIBRARY

To enable us to keep track of our Library Books, a note will go home to students who may have outstanding library books that need returning.

If you could try and locate these books & have them returned to school next term, it would be greatly appreciated. Alternatively, if these books can not be found, simply return the note stating this situation and this can be addressed accordingly.

Safe & Happy Holidays,
Mell Anderson

HPE

Hi all, Mount Isa School Sport is up and running again in Term 3. Please see the below information from Linda Ashburn:

“Consistent with the Roadmap to easing Queensland’s restrictions, the department will recommence a staged reintroduction of school sport from Term 3 2020. From 10 July 2020, in line with the Queensland Government’s Stage 3 easing of restrictions, schools will be able to conduct inter-school and representative school sport for both indoor and outdoor sports. Selected Queensland state championships will also take place in Term 3 and Term 4 2020.

Resources , including FAQs, planning documents and an interim calendar of state championship events, are available to support schools and regions to get ready to recommence training, competitions and programs in a safe, responsible and low risk manner that complies with the latest health advice. This reboot of school sport will significantly contribute to getting life back to normal for Queensland students.”

A DRAFT NW calendar has been posted on the NWSS Website and I would encourage parents to have a look at the web page as this is where all the latest information will be provided about the return to school sport in Term 3.

The following School Sports will be offered to students for 2020:

• Golf
• Squash
• Softball
• Netball
• Hockey
• Basketball
• Cricket

If your student is skilled and proficient in one or more of the above sports, and would like to nominate to be part of a district or regional team, please email Mrs Lloyd for more information.

WAHOO

In Term 3, we will need lots of cereal boxes, tissue boxes and cylinders in our STEM activities. If you could bring your empty containers and boxes to school that would be greatly appreciated!

How we Love One Another at St Kieran’s..

The Well-Being of all members of the St Kieran’s community is very important. Life is a journey for all and there are times when we need a little bit of help to understand the world around us. For our children, it is important that they learn to recognise and regulate their own emotions and how their actions affect others. Here at St Kieran's we are very lucky to have a range of programs that can be implemented as a whole class, small groups or one on one to assist our students. This year the Zones of Regulation Program has been implemented across the whole school. Once a week, each class is involved in the zones language and strategies are used throughout the week. This gives the school a common language to use when conversations occur in the playground and in the classroom. You might hear your child mentioning the zones colours and tools they may use to regulate their emotions. At the beginning of the year, teachers received training in how to run Circle Time. This is a strategy that is used when the class may be experiencing friendship difficulties or any other issues that may arise throughout the year. At St Kieran's we have access to a number of programs (Anxiety Gremlins, Social Thinkers, Secret Agent Society, Circle Time, Social Speaking Games, etc.) to focus on students' well-being. When our Parent Engagement Room reopens in Term 3, examples of these programs can be viewed and keep an eye out for parent sessions that will be run to help with Zones of Regulation at home.

Earlier this year I attended a MAPA (Management of Actual or Potential Aggression) Certified Instructors Programme. The programme is designed to enhance the understanding and management of disruptive, aggressive, challenging, or violent behaviour and aims to ensure that everyone involved in crisis situations, which include these behaviours, can maintain the Care, Welfare, Safety, and Security of all involved. The programme ensures that you have the necessary skills to manage risk behaviour when it does occur, using a range of MAPA physical interventions that aim to minimise risk without damaging the professional and supportive relationship that is established with the individual in your care. As a qualified instructor, this programme, which is recognised as best practice, I will be able to deliver this to all staff at St Kieran’s in the near future.

The benefits of a strong parent -school relationship

When you have a strong and respectful relationship with your child’s school and teachers, you are in a good position to give them the information they need to help your child get the most out of his/her education. You and your child’s teacher can work to support your child’s learning and wellbeing. How can you do this? Be involved in the school community, talking informally with teachers at school drop-offs and pick-up times or by email or phone if more appropriate, go to parents-teacher interviews and parent meetings and check the school website, noticeboard, emails, newsletter and the Facebook page regularly. Establishing a relationship with our child’s school is a two-way process. For example, you can ask the school and teachers for information or feedback. You can also share your child’s special events or achievements outside of school. Talking about school with your child, being warm and friendly at school events, and being positive about the school and staff sends the message that you value education and are interested in what’s happening for your child at school. Relationship is not just about direct contact, but also includes relationships with other parents, your child’s friends and teachers.

TUCKSHOP

Thursday Meal Deals

Term 3

Did you know the tuckshop could make cupcakes for your child’s birthday? $1.00 each, please enquire at the office for an order form.

COMMUNITY NOTICES

CANCELLED - 2020 Rock Pop Mime Show

Due to COVID-19 Apex Mount Isa has cancelled this year's Rock Pop Mime Show. The event will be back again on the 15th of October 2021.