6 August 2020

Newsletter Articles

IMPORTANT DATES

Thursday 6th August - Opening of the Sacred Garden
Friday 7th August - IPRASS Rodeo Holiday
Sunday 30th August - Jangawala - Cook and Serve

PRINCIPALS REPORT

Dear Parents and Carers,

With some states struggling once again with COVID outbreaks it is timely to remind everyone that while restrictions in Queensland have relaxed schools are still being asked to reduce risk by continuing to promote social distancing. Advice from Queensland Catholic Education is included below.

Physical distancing within schools

Schools should encourage staff, parents and other adult visitors to observe physical distancing measures by not congregating in areas inside or around the school. Local school arrangements to practise physical distancing and minimise the interaction of students and adults within the school and at school entry points may include:

• restricting adult (including visitors and parent) access to school grounds.
• supervision at school gates, including during, drop off and pick up times and supervised movements between the school gate and classrooms.
• minimising adult access to office environments and recommending contact be made to the school via electronic means.

While the school at this time is not enforcing these suggestions I would ask all families to consider their options and where possible limit their levels of interaction and maintain sensible social distancing protocols within the school where possible. I would also like to say thankyou to the way how parents were at assembly being 1.5m apart and filling out the form. All of your assistance is greatly appreciated.

Uniforms and Hair

Today staff have spoken to all students about wearing the correct school uniform and the dress code. The dress code and description of our uniform can be found on our website. Also please be mindful of your child’s hair as per the school prospectus which can also be found on the website there is a requirement of this school that hair is neat and tidy and boys' haircuts are well groomed. We are starting to see extreme fashionable styles i.e. shaved patterns in hair, tracks or rats tails and hair dyes / coloured, will not be acceptable. These are hair styles for holidays and not for school. It is important that we all work together to ensure that our students know the expectation when it comes to wearing of our uniform to school and their hair styles. I thank you in advance for your cooperation in this matter.

Recently the Diocesan Education Council revised their Privacy Policy. As part of this review, I would ask that you familiarise yourself with the information outlined below. As always should you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me to discuss.

COLLECTION OF INFORMATION

The school collects personal information, including sensitive information, about pupils and parents or guardians before and during the course of a pupil's enrolment. This may be in writing, through technology systems or in the course of conversations. The primary purpose of collecting this information is to enable us to provide schooling to pupils enrolled at the school, exercise our duty of care, and perform necessary associated administrative activities, which will enable pupils to take part in the activities of the school. Some of the information collected is to satisfy legal obligations. The Townsville Catholic Education Office Collection Notice for Schools and Privacy Policy offers more detailed information about information collection and can be found on our school website.

PHOTOGRAPH/VIDEO/SOCIAL MEDIA PERMISSION

On occasion, information such as academic and sporting achievements, pupil activities and similar news is published in school and Townsville Catholic Education newsletters and magazines, intranet, social media pages, websites or otherwise shared with the Townsville Catholic Education/school community. This may include photographs and videos of pupil activities such as sporting events, concerts, masses, assemblies, school camps and school excursions. Copyright of images is retained by the Townsville Catholic Education Office, the Diocese of Townsville or their contractor, and there is no remuneration or compensation for the images. If you DO NOT wish to consent to your child's photograph/video appearing in any or all of the above, or if you wish to withdraw this authorisation and consent, you must notify the school in writing.

Take Care, God Bless
Claudine Dank

APRE

The Word

The Year 5 class will lead our community in a prayer service for St Mary of the Cross Mackillop on Monday the 10th of August at 8.40am. If God is the centre of the Catholic School, then prayer and liturgy play a unique and critical role in the formations of our Catholic identity. God can hardly be at the centre of the school if our community does not spend time with God in prayer. The feast day (usually the 8th of August) this year falls on the weekend and will be celebrated on Monday as it is a very important part of the religious life of our school. St Mary Mackillop is the patron saint of Australia, the Townsville Diocese and through the Sisters of St Joseph’s, she has a special connection with our school.

PARISH INFOMATION

Mass

The Church can now take up to 100 people for Mass. If you are interested in going to Mass please make sure that you sign-in, sanitise and social distance.

Alpha

ALPHA will return on Tuesday, August 4th, at 6.30pm. If you are interested in participating and need some information please contact Fr. Mick, Kath Byrnes or Lorna Fisher.

Bingo

Would you please consider helping out with Bingo at the Irish Club on Sundays from 12.30pm. Next Sunday could be the last Sunday that we have workers for it.

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.

SCHOOL POLICIES

St Kieran’s has two policies that I would like you to read. If you have any comments in regards to these policies please let Claudine know.

CCTV

Fees

YOU CAN DO IT

In You Can Do It this term, the classes will be covering the following topics:

Prep: Persistence; Organisation
Year 1 and 2: Confidence; Persistence
Year 3: Getting Along and Confidence
Year 4: Emotions; Relationships (Getting along well with others, Making andKeeping friends); Humour

Year 5 and 6: Emotions; Relationships; Humour

If you would like additional information on these topics or have any questions, feel free to contact me: ksmith37@skmtsv.catholic.edu.au

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 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.

HPE

Our House Championship is off to a wonderful start with 2 very close games last week. The year 4/5 game ended with a 1-0 victory to Corella while the year 6 game was a 1-1 draw!

The year 2/3 game will be held this week so we will see if Moondarra can even the score.

Prep and Year 1 students will start their lap challenges this week to add points for their house.

In MISSA news, there will be a cricket trial on Wed 12th Aug. Notes went home to students who requested them on Tuesday. If your student has played cricket in the past and is a capable player, please let Mrs Lloyd know if they are interested. Notes are available at the office but need to be returned ASAP.

We also have 2 students – Marnie Caldwell and Sienna Wilson - travelling to Charters Towers to see if they can get selected in the Northern Region 10-12yrs girls softball team to compete at the State Championship. We wish them the very best of luck!

In PE classes, the years 3-6 students are continuing their units in athletics to prepare for the athletics carnival (date to be confirmed) as well as their respective Cricket + All Codes Football units. Prep-Year 2 students are continuing their catching and throwing unit involving rotations and fun games to develop their fundamental movement skills.

INDIGENOUS EDUCATION

St Kieran’s Catholic School celebrated NAIDOC with a bit of a difference this week. During this time, St Kieran’s would have held their annual Mini Murri’s Under 8s day however due to the limits placed on participants, the school limited their celebrations this year to just the students at their school. The whole day of activities (on 4th of August) combined NAIDOC Week themes, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Children’s Day and Townsville Catholic Education Eco Warriors week. Students were broken into mixed aged groups and activities included: Caring for Country, Getting Deadly!, Just Chillin’ and Move Your Body!

Under Caring for Country, students were involved in making animal tracks in sand, rock painting and looking for bird life. Students listened to the story and created environmental art of the Kalkadoon Totem - The Black Cockatoo. Students also made bird feeders to go around the school. Get Deadly! was a combination of cultural activities that encompassed the 2020 NAIDOC theme ‘Always Was, Always Will Be’. Students engaged in identifying how local landscapes have changed in the Mount Isa area to develop and understanding that country does not change and our Indigenous people have a long history of caring for country. Other activities included, bracelet making, plaited wristband, boomerang painting and looking at artwork. Just Chilln’ activities allowed the students to sit back and enjoy some Dreaming stories on screen, indigenous puzzles, NAIDOC colouring and illustrating Dreaming stories. Students’ even participated in ‘Move It Mob Style’ dancing as a warm up before playing Indigenous games on the oval.

A huge thank you to our Year 6 students who took on the responsibility of leading activities throughout the day.

TUCKSHOP

Thursday Meal Deals

Term 3

Please ensure that all Tuckshop orders are written on a brown paper bag before being handed into the office.

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.

PLAYGROUP

Monday Mornings between 8.30am - 10am. Open for all community members ages between 1 – 4 year old’s.