17 September 2020

Newsletter Articles

IMPORTANT DATES

Tuesday 15th - Thursday 17th September - No Tuckshop
Friday 18th September - Last Day of School
Sunday 4th – Friday 9th October - Year 5 / 6 Camp
Monday 5th - Wednesday 7th October - Year 4 Camp
Tuesday 6th October – Term Four Starts
Monday 12th & Tuesday 13th October - Year 7 Orientation Day

PRAYER / SPECIAL MESSAGE

Mantra Prayer - (based on Psalm 46:10)

This prayer is best said with a pause for contemplation after each line.
Be still and know that I am God... (pause)
Be still and know that I am...(pause)
Be still and know... (pause)
Be still... (pause)
Be... (pause)

PRINCIPALS REPORT

As I sit here and reflect on a very busy and quick Term 3, I think about how I have enjoyed watching the learning of student success immensely. With what had happened in Term 2 there now seems to be a great time of the academic year that brings about connections and new levels of understanding that enthuses students and inspires teachers as we enter perhaps the busiest time of the year in Term 4. There have been many times this term that I see a stream of students from across the school visiting the office to receive a prize for positive slips or a sticker from me for their wonderful work.

The beginning of Term 4 will also be a time when we see much growth in our students in terms of their independence as they participate in the school camp programs. These programs give the students the opportunity to participate in increasingly educational and challenging activities, which all have been linked to the curriculum. The experiences our teachers plan incorporate spiritual retreats, team-building and leadership skills, whilst also enhancing social emotional skills, learning to understand each other, problem solving and overcoming fears.

Importantly, we see a significant strengthening in teacher/student relationships, often developing unique bonds because they get to see each other in a different light – outside the four walls of the classroom.

Parent Feedback - RADII Survey

Each year, our school provides parents, students and staff with the opportunity to provide input and feedback on our school via a RADII Survey. The RADII Survey addresses the Ten Characteristics of Effective Catholic Schools. We value the feedback from all key stakeholders of our school community. Once the feedback is collated, our Leadership Team reviews the data. We then review the data at a staff, P&F and School Board level. The valuable feedback helps to drive the future direction of our school. It is our hope that we will be able to gain 80% parental participation in the RADII Survey. A link was sent to all families, with a closing date of Friday 25th September. Please contact the office if you have not received a link. Our Year 5 and 6 students completed their surveys this week and 100% of school staff also have engaged with the survey. We thank all parents for their continued support of our school and for engaging with the RADII Surveys.

Thank you for all of the support that I have received this term and I wish you all the best for the holidays and please make sure that you and your families keep safe.

God Bless
Claudine Dank

RELIGIOUS LIFE OF OUR SCHOOL

The Prayer of the Week

Loving God, we are ready to search, ready to discover. Within this faith community, we will find the joy of friendship and adventure. As we search the scriptures, we will find stories and wisdom to guide us. In our contacts with other faith groups, we will find fresh insights, new perspectives. In the person of Jesus Christ, his teaching, his compassion, we will find a way to guide us, a call for us to act. Amen.

PARISH INFOMATION

Church Cleaning Roster

Please watch on the back page of the Bulletin for the roster. It will have to be carried out on Saturdays or by arrangements with the Parish Office. More volunteers for the ministry of Church Cleaning are really welcome.

Multicultural Festival 2020

First prize is $10,000 plus other fantastic prizes. Buy your tickets online at the link below. It will be drawn about the 30th October. If you would like a ticket you can also bring in your money to the school and we can organise a ticket for you.

Home Rosary in October

With October being the month of the Rosary we are still planning Home Rosary meets. Numbers may be limited in each house but we hope to continue with our tradition. Please contact Ellen Britand to select a date and time for your place.

DIOCESAN INFORMATION

Clergy Foundation Appeal

Thank you for your generosity and support of last week’s annual Clergy Foundation Appeal. The Clergy Foundation currently support six retired Priests in the Townsville Diocese and they thank you for your support. Your donations will allow the Diocese to provide for a basic lifestyle for these Priests who have ministered across the Diocese over many years and some still do. You can still donate by collecting an envelope from the Parish Office or contact the Diocesan Office. Please also consider the Clergy Foundation when discussing your Will. Contact the Diocesan Office for more details. We thank you for your continued generosity.

World Day of Prayer for Creation Retreat

Leading in to the World Day of Prayer for Creation (September 1) and Season of Creation (1 September – 4 October), Catholics are encouraged to participate in a first-of-its-kind retreat. The “7 Days of Creation Reflection-Retreat” has been prepared by Columban priest Fr Charles Rue, whose ministry has for many years had a focus on the Catholic understanding of care for the environment.

A complete resource guide can be found on the ACBC website

Mass Livestream

Sunday Mass from the Sacred Heart Cathedral will continue to be Live Streamed for the community. You can find the stream here

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

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.

LEARNING & TEACHING

Over the last 5 weeks our Year 5 class have been learning about how groups can create in their community. The children all completed an environmental audit on the school and from that formed into 5 groups (or parties) to decide on a project of their choice. The parties and their project are as follows:

Caring For Country Party - this group plans to encourage more Australian native plants in the school grounds. They are hosting a coloured clothes day this Friday to raise money for their plants and will purchase and put these in themselves after the holidays.

Transport Party - these students worked to encourage active travel to school by organising a very successful Walk Safely to School Day on Monday.

Health and Fitness Workers - this very enthusiastic group organised and facilitated regular boot camps during lunchtimes to promote active bodies and fitness at school.

Save the Waste Party - these dedicated students organised the purchase of new recycling bins to be placed around the school. They have also committed to emptying the recycling bins each week for the rest of the year.

Bug Hotel Group - this group have created a bug hotel to encourage bug life in our school with an information poster to teach younger students about the importance of eco systems being established.

We have all been so impressed with the enthusiasm all of these groups have displayed towards their chosen project and the way in which they have worked cooperatively to achieve their goals.

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 (www.skmtsv.catholic.edu.au) 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)

FREE CYBERBULLYING TRAINING FOR PARENTS

Parents and carers have new tools to help pull the plug on cyberbullying with $440,000 from the Palaszczuk Government.

Minister for Child Safety, Youth and Women Di Farmer said free access was now available to online cyberbullying training and eResources from Parentline and yourtown.

“This is online training aimed at adults with children or young people at risk of, or who are already the target of cyberbullies,” Ms Farmer said.

“We know cyberbullying is as insidious and as it is prevalent.

“It’s distressing that more than half of young Australians report they’ve experienced psychological distress from cyberbullying on social media and online chat sites.

“The Premier has urged social media platforms to be part of the solution and work harder to help create a safer online environment.

“But, social media platforms and easily to use privacy settings are just one part of the picture; parents and carers also owe it to their children to keep them safe in cyberspace.

“As a parent myself, I know how hard it can be to have the conversations we should have with our teenagers about cyber safety and appropriate online behaviour.

“That’s where online cyberbullying training and eResources from Parentline and yourtown can help to arm parents and carers with the information you need to know about internet bullies and how they operate.”

Tracy Adams CEO of Yourtown, welcomed the Palaszczuk Government’s funding.

“Not only has it helped us to develop training and eResources, we’ve also employed a cyberbullying consultant to provide advice to communities across Queensland,” Ms Adams said.

“Parentline has also developed training for all our counsellors so we can deliver parent and carer support by phone, web chat or email.

“Our training was developed with the support and expert knowledge of the eSafety Commissioner and we are working with health and education community networks to ensure copies of the eResources are available publicly, or on request.”

Ms Farmer said the Palaszczuk Government was committed to supporting parents, carers and young people with the skills and knowledge to beat cyberbullying.

“No one wants their child to be the victim of cyberbullying, nor the instigator of cruel, nasty and harmful online behaviour,” Ms Farmer said.

“Bullying isn’t acceptable in the playground and it shouldn’t be tolerated online either.

“As Queenslanders, we all have a responsibility to make a stand against bullying regardless of whether it occurs in the real or virtual worlds.”

Last year more than 83,500 users accessed Parentline’s website to gain the tools to beat cyberbullying.

To connect with Parentline’s cyberbullying training and eResources go to:

The BRAVE program is a free, interactive, online therapy program for worried children and teenagers (and their parents). The sessions go for an hour a week for a 10-week period.

WAHOO / STEM

This year the Year 6 students all participated in the Opti-MINDS challenge! It was a little different to previous years with this year's challenges all being submitted online and video recorded by the students and teachers. Congratulations to all of the Year 6 students who put in an amazing effort over the last 6 weeks to plan, prepare and present their solutions. We are all extremely impressed with your teamwork and problem solving!

Honours Award: A special congratulations to the Science Engineering Team 1 students who received an honour award within their division!

Well done to Titan Morrison, Mason Currey, Jack Colthup, Tristan Cameron, Allysha Paul, Kaitlyn Lagiono and Ethan Watson!

Spirit of Opti-MINDS award: A special congratulations to the Social Sciences Team 4 students who received a Spirit of Opti-MINDS award within their division! Well done to Mary Whitney, Allison Thomson, Christine Rackham, Ashtyn Tully, Julie Sayson and Ayla Thompson!

QUEST FOR KNOWLEDGE

The Quest for Knowledge is a competition run by Townsville Catholic Education. On Tuesday 8 September the competition was completed in an online type forum with many other schools in the diocese.

The competition is an academic style match with teams competing to give the answer to a series of questions which cover: general knowledge, literacy, numeracy, Indigenous studies and Religious Education.

Four Year 6 students were chosen to represent our school at this wonderful event.

Congratulations to Hayley Winks, Damian Saunders, James Kleinmann and Jessica Tokawa who represented our school proudly! Well done!

LIBRARY / CHILD PROTECTION

ECO WARRIORS

Two weeks ago we were interviewed by the local ABC radio about our garden project. They got to see first hand the enthusiasm of our little gardeners and their love of the space they have created.

Our tomato plants have been going crazy!!! Last week we made enough bruschetta to feed the whole school using our home grown tomatoes. We also have enough left over to begin making tomato relish to sell. Our spinach is coming along nicely as well as our zucchini and beans. We are hoping to get the last of our planting in the next few weeks so we can harvest before the Christmas school holidays and rest our garden over the summer.

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.

PLAYGROUP

Monday Mornings between 8.30am - 10am. Open for all community members ages between 1 - 4year olds. While we always have a plan for each week, activities are child directed, letting them explore, create and learn at their own pace.

Last week at Little K’s we had an amazing morning meeting new friends and getting busy doing some drawing and collage. We had a pop-up “Art Museum” followed by plenty of fun exploring the new big kid’s playground.

This week the children busied themselves with cutting and sticky tape, while the parents relaxed and shared their ideas and go-tos for music, both for their kids and for themselves.