29 April 2021

Newsletter Articles

IMPORTANT DATES

Thursday 29th April - Mount Isa Cross Country Carnival
Friday 30th April - Free Dress Day (Plants)
Friday 30th April - Netball Gala Day
Monday 3rd May - Labour Day Public Holiday (No school day)
Friday 7th May - Free Dress Day - Fill a plate for cake and bake store
Friday 7th May - Mother’s Day Fete
Sunday 9th May - Mother’s Day
Friday 14th May - Free Dress Day (After School Fete)
Thursday 20th May - 800m event for Athletics Carnival (8:30am-10:00am)
Friday 21st May - Athletics Carnival (Prep, Year 1 &Year 2 go home at 12pm)

PRAYER / SPECIAL MESSAGE

God of all being, Giver of life, Trinity of love, through the waters of Baptism you gifted us as members of your Body, the Church.

You called us to carry the light of Christ and spread his word across all creation. Inspire us again in our passion for mission so we show the welcoming arms of Jesus to one another, to the stranger and to any who feel lost and abandoned.

Bless us across our diocese, and all its peoples, so we live with energy and joy on our journey to becoming new in Christ.

Mary, Help of Christians, pray for us.
St Joseph’s, pray for us.
Saint Kieran’s pray for us.

PRINCIPALS REPORT

Dear Parents, Grandparents, Carers and Friends,

Welcome back to Term 2!

I hope you all had a very Happy Easter and were able to spend some quality family times with loved ones. A great deal is happening this term across our school and I am sure it will be another highly successful one for our community. Within the next week will be our Mother’s Day Fete. This is one major event for our school and one of the main P&F schools income to help support the school and our students. I would greatly appreciate it if you can all help out on the night and volunteer 1 hour of your time. Our school Fete is not successful without the help. The P&F have been working very hard the last 3 months and I thank them for all of the work, hours and effort to make this happen for our school.

Some time through this term there will be a commencement of the new toilets. This project has been a highly anticipated one and one that will provide our students with outstanding facilities. I realise building is always a difficult process within schools and this will be amplified by the restrictions of our site. I am very confident that the work will proceed quickly and where possible with a minimum of disruption.

Next week we will have a pastoral visit by Bishop Tim. He is completing Confirmation of some of our students as they have been getting ready over a number of weeks and this is always a special time for families in their child’s religious development. Bishop Tim will spend some time with us next Friday which the students always love. He will be here for Assembly and then visiting classrooms.

We are still in the church season of Eastertime. A time of celebration and joy at the resurrection! Let us continue in the same spirit by continuing to support and help each other as we grow this community into a truly inclusive and empathetic one which reflects what it means to be a Catholic School.

Good Bless
Claudine Dank

RELIGIOUS LIFE OF OUR SCHOOL

The Word Sunday May 2nd Easter 5

Jesus said, “I am the true vine and my Father is the gardner. He prunes the fruitful branch so that it will bear fruit by itself; it can do so only if it remains in the vine. In the same way you cannot bear fruit unless you remain in me.” (John 3:18-24/John 15:1-8)

The grape vine was an important source of food and wine in Jesus’ time. Not all branches would bear fruit, and the garden’s job was to cut away these branches and to prune the fruitful branch to grow more grapes. When we stay close to him, we will be like the good branches - our loves will be fruitful and productive.

Jesus, you are the real vine! Keep us close to you so that we may be nourished by your love. Help us to bear lots of fruit. Amen

This Wednesday the 28th of April some of our St Kieran’s students will be making their Confirmation. They have been preparing over a number rof retreats and are now ready to receive this rite of initiation. The bishop will be present to anoint the candidate’s head with oil. It is a sacrament designed to strengthen people in their Christian faith and elicit from them a promise to live a life that witnesses Christ's presence.

PARISH INFORMATION

ALPHA: Adult ALPHA continues Tuesdays at 6.30pm in Edmund Rice Room. Everyone is welcome to come along. A group for younger working people will begin on Wednesday evenings from the 5th May at 6.30pm at St Joseph’s School. Good Shepherd Catholic College ALPHA begins again on Monday 10th May from 3.15pm.

Volunteers Wanted: If you can assist with meal preparation and serving in the Jangawala kitchen please contact the Parish Office on 4749 8555. All meals are served from 12 - 12.30pm daily.

Donations: Any pots suitable to grow cuttings for a Yallambee projey. Please leave for Fr Emene at the Church. Thank you.

Casual Staff for MMCNQ Centres

We are currently recruiting for casual staff to work in either our early learning centre, Kindergarten or out of school hours care services. Be supported by experienced early childhood teachers and educators, gain practical work experience and work in a fun and active work environment.

Interested in finding out more about our casual work opportunities in Mt Isa?

Contact our Area Coordinator, Nadia Russo on 0429 918 722

DIOCESAN BASED INFORMATION

Becoming New in Christ

As we continue our journey to Becoming New in Christ, Pope Francis inspires us to continue to explore how we believe in Christ.

"Although the life of a person is in a land full of thorns and weeds, there is always a space in which the good seed can grow. You have to trust God."

For more information and resources contact your Parish Office or visit

Plenary Council Update

As we journey towards the 1st Assembly of the Plenary Council, the ‘Working Document has been released. This document draws heavily on the voices heard during the Listening and Dialogue and Listening and Discernment phases of the Plenary Council, but also from other key sources. It is entitled Continuing the Journey.

There is now a regular Podcast to provide valuable insights into the journey the Catholic Church in on towards the Fifth Plenary Council of Australia. Episodes are available on Spotify and Anchor.

All other resources are available on the Plenary Council website –

Click here to visit the Plenary Council website

PREP ENROLMENTS 2022

Families seeking enrolment of their child into Prep for 2022 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 2022, 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 2022. 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.

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN

Each fortnight we will profile a section of our Annual School Improvement Plan for 2021. 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 AND TEACHING

NAPLAN

All students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 are expected to participate in NAPLAN tests. NAPLAN tests give you information on how your child is progressing against national standards. This information can be used to identify areas in which your child may benefit from additional assistance. NAPLAN does not replace, but rather complements assessments run by your child's classroom teacher throughout the year.

Parents or carers may withdraw their child from the tests to address issues such as religious beliefs and philosophical objections to testing. It is recommended that withdrawal be considered in consultation with your child's school. States and territories have different ways of managing student withdrawals, but formal notification must be received by the school principal prior to testing.

Wherever possible, schools will organise for individual students who are absent at the time of testing to complete missed tests at another time during the test window.

Detailed information about exemptions, withdrawals and absences from NAPLAN can be found on this website -

NAPLAN will be held on the 11th, 12th and 13th of May with catch up test being open the following week. If you have any concerns regarding your child’s participation in NAPLAN please contact your child’s teacher in the next 2 weeks.

HPE

Welcome back to Term 2 which is looking to be another exciting term in sport.

This term the Prep students will be completing a unit based on playing tagging and chasing games. Year 1+2 students are focussing on the skill of running and dodging and Years 3+4 will be doing an athletics unit. The Year 5+6 students are also doing an athletics unit but will also be learning about the components of fitness and participating in fitness circuits.

We have our school athletics carnival on Friday 21st May (Week 5) which will run all day for Years 3-6 students and from 8:15am-12pm for Prep-Year 2 students who can be picked up at 12pm by their parents/carers if possible. The 800m event will be held the day prior to the carnival (Thursday 20th May) from 8:30am – 10:00am (approx). The Mount Isa District athletics carnival will be held early in Term 3.

The Mount Isa District cross country carnival is being held this week and we look forward to seeing all our training being put to work on the day! Good luck to all students competing in this event!

We have the netball gala day and rugby league gala day this term as well which will be fun days for our Years 5+6 students participating. We wish all our students the best for these carnivals.

In Representative sport, selections trials will be coming up this term including Rugby League, touch football and 10-12yr soccer. These trials are for students who play the sport on a regular basis and are fully able and competitive players. Please check your emails to keep updated about information for these trials.

INDIGENOUS EDUCATION

This term we welcome Ms Laylee Armstrong and Ms Kiyah Mabb to our Indigenous Education team. These ladies will be working with all of our students throughout the week to support their learning.

This week we have also begun working with our Years 3-6 students to write their PLPs (Personal Learning Plans). Once the students have identified their goals we will put in a plan of action to support them to achieve personal success.

YOU CAN DO IT

Insert Karissa Smith Photo to the left

Persistence is one of the keys to achievement and wellbeing. Below are some ideas for parents to help reinforce what we teach in You Can Do It.

Step 1. Have Conversations with Your Child about What it Means to be Persistent

1. When you observe your child struggling with or giving up on a school project, say: “It’s tempting to give up when things are hard and you don’t feel like doing them anymore. When you give up on something, you are bound to fail. Persistence helps us as these times to keep going and not give up.”
2. When you hear your child saying, “This is boring. I hate this”, say: “We all have different things to do that are boring. I have learned that for me to be successful, it is important for me to keep going and to get it done rather than to put it off. This quality is called persistence.”
3. Illustrate with your child doing something where persistence pays off. For example, in practicing to ride a bike or when you spend a lot of time locating something you need from a shop, say: “You see, the more effort and persistence we put into things, the more successful we are.”

Step 2. Describe Examples of Persistent Behaviours to Practice

Select two or three examples of persistent behaviour that you want your child to practice to help him/her to become more persistent:

Say: “It’s really good if this week for you to keep trying to (select from the following list of behaviours your child finds frustrating and boring but necessary to do): finishing schoolwork before playing or socializing, checking or proofreading work when finished to make sure it’s correct, not being distracted by others of computer when having work to do, spending more time studying a subject that requires practice, continuing to try even when homework is hard, boring or annoying.

Step 3. Discuss Ways to Think that will Help Your Child to Be Persistent

1. When you see that your child has persisted at something he/she found frustrating and was successful as a result, say: “You see, hard work and effort in doing something you do not feel like doing leads to greater success” (Giving Effort Thinking)
2. In discussing with your child his/her approach to subject he/she finds to be difficult and boring, say: “You know, it’s easy to think that things you do at school should always be fun and exciting and when they are not you shouldn’t have to do them. At times when you have frustrating work to do, rather than thinking ‘I can’t be bothered,’ a more helpful way of thinking that helps you get through the work quickly and get it over is “To be successful, I sometimes have to do things I don’t feel like doing. No gain to pain” (Working Tough Thinking)
3. When you notice that your child has a mountain of work to do and seems like giving up, say: “I know it seems to you that you’ll never get through it all. A helpful way to think at these times is: “I haven’t been successful yet. When I work hard and try different ways to be successful, I get smarter. (Growth Mindset Thinking)

Step 4. Provide Behaviour Specific Feedback

When you catch your child being persistent, say: “You didn’t give up!” “You kept trying, great effort.” “Making that extra effort helps you learn.” “You sure didn’t give up easily.” “Your effort is very important. It helps you succeed.” “See. Persistence pays off.” “I can see you understand that to be successful, you sometimes have to do things you don’t feel like doing.” “The more you practice, the better you become.”

ESMART (CYBER SAFETY)

PRINCIPAL AWARDS

Sponsored by Mount Isa Coffee Club

Congratulations to:

Kennedie Robinson
Eastley Retchford
Jermaine Blackman
Lily-Mae Marshall

These students have worked so hard with their learning and the effort they have placed in their work. We are all super proud of them.

TUCKSHOP

All tuckshop orders are to be made online through Flexischools by 9.00am on the day required.

2020 Families - Please remember to change your child's classroom to their 2021 class prior to your first order this year.

In the app go to the profile tab - students - select student - click on the pencil and update the year level first and then class and press save.

Term 2 Meal Deals

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.

MOTHER’S DAY FETE

Free Dress Dates:

Friday 30th April - Plants
Friday 7th April - Fill a plate for cake and bake store
Friday 14th May - Free Dress - After School Fete.

Please ensure that students wear sun safe clothing (sleeved shirts) and correct footwear as students have PE lessons on these days.

We are also going to need as many volunteers as possible. If you are unable to come to a meeting and would like to help, please let the school know.

FETE SPONSORS

We give many thanks to the following businesses for their generous donations towards our Mother’s Day Fete.

COMMUNITY NOTICES

Want to keep your child(ren) safe when they are using technology but are not sure how?

Need assistance with setting boundaries around how much technology is used in your house?

Ever wondered how to set child restrictions on popular games, apps and websites?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, register for the upcoming webinars being presented by the esafety commissioner.

This Term 2 webinar will look at how parents and carers can set up devices and apps to help kids and young people stay safe online.

It is designed for parents and carers of children aged 4-13.

It will cover:

• the benefits and limitations of parental controls
• how to set up iOS and Android devices for safety
• how to set up popular games and apps like YouTube and Roblox for safety
• using family tech agreements and other parenting strategies to manage online risks
• how eSafety can help when things go wrong.

This webinar will include practical tips, demonstrations and advice.

Register for the webinar at: