10 June 2021

Newsletter Articles

IMPORTANT DATES

Friday 11th June - Gala Day (League)
Wednesday 16th June - Deadly Smiles Fluoride Screening Visit
Friday 18th June - Mount Isa Show Day Holiday (NO SCHOOL)
Friday 25th June - Last Day of Term Two
Monday 12th July - Term three commences
Wednesday 14th July - Mount Isa District Athletics carnival (by invitation only)

PRAYER / SPECIAL MESSAGE

The Francis Factor (Reflecting on the Words & Wisdom of Pope Francis)

Selfishness and Self-Absorption

Jesus is the incarnation of the Living God, the one who brings life amid so many deeds of death, amid sin, selfishness, and self-absorption. Jesus accepts, loves, uplifts, encourages, forgives, restores the ability to walk, gives back life. (Pope Francis, homily, 16June2013)

Reflection

With Jesus ’example in mind, where is God calling you to encourage, forgive, and restore? Do you need God to encourage and restore you? Ask God to help you bring new life amid death, sin, and selfishness.

PRINCIPALS REPORT

Week 8 I can not believe! This term has just seemed to fly by and we have achieved so many activities and the students have completed so much work. The Bravehearts team again visited St Kieran’s last week to speak to our Prep to Year 2 students about child protection. The organisation aims to educate students about prevention and protection through understanding about personal safety and safe people. An essential part of their program and presentations encourages children to speak to someone they trust when they feel unsafe or unsure. By now you should have a book that was sent home. It would be great if you can go through this book with your child.

Some students have been bringing mobile phones to school for various reasons to use before and after school. The policy is that phones need to be handed in at the office before school and picked up after school. No student should have a mobile phone in their bags. Please ensure your children know this and to do the right thing. We do not want any phones being misused or broken for not following this simple rule. If we find a phone or it goes off in their bag, parents will be called to come in and pick up the phone.

Teachers are now in the process of finalising assessments for the term and preparing Semester One reports. These reports will reflect how your children are going in their learning journey. There should be no surprises on these documents if open communication has been occurring. Classroom teachers will be spending hours collating and ensuring the report reflects accurately how your children have achieved. Remember that these achievements are a year long process, and we are only approaching halfway. Also remember that a "C" is not equivalent to "average". This mark means that your child is achieving at the level they should be for their age. It takes a great deal of effort to achieve this. Please don't compare to when you were at school. Times have changed. I thank my teaching staff for all their efforts in preparing these reports that will go out at the end of the term. Semester reports will be available in Week 10 and accessed through your Compass portal. If you have any questions in regards to logging in please see the office staff.

Take Care
Claudine Dank

RELIGIOUS LIFE OF OUR SCHOOL

The Word - 11th Ordinary Time

Jesus said, “The Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed. It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it is planted it grows into the biggest shrub of them all. It puts out big branches so that the birds can shelter in it.” (Mark 4:26-34)

Jesus reminds us that every little act of kindness, love, caring etc. grows into a greater presence of God in our world (like a mustard seed).

We give you thanks, Lord God. In you we are planted. Grow our faith.
Amen.

A Special Note from Drew Lane

‘I just wanted to write and say THANK YOU for such an amazing week with you all. It was a brilliant time with each of the schools, and I came away from each school with a wonderful sense of your unique school spirit and community.

It was an honour to be a part of the celebrations for the 200 years of Catholic education, but to also work with your students and get to meet each and every one of you. From the mass at the Cathedral in Townsville, to Good Shepherd in Mt Isa, then off to St Joseph’s in Cloncurry, and back to St Kieran’s and St Joseph’s in Mt Isa - the whole week was a beautiful celebration of life, love and faith.

Every day I would think about the “big" moments: like how every student at St Kieran's knew “Go Out” or “Our Faith Is Our Strength” at St Joseph’s Mt Isa, how the I could hear the Bishop singing “Highest Honour” in Townsville, or seeing all the year 9’s shouting “We Are One” at the Good Shepherd liturgy, or seeing the mayor of Cloncurry and his wife join with the school community in dance at St Joseph’s.

But it’s also the little moments of connection that really resonate and make every visit memorable - from the shy Henry who found his way onto stage, to sending a video message to Ryan who wasn’t feeling well, to having Bianca come up and talk about her goals and dreams, to my fellow Hamilton fans who rapped with me, having Danielle (Mount Isa Mayor) dance with us in Song Of The Spirit, and so many many more. You all are to be commended on the wonderful way your students embrace their faith and also the ethos of your respective schools.’

PARISH INFORMATION

Parish Sacramental Program - Reconciliation 2021

The Reconciliation Sacramental Program will begin in Term 3. The program will consist of 2 one hour sessions run in consecutive weeks. The sessions will be held at Good Shepherd Catholic College (day and time TBA), St Kieran's and St Joseph's. Please see the dates and times for these sessions below:

St Kieran's Catholic School

Monday 19 July 3:30pm
Monday 26 July 3:30pm

St Joseph's Catholic School

Wednesday 21 July 3:30pm
Wednesday 28 July 3:30pm

All new families are welcome to join the students who have just completed their Confirmation and Communion at one of the sessions listed above.

Please contact the schools or the parish office for more information.

DIOCESAN BASED INFORMATION

Support Mass on television

Many people who are isolated, in prison, in hospital or don’t have internet rely on Mass for You at Home. The Catholic Mass is broadcast free-to-air each Sunday morning on Channel 10 and WIN at 6am. Can you support the project, through prayers or financial support? Find out more at the link below:

Mass for You at Home

Did you know Catholic Mass is broadcast on free-to-air television each Sunday morning? Mass for You at Home is broadcast at 6am on Channel 10 and WIN. Let family and friends know that they can pray along at home if they are unable to attend their local parish. Find out more at the link below:

PREP ENROLMENTS 2022

IS YOUR CHILD STARTING PREP IN 2022?

Families seeking enrolment of their child into Prep for 2022 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 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

Reports

Our Semester One reports will be released on Compass on Thursday 24th of June. These reports will be accessible through the Compass app. Please ensure you have your Compass logins. With a changeover of systems in the past month we have found that some logins are currently not working, please check yours to ensure you have access to your child’s report. If you need help downloading or accessing the app please let us know.

Action Maths Update

Our Year 3 & 4 classes are not the only ones to benefit from hands-on Maths activities. Last week our Yr 6 class took to the oval to show square numbers using the math mats and cones. The numbers got so big that we combined mats and when the kids ran out of cones they started using shoes, hats and whatever else they could find!

INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

Do you, or someone you know, need help to join the National Disability Insurance Scheme?

If you would like to discuss this further please contact Mrs Peta Laffin plaffin@skmtsv.catholic.edu.au

Transitions to Secondary School

Positive Partnerships (Supporting Students on the Autism Spectrum) has a range of free Webinars for parents and teachers to support all students. As we are almost halfway through the school year some of your minds might be thinking of your child’s upcoming secondary schooling. Transitions can be challenging for teenagers when negotiating secondary school environments and planning for post school options.

In the webinar link below, the following is explored:

• Explored secondary school environments and the impact they have on transitions
• Shared how individual strengths and interests can support transition planning
• Discussed strategies to support successful transitions and planning for change
• Reflected on the value of a collaborative approach to planning that includes the voice of your young person

Transitions the Secondary School

HPE

Congratulations to Boh and Lucas who have made the North West Queensland school boys soccer team and will travel to Toowoomba to participate in the State Championships in July! Amazing work and we are all very proud of you both!

We will be starting training for those students who were selected in the St Kieran’s team to participate in the Mount Isa District Athletics carnival in Week 1 next term.

Next term we will also be participating in the touch football and soccer inter-school gala days – I will be asking for interested Year 5+6 students to take a permission note home this week.

YOU CAN DO IT

In Years 4 to 6, we are beginning to focus on “Looking on the Bright Side.” Here is some information for you, as parents, to help in having a discussion about this at home:

Thinking optimistically means that you expect things to mostly turn out well. You focus on the positives rather than the negatives in a situation. It also means that you understand that setbacks and difficult times happen to everyone but that things get better. Teaching your child to be optimistic will help them to ‘bounce back’ when they face difficulties, frustrations and problems. It means that when they are faced with a problem, they will be more likely to look for solutions rather than stop trying and give up.

Key messages to communicate to your child about being optimistic:

Look on the bright side.

This means being positive and expecting that things will work out well or get better. When you look on the bright side you believe that good things CAN happen to you and you don’t give up easily.

Be a positive tracker.

A positive tracker looks for the good things in themselves, in others, and in what happens in their life. They are more fun to be with and others like them more and want to be their friend.

Look for the good parts in the bad things that happen.

Sometimes things happen that you don’t like. But you can usually find something good in the situation if you try. Sometimes the good things are that it could have been worse, the lesson you learnt from it or a small good thing happened even if the rest was bad.

Bad times don’t last. Things get better.

When a bad thing happens in your life, it isn’t forever. Bad times and bad feelings always go away again although sometimes it might take time for this to happen. Things will get better faster if you talk to someone you trust about what’s worrying you.

It’s important to stay hopeful when you have unhappy times.

You will get over unhappy times in your life more easily if you stay hopeful that good things will happen again and the difficult parts will get better. If you stay hopeful then you don’t give up.

Be thankful and grateful.

Being thankful for the nice things people do for you and the good things that happen in your life can help you feel happier. Letting people know that you are grateful for how they have supported and cared about you makes them feel happy, too.

Good memories of things can help you to bounce back.

When you are feeling sad because you have lost someone or something you love, it helps to remember the good times you shared with them to help you feel a bit better.

When one unhappy thing happens in your life it doesn’t spoil everything else.

When one thing in your life goes wrong or you feel unhappy or worried, try to remember all the things that are still good in your life. It’s just one thing that is going wrong for a while, not everything.

What can you do to help your child to look on the bright side?

Three good things in your day

At the dinner table, ask your child, ‘What were three good things that happened for you today?’ With younger children you can do this just before they go to sleep. If they can’t think of anything ask them some prompting questions (e.g. Did anything funny happen? Did you enjoy being with anyone? What did you do well?).

The positive tracking game

Challenge everyone in the family to identify the three best things about your family, your home, your holiday, your suburb, about being their age, about this time of the year etc.

Showing gratitude

Encourage your child to say thank you to someone who has done something kind for them (e.g. by sending a note or card, text, email or by calling them on the phone).

Good memories

Help your child to make a photo album, slide show or little book of their favourite photos and to look at the photos to help them remember the good times when they need ‘brightening up’.

Modelling

Let your child see and hear you using positive tracking, showing gratitude, saying ‘things will get better soon’ and expecting that good outcomes are possible.

ESMART (CYBER SAFETY)

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.

Thursday Meal Deals

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.

PLAYGROUP

COMMUNITY NOTICES