24 June 2021

Newsletter Articles

IMPORTANT DATES

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)
Saturday 24th July - Catholic Ball
Sunday 25th - Friday 30th July - Catholic Education Week
Friday 30th July - National Tree Day

PRAYER / SPECIAL MESSAGE

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

Living Consistently

It’s not so much about speaking, but rather speaking with our whole lives: living consistently, the very consistency of our lives! This consistency means living Christianity as an encounter with Jesus that brings me to others, not just as a social label. In terms of society, this is how we are; we are Christians closed in on ourselves. No, not this! Witness is what counts!

(Pope Francis, Address, Vigil of Pentecost with the Ecclesial Movements, 18 May 2013)

Reflection

As Christians, we can often segment our lives. We are Christians on Sunday at church, but not in the office on Monday. We are Christians when we are with our immediate family, but not with our friends at a party. Where do we lack consistency?

PRINCIPALS REPORT

Dear Parents, Grandparents, Carers and Friends,

I think that a nice way to finish off this term is to have a review of all of the great activities or things that have happened this term. There is so much to celebrate at St Kieran’s. Here are some highlights from just Term Two:

• St Kieran’s Mother’s Day Fete was amazing.  A great community event. With so many volunteers on the night and was success for our small school.
• Started to hand out the Coffee Club Vouchers with the Principal awards. Over 30 Principal awards this term.

• Students were accessed with vision, hearing and dentist checks. 
• Attend dawn service, Mass and marched for ANZAC Day
• Year 6 students have started attending Arrow at GSCC.
• Cross Country we had a team of 10 students, Gala Day for Netball students won 7 games out of 11 and the Rugby League team “Saints” came 3rd overall.
• The school sponsored the Mount Isa Show, 21 child entries and these were given to students who had placed items into the pavilions.
• The School Disco was fun and the room was full of energy.
• We celebrated National Reconciliation Week and completed many activities with the students and took a whole school photo.
• Athletics Carnival saw Corella take out the day and the students had heaps of fun, especially with the tug of war. 
• Celebrated School staff helper day and showed our appreciation to all of our staff with a nice plant and a fancy pen.
• AECD data and NAPLAN had been completed by students in Prep, Year 3 and 5. 
• 9 students completed their Sacramental Program (Confirmation completed, First Eucharist)
• Bishop Tim visited the school for a few hours. He talked to the kids and went to a few classes. 

To think that this term has gone so fast and we have achieved so much.

At the end of this term, we also say farewell to Mrs Jenna Robinson. Jenna has worked as the school secretary for many years. She started when I was first at St Kieran’s over 9 years ago. Jenna has been a dedicated and diligent member of the Kieran’s staff, willing to share her time and talents with students, staff and families. I know that she is going to miss all of the students who come in and ask for ice packs or a band-aid. We wish Jenna and her beautiful family all the very best for the future. I am sure you will join me in thanking Jenna for all she has done within our school.

I wish you all the best and have an amazing break with your child/ren. See you all in 2 weeks.

RELIGIOUS LIFE OF OUR SCHOOL

The Word

A man called Jairus begged Jesus, “My daughter is very sick. Please come and heal her!” Jesus went with him but messengers came from Jairus’ house and said, “Your daughter has died.” Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid, but believe. The child is not dead, only sleeping!” Taking the child by the hand he said to her, “Talitha, koum.” She got up and started to walk around. (Mark 5:21-43)

Too often people live their lives oblivious to the wonder of God. They move through life half asleep, disconnected from the people and blessings that God gives them.

PRAY: Use this to reflect on:

1. God’s presence in your life today.
2. Your actions in response to God’s love today.
3. How You can be more attuned to God.

Holy Spirit, Wake up! Fill us with energy to live fully in your joy.

Amen.

It has been a wonderful term, enjoy the holidays and keep safe.

PARISH INFORMATION

Reconciliation - As there are a number of children who are interested in making their sacrament of Reconciliation, it will take part 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, St Kieran’s and at St Joseph's Schools. Please contact the schools for more information.

St Vincent De Paul Winter Appeal - Currently, St Vinnies is conducting its Winter Appeal for help. Your support at this time will be put to good use. Please consider SVDP in your next donation.

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 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

Semester One Reports will be accessible on Compass this Thursday afternoon. If you have any issues accessing your child’s report please contact the office. Remember our teachers are happy to discuss results with you, please email your child’s teacher to make a time to meet next term if you would like to catch up with them.

INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

Autism Spectrum Disorder - Impacts on Learning Parents and teachers are aware that students with autism are not always able to access the curriculum as easily as their peers. For many students, difficulties in understanding class lessons, participating appropriately and achieving educational outcomes is not directly related to cognitive difficulties. It's important that teachers understand the characteristics of autism and their impact on learning and engagement as this impacts on their positive educational outcomes. One of the key concepts to understand in relation to how autism impacts on learning is executive functioning.

Executive Functioning -Broadly speaking, executive functions are a set of cognitive skills that are used for planning and carrying out tasks and for organising and regulating behaviour over time. Most researchers in this area agree that important elements include:

• working memory
• mental flexibility
• inhibition
• attention
• planning and organisation
• self monitoring

These skills, amongst others, allow us to make plans, keep track of time, cope with distractions, evaluate ideas, ask for help when needed and take turns in games and conversations. In addition, our executive functions help us to focus on multiple streams of information, check for errors, make decisions and revise plans when given new information. Successful use of these skills allow students to participate successfully at school and manage their own behaviour and are crucial in developing and maintaining social interactions.

Executive functioning difficulties might not be obvious in early childhood or during the early years of school, but may become more problematic in upper primary and high school when teachers are less likely to provide scaffolds and structure for students throughout the day.

Autism is experienced by every child differently, which is why it’s important to understand the specific needs of students in your school to implement effective learning strategies. Schools and families interact with children on the spectrum in different ways. They can learn much from each other and through sharing their respective knowledge, create positive and meaningful learning environments for students with autism.

To develop and maintain these collaborative partnerships and create autism friendly schools, it’s important that the whole school: understands the benefits and importance of collaborating with families, embraces a willingness for teachers, school staff and families to work together, and provides the skills and resources to foster collaborative partnership. St Kieran’s is here to support all families. IT IS AN ONGOING JOURNEY AND WILL HAVE MANY UPS AND DOWNS!

WAHOO/STEM

What a busy term we have had in STEM! STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

Prep have learned how to safely use Ipads and have had fun taking photos and adding captions.

Year 1 have studied dinosaurs and made sample stomachs of a herbivore and carnivore, made dinosaur dung and pretended to be Paleontologists, digging up dinosaur bones we made.

Year 2 have looked at changes in food, including making ice cream, melting and hardening chocolate in chocolate crispies and irreversible changes when cooking bread and eggs.

Year 3 have examined the Sun and Moon, making shadows, modeling eclipses and dropping marbles into flour to simulate craters forming on the moon.

Year 4 have had fun playing with Forces, including Push and Pull, Friction, Magnetism, Suction, Inertia and Gravity.

Year 5 have mapped the solar system, using the oval to demonstrate planets orbiting, working out distances from the sun and reducing it to scale and have had fun with some healthy protein snacks. Sadly our solar oven was destroyed by the crows and the wind, so we did not get to see our melting marshmallows experiment completed.

Year 6 have spent the term planning and building their own arcade games from recyclable materials.

I’m looking forward to next term and what STEM activities we will get to do.

HPE

It has been such a fun term in PE with our athletics carnival being the highlight. Congratulations to all our school leaders who have helped throughout our carnival days. Well done to Corella who took out the trophy!

We have also participated in the District Cross Country and inter-school netball and rugby league days.

Next term we will be participating in another 2 gala days (Years 5+6) and another fun term in PE lessons!

INDIGENOUS EDUCATION

We have had a busy and exciting term in Indigenous Education. We commemorated National Sorry Day with a whole school prayer service in the Sacred Garden. Reconciliation Week wrapped up with a liturgy in the Brother Walker Shed where we all traced and decorated our hands with words and symbols that solidify our commitment to reconciliation in our school. This week we celebrate NAIDOC Week with a whole day of activities based around the theme: Heal Country. On Friday our Year 6 Indigenous students have been invited to Good Shepherd for the day to join in with their NAIDOC celebrations. Next term we will work on goal setting and PLP writing.

YOU CAN DO IT

We are beginning to look at ‘Getting Along’ in Prep and will begin this topic next term for Grades 1, 2 and 3.

As parents, here is some useful information for teaching Getting Along:

Step 1. Have Conversations with Your Child about What it Means to Get Along

1. When your child is about to go off to school at the beginning of the year or a new term or is attending a party or joining a group, say: “There are different things that you can do to make friends and be popular. When you are playing games, make sure everyone has a turn and you play by the rules. When you see someone who seems left out, go over and find out if he or she would like to join in or talk with you. It is important to contribute positively to help everyone feel happy, safe and respected. And when you have a disagreement with another, it is important to solve the conflict without fighting. In this way, we all can get along with each other.”

2. If you have a child who seems to be very competitive and mostly interested in him/herself, say: “I know that achieving at a high level and being the best is important to you. However, it is also important to be concerned about others at home and in your school and to make sure that what you say and do contributes to their success and well-being. Putting others' interests at the same level of importance as your own makes our community a better place for everyone including you.”

Step 2. Describe Examples of Getting Along Behaviour to Practice

Select two or three examples of getting along behavior that you want your child to practice to help him/her to get along with peers, family, classmates and/or adults:

Say: “Here are some different things you can do to get along well with others (select two or three from the following list), why not practice doing a few this week: when you have a disagreement,

see if you can solve the problem without fighting by talking it through, work cooperatively with others by listening, taking turns, and doing your fair share of work, following rules of school and home that help everyone to feel safe and happy, listening and not interrupting when someone else is speaking, offering to help others who need help, volunteering to make school or the community a better place to live and learn, treating others with respect, including others, being honest.

Step 3. Discuss Ways to Think that will Help Your Child to Get Along

1. When your child reports being angry because someone has behaved unfairly or when you child has made fun of someone from another cultural background or someone who is different, say: “While you may not like some of the behaviours or customs of that person, do not judge that person as a totally bad person who deserves to be punished or ridiculed. Be careful not to judge a book by its cover.” (Being Tolerant of Others Thinking)

2. At a family meeting when family matters are discussed, say: “One of the ways that help all of us to get along with each other is being aware of and following what can be called expectations or home rules. Keeping these in mind help us to get along. For example, I think it is good if everyone at home treats each other with respect and fairly. What do you think?” (Other expectations/rules might be: We all do our fair share of work around the house; We help people who have problems to feel better; We listen and respect other people’s opinions). (Playing by the Rules Thinking)

3. When you catch your child having lashed out with anger by fighting or saying something hurtful, say: “I know you think what happened was unfair. But lashing out has hurt someone. It is better when you have a problem with someone to think before you act about what you can say or do to improve the situation and not hurt someone.” (Thinking First Thinking)

4. It is important for you to find time to discuss with your children the kind of values you wish him/her to display that helps build his/her positive character. In a family meeting or in a one-to-one discussion say (select as many of the following values to discuss): “One of the things that is very important for me as a parent is for you to treat others with respect, act responsibly, be honest, be caring, be tolerant and inclusive of people who are different and to give everyone a fair go. When we act in these ways, this is a sign that we have good character.” (Social Responsibility Thinking).

Step 4. Provide Behaviour Specific Feedback

When you catch your child demonstrating Getting Along behavior, you might say to them “You are a good listener” “You think before you act. Great attribute!” “Sharing helps you to be a good friend” “You are a helpful person” “Solving this problem without fighting shows you are really getting along” “You have a real talent for getting along” “You care about your community” “You are taking time to find out more about a person without judging them”.

ECO WARRIORS

Congratulations to our Big Bessie on her win at the Mt Isa Show!!! Not only was she a winner but our mint and gerbera received second place. Our garden continues to thrive and we are looking forward to see what grows over the holidays.

ESMART (CYBER SAFETY)

PRINCIPAL AWARDS

Sponsored by Mount Isa Coffee Club

Congratulations to;

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.

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

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