2 September 2021

Newsletter Articles

IMPORTANT DATES

Wednesday 1st September - 8.20 - 8.40am - Open Classroom
Thursday 2nd September - 7.00 - 8.15am - Father’s Day Breakfast
Thursday 2nd September - Father’s Day Stall
Monday - Wednesday - 6th - 8th September - Parent Teacher Interviews
Monday 6th September - 10.30am - 11.15am - Family Lunch and Year 6 Café
Monday 13th - 15th of September - Year 4 Camp Winton
Friday 17th September - Last Day of School

PRAYER / SPECIAL MESSAGE

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

Part-Time Christians

We are not Christians part-time, only at certain moments, in certain situations, in certain decisions; no one can be a Christian this way - we are Christians totally! (Pope Francis, audience, 15 May 2013)

Reflection

When do you find it hard to be a Christian? What is God calling you to do about these situations?

PRINCIPALS REPORT

Dear Parents, Grandparents, Carers and Friends,

Thank you to all of the parents who helped make “Book Week” possible. I am a great advocate for anything to do with reading. Reading opens up the world to everyone and the more you read, the easier school becomes. During the week the students had been participating in activities associated with reading. Last Wednesday the Grand Parade of costumes were amazing. The children were excited and that is always an indication that whatever is happening, is good! Thank you to all for joining us for the parade. Your children loved you to see them!

Parent-Teacher interviews will commence next week. These are very important as you will be able to hear and see how your children are travelling at school. Open and honest communication is paramount and crucial between school and parent if success is to occur. There should be no secrets or surprises. If you have not made an appointment, please see your class teacher and make a time. You showing interest in your child's education makes a significant difference. Remember, children need models, not critics.

Prep enrolments are steadily growing for next year. If you are still considering St Kieran's for next year, or know someone who is, please ask them to contact the school office. We are now preparing for transition days which will occur next term and don't want anyone to miss out. Enrolments for other year levels are open as well. Pass the message on.

RELIGIOUS LIFE OF OUR SCHOOL

The Word

A man was brought to Jesus who was deaf and mute. They begged Jesus to place his hands on him. Talking him away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers in he man’s ears and touched the man's tongue with spit. Looking up to heaven, Jesus gave a deep groan and said “Be opened!” At once the man was able to hear and speak. (Mark 7:31-37)

The prophet Isiah foretold of healings and amazing natural events. Miracles were believed to be signs of the presence of the Messiah. Jesus’ miraculous healings are more than just a loving response to the suffering of others, they are a sign of his divine mission.

Lord God, our senses give us so much joy. Tune our senses to your presence.
Amen.

DIOCESAN BASED INFORMATION

Plenary Council Prayer Campaign

Fan the Flame Prayer Campaign towards Plenary Assembly One October 2021.

‘This people honours me only with lip-service, while their hearts are far from me.’

Mark 7:1-8,14-15,21-23

Unless we train ministers capable of warming people’s hearts, of walking with them in the night, of dialoguing with their hopes and disappointments, of mending their brokenness, what hope can we have for our present and future journey?

(Pope Francis, Meeting with the Bishops of Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, 28 July 2013)

Support for victims of Haiti Earthquake

Caritas Australia’s thoughts and prayers are with the people of the Haiti who have been devastated by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake.

Over 1,400 people have died, and thousands more left injured. Homes, churches and schools have been damaged in the quake, and reports indicate that more than 30,000 families have been left homeless. The country also continues to grapple with COVID-19, poverty, and ongoing political instability and violence. There is immediate and urgent need for food, water, shelter, hygiene kits and first aid on the ground. To provide support, you can donate to Caritas Australia’s Emergency Response Appeal. Donate today at the link below or by calling 1800 024 413 toll free.

2021 Mission: One Heart Many Voices

Every two years Catholic Mission, in partnership with Catholic Religious Australia, hosts the Mission: one heart many voices conference. This year the conference is completely online and provides participants the opportunity to experience a diverse range of international and local speakers with broad lived and practical experience in their respective field. This MOHMV conference will encourage participants to explore ‘Leadership for Mission Now’ through the frame of an open mind, open heart and open will, embracing curiosity, compassion and courage.

The conference takes place Wednesday Sept 1 to Friday Sept 3 with an additional day of creativity and dialogue designed by young people Saturday Sept 4. For more details please go to the website

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

Opti-Minds

Last Saturday we had two teams attend Happy Valley school to compete in the 2021 Opti-Minds Challenge. The Opti-MINDS Challenge is an inclusive team challenge which EMPOWERS participants to THINK, CREATE & COMMUNICATE. Opti-MINDS is a creative problem-solving event for teams of participants from schools across Queensland. This year our team of Bella, Kiana Scarlett and Hennessy entered the Media section and took out first place in their division. This is especially impressive as it is the first time media has been added as a part of Opti-Minds.

Our Science-Engineering team of Lucas, Boh, Jericho, Elias, Dekoya and Carlos received honours for their presentation of a marble run.

Our media team have now been selected to take part in the state finals in October, which this year will be entered virtually.

We would like to extend a huge thank you to Mrs Karen Scotney at Happy Valley for her organisation of such a great event. Thanks also to all of the parents who came and supported their children on the day. But most importantly congratulations to both of our teams. We are so very proud of the way you worked together and represented our school.

Mrs Siemer & Mrs Lagiono

INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

PARENT WORKSHOP

It is very important that you spend the time to gather as much information as you can to help you support your child (diagnosis or no diagnosis. Please join us at school to participate in the Positive Partners Parent/Carer Workshop in the meeting room on the 6th of October. You also have the option to do this at home yourself. See Flyer below for further details. Even if your child does not have a diagnosis - all are welcome. Please RSVP plaffin@skmtsv.catholic.edu.au by Friday the 17th of September. Morning tea and lunch provided.

LIBRARY

Book Week 2021 Dress Up Day….what an amazing turn out! Considering the temperature had dropped 11 degrees overnight, I was delighted to see so many children, and teachers, dressed in theme or as their favourite character. The excitement levels were high and everyone looked fantastic making the day so very special. Big “THANK YOU” to all of the parents/caregivers for the time and effort put into the costumes. Congratulations to the Book Week Colouring In Competition winners. There were so many beautiful and creative entries which made judging extremely difficult. You will find the entries displayed in the library.

We have a Trial Subscription with Story-box which will end 27th September 2021. Please see the attached letter for more details.

HPE

Last week we had a visit from some soccer specialists as part of Football Australia and Football Queensland Regional road trip promoting soccer in Outback communities. Students in Years 1-6 got the opportunity to participate in some super-fun modified soccer games and challenges and had a really fun time. We are so grateful to these people who have come and given their time to provide opportunities for our students to have a go at sport. It is really important to expose students to new games and sports so they have experience and some basic knowledge of the rules and movement skills required if they wish to participate in sports activities outside of school. If any families need help linking up with sports organisations in Mount Isa, please contact myself or ask one of our staff.

Our Year 6 sports leaders are going to start a handball competition at school during the last week of school. Please let your child know to see any of our sports leaders if they are interested!

In representative sports, I would like to congratulate Fletcher Choyce for his selection in the Mount Isa District Cricket Team. Fletcher will participate in the North West cricket trials on Fri 3rd and Sat 4th Sept, aiming to get selected in the NW team who will travel to the State Championships in Bundaberg. Good luck Fletcher!

YOU CAN DO IT

Continuing on with our teaching Resilience at school and at home, here are ‘Other Things you can do to Teach Children Resilience’.

• Accept that it is normal and healthy for children to experience negative emotions. It is good to show and talk about different negative feelings you have as long as they are not too extreme.
• Explain to children that it is normal to have negative feelings and that there is nothing wrong with them if they go through periods of time or react to events with high amounts of anger, anxiety, or feeling down.

• Provide children with words to describe their feelings (e.g. “You are feeling angry, worried or have hurt feelings”) as well as your own feelings (e.g. “I am worried about you staying out late”).
• Help children become aware that when something bad happens to them (e.g. teasing, bad mark in school, offside with friends), they have options in how upset they get (extremely upset, medium upset, a ‘bit’ upset).
• Help children put together a list of negative things that can happen to them at school, at home or with their friends and discuss the common negative feelings they can have when these things occur.
• Spend time discussing with children how getting extremely upset (furious, panicked, very down) when negative events have occurred or are about to occur is not so good. Explain that it is better to try to be only medium upset. (The exception to this is when children experience life threatening or catastrophic events.)
• Introduce the term ‘Resilience’ (Toughness) to children and explain that it means not getting overly upset when something negative happens, as well as knowing what to do to calm down and feel better when they do get overly up-set.
• Teach children not to blow the ‘badness’ of things out of proportion. Help children see that while some events are truly the worst things that could happen (e.g. death of a loved one, natural disasters), other things (e.g. difficult/boring homework, being teased) are bad but not the worst things that could happen. Help children to discriminate between things that are terrible/horrible/awful, things that are bad, and things that are only ‘a bit’ bad.
• Teach children not to put themselves down when they do something wrong, fail at something, or someone is mean to them. Help children identify all their positive qualities (e.g. good athlete, good friend, good reader) and help them see that doing something wrong, failing at something, or rejection, doesn’t take away their good qualities and doesn’t show they are totally hopeless.
• Help children understand that they will not always be treated fairly and considerately by others and that when this happens, they can handle it.
• Model for children the kinds of positive thinking they can use when they have to do something that is difficult or boring and discuss with them the downside of negative thinking.
• Provide children with specific positive feedback when you catch them not getting overly upset in a difficult situation (e.g. “That was great how you didn’t allow yourself to get too angry”).
• Discuss with children the importance of finding someone to talk to when they have very strong feelings. This could be a parent, another family relative, a school counsellor, or a trusted friend.

ESMART (CYBER SAFETY)

YEAR 6 CLASS CAFE

Year 6 will be holding a class cafe on Monday 6th of September from 10.30am-11.15am for our last family lunch this term. Year 6 will be selling sausage on bread, spiders, icy cups and many more treats! We look forward to seeing you there!

THE FATHERING PROJECT

Each fortnight there will be some information for Father’s from the Fathering Project. There will also be future events for dads and kids at the school. The first part is about Fathering Fundamentals. Each newsletter will be a different fundamental.

Fathering Fundamentals

More engaged dads. Improved futures for kids.

Our aim is to build stronger families and communities by giving men the resources, guidance, and support they need to take on the responsibilities of engaged parenting.

Our research team has defined the Fathering Fundamentals as the core elements of fathering. They’re applicable every-father, to every day.

The fundamentals are Connecting, Communicating, Family Values, Learning, Positive Parenting and Wellbeing.

Below is information in regards to Family Values

Family values are the family’s ideas or beliefs about what is important, what is good and what is bad, what is right and what is wrong.

Think of your values as your code of conduct, the things you stand by, that direct how you live your life. It is the moral compass to help navigate the world.

Defining your own family values can help your children make good choices, define behaviour in various situations and solidify the bonds within your family. Strategies such as family time, family meetings and family agreements can help you to instil your family values and establish family rituals to create lasting bonds as your children grow into adulthood.

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 3 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.

COMMUNITY NOTICES

Good Shepherd Catholic College is looking for an Assistant Tuckshop Convenor for 15 hours per week. For more information please see the flyer below, to apply please follow this link: