T3 W6 Newsletter 2021

From The Principal

ST MARY OF THE CROSS MACKILLOP  |  Over the past few weeks we have seen varying responses to success and misfortune within the context of the Olympic Games.  We know that both can happen in our daily lives and we are all on learning curves in relation to both.  Last Sunday we celebrated the Feast day of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop and certainly this woman can be a model to us all regarding success and failure.  One of the things I love best about this saint is the way she related to her family.  It was dysfunctional yet she lived, loved and flourished within that family.  She knew love from both her parents but she also knew the pain and confusion of parents who separated. She loved her father dearly and recognised the good he had given her even though, in his impracticality, he failed to provide for the family and she, at the age of 14, had to go to work to support them.  She learnt early to be realistic and loving – she had a hard head and a soft heart.

If we look at situations too narrowly – “I must win the gold medal to be a success”, “my family should always get along,” we will be overwhelmed by failure.  We need to widen our understanding so that we can learn from all that happens.  An Olympian learns so much from his or her training.  We learn how to truly love in the midst of family tensions.  Indeed, we learn how to be a success as a person by how we handle failure. 

Loving Jesus, your life here on earth looked like a failure – tortured to death, deserted by friends and followers - but God made it the way of salvation.  Inspire our hearts when we feel overwhelmed by our weakness and failure and let us trust that you will work all for good.  We ask this in your name, confident that you will hear us.

Sr Kym Harris osb

Principal's Messages

Enrolments For 2022 Now Being Taken

ENROLMENTS FOR 2022  |  Enrolments for Prep are currently being taken for the 2022 school year.  If you have a child due to commence Prep next year, born between 1 July 2016 and 30 June 2017, please complete an online enrolment form available from the school website: https://www.sasrok.catholic.edu.au/

Enrolments for Years 1—6 are also currently being taken for 2022.  Interviews will commence in Term Two. 

For all enrolments we need to sight the original birth certificate or have a certified copy please.

Crossing Supervisor Position

CASUAL POSITION VACANT

A casual position exists for a School Crossing Supervisor at ST Anne’s School.

The School Crossing Supervisor may be required to work five days per week in all weather conditions. The hours of work for School Crossing Supervisors are 1 hour a day and usually comprise of 40 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes in the afternoon Commencement date to be advised a Pay Rate of $30.34 per hour.

The successful applicants will be dependent on:

• The suitable outcome of a health assessment carried out by a GP of your choice according to the guidelines in the “Notes for Medical Practitioner” on the School Crossing Supervisor Scheme – Health Assessment Form; (this is paid by the Department)
• A Positive  Blue Card Notice (This is also paid by the Department and means you do not need to have a blue card to apply for the position)

If you are interested in the position please collect an application form from the School administration or contact Karen Cantoni (Road Safety officer) on 49 518331.

The School Crossing Supervisors Application is to be returned to School for the school principals' recommendation.

Student Protection Contacts

Across The Curriculum

St Anne's Annual Book Week Dress Up Day!

Our annual Book Week Dress Up Day is next Friday, 27th August. Students are able to come to school dressed up as their favourite book character. Costumes must be sun smart, and our usual school shoes are to be worn for safety reasons while playing. We can't wait to see what imaginative creations come to school next week! Keep an eye on our Face Book page for our short reminder video clips, where Year 5 students are practicing their presentation skills for an authentic purpose!

As part of our celebrations, two competitions will be running for a small prize from the 'Book Fair' which begins this week! The first is a colouring in competition, using an image provided by the Book Week Committee. The second is a drawing competition, where the students are able to use their imagination to create an image related to the theme. This will be advertised at this week's assembly. There will be one winner for each competition from our P-3 group and our Years 4-6, which will be annonced next Friday on assembly.

Reading Assessments: DRA's

Teachers across all year levels are currently administering 'Diagnostic Reading Assessments' or DRA's for short. This formative reading assessment process is one way our teachers can gather the information needed to plan reading programs for our students. These programs are then individualised, based on what information is gathered during the DRA process. When administering DRA's, teachers  observe and document student reading levels, comprehension and fluency, and this then helps to inform our instructional practice for the remainder of the year. We run these assessments in Term 1 and Term 3 annually.

One way parents can support their children at home in the area of reading is to not only have the children read to them as part of their homework program, but to read varied and interesting texts to the children as well. In our middle to upper years, reading volume can not be underestimated. The more our students read, the better! This not only helps with learning to decode new words, but helps with vocabulary, spelling and writing too! If you have an older student who is reluctant to read, our teachers are only all to ready to help find an author that could grab your child's attention. Please don't hesitate to ask at the upcoming parent teacher interviews! (Further information about interviews will be sent home in the coming days)

The Good News

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

On the surface, today’s gospel passage has little to do with the feast of the Assumption. There is no scriptural account of the Assumption and so we draw on a different significant gospel passage that features Mary. However, the account of Mary rushing to her cousin and exuberantly proclaiming the Magnificat is an example of Mary’s joyful ‘Yes’ to life and to God that tradition tells us was rewarded in her bodily assumption into heaven.

Immediately prior to this account, the angel Gabriel has announced to Mary that she is to give birth to the Christ-child. Her humble response to the angel and to God is, ‘Let it be done to me according to your word’ even though she knew the shame and rejection her pregnancy would cause in her village. Whilst her initial response is subdued and humble, it is a ‘Yes’ to God’s will. Mary’s next instinct is an emphatic ‘Yes’ to life.

The angel tells Mary that her cousin, Elizabeth, is also to bear a child. Elizabeth was an older woman and keenly felt the social and cultural shame of not being able to bear children. When Mary hears that Elizabeth is already pregnant she rushes to be with her. Where no life was thought possible, God has created life. Elizabeth would have been shamed and regarded as inadequate and of lesser standing because of her childlessness. In many ways, Elizabeth was deprived of her own life because she could not give birth. Mary’s “Yes” to God and “Yes” to life is confirmed and amplified by God’s granting fullness of life to Elizabeth.

Historical Context – Feast of the Assumption

Since the 5th Century there has been an active tradition and belief around the assumption of Mary. The tradition states that Mary was physically ‘taken up’ into heaven at the end of her life. It is believed that her soul and her body remained united. This ancient belief was defined as an infallible teaching of the Church by Pope Pius XII in 1950. It is one of only two infallible statements that have been defined as such and both related to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The feast is celebrated on August 15 and is a Holy Day of Obligation.

Scriptural context – New life

The restoration of life to those who are shamed and oppressed that is exemplified in Elizabeth is a compelling theme of the gospel of Luke. Time and again, those who are ground down by a lack of life are given new hope and new life by the extravagant love of God. And throughout Luke, the recipients of this new life are women. The widow of Nain (7:11-15); the sinful woman who washed Jesus’ feet (7:36-50); the woman with a haemorrhage (8:43-48); Jairus’ daughter (8:40-56); and the crippled woman (13:10-17) are all examples of this outpouring of new life.

Living the Gospel – Saying ‘Yes’

In a world that is increasingly selfish and negative, there is a trend towards isolation from family, neighbours and community. In the face of social isolation, the call to a Christian life is a call to say ‘Yes’ to life itself and all it offers. To say ‘Yes’ to life is to say ‘Yes’ to life-giving relationships and decisions and ‘No’ to life denying relationships and decisions. To say ‘Yes’ to life is to say ‘No’ to those things that harm self and harm others. A ‘Yes’ to life is a ‘Yes’ to hope; to possibility; to love; to God; and to yourself.

(c) Greg Sunter 2021

(c) Catholic Kids Media 2021. Video used with permission. 

At St Anne's Catholic Primary School, we follow the GTS and WEST principles of Making Jesus Real. These align nicely to our school virtues of Respect, Responsibility, Kindness and Compassion. 

We are reminded, every day, of how we should greet, treat and speak others. We are called to welcome all, encourage each other, acknowledge if we have done wrong by saying sorry and also to give thanks. 

Do you know of someone who does GTS or WEST really well? Let Mr Oches and Mr Presley know!

Fr Don has scheduled a parish assembly for Sunday the 22nd commencing at 10am. All parishioners are invited to attend to hear of the challenges and future of St Michael's Parish.

Please keep in your prayers Fr Pat Mooney who has had surgery. Get well soon Fr Pat. 

Update - The Rite of Enrolment for our candidates preparing for the Sacrament of First Eucharist will be held during mass on the 22nd August. 

How is dignity upheld?

The dignity of every person, independent of ethnicity, creed, gender, sexuality, age or ability, is the foundation of Catholic Social Teaching.

No human being should have their dignity or freedom compromised. Poverty, hunger, oppression and injustice make it impossible to live a life commensurate with this dignity.

A all our programs are people-centred with empowerment at their heart. People are never treated as commodities nor as mere recipients of aid.

Have a great week. God's love, peace and blessings to all in our school community,

Stuart.

Mr Stuart Presley

Assistant Principal - Religious Education

stuart_presley@rok.catholic.edu.au 

Finance News

Term 3 Fees  |    Term 3 school fees were emailed out last week. They are due for payment by 24/08/21. If you foresee an issue with completing payment by the due date and do not already have other arrangements in place, please contact our Finance Officer, Sandy Vassallo, to discuss your options. 

Library News

Book Fair  |  The St Anne's Book Fair will be held for 2 weeks from Wednesday 18th August, in the school library. Please keep an eye out for wish lists and order forms that your child may  bring home, once they have had a chance to view the fair.  

Tuckshop Volunteers

Sugar Shed Excursion - 1W

Year 1W had a ‘sweet’ experience on our excursion to Sarina Sugar Shed.  We learnt about how sugar cane is grown, harvested and processed into a range of different products.  The tour also included a tasting session of the products that are made there - including molasses, sugar cane juice, non-alcoholic ginger beer and freshly spun fairy floss!  

Our excursion was very informative and a great way to extend our learning about farm technologies. 

Here are some of the highlights of our excursion:

Charlotte - “I liked seeing the harvesters - the cane would go up the elevator.”

Za’Layah - “I learnt about how they cleaned the sugar cane juice.”

Amelia - “I liked the fairy floss because it was yummy.”

Monica - “I learnt about how the sugar cane gets cut up.”

Xander - “I liked the fairy floss - it has lots of sugar in it.”

Katelyn - “I learnt how the sugar cane is crushed at the mill.”

Payton - “I learnt how the fan in the mill is really hot!”

Lewis - “The fairy floss was yummy!”

Sophia - “I liked learning about how the cane turned into sugar.”

Paige - “I liked the fairy floss because we got to eat it.”

Tyler - “I liked the harvester because I like machines.”

Rylan - “I liked learning about harvesters and how they made the juice.”

Isy - “I liked the fairy floss.”

Summer K - “I liked the fairy floss because it has sugar in it.”

Emily-Jo - “I liked the ginger beer.”

Zahliah - “I liked the fairy floss because it is sweet.”

Summer W - “I liked how we got to taste-test everything.”

Sugar Shed Excursion

Student Leadership

Leadership is a quality that all students of St Anne's Catholic Primary School are encouraged and supported to develop.  These experiences ensure that students perceive themselves as leaders and have the opportunity and confidence to take on leadership roles and find their voice.

Newsletter Report By  Brianna |  Just a quick reminder, when you finish play and the bell rings you have to go back and get ready for prayer. I would like to say thank you to Archie V for making everyone feel welcome by giving nice compliments. Thank you to the tuckshop volunteers, we really appreciate the hard work you put in. I would also like to say thank you to all the teachers and teacher aides for all they do for our school.  Keep up the good work everyone.

Students Of The Week

Congratulations To Our Students Of The Week  |   Reuben F, Lucas B, Molly M, Sophia J, Sophia C, Rylan B, Emily-Jo B, Year 2H, Lucy J, Indee M, Lahni K, Sienna W, Chalotte B, Marli F, Odessa M, Zac G, Year 6L, Liam B

Recycled Robot

Over the weekend Mason and Hudson (both year 3) got their heads together and did some reusing.  They designed and built a robot from materials around the house.  Well done boys, we love your creativity!

General Information

'Every Day Counts'

In Queensland, a child is considered to be of compulsory school age from 6 years and 6 months until they turn 16, or they complete Year 10 (whichever comes first). Parents of compulsory-school-aged children must: enroll them at a school and ensure they attend school on every school day, unless the parent has a reasonable excuse.

Acceptable Reasons
• Illness
• Essential appointment
• Injury
• Infectious disease
• Bereavement
• Principal approved absence

Unacceptable Reasons
• Birthdays
• Visiting relatives
• Outside school sports
• Helping parents at home
• Weather (i.e. too hot)
• Holidays (unless prior approval granted from the Principal)

Regular attendance helps your child develop the skills needed to access the world of work and other opportunities, learn the importance of punctuality and routine and make and keep friendships.

New Schoolzine App for Reading Newsletters

Schoolzine SZApp  |  As you are aware, at St Anne’s we have implemented a new format for our newsletter this year called Schoolzine. We encourage families to download the free SZApp which will enable you to easily see our newsletter on any device and receive alerts when the latest newsletter is available. The newsletter link will also continue to be emailed out to parents. 

Once thge SZApp is downloaded, please complete your registration, using our school passcode 4818. More instructions on how to install the SZApp are below.

Community News

Relationships Australia Courses For Separated Parents and Children Of Separated Parents

Please see below flyers regarding the Parenting Orders Program and Poppers Group.
We will be hosting a Poppers Group in Sarina at the Sarina Neighbourhood Centre commencing 6 October.
The adult’s program can be offered over phone or via Zoom if parents do not wish to travel to Mackay.