T3 W8 Newsletter 2021

From The Principal

A REFELCTION BY SR KYM  |  Fatherly Challenges  |  There is a photo of me with my father taken when I was a small child.  We are on George St. in Sydney at night, probably a Saturday.  My parents had taken me into the city, I am told, because I liked the city lights.  I have a vague recollection:  all the brightness and bustle was somewhat overwhelming, but I was secure.  Daddy had my hand. 

That is something we want from ‘fathers’ – the encouragement to enter into bigger, exciting, more challenging experiences, while experiencing the support we need to face the unknown.  To achieve this is one of the great balancing acts of parenting: encouraging a child (or adolescent or adult) to grow through new experiences yet offering support that does not stifle. 

God as ‘Father’ is one of the primary images of our Christian faith.  Too often, this image just presents God as a caring, supportive figure.  But God also challenges us and often with a sharp jolt, which leads to the complaint, “Why has God done this to me?”  Because God wants us to grow up.  If we make the radical mental shift and start asking what is positive in the situations we perceive as negative, our lives will become richer and more loving.  By asking, ‘What can I learn from this?’, we allow God to take us by the hand and help us transform the dark places of our lives with life-giving light.

Loving God, as I face the challenges that come to me, accepting your support, may I learn how to teach my child or children to face difficulties with courage and creativity.  May your Spirit inspire us to the fullness of life Jesus offers.  We ask this in his name, confident that you will hear us. 

Sr Kym Harris osb

Principal's Messages

 STUDENT FREE DAY  |  This is just a reminder that this coming Friday is a Student Free Day - staff will be at Professional Development, please do not send your children to school.

YEAR FIVE CAMP  |  Today commences a leadership experience for our year 5 students as they face both individual and team challenges.  Whilst it is wonderful that we have received the gift of rain, I am not sure what the next couple of days will hold.  If plans change, we will notify you as quickly as possible.

Please keep the students, staff and parents who are on camp in your prayers.

GOODBYE  |  It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to Isabelle H (year 1) and her parents as they relocate down south.  Whilst you have been part of our family, you have certainly made a deep and lasting impression.  You will always remain part of the STA family and if you are back in Sarina from time to time, we would love to see you.  We wish you all the best with your future journeying.  It has been a pleasure having you as a part of our community.

May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face.
And rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

THANK YOU  |  A very special and warm thank you is extended to Nikki McCowan who organised our annual Father's Day Stall again this year.  We thank Nikki very much for her leadership in this space.  Our students AND staff were very impressed with the calibre of gifts and choices.  Thank you Nikki.

Thank you too, to Mel Keating who also gave up her own time to assist our students, your children.  Together, these ladies ran a very tight ship.  Thank you again to you both, your blood is worth bottling!

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

The Good News

Jesus emphasises the purity that is in our hearts and the purity reflected by our actions. The people criticising him emphasise the appearance of purity and the cleansing rituals required by Law in order to avoid becoming 'ritually unclean'.

How much time, money, and energy is invested in cosmetics, hair products, fashionable clothing, and the like – just so we have the appearance of being popular and successful? Can any of these products actually make someone a better person? How so? What would Jesus say about our addiction to these products?

As a society and a culture, do you think we are more interested in actual success or in the appearance of success? What is your definition of success?

How much energy or effort goes into making ourselves better people? What opportunities are there for people to address what’s on the inside of a person? What steps do you take (or can you take) to improve yourself from the inside out?

We live in a culture that is very quick to lay blame on external factors; some people are very reluctant to accept responsibility for their own actions and look for opportunities to distance themselves from feelings of guilt or even regret.

Jesus makes it very clear that evil intentions – the things that make a person ‘unclean’ – actually come from within. He presents a confronting list of the things that come from within and we may be able to add others relevant to our own time. 

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

Last Tuesday, the St Anne's staff welcomed Fr Ashwin to our staff meeting for Religious formation around the Catholic Mass.  As a newly ordained priest, it was wonderful to hear Fr Ashwin witness to the joy he has when celebrating the Mass.

For Catholics, the greatest form of worship is the Mass.  The Mass is classed as a sacrament because the Eucharist is received within each Mass. The Mass is also classed as a sacrifice, as the sacrifice of Christ on the cross is made present and true each time the Eucharist is celebrated.

The Catholic Mass rite is the same all over the world. This means that the order of the Mass, the prayers, blessings etc are all identical apart from the language in which they are said.

The Mass is split into four main parts:

1. Introductory Rites – includes the Opening Prayer, Penitential Rite and the Gloria

2. Liturgy of the Word – includes the Readings, Gospel, Homily and Prayers of the Faithful

3. Liturgy of the Eucharist – includes the Eucharist Prayer, the Our Father and Holy Communion

4. Concluding Rites – includes the Concluding Prayer and Dismissal

We thank you Fr Ashwin for spending time with us to deepen our understanding of the Mass. 

On a sad note, we say farewell to Fr Ashwin as he commences his priestly ministry in the Gladstone parish. Our prayers are with you Fr Ashwin, may you continue to be the light of Christ for all to see.  

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand. 

(c) Catholic Link 2021. Image used with permission. 

How do you GTS? Are you a WESTie? 

If you see someone Making Jesus Real in the St Anne's community,

let Mr Oches and Mr Presley know! 

Best wishes to our Year 5's heading off on their camp this week! We look forward to hearing about the highlights.

We also pray for the children who recently completed their preparation for the Sacrament of First Communion. We pray they receive a hunger for this sacred food so that they turn to you for comfort, guidance, and wisdom as they grow into full discipleship.

Blessings,

Stuart.

Mr Stuart Presley

Assistant Principal - Religious Education

stuart_presley@rok.catholic.edu.au 

Finance News

Term 3 Fees  |  Term 3 school fees are now overdue. If you have not paid these in full and do not have a payment plan in place, please contact our Finance Officer Sandy Vassallo to discuss. 

Tuckshop Volunteers

General News

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  Renae  |   Last week we had book week, where everyone comes dressed to school as their favourite book character or they dressed up with the theme. The theme for this year was old world, new world and other worlds. I would like to say thank you for dressing up in your costumes. I know that we were all in costumes, but we still needed to be listening to our teachers.

Birds Of A Feather

General Information

'Every Day Counts'

Unless there are exceptional circumstances the minimum acceptable attendance rate for the school
year is 90%.

If your child is, on average, missing more than 3 days per term they will not be meeting the expected minimum attendance requirements.

Is regular attendance important?

Yes, from the first day! If students miss the basic skills in the early years of school, they often experience difficulties later on. It has been shown that irregular attendance in the junior primary and primary years often leads to the development of poor attendance at secondary school.

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.