Term 3 Week 10 Newsletter 2024

Acknowledgement of Country

We respectfully acknowledge the past and present traditional owners of this land on which we stand, the Wulgurukaba and neighbouring Bindal people who are the custodians. We pray that we can walk together to a better future.

From the Principal - Modelling Respect & Kindness

Dear Parents, Caregivers, Staff and Students

Our Week 8 Assembly, run beautifully by the students in 1A, focused on kindness. How wonderful it would be for our students to consistently emulate the kindness of Jesus - many of them do. When we consider an ultimate role model, we cannot go past Jesus Christ. Has there been anyone kinder? The type of kindness Jesus modelled and espoused was one where we are kind and respectful to all people, even those who are not kind and respectful to us. It is showing respect and kindness to the most alienated of populations, and it is a respectfulness and kindness which is underpinned by living out our faith as a Catholic and/or a member of a Catholic faith community. Importantly, we can inspire our kids to be respectful and kinder by talking about and practising respect and kindness ourselves.

At its essence, kindness means having concern for others and being able to show that concern through our thoughts and actions. An article (extract below) in the Greater Good Magazine: Science based insights for a meaningful life discusses the benefits of kindness for a child’s wellbeing.

Just like for adults, kindness is very important for kids’ social connections and well-being. One recent study with nine to eleven year olds underscored these benefits. The researchers found that children who performed acts of kindness on a regular basis, in addition to seeing positive changes in their academic experience, were more socially accepted by their peers. What’s perhaps more surprising is how their engaging in acts of kindness also ended up benefiting their entire community. These children tended to be more inclusive and less likely to bully others as teenagers.

As many of us have experienced, being kind makes us feel good and motivates us to perform more acts of kindness. This feedback loop can have a very powerful impact. The physical feeling that accompanies giving—the ‘helper’s high’ that is fueled by the release of endorphins—improves our children’s physical and emotional health. So, how might we help our children focus more on kindness? When we role-model kindness—and kindness fundamentals like respect, empathy and generosity—ourselves, kids can see them in action and be inspired to practise them.

Since we know our kids are watching what we do and listening to how we speak, we should model having connections to all kinds of people—those who are similar to as well as different from us. If, consciously or unconsciously, we speak negatively about individuals or communities outside our own social groups, or we keep certain people out of our social groups, our children will likely be influenced by that and be discouraged from exploring relationships with those (and other) people themselves. On the other hand, if we model more inclusivity, our children can learn that connecting with someone—even someone different from us—is about paying attention, listening, watching, and being ‘there’.

Each act of kindness makes a difference. Even the smallest gesture of kindness communicates to someone that we respect and value them. Through kindness, we can encourage our children to be a force for good and change in the world. 

As we approach the holidays, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our entire school community. May your holidays bring joy, relaxation, and cherished moments with your families. Let's continue to model respect, kindness and compassion in all our interactions, thereby making our school a place of positivity and support. Happy holidays!

God bless

Tracy

Enrolment Terms & Conditions

When a student is accepted for enrolment at our school, parents/carers/guardians sign a Student Enrolment Agreement which contains important terms and conditions. These terms and conditions are updated from time to time, and were last updated earlier this year. The Conditions of Enrolment are available on our school website. Please contact the Principal if you would like to discuss the information contained in these documents.
 
Media/Photography/Video Consent for students 
During the enrolment process, parents/carers/guardians consent to the use of images of their child. The consent is outlined below. Parents who wish to withdraw this consent should contact the school.
 
Photos, video footage and work samples of students are used regularly by the school for the purpose of acknowledging the efforts of the student/school, or for promotion, marketing or advertising the school or Catholic Education. Parents consent to the student being photographed or filmed for school, Catholic Education or Townsville Catholic Diocese related communication or for education purposes. Parents understand this may include media (e.g. television, radio, publications), school publications (e.g. newsletters, year books), online media (e.g. websites) and social media (e.g. Facebook, Instagram). Please note the student’s name and voice may be included with the photograph/video. Parent’s understand it is their responsibility to notify the school if they do not wish to consent to the student’s photograph/ video appearing in any or all of the above, or if they wish to withdraw this authorisation and consent.

APRE News

2024 Prayer Theme: Blessed to Serve

Bear with one another, help one another, and ever strive to serve God in a generous spirit. ~Mary MacKillop

When we return after the holidays it will be Catholic Mission Month, a time where we raise awareness of the work of Catholic Missions around the world. Our Mission Week celebrations will take place throughout the month with a variety of activities including Water Bomb the Teachers, Free Dress Day, Mission Stalls and Soctober.

All money raised throughout the month will go to the programs run by Catholic Missions Australia to help restore dignity and end poverty.  Next term we will be asking for donations for our Mission Stalls of soft drink, chocolates, tombola jars, coloured hairspray and Pre-loved toys and books, these can be dropped off to the office anytime before then. More information will be sent out about this at the start of the term. 

If you would like to read more about Catholic Missions you can visit their website: https://www.catholicmission.org.au/worldmissionmonth

Assemblies

Our assembly is held on Monday morning at 8:45am in our Shelter Shed. Parents, families and friends are all welcome to join us. Our next assembly will be: 

Week 1: Catholic Missions Focus 

Week 4: Friendship hosted by 2B

Christian Meditation will take place each Thursday morning at 8:00am in the Library.  Meditation is a form of sacred and silent prayer, known as prayer of the heart.  It is  a lovely way to start the day!  

 Dear Lord,

We thank you for the many blessings we have received this term. 

We voice our gratitude for the good things you have done in us, 

and we praise you for all who have shared in the work of our school.

We ask you to bless all our learners, their families and our staff, 

and give them refreshment and peace during these holidays.

Amen

May God’s blessing be with you, have a wonderful holiday. 

Peta.

St Mary of the Cross MacKillop Parish

CHILDREN’S LITURGY

Children's liturgy takes place every Sunday mass at 7:30 am (during the school term) Members of our parish take the children out and complete activities related to the weekly gospel. This is a wonderful opportunity for children to engage with and understand the meaning of the gospel. All children are welcome.

THE WORLD DAY OF PRAYER: Townsville Committee would like to invite you to the World Day of Prayer Mid-Year Morning Tea at St James’ Retirement Village on Friday, the 27th of September, 11:00am. At the morning tea, the country of the Cook Islands will be introduced as our focus of prayer in the year that follows. Please RSVP Jean Paterson: 0408731535 or email: jean.d.paterson@gmail.com for catering purposes. We would enjoy your participation in praying for the people of the Cook Islands.

BLESSING OF ANIMALS LITURGY: To celebrate World Animal Day on Saturday, 28th September, the House of Prayer is having a Blessing of Animals Liturgy, and everyone and their animal friend are

welcome. This will be held at 17 Thomas Street, Pimlico at 9:00am. If you or your group would like to join in planning or participating with the Liturgy, please contact the House office by 14th September. Call 4728 9861 or email – houseoprayer@tsv.catholic.org.au

MULTICULTURAL SUNDAY 2024: Our Parish will celebrate Multicultural Sunday on the 29 th September at the 8:30am mass of the Holy Spirit Church, Cranbrook. This year, the Mass will be celebrated by Bishop Tim. We invite anyone with a diverse cultural background to add to the joy and meaning of the celebration, by undertaking to read some part of the Mass in their own language and to come in their traditional dress. It would also be highly appreciated if you could bring a plate of food to share with others. More details to be announced soon.

The Joey's Way

National Parent Survey

The CSPA 2024 Parent Survey on Student Wellbeing and Learning is seeking your perspective as parents/carers of children who attend a Catholic School in Australia. You are invited to share your views on existing and emerging affirmations and/or challenges in relation to your child/children’s wellbeing and learning. Please consider completing this anonymous, confidential, and completely voluntary online survey.

More information about the study, how to participate, and how to have questions answered, can be found here.

Thank you for your interest.

R U OK Day

Star Students

From the Office - Important Reminders

Lost Property 

As we approach the end of term, please take a moment to check the Lost Property near the tuckshop. Any items left behind on the last day of term will be donated to charity or disposed of during the school holidays. 

Musical Programs

Additional Centennial Chronicle Musical programs are available for collection at the office if you would like an extra copy! 

Fees 

Term 3 school fees are now overdue.  Please ensure prompt payment is made. 

Crazy Camel

2025 Term Dates

Farwell Donna & Katelyn

As the term concludes, we say goodbye to our school officer, Donna Larcom. She has been a wonderful asset to our school community, and we will deeply miss her kindness and warmth. While we are saddened to see her leave, we wish her all the best as she starts a new adventure in Port Macquarie! 

We also bid farewell to Katelyn Wallace, one of our guidance counsellors. Although Katelyn has only been with us for a short time, her contributions have been invaluable. She will be greatly missed for the support she has provided to our students and staff. We wish her all best in future endeavours! Marissa Madigan, with the support of Townsville Catholic Education, will be handling Katelyn’s workload moving forward. 

Library News

The library calendar has been extremely busy with events such as the International Literacy Day and Indigenous Literacy Day held in the library on the 4^th September. Students and families were able to visit the library on Wednesday morning early, to celebrate reading and indigenous literature, with students enjoying relaxing reading in the library, with friends and family before school.  Events such as Child Protection Week and R U OK? have been spotlighted by Mrs. Luton in her library lessons. The ‘Wanted’ Reward Competition, will be displayed on Wednesday in the library and will reveal the suspects names and their favourite books. Rewards will be given to all students who entered the competition.

This week we are celebrating fabulous authors such as British Author, Roald Dahl, who is loved by students, as well as new Australian authors such as Jol and Kate Temple. Kate and Jol Temple are Australian children’s authors.  They have been winners of many awards including the CBCA Honour Books such as ‘Captain Jimmy Cook Discovers Third Grade’ and most recently CBCA 2024, ‘That Bird Has Arms!’. Their books are fun and informative, which kids love to read! Remember the series ‘Bin Chicken’?  

SORA SCHOOL HOLIDAY READING!

Students are never without a book over the holidays, with access to our SORA eBooks and audiobooks from our school digital borrowing network.

How to access SORA:

• Sign into your student intranet. Use your school user name and password to log in
• Click on Destiny Discover - Learning Resources - SORA icon.
• Click on our Catholic group network – ACEN (Australian Catholic Education Network) to access the SORA Student borrowing!

SORA EHUB

Every Thursday lunchtime in the library Mrs. H, assists children to learn how to access SORA and borrow eBooks.  The students have fun as well as the ability to borrow books digitally for weekends or school holidays! Come join the fun!

SCHOLASTIC ISSUE 6

The orders for Issue 6 are on there way and are expected later on in the week. Orders will be dropped into classes as soon as they arrive!

Have a wonderful and safe school holidays and ‘Happy Holiday Reading’!!

Never be without a book!!!!

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Guidance Counsellors

With School holidays fast approaching, it is a timely reminder to review screen time for your children. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that there should be no screen time at all for children under two, less than an hour a day for children aged from two to five, and less than two hours for five to 17 year olds.  However, these guidelines are often disputed by experts and often ignored by families. It is up to individual families to play an important role in modelling a positive approach to the use of screens and to assist children to navigate the content they access. This School TV series offers some useful tips on online privacy, screen-time rules and ways parents can support a healthy relationship with screens.

https://sjmbtsv.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/managing-screen-time

Inclusive Education

Understanding Atypical Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (aHUS)

September 24th is Atypical Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (aHUS) Awareness Day. aHUS is a rare, life-threatening condition that affects the blood and kidneys. It involves the abnormal activation of the immune system, leading to the destruction of red blood cells, low platelet counts, and kidney failure. Unlike typical Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome, which is often linked to infections, aHUS can be caused by genetic mutations or problems with the immune system.

Raising awareness about aHUS helps support affected families and advances research for better treatments. For more information and resources, please visit https://www.ahusallianceaction.org/ 

Eisteddfod

Congratulations to all our students competing in the Townsville Eisteddfod.  You have achieved some wonderful results, and we're incredibly proud of you! Keep an eye on our Facebook page for the latest updates and results.

Results so far include: 

Guitar Ensemble (Combined with St Clare's) - 3rd Place 

3A - 1st Place  Choral Speaking Unison Group 

5A - 3rd Place Choral Speaking Unison Group

5B - 1st Place Choral Speaking Unison Group

Great Barrier Reef Clean Up!

SAVE THE DATE
Last year we had an amazing turn out (more than 85 people) at our first Great Barrier Reef Clean Up!
Add the date to your calendar and join in a feel-good family morning at beautiful Pallarenda Beach.
A note will go home in the first week of Term 4.
#Tangaroablue #ReefClean #GreatBarrierReef

Junior Engineers

Junior Engineers are excited to share their curriculum for next term, designed to engage students with hands-on learning experiences in STEM.

Please find below an overview of the Term 4 details. 

If you would like your child to participate you can register HERE. 

Additionally, if you would like to know more about their programs, you can watch a video HERE

Community News

Mass Times

Parish Mass Times

Wednesday 7.00am

Friday 7.00am

Saturday 5.00pm

Sunday 7.30am