And lead us not into temptation

Transcription

1 Newsletter No 5 21 February 2018 And lead us not into temptation These are strange words from the Our Father, the prayer Jesus taught his disciples to pray. In last Sunday s Gospel, we heard how the Holy Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness where he was tempted, and sorely tempted at that. Maybe his experience was so awful, he added these words to his prayer, knowing we would be tempted but wanting to assure us of his support. Just what is temptation? What the media presents it as something naughty and nice that helps put on a few kilos is not what Jesus is talking about. I think temptation is what sabotages our growth in love and life. We all know the moments when it hits the nasty words on the tip of the tongue that will spoil the night with our spouse, taking out our spleen on the kids, being lazy when we could pitch in and help but it can be more serious: being unfaithful, indulging an addiction. We all have our own weaknesses where we are tempted to undermine ourselves and make life difficult for others. Facing temptation is tough really tough. All our being screams give in so that this pain will go away but truly the appetite will only grow with the eating. To grow in love, to be our best selves, we have to be like the Olympic athletes - prepared to work day in, day out through the pain, through the injuries and even when we are bored. How many times must they have been tempted to give up, walk away and take the easy path? Yes even as we pray lead us not into temptation we know that Jesus will be with us when we are tempted. He knows our weakness and chooses to be by our side giving just enough grace for us to hang in there. And if we fall or fail our call to heroism is to get up and keep going. Loving God, you know just where I am tempted in my life. Send your wise Spirit to guide me and assure me that Jesus is by my side giving just the strength I need in each situation. I ask this in his name confident that you will hear me. Sr Kym Harris osb From the Principal Hot weather - Thank you to our students, staff and parents for being so patient and accommodating during last week s heatwave. The electricity feed to the school struggled during this time, resulting in some rooms losing and being unable to restore power. Thankfully, with the hall, library and some shuffling of classes we were able to ensure all children worked in air conditioned comfort. Modifications were made to eating times, playtimes, PE lessons and pick up routines to cater for the severe weather. As part of our approved building works later in the year, the electricity supply to the school will be increased in order to easily accommodate the needs of our growing school. A reminder that the cold room in the hall is available each day to keep children s lunch boxes cool. Bishop s Inservice Day - Whilst our students enjoyed a day off last Friday, the staff from all of the Catholic schools in the region descended en masse to Emmaus College for the annual Bishop s Inservice Day. This is a faith formation day for all staff and the theme this year was the Year of Youth. Keynote speakers included our Bishop, Bishop Michael McCarthy and Diocesan Director Miss Leesa Jeffcoat. A variety of sessions were held throughout the day and from speaking to staff, I know that staff found the day enlightening and inspiring. Thank you to the families who supported our Vacation Care day at our OSHC on this day.

2 Congratulations - to our Year 6 leaders who participated in a day of leadership skills building at the Capricorn Caves today. Fears were conquered and challenges accepted! Thank you to Mr Hunt and Mr Lemeki who accompanied our explorers. A reminder to Year 6 parents that orders and payment for the (optional) senior shirts are due this Friday. We look forward to presenting our Year Six leaders with their leadership badges at a special assembly this Friday morning at 8.45am. Correction - Whoops! It appears there was a typo in last week s newsletter. Please take note that Year One s Book Tasting is to be held on Wednesday, 28th March, not February. Professional Development - At times, staff will be released from their normal duties to attend training and professional development sessions. We do try to limit the amount of these disruptions to classes and are fortunate to have a wonderful bank of relief staff on whom to call. Over the last couple of weeks, our teachers have been released from class to have a collaborative planning and learning day with their teaching partners/cohorts. In addition to this, there are a number of other professional development opportunities that our staff will be accessing. These include: A Learning Support inservice for some of our Teacher Assistants held at the Kevin Castles Centre today. A Principals Cluster Meeting held at St Mary s today. A Writing Inservice tomorrow, for the school's leadership team, as well as Prep - Year 3 teachers, in preparation for a diocesan wide Writing Project commencing shortly. I thank you for your flexibility and understanding. Enrolment Forms for 2019 We are now taking enrolments for Prep in If you have a child hoping to commence Prep in 2019, or know of others who may be interested in attending our school, please inform the school office at your earliest convenience. Thank you. Expectations Regarding Behaviour in Toilets Students are regularly reminded regarding the school s behaviour expectations when they are using the toilets. Another reminder occurred at school this week. The focus of the discussion was: Ø Educating students about germs in toilets. Ø Hygiene practices (washing hands, not taking food into toileting area etc.). Ø Students should use the toilet responsibly (e.g. not waste time and keep noise to a minimum). Ø Discourage play in toilets (e.g. should not be a location for tiggy or hiding games). Ø Not a place for playing tricks on others or contact with other people (minimal time in toilet). Ø Strict rule one person in a cubicle at a time. In the aim of enhancing student hygiene and safety, it would be appreciated if parents reinforce these behaviours at home with regard to not only the school toilets, but all public toilet areas. Awards As part of our endeavour to continue to build a culture of excellence, we present three awards each Friday. These awards are: - A To Love is to Serve Award for a student who has consistently displayed leadership qualities. - A Striving for Excellence Award for a student who has exhibited academic improvements and/or has been applying themselves to the very best of their ability. - A MacKillop Award - for a student who has exhibited Gospel values in their words and actions. Most classes choose to also celebrate a weekly worker of the week in their individual classrooms.

3 Parent Teacher Interviews A reminder that Semester One Parent Teacher Interviews will be held on 12 and 13 March. Bookings open 23 February from 9.00am. Please book through Parent Lounge as detailed below: How to use Parent Lounge Open link Choose Parent Portal Type in your Parent Code into username (this is the six digit Parent code found on your school fee account) and Password (note default is set to Parent code). If you have forgotten your password, click on Forgot Password?. This will be ed to you. Once in Parent Lounge you may access your child (s), interviews, report cards, school calendar, etc. Enjoy your week! Kellie APRE News Prayer Corner Gratitude is a flower that blooms in noble souls Pope Francis Gratitude The virtue of gratitude has been called a state of mind and a way of life. Gratitude shapes our entire outlook on life. It is the channel through which we become aware of the sacred, and the many blessings of our lives. Gratitude can be applied to all of our daily activities. It links us to the divine and to every other part of the creation. To learn the grammar of gratitude, practice saying "thank you" for happy and challenging experiences, for people, animals, things, art, memories, dreams. Count your blessings, and praise God. Utter blessings, and express your appreciation to everything and everyone you encounter. By blessing, we are blessed. Gratitude in Action Grateful for clean, running water to drink Grateful for a friend to eat lunch with

4 Practising Gratitude Gratitude Visit Recall someone who was kind to you but who you never properly thanked. Write out a note thanking them in depth. Visit that person and read the entire note to them. What Went Well (Three Blessings) Every night for the next week, set aside 5 minutes before going to sleep. Write down three things that went well today and why they went well. Prayer Assembly Please join us next Friday as Year Two lead Prayer Assembly in the Hall at 8.35am. Our Journey in the Catholic Faith (Sacramental News) A reminder that the Second workshop for the Sacrament of Penance will be held this coming Tuesday and Wednesday 27/28 February. Workshop will be held at Kevin Castles Centre. Children are to bring their folders to the next session as we will be adding some more pages and we will share our Gratitude calendar. Tue 27 OR Wed 28 February Family Workshop #2: Penance Kevin Castles Conference Centre 5.30pm -6.30pm Please contact myself or Marg Hallinan if you have any queries. The Australian Bishops have identified the liturgical year of 2018, beginning on the first Sunday of Advent (3rd December 2017), as a national Year of Youth. The Year of Youth invites the Church into prayerful discernment about the importance and life-giving presence of young people in the local Church and society. It calls for dialogue and active engagement focused on the reconnection and renewal of a new generation of young people in the life of the Church. Year of Youth Aims 1. prayerfully discern the Australian Bishops vision for ministry with young people, authentic and personal engagement by Church leaders in the challenges and success in young people s lives 2. acknowledging the Holy Spirit at work in the lives of young people, and young people acting upon the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church; 3. upholding the dignity of young people, ensuring a safe environment from physical, emotional and spiritual harm

5 The aims for the Year of Youth dovetail together with the goals of Anointed and Sent: an Australian vision for catholic youth ministry provide a rich framework and challenges local faith communities to explore new horizons as they accompany young people into maturity. Liturgy of the Word A reminder that Children s Liturgy is held most Sundays at St Joseph s Cathedral 9.30am during the school term. It is wonderful to see our students attend. All students (particularly those preparing for sacraments) are encouraged to attend. Thank you to our dedicated teachers who assist with this important ministry. Guess the Saint Name the Saint? What do you know about this Saint? Why is this Saint important to our school? Place your responses to the three questions in the box kept in the hall. Ensure your name is on your piece of paper. The winning responses and a small prize will be shared Wednesday next week. Have a fantastic week! Rheanna APC News Discussion Starters: I know you ask your child how their day was and you either get a grunt or a good as a response. Perhaps your student is even more uncommunicative on the topic of what did you learn? Here are a few ideas to enliven that conversation. Did something make you smile today? Who were you kind to today? Who was kind to you? What did you read today? Who helped you today? Who did you help?

6 What was the most creative thing you did today? Who did you sit with to eat today? What surprised you today? What do you know today you didn t know yesterday? What made you stop and think? Rate your day on a five-point scale. How were you brave today? What are you looking forward to? Teach me something. What did you ask today? What school expectation was hard today? What were you proud of? What made you happy? What made your teacher smile? What kind of learner were you today? What kind of person were you today? If you could be the teacher tomorrow, what would you teach everyone? Have a super week! Janette Awards Striving for Excellence Award (for a student who has exhibited academic improvements and/or has been applying themselves to the very best of their ability) Sam Clarke for fantastic retelling of the story of Jesus lost in the temple. Ethan Ganter for amazing contributions during our learning activities. Your enthusiasm is fantastic. Charlotte Murray - for your focus and enthusiasm towards all class tasks. Keep it up! To Love is to Serve Award - (for a student who has consistently displayed leadership qualities) Charlotte Newton for leading by example by completing all class tasks with care and concentration. Well done. Year 4C for your leadership and reverence during the Ash Wednesday Prayer Service. Year 4R for your leadership and reverence during the Ash Wednesday Prayer Service. MacKillop Award - (for a student who has consistently displayed leadership qualities)

7 Kristen Styrdom for being such a generous friend who puts others first. Charlie Gill and Brodie Scharer for your willingness to act when you see a need and do something about it. Cross Country Training Training will commence next week on Monday 26th February for any interested Prep- Year 2 students at 3:10pm- 3:40pm under the sheltered area. Mrs Anna McKenzie will be conducting these sessions. Any Prep students attending must be accompanied by a parent/guardian. Training for Year 3-6 students will commence at 7:20am on Tuesday mornings under the sheltered area and will conclude by 8am at the latest. Students are to bring their own breakfast. These sessions will be conducted by Mrs Murphy. Training sessions will run every Monday and Tuesday until the Cross Country on the 26 th and 27 th March. The final sessions will be Monday 19 th March and Tuesday 20 th March. St Patrick s Day Trivia Night Trybooking is now open for you to purchase tickets: Book a table with a group of friends and join in the fun! Cost $15.00 (includes nibbles and Pizza). Oh, to be sure, to be sure, you will have a great time! Did you know? St Patrick is a hero in Ireland. And there are about 60 churches and cathedrals named for him in Ireland alone. One of the most famous cathedrals is St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin. These grounds bear the mark of the place where St. Patrick baptized his converts. Outside School Hours Care News This term at OSHC has seen the children all settling in together and getting to know one another as we have had a number of new faces begin with us this year. The children have been creating an OSHC banner together that will begin its display out front of the hall during OSHC operation, next week! The children are all very excited to show this creation of theirs off. Our Easter Vacation Care is now being planned. If you have any suggestions of activities throughout this time, please contact OSHC staff as we would love your input! Playgroup Thank you Mrs Starr for blessing us last week with Ashes. We had a wonderful play with balloons and dinosaurs. Today we jumped like crazy at Flip Out and were so exhausted. Our parents were very happy!

8 Essential Oils - I would like to invite anyone who is interested in learning about Essential Oils to come to my Oil information session Friday, 23 February, School Library from 2.30pm. I will be discussing what Essential Oils are, different ways to use and apply them and how they can benefit you and your family. There will be opportunity to ask questions and to experience the oils firsthand. I look forward to seeing you there and sharing my experiences with you. Kathryn Lyons doterra Wellness Advocate Important Dates 23 February Year 6 Prayer Assembly Leadership 2 March Drumming Matilda Performance 2 March Year 2 Prayer Assembly 6 March Mass 9 am Hall 9 March Year 5 Prayer Assembly 12 March Parent Teacher Interviews 13 March Parent Teacher Interviews 14 March Sacrament of Penance St Joseph s Cathedral 6pm 16 March Year 1 Prayer Assembly 16 March St Patrick s Day Trivia Night 17 March St Patrick s Race Day 19 March Prep Prayer Assembly 19 March Feast Day of St Joseph 21 March Harmony Day 21 March Prep My 1 st Year in Morning Bulletin 21 March Mass of Chrism 25 March Palm Sunday 26 March Cross Country Year 4 6 Southside United Soccer Fields

9 27 March Cross Country Prep Year 3 28 March Year 1 Book Tasting 29 March Term 1 Concludes 29 March Holy Thursday 30 March Good Friday Public Holiday 1 April Easter Sunday 2 April Easter Monday Public Holiday 4-15 April Commonwealth Games COME & TRY DAY - CQ Athletics Club will be holding a Come & Try/Weekly Competition Day on Sunday 4th March at the CQ Uni Oval at 1.30p.m. All ages 4yrs to Masters welcome. For inquiries phone Carolyn on RDS Years Trials please refer to Capricorn Sports Website for further details, nomination forms may be collected from school office. Netball Girls years Wednesday 21 February 4pm 6pm Emmaus college Rugby Union years Monday 19 March 4pm 6pm Frenchville State School Touch Football year Girls & Boys Thursday 22 March 4pm 6pm Rockhampton Touch Field Football year Boys Monday 30 April 4pm 6pm Capricorn Coast Football Club (Apex Park) Football year Girls Thursday 3 May 4pm 6pm Bouldercombe State School Thursday 10 May 4pm 6pm Bouldercombe State School Hockey years Boys & Girls Monday 5 March 4pm 6pm Kalka Shades Rugby League Boys 10, 11 and 12 Sunday 4 March Muster 9am 11am Rockhampton State High School Girls Wednesday 7 March 4pm 5.30pm Frenchvill SS Oval Cross Country years Tuesday 1 May