Newsletter No: 31 Wednesday, 11th

October 2017

Dear Parents and Friends,

Our Year 6 students had a wonderful time on their Canberra camp last week visiting Mary MacKillop Place Museum, Parliament House and the National Capital Exhibition, Mount Ainslie Lookout, Perisher Snowfields, Questacon, National Museum of Australia, Australian War Memorial and the Australia Institute of Sport. Thank you to Helen Ringelstein, Helen Privett, Christine Newland, Dale Durnsford and David Alcock who attended the camp and for so generously giving up time with their own family to supervise the students. In week 4, our Year 5 students will attend their Leadership Camp at Action Challenge. This too is always a really fantastic camp, and Mr Noel always offers wonderful advice to the children and shares many stories to assist the children in developing their leadership and personal skills. The children on this camp are involved in a range of activities including the low ropes and medium rope courses, flying fox, leap of faith and other team building activities. These camps are such wonderful experiences for the students and assist them in building confidence as well as developing their social skills, independence skills, decision-making skills, problem solving skills and working together as a team. They learn to become more tolerant and accepting of one another. I sincerely thank our teachers and parents that organise and attend our camps. Many hours of preparation time go into organising camps as well as time away from their own families to attend camp. They willingly do this due to the benefits that camp provides to the students in their care. Next week we also have all classes participating in the annual Eisteddfod. Prep, Year 5 and Year 6 will perform their choral speaking on Tuesday 17

th October at 8.30am; Years 1 & 4 will perform

on Wednesday 18th

October at 8.30am and Years 2 & 3 on Thursday 19th

October at 8.30am.

This cultural experience also provides the children with the chance to develop a range of skills including voice projection, confidence, eye contact, tone, pitch, pronunciation. I thank the teachers who have conducted these groups for their dedication and hard work over the past term in preparing their groups. All classes will present their Eisteddfod poems this Thursday afternoon at 2.00pm. We wish all groups the best of luck next week and hope you enjoy performing in front of the audience.

Pupil Free Day - Monday 16th

October.

Term 4

WEEK 2

Mon 9th

– 15th

Oct Fri Assembly –

Leader’s Induction

Term 4 Disco

WEEK 3

Mon 16th

– 22nd

Oct Mon PUPIL FREE

DAY Tues Prep, Yr 5 & 6

Eisteddfod Board Meeting

7pm Wed Yr 1 & 4

Eisteddfod Thur Yr 2 & 3

Eisteddfod Fri Assembly – no

class presentation

WORLD

TEACHERS’ DAY

PUPIL FREE DAY

Our teaching staff will be involved in a professional development day on Monday 16th October. Parents please note that this is a pupil free day. Our school office will be open as normal.

CLASSES FOR 2018

This term staff will be arranging classes for the 2018 school year. This is a very thorough and time consuming process, and is very important in creating balanced classes throughout the school. In making decisions for classes a number of principles are taken into consideration.

1. We always aim to create classes that are balanced in need. We consider the academic, social, emotional and behavioural needs of the children when placing them in a class. This is never straight forward and often needs considerable thought.

2. We consider the gender balance within the group, the body

of knowledge that we have gathered on each child and any parent input that may assist. Each year parents are given an opportunity to provide written information that may assist the staff in placing their child. Please note: requesting certain teachers and/or arguing placement based on the children’s current friendships can and do change and therefore are of a lower priority when considering what is in the best interests of the children. The information you may wish to share will be considered fairly, but does not guarantee that your request can be acted upon.

3. We always endeavour to be just, fair and compassionate to

the needs of each child.

I would also like to stress that our staff know their students very well and will do their very best throughout this process. I urge parents to trust us in making informed decisions that we consider will be the best for each child. Included with today’s newsletter is a note about class placements for 2018 that you may wish to use. We would ask that these responses be returned to the office no later than Friday 20

th October, so your insights can inform our

decision making process. I may also arrange a meeting time to speak to parents about these requests where required.

FAMILIES LEAVING As our total enrolment drives many aspects of our school (staffing, budget, class sizes and structure) it is important that we try to be as accurate as possible in predicting the school enrolment for 2018. If you know that you will be leaving at the end of the year could you please notify the office as soon as possible? Your assistance with this matter is greatly appreciated.

PRAYERS Please remember in your prayers anyone who is sick within our community, we pray for God’s healing and restoration.

Keep Smiling

Allison Blakey Principal

NATIONAL ROSARY DAY

This Friday 13th

October, a National Rosary Day is being held to pray for Australia, the youth of our country, and to promote the popular Marian prayer, given that October is the month of the Rosary. This day also marks 100 years since the last apparition of Our Lady of Fatima, when tens of thousands of people witnessed the ‘miracle of the sun’ in Fatima, Portugal. To mark the day, we will gather together as a school to pray a decade of the Rosary at 10:45am. Children are invited to bring their own set of Rosary beads along if they have them.

OCTOBER – THE MONTH OF THE ROSARY

By tradition, the Catholic Church dedicates each month of the year to a certain devotion. The month of October is dedicated to the Holy Rosary, one of the best known of all Catholic devotions. How to Pray the Rosary

The use of beads or knotted ropes to count large numbers of prayers comes from the earliest days of Christianity, but the rosary as we know it today emerged in the second thousand years of Church history. The full rosary consists of 150 Hail Marys, divided into three sets of 50, which are further divided into five sets of 10 (a decade). Traditionally, the rosary is divided into three sets of mysteries: Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious. Make the Sign of the Cross and say the "Apostles' Creed."

1. Say the "Our Father."

2. Say three "Hail Marys."

3. Say the "Glory be to the Father."

4. Announce the First Mystery; then say the "Our Father."

5. Say ten "Hail Marys," while meditating on the Mystery.

6. Say the "Glory be to the Father."

7. Announce the Second Mystery; then say the "Our Father."

8. Repeat 6 and 7 and continue with Third, Fourth and Fifth Mysteries in the same manner.

HAIL MARY

Hail Mary, full of grace! the Lord is with thee; Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy

womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour

of our death. Amen.

Take some time to reflect on where Jesus has been in your life today.

God Bless,

Helen Privett

Assistant Principal Religious Education

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land and pay respects to their Elders

and all Elders, past, present and future.

-Jesus Lives in our Hearts - Forever!

MATHS IN PREP

Each week this term, we will have a ‘spotlight’ focus on Maths in our MacKillop classrooms. This week we begin with our beautiful Prep children! In Prep, the children have been learning about concepts of time. In this particular lesson, teacher Mrs Jansen began with a whole group activity where the children had to make a clock face on the carpet. Mrs Jansen let the children work together to construct the clock, before addressing any misconceptions or errors they may have made. You may recall an article in last term’s newsletter which focussed on Professor Jo Boaler’s work and the notion that mistakes=brain growth! Once the children had correctly constructed the class clock, Mrs Jansen made a variety of times and the children had to identify the time and suggest a school activity (using the classroom timetable) that would occur at that hour of the day. All of the children were highly engaged in this activity and were very excited to ‘have a go’ at making a time on the ‘big clock’ themselves.

Following the whole group activity, the children then went into partner maths tasks. Each task was different, yet still focussed on a ‘concept’ of time (day and night, days of the week, etc.)

The children attempt to make a clock face. Misconceptions and errors are identified, and with teacher

guidance, corrections are made.

Mrs Jansen asks the children what time it is and to give an example of a school activity (using the timetable) that they would do at that time.

Examples of the partner maths activities.

CHILDREN’S LITURGY OF THE WORD

Children’s Liturgy of the Word is held at St Joseph’s Church

on the 1st & 3

rd Saturday 6pm Mass and 1

st & 3

rd Sunday 9am

Mass of the month during school term and also at St Brendan’s

church on 1st & 3

rd Sunday7:30am Masses of the Month.

Prep J Mackenna Lang

For always listening and ready to learn. Keep up the great work!

Asher Mitchell For beautiful manners in class towards friends, class

mates and teachers. Well done! 1P Brae De Waard

Brae, I was really impressed with how you stayed focussed on your work at all times. With that dedication you are sure to be successful!

Mia Cornick Mia, you are a fantastic listener who works hard at all

tasks. You will go a long way with such a fantastic attitude. Well Done!

1S Lily McGuiness Your excellent reading skills are really beginning to shine

through, Lily! When answering comprehension questions, you think carefully about what you have read and ensure you add lots of detail when forming your answers. Keep up the brilliant effort, Lily!

Nate Vlekken You are off to a wonderful start with your narrative

writing task, Nate! You were able to draw a plan that clearly outlined your ideas for the orientation, complication and resolution and once you began writing, you worked efficiently and independently. Fabulous effort, Nate!

2D Poppy Greatz Poppy you always give 110% effort when rehearsing our

Eisteddfod poems. You are listening to all feedback and applying feedback the next time. Poppy you are a super student.

Gemma Smith Gemma you created an acrostic poem about friends.

Your poem had adjectives that were creative and different to other class members. Well done Gemma!

3CM Makadee Hamann For consistently displaying an excellent, responsible

attitude towards your learning and for always being a most helpful student in class. Thank you Makadee!

Jacob Sharpe For making a great start to Term 4. During our literacy

lessons this week, you did a wonderful job creating special names for your fictional characters. Just like Roald Dahl, you helped us to create a picture in our minds! Way to go Jacob!

3E Taj Jackson Taj, congratulations on being chosen as our ‘Choir

Captain’ for this year’s Eisteddfod. You have natural leadership skills and you always conduct yourself admirably. What an outstanding student you are!!

Gracie Norman Gracie, you bring your sunshine into our classroom

every day. My greatest joy is listening to you read and this week you shone as we began ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’. Your character voices bring the words to life!!

4C Addison Atkinson For the awesome effort you’ve applied to all tasks this

week. You have tried hard to include details into your writing, particularly when you explained the life stages of a plant. You have made an excellent start to Term 4 Addison.

Georgia Headland I love the detail you included into your writing about your

holidays Georgia. It was great to see you expand on your ideas and then check carefully for spelling errors. Very impressive!

5K Monaeia Smith For your effort during our Eisteddfod practises. You

know when to come in with your lines and you are projecting your voice well.

Phoenix Reilly For the pride you show in your bookwork and working

diligently in class, especially when working on time and financial plans.

5D Ellee Bourke For working so well in Health and English this week,

especially completing the English Grammar and Conventions tasks so well. You should be very proud of your work Ellee. Well Done!

Brock Dentener-Martin For working so well in Maths and English this week.

Especially completing the English Grammar and Conventions tasks so well. You should be very proud of your work Brock!

Principals Award

Ashlea Loveday For the leadership skills you have displayed whilst your peers have been away – checking the mail, putting up the flag, leading Friday Assembly and organising the sports shed. Thank you!

Oct 12 Benjamin Schembri 13 Blake Defend 14 Harper Ford 14 Xavier Hopton 14 Harley Jewell 15 Chase Jewell

These children have been ‘Making Jesus Real’ at MacKillop.

Congratulations!

MACKILLOP OSHC

MacKillop OSHC runs Before School Care (6:45am-8:45am) and

After School Care (3:00pm-6:00pm) Monday to Friday.

At OSHC we engage the children in a range of fun activities such as

craft, drawing, games and sporting activities. Recently we have

started a pen pal system with Emmanuel OSHC. Each of our

children had been paired with a child of a similar age. Over the

course of the year, the children will write to each other and get to

know a student from Emmanuel. This process helps the children

increase their social skills, letter writing and introduces them to a

modern (non-traditional) way of communicating.

Please contact us on 0417291439 if you wish to make a booking.

Thanks, Jenny and Larissa

Looking for great Christmas ideas! Why not check out our latest Issue of Book Club, there are loads of wonderful ideas and gifts to be purchased, while supporting our school library. Issue 7 Book Club order forms were handed to students last week. Closing date for Issue 7 is Wednesday 18

th October, 2017.

Thank you once again for all your support and may you look forward to many adventures through reading. Many thanks Marie Schembri, Library Coordinator

Fri 13/10 Anita Finucan Leisa Finucan Kacey Richardson Wed 18/10 Val Turner Alex Shuttlewood

The monthly special for October is Honey Soy Garlic Chicken with Hokkien Noodles for

$5.00ea

Please ensure tuckshop orders are written on brown paper bags and remember to write your child’s name and class on the bag so

their lunch goes into the correct box. If you are unable to work your rostered day could you please contact

Jo Oliver by phone or text on 0413 672 920

FOR SALE

We have 2 x old teacher desks ($20ea), 5 x bookshelves ($20ea) and 1 x 2 draw filing cabinet ($20ea) for sale in the hall. Please contact the office if you are interested.

FETE NEWS

We will be commencing preparations for our 2018 Fete very soon.

We are seeking volunteers for our Fete Committee. There are

several positions to be filled within the committee. These are listed

below; if you are interested please return the form below to the

Office.

Class Stall Co-ordinator

-to co-ordinate all class co-ordinators and their associated stalls

Catering Co-ordinator

-to co-ordinate all Food Stalls that supply the majority of catering for

the fete. (This does not include any food items sold at class stalls

i.e. popcorn, ice cream, fairy floss)

Entertainment/Ride co-ordinator

-To source and coordinate any entertainment to perform during the

fete. Rides are also included. Armbands receipts to be issued and

help Bill’s Amusements during the fete

Cent Sale/Raffle co-ordinator

To co-ordinate the cent sale and raffle.

DISCO

Our school disco will be held THIS Friday 13th

October, starting at

6pm in the Hall. The theme is Masquerade! Food and Drinks will be

available to purchase. Entry is $2 each or $5 per family. See you

there!

DISCO CO-ORDINATOR 2018

We are seeking a volunteer to co-ordinate our school discos. If this

is something you are interested in please contact Allison.

P & F COMMUNITY SPIRIT AWARD

Do you know someone in your school community who is or has

been an outstanding volunteer?

If so, then you may wish to nominate them for the annual Diocesan Parents and Friends Association Community Spirit Awards. This is a great way that you can celebrate someone’s contribution to your school community. If you would like to nominate someone please contact Allison for a nomination form.

Nominations Close Saturday 18th

November.

TERM 4 DATE CLAIMERS

Disco – Friday 13th

October

World Teacher’s Day - Friday 20th

October

Pizza Meal Day – Monday 6th November

P & F Meeting – Monday 13th

November

Volunteers Lunch – Friday 17th November

If you have any suggestions for the P & F, please fill out a

suggestion form available in the office and pop it into the red

box. Alternatively you can email your suggestions to

secretarymackillop@gmail.com Remember to check out the

MacKillop P & F page on the website where you can find our

contact details and the latest meeting minutes. MacKillop

Catholic Primary School.

Mel, Paula, Kristy & Penny

School Disco

Friday 13th

October - 6pm to 8pm

Theme: “Masquerade”

$2 per student or $5 for family of 3 or more.

Prizes for Best Dressed

Glow Products on sale

Pizza and cold drinks will be available for purchase from the

canteen.

GRADE TWO SOCIAL TERM 4

Come and join us at the Blue Water Quay on Sunday 15th

October at 9am.

Bring along your swimmers, grab a coffee at the pancake café, a plate to share for morning tea if you wish and enjoy

the sunshine.

We will be finished before the midday heat so that the kids can have a Sunday afternoon sleep (or not)

Hope to see you there, Elspeth

A stress-free end of 2017 is possible with positive parenting

Get on the front-foot and set up your family for a successful end to 2017! Triple P has the positive parenting strategies to help you and your kids cope with the end of year rush and exams. It can also help your family have its best school holidays yet – think days filled with well-behaved and happy kids and teens. Triple P has already helped more than 95,000 Queensland parents, carers and grandparents, and it’s still FREE. You can do it online, with other parents or one-on-one – just visit www.triplep-parenting.net to find out more. With thanks, The Triple P – Positive Parenting Program team

Yes! I would love to be a 2018 Fete Co-ordinator!

Name __________________________________

Please indicate which Position best suits you.

Class Stall Co-ordinator

Catering Co-ordinator

Entertainment/Ride Co-ordinator

Cent Sale/Raffle Coordinator

TERM 4 SCHOOL FEES

WILL BE EMAILED OUT

TO PARENTS NEXT WEEK

CASUAL POSITION VACANT We are wanting to fill a casual and relief position for a School Crossing Supervisor at Emmanuel Catholic Primary School. The Casual School Crossing Supervisor will be required to work five

days per week and the relief Supervisor will be called for shifts as needed, both Supervisors are required to work in all weather conditions. The hours of work for School Crossing Supervisors are 1 hour and 30 minutes a day and usually comprise of 1 hour in the morning and 30 minutes in the afternoon on alternant weeks, Commencement date (to be advised) with a Pay Rate of $28.89 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 the School for the school Principal’s recommendation.

S PECIAL INFORMATION FROM PARENTS

REGARDING STUDENT CLASS PLACEMENT FOR 2018

NAME OF STUDENT: …………………………………………… CURRENT CLASS: ……………………..

In making allocations to classes we try to consider a wide range of criteria when placing children for the following academic year. These include:

academic performance and attitude;

student’s approach to learning and style;

personality characteristics;

social, emotional and behavioural needs

(where applicable) special learning needs. In arranging allocations our goal is quality education for every child according to the staffing allocation made by the Diocesan Catholic Education Office, Rockhampton. We seek to have each child achieving to the best of his or her ability, irrespective of actual attainment. We regard any comments from parents as very important to this process. Obviously, MacKillop can only accommodate genuine issues (in attempting to make decisions regarding the overall good of students throughout the school). This letter is to invite you to place in writing, aspects of your child’s placement that you wish us to consider. For example, you may like to advise if there is a conflict between students, you may like to outline particular academic, family or emotional needs of your child. However, it must be made very clear, this invitation does not involve requesting which teacher you or your child would like, but rather an opportunity to advise the principal of any concerns regarding placement. Parents could expect to be contacted personally to explain their request. While we cannot guarantee that your request will be acted upon, we can assure you that each request will receive genuine and open consideration in informing our decisions. If you have written a letter in previous years and still have the same concern you will need to put your request in writing again. Yours In Christ,

Allison Blakey Principal

SPECIAL INFORMATION SUPPLIED BY PARENTS (Please continue over page if further space is required) Signed: ………………………………….. Date: ………………… Parent(s)

If you intend to return this sheet, it is important that it is returned by Friday 20th October (at the latest): so that

arrangements can be finalised.