Newsletter - 06 October 2022
From our Principal
Dear Parents,
Welcome back everyone! I hope that the past two weeks has been both enjoyable and relaxing for all families and that you were able to spend some quality time with your children. The start of a new term is always an extremely exciting time for both students and staff, particularly the final term of the school year. This week has seen the commencement of the construction of our new Playground for Prep, Year 1 and Year 2 students. This has been a long anticipated project and will be the final stage of the Junior Playground precinct.
(Please Note that this play area is out of bounds to all students after school hours and must be supervised by a staff member. We ask parents to ensure their children are not in this area after school. This also pertains to the existing Adventure Playground.)
With only nine weeks to go before another school year ends, there is so much happening between now and 02 December. The end of year is always a very hectic time filled with orientation days, farewells, graduations, report cards and so forth.
In the next few weeks we will be sending home order forms for School Packs – next year’s booklist, stationery and text books, already prepacked and delivered to school. Any orders you place will be delivered to school before the end of the year for you to collect, and our school will receive a percentage of the value of the orders. This is a great service to parents sponsored by our Parents and Friends Association. Thank you to those wonderful people who work so tirelessly for our school community. Your efforts are greatly appreciated.
At this time of the year, plans are also being made for 2023 and the key factor upon which planning is based is enrolment facts and figures. Whether it’s class composition, number of classes, number of staff members or budget planning, it is essential to be as accurate as possible in predicting the number of students at Emmanuel come January next year. Can I ask then that you keep us informed about potential moves between now and the beginning of the year? Thank you for helping us to be well-prepared for the year ahead.
Tomorrow we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. October is the special month devoted to praying the Rosary. Over the next few weeks let us ask Mary to pray for us through the prayer that we all know. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Wishing you every blessing for the coming week,
Geraldine Rostirolla
Principal
RE Matters
THE LUCKY ONES – A REFLECTION
If you have food in your fridge, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep,
you are richer than 75 percent of the world.
If you have money in your bank, your wallet, and some spare change,
you are among 8 percent of the world’s wealthy.
If you woke up this morning with more health than illness,
you are more blessed than the million people who will not survive this week.
If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the agony of imprisonment or torture or the horrible pangs of starvation,
you are luckier than 500 million people alive and suffering.
If you are free to attend any meeting or gathering you want (political, religious, social)
then you are luckier than 3 billion people in the world.
If you can read this message,
you are more fortunate than 3 billion people in the world who cannot read at all.
(Unknown)
Check out this great clip that puts our lives into perspective:
If the World Was Only 100 People
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3nllBT9ACg
OCTOBER - WORLD MISSION MONTH
This month we will be celebrating SOCCERTOBER.
It is an opportunity for us to focus our attention on those less fortunate than ourselves and to be grateful for all that we have. Students in all classes will explore Catholic Social Teachings and participate in activities that promote justice, prayer and action. Together we can make a difference and help others.
With a focus on Ethiopia, “You shall be my witnesses” is the theme of Catholic Mission’s appeal this year. Their goal is to support families facing malnutrition and food insecurity.
All classes will be setting goals related to ACTION, ATTITUDE AND GIVING. Students will be encouraged to be generous with their time, patience, assistance, cooperation and consideration. ‘An Attitude of Gratitude’ will be our MJR focus.
We will be having a SOCCERTOBER raffle. Tickets are 50 cents each or 3 for $1.00. They will be on sale from Monday. The winner will win a soccer ball for themselves and a soccer ball for their class.
OCTOBER - MONTH OF THE ROSARY
During October we are encouraged to pray this beautiful prayer and to reflect on the mysteries of our faith which it memorialises.
The Rosary is the story of the New Testament. Through the beads we recall the joyful, sorrowful and glorious times in the life of Mary and Jesus. We follow Mary from the Annunciation, when the archangel Gabriel came to ask her to become the Mother of Christ, to the day she was crowned Queen of Heaven. We follow Jesus from the moment the Holy Spirit came upon Mary, through his childhood, his cruel death on the cross, the joy of Easter when he rose from the dead, to the day he ascended to Heaven in glory. We reflect on the teachings and miracles of Jesus.
We celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary on 7 October each year. Tomorrow classes will visit the chapel to pray the Hail Mary, meditate on the Mysteries of The Rosary and listen to some beautiful ‘Mary’ songs.
Each Monday, Wednesday and Friday this month, students and staff are invited to gather in the chapel to say The Rosary at lunchtime. We will pray for peace in our families, our school and in our world
To find out more about The Rosary and how to pray it, go to: http://www.catholic.org/prayers/rosary.php
“The Rosary has a peaceful effect on those who pray it, leading them to see the face of Christ in others, to recognise other’s grief and to yearn to make the world more beautiful, more just, more closely conformed to God’s plan.” (Pope John Paul II, 2002)
A Children’s Mass, led by Emmanuel students, will be held at 9am on Sunday 9 October at St Joseph’s Church. Students wishing to participate should contact Mrs Kliese in the office.
It would be great to see students who have registered for the upcoming Sacramental Program participating in the ministries. Many of them will be at Mass on Sunday morning for the Rite of Enrolment.
SACRAMENTAL PROGRAM STARTS THIS WEEK
An information session for the parents of Year Three students wanting to prepare for the Sacraments of Penance, Confirmation and Eucharist was held last night. The parish’s Sacramental Process was outlined and a calendar highlighting important dates and workbooks were distributed.
Students will prepare for and receive the Sacrament of Penance in November this year and will be Confirmed and receive their First Holy Communion in 2023.
The Rite of Enrolment will take place at parish Masses this weekend (8/9 October).
Please remember to take your blue enrolment card.
If you missed the meeting or would like some more information, please contact the Parish Office by phone (49 574855) or email (stjomky@bigpond.com).
For weekly Gospel readings, reflections and meditations go to http://www.prayasyoucan.com.au/
Download this week’s parish bulletin @ https://rok.catholic.net.au/parish/mackay-st-josephs/#
For Parish News, updates and to book for weekend Masses go to the Catholic Parishes of North Mackay and Farleigh Facebook page.
MONSTER CHRISTMAS RAFFLE
There may not be NORFAIR this year, but our parish is selling tickets in an amazing raffle. With a First Prize of $10 000, tickets are great value at $5.00 each. The raffle will be drawn on Friday 9 December, just in time for Christmas. You’ve got to be in it to win it!
Tickets are available online, before and after weekend Masses and from St Joseph's Parish Office
(Monday - Friday 9am to 12:00pm - phone 49574855).
VIRTUE OF THE FORTNIGHT – GENEROSITY
“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” (Winston Churchill)
Generosity is one of the best ways to show love and friendship. You share freely, not with the idea of receiving something in return. Someone showing generosity is happy to give time, money, food, or kindness to people in need. When you are generous, you put others before yourself. When you're forgiving, kind and gentle to people, you show generosity of spirit.
“For it is in giving that we receive.” (St Francis of Assisi)
Noeleen Kliese
Assistant Principal Religious Education
Curriculum Corner
NAPLAN RESULTS
NAPLAN results for 2022 will be sent home in the next week.
We are very proud of the results of our Year 3 and Year 5 students, with both cohorts making significant improvements in relation to the State Mean in all areas of Spelling; Grammar and Punctuation; Writing; Reading and Numeracy.
NAPLAN individual student reports provide information about what students know and have achieved in the areas of reading, writing, language conventions and numeracy. The reports also provide information on how students have performed against the national average (over one million students participate in NAPLAN tests each year) and the national minimum standards.
In 2022, our students participated in NAPLAN in an online format, except for the Year 3 Writing component. The report shows whether students completed the assessment online or on paper. As students for both online and paper tests are assessed on the same literacy and numeracy content, results can be reported on the same NAPLAN assessment scale.
What is in the NAPLAN student report?
The front page of the student report provides some general information about the tests and an explanation of how to read the report.
The second and third pages have diagrams showing the relevant part of the assessment scale in bands for that year level. For each year level, only six of the 10 bands are shown on the student report.
- Year 3 student reports show bands 1–6. The national minimum standard is band 2.
- Year 5 student reports show bands 3–8. The national minimum standard is band 4
A student’s result in each area (reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation, and numeracy) is marked on the common assessment scales. Diagrams in the student report also show the range for the middle 60 per cent of students, the national average result, and the national minimum standard for each year level.
The final page of the report has a table that provides a brief description of what students have typically demonstrated in the tests at each band.
I would like to commend all of the Year 3 and 5 students for working through all of the tests calmly and diligently, to ensure their best efforts were applied. The positive mindset amongst all of the students ensured that they were able to conquer the challenges of not only some of the trickier questions but also the management of sharing their knowledge via a digital platform.
The data gathered from the NAPLAN Results will be used by the Leadership Team and teachers in consultation with a bank of other formative assessment to reflect, analyse and improve current teaching and learning cycles to continue our journey of School Improvement and most importantly, increase student outcomes.
Janine Refalo
Assistant Principal Curriculum
APA News
CLASSES 2023
Term Four will see staff arrange classes for the 2023 school year. This process is very deliberate and time consuming, but also very important to creating balanced classes throughout the school. I would like to provide parents with some of the underlying principles that drive our decision making:
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. A past practice has been that students nominate a friend, but as you can appreciate this is very difficult to accommodate in a school with 588 students. This practice will no longer be a deciding factor in class placements.
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.
3. We always endeavour to be just, fair, and compassionate to the needs of each child.
I invite parents to write to me if you have information about your child that may assist the staff in placing your child. While I always stipulate that parents are not able to request certain teachers and groups of friends, there is often information that, as a school, we are unaware of and would benefit from knowing. Please put your consideration in writing and send to the office addressed to Miss Rostirolla by the end of Week Three, Friday 21 October.
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.
Geraldine Rostirolla
Principal
ARRIVAL TIME FOR SCHOOL – TEACHER SUPERVISION
We have noticed that many of our students are arriving early to school, with some here at 7:30am. We would like to remind parents that there are no teachers on supervision duty until 8:10am in the mornings before school. Any student in Prep to Year 5 arriving prior to the commencement of teacher supervision are to sit in the area underneath the Year Two classrooms. Year 6 students arriving early are to wait in the outdoor classroom area; however, if weather does not permit, they are to wait underneath the Year Two classrooms. There is to be no play or movement around the school until teacher supervision commences at 8:10am.
Karla Falzon
Acting Assistant Principal Administration
Strategic Priorities 2022
COVID Update
The Arts
TOGETHER SING 2022
Our school is participating in Together Sing 2022. This inaugural program is all about music for wellbeing and celebrating the joy and wellbeing benefits of singing together.
At Emmanuel Catholic Primary School, we have the joy of making music together every week in Music but this will be an opportunity to celebrate this together with the whole school singing together, in the same week as many other children all over Australia.
The song, Where We Begin has been specifically written and will be sung by well over 100 000 people during Qld Mental Health Week, 8-16 October. All learners at Emmanuel Catholic Primary School have been learning this song in Music over the last few weeks and are loving singing it together.
On Friday of Week 2, during Assembly, we will all sing it together on assembly as we focus on wellbeing as well as the joy of making music together.
If you would like to sing along at home or ask your children to sing it for you, here are some YouTube links. There is even an Auslan translation that you might enjoy watching. There is also a link to find out more about Together Sing.
Song with vocals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWodU9YysMg
Song with backing track only: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jYpLCxaBQY
Auslan Translation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pvbs7ImAPT4
Together Sing more info: https://www.kodalyqld.org.au/together-sing/
Linda Miller
Music Teacher
Tuckshop News
We would like to send out a big THANK YOU to the special mums, dads & grandparents who have volunteered their time helping in the tuckshop. Your efforts are very much appreciated. We cannot keep up with demand without parental assistance. Due to work and family commitments we will be needing more assistance in Term 4, so please consider helping just one day a month.
Please Note: It is imperative that volunteers DO NOT attend tuckshop if they are unwell, have anyone at home who is unwell or have been in contact with anyone who has COVID-19.
Notices
RESTRICTED ACCESS PARKING
Please be advised that access to the Carpark at the entrance to the Emmanuel Administration Building is restricted to Authorised Staff Personnel ONLY as per the attached signage. This carpark is provided for the Administration personnel of both Emmanuel and Holy Spirit College and is clearly signed on both poles situated at the entrance to Emmanuel. Parents whose children access the OSHC service are asked to NOT park in this area when collecting children of an afternoon or when dropping off children when attending Vacation Care. This also applies to the STAFF CARPARK at the rear of the Year 5 Classroom Block. Parking for parents is provided outside Holy Spirit College within the short-term carpark adjacent to the College, or at the Emmanuel STOP, DROP, GO area which are the designated areas assigned for this purpose. I ask that parents refrain from utilizing this area unless collecting a sick child from the school.
TRAVEL SUBSIDY
Student travel rebate applications are only open in October for Semester 2. Please visit https://schooltransport.com.au/ to check if you are eligible.
Community News
