Newsletter - 24 August 2023
From our Principal
Dear Parents,
The Australian Institute of Family Studies in one of their publications, Family Matters published research to identify effective ways in which intervention programs can join with families to promote positive child development. The work of the Institute attempts to address the question of how children and their families and parents can best be supported, whatever the family form and context, to provide for children’s healthy development. As part of their research they looked at the effects on children of the changing form and structure of families.
Research has been able to identify common themes on the characteristics of family processes which build child competence. These common themes include:
- A firm parenting style, characterised by responsive, warm, firm and consistent discipline. This style is positive for children regardless of family structure. Parental warmth builds a child’s sense of security and their understanding that they are important to the parent, whatever else is happening in family life.
- Monitoring and supervision of children which are important to children’s outcomes and are reflected in parents paying attention to everyday events such as homework, television and diet, and to the sort of friends the child is making, and what they are doing when they are away from home.
- Parents and children who maintain communication and close relationships do better as do children who have been taught and exposed to effective conflict resolution behaviour and strategies, from which they learn to understand and respect another’s point of view and adopt effective problem solving strategies.
Families in all their shapes and sizes are important to kids. Our school values our relationship with families and we encourage families to communicate with us as the most effective way to support children because they are precious.
Wishing you every blessing for the coming week,
Geraldine Rostirolla
Principal
Thank you to our P & F for sponsoring this event.
RE Matters
‘US’ NOT ‘ME’ – A REFLECTION
An anthropologist proposed a game to the children in an African tribe. He put a basket of fruit near a tree and told the kids that the first one to reach the fruits would win them all. When he told them to run, they all took each other’s hands and ran together. Then they sat together, sharing and enjoying the fruit.
Surprised, the anthropologist asked them why they had run like that, when one of them could have had all the fruit.
They replied, “UBUNTU! How can one of us be happy if all the other ones are sad?”
* Ubuntu (oo-boon-too) is a Zulu or Xhosa word. It means, "I am because we are."
(Author Unknown)
Be sure to check out Andrew Chinn’s beautiful ‘Ubuntu’ song that our students enjoyed learning and sing at yesterday’s workshops and concert. It has actions too!
Ubuntu by Andrew Chinn - YouTube
VIRTUE OF THE FORTNIGHT – UNITY
“So powerful is the light of unity, that it can illuminate the whole world.” (Unknown)
Unity is inclusiveness. It helps people work and live together peacefully. When you practice unity, you feel connected to everyone and everything. It is achieved when we value each other. The joy of one is the joy of all. The hurt of one is the hurt of all. The honour of one is the honour of all.
“Where there is unity, there is strength.” (Unknown)
FEAST DAY PRAYER CELEBRATION
This time of prayer will take place in the Marist Centre at 8:45am TOMORROW, Friday 25 August. All members of the Emmanuel community are invited to join us to celebrate.
BEACH DAY – WALKATHON
Our annual beach day and walkathon at Bucasia Beach will follow our prayer celebration.
Students will travel to and from Bucasia Beach Park by bus. They will participate in the walkathon and beach activities before enjoying a sausage-sizzle lunch, kindly donated and cooked by the Emmanuel P&F Association. All students are asked to bring a gold coin donation which will be added to our ‘Walk for Water Challenge’ total collected at the Athletics Carnival.
Students are to wear their SPORTS UNIFORM and bring their MORNING TEA and a BOTTLE OF WATER. Every child must wear their SCHOOL HAT and is encouraged to apply SUNSCREEN.
If your child carries medication (such as an asthma puffer) this must accompany them to the beach.
SOCIAL JUSTICE SUNDAY
The last Sunday of August is designated by Australian Catholic Bishops Conference as Social Justice Sunday. On this Sunday every year the bishops release their annual Social Justice Statement, which outlines the application of the Church's social principles to critical issues of the day.
In their 2023-24 Social Justice Statement, the Australia’s Catholic bishops have called on the nation to seek “a new engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’. They offer some simple actions which could help us to begin this new engagement. The Bishops do not tell us how to vote in the referendum, but they encourage us to inform ourselves about the issues through respectful dialogue, especially with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.
“One of the objectives of this statement is that we want Catholics to understand that Catholic social teaching and Catholic social action are not simply theoretical and academic exercises.”
For further details about the Social Justice Statement, visit the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council website at www.socialjustice.catholic.org.au or click on the tab below for this year’s statement and resources.
ANDREW CHINN, MUSIC, SINGING, DANCING, ACTIONS COLOUR AND LOTS OF FUN
Yesterday, Australian religious songwriter and singer, Andrew Chinn visited our school. He shared and taught us some of his songs and prepared us for a fabulous concert in the afternoon. Everyone enjoyed singing along and doing the actions. ‘Rainbow’, ‘Ubuntu’, ‘God is Everywhere’ and ‘Rise Up’ were some of the highlights and join other confirmed favourites like ‘These Hands’. It was a wonderful celebration of faith and music.
We look forward to welcoming Andrew back to Emmanuel in the not-too-distant future.
Thank you to all parents who joined the fun.
Be sure to check out some of Andrew’s songs – they are available on various platforms.
CELEBRATING WITH OUR PARISH
A children’s Mass, led by Emmanuel students, will be held at 9:00am this Sunday 27 August at St Joseph’s Church. All welcome!
CELEBRATING FATHER’S DAY
We will be having a picnic and all dads and grandads are invited. It will take place in the playground between the library and Year Two/Prep building at 10:30am on Thursday 31 August. Please bring a chair or rug and morning tea to share with your children.
We look forward to sharing this time with as many fathers and grandfathers as possible.
DANIEL MORCOMBE CHILD SAFETY CURRICULUM
Throughout this term, our school will be implementing the Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum with students in all year levels. The curriculum is based on principles of best practice in child safety education and centres around three key messages: Recognise, React and Report.
It is important that these key safety messages are reinforced, both at school and home. I encourage you, wherever possible, to talk with your child about safety to help them stay safe now and in the future.
Information about the Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum can be found at:
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.
Please Note: Weekend Mass at St Brigid’s Farleigh returns to Saturdays at 6:00pm.
Noeleen Kliese
Assistant Principal Religious Education
Tomorrow is Beach Day. A day at the beach has always been a special part of our Feast Day celebrations. At the Harbour or at Bucasia it is always a great day.
Curriculum Corner
CELEBRATING BOOKWEEK
What a wonderful time we are having this week celebrating Bookweek. Today’s dress up day was lots of fun and a wonderful reflection of the children’s exposure to Literature. The school grounds were filled with characters from all sorts of books and the imagination and creativity involved in the costumes was amazing. A huge thank you to all of the parents who were able to join us in our classrooms to celebrate our love of reading at Emmanuel.
Janine Refalo
Assistant Principal Curriculum
APA News
Choir Showcase
All Choirs will perform their songs on Thursday 31 August at 9:45am in the Marist Centre. This will be a great opportunity to thank Mrs Whelan, Mrs Dale and Miss Meg and celebrate the success of our Year 2, Year 3-4 and our School Choirs.
All Welcome
BASKETBALL GALA DAY - UPDATE
Permission notes and medical forms will be distrubuted next week to students who have returned an expression of interest form. Any Year 5 students who were away at camp and who have not returned their EOI, are asked to do so by tomorrow (Friday 25 August) if they wish to be included in a team.
DISCO SAUSAGE SIZZLE
The P&F will be cooking and selling sausages on bread for $2 each. Please pre-order your sausages for catering purposes only by 9:30pm Wednesday 30 August via the TryBooking link below.
CASH payment is to be made on the night
Amanda McDonald
Assistant Principal Administration
Strategic Priorities 2023
SchoolTV
There are lots of amazing resources available on SCHOOLTV to support and empower parents to better deal with the challenges of raising happy, well and resilient young people.
For short video clips, articles and fact sheets, from leading specialists and key wellbeing organisations, check out the POSITIVE PARENTING tab via the link below or on our school website.
Around the School
YEAR 5 CAMP
This week, the Year 5 students, teachers and volunteer parents ventured to Kinchant Outdoor Education Centre for a fun-filled, activity packed three days of camping and team building. The students all had a fantastic time and it was great to see them step out of their comfort zone and embrace new challenges. The students participated in activities such as Rock Wall Climbing, the Giant Swing, Low Ropes, Team Challenges, Catapults and Archery.
Many thanks to our fantastic parent helpers Ross Dolan, Chris Martin and Justin Trott who came along to support the teachers and students, as well as Mrs McDonald, Mr Steel and Mrs Wheeler who took time away from their school roles to join us.
Here is what some of the students had to say about their camp experience:
Isla.H: My favourite activity at camp was the Rock Wall Climbing as there were varying levels of difficulty so we could challenge ourselves and have a few turns!
Ryan.W: My favourite activity was Team Challenges as we were working together as a team to solve problems and finish the challenge.
Fraser.S: My favourite activity at camp was the Giant Swing because it was fun and exciting. Everybody pushed themselves to their limits and chose their own starting height. Everybody was screaming when they started to swing and it was funny. I also really enjoyed the chicken for dinner.
Franske.H: My favourite activity was Archery. We could encourage everyone to do their best and we cheered for them when they got a good score.
A huge thank you to our Year 5 Teachers Miss Giarrusso, Mrs Shepherd and Mrs Scott for their preparation of students in the lead up to the camp and the tireless efforts whilst at Kinchant Dam to ensure all students had a fabulous time. Special thanks to Mrs Scott for her role as camp co-ordinator. Your organisation and long hours preparing for all facets of the camp are truly appreciated.
YEAR 6 - KINDY BUDDIES
In the fabulous world of Year Six, students are given opportunities to develop and perfect their leadership qualities. Emmanuel Kindy buddies offers the opportunity for this to happen. Each fortnight, a Year Six class will work alongside an Emmanuel kindy class. We have been fortunate enough to be involved in activities that encourage the students to think outside the box, design and enter a world of conceptual play. Conceptual play worlds are imaginary scenarios based on picture books. You play in your world together and then encounter problems to solve. Recently, students entered the story of 3 Little pigs. Students were given opportunities to retell the story through performance. We then spent time designing a house that could withstand the elements of the big bad wolf. Once our design was completed it was time to build! We then had Miss Lisa bring in her hairdryer and leaf blower to blow the houses down! You will be pleased to know that we have a class full of architects and builders; not one house was able to be blown down!
Working with our little people in our school community is the highlight of our student’s fortnight. It turns out that learning using conceptual play is not only beneficial for 4-year-olds but 11 and 12 year olds too!
STEM
SHOEBOXES FOR STEM
As always, we are very busy in STEM designing and creating new and wonderful things.
To ensure we are being sustainable as possible, we like to try to repurpose materials that would usually find their way into the bin. We are currently in need of shoeboxes for a design task. If you have any shoeboxes lying around the house that you would like to donate to STEM, we would greatly appreciate your donations. These can be left at the STEM room or at the office. Thank you for your continued support.
Mr Dylan Steel
P & F News
GIFTS $3.00-$10.00
Awards
Congratulations to the students pictured below who received an award in Week 6.
Finance
TERM 3 SCHOOL FEE STATEMENTS
Term 3 School Fee Statements were emailed to all families on Tuesday 18 July, with payment now overdue. Statements can also be viewed via Parent Lounge using the ‘make a payment’ tab from the menu bar and clicking on the paperclip. If you did not receive your statement, please advise the finance office immediately.
Tuckshop News
Please Note: It is imperative that volunteers DO NOT attend tuckshop if they are unwell or have anyone at home who is unwell.
Lost Property
Please see below image of lost property items. Several of these items are not clearly name or un-named.
Unclaimed items will be donated at the end of Term 3.
Notices
NORTHERN BEACHES - BUS CHANGES
SCHOOL APP
Community News
