Newsletter - 14 March 2024

From our Principal

Dear Parents,

Resilience appears to be one of the most sought after qualities for happiness in our lives. No matter our age, we will need to face setbacks in our lives and the ability to bounce back from these setbacks is a test of our resilience. Our decisions and choices influence the outcomes we reach and will build and shape character. How we instil this value of resilience in others though, is not easy, particularly for us as parents.

Schools provide a safe environment for learning. However, if we assume that students will not face challenges at school then we are kidding ourselves. The fact is that just like in society, students will meet other learners, both students and teachers, who are different from them. They will face challenges at stages with their learning. Yet how each student deals with these challenges will be different. It would be fantastic to ‘bubble wrap’ our students so that they do not face these challenges, so they are protected and do not have to experience the uncertainty of making choices and facing something new and different. It would be reassuring for us as parents but we would be crippling the learning capacity of our students by not working through the skills and strategies needed to become resilient. If we do not work on this with our students then it will ultimately affect their ability to become responsible members within the community.

We need to be clear that our school environment is safe, engaging, caring and supportive for student learning. We aim to support our students through all their new learning experiences, whether that be academic, emotional, social or spiritual, but it is ultimately through experiencing new learning that our students will develop resilience. We by no means expect students to learn resilience in isolation, as it takes a lot of support, but this support comes through conversation and a safe environment to make decisions and choices which we can learn from and reflect on, not the avoidance of something new and different. This process sets our students up for success in a sustainable and on-going manner.

I have added below an extract from an article of eleven rules for life that Bill Gates provided to high school students. Although a little dated, it speaks volumes of the need for resilience.

Rule 1:  Life is not fair – get used to it!

Rule 2:  The world won’t care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3:  You will NOT make $60 000 a year right out of high school. You won’t be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4:  If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5:  Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6:  If you mess up, it’s not your parents’ fault, so don’t whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7:  Before you were born, your parents weren’t as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rainforest from the parasites of your parents’ generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8:  Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they’ll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn’t bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9:  Life is not divided into semesters.  You don’t get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF.  Do that on your own time.

Rule 10:  Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11:  Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.

Wishing you God’s blessings throughout the Lenten Season,

Geraldine Rostirolla

Principal  

RE Matters

CHRIST HAS NO BODY

This beautiful prayer is attributed to St Teresa of Avila (1515–1582).

Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

SCHOOL MASS

Please join us at St Joseph’s Church tomorrow, Friday 15 March, at 9.15am to celebrate the beginning of another great year at Emmanuel.  All welcome.

Students need to wear blue day uniform. Girls to wear dresses please. We will travel to and from the church by bus.

Seating has been reserved for parents on the side of the Baptismal Font. The school office will be closed from 8.50am - 11.00am as all staff will be attending the Mass.

Parents are asked not to park in the bus bays directly in front of the church. This is a safety issue.

CELEBRATING WITH OUR PARISH

A children’s Mass, led by Emmanuel students, will be held at 9:00am on Sunday 24 March at St Joseph’s Church. It is Palm Sunday and we will be waving palms, reading and bring forward the gifts. Students wishing to participate should contact Mrs Kliese in the office.  All welcome!

ST PATRICK

Each year, people around the world celebrate St Patrick’s Day.  For some it is about Irish dancing, potatoes and green beer, but for me it is all about the shamrock.  I remember being intrigued as a child by the life of St Patrick and how he used a shamrock to describe God. He explained that ‘like the shamrock which has three parts, but is one leaf, our God is a triune God - Father, Son and Spirit,’ or as we discussed in Year 1N – Creator, Saviour and Always with us.

St Patrick is one of the patron saints of Ireland and his feast day is celebrated around the world on 17 March each year. Like St Patrick who shared Christianity with Ireland, the early Irish settlers and convicts brought Christianity to Australia. On this day, I wish you every blessing, love, laughter and the luck of the Irish.

The Feast of St Patrick is usually commemorated on 17 March, but in 2024, St Patrick’s Day falls on a Sunday in Lent, which has precedence over all Feasts of the Lord and over all Solemnities. I am sure that there will still be lots of Irish fun and games on offer this Sunday.

THE SOLEMNITY OF ST JOSEPH

St Joseph was the husband of Mary and the foster father of Jesus.  Although he came from King David’s noble lineage, St. Joseph lived a life of great humility and devotion to his Holy Family.  He was a simple carpenter who protected Mary and Jesus. Matthew’s gospel describes him as a “just man” (1:19).  He is the patron saint of the Universal Church, and people invoke his aid for workers, families, home buyers and sellers, and the grace of a happy death.

As a school in the St Joseph’s parish and in a diocese dedicated to St Joseph, this day has particular significance for us at Emmanuel. A special devotional candle can be found in the sacred space in all classrooms.

I invite all families to petition St Joseph to pray for the Church, families around the world, workers and all of us on Tuesday. St Joseph pray for us.

LENTEN CHALLENGE

TAPITAS continues to be lots of fun. Students are excited to buy waterdrop tokens and parents are happy to report that their children have been doing lots of jobs at home to earn the money to buy them.

To date, students have bought more than 600 tokens raising $1657.00 to help support a school in Samoa where the collection and storage of clean drinking water is an ongoing issue.

Keep up the great work everyone. You are contributing to family life and making a difference in the lives of people you don’t even know.

Students who buy waterdrops will receive a ticket, for each dollar spent, in a special TAPITAS themed YETI water bottle. The YETI water bottle has been engraved and very kindly donated by JAFFADILLS – Unique Laser Designs & Engraving. We thank them for their clever design and support of our TAPITAS Lenten Challenge, and look forward to finding out who will win this fabulous prize.

The class that buys the most tokens will lead the school in a special dance at Assembly later in the term.

RAFFLE

Students are encouraged to buy tickets in our WATER themed Project Compassion raffle. This is a multi-draw raffle with several AMAZING prizes. All money raised will be added to our TAPITAS total. Our Year Six leaders will be selling the tickets before school and at lunchtime each day.

Tickets are 50 cents each or three for $1.00. The raffle will be drawn in the last week of school.

A big THANK YOU to our staff who have donated the prizes, which include rubber ducks, water blasters, water toys, pool rings, some Easter treats and lots more.

CARITAS - PROJECT COMPASSION

‘For All Future Generations’ is the theme of Project Compassion 2024. 

It reminds us that the good that we do today will extend and impact the lives of generations to come.  It invites us to make the world a better place by working together now and finding long-term solutions to global issues.

For more information, about the work of CARITAS and projects that the 2024 Project Compassion Appeal will support, check out the Caritas Australia website below:

SACRAMENTAL PROGRAM

Please pray for our students who are enrolled in the parish Sacramental Program. They will be confirmed by Bishop Michael McCarthy and receive Eucharist for the first time in June.

Please also include in your prayers the students who are preparing to be Baptised during the Easter celebrations.  

CHRISM MASS INVITATION

Bishop Michael has extended an invitation for all to join in the celebration of the Chrism Mass, being held at 10:00am on Thursday 21 March at St Joseph’s Cathedral in Rockhampton. This is a marvellous opportunity for the Diocese to gather with our clergy as they conclude their time of pre-Easter gathering.

At the Mass, the Oils of Catechumens and of the Sick will be blessed, and the Chrism consecrated, to be used in Sacraments across all diocesan communities over the next year.

For those unable to attend in person, you can watch the Mass live, or later, via the St Joseph’s Cathedral YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/user/StJosephsCathRton

This is an important celebration for our diocese and as we lead into Holy Week.

HARMONY WEEK – ‘EVERYONE BELONGS’

Harmony Week celebrates Australia’s cultural diversity. It’s about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone. Harmony Week is an opportunity to appreciate the multi-cultural nature of our society, from the oldest continuous cultures of our first Australians to the cultures of our newest arrivals from around the world, and to value the diverse contributions of all who call Australia home.

At Emmanuel we will be celebrating Harmony Week with a number of activities.  

Students are invited to wear something orange (t-shirt, socks, shoelaces, ribbons) with their school uniform on Thursday 21 March. 

It is not a free dress day.  No donation is required for participation. 

For more information about Harmony Week go to:

Harmony Week - Behind the News:

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.

VIRTUE OF THE FORTNIGHT – GENEROSITY

 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 ONLINE DATES - WEEK TWO

Please see below the dates and times during which Year 3 and Year 5 students will be participating in NAPLAN Online:

NAPLAN tests the sorts of skills that are essential for every child to progress through school and life, such as reading, writing, spelling, grammar and numeracy. It is important to remember that NAPLAN tests are not pass/fail tests. At the classroom level, it is one of a number of important tools used by teachers to measure student progress.

In preparation for NAPLAN Online, students across all year levels are engaged in technology lessons and are exposed to the knowledge and skills required for successful participation in each of the components of NAPLAN, Writing; Numeracy; Reading and Grammar.

This year a Public Demonstration Site is available and will continue to be updated so as parents can assist their children to prepare for NAPLAN Online at home.  The site includes FAQ’s; Parent Information and Practice Tests.  If you are interested in looking at this site please follow the link provided.

PARENT TEACHER INTERVIEWS 2024

Janine Refalo

Assistant Principal Curriculum

Strategic Priorities 2024

Strategic Planning and Improvement

Effective Teaching and Learning is part of continual planning and reflection each day.  However, to ensure targeted and purposeful improvement is achieved it is important to identify an area of focus in this domain. Currently the Strategic Priority is “To improve student achievement in Mathematics”. The annual goal that assists us to achieve our ongoing strategic priority is “To improve confidence, attitude and performance of all students in Mathematics”.

To ensure student outcomes improve because of this planned strategic focus the following student target has been developed “In Pat – M testing, all Year 3 – 6 students will score above their baseline 2023 scale score from the previous year”. PAT – M assessments take place in October each year and results are analysed to inform teachers of student growth. Such measurements allow teachers to monitor the progress of students and provide us with evidence to ensure the strategies implemented throughout the year have assisted in achieving our student target.

Strategies implemented in Term 1 to work toward achieving our Effective Teaching and Learning Strategic Priority; Goal and Target are:

• Continued indepth Professional Development of the V9.0 Australian Curriculum
• Math Project team development of whole school Math teaching resources and processes
• Math Mindset activities embedded in Math lessons
• Student talk embedded in Math lessons
• Data analysis of 2023 PAT – M results
• Cross year level Math Champion Staff Meeting group
• Collaborative Math planning and teaching across year level groups

Much of our work in this area is inspired by the Six Learning Key messages presented in Jo Boaler’s book “Limitless Mind” ...

Learning Key #1: Every time we learn, our brains form, strengthen, or connect neural pathways.  We need to replace the idea that learning ability is fixed, with the recognition that we are all on a journey of growth.

Learning Key #2: The times when we are struggling and making mistakes are the best times for brain growth.

Learning Key #3: When we change our beliefs, our bodies and our brains physically change as well.

Learning Key #4: Neural pathways and learning are optimized when considering ideas with a multidimensional approach.

Learning Key #5: Speed of thinking is not a measure of aptitude.  Learning is optimized when we approach ideas, and life, with creativity and flexibility.

Learning Key #6: Connecting with people and ideas enhances neural pathways and learning.

This year we are working toward following a whole school approach to our lesson delivery to include the following components:

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 ‘ALL TOPICS’ tab via the link below or on our school website.

Sporting News

FUTSAL COMPETITION

A reminder that Futsal permission notes and payment MUST be received by MONDAY 18 MARCH 2024. 

NO LATE PAYMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED. 

WEDNESDAY TOUCH FOOTBALL COMPETITION - CANCELLED

We have been advised by MDSS that due to the ongoing wet weather, the Wednesday afternoon Touch Football competition has been cancelled.  A letter will be distributed tomorrow to those students who have registered for the competition in regards to an alternate option. 

MDSS TRIALS - GIRLS FOOTBALL (SOCCER)

Any girls born 2014, 2013 and 2012 interested in attending the MDSS trials for Football (soccer) are to attend a meeting with Mrs Bottcher in the 6T/6K classroom at 1pm (second break) on Friday (14/3).

MACKAY DISTRICT SCHOOL SPORTS - FORMS AVAILABLE FOR COLLECTION

The following Mackay District Sport forms are available for collection from Mrs Bottcher. Nominations are due back to the SPORTS BOX in the LIBRARY by the due date with the levy payment.

• MDSS 10-12 yrs Girls FOOTBALL (soccer) TRIALS (DUE Monday 25th March)
  

Students seeking nomination must be of a high standard and have played a reasonable amount of the sport. These trials will be highly competitive.

EMMANUEL SPORT SELECTION PROCESS

Lisa Bottcher

HPE Teacher

Isabella (3J) will be travelling to Belgium for the 2024 World Irish Dancing Championships.

Issey is currently the u/8 3rd World Champion as well as the u/ 9 Australasian Champion .

From our Counsellor

Emmanuel Catholic Primary School is running Seasons for Growth; a group wellbeing programme in Term 2 and is now accepting referrals for this programme. 

Groups will be made up of up to 7 children, a further group may occur in Term 3 depending on demand.

If you would like your child to participate in this programme, please contact your class teacher or school counsellor, Hayley Francis; Hayley_Francis@rok.catholic.edu.au 

Hayley Francis

School Counsellor

Awards

Congratulations to the students pictured below who recevied a Principal's Award in Week 7.

School Choir

Vacation Care

Please see the Vacation Care Plan for the Easter Holidays in the image below:

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.

Finance

TERM 1 SCHOOL FEES - OVERDUE

Term 1 School Fees are now overdue.  We would like to thank those families who have paid their account.  However, if you have not paid, it would be appreciated if you could do so immediately.  (This does not apply to those families who have a Direct Debit authority/payment plan in place).   If you have not set up a direct debit authority with us and wish to do so, or if you are experiencing difficulties, please contact the Finance Office immediately.

CONCESSION CARD DISCOUNTS

Do you hold a current means tested Health Care Card? If so you may be eligible to receive a concession on your Tuition Levy.  Please click on the link for the information sheet regarding Concession Card Discounts.

Notices

Prep enrolment details for 2025 are NOW required from our existing families. If you have a child due to commence Prep next year - born between July 1 2019 and June 30 2020 – you are asked to complete an ONLINE enrolment form available from the school website (link in button below) by Thursday 28 March. It is essential that we have our current families accounted for so as to determine how many positions may be offered to new families seeking enrolment.  If you have any queries or concerns in regards to this process, we ask that you contact the office. ALL ENROLMENTS MUST BE COMPLETED ONLINE. Once enrolment applications have been received and processed by our Administration staff, you will be notified of an interview time around Term 3.

SCHOOL APP

Hi parents/guardians!

I am Chelsea Jansen, Instrumental Strings Tutor, teaching Violin and also teach the Cello. I would love for you to consider your child learning strings at Emmanuel with me and help us grow a string community at the school. I have 10 years teaching experience at local Catholic Education schools, conducting school string ensembles, am a performer with extensive performance experience and studying at the Conservatorium of Music. I provide my students with a tailored-approach learning experience and expose students to a wide variety of music with a passion for developing their music skills whether for specific goals or purely fun and enjoyment. I offer both private and group lesson options (groups only subject to availability). For enquiries and further information, please contact me on 040 223 1740 or email chelsea.jansen@outlook.com. As soon as an instrument is organised (I will help you with this), students can have an immediate start!

Community News