2023 Week 1 Newsletter - Term 2

Weekly Focus - Aiming for a little less perfection

From the Principal - Some messages to start the term.

Dear Families

Happy Easter and welcome back to Term Two.  I hope you all had a chance to rest and connect with loved ones as we entered into this Easter Season which offers hope and mercy to us all.

Mercy is a precious gift to receive but requires some vulnerability for it to happen.  In a world that constantly promotes perfection as the ideal, it can be hard to admit our vulnerability, but it is also hard to be merciful and loving to people who appear too perfect.  So our challenge is to be comfortable with our faults and failings and forgive others as well.  Jesus models this for us.  Even in his resurrected, perfect form, he still appears to His disciples with His wounds made visible.

What a great gift for our children to see us modelling that it is okay not to be perfect and that we need to forgive others their imperfection also.

There are a number of important messages that I bring to your attention as we begin this new school term:

Sick children

The flu season is upon us and our Outside Hours School Service was hit hard over the holidays with sickness.

One lesson Covid taught us was that practicing good hygiene and staying home when we are sick helps to stop spreading illness.

Following these practices will hopefully protect students and staff and help minimise disruption to your child’s learning through staff absences.

Feeding your children

Please have an honest talk with your child about the food they are bringing for lunch.  Some are not bringing enough and are often seeking extra food from the school.  Some are not liking what they are given at home and are throwing away whole items of food.

Tuckshop Food

Please also have a talk about the food ordered for your child on Tuckshop days.  Some are receiving way more food than they can eat and are again throwing it away.  It might all sound good on the menu but there is a limit to how much they can eat.

Please also read out their order to them so they know what they should be receiving.  There can be confusion and distress if they don’t receive what they want or they don’t know a drink or iceblock etc. is included in their order.

Winter uniform

As the cooler weather comes upon us, please read the information in this week’s newsletter to guide you in options to keep your child warm.

Top Playground

It was exciting to see the next stage of our top playground begin with the levelling of the ground around it.  This will make it a much more suitable play area for our children and we are very grateful to McCoskers and to The Shed Company for their generous contributions to our school.

I look forward to seeing you all at the P&F Meeting tonight at 6:30pm if you are able to attend.

Have a wonderful week everyone!
God bless you.
Jennett Mullane
Principal
jennett_omullane@rok.catholic.edu.au

2023 School Goals

From Our APRE

HE IS RISEN

Welcome to Term 2 and Happy Easter.  I hope you all had a chance to find some quiet time over the Easter break to rest and recharge.

We spend the first few weeks of term celebrating the season of Easter after our Lenten period of reflection and change of heart.

The fifty days from Easter Sunday to Pentecost are celebrated in joyful exultation. These, above all others, are the days for the singing of the Alleluia.

The season of Easter is when we literally live in the mystery of our initiation into Christ’s Body. Eastertide is sometimes called the period of Mystagogy – a time when we reflect on the mysteries into which we have been called.

The Easter Scriptures show us how to savour the meaning of our baptism, the richness of the community and reminds us of our mission to the world.

Adapted from An Introduction to Lent and Eastertime, Gabe Huck, LTP, 1987.

We gathered together this morning to celebrate the season of Easter. This Easter season - May our hearts be blessed with the love of the risen Lord.

May our minds be blessed with the words of the risen Lord.

May our spirit be blessed with the joy of the risen Lord.

I pray that we can all be people of Peace this Easter season.

God’s blessings,

Kellie Richardson

Assistant Principal: Religious Education

Kellie_richardson@rok.catholic.edu.au

Catholic Identity

Catholic Social Teaching – The Common Good

What is ‘true community’?

The common good is reached when we work together to improve the wellbeing of people in our society and the wider world. The rights of the individual to personal possessions and community resources must be balanced with the needs of the disadvantaged and dispossessed.

At Caritas Australia, priority is given to development programs which involve collaboration with all relevant sectors of the community to promote the common good.

Liturgies and Assemblies

WEEK 2

Everyone is invited to join us for an ANZAC Day ceremony on Monday 24^th April at 8:35am in the Covered Courts Area. 

WEEK 3

Year 2B invite you to their Assembly on Friday 5^th May at 8.35am in the Covered Courts Area.

WEEK 4

Year 4B invite you to their Assembly on Friday 12^th May at 8.35am in the Covered Courts Area.

WEEK 5

Year 4A invite you to their Assembly on Friday 19^th May at 8.35am in the Covered Courts Area.

WEEK 6

Year 5B invite you to their Assembly on Thursday 25^th May at 8.35am in the Covered Courts Area.

WEEK 8

Year 6B invite you to their Assembly on Friday 9^th June at 8.35am in the Covered Courts Area.

WEEK 9

Year 2A invite you to their Assembly on Friday 16^th June at 8.35am in the Covered Courts Area.

WEEK 10

Year 5A invite you to their Assembly on Friday 23^rd June at 8.35am in the Covered Courts Area.

In Our Prayers

From the APC

The International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS) is an independent, quality skills-based assessment program which rewards and recognises student achievement.

ICAS gives you broad insights into your child’s performance across English, Mathematics, Science, and Digital Technologies. ICAS (sometimes referred to as the UNSW assessments) has been developed by Educational Assessment Australia (EAA) since 1981.

These competitions are optional and at Star of the Sea, we open them to students in Years Three, Four, Five and Six.

In 2023, students can participate in the following subjects.

ICAS Digital Technologies - 8th August                  ICAS Writing - 10 August

ICAS English - 15 August                                                ICAS Science - 22 August

ICAS Spelling Bee - 24 August                                      ICAS Mathematics - 29 August

Please have a look at the flyer below for registration and payment details.

Have a great week everyone.Anthony King

Assistant Principal: Curriculum

anthony_king@rok.catholic.edu.au

Easter Liturgies

Our students gathered at the end of Term 1 and start of Term 2 to reflect upon the Easter story, whose sufferings and promise of joy and new life offer hope for all.  A special thank you to Mrs Richardson and her Year 4A and Year 6 helpers for putting these liturgies together.

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Combined Schools Musical - 2024

The Combined Schools Musical provides a great opportunity for our students to combine with others from the local community to produce a stage show that is usually performed in mid March.

The local community is being given the opportunity to vote for the shortlisted shows via the GECC Face Book Page.  This link will close towards the end of this week: https://www.facebook.com/GladstoneEntertainmentConvention Centre

*Please note "School of Rock" can only accommodate up to 30 students*

Uniform Shop

As many of you would be aware, our Uniform supplier, Wearico, supplies Uniforms to all Catholic Schools in Gladstone.  The company has been seeking to find a shopfront to cater for more choice in availability to visit the store.

Weareco has now signed a lease @ 1/190 Goondoon Street and hope to open the store to the school community on the week of the 22nd of May.  Planned standard shop opening hours are as follows:

• Monday          8am-11am
• Tuesday          8am - 11am
• Wednesday   2pm - 5pm
• Thursday       2pm - 5pm
• Friday              Closed

Winter Uniform

We appreciate your commitment to supporting the correct wearing of our school uniform.

With the colder weather upon us, our high standards for this uniform need to be maintained please.

In Winter, a navy school pullover or jacket may be worn.  Students are also permitted to wear navy tracksuit pants over their school shorts (please do not wear them under the skorts or shorts).  

Girls are also permitted to wear navy stockings under their skorts/ shorts but must also wear socks or have them in their school bag to use when they take the stockings off.

All of these items must be NAVY in colour please without other colours/ motifs etc.  

PLEASE ALSO ENSURE YOUR CHILD’S NAME IS CLEARLY MARKED ON EACH ITEM OF CLOTHING.

Information about our Disabled Car Parks

We have a couple of families whose circumstances make them eligible to use the Disabled Car Parks.  It can be quite difficult to get out of the park with the bollards etc. if cars are parked directly behind them.  We ask that you do not park near the bollards that lead up to the top car park to allow space to reverse out of these disabled parking spots.  Please also ensure you never park in these car parks (no matter how briefly) unless you have appropriate eligibility.  Thank you for your assistance with this.

Pastoral Care Groups

Our Pastoral Care Groups provide an opportunity for all students to build relationships across the year levels, helping increase a sense of connection and safety. It also provides an opportunity to discuss whole school messages.  There was a great sense of excitement across the school as we gathered back in our Pastoral Care Groups last term to celebrate Harmony Day. We enjoyed reconnecting with our Pastoral Care teacher and buddies and discussing ways we can be peacemakers for each other.

Port Curtis Sport

Congratulations to Jesse J on being selected in the Port Curtis 10-12Years Boys Football team.  The Capricornia trials will be held in Rockhampton next month.  Well done Jesse!

Cross Country Training

Cross Country training will be held for students who have qualified for Port Curtis.  Training will be held in the first week of term - 18th and 20th April.  

Date Claimer - Parent Workshop Opportunity - All are welcome

We have just received notice of a valuable event being provided for our Catholic School communities in Gladstone to support parents in their important role of encouraging Learning and Wellbeing. This event is brought to you in conjunction with Catholic School Parents Queensland's Executive Director, Carmel Nash, and Professor Janet Goodall from the United Kingdom.

Janet Goodall is a highly respected professor in the Department of Education and Childhood Studies at Swansea University, United Kingdom. She is a leading expert in the field of family engagement in education and has spent decades researching and developing strategies for effective parent-teacher partnerships. She has a passionate belief that parental involvement is a critical factor in ensuring academic success and overall well-being for children.

This event will be held at Chanel College on Tuesday 2nd May from 6-7.30pm. 

All are welcome - please lock this in your diary - Monday 2nd May @6pm.

2024 Chanel College Year 7 Enrolment Information Evening

Student Absentee Line

If your child is not attending school, you can call us, 24/7, to leave a message to report the absence. The  phone number is 4994 8301.  

This designated phone line gives you the opportunity to call the school at a time that is convenient to you.

As always, absences can be reported using Parent Lounge or by emailing your child’s teacher and  SOSG_Absentee@rok.catholic.edu.au).

Emmaus College 30Year Anniversary

Thank you to our Caulfield Sponsors