26 August 2015

Recently there have been a number of reports of attempted child abductions outside

Townsville schools. Fortunately, the children in each of these incidents reacted

appropriately and were able to flee and report what happened. Each year our school

teaches the three ‘R’s promoted by the Daniel Morcombe Foundation, Recognise,

React and Report. It is important however that families continue to speak to their

children about these strategies and other child safety issues. These days we should

not be focusing on the “never talk to strangers” rule, but rather empowering our

children to sense when something is not quite right and know how to react. There is

an article in this newsletter by Catherine Gerhardt on keeping children safe in public

and I would encourage all parents to read it.

At this time of year each class invites parents to come and see some of their child’s

achievements over the past term. It is a good opportunity for your child to share with

you some of their class work and perhaps something the whole class has been

working on. The times for these “Showcases” are:

Prep Father’s Day Night Thursday 3 September 6.00pm – 7.30pm

Year 1 Wednesday 9 September 8.00am – 10.30am

Year 2 Pirate Day Wednesday 2 September 8.00am – 10.30am

Year 3 Tuesday 8 September 2.15pm – 3.15pm

Year 4 Tuesday 8 September 8.15am – 9.30am

Year 5 Tuesday 8 September 8.15am – 10.30am

Year 6 Wednesday 9 September 8.15am – 10.30am

Attached to your email this week is a “Time Out” poster from Queensland Health

listing the exclusion periods for children with an illness. Please keep this as a handy

reference and avoid sending your child to school if they have an infection that could

be passed onto others.

Mike

August

Monday 24 to Friday 28

Book week

September

Thursday 3

School Fee Accounts due

Thursday 3 and Friday 4

Father’s Day Stall

Monday 7

P&F Meeting

Thursday 10 to Friday 18

Eisteddfod Performances

Friday 18

Last day of Term 3

October Tuesday 6

First day of Term 4

From the Principal

The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and He knows those who trust in Him.and He knows those who trust in Him.and He knows those who trust in Him.and He knows those who trust in Him.

Nahum 1:7

Year 4O presented a Prayer Assembly on Monday on the subject of Forgiveness. We all have the capacity to forgive and to be forgiven. Jesus told us not to forgive seven times, not seventy-seven times, but seventy-seven times seven. In other words our capacity for forgiveness is huge and we are capable of being forgiving people. We also need to know that we all have the ability to be forgiven. To forgive someone who has wronged us is difficult but in doing so we are able to be healed and move into fuller relationships with others. Holding on to grudges, upsets and retribution only increases our unhappiness and inability to see good in the world. In this way we walk in the footsteps of Jesus.

Did you know? In between all the special occasions that occur in family

life, there are many days which we call ‘ordinary’. Our Church calendar,

too, has periods called ‘Sundays in Ordinary Time’. They are the

sustaining celebrations of our life together as a faith family. (livingwell media.com)

Have you ever wondered what it might be like to sleep rough on one of the coldest

nights of the year? Well our students are going to have the opportunity to spend

some time walking in the shoes of the homeless of Australia. This Friday, students

from Year 6 who are involved in Mini-Vinnies are joining with Marian Catholic School

Mini-Vinnies group to have a Homeless Night Experience. This event will allow our

students the chance to connect on a personal level with the issue of homelessness by

undertaking a series of activities and listening to guest speakers. This initiative hopes

to bring about awareness of the realities faced by members of the community with no

place to call home.

Time is running out to have your child enrolled for the 2015-2016 Sacramental Program. We begin preparation next term for Reconciliation. All baptised children in Year 3 and up are invited to participate. Please contact Lyn Horner at the Parish office for an interview. Enrolments close the end of this term.

Adam and Ethan Keymer’s great grandad passed away this week. May

perpetual light shine upon him and may he rest in peace.

News from the APRE

MASS TIMES Holy Trinity Church

Monday - 5.30pm

Wednesday - 6.30am

Friday - 6.30am

Saturday Vigil - 6.00pm

Sunday - 8.00am

Villa Vincent Chapel

Monday to Saturday - 9.00am

Sunday - 9.30am

RECONCILIATION

Holy Trinity Church

Monday – 6.00pm – 6.30pm

Saturday – 11.00am – 12 noon

Villa Vincent Chapel

Saturday – 9.30am – 10.30am

UNIFORM SHOP

The shop will be open on

this Friday 28th

August

from 2.30pm – 3.15pm

in the Covered Area

Any inquiries please call

MJ Ryan-Bennett on

0403 024 346

TUCKSHOP ROSTER

Term 3– Week 8

Monday – C. Pang

Tuesday – R. Lane

Wednesday – R. Duffy

Thursday – K. Esling

Friday – Help Needed

All inquiries please contact

Gyan – 0448 588 698

MacKillop Gate Ministry

As an ongoing ministry of the Josephite Associate Movement, St Joseph's School Mundingburra and St Margaret Mary's

College are putting together bags of essential items which are handed to people on their release from prison. The items

provide some support for them until they find more permanent accommodation. The group is calling for donations for the

following items.

Second Hand Towels and Face washers Hair Combs

Small Soaps Sanitary Pads

Small Shampoo/Conditioners (motel ones are fine) Deodorant (roll on only)

Toothbrushes (new) Disposable Razors

Small Toothpaste

If you are able to donate any of the above items please leave them at the school office or phone our parish office on

47747688.

Blessings for the week… Alanna

****************************************************************************************************

2016 Continuing Enrolment Thank you to those parents who have already lodged their response online for next year’s enrolment. It would be

appreciated if remaining parents could please confirm the enrolment of their child/children for 2016 by this Friday 28

August as planning for next year depends heavily on this information. Thank you. PLEASE CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Dty56f4_mx6MKy2YEvRFHx4ruPnw22tZ9RAEYQHTePM/viewform?usp=send_form

Swimming – Term 4 – Correction for commencement date Permission and payment notes for swimming for students in Prep, Year 1 and Year 2 in

Term 4 have been forwarded home. Please note the following correction:

COMMENCEMENT DATE FOR LESSONS WILL BE MONDAY 12 OCTOBER – Week 2.

There will be no lessons on Monday 19 October as this is a pupil free day.

St Joseph’s Outside School Hours Care Bookings are now open for the upcoming school holidays. Please contact Estel on 47250224 to secure your child’s place.

Bookings will close on Friday 11 September.

Pony Club Horse Sports Alligator Creek Pony Club (ACPC) are again hosting the North Queensland Interschool Horse Sports competitionon

Saturday 10th

October. Students are invited to compete and represent their school. Please contact the school office for

further details.The following day Sunday 11th

October, ACPC are holding their annual Fun Day (cash prizes) and invite riders

to make a weekend of it, camp overnight and compete the next day.

**N.B. Both events are Open Days, therefore riders do not need to be Pony Club members to compete **

Father’s Day Stall As our Father’s Day stall is fast approaching, we are looking for anyone who can help out with

setting up on Wednesday 2 September at 10.30am in the Art Room or helping on one of the

stall days – Thursday 3 September or Friday4 September. Can you please notify the office as

soon as possible? Your time and help is truly appreciated. Visit times for classes and prices

of gifts will be advertised in next week’s newsletter.

Monique – 0407 932 116

P&F Golf Classic – last Sunday A huge thank you to Tony Galt for again organising another enjoyable and successful Golf Day. Tony's team were the

eventual winners with a massive twelve under par! However, thanks to our sponsors no one went home empty-

handed. This is Tony's final year as organiser and if anyone would like to take on the organisation for 2016 please see Mike.

REMINDERS

� School fee accounts are due on Thursday 3 September. � Swimming payment for Prep, Year 1 and Year 2 students is due on Wednesday 7 October. � If your child arrives late at school it is a requirement they be signed in at the office. � If your child is expected to be away from school for an extended time, please advise the office and the

class roll can be marked accordingly. � When sending money to school for excursions etc, please place in an envelope clearly marked with your

child’s name, class and details of the payment.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE

Book WeekBook WeekBook WeekBook Week

This year we celebrated Book Week with a visit

from Aunty Peach and a tribute photo

display of our classes reading and

enjoying books.

Happy Reading Happy Reading Happy Reading Happy Reading

Everyone!!!Everyone!!!Everyone!!!Everyone!!!

Special Mentions

Prep E: We have two Star Students this week - Rubee Hughes and Francesco Fusco for great work during writing activities - their "have-a-go" attitude when writing the sounds they can hear in words and remembering to put spaces between their words. Special mention goes to Indiana Holbrook and Evie Blenheim for great packing away. Special mention also goes to Chloe Lane and Mia de Courcey for being kind friends to their class members. Prep G: Harvey Heywood is out Star Student for always being a very enthusiastic learner and for making great progress with reading skills. Harvey is even working on Yellow Box activities by himself. Special mention goes to Nate Fegan and Evie Sinardi who both did a great job to concentrate well all week. Keep up the good work… Year 1H: Star Students: Lane Spence for always trying so hard to do her best work and Oliver Dickhart for great reading and story writing! Special mention goes to all the year one children for their great work on their dioramas. Year 1O: Star student this week is Leuatea Kelemete for joyfully working to the best of his ability. Special mention goes to Nate Antoniazzi and Allarah Standen for using their initiative in class. Star student for last week was Elke Spiller for being a kind student towards other members of her class and special mention to Kobie Chislett for working harder in class. Year 2L: Star Student is Jacob Connor for improved work ethic and attitude. Special mention goes to Alexander Black and Sarah Daunt for working hard all the time in class and getting their work done. Year 2S: Star student for 2S is Ashton Deer for writing a fantastic narrative about pirates. Special Mentions go to William Pearson, Acaciah Collinson and Declan Esling for a big improvement with their handwriting. Year 3B: 3B's Star Student is Abigail Mazzer for consistently achieving outstanding results in mathematics. Special mention to all of 3B for their excellent ability to work on their individual learning contracts with ease and diligence. Year 3D: Star students are Gabrielle Laskey for always working quietly and conscientiously on all work and excellent, neat bookwork and Sienna Muir for starting work quickly and working conscientiously on all activities. Special mention is for Zeke Aldridge for trying hard to listen well in class. Year 4G: 4G's star of the week is Thomas Holland for his excellence in Maths, especially in the field of Number; well done Thomas. Special mention for great work in art: to Ruby James for drawing of the Joshua Tree; and to Hayley Fletchett and Pip Dowling for their great reflections in the Ephemera Booklets. Year 4O: Congratulations to our Star Class, 4O, for a wonderful effort leading our school in prayer on Assembly and for their fantastic participation in our Cyber safety lesson where they explored the principles that responsible 'Digital Citizens' should practise. Please ask your child to share with you the steps they can take to be cyber smart in the online world. Year 5F: Well done to 5F's Star Student, Kaitlyn Straube, for always working hard and giving her best cheerfully. Special mention goes to Hannah Currie for her great effort during Maths lessons; also to Flynn Mintern for his hard work note making and writing about the gold rushes. Year 5M: The Star Student award in 5M is presented to Catie Griffin. Catie has been putting a lot more effort into making sure she is participating in class discussions this term. She is also receiving this award for achieving an excellent mark on her time conversions test last week in Maths. Well done Catie! Year 6A: Star Student in 6A is Sofia Brescianini for having a wonderful work ethic and being a high achiever in everything that she does. Eloise Connolly is also our Star Student for working extremely well on all her assessment tasks, particularly her Science model. Special mention goes to Matty Dyer for receiving 100% on his maths test. Great achievement, Matty! Year 6D: 6D had two star students this week; Jakson Hughes for working well during class and making great progress with his assignment work and Paddy Glasheen for his consistent high achievement in maths assessments. Special mentions go to Thomas Duffy, Jacob Pang, Euan Cram, Holly Galt, Lainie Mitchell, Lily Wegener, Saskia Anindita and Airlye Fowles for working well together within their science groups.

Community Notices

Sands Townsville invites families and friends of babies

who have died to join us for the Walk to Remember

(WTR) on Sunday 11 October 2015. After a short

memorial service starting at 8am, we will walk along

the Strand to 'Walk the steps they will never take'. A

sausage sizzle will commence at 7am. There will be a

live butterfly release. If you wish to purchase a

butterfly to release or a WTR TShirt please contact

Sands Townsville

on sandstownsville@gmail.com or www.sandstownsvi

lle.org.

Orders must be placed before 25 August.

NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Art) is offering a

spring holiday program Acting Boot Camp Course is a

fast paced intensive course for acting recruits, build

skills in improvisation, character development and

scenework. Perform scenes for family and friends at

the end of the course. The course will run from 29-29

September at the Townsville Grammar School, North

Ward for students in Years 3 to 6. Places are limited

and you are encouraged to book before 31 August

and save 10%. For more information and to book

email open@nida.edu.au or visit

www.open.nida.edu.au

Keep children safe in public with these 5 ideas

By Catherine Gerhardt

There is a strong shift away from the old rule of “never talk to strangers”

to “never go anywhere with anyone without asking permission first”. A

child who has been taught to never talk to strangers may feel they have

nowhere to go if they find themselves lost in a shopping centre or other

public place.

As parents we need to emphasise who is a “stranger”. Your definition and

your child’s may be quite different. Engage with your children to help them understand that a stranger is simply someone

whom they do not know. We do not know if someone is good or bad just by looking at them. Rather, we need to teach

our children about “strangeness”, which is way down at the feeling level. This is about helping kids recognise that

something doesn't feel right, and then to trust and act on those feelings.

Five ways to enforce the new rule:

1. Never go anywhere with anyone without asking permission first

This is the new fundamental rule to keeping kids safe. This rule must NEVER be broken. Regardless of if it is a school,

public or family function, work with your children to ensure they always ask an adult for permission before going off with

ANYONE.

Classic “what if” scenarios are worth their weight in gold. “You are at school and walking back to class after snack when a

man comes up to you and says he is looking for his son’s class. He asks you to go with him to show him where it is. Do you

go?”

Use tempting scenarios that are relevant to your child, such as puppies or toys, and discuss safe options and strategies in

each case.

2. Your personal alarm

Children have an innate sensitive personal alarm, which we can teach them to use. This is their natural defence system.

Work with them to identify and recognise the physical and environmental signals that cause their alarm to sound.

Knowing that a rush of adrenalin will cause physiological changes in our bodies and activate our personal alarm is a good

start. A child’s personal alarm will present the same physical and emotional cues that an adult’s will.

3. Trust your instincts

Have you ever gotten “the creeps”? Maybe it’s the idea of snakes, mice or heights that does it for your child. Encourage

them to draw on how it feels when they get the creeps. Instincts are those feelings you get when something or someone

makes you feel uncomfortable. Instincts are the physiological changes that happen to our body when our personal alarm

goes off.

Physiological changes include noticing that you feel scared or nervous, your tummy feels upset and your heart is racing.

And you know what? Our personal alarm is right 100% of the time.

4. Personal space vs. safety zone

Most kids understand the concept of personal space. How many times have we heard, “Stop invading my personal

space!” Most people feel comfortable within an arm’s length of others. However, do your kids recognise their safety

zone? Teach your child to be aware of their surroundings. If a “strange” person is too close, suggest they back away and

maintain their safety zone. A safety zone is much bigger than your personal space – at least three giant steps bigger.

5. Safe places, safe people

There are times when a child must ask for help quickly and instinctively. We already know that not all strangers are bad,

that most strangers will help a child who is lost or upset. It is situations that are safe, not places. Talk with your child and

reinforce that he or she must ALWAYS use his or her skills with ALL people, including those presumed safe. Encourage

your child to tell an adult they trust when someone or something has frightened them.

As parents we need to empower our children with self-confidence and trust in their ability to sense when something is

just not right. It doesn’t matter if they can articulate it; they just have to feel it.

For more ideas to keep kids safe visit the Daniel Morcombe Foundation.

To find out more about Catherine Gerhardt's great work about keeping kids safe online and offline

visitKidproofsafety.com.au