Newsletter No: 25 Wednesday, 16th

August 2017

Dear Parents and Friends, Being part of a Catholic School Community, you would realise the importance of Prayer in our lives. It’s about taking time out from the ‘busyness’ of life to be still, be quiet and to reflect. The children pray in their classrooms each day, we pray at our staff meetings, P&F Meetings and Board Meetings. As staff we also gather each Friday morning at 8.00am to pray which is an important and special time for us. Each week I come away from these gatherings with something to ponder and to acknowledge. I am grateful to my parents who instilled in me the importance and power of prayer and nurtured in me the strong faith I have today. I now work to instil this in my own children. We try to reflect on our day at night either before bed or before we eat to talk about what we are thankful for from our day. As a family, take some time each day to strengthen your relationship with God through prayer. I would like to share with you the following reflection which is all about being thankful - something we need to be each and every day.

BE THANKFUL

Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire. If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don’t know something. For it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times. During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations. Because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge. Because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes. They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you’re tired and weary. Because it means you’ve made a difference. It is easy to be thankful for the good things.

A life of rich fulfilment comes to those who are also thankful for the setbacks. GRATITUDE can turn a negative into a positive.

Find a way to be thankful for your troubles and they can become your blessings.

---Author Unknown---

Term 3

WEEK 6

Mon 14

th – 20

th Aug

Fri Assembly Prep J

WEEK 7

Mon 21st

– 27th

Aug

Book Week & Book Fair

Tues DanceFever Fri Assembly Year 6R Sun Opti-Minds MacKillop led

Children’s Liturgy

FAREWELL SUE WAUGH - ADMINISTRATION ASSISTANT

This Friday we say farewell to Sue Waugh our Administration Assistant. We thank Sue for her hard work and commitment to MacKillop in the past 18 months. We wish Sue all the best as she takes on a new full time role with Downer Mining.

POSITION VACANT An exciting opportunity currently exists within the MacKillop Community. Applications are now invited from suitably qualified and enthusiastic persons for the position of Administration Assistant (13.5 HPW). The successful applicant will have appropriate experience and an understanding of, and a commitment to, the ethos of Catholic Education. A Working With Children Check (WWCC) and eligibility for a Suitability Notice will also be required. To apply for this position, an application package can be obtained from the school office, applications close 28 August 2017.

BOOK WEEK DRESS-UP FRIDAY 25

TH AUGUST

Each year the Children’s Book Council of Australia brings children and books together with the celebration of Children’s Book Week. This year’s theme is “Escape to Everywhere.” Promoting reading at home can make a big difference to the development of literacy skills. Next Friday 25

th August children

are invited to come dressed as their favourite book character. Also, bring your favourite book to school to share with your friends and teachers. We will have a parade of book characters during assembly on Friday morning. I encourage all parents to make reading an important part of your household routines. It is a wonderful opportunity to spend time with your children and model an important skill. Happy Reading!

FATHER’S DAY STALL The P&F will be holding a Father’s Day stall for our students to purchase gifts. The stall will be held on Wednesday 30th August. Gifts will range in price from $2 to $6. Gift bags are also available for purchase for $1.

FAMILIES LEAVING

As our total enrolment drives many aspects of our school (staffing, budget, class sizes and structure) it is important that we try to be as accurate as possible in predicting the school enrolment for 2018. If you know that you will be leaving at the end of the year could you please notify the office as soon as possible? Your assistance with this matter is greatly appreciated.

MOBILE PHONES

It is part of our School policy that students require written permission to have a mobile phone at school. Parents are asked to write a note to Mrs Blakey to inform her that your child will have a phone at school. All mobile phones are to be dropped into the office, named and switched off before school and picked up after school. NO MOBILE PHONES ARE TO BE KEPT IN STUDENT’S BAGS OR THEIR DESKS EVEN IF THEY ARE SWITCHED OFF. Phones cannot be accessed during school

hours. The school accepts no responsibility for loss or damage to mobile phones which are not handed in. Thank you for your assistance with this matter.

STUDENT PROTECTION PROCESSES

The Student Protection Processes and Student Protection Guidelines for all Catholic Schools (Diocese of Rockhampton) have been updated and copies are available in the school office and also in the library. The revised Student Protection Processes and Student Protection Guidelines are now available on the Catholic education website www.rok.catholic.edu.au and our school website www.mnmrok.catholic.edu.au If you have any questions about any matter to do with child protection please do not hesitate to contact Allison Blakey.

EISTEDDFOD – DRAFT TIMETABLE

MacKillop has always been a supporter of the Mackay Eisteddfod. This year we have all year levels entering the verse speaking competition. Below is the proposed running order, however, is still subject to change:

– 8.30 a.m. o Prep Choral Speaking (2 sections)

o Year 5 Choral Speaking (2 sections)

o Year 6 Choral Speaking (1 of 2 sections)

– 8.30 a.m. o Year 1 Choral Speaking (2 sections)

o Year 4 Choral Speaking (2 sections)

o 1.00pm – Year 6 Choral Speaking (2nd section)

Thursday 19 October 2017 – 8.30 a.m. o Year 2 Choral Speaking (2 sections)

o Year 3 Choral Speaking (2 sections)

PRAYERS Please remember Steve Privett – Helen Privett’s husband who is currently receiving treatment for some melanomas. We pray for a speedy recovery for Steve. Please remember in your prayers anyone who is sick within our community, we pray for God’s healing and restoration.

Keep Smiling

Allison Blakey

Principal

THE ASSUMPTION OF OUR LADY - 15 AUGUST

On Tuesday, 15 August the Church celebrated the Feast Day of the Assumption of Our Lady when, according to our faith, the Holy Mother, "having completed her course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory". Although defined as an article of faith by Pope Pius XII just over half a century ago, the Assumption of Our Lady into heaven has been accepted from back to the earliest of Christian times. The Assumption signals the end of Mary's earthly life and marks her return to heaven to be reunited with Jesus. While the bodies of both Jesus and Mary are now in heaven, there is a difference between the Assumption and the Resurrection. Where Jesus arose from the tomb and ascended into heaven by his own power, Mary's body was taken up to heaven by the power of her Son. For this reason we use different words to describe each event. One is the Ascension of Christ and the other, the Assumption of Mary. www.sydneycatholic.org Catholic Communications, Sydney Archdiocese, 12 Aug 2011

DATE TO REMEMBER! Sunday 27

th August – Children’s Sunday Mass 9am

St. Joseph’s Church. MacKillop children and their families are especially

invited to participate in Sunday Mass.

Take some time to reflect on where Jesus has been in your life today.

God Bless,

Helen Privett

Assistant Principal Religious Education

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land and pay respects to their

Elders and all Elders, past, present and future.

-Jesus Lives in our Hearts - Forever!

OPTI MINDS UPDATE! On Sunday 27

th August, MacKillop will be entering 2 teams into

the Mackay Opti-MINDS Competition. The Opti-MINDS challenge is an opportunity for all Year 5 and 6 students with a passion for learning and problem solving. Teams work on a long term challenge for 6 weeks, as well as participating in a spontaneous problem on the challenge day. This year we have 1 team entering the Language/Literature challenge and 1 team entering the Social Sciences Challenge. As Opti-MINDS endeavours to promote sustainability, both teams must make all of their costumes, props and backdrops from recycled materials. With a small budget of $50 for paint and other consumable materials, the students need to think of creative ways to solve and present their long term challenge. Both teams have been working hard, giving up 3 lunch times per week as well as some Sunday afternoons. We wish both teams the best of luck as they prepare for their challenges in a fortnights time.

PREMIER’S READING CHALLENGE

REMINDER: All Premier Reading Challenge record

forms are due back to the classroom by Friday 25

August.

CHILDREN’S LITURGY OF THE WORD

Children’s Liturgy of the Word is held at St Joseph’s Church on

the 1st & 3

rd Saturday 6pm Mass and 1

st & 3

rd Sunday 9am Mass

of the month during school term and also at St Brendan’s church

on 1st & 3

rd Sunday7:30am Masses of the Month.

Prep J Jai Jackson

Wow Jai! Your writing is amazing. You are using your sight words efficiently and punctuating correctly. Love seeing how proud and eager you are when writing. Keep it up.

Maitland Bray For your awesome progression through the sight words.

Every morning you are eager to go to your folder to learn your words and read. I am super impressed.

1P Cameron Barbour You have made great progress with improving your

spelling skills this term. You always work carefully to learn your words in our ‘Work on Words’ sessions and this is evident in your weekly test results. Super effort Cameron!

Riley Titlow You have worked really well in Maths this term; I have

been so impressed with your counting skills and with your ability to make numbers using tens and ones. It is wonderful to see you finding the position of numbers on the number mat and completing our number puzzles independently. Well done Riley!

1S Max Gauci Your efforts to improve the length and quality of your

daily writing tasks has not gone unnoticed, Max. You listen carefully to instructions and ensure you start writing straight away. You are trying hard to include more detailed sentences and add some descriptive words to make your writing more interesting for the reader. I am very proud of your efforts Max. Keep up the good work!

Olivia Lucas You are brilliant at programming a Bee Bot, Olivia! You

take time to carefully consider the pathway you want your Bee Bot to take and you can easily record the required steps using a simple code. It is wonderful to see you applying your understandings of digital technology so effectively, Olivia!

2D Mileena Harriott You were reverent during our school mass on Feast

Day. I loved how you were joining in with all the prayers, hymns and actions. Your manners and behaviour at the beach lead others to follow a good example.

Poppy Greatz Your bookwork is ‘spot on’ Poppy. You are always trying

to use entries and exits and finish all tasks to the best of your ability. Keep shooting for the stars Poppy!

3CM Vanessa Donald This week you have put a lot of effort into your poetry

booklet. You have been participating well during lessons, and have written some wonderful Cinquains, Haikus and Shape Poems. Excellent effort!

Noah Newland You have been working really hard in Maths this week.

You have participated actively in our measurement tasks and I was really impressed that you thought of only measuring half of the oval and multiplying that by 2 as a strategy for finding the Perimeter. Well Done!

3E Kallis Stevens Thank you for your outstanding behaviour at our Feast

day last week. I would also like to acknowledge your fine, quick mind while we calculated change during our Money unit. You are an awesome subtractor! Keep it up Kallis!

Eva Zemek You showed a great deal of maturity during our Health

discussions last week. It’s so lovely to see such a sensible attitude in the classroom. You are amazing, Eva!

4C Addison Gauci Thank you for making my first week in year 4 such a

delight! You have been very helpful and always show such beautiful manners! Thanks Addy!

Bella Bovey Thank you for the mature way you handled our health

lesson this week. You listened and asked sensible questions and participated in class discussions. Well done Bella!

5D Ashton Brazier Your knowledge of coding is amazing Ashton. You can

create, design and implement games for others to play using Scratch. You have mastered the visual programming language. Well done!!

Mia Fry Mia enjoys writing ‘sizzling starts’ and can ‘tighten the

tension’ of her imaginative stories on google docs. She also uses ‘dynamic dialogue’ and is showing some strong editing and proof reading strategies in her writing. Excellent work Mia. Well done!

5K Sky Neal For your sensible and mature approach towards our

current health unit. Thank you for setting a great example for others!

Ben Devitt For an improvement with your spelling test results and

an increased pace while reading out loud. Keep up the good work Ben!

6PN Hayley Davidson You have embraced our first Eisteddfod piece “Flying

with Bradley” with enthusiasm! You speak confidently and show fantastic expression. You were born for the “stage”. Keep up the amazing effort Hayley!

Georgia Murphy Thank you for always living out Mary MacKillop’s motto

of helping others. This was evident during our Feast Day celebrations at Illuka Park, when you happily assisted others to find sticks and logs for their huts. Thank you Georgia, it is a wonderful quality to have, and one you do effortlessly on a daily basis.

6R Dylan Le Garde You were ‘switched on’ to our learning about electrical

circuits in Science! You participated enthusiastically in activities and could accurately identify whether a light bulb would light in images of open and closed electric circuits. You also did a fantastic job extending your learning to identify series and parallel circuits too.

Elijsha Zemek You work super hard and go to great lengths to ensure

that you show your thinking strategies when solving mathematical problems. I love that you check to make sure you are on the right track. You did a fantastic job interpreting data to identify mean, median, mode and range!

PE Award Ben Schembri, Elijsha Zemek, Hayley Davidson, Charli Bliss, Angus Wearmouth, Emily Rowlands

Thank you for taking pride in your role as “Sports Captain”. You always make sure the sports equipment is accessible for the students at MacKillop, and inform me if any equipment is broken. I especially appreciated the help you gave me during your lunch break, cleaning the sports shed and organising equipment for our Feast Day celebrations.

Aug 17 Owen Anderson 18 Andre Rosales 19 Flynn Bailey 19 Vanessa Donald

These children have been ‘Making Jesus Real’ at MacKillop.

Congratulations!

Fri 18/08 Stacey Davidson Karey Derdziak Wed 23/08 Kim Hill Nat Fry

The monthly special for August is

TACOS for $4.00 each. This includes lettuce, cheese, tomato & sour cream

Please ensure tuckshop orders are written on brown paper bags and remember to write your child’s name and class on

the bag so their lunch goes into the correct box. If you are unable to work your rostered day could you please

contact Jo Oliver by phone or text on 0413 672 920

P & F MEETING

Once again, thanks to all who attended the P & F meeting last

Monday night. The Committee was updated on fete progress.

We also discussed the possibility of a Buddy Bench. This idea

is going to be taken back to the teachers to make a decision.

We set dates for working bee’s to get the school ready for the

fete. Stay tuned for details about the next meeting!

P&F SOCIAL NIGHT

Join us for a BBQ and a family game of Barefoot Bowls! Saturday 26

th August, at North Mackay Bowls Club

Adults - $20 each, Children (6- 12yrs) - $10 each (Prices include BBQ Buffet and game of bowls) 5:30pm (for a 6pm start) Please RSVP by filling out the attached form with your payment to the office by Friday 19

th August.

PIZZA MEAL DAY

Thanks to Jo Oliver for organising Pizza Meal Day. If you have any suggestions for the P & F, please fill out a suggestion form available in the office and pop it into the red box. Alternatively you can email your suggestions to secretarymackillop@gmail.com Remember to check out the MacKillop P & F page on the website where you can find our contact details and the latest meeting minutes.

MacKillop Catholic Primary School.

Mel, Paula, Kristy & Penny

TERM 3 DATE CLAIMERS

Barefoot Bowls Night – Saturday 26th

August Father’s Day Stall – Wednesday 30

th August

FATHER’S DAY STALL

Wednesday 30th August

9.00am – 11am in the Hall

If you would like to buy dad a little something

for Father’s Day, prices range from $2.00 to

$6.00. Gift bags also available for $1.00

To set your child/teen up for school success…

…ever thought about doing Triple P? It could be as simple as coming along to a 90 minute seminar, one-off discussion group, or group program. The Triple P – Positive Parenting Program can give you the tools to help your kids do better at school, make friends and succeed in life.

Choose from more than 70 Triple P Seminars, Groups and Discussion Groups running between now and October. There are morning, lunchtime and evening sessions as well as Triple P Online and Teen Triple P Online for those who can’t make it in person. Join the thousands of Queensland parents discovering that doing Triple P isn’t just about picking up tips and strategies that really work – it’s a chance to meet other parents and share experiences.

To register for a seminar near you, go to: www.triplep-parenting.net.au/qld-uken/find-help/check-our-

calendar/

1P & 1S COMBINED SOCIAL

WHEN: Saturday 9th September at 2pm

WHERE: Mulherin Park, Mackay Harbour. Please meet at the playground section.

Please bring a plate to share or you can buy fish and chips from the Lighthouse. Siblings and other family members are

more than welcome to come along.

Please RSVP to Nic Peever, Jodie Hopton or Kristy Doumergue.

PREP J

Please join us for lunch, drinks and live music by the beach………

SEABREEZE HOTEL, SLADE POINT

SUNDAY 27TH

AUGUST @ 12pm

Siblings and other family members are more than welcome to come along also.

Please RSVP to Kerry Davis or Jacqui Sherry

MacKillop P&F Association

Invites you to a family night of

Barefoot Bowls &

BBQ

At: North Mackay Bowls Club

On: Saturday 26th August 2017

Time: 6pm- 8pm

Please arrive at 5:30 for 6pm start

Prices: $20 per adult $10 per child (6-12yrs)

Under 5 free

Please return this reply form with your payment to the office by Friday 19th August

Yes we would love to come!

Family Name: ______________________________

Number of people attending: Adults:_______________ Children: _________________________

Amount enclosed: $_______________________

MacKillop Scholastic Book Fair

Date: 21st - 25th August, 2017

Location: MacKillop Library

Opening Times:

Monday to Thursday - 8:15am to 3:20pm

Friday - 8:15am to 10am

Your child would have received today a Book Fair catalogue showcasing some of the books that are on offer at

our Book Fair.

All students have the opportunity to visit the Book Fair during their class time and will be given a wish list

which they can bring home. The children are able to purchase books and/or stationery they are interested in,

before school, during their first lunch break and after school.

Parents, if you are unable to attend the Book Fair with your child; please note that there are payment options

available to you when purchasing books and/or stationery from our Fair, please see below:

Option 1 – Online Payment: www.scholastic.com.au/payment

Be sure to choose BOOK FAIR PAYMENT, NOT BOOK CLUB.

(Please record your receipt number on your child’s wish list form and present this at the Book Fair for

collection of your book and/or stationery)

Option 2 - Cash

There will be a number of computers set up for the above option at the Library during Book Fair for you to

access this facility when purchasing your children’s books.

In the past, families have been extremely generous in donating a wonderful gift of a book from the Fair to our

Library. Your donation will be recognised with a ‘Bookplate’ identifying your family or child as the contributor.

We are always aiming to expand our library collection and keep our children up-to-date and interested in books

from non-fiction to fiction. With every book purchased at our Book Fair, it benefits our school library and

teacher resources.

This year when your child purchases a book from the Book Fair, they will go into the ‘Lucky Draw’ to win a prize

of books and stationery to the value of $15.00, there is 4 to be won. It will be drawn at assembly on Friday 25th

August.

Look forward to seeing you all at our Book Fair.

Marie Schembri

Library Coordinator