13 March 2019
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FROM THE PRINCIPAL
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Fundraising Committee Easter Raffle
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Grade Four PLaCE
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Caritas Just Leadership Day
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Catholic Education Week Mass
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Grade Six Leadership Day at PCYC
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School Garden
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Shrove Tuesday
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Ash Wednesday
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Art
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Kinder Excursion
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Seesaw
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Riverbend Camps
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Harmony Day
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Football Talent Search
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Upcoming Netball Rosters
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Aiming High Awards
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MJR
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Bullying No Way Day
This week’s reflection derives from John Mula, the Executive Director of Catholic Education Tasmania. He highlights lines from a Bob Dylan song;
“Then you’d better start swimming
Or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times, they are a changin’.”
Change can sometimes be stressful, but difficult change can also be personally and/or professionally rewarding. Without a willingness to change and to challenge ourselves, we can remain trapped in the past, locked into our conditioned patterns of behaviour. Life-changing events such as a major illness, loss of a job, breakdown of a relationship or the death of a loved one can bring with them deep pain, but also opportunity to challenge ourselves.
If we have had a difficult experience in our life, we might need someone or something to get things started again. Accepting what’s happened to us will not change our circumstance but it can change our thoughts and feelings. There is no doubt that it takes courage to maintain a focus on the change we need to achieve and it takes wisdom to perceive problems as opportunities for personal development.
Living is a mix of experiencing both paths of life, peace and turmoil, opportunity and disappointment, gain and loss. However, obstacles, setbacks and hard times have the potential to make us the best we can be. So, during this Lenten period may it be a time to consider changes that will enable us to be truer to ourselves.
As per our letter sent home yesterday, this year our Fundraising Committee are organising an Easter Raffle. We are seeking donations for items for the Easter hampers. We are hoping that each family can please donate something and it doesn't need to be chocolate.
Families have been given a raffle book to sell. Raffle tickets will also be available for purchase at the front office. Thank you for your ongoing support.
On Friday, 1 March our Grade Four class had their first PLaCE experience for the year. The day started at the Marrawah beach where students ate their recess. Next stop was Nettley Bay. A significant amount of time was spent here looking at the sand dunes and the way they have changed over time. Students also found pieces of glass and steel. Before leaving there a game of bowling was played by sticking cuttlefish into the sand and taking it in turns to try and knock them all over with rocks. After eating lunch, the journey home began. On the way home they called into the Montagu campground for a quick pitstop.
This Thursday, 14th March, Mrs. Jaffray Morf will take our ten School Leaders to the annual Caritas Just Leadership day at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School in Devonport. This particular day provides a wonderful opportunity for students to learn about the work of Caritas Australia and about ways they can help make a difference in our world. The Caritas Justice Educator for Victoria and Tasmania Gwen Michener will engage our students, together with other school leaders form Catholic schools along the NW coast, with social justice issues, and to encourage them to be just leaders. The aims of Just Leadership Days are to:
- identify local, national and global issues of justice.
- actively engage students in a process that helps them recognise they have the resources, the power and the responsibility to work for change.
- identify what constitutes good leadership and why it's important to be a leader in this domain.
- explore the qualities of leadership through the lens of Catholic Social Teaching.
- to resource and empower student leaders to promote Project Compassion, Caritas Australia's annual fundraising and awareness-raising campaign, in their schools
What do students learn?
Through hands-on activities and discussion, students learn global facts and explore the work of Caritas Australia. Students develop leadership skills to equip them not only to lead Caritas Australia events, but to encourage fellow students to be aware of their unequal world, to recognise the inter-dependence of humanity, and to work within their local and global communities to create a fairer and more sustainable world.
Last Thursday, 28 February our Grade Six students travelled to Burnie PCYC for a leadership day. To start the day, students were split into two groups where one went to the PCYC obstacle course and the other played soccer and dodgeball. The obstacle course consisted of climbing tyres, crawling through nets and building bridges from one area to another. For some students, this is the hardest thing they have ever done. To finish the day, the two teams competed against each other and the clock in the commando challenge. Each member of the team had to crawl under a large cargo net and the first team to get everyone to the other side was the winner. Ultimately, the Grade Six class thought PCYC was a great experience to extend their leadership and team building skills.
Feedback from some of our Grade Six Students on their experience:
CHARLOTTE SPINKS: My thoughts on PCYC was that it was fun and exciting. The challenges were pretty good but some challenges was harder than I thought at first. The challenges were hard but some of the challenges tested the leadership of the Grade Six class. PCYC was a great trip and I thought it was a great adventure.
WILL KING: I thought PCYC was a hard and challenging experience but it was fun and so worth it. I was so excited when we got to the challenging parts. I loved using teamwork.
BILL VON STIEGLITZ: Very organized, great team building activities. Fun and painful. Jeff was a cool instructor, challenges were harder than we ever experienced.
SOPHIE BRITTON: I thought PCYC was adventurous and it tested our leadership skills. Some activities were fun, I enjoyed the bridge building with planks and black blocks we stood on. Overall I thought PCYC was awesome!
Our students, along side Mr Stuart Smith, have been working hard in our school garden. Together they have grown these beautiful sunflowers. They have also cut up some of the tomatoes grown in the garden to make sundried tomatoes.
On Tuesday, 5 March we celebrated Shrove Tuesday as a school by enjoying pancakes together. The tradition of eating pancakes on Shrove Tuesday originates from using up butter, flour, eggs and sugar that are associated with rich food before Lent begins the following day on Ash Wednesday. Thank you to all of the parents and staff members who made pancakes so we were able to celebrate this day together.
On Wednesday, 6 March we held our Ash Wednesday Liturgy in the Josephite Centre. Thank you to our Grade Two and Grade 5 / 6 Class for presenting.
Students have been busy letting their creativity flow during Art lessons with Mrs Hart of a Friday. Our Early Years classes have been focusing on ‘Margaret Olley,’ completing self portraits with mirrors and sketching. Upper primary students have been researching cultural masks that will be developed into clay and paper mache masks.
On Thursday, 7 March our Kinder students ventured to Stanley on their first class excursion, showing their teddies all the sights that Stanley has to offer. After spending some time at Godfreys beach where they got to play on the playground and walk along the penguin trails, Kinder went up green hills where they stopped to feed the peacock.
Each class has begun to use our new digital portfolio, Seesaw. Each family should have received login details to their child’s portfolio which will be used by students later in the year. Teachers have sent the blog link for each class through these accounts and are uploading posts each week so parents/carers can share in their child’s learning.
Thank you for your patience with the school instigating this new digital portfolio. For any queries with setting up access please contact your child’s teacher.
This coming school holidays, Riverbend is once again holding a camp for students in Grade 3 - 5. Packed full with exciting activities, encouraging studies, action packed games and all sorts of fun. Bookings can be made by visiting the following website.
Jake Moore - for being a kind and considerate class member at all times.
Ethan Braid - for displaying lovely manners and being a considerate class member.
Ella Berechree - for a great job sounding out words.
Bronte Littlejohn - for always doing her best.
Jaiden Spinks - for always showing his friends and teachers the Spirit of Jesus.
Indianna Facey - for working hard during maths with tens and units.
Lilly Hart - for always being ready to learn and 'having a go'.
Shayla-Lee Howard - for challenging herself in her learning and giving 100% in tasks.
Heidi Braid - for her growing confidence to stand up for our class values and for her positive care and attitude towards her peers.
Addison Shortland - for her excellent motivation, application and enthusiasm towards spelling and writing.
Luca Smith - for being W.E.S.T and showing a proactive approach in all areas of schooling.
John Barker - demonstrating perseverance and a positive approach to learning.
Freya Jones- for always trying her best. Freya is a quiet independent learner who works well with others.
Hunter Dwyer - for having a positive start to the year. Hunter is an enthusiastic worker who tries his best.
Izaak Shortland - for his helpful and cheerful manner in our classroom.
Ash Scott - for his determined and persistent attitude at our PCYC day.
On Friday, Mitch joined our Year 3 and 4 classes to talk to students about taking responsibility for their own growth as a person and to share the importance of students being a giver of themself not just a taker.
“I loved Mitch’s lesson because he made little stories up to help us understand the things he was talking about and I thought they were really fun. One of the stories was about an Indian chief who had a granddaughter. He told her that there was a good wolf and a bad wolf in her body and that she needed to feed the good one.” - Esmay Ollington.
“Mitch wanted us to know about the Spirit of Jesus. We did a few activities in our SOJ books with him (He was very quick). He was from Hobart. He spoke about the good wolf and the bad wolf. He said you need to feed the good wolf by being kind and showing the spirit of Jesus, but if you feed the bad wolf you will feel bad and not have a very good life” - Charli Moodie.
On Friday, 15th March, St Peter Chanel will be recognising 'Bullying No Way' Day. Students will engage in a range of class activities exploring the concept of bullying, and how they can help to take a stand and make a change. In Art lessons, students will be decorating rocks with images and messages that promote self esteem and confidence. This concept has been driven by ‘The Kindness Rocks’ project, with students creations having a lasting legacy at St Peter Chanel. We look forward to sharing our message with you.