Dear Parents and Friends,

In her book, The Black Dress, Pamela Freeman has this rather delightful image to put into our

minds:

“Poor little sad soul! Sister Aloysius sent him to me that first week. I was standing in the

playground, looking down at the mangroves and the bay, relishing the fresh salt air. Mick, his

name was, came sidling up to me reluctantly, eyes down, terror in every movement.

‘Sister says I have to tell you,’ he said in a quavering voice.

He gulped. ‘I stole a bun in the kitchen.’

God love him! I almost laughed. But I put my arm around him. ‘Were you hungry?’

He nodded. He was twisting his hands together in a combination of misery and fright. That

movement alone told of months of abuse and fear.

‘Well, you go back to Sister and tell her I said to give you another bun.’

His head came up, astonished, and he met my eyes for the first time. I smiled. He grinned and

hugged me hard and raced off to Sister Aloysius, leaping as he went. Then, I did laugh.”

Mary Mackillop’s action towards little Mick was one of total kindness. A century later, Mother

Teresa made a statement so relevant to Mary Mackillop’s action when she said, “Let no one

ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness,

kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile.”

The Roman Emperor, Julian, (355-363) tried desperately to limit the influence of growing

numbers of Christians but reluctantly, made this observation about them: “As children are

coaxed with cake, so have these Christians enticed the poor to join them by their kindness.

Strangers they have secured by hospitality. By brotherly love they have won the multitude.”

John Abbott. The History of Christianity.

If we are to take too much notice of the sensational side of media reporting, we might begin to

doubt our personal safety in a ruthless society where kindness is, seemingly, becoming such a

rare commodity. Perhaps media reports could include a few words from St Paul such as, “Get rid

of all bitterness, rage and anger along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to

one another.” Eph. 4:31,32.

As parents, we all know how self-absorbed young people can be. It’s part of their development,

discovering their own identity and deciding who they want to be. It’s quite possible that they

might think that because they are “family”, they are entitled to get what they want, when they

want it, even if it means that their selfishness is to the disadvantage of other family members.

They will need strong parent models from whom they can learn by observation and influence

that they need to be more aware of other family members and their needs, their feelings and

their concerns. They will need to be lead from self-absorption to sensitivity of others, so that

kindness becomes part of their nature as they mature towards adulthood. Here’s a thought to

keep at the back of your mind: “You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how

soon it will be too late.” Author Unknown.

God our Father, we thank you for your “random act of kindness” that enabled us to have the

children we do. Help us to establish kindness in our household, so it is found in our words, our

attitudes and behaviours. Amen

Peace and Best Wishes,

ffffââââxxxx

Week 15, 17th May 2012

Tues 22 May School Cross Country

Wed 23 May Class Mass 9:15am

Year 2A & 2B

Sun 27 May Family Mass

9:30am

Wed 30 May Class Mass 9:15am

Y7’s & Buddies

Wed 30 May to

Fri 1 June Year 5 & Year 6

Camp at Mapleton

DATE CLAIMER

The Feast of the Ascension

The Feast of the Ascension is a reminder that we each have a mission.

The Ascension of Our Lord, which occurred 40 days after Jesus Christ rose from the dead on

Easter Sunday, is the final act of our redemption that Christ began on Good Friday. On this day,

the risen Christ, in the sight of His apostles, ascended bodily into Heaven (Luke 24:51; Mark

16:19; Acts 1:9-11).

The reality of the Ascension is so important that the creeds (the basic statements of belief) of

Christianity all affirm, in the words of the Apostles' Creed, that "He ascended into heaven, sits

at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living

and the dead." The denial of the Ascension is as grave a departure from Christian teaching as

is denial of Christ's Resurrection. Christ's bodily Ascension foreshadows our own entrance into

Heaven not simply as souls, after our death, but as glorified bodies, after the resurrection of

the dead at the Final Judgment.

It is hard to believe that Easter was almost 40 days ago. Where has your Easter journey led

you?

Gentle Presence of God,

Your Son, Jesus, promised to remain with us always,

even to the end of time.

May our hope be renewed in the glory of Christ

who has shown us the true way to peace.

Send us forth now in joy with this message of hope for the world.

We ask our prayer through Jesus Christ. Amen.

Go in peace this weekGo in peace this weekGo in peace this weekGo in peace this week

BenBenBenBen

FROM THE APRE

NAPLAN

On Tuesday was the beginning of the NAPLAN Testing regime that has featured heavily in the media. The

content of NAPLAN tests is meant to be representative of the National Statements of Learning.

NAPLAN tests are designed to assess the skills of Australian students in literacy and numeracy with the specific

purposes being the collection of data from the population of Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 students and the assessment

of students against national minimum standards. The current focus of curriculum planning in our community

of schools is on ongoing folios of student work, performances, and production of artefacts that contribute to

more contextualised judgments about learners’ progress along the learning continua. NAPLAN tests cannot

replicate or replace the rich data such products of learning provide. They will add some “point in time data” to

the bigger picture of student achievement.

NATIONAL RIDE TO SCHOOL WEEK – Look out for some weird and wonderful looks!

On Friday we are celebrating National Ride to School Day in style with children wearing some very ‘crazy

shoes and socks.’ Children who are attending Gala Sports must remember to have school socks and shoes for

this event in their bag. This will also be a gold coin donation day with the money raised going towards the

East African Mission Orphanage (EAMO). We have a collection of educational posters to send and the money

collected will be used to pay the postage of these learning aids to the school at the orphanage.

QUEENSLAND CATHOLIC CUP FOR NETBALL

This Tournament is next Monday 21 May and we are entering 2 Year 6/7 teams. These have been organised

by Nicky Ganter who is taking this on and will have other parents to help on the day. A big thank you Nicky

and all her helpers. We wish all the girls all the best and hope they enjoy the day.

SCHOOLZINE

We are transferring over to the SCHOOLZINE newsletter on June 21. From this moment the newsletter will be

circulated through this link and come out every fortnight.

All teachers now have an ipod to take photos and video streams to use in the Newsletter. At the next P&F

meeting Lisa Lum will outline what Schoolzine is and all the connecting factors. Mark this in your diary as the

Schoolzine has wonderful capacities that we as a school can utilize.

PREP A & PREP B: This week in Prep we have been very busy. Prep A and B have started to talk about dinosaurs and space in our ‘I’m a

Scientist Unit’! We are excited every time we put on our lab coats. On Monday Prep B had a very fun morning

pampering our Mums. Next week is Under 8’s Week and we are busy getting prepared for all of the different days and

activities. We cannot wait for the disco!

YEARS 1A & 1B:

Well done on your Mass today Year One! It was great to hear all you have learnt about God’s Creation. This

week we visited Spencer Park to do some training on the real Cross Country Track. We can’t wait for the race

next week! We are also looking forward to Under 8”s Week including the P-2 Disco, Jump Off Day and our

Under 8’s Activity Day.

YEARS 2A & 2B:

This week has been busy. We have been getting ready for our special Under 8s’ Week, next week. We have been

CLASS ROOM NEWS

SCHOOL NEWS

practising our jump rope and raising money for our JUMP OFF day on Thursday and we have been organising our Mass

for next Wednesday to celebrate the gift of special children. Next Wednesday is also our disco and we are looking

forward to grooving in our PJ’s. Our Under 8’ day is on Friday and we can’t wait. Don’t forget parents, if you can help

please fill out the bottom part of the letter and return it to our teachers please. Lastly we have also been training for our

cross country on Tuesday. I need to make sure I have plenty of water and a good healthy breakfast that day. Hope to see

you there parents!

YEARS 3A & 3B:

We are all now NAPLAN professionals! Everyone thought it was going to be scary, stressful and hard. After

completing the tests the feedback from Year 3 has been extremely positive. It was fun, quiet and relaxing.

Some questions were easy and some were a bit tricky and challenging. Overall NAPLAN has been a positive

experience and we’re glad it’s over and done with. ☺☺

YEARS 4/5A & 4/5B:

On Tuesday Year 5 completed their NAPLAN Testing. We have been positive and well organised. Well done.

We are enjoying our time with our pre service teacher, Ms Beutler and Mr Owen. We are looking forward to

our Cross Country next week on Tuesday.

YEARS 6/7A & 6/7B: Last week was our first Gala Sports Day. Year 6 played soccer and Year 7 played touch football. This week the Year 7’s

have been completing their NAPLAN Tests. We are really glad the tests over so now we can do our other work. The Year

6’s have been hard at work as well, continuing to work on their poetry writing. There are some very creative writers in

Year 6. We are also preparing for our School Cross Country next week.

Celia Keogh Brooklyn Brougham Joshua Crook

Max Baker Sonia McGrath Caitlin Wood

Charlotte Burg Lill Marcus Charlie Marcus

Bridget Morton Kelsey-Lee Sheehan

BIRTHDAYS

LEARNING SUPPORT NEWS

Ellie Kendall- My Mum came in and I did her lips and her hair. I gave her a hand massage. I love my Mum.

Sam Lewis-On Monday I decorated my Mum with lipstick and nail polish. She felt loved. We all had morning

tea with cupcakes and popcorn.

Connor Farrell-My Mum came and I gave her makeup, I did her nails, I gave her presents and I made her a

necklace. Mummy said thank you.

Harper Holmes-I gave Mum a massage, I put her hair in a ponytail and I painted her toe nails blue, Miss

Mackay laughed and said that it was really nice.

A SNAPSHOT OF THE PAMPERING MORNING

PAMPERING OUR MUMS IN PREP B

Reminder that this Friday 18th

May is National Walk Safely to School Day. Each student is encouraged to walk to and from school. The grade 7 community group will be at the Davidson St gate handing out an extra stamp for the week. They will also be judging the best crazy shoes and socks and prizes will be awarded at assembly next Monday. (Shoes must be closed in. Grade 3 to Grade 7 will need to bring their school shoes in their bag to be able to participate in Gala Sport) This will also be a gold coin donation day with the money raised going towards the East African Mission Orphanage (EAMO). We have a collection of educational posters to send and the money collected will be used to pay the postage of these learning aids to the school at the orphanage. Below is a link to the latest youtube from the Orphanage if you would like more information. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyrHWyEzMgc&feature=g-upl&context=G2df0e5eAUAAAAAAAAAA If you want more information about the gold coin donation please contact Cathy Nash nashx@bigpond.com See you at the Davidson St gate on both Wednesday and Friday.

WALKING WHEELING WEDNESDAY

P&F NEWS