Dear Parents, Staff and Friends
Official Opening and Blessing of the BER facilities
On Friday at 10:30, we will officially open and bless our new school facilities – Undercover Area, Library, Extension to the staffroom and new classrooms.. We will have a number of official guests including:
· Mr Graham Perrett, the Federal member
· Fr Gerry
· Helen Royan, Director of Learning and Teaching BCE
· Annette Duffy, Area Supervisor – South West BCE
· Nicole Johnston, Local member
· Local Principals from the South West region
The ceremony of blessing and opening begins at 10:50 and we hope that you can join us to celebrate the wonderful facilities that we were able to build thanks to Federal Government funding.
First Reconciliation
Congratulations to all our students who will take part in their first Sacrament of Reconciliation this week. I would like to thank Mrs Blumke, Mr Marsh and Mrs Cassidy for their support of our children. It will be a wonderful experience to participate with other children of the Parish. Students and teachers, Mrs Riley, Ms Goebel, Mr Malone, Mr Seow and Ms Feenaghty from our other Parish school, St Joseph’s will also be present making the celebrations a great Parish event. We especially thank Mrs Vanessa Sullivan for her organization of the Sacramental programme.
Resilience
With the end of year approaching tiredness and lack of patience can become more obvious (staff too..) so focussing on resilient skills and mind sets to handle everyday stresses and occurrences is important. Being emotionally resilient means knowing how to stay calm and being able to stop getting extremely angry, down or worried when something bad happens. It means being able to calm down and feel better when you get upset. It also means being able to control your behaviour when you are very upset so that you can bounce back from difficulty and return to work or play. Some skills include finding something fun to do, finding someone to talk to, relaxation, exercise, changing negative to positive self talk, not blowing things out of proportion and figuring out how to solve problems.. even concentrating on breathing can help! It is not about elimination of emotions but being able to recognise and manage emotions and behaviours.
End of Year Celebration
Please mark on your calendars Monday 3rd December. We will have a sausage sizzle and concert starting at 6pm. More information will follow shortly.
School Fees
Our final fees for 2012 were sent out this week. Could you please attend to these as soon as possible. This is a very short term but a very busy one for the office and we would appreciate finalisation of accounts prior to the last week of term.
Every blessing for this week
Trudy
APRE NEWS
OFFICIAL OPENING AND BLESSING OF NEW BUILDING
This Friday, we celebrate the opening and blessing of our new buildings. Federal member for Moreton, Graham Perrett will officially declare the buildings open and Father Gerry will lead a blessing ceremony.
Parents and caregivers are cordially invited to this auspicious event which commences at 10.50 am in the undercover area. Please note there will be no prayer assembly at the usual time of 8.30am.
REMEMBRANCE DAY
At 11 am on 11 November 1918 the guns of the Western Front fell silent after more than four years of continuous warfare. In November the Germans called for an armistice (suspension of fighting) in order to secure a peace settlement. They accepted the allied terms of unconditional surrender.
The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month attained a special significance in the post-war years. The moment when hostilities ceased on the Western Front became universally associated with the remembrance of those who had died in the war.
Throughout this week, we are selling poppies (50c) and badges ($5) as mementos of the day. A special prayer will also be incorporated into the opening ceremony.
HOW DO I STOP THOSE FIGHTS? SIBLING RIVALRY
It can be frustrating and upsetting to watch — and hear — your kids fight with one another. A household that's full of conflict is stressful for everyone. Yet often it's hard to know how to stop the fighting, and or even whether you should get involved at all. So why do kids fight?
Evolving needs. It's natural for kids' changing needs, anxieties, and identities to affect how they relate to one another. For example, toddlers are naturally protective of their toys and belongings, and are learning to assert their will, which they'll do at every turn.
School-age kids often have a strong concept of fairness and equality, so might not understand why siblings of other ages are treated differently or feel like one child gets preferential treatment.
Teenagers, on the other hand, are developing a sense of individuality and independence, and might resent helping with household responsibilities, taking care of younger siblings, or even having to spend time together. All of these differences can influence the way kids fight with one another.
So what’s the best way to help kids work things out?
• Role models. The way that parents resolve problems and disagreements sets a strong example for kids. So if you and your spouse work through conflicts in a way that's respectful, productive, and not aggressive, you increase the chances that your children will adopt those tactics when they run into problems with one another. If your kids see you routinely shout, slam doors, and loudly argue when you have problems, they're likely to pick up those bad habits themselves.
• Whenever possible, don't get involved. Step in only if there's a danger of physical harm. If you always intervene, you risk creating other problems. The kids may start expecting your help and wait for you to come to the rescue rather than learning to work out the problems on their own. There's also the risk that you — inadvertently — make it appear to one child that another is always being "protected," which could foster even more resentment
• If you're concerned by the language used or name-calling, it's appropriate to "coach" kids through what they're feeling by using appropriate words. This is different from intervening or stepping in and separating the kids.
Remember, as kids cope with disputes, they also learn important skills that will serve them for life — like how to value another person's perspective, how to compromise and negotiate, and how to control aggressive impulses.
Gerard
AROUND THE SCHOOL
Personal Development Program for Year 6 and 7 students.
On Wednesday 7th November 2012 from 7.00 – 8.30pm, Jennifer Mason from “Life Work in Progress: will facilitate a Parent Information Evening for parents of Year 6 and 7 students. The purpose of this information session is to enable parents and teachers to have full access to all content material and resources used during the “Life Changes” student sessions scheduled to be held at the school on Thursday 15th November 2012. A note outlining details was sent home last week. Please contact us if you have further questions.
“It’s CTK – Talent Day”
Tuesday 20th November 2012
9.00am – 2.50pm
Auditions are going amazingly well, a big well done
to all the kids for being so organised!
Remaining audition times are as follows..
Thursday Nov 8th – Yr 1 Red and Blue
Friday Nov 9th – Yr 2 Red and Blue
Monday Nov 12th – Prep Blue
Tuesday Nov 13th – Combined Year level groups
Wednesday Nov 14th – Year 5 boys & MY2
Thursday Nov 15th - Yr 3 Red and Blue
Auditions begin at lunchtime and go through to 2.50pm.
More details of the day to follow next week!
Any queries please see Mrs Champion and Mrs Cramer
Thank you
Many thanks to the 3 mums and Mrs Sharon Briody who assisted with last Thursday's whole school CTK mural tile glue down. This week we hope to double that number (dad's are welcome too!) so if you have some time after drop-off on Thursday please come and assist glueing down the many tiles that your children have made so carefully and lovingly to tell of their belonging to CTK.
all the best
Mr Fitz
ICLT in the Middle Years Classrooms in 2012
Learning in the 21st centruy certainly has changed from when I went to school. No we didn't have slate boards, but we certainly didn't have the technology we have today. The implications of this technology and the age of information, impact on our classrooms imensly, not just because it is there to be used, but becasue it is an integral part of the world in which our children will work and compete to earn a living.
Throughout this year the Middle Years teachers have attended five professional development days with a cluster of schools on the south side. We were immersed in the latest research, analysed and evaluated our own teaching and embedding of technology, and shared best practice with our colleagues. This cluster was a valuable way to improve the pedagogy of the Middle Years classrooms this year and helped us to get the best out of our laptops. It was a steep learning curve for us but we are very happy with what was achieved. At our last team meeting we discussed and planned how to make the middle years learning environment even more successful than it was this year. We are looking forward to putting into practise all that we have learnt and making 2013 a great year for the laptop classrooms.
Next week there will be a parent information night for the parents of children moving from Year 3 to Year 4. At this night, we will show some of what we have learnt and what we achieved this year, as well as talk to parents about the day to day running of a laptop classroom and the general management of the laptop classroom. This is an important night for current Year 3 parents who are staying with CTK next year. An invitation will come home regarding this night so please be sure to read this one.
Mr V
Road Safety
Please be aware that the speed limit around the school from 7 til 9am 2 til 4 pm is 40 kilometres an hour. This includes Randolph Street, Addison Road and Churchill Street. The safety of your children is a priority.
We are very happy that children are riding, walking and wheeling to school however we do ask that you remind your child/ren about safe road practices.
LIBRARY NEWS
I was so proud to announce on Monday that as a school, we have read more than 10200 books collectively. We have surpassed our goal and continue to read. I am very proud of all the students who have improved not only their reading skills, but also the number of books they would generally choose to read. This has been a great challenge in the National Year of Reading and I would like to thank everyone for taking part. A special celebration is being organised for the finale of the Reading Challenge. Watch for emails from your class coordinators to see how you can help with this.
Many thanks, Illese Smithwick
SPORTS NEWS
LAST WEEK OF CRICKET
This week will be the last week of cricket for the season. Last week Mrs Boundy coached the boys to a win yet again. Well done boys. The draw for this week’s game will be announced later in the week. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the parents who drove each week. Without you, we would not have been able to go to cricket. The boys and I really appreciated the little treats each week and your support for our team. Thanks mums.
Mr V
Softball - 2nd November 2012
CTK Senior B won against Graceville B: 20-9
CTK Inter-mediate B lost against Ironside: 1 - 0
CTK Junior B lost against Graceville: 14-6
Well done girls
Kim Fannin
TUCKSHOP NEWS
Thanks to Nicki Cuolahan and Brownyn Hartley for providing our delicious home baked treats. Thanks also to Heather Greene, Gianna Gangemi and Janelle Burton for helpin gout in the Tuckshop.
Bakers
Anne-Marie Champion, Trisha Colburn and Alex Bentley 9.11
Jenny Manthey Wed 14.11
Kirsty Claudius, Michelle Craig and Bridget Cullen Fri 16.11
Helpers
VOLUNTEER REQUIRED Friday 9.11 (AM)
Kerri Curtain Friday 9.11 (PM)
Amanda Smith Friday 16.11 (AM)
Louisa Curtain Friday 16.11 (PM)
UNIFORM SHOP NEWS
Time to get ready for 2013. Don't leave it to the last minute.... your required size may not be available!
The shop is open EVERY Friday morning from 8:15am for at least 1/2 hour . There will be extra opening hours in November - these will be advertised next week.
Can't get to the shop - then pick up an order form from the school office. You can choose to have your order left with your child. Sports uniform (i.e. the polo shirt) is only to be worn on sports days.