St Colman's School - Home Hill eNewsletter

Acknowledgement of Country

We would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land the Birri-Gubba Juru people and pay our respects to the elders past, present and future for they hold the memories, the traditions, the culture and hopes of Indigenous Australia.

Principal & Teaching and Learning Update

Welcome to another great week of learning at St Colman's,

I apologise for the lateness of the newsletter as I have been struck down with Covid and was struggling to complete it last week.

Over the past weeks there have been many people ill in our community. At St Colman's we have tried to keep staffing constant but it has been very hard. I thank you for your understanding and patience with this and hopefully we are coming out of the "sickness tunnel". A gentle reminder that if your child is unwell please keep them at home. Testing for Covid is still required and tests can be obtained from the hospital free of charge.

St Colman's will be hosting their Open Day this Thursday 9th June. This is not only an opportunity for Prep students for 2023 but also other families that might be interested in coming to see what St Colman's offers. The Open Day has a theme of Farms and we will be having a petting farm, antique machinery, planting seeds and other fun farm craft. All families are welcome to attend present and future.

If you have a child who is coming next year please ensure that you have picked up an enrolment form and return it as soon as possible.

Teachers at the present moment are busily preparing your child's semester school report. Reports will be available through the Compass portal in Week 10. If you do not have access to Compass please contact Mrs Shalon Gibson in the front office and she will be able to assist you with how to log in. Many of our messages come through Compass so it is important that you have access to this system.

CSP - St Colman's Deb Ball

A HUGE thank you to all our volunteers who assisted before and at the Deb Ball. Special mention has to go to : Kim, Courtney, Donna, Jasmin, Nikki, Gabrielle, Alistar, Amanda, Courtney, Genevieve, Nellie, Tilly, Ruby, Wes, Karen, Arlow and Digby. Unfortunately many others had volunteered but were sick. A special thank you to the organising committee of Shalon Gibson, Tonya Rossato, Hayley Oats, Faith Swindley, Bhree Christensen, Laura Loizou, Jake Healy and Keely Warcon. The Hall looked amazing and it was a wonderful night. Well done ladies. Money raised from this event is shared between the school and the parish.

Don't forget also this Friday our Movie night - no fundraising but friendraising.

School Satisfaction and Feedback Surveys

Recently you would have received an email about School Satisfaction and feedback surveys. These surveys are a way that Townsville Catholic Education works with schools within the Diocese to improve the educational outcomes and experience provided to our students. The responses help St Colman's change and improve things so that your child gets the best education they possibly can.

The surveys were distributed via email on Friday 20 May and we ask that they are completed by Friday 10 June. All students in Year 5 and Year 6 have completed a student satisfaction and feedback survey.

Thank you Miss Joan

Sadly we had to wish Miss Joan goodbye last week. We thank her for all her service - she will be greatly missed by students and staff. Joan had been a wonderful Support Officer for over 20 years at St Colman's.

Religious Education News

St Colman's School Family Mass

St Colman’s held their first Sunday School Mass for 2022 on Sunday 5th June at 8am. It was a wonderful morning. Thank you to the parents and students who attended. A big thank you to the staff who prepared the students for this event.

Catholic Identity

As part of our work in the CSP we will continue to look at the Catholic identity of our school. In our last newsletter we looked at where we came from - our roots. Whilst investigating the history of St Colman's I found this lovely acrostic poem which demonstrates the changes we have had :

An Acrostic Poem

Sisters from Ireland to teach us.

A list of chores for us – no cleaners!

Inspectors visits to test our (their!) skills.

Neil Armstrong’s moon walk witnessed.

Tables recited, desks in rows, mouths closed.

Copybooks neat, anthologies complete.

On sport day: Blue, Gold, Red and Green compete.

Lukewarm milk at little lunch – yuk!

Mass on Fridays and all feasts

Angelus at noon, Rosary in May

New rods for maths – a colour riot!

Super day every year – BREAK-UP DAY! Sharon Fahey (nee McCane) Student from1965-1971

Next School Wednesday Mass

This Wednesday 8th June Year 5/6 will lead the school for mass with a theme of Care for Our Common Home. This theme is based on the writings of the Holy Father Pope Francis who wrote ; ‘Laudato Si’. This document calls us to love and respect all creation and to work together to ensure the health and sustainability of our common home for all peoples and creatures.

Pentecost

Last Sunday we celebrated the feast of Pentecost. This is espeically speical for our Confirmation candiadtes who will be received fully into the church on July 31st at 9am. "

The Holy Spirit is our strength in times of weakness, our guide in times of doubt, our consoler in times of sadness, our advocate who always pleads our cause. We can’t take even one step without the Spirit. The gifts of the Spirit are: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. Wisdom, understanding, and counsel (right judgment) guide our mind and assist our conscience in knowing right from wrong. Fortitude (courage) enables us to do the right thing even when it is difficult or unpopular. Fear of the Lord is really awe and reverence for God. "

Student of the Week

Week 7 Awards

25 Nights Reading Awards

Week 8 Awards

Well done to all our readers - it is wonderful to see some of our students up to 50 nights !!!!!!

Sport Update

Rugby League and Netball

Last Friday 27th May, we had year 5 and 6 students teaming up with St Francis to compete in Townsville at the Bill Nettle Cup for Football (Boys) and NQ Netball Cup (Girls).

From all reports everyone had a great time and made lots of new friends.

Boys:

Saxon Petersen, Beau Land and Arlow Brown

Girls:

Miley Totorica, Eden Godfrey, Lily Lowis, Indy Jacob & Harmony Dale

NQ Cross Country Trials - Townsville

The North Queensland Trials for Cross Country were held today 31st May and our School had 3 representatives - Arlow Brown and Zachary Dale in 11yrs Boys and Raysean Conway in the 10yrs Boys. The Boys travelled to Townsville to compete against other boys from all over North Queensland for a spot in the North Queensland Team. Some tough competition saw the boys place in the middle of the pack in their age groups. Some age groups have around 100 competitors.

NQ Soccer Trials - Burdekin

On Sunday 22nd and Monday 23rd May, Sam Heatley competed in the North Queensland Trials for the Burdekin Team held at the Burdekin Soccer Fields. There he competed against teams from Townsville, Ingham, Charters Towers and Whitsunday. Sam was not successful in gaining a spot in the North Queensland Team, but represented the school well. Great Job Sam.