Dear School Community,

As Term 1 comes to an end, I want to take a moment to reflect on what an extraordinary term it has been. We have weathered ongoing weather events as we head into the holidays, but alongside these challenges, we have also celebrated many special occasions together.

From Harmony Day and World Happiness Day to engaging Cyber Safety talks, our Book Fair, Life Education lessons, Naplan assessments, and Prep Open Day, it has been a term filled with wonderful learning opportunities. Our recent Parent-Teacher Interviews have further strengthened our connection as we discuss the growth of our students.

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the many families who continue to support their 'little person', the staff, and the entire school community. Your involvement is what makes our school such a welcoming place, fostering a sense of belonging for all families.

Thank you for being an essential part of our journey together. Wishing you all a safe and restful holiday break!

Strength in the Spirit!

Paul Martin 

With the holidays fast approaching, our children will have some spare time to start asking for more screen time. It may be a timely reminder that our school community has free access to resources from Internet Safety Education.  

https://www.internetsafeeducation.com/hub-home/ 

Whole Community Passcode  -  HSCS25

Here is an example of a ‘Toolbox’

I hope our families have a wonderful Easter break, with a little sunshine (it would be nice) and a chance for our students to get some fresh air, run, jump, climb, and play on the grass, at the beach, or on the playgrounds around our beautiful city.

I look forward to working with you next term.

Nicole Lennox

The Gospel (John 8:1-11) for the fifth Sunday of Lent tells the story of a woman who had broken the laws. The Pharisees wanted her stoned according to the law, and asked Jesus what he thought. They wanted to see whether Jesus would disobey the law and show the woman mercy. Jesus knelt and wrote on the ground with his finger then stood up and said, ‘Let the first person who has never done anything wrong throw the first stone at her.’ He showed mercy towards the woman without disobeying the law. This reading reminds our students that not everyone is perfect all the time; we all make mistakes. Therefore, we should not judge others but treat them the way we would like to be treated.

This week at Holy Spirit Catholic School, we value respect. Having respect for someone means you think good things about who a person is or how he or she acts. Respect also means that you accept somebody for who they are, even when they are different from you or you don’t agree with them. We often use the value of respect in schools when we are speaking with children and how they treat others. We reinforce that showing respect to someone means they act in a way that shows they care about their feelings and well-being. This week, we pray that our students show respect for others by thinking and acting in a way that shows others they care about their feelings and their well-being, not calling others names, treating each other with courtesy and caring about themselves. 

Sacramental Programme Update: An email was sent to all families in Years 3 and up with the following information:

• The Parish Programme will occur in Term 3 of the 2025 school year - approximate dates between 21 July and 14 September
• Confirmation has been confirmed for the evening of Tuesday, 9 September (venue to be confirmed)
•  First Eucharist Mass on the weekend of 13 and 14 September - held at the 3 Churches (Holy Spirit Church @ 6pm)
•  Lessons for participants will be conducted at each of the Catholic Schools on set days at set times - Holy Spirit students workshop time Tuesdays @ school from 3:15 - 4pm  (TBC)
•  The parish will also host a session later in the week if children are unable to attend the after school session with students not attending Catholic Schools
• 5 lessons in total that students must attend - 1 x Reconciliation; 2 x Confirmation and 2 x Eucharist

Thank you to those families who have indicated they are interested. Numbers will be gauged for the workshops here at school. A reminder that the programme (notices and forms etc) is run through the Parish, not the school. 

Thank you to all our families who have purchased raffle tickets for Project Compassion. There will be many children excited for the draw on Friday hoping to win one of these wonderful prizes. Your generosity in supporting this fundraiser is much appreciated. All Project Compassion boxes can be returned to the Office or class teacher this week to be included in our donation to Project Compassion. 

Have a safe and enjoyable break.
God bless.
Caroline Fuller – APRE

School Holidays               

Boredom is good

We all know that tearing kids away from their screens is the most complex challenge of the holidays.  Unstructured time away from electronic devices is suitable for young minds.  Consider trying a screen time contract (see Image) to encourage your kids to be creative and help around the house before they sit in front of the screen. There are plenty of other examples online.

Planning Days

Our teachers have been diligently planning engaging lessons for Term 2. The upcoming term will offer many exciting opportunities for our students.

NAPLAN 2025

NAPLAN has now been completed for 2025. Well done to all our Year 3 and 5 students who put in their best effort. We are very proud of their hard work. Results will be sent to parents later in the year.

Kristy Bates

Assistant Principal Pedagogy and Learning 

All tickets due back tomorrow......Thursday 3rd April.

Save the Date

Run Club:

Did you know that running in the morning offers numerous benefits, including boosted energy and productivity, improved sleep, better mood, and stress reduction, while also promoting a healthy heart? Run club is open to students in grades 2-6 and will commence in Term 2. It will continue every Tuesday and Thursday morning, 8:00am - 8:15am on the school oval (weather permitting). Each lap the students complete will also earn tokens for their house. 

Spotlight on Sport:

If your child has accomplished something amazing in their sport? Share a photo with us and we would love to help celebrate their achievements.

Hello Defence families and friends…. we made it to the end of term 1! Unfortunately,
we have had a few interruptions to Defence Club over the Term due to this ongoing
rain which has meant a lot more in class check ins. The kids have enjoyed having
little visits and it is nice to see them all working hard with their learning.

I hope you are all able to enjoy some family time over the Easter Holiday period and
I look forward to seeing everyone back in Term 2. If anyone is expecting to be
absent from home over Term 2 and you are able to let me know, I can ensure that I
check in with your children to provide any support that they may need. I understand
that sometimes these absences can happen very last minute.

Kookaburra Kids offers some good stuff and I have included a link below so please check them out to see if there are any holiday activities that might be of interest. The Department of Veterans’ Affairs funds the Australian Kookaburra Kids Foundation to deliver the Defence Kids Program across Australia, which provides camps, activity
days and age-appropriate mental health education focusing on coping skills and resilience, while allowing children to bond with peers who are facing similar challenges. The program dedicated to supporting the unique needs of children from serving and ex-serving ADF families has been made possible by the Australian Government. https://kookaburrakids.org.au/defence-program/

Life Skills Queensland – 06 Mar 25

The Empowering Military families in The Community Program is a set of hands-on practical woodworking and general life skills workshops for current serving defence members (who have recently transitioned to Townsville), their immediate family
supports. The workshops are designed to be fun and engaging while open to adults and children aged 8 and above, as well as all levels of experience. When: Twice monthly on Thursday’s

Time: 3.30pm-5.30pm
Bookings: Contact Life Skills Queensland at
admin@lifeskillsqueensland.com.au or 0401 388 978.

Run ARMY – 06 Apr 2025 resilience, health and wellbeing across the Australian
Community, while supporting those who serve the community in uniform. Combining
the Australian Army and Qld Police, Fire and Ambulance services, participants are
also encouraged to assist in raising funds for charities which care for our service
people, veterans and their families. Run Army participants will run and walk 5km or
10km around Townsville CBD. Participants will be able to choose a charity
beneficiary, with part of their entry fee donated to the chosen service.
Registrations for this year’s Run Army are now open, with runners, walkers, families
and groups encouraged to sign-up! Visit Run Army’s website to register and for more
details.

Open Arms 

eSafetyparents

Online safety basics – what you need to know

We are open Tuesday and Thursday 8am-8.25am in the hall.

Your support with donations of spreads (not nut based) and bread are needed and appreciated, particularly honey and golden syrup, due to the increase in children accessing the program.

Donations can be dropped off at Tuckshop.

Just a reminder: The toasters will be turned off at 8.15am, so bread with spreads will be the choice once the toast runs out.  This allows both students and staff enough time to be ready for the start of the school day. 

Thank you to all student volunteers who helped with the Toast Club this term.  Happy holidays to all and we'll see you next term!

Playgroup will recommence Wednesday 23rd April.  If you are seeking other Playgroups please visit the  Playmatters Townsville Hub or visit your local library for more information. 

If your child is going to be absent, please enter the details through Compass, as this is the most efficient way to inform the school.