This week at Holy Spirit we value justice.  Justice, for many people, refers to fairness.  We should always be looking to discover ways in which we are called to be people for others.  We are called to: show dignity to others; help those in need with the essentials required for a decent life (food, clothing and shelter); pay special attention to the needs of those who are poor; care for one another; care for all that God has made.

We can teach our children about justice by exposing them to diversity, making the most of teaching moments, engage children in charitable giving, teaching anti-bias lessons, and talking about the news. 

Wishing you all a safe and happy holiday and looking forward to seeing you in Term 4. 

From the APRE chair

Evon Downie

Last Wednesday, Hugh from the Resilience Project presented the Parent Engagement presentation. He spoke of the 3 values that highlight the program: Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness. Below is the link to this presentation for those who were unable to attend.

The link will expire on Friday 24th September. Click HERE for the Parent/Community - Meeting Recording.

Northern Region School Sport Selection

Shout out to our Year 6 students, Kaylen (6C), A-Tai (6B) and Brigitte (6A) for their selection in the NQ School Athletics Merit Team.  Congratulations! 

Congratulations Mia (6A) for her selection in the Northern School Girls Rugby League Team. We wish Mia all the best with the State Championships in Townsville later this week. Well done!

Shout out to A-Tai (6B) and Eli (6B) for their selection into the U11 Northern School Boys Rugby League Team. We wish A-Tai and Eli well for the State Champion in Townsville this coming weekend. Congratulations!

Les Stagg Rugby League Knock-out Competition

Our U12’s Rugby League team played their fifth match last Wednesday in the North Queensland Final of the Les Stagg Trophy against Proserpine State School. This is the first since 1998 that Holy Spirit has reached the final. Holy Spirit were the best of the 22 Townsville schools and unfortunately went down against very deserving winners of Proserpine State School 30-10.
A valiant effort by our students, which they should be proud of their achievements and the way they played as a team.

Thank you to Mr Martin, Mr Clem and Mr Hull for their assistance throughout the competition and to our parents for supporting the team. The strength of our Holy Spirit community has been on display with so many staff, families and friends coming to watch each game to cheer on our students. Well done Team SPIRIT.

Swimming Prep, Year 1 and 2

In Term 4 our Prep to Year 2 children have swimming lessons. This year we are going to continue with our intensive 30-minute lessons over five days. The lessons will be in Weeks 6, 7 and 8, with each Year Level having five consecutive days of lessons across the week. There will be no cost for parents as this is included in your school fees.

Classes will be transported via bus to and from the Paul Saddler Swimland, Douglas. Qualified instructors will run the program throughout the week. Teachers will also accompany the students to the Swimming Pool.

To participate each day, children will need to have:

 Togs (one piece for girls)
 Sun safe swim shirt

 Slip on shoes
 Towel 
 Water bottle

Yours faithfully, and in sport
Mr Brenton Place
P-6 HPE Specialist

Dear Parent,  

We are delighted to let you know about an education resource that is available to your child  at home as part of our school subscription – Story Box Library.  

Your child can watch favourite stories, read aloud by fabulous storytellers, at home as well  as in the classroom.  

Reading aloud to children, in particular by diverse and engaging storytellers, greatly  improves language and literacy skills, especially in the early years of a child’s development.  Story Box Library is committed to supporting and engaging the practice of storytelling. It is  intended for use as a complementary form of delivering the precious experience of being  read aloud to, in order to improve children’s lives. Connecting children with literature  through the complementary medium of film, providing a vibrant, interactive experience via  a diverse range of storytellers sharing the best of our local children’s picture books.  

To access Story Box Library at home:  

1) Visit www.storyboxlibrary.com.au 

2) Choose Log In from the top right corner of the screen 

3) Log in using the username and password provided below 

4) Enjoy the library of stories on any device with internet connection 

Please note the following features:  

• Story Box Library regularly adds new stories, so is an ever-growing library
• Content is aimed at Prep/Foundation through to Year 6 students 
• Includes a range of short films to inspired by our stories, creators and storytellers  
• Resources are provided for each story, including Classroom Ideas, Activity Time and Student Task Sheets – all designed to assist at-home learning 
• Captions can be turned on or off for each story 
• Story Box Library is a safe online space free from advertising

Holy Spirit Catholic School uses Flexischools ordering system.  To register, login or to place orders, please click this link:  

Flexischools

Kids’ attention-seeking is the most common misbehaviour in families, frequently overwhelming and exhausting parents. The antidote for attention-seeking is appreciation, the genuine deal when it comes to helping kids feel good about themselves.

Appreciation is highly motivating. Even adolescents will generally respond to a parent’s appreciative comments, although their faces won’t always not show it. Appreciation can change the mood of the giver and receiver and it’s a behaviour that if adopted by children can be experienced by the next generation. 

Dr Kristy Goodwin presents: Taming digital distractions

Dr Kristy Goodwin is a digital wellbeing and peak-performance speaker, author and researcher...and mum who also deals with her kids’ techno-tantrums! She worked as an educator for 14 years before becoming an academic and speaker.

Dr Kristy is on a mission to help children, teens and adults tame their technology habits so they’re not slave to the screen. In this webinar, she will help parents and carers understand why children and adolescents are vulnerable to digital distractions. She will provide science-backed solutions to help kids and teens develop healthy digital behaviours so that they can focus, learn and thrive online.

Michael Grose presents: Win kids' cooperation

Let’s face it, many discipline measures of the past just don’t cut it anymore. That doesn’t mean that raising respectful, well-behaved and cooperative kids isn’t important. In this era of digital distraction, shifting society norms and changing attitudes toward authority, discipline has just become a whole lot harder.

In this webinar, parenting educator and author Michael Grose shares the best of his tried and true techniques to help parents get more cooperation and better behaviour from even the most challenging kids.

We are open Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 8am in the Hall.

Your support with donations of bread, spreads, vegemite, jam etc. (excluding peanut based spreads) would be appreciated.  

Thank you for all the donations to the Breakfast Program this term.   

Last Friday and on Monday a template and information sheet were handed out to all our Defence Students from Prep to year 6 for the art display that will be displayed at Open Arms for Veterans Health Week from 16 October to 24 October. Could we please have these back at school to us no later than Friday 8th October so they may be collated and then delivered directly to Open Arms. (We would hate for any artist to miss out on having their work displayed).  

We have had a very busy term with the student's these last 10 weeks. We've had our year level picnic's on Monday at lunch and our ongoing Defence Wednesday weekly activities at Morning Tea.  These activities ranged from chess, monster pencils and of course our "Guess who loves you" Father's Day Card and a host of other craft.

Term 4 will be another action packed nine weeks with plenty of activities already planned.

Out & About

The weather is starting to heat up with summer just around the corner.  Want some activities to do over the holidays and unsure of what's available in Townsville?  Head to the Townsville City Council's "What's On Townsville" website to give you some inspiration.

Wishing you and your family a safe and enjoyable break. 

Regards

Haylie & Zita

All uniform supplies are available at The School Locker, Domain Central (close to Bunnings).

Phone 1800 826 155

The School Locker

Uniform days for students:

Monday and Wednesday - Formal uniform
Tuesday and Thursday - Sports uniform
Friday - own choice
Senior shirts may be worn on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

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.