As we busily prepare for Christmas; planning, cleaning, spending, giving, attending breakups and concerts, it is important we take a moment and reflect on what it all means for us and our families.  The First Sunday of Advent is this weekend and marks the beginning of a period of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Christ, our Saviour, at Christmas.  All the readings in the Mass advise us most urgently to make ourselves ready, to be on the alert, to turn aside from our errant ways, and give more time to God in our lives.  The season of Advent encourages us to reflect and prepare for the coming of Jesus who came to show us a new way of being with God, ourselves and each other.  As we countdown to the end of the year and participate in the prayer celebrations of the last week, our students will be reflecting on their achievements and spiritual growth during 2021.

This week at Holy Spirit we value service.  Service is giving to others, or to a larger purpose, or to life.  You serve with a giving attitude, without selfishness and self-interest.  The attitude and virtue of service is motivated by love, caring and goodwill.  It is when we have an unselfish desire to help others or to help in a larger purpose.  This week we pray for our students and family members to continue their kind acts towards others to have a positive influence on those around them.  One kind act is to support our Christmas Hamper Appeal that will go to those in need in our community.  Thank you to all our families who have already brought in their contribution for their class hamper.  These will be presented at our Christmas Liturgy next Tuesday afternoon at the 2pm Liturgy.  Everyone is welcome to join us for this special end of year celebration.

This morning, our Year 3 to 6 students attended Mass with Fr John.  As we approach the end of the school year for 2021, we came together to celebrate by giving thanks to God for all that has been.  During our celebration today, we were grateful for all the gifts that 2021 has brought us.  Well done to our students who participated in this morning’s Mass.  Thank you to those families who joined us for this lovely occasion.

God bless.

Caroline Fuller 

Carols by Torchlight will be held on Thursday 25th November. 

Details for the night are listed below.

Children in NALGARAY  need to assemble in the

Quadrangle (OSCH) at 5.45pm for their performance at 6.00pm.

Children in the HOLY SPIRIT SCHOOL ORCHESTRA need to assemble in the Quadrangle (OSHC) at 5.45pm. Their performance will commence at 6.10pm.

Children in the GRADE 4, 5 & 6 CHOIR need to assemble in the

Quadrangle at 6.00pm for their performance at 6.25pm.

Children in the RECORDER ENSEMBLE need to assemble in the

Quadrangle at 6.15pm for their performance at 6.40pm.

Children in the GUITAR ENSEMBLE need to assemble in the

Quadrangle at 6.30pm for their performance at 6.50pm.

Children are not required to wear school uniform.  Please wear smart casual or Christmas clothes!

Order of Events

Nalgaray

Holy Spirit School Orchestra

Choir

Recorder Ensemble

Guitar Ensemble

Prep

Grades 4 & 1

Grades 6 & 3

Grades 5 & 2

Holy Spirit Interschool Swimming Carnival – Friday, 26 November 2021

Please see HERE the program for Friday's Swimming Carnival at Long Tan Memorial Pool, Heatley. It is an expectation that students in Years 3-6 attend and participate. We will have plenty of events to cheer for and some entertaining races to get involved in that are jam packed full of fun. We aim to cater for the wide range of swimming ability on the day. 

The following information will assist you on the day:

WHAT TO WEAR: Students are invited to dress in House colours (there will be a prize for the best dressed house supporter) or their sports uniform. Students must wear a school hat and covered footwear to and from school. Students are advised to wear their swimwear underneath the sports uniform. All swimwear must be of a modest nature (i.e. one-piece). No hair spray or coloured zinc. 

WHAT TO BRING: School bag with morning tea, lunch, water bottle, towel, sunscreen and underwear. Please ensure that your child’s belongings are clearly labelled.

NQ School Aquathlon and Triathlon

Congratulations to Isaac W (5B), Asha L (4C) and Brigitte R (6A) for their selection in the 11-12 Years Northern Region School Aquathlon Team. Mala B (6A) was successful in making the 13 Years Triathlon Northern School Team. Isaac, Asha, Brigitte, Mala now have the opportunity to participate in the State Championships at Hervey Bay next year.  

QLD All Schools Merit Team

Following their success competing over recent weekends, Kaylen H (6C), A-Tai LD (6B) and Brigitte R (6A) have been named in the Queensland All Schools Merit Team 2021 for athletics. Due to the continued challenges with Covid, the Australian All Schools Championships have been cancelled for 2021. A fantastic achievement by Kaylen, A-Tai and Brigitte.

Yours faithfully, and in sport

Mr Brenton Place

HPE Specialist 

As part of our uniform policy, black shoes are required for all days including sports days. Black joggers are the way to go as they can be worn every day. Some examples of acceptable shoes are pictured below.

Some of the shoes that will not be acceptable are the following.

Please consider this when purchasing for 2022.

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

Battery World have informed us that effective immediately they have had to remove the current purple and yellow wheelie bins in schools.

With a major focus on customer and community health and safety, these bins have been deemed potentially unsafe to reside in the community due to the introduction of various battery compositions over the years (namely the increase in Lithium.) Whilst the risk is still extremely low, we simply don’t want to take the risk.

Next Wednesday night we will formally farewell our Year 6 students at our Rite of Passage.

Students are required to wear their academic uniform and be in attendance by 6.15pm.

All  BRASS INSTRUMENTS are due back at the end of this week

(Thursday 25th November).

All WOODWIND and STRING INSTRUMENTS are due back on Tuesday 30th  November.

All Instruments must be cleaned and in good working order.

Please return to Mrs Laing or the School Office

School finishes at 12.00pm Friday 3rd December !

Coloured Clothes Day!

In the event of a cyclone or severe weather impacting on our Catholic schools, regularly updated information will be available on the following:

* Townsville Catholic Education website www.tsv.catholic.edu.au LATEST NEWS    section on homepage.

* Twitter - you can follow us on www.twitter.com/tceo

* Facebook - you can follow us on www.facebook.com/TownsvilleCEO

* Listen to local readio stations (ABC in all regions) plus various local commercial      stations for updates.

* Instagram - townsville_catholic_education

Please make sure your compass details are up to date as this is the avenue the school will use to contact parents directly.

If a decision is made overnight to close schools, this message will be broadcast from 7am, earlier if possible.

Parents should be advised that on occasion it is difficult to call through to radio stations, so patience is appreciated if message broadcasts are delayed in any way.

Please refrain from calling schools before 7am as this causes disruption to vital communication networks.

Please refer to the above methods of communication as your first source of information.  Please use your best discretion in the interests of safety at all times.

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.  

Please note: The Breakfast program will not operate the next two Fridays  due to the Swimming Carnival and the last day of school.

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

Flexischools

As we approach the end of year, our supplies are running low.  When ordering could you please advise of second choices if we can't honour the first.

Thanking you

Your Friendly Tuckshop team.

Today, parents face a multitude of modern day challenges in raising happy, well and resilient young people. Whilst there is a great deal of information available, this can often be confusing and overwhelming for parents looking for guidance.

SchoolTV addresses this as a new online resource designed to empower you as parents with credible and sound information with realistic, practical ongoing support strategies.

Please visit Holy Spirit Catholic School for access to SchoolTV resources.

__________________________________________

SPECIAL REPORT: Respectful Language

In today’s world, it is common to hear socially offensive language on the streets, on social media channels, streaming services and in some forms of modern music. While swearing is becoming more common and less taboo, the use of derogatory language or the act of swearing at someone, or about someone, is a form of verbal violence. It transgresses the usual rules of social interaction by impinging on an individual’s self-image and sense of dignity.

It is becoming apparent that some young people are being influenced by the language they hear. Proliferating the use of swear words can sometimes normalise, glamorise and desensitise their impact for kids who may misunderstand the true meaning of some derogatory terms. Whilst some students may use swearing or derogatory terms as a misguided attempt at belonging, others may use it simply because they are still learning how to moderate their language and are not accustomed to making adjustments to suit different situations.

Although many schools enforce a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to swearing and derogatory language, parents need to also play an important part in enforcing this approach. Parents and carers can be proactive in monitoring what their children are viewing or being exposed to. Discussing the use of words or the origin of some derogatory terms and gaining insight into the reason behind their child’s use of such language can help prevent inappropriate or disrespectful language filtering into the classroom or the school yard, which in turn helps to build more tolerant, safe and connected communities.

This Special Report offers a number of guidelines to help manage a suitable approach when discussing the importance of respectful language. We hope you take a moment to reflect on the information offered, and as always, we welcome your feedback. If this raises any concerns for you, a loved one or the wellbeing of your child, please seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to your special report https://hsstsv.catholic.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/special-report-respectful-language

MULTI-CULTURAL NATIVITY PRODUCTION:

Holy Spirit parishioners are embarking on a new initiative through our recently established Children’s program called Fun Time with Jesus Cre8iv Club, to portray the Christmas Nativity story through the different cultures in our Parish. This production is not only an educational journey for our children to understand the story of Christmas, but also a showcase to the Townsville public on the cultural enrichment we have in our Catholic community. Nearly 85 children from primary, secondary school and tertiary sectors have registered to be part of this wonderful experience. Our Musical will be the opening act on Dec 18th at this year’s Stable at Riverway. Shorter performances will also be in local shopping centres. 

FUN TIME WITH JESUS CRE8IV CLUB runs every 2nd and 4th Sunday at 8.30 am at Holy Spirit parish, Cranbrook. All children welcome.

We seek volunteers help on various aspects, both behind and beyond the scenes. For further information on how you can help or be involved, please contact either Reshma Pilson on 0435 351 658 ( email: reshmatresa155@gmail.com) or Blanche Crisp on 0428 736 726 (email: blanchecrisp@gmail.com)

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.