In Sunday’s Gospel (John 15:9-17), Jesus says, ‘I want you to love each other in the same way as I have loved you. I have chosen you to be my friends and am sending you out to share this love with the rest of the world.’ We are called to proclaim our love for God and each other, but how do we put that into action? We can make everything we do a little act of love for God. If we love God, we love one another! Our students this week will be encouraged to put this into action by; becoming aware of where help is needed, helping others and appreciating the help of others. Keeping our learning and playing areas clean by helping put the rubbish in the correct bins ensures love for each other’s well-being and God’s creation.

This week at Holy Spirit, we value courage. Most often, we associate courage with physical prowess or bravery. Courage can also be seen in the form of being honest, fair, not giving up, being a peacemaker. This type of courage often requires us to sometimes step out of our comfort zone and do something we might not usually do but know we must as it is the right thing. This week, we encourage our students to think how they can be courageous and help others.

Saturday 1 May - FEAST OF SAINT JOSEPH THE WORKER

We celebrate two feast days for Joseph: March 19 for Joseph, Mary's husband, and May 1 for Joseph, the Worker. Saint Joseph is the model for all who work because, in his humble and simple work as a carpenter, he cared for the holy family and provided for Mary and Jesus' needs. Through Saint Joseph, we can learn the importance of diligence and faithfulness in our daily lives and work.

MAY, THE MONTH OF MARY

By tradition, the Catholic Church dedicates each month of the year to a certain devotion.  In May, it is the Blessed Virgin Mary.  This devotion arose among Jesuits in Rome in the late 18th century and quickly spread throughout the Western Church.  There are several Marian feast days in May in honour of Mary including; Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament (13th May), Feast of Mary Help of Christians (24th May) and Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (31st May).

Hail Mary, Full of Grace,

The Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou among women,

And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,

Pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death.

Amen.

God bless.

Caroline Fuller - APRE

Learning in Classrooms

HPE Lesson

Our Year 3 students were fortunate to have PE Lessons with members of Sporting Wheelies. Sporting Wheelies' goal is to provide a meaningful and enjoyable experience that raises awareness and understanding of the lives of people with disabilities. 

Technology Lesson

Our Year Three students have been exploring technology in one of the library's learning areas. They are currently learning about the different forms of data, such as numbers, text, images, sounds, animations, and videos, that can be stored or viewed using a digital system.

Pupil Free Day

Last Friday, 26th April, was a pupil-free day. This crucial time allowed our dedicated staff to engage in professional development activities. Our teaching staff continued to deepen their understanding of the Version 9 Australian Curriculum in English and Mathematics, planning effective and engaging lessons. 

At the same time, our school officers worked with Dr Jo Lukin, who spoke about mindfulness in education, its benefits, and strategies for transitioning into mindfulness. She stated, “People perform best when they are mindful.”  Jo also spoke about difficult conversations and words to use to empower without being confrontational and having the skill to step back, evaluate, and observe how we adjust to get back to optimum performance in our role.

Townsville Eisteddfod

Holy Spirit Catholic School has participated in the Townsville Juvenile Eisteddfod for many years. This year, we are excited to announce our participation again. Each class can submit up to five students for the creative writing competition, fostering their creativity and love for writing.

Parents can nominate their children in various sections through the Townsville Juvenile Eisteddfod website.

Reports

The Semester One reports will be available through COMPASS on Thursday, June 20th, after 3 pm. If you have difficulty accessing COMPASS, please contact our office staff, who will gladly assist you with any queries.

Kristy Bates

Assistant Principal Pedagogy and Learning

Congratulations to Eleanor (Year 4), Ella, Sam, Samuel and Dean (Year 6) who attended Northern School Hockey trials on Tuesday. 

Mrs Taylor and Mrs Logan were incredibly proud of our HSCS students who should be congratulated for their behaviour and participation. 

Congratulations to Ella and Dean who were selected in the Northern Schools Teams.

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, due to the increase in children accessing the program.

Donations can be dropped off at Tuckshop.

Support for Australian families

Following the distressing events of the last several days, young people might be struggling to come to terms with what they have read and seen online. 

Online spaces should be safe for everyone. If your child sees violent or distressing material, it is important to check in and talk to them about the content they have seen. We also recommend that children use devices in open areas of the home, rather than in their bedroom, so you can be attuned to how they are coping and what they are reading or watching.

Tips on how to deal with violent and distressing content

• Don't share it further – even if your intention is to help or raise awareness, you may cause distress to others.
• Report it to the platform to help get the material removed quickly.
• If the material is not removed, you can report it to eSafety. eSafety can notify the platform to either remove the content or block access from within Australia. Your actions could protect you and others from seeing that content again.

You can find more guidance and information about distressing online content below. 

Relevant resources 

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.