We recently celebrated Catholic Education Week and the reading from our Liturgy spoke of  Jesus' message: 'Love thy Neighbour' When talking to students in some of our classrooms, they were able to go beyond the usual , help someone who has fallen down to some very detailed examples that we as adults can relate to. Our students could explain situations where we can  share with the poor through Caritas and St Vincent De Paul, to show compassion and honesty with others including those not in our close friendship circle. They related it to Our SPIRIT Way when they talked about maintaining safety for all and not putting the safety of others at risk. Some of our older students spoke of not gossiping, talking negatively about others nor holding a grudge. This is where their maturity is really impressive.

Congratulations to Kristy Bates who has been appointed the Assistant Principal - Pedagogy and Learning at Holy Spirit Catholic School. Currently, Kristy has been in the Acting role this year but has now been appointed the role beginning from 2025.

Finally, Book Week is only 2 weeks away and I trust students have already discussed their costume for the parade. We are looking forward to celebrating the love of reading with our students and this year's theme is : "Reading is Magic". Only 16 more sleeps.

Happy Days

Paul Martin 

Our classes continue to engage with the URSTRONG Friendology curriculum, and I've had some interesting discussions with teachers about the progress of the lessons. Each year level has lessons designed for them, and by now they will have talked about the Friend-O-Meter. I've included a Parent Resource in my article this week that you may want to try. I'd love to hear your thoughts if you and your child do the activity together.

The Friend-o-Meter: Time to Chat!

How is your child feeling in their friendships? Get them talking & opening up with this activity!

Some friendships bring out the best in us while, unfortunately, some bring out the worst. It’s so important to teach children that friendships are a choice and help them learn the difference between healthy & unhealthy friendships.

We developed a visual tool, The Friend-o-Meter, to help children easily reflect on and communicate how they’re feeling in their friendships. In our research, we have found that children do not always assess or evaluate the health of their friendships – meaning, they do not have boundaries when it comes to friendship. We want children to think about whether or not friendships are healthy for them and what qualities are essential in healthy relationships.

Friendship skills are relationship skills and we do not want children first learning about healthy relationships when they’re teenagers in romantic relationships. We want kids asking themselves now, “Is this friendship (relationship) good for me? Does this person treat me with the respect I deserve?” so that this self-compassion will be an instinct when considering future relationships.

Whether your child has come home from a bad day at school or you’re concerned they’re not surrounding themselves with the right friends, give this little activity a try! It will help open up the lines of communication and get them sharing how they are feeling in their friendships.

Instructions

1. Say to your child, “Hey! I have a fun idea… Let’s draw together!” Find a quiet place to colour together where they will feel comfortable chatting.

• NOTE: Keep in mind that some children won’t open up if a sibling is around, as friendship issues feel very private and sometimes embarrassing. They also might not trust their sibling to be supportive or respond in a helpful way. Create some one-on-one time so that your child will feel safe sharing their stories with you!

1. Say, “I want to draw a picture of the Friend-o-Meter! Have you heard of it? It helps us think about how we’re feeling in our friendships.” Show them an image of the Friend-o-Meter (above) and start drawing.
2. As you go through each colour, ask them for examples in their friendship. Start with your own personal examples first to lead the way. You might say, “In a Green-Zone Friendship, I feel like I can be myself and feel really comfortable – like with my friend, Shari. It feels really easy with her! Can you think of a Green-Zone Friendship in your life?”
3. Explain to your child that it’s normal for friendships to sometimes dip into the Red Zone because Friendship Fact #1: No friendship (or relationship) is perfect. Say, “Sometimes our friendship ends up in the Red Zone because of a conflict—a Friendship Fire. But, sometimes it just slowly ends up in the Red Zone over time, and we don’t know precisely why—we just know that it doesn’t feel good anymore.” Share an example in your life.
4. Say, “If your friendship is in the Red Zone because of a Friendship Fire, the key is that you put it out and get the friendship back into the Green Zone again!” If your child identifies a Red Zone Friendship in their life, ask them, “What’s ONE THING you can do that might help get it back to the Green Zone?”

• NOTE: To put out Friendship Fires, we teach children to work their way around the Friend-o-Cycle. There are great videos (found on their website) they can watch to teach them how to Talk-it-Out with a friend.

Remind them, “There’s only one person you can control – that’s YOU! And, always remember, you deserve Green-Zone Friendships!!”

Hang your child’s Friend-o-Meter on the fridge and use it as a talking point! Keep checking in with them on how they’re feeling in their friendships!

Kind regards

Nicole Lennox 

“I am the bread who came down from heaven,” says Jesus in Sunday’s Gospel. He went on to say that this was the bread of eternal life. What does this mean for us? If we follow God’s commandments to love one another, ‘Eternal life’ is not pie in the sky when we die. It begins now whenever we manage to share God's love and forgiveness with each other. Love is already a sharing in the eternal life of God. Our students are encouraged to respect themselves and do their best in everything they do, not only in schoolwork but in relationships with others in which our school rules expect that they treat everyone with respect and care.

This week at Holy Spirit, we value hospitality, which is about opening one’s home and heart to those who need a place to belong. Hospitality is at the heart of many of the gospel stories. Being kind, generous and welcoming to our friends, family and those we know is easy. It takes courage to welcome or help the stranger by extending hospitality to those in need. This week, we pray that our students recognise the needs of others and be generous toward others, especially those who need help.

Tomorrow is the Feast Day of St Mary of the Cross, Australia’s first saint, Mary MacKillop. Mary Helen MacKillop was born in Fitzroy, Melbourne on January 15, 1842. Together with Fr Tenison Woods, Mary founded the Congregation of the Sisters of St Joseph in 1867, an Order dedicated to educating poor children. By 1891, three hundred sisters worked in nine dioceses in Australia and New Zealand. An ordinary Australian woman, yet a woman of heroic holiness, goodness, warmth and determination, Mary died on August 8, 1909. On October 17, 2010, Mary MacKillop, Saint Mary of the Cross, was declared a Saint by Pope Benedict XVI. One of her best-known sayings is ‘Find happiness in making others happy!’

On Friday, our school community will be joined by special guests for our Blessing and Official Opening of L Block and our Library. We will welcome Most Rev. Bishop Tim Harris and Ms Jacqui Francis from Townsville Catholic Education Office for our celebration. We invite our school community to join us for this very special occasion.

Next Thursday, August 15, the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast Day  of the Assumption of Our Lady when according to our faith, the Holy Mother, “having completed her course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory”.  Although defined as an article of faith by Pope Pius XII just over half a century ago, the Assumption of Our Lady into Heaven has been accepted from back to the earliest of Christian times.  The Assumption signals the end of Mary’s earthly life and marks her return to heaven to be reunited with Jesus.  The Feast of the Assumption gives each of us great hope as we contemplate this one facet of the beautiful woman of faith, our Blessed Mother.  Mary moves us by example and prayer to grow in God’s grace, to be receptive to His will, to convert our lives through sacrifice and penance, and seek that everlasting union in the Heavenly Kingdom. 

Father in heaven,
All creation rightly gives you praise,
For all life and all holiness come from you.
In the plan of your wisdom
she who bore the Christ in her womb
was raised body and soul in glory to be with him in heaven.
May we follow her example in reflecting your holiness

and join in her hymn of endless love and praise.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen 

God bless.

Caroine Fuller

What’s happening around our school

Mathematics Competition

"Students in Years 3, 4, 5, and 6 participated in the Australian Mathematics Competition, first held in 1978, Australia’s longest-running, largest, and most well-known math competition for school students. Like all our competitions, the AMC features unique problems designed each year by leading educators and academics to challenge and enhance your students’ problem-solving skills."

Book Week

This year's theme is Reading is Magic, and Australian Illustrator Jess Racklyeft is honoured as this year’s Featured Illustrator.

This year, celebrate the extraordinary power of stories to transport minds and provoke curiosity about the wonders of our world. Discover books that ignite conversations and curiosity as the language and illustrations magically transport young readers into a new world.

Book Week Parade is on Friday of Week 7.

Kristy Bates

Assistant Principal Pedagogy and Learning 

Our Spirit is High at the Challenge Games

During week 3 Holy Spirit Students had the immense pleasure of participating in the highly anticipated Challenge Games. The Challenge Games is a two-day event of sporting activities, athletics, fun and games for school children who have a disability. The main focus of the Challenge Games is fun and participation for all children. There is no other sporting event in Australia that covers all disabilities at the one time, and it is held annually in Townsville.

Each year an athlete with a disability who has progressed to the elite level is invited to the Games as a special guest. This year, para-athlete, Carly Salmon, Co-Captain of the Paramatildas, was the special guest for the Games. Our team was lucky enough to score some time with Carly. What an inspiration!

Our team displayed exceptional sportsmanship, courage, and camaraderie, which not only made us incredibly proud but also emphasised our school value of inclusion in the wider community. In the midst of spirited competition, our students demonstrated inclusivity as they cheered on their fellow participants, regardless of their abilities or backgrounds, and formed connections that transcended differences. Their perseverance in the face of challenges, their boundless enthusiasm, and their genuine kindness were truly remarkable to witness.

On our arrival back to school, the Challenge Games Athletes were celebrated by their peers with a Guard of Honour starting at the gates of the church all the way through BibiGoo. This was such a highlight for our participants and certainly made our Holy Spirit staff proud. 

IPT Teachers,

Taryn Pickering, Gemma McConochie, Angela Bourne and Melanie Albress

In this edition of School TV – Positive Parenting

Unfortunately, there are more risk factors than protective factors, facing young people growing up. To parent effectively, it is simply not enough to avoid the obvious dangers like abuse, neglect and overindulgence. Parents, therefore, need to arm themselves with practical skills, knowledge and strategies when it comes to raising children. Numerous studies suggest that the best-adjusted children are reared by parents who find a way to combine warmth and sensitivity with clear behavioural expectations.

Positive parenting is an approach that emphasises the importance of creating a supportive and nurturing environment for children, where they feel valued, respected, and encouraged to grow and develop to their full potential. It focuses on building strong relationships with children and fostering their emotional, social, and behavioural wellbeing, rather than relying solely on punishment and control. By recognising and responding to a child’s needs, setting clear and consistent boundaries, and teaching life skills and values, can help children develop resilience, self-esteem, and a sense of responsibility, which will serve them well into adulthood.

We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this edition of School TV and we always welcome your feedback. If you have any concerns about your child, please contact the school counsellor for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to the Positive Parenting edition of School TV

https://hsstsv.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/positive-parenting

This year, Queensland’s School Crossing Supervisor Scheme celebrates 40 years of keeping kids safe as they travel to and from school.

We'd like to say a big thank you to our wonderful School Crossing Supervisor/s, Margaret, Suzanne and Sharyn, for everything you do for our students and school community! You do a great job keeping our students and other pedestrians safe as they cross the road in peak drop-off and pick-up times.

Why not say a big thank you the next time you see them on duty! You can also show
your appreciation for School Crossing Supervisors by slowing down, following directions
and being courteous while travelling in our school zone.

Did you know?

• The School Crossing Supervisor Scheme is operated by the Department of
Transport and Main Roads.
• There are more than 2000 school crossing supervisors who operate over 1300
crossings at more than 700 Queensland schools.
• There has not been a single fatality on a supervised crossing since the scheme
started in 1984.

Coffee Connections – Fri 9^th Aug – Millie J & Co

                         !! First coffee on us !!

Indulge in coffee and engaging conversations at this month’s coffee connections event.

Join The DMFS staff, at Millie J & Co for a delightful coffee experience, perhaps accompanied by a sweet treat. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to mingle and enjoy a pleasant chat. Let the coffee and conversation flow at this month’s Coffee Connections.

When: Friday 9^th August

Time: 9.30am-11.30am

Where: Millie J & Co 4 20/38 Main St, Burdell

Tickets: Eventbrite: Coffee Connections – DMFS Townsville

My Dad And Me – 24^th Aug – Budding Scientist

This month, Dads and kids will engage in a light – hearted challenge to showcase their creativity, silliness and unique qualities.

Each dad and their child will participate in messy yet enjoyable and safe experiments.

Participants are encouraged to bring their own Water Bottles, sunscreen, and hats. Following the activities, everyone can relax and enjoy some light snacks together.

When: Saturday 24th August 2024

Time: 9.30am -11.30am

Where: Geckos Family Centre  

Tickets Eventbrite: My Dad And Me - Budding Scientist – DMFS Townsville

Park Adventures – Wed 28^th Aug - The Junction Park 

Calling all families! Join us for a fun-filled morning in the park.

Enjoy a relaxing time while the kids have a blast on the playground equipment. It's the perfect opportunity to mingle with other spouses and make new connections, bring a blanket or a chair if you wish.

So come on out and meet your Friendly DMFS Staff

When: Wednesday 28^th August 2024

Time: 9.30am -11.30am

Where:  The Junction Park North Shore Mt Low / Burdell

Tickets: Eventbrite: Park Adventures – DMFS Townsville

Defence Member and Family Helpline

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. 

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.