Dear St Clare's Community,

Welcome to Term 4!

October is the month of the Rosary which is a meditation on the life of Jesus and Mary and was developed as a breathing prayer. The name rosary comes from the Latin word rosarium which means “rose garden”. In the Middle Ages, Mary was often called “Rose” and the name eventually became rosary. In modern times Popes have encouraged Catholics to pray the Rosary. It is a form of contemplative prayer, mental and vocal prayer, which brings God’s blessings on the Church.

Building Project

We are currently in the initial  planning stages to undertake a small building project and upgrade. This project will include building a flexible learning area in the space next to the lift. This classroom has been in the pipeline since the building of the Junior Precinct. It will be a space for specialist teachers (HPE & The Arts) to use for lessons, small intervention groups, enrichment programs and for teachers to meet. It will also be very beneficial to have a ‘spare’ classroom at times when air conditioners or electronic whiteboards decide to take a day off. Also in this project will be the demolition and construction of the student amenities block and a refurb of the Tuckshop.

Clarity in Education

Last week, Helen Andrews, Chris Edwards and I, along with 15 other Diocesean Schools and Cairns Catholic Education Directors, Consultants and staff, spent 3 days of professional learning with Dr. Lyn Sharratt. We have been fortunate enough to work with Lyn over the year gaining insight and knowledge from her book, Clarity: What matters most in learning, teaching and leading. We are very excited about bringing our learning from Lyn back to St. Clare’s to work on improving our teaching practice and supporting our students to own and understand their learning journey. We will continue to work with Dr. Sharratt in 2023 and look forward to seeing where Clarity takes us.

Staffing Updates

Mrs Wall and Mrs Low have enjoyed some well earned long service leave in Week 1 and Mrs Zanelle Collins will be on leave in Week 2 - Mrs Korma Byrne and Mrs Jenny Crema will take the Year 1 class in her absence.

Teaching positions for 2023 are still being finalised and I will share this information with you as soon as this is done.

We are once again seeking a grounds/maintenance person. If you or anyone you know may be interested please go to: https://careers.cns.catholic.edu.au/home

Water Safety Program

Our water safety program will commence this week. Due to school camps happening this term, no classes will go to the pool in Week 3. The program will resume in Week 4. Year 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 will go to the pool on Tuesdays and Prep & Year  6 will go on Thursdays.

Prep Transition

This week we welcome many excited children to our first day of Prep Transition for Prep 2023. We will be running a 4 week program led by Mrs Gita Sima and Mrs Pauline Colombini. We all look forward to getting to know our 2023 prep students as they  visit St. Clare’s each week.

Other events

As promised, Term 4 is going to be busy! In addition to Water Safety and the Prep Transition Program, Year 6 students spent the day at Tully High on Friday 7th October. We had a number of Year 5 students travel to Cairns for cricket. Year 5 will head off on camp this week and Year 4 & 6 will enjoy their camps in Week 3.

On Tuesday 18th October we have a whole school performance - BMX Trick Show, which promises to be exciting. Friday 28th October is one to mark in your calendar as it is World Teachers Day and also Day for Daniel and Crazy Sock Day.

St Gerard Feast Day

The St. Gerard Committee is holding the Feast of St. Gerard Celebrations on Saturday 15th October. The afternoon will begin with a Mass at 2:30pm. Please contact the parish office for further information.

Best wishes for the week ahead,

Karran Burzacott
Principal