Dear St. Clare’s Community,

We are now at the halfway point of Term 3 and we have some more amazing extracurricular activities coming our way. Our teacher librarian, Mrs. Penny Irvine has been working extremely hard to put together Science Day for us. Penny was also successful in receiving a grant from the Queensland Government this year for increasing awareness around sustainability. The Year 5 & 6 classes have been working in partnership with some external organisations and taking a closer look at water quality in our area. This Thursday students from Year 5 & 6 will be visiting 3 different sites and later in the year will travel to the Great Barrier Reef to investigate the quality of water in our environment. This Friday, 16th August, is our Science Day! Students are welcome to come dressed up in any way related to Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics.

The long awaited ordination ceremony for the Bishop of Cairns will be held on Thursday 15th August. Our school captains, William & Jace and I will attend this very special event at St. Monica’s Cathedral in Cairns on Thursday evening. We are looking forward to Bishop elect Joseph Caddy joining our Diocese. The ordination will also be live streamed from St. Clare’s Church - all are welcome, please contact the parish for information.

Next Thursday, 22nd August, is our Book Week dress up day. We will have a whole school parade at 8:40am. Please join us if you are able.

The Fete is fast approaching, and a very dedicated team is working non-stop to prepare for this wonderful event. Please read the update from the Fete Committee further down in this newsletter. A few helpers are required here and there on the night, so if you can spare an hour or two on the night, get in touch. Raffle ticket sales are going strong, and a huge thank you to Nancy Marsilio, who spends countless hours on behalf of St. Clare’s, selling tickets. If you still have ticket books, sold or unsold, please return them to school with your child as soon as possible.

Over the coming weeks (Weeks 7 & 8) classroom teachers will be available for interviews. Information on how to book a time was sent home yesterday. I strongly encourage everyone to book in to chat with your child’s teacher, these times a great opportunity to share in your child learning journey.

A gentle reminder for students on buses. If you have any changes for the bus, please ring through to the office with these messages before 2:30pm. The bus roll for each day is generated by the office and classroom teachers are then notified of these changes. We do ask that you do not message teachers for bus changes. The reason for this is they may get missed during the teaching day. Or if your child’s teacher happens to be away, a relief teacher will not receive the message.

The School Board has recently reviewed the following policies:

• Camps & Excursions
• Communicable Diseases

These updated policies are included in this newsletter for your information.

Sent to Principal’s Office

Once again I have been fortunate to see some amazing examples of student learning. A huge thanks to our wonderful staff for providing engaging activities and support for our students. Also, hats off to all the students of St. Clare’s  - you truly try your best in learning - well done!

A reminder that Friday 30th August is a pupil free day. All staff will be participating in professional development for the day.

Blessings for the week ahead.

Karran Burzacott
Principal