Week 4 already!

Our final term for 2024 is moving along very quickly. The first few weeks have been filled with smiles and positive attitudes, which is a blessing to witness everyday.

I will be on Long Service Leave all of Week 4. Please contact Sharon Chappel or Chris Edwards in my absence should the need arise.

 Staff Appreciation Day

On Friday 25th October, we acknowledge and thank all the staff at St. Clare’s for always working towards providing the best possible opportunities for our students. Our teachers, school officers and support staff work extremely hard to make St. Clare’s the amazing community that it is. We will celebrate on Friday with a morning tea, made possible with contributions from our P&F, Catholic Education Services Cairns and St. Clare’s. Thank you St. Clare’s -  you are an amazing, highly dedicated and very special staff.

Year 5 & 6 Reef Trip

A huge thank you to Mrs Penny Irvine for putting together a trip to the outer Barrier Reef for our Year 5 & 6 students last week. Mrs Irvine has spent countless hours putting this together after successfully applying for a grant from the Queensland Government - Engaging Science.

While it was rough seas for us, the day was an exceptional experience for our students, and Year 5 & 6 wholeheartedly engaged in every activity offered throughout the day. Several staff on board the boat commented on how well St. Clare’s students listened and participated on the day, with respect and enthusiasm. I have also received an email from a member of the public that happened to be on board, saying that they were very impressed with our students' behaviour. It is wonderful to hear this feedback about our students from others. I can definitely say that we were all very proud of how Year 5 & 6 interacted and participated on this excursion. I would very much like to thank all the staff that took part, Mrs Irvine, Mrs Jenkins, Mrs Schoch, Mrs Marsilio and Mrs Chappel - it was a great day, made even more so by your dedication to our students. And thank you parents for allowing your children to take part in the day and getting them organised for our early departure!

Thanks to our P&F

Last week we had a vinyl sail installed out the front of the downstairs student toilets. A huge thank you to our P&F that provided the funds for this project to be completed. When the rain comes back, students will be able to move to and from the toilets without getting wet.

Health & Physical Education Lessons

As you are aware Jeb Ryan had to leave us unexpectedly at the end of Term 3. Jeb is relocating to Brisbane, so that his son can receive treatment. We continue to keep Jeb and his family in our prayers during this very difficult time. We have not been able to source a HPE teacher for Term 4.

For Term 4 the following has been put in place:

Jenny Vujcich will be teaching Health on Wednesdays to Year 6, 5, 2, 4 & 1. Rachelle Salleras has filled in on Tuesdays for the first 3 weeks of Term, taking Prep for Health & PE and Year 1 for PE. Penny Irvine has continued to take Year 3 for Health.

This week, with our Water Safety Program commencing, Cherie Jenkins will take all year levels for PE, on Monday or Tuesday and Prep for Health. This will continue until Week 7.

For Weeks 8, 9 & 10, we will come up with a plan to ensure our students engage with the HPE curriculum. We are currently recruiting to appoint a HPE teacher for 2025. I will keep you updated.

Enrolments 2025

While we do not like to see our families leave St. Clare's, we understand that circumstances change and families can relocate and move away. We currently have families on waiting lists across year levels. If your child will not be returning to St. Clare's in 2025, please contact the office as soon as possible.

Mission Beach Bus

Due to a steady decline over the past few years, in the number of students on the Mission Beach bus, we will not be running this service after the end of the 2024 school year.

Sent to the Principal’s Office

I was lucky to be entertained by Oliver, Sumer and Emmett, as they sang a catchy tune about being Resilient. Well, done! I was also able to hear some very well written weekend recounts from Jonny, Lincoln, Lincoln & Jasmine - great work! Ekam has been working on constructing compound and complex sentences. Fantastic work. Charlie and Jackson shared with me a very detailed visual representation of a life cycle. Amazing!

Best wishes for the week ahead,