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.

Staffing Update

Mrs Helen Andrews will be on leave for all of Term 4. It is with a very heavy heart that I pass this news on to our community, Helen will be undergoing treatment for cancer. Please keep Helen and her family in your thoughts and prayers. Mrs Sharon Chappel will be taking on some of the RE aspects of Helen’s role, with Ms Jamilla Dressler taking the Year 5 class one day per week. Mrs Kaitlyn Marsilio will be taking on some of the Diversity aspects of Helen’s role. I sincerely thank all three of these teachers for their flexibility to accommodate these changes. Mrs Chris Edwards and myself will take on the remaining aspects of Helen’s role.

As you can tell from the outline above, Helen provides support in many different areas at St. Clare’s and we will most certainly miss her expertise, passion and knowledge this term. We wish her all the best and keep her close in our hearts and prayers as she navigates the road ahead.

Mrs Jo Wall will be on long service leave for Week 3. Mrs Cherie Jenkins and Mrs Kaitlyn Marsilio will take the Year 3 class.

This week we welcome Pre-Service teacher, Sashenka Franich to the Year 2 classroom. Sashenka is undergoing her first practical placement and we wish her well.

Teaching positions for 2022 are still being finalised and I will share this information with you as soon as this is done.

Building Opening

We now have a date for the official opening of the Junior Precinct. A liturgy will be held on Tuesday 9th November at 12pm. More information will follow.

Swimming Program

Our swimming program was due to commence this week; however, due to the delays in the pool opening it now looks likely we will start in Week 4. We are awaiting confirmation that the pool will be ready to use and will keep you updated. In the event that we do start in Week 4, Prep, Year 1 & Year 2 will go to the pool on Wednesdays and Year 3, 4, 5 & 6 will go on Fridays.

Prep Transition

This week we welcome many excited children to our first day of Prep Transition for Prep 2022. We will be running a 5 week program led by Ms Gita Sima and Mrs Pauline Colombini (Teacher Aide). We all look forward to getting to know our 2022 prep students as they  visit St. Clare’s each week.

St Gerard Feast Day

The St. Gerard Committee are holding the Feast of St. Gerard Celebrations on Saturday 16th October. The afternoon will begin with a Mass at 2:30pm. More information can be found in the flyer attached to this Newsletter.  Please contact the parish office for further information.

Tree Removal

I would like to acknowledge the generosity of the Cassowary Coast River Improvement Trust, who covered the considerable costs associated with the removal of a very large Milky Pine from the creek bed. This tree was removed during the holidays as it had several dead branches that may be in danger of falling. We thank the Cassowary Coast River Improvement Trust for helping make St. Clare’s a safer place for our students. I would also like to acknowledge Bob McIllroy from the Parish for working with the Cassowary Coast River Improvement Trust.

Best wishes for the week ahead,

Karran Burzacott
Principal