16 June 2015

Newsletter Articles

“Act as if it were impossible to fail.”
Dorothea Brande

From the Principal

Parents,

This week we are saddened by news that a past family of our Holy Cross community who still have strong connections within our community, have been impacted by heartbreaking events at the Iron Man Race on the weekend. We keep this family and all who have been affected in our prayers.

Last week we were also saddened by the tragic Café blast in Ravenshoe which has affected many individuals from the small community as well as staff and families at St Theresa’s Catholic School. As many of the locals and their extended families and friends have been touched by this tragedy, we continue to keep these families too in our prayers. As a school and Diocese, consideration is being made regarding the most appropriate way that we might be able to provide support to the community of Ravenshoe as they deal with this event. While plans are being considered, the most powerful thing we can all do is keep these families in our prayers and ask God’s love and support to be poured out on them as they deal with the grief and heartache which will stay with them for many months to come. On Friday at Holy Cross, a special prayer event is planned to take place at the commencement of our sports carnival to pray for the all those in our community who have been touched in some way by these tragedies and provide an opportunity for Holy Cross families to consider adding a leaf or prayer message to our GIVIT – Giving Tree. Families will be invited to come forward to donate a $5 note to our tree or add a prayer message of support. All funds raised will be distributed to ‘GIVIT’ which is co-ordinating support for the Ravenshoe community.

Our annual interschool sports carnival is planned to take place on Friday unless there is ongoing wet weather which would make this event unsafe. A message will be pushed out on text and via our App Wednesday afternoon if this event needs to be postponed. If postponed, although disappointing, this decision will have been made in the interests of safety for students and staff. The new date planned as a backup will be communicated for the carnival to take place during the first week of Term 3. This event is always an enjoyable day for our students and the opportunity for parents to come along and join in watching and cheering on our students is not to be missed. Anyone who is available to assist with set up and tidy up for this event should contact Paulette Henderson-Crofts. We are always in need of extra hands to assist Mr Whouley in lowering and gathering up tents for packing away at the end of the day.

While ICT devices are designed to enhance the students’ learning engagement and collaborative culture, it is becoming all too common that many schools are faced with dealing with a complex downside of this technology – students’ online security. One School Principal, Mr Brooker was regularly confronted with complex questions from parents about how to manage their child’s online privacy and safety but also the content they’re accessing. In the absence of such a guide for concerned parents, Brooker decided to write and publish his own – a book titled: ‘Keeping Your Child/Teen Safe in the Online Jungle’. The book, which Brooker describes as a “buffet of information”, surged to second place on Apple's online New Zealand iBookstore for the first six weeks following its release and has been downloaded by parents in New Zealand, Australia, the UK, the US and the Netherlands. "There's a void of information around that for parents in general," Booker told Stuff.co.nz. Among the topics covered in his book are managing online activity at home and how to change security and privacy settings on devices. It’s up to parents to pick out the parts that were right for them and their children, Brooker said, “These devices are more than just gaming tools,” Brooker said, adding the technology was important for creativity and that learning should not be taken away from children for fear of something going wrong. "When a child writes on the wall you don't ban them from using pens,” Brooker said.

Below are some key takeaways from Brooker’s guidebook:

1. Maintain ownership. Make it a family device. This gives parents the ability to change settings and maintain control of how it's used and when.
2. Don't sleep with devices. Charge devices overnight in the kitchen, lounge or parents' bedroom rather than in the child's bedroom.
3. It's more than a gaming device. Set time limits for games. Create guidelines for how the device is used. For example, devices could be just used for homework and creative learning during the week and gaming during the weekend.

Great to see our Futsal sports stars showcased on assembly on Friday. Congratulations to our students for the fine efforts they put in representing our school so well in this competition. Our thanks especially to Mr Dunn-Oswald who co-ordinated the teams and to Mrs Henderson-Crofts and Mr Henry for taking time out of their busy schedules to coach and attend some of the games. Special thanks to our team coaches:

U8 & U10 Girls = Gavin Broomhead
U9 = Stephen Turner, Tim Cook, Robert Debel, Jeremy Muir
U10 = David Scarborough
U11 = Mike Fitzroy
U13 Boys = Veronica Binutti & John Hangodi
U13 Girls = Paulette H-C. & Brad Henry

Finally, this week is your last chance to contribute to our School Renewal Survey which will assist in guiding our next goal setting and planning phase. Please go to the link to share your views in this survey.

I look forward to seeing many families around at our Sports Carnival and in coming weeks at various class liturgies.

Enjoy your week.

Blessings

Wendy Manners
Principal – Holy Cross Catholic School

APRE News

WONDER OF LIVING PROGRAM

Early next term, staff from Natural Fertility Services, Cairns, will be coming to run our Wonder of Living program for students in Years 1-6. They will be showing movies to those levels and running puberty sessions for our Year 5 and 6 students.

Parent Information sessions:

• Tuesday 21st of July 1:45pm-2:45pm Parent session-Wonder of Living Program Information
• Tuesday 21st of July 6:30pm-8:00pm Parent session-How to have ‘the talk’ with your children.

LITURGICAL LIFE OF THE SCHOOL

Although Fr. Neil is away overseas, the Years 1, 2, 5 and Prep students will still be celebrating Liturgies of the Word, in the church, over the next two weeks. Parents are welcome to join their children for these.

Upcoming liturgies and Masses:

• Years 1 & 2 on Wednesday the 17th June at 9am
• Prep & Year 5 on Wednesday the 24th June
• NAIDOC mini liturgy on Friday the 26th June

SACRAMENTAL PROGRAM

Families of candidates for Confirmation and First Holy Communion are well underway with preparation sessions. Helen Bozzo, the Sacramental Co-ordinator for the parish, would like to inform parents that no other enrolments will be accepted for these Sacraments this year, as we are so far into the preparation process.

Dates for the diary:

• Confirmation- Thursday the 23rd of July 7pm, St Monica’s Cathedral
• First Holy Communion- Masses over the weekend of Saturday the 25th and Sunday the 26th of July, Holy Cross Church or All Saints’ Chapel
• Parent information night- Reconciliation Tues 28th of July
• First Reconciliation Tues 8th of September 12pm, Holy Cross Church

SOCIAL JUSTICE

Thank you to all who donated clothes, other personal items and money to Rosie’s over the past few weeks. For all the icy poles, for the maroon footy gear (and blue) that you will wear this week and for all the time and effort the staff are putting in to making sandwiches for those who go without, THANK YOU! It is also great to see the Justice Squad and Community Committee trying to make a real difference in their community.

Please continue to pray for the community of Ravenshoe this week and stay tuned for other ways we can support those affected by the tragedy of last week.

PRAYER GARDEN

You would have noticed that the prayer garden outside the office, is starting to take shape. Terry Whouley has been working very hard to prepare the area and to set the seats in place safely. Last year’s Student Council arranged for a sign to be made and money was raised to put towards the seats. The next stage is to spread the sand, which should go in this week or next. When finished, it will be a special space where parents, staff and/or students can go to pray, to meditate or to reflect. Planting and a cross will also be installed in the future, to help complete this space. It is an ongoing project that reflects the ideas and efforts of a range of groups within our school.

PRAYER FOCUS FOR THE WEEK

A reflection on last Sunday’s Gospel from Sr Kym Harris osb:

Here we have two strange parables. In the first, a farmer sows seed, a crop grows then he harvests it. That’s it. The second has even less story line. A tiny seed grows into a big tree and birds nest on its branches. The point of both parables is that goodness and grace are growing in our midst, even if we don’t realise it. The Kingdom of God is working in, through and around us. The people who have been honoured are those who have stepped into that flow and allowed it to work more actively in their lives. The invitation is given to each of us: allow life and love to flow through you, allow goodness and grace to flourish. Then you will realise the Kingdom of God is already within you.

Loving God, you desire love and life to flourish within us. Let me embrace this desire and be a channel of grace to all around me. I ask this in Jesus’ name confident that you will hear me.

COURAGE TO CARE EXHIBITION

Courage to Care Exhibition - 14th Aug – 11th Sept 2015, Seville Mercy Conference Centre, 35 Bauhinia Ave – Earlville

This inspiring and interactive exhibition uses living historians (Holocaust survivors) to demonstrate the positive impact of bystander intervention in the face of racism, prejudice and bullying.

For more information visit

Email courage2care@cns.catholic.edu.au or phone 4050 9700.

All are welcome and entry is free.

Parish Mass Times

Saturday

Holy Cross, Trinity Park 6:00pm

Sunday

Sacred Heart, Freshwater 7:00am

Holy Cross, Trinity Park 8:30am

St Augustine’s, Stratford 10:30am

All Saints Chapel, St Andrew’s Redlynch 5:30pm

Jacinta Roberts
APRE Holy Cross
jroberts1@cns.catholic.edu.au

NOTICE TO OUR SCHOOL AND PARISH COMMUNITY

Year 6 Community Committee News

Enhancing the Holy Cross Community
Icy Poles on Sale every Tuesday – 50 cents each
All proceeds to Rosies – Friends on the Street

Please note – these icy poles are only available Tuesday. Icy poles available from the tuckshop from Wednesday – Friday at usual price of $1 each.

Justice Squad Committee News

The Justice Squad Committee in Year 6 feel strongly about caring and sharing in our community, especially for our less fortunate, particularly the homeless in Cairns. As winter is coming we feel we can show we care in our own special way.

This year the Holy Cross Justice Squad are having a warm clothing and blanket drive to collect as much as we can. We are looking for warm clothing for adults such as; T-Shirts, jumpers, coats, gloves, socks and beanies. If you have any spare items or blankets you can drop them off at the Holy Cross School office, Reed Road, Trinity Park.

We would appreciate you asking friends and neighbours too. Remember that we are fortunate so it is our duty to help those less fortunate.

Thank you for supporting our Justice Squad and community.

APA News

Holy Cross Wrap Up, Term 2

With less than two weeks now we are certainly at the business end of Semester One. I would like to congratulate our students and staff for a huge effort this Semester. In the past week and over the next I have been lucky enough to see the celebrations of the Semesters efforts in the classroom and the hard work students have put into their learning, they should be proud of themselves. If you know you can do even better next term, now is the time to start planning.

Below are a couple of key dates left to remember:

Wednesday 17th June – State of Origin Dress Up Day
Thursday 18th June – Prep Letterland Celebration
Thursday 18th June – Orators Night Year 4
Friday 19th June – Holy Cross Athletics Carnival
Tuesday 23rd June – Cairns Eisteddfod - Holy Cross Band
Thursday 25th June – Year 6 Federation Day
Friday 26th June – NAIDOC Day Liturgy and Activities
Friday 26th June – Last Day of Term.
Monday 13th July – Term 3 Begins.
Thursday 16th July – Pupil Free Day – Cairns Diocese CTJ Day
Friday 17th July – Cairns Show Day
26th – 28th August – Year 6 Camp

School Wide Positive Behaviour Update

Last week, I was able to share our School Wide Positive Behaviour journey with those parents and families present at the June P&F meeting. I thank those who were able to give up their time to attend. I shared the initial work that staff have been doing as part of our behaviour management review. The ‘Positive Behaviour Matrix’ that each of our classrooms is also becoming familiar with. If you missed this information please look back to our previous newsletter to have a look. I received constructive feedback about the process and was able to clarify questions that were raised. There will be further opportunities to be part of our process in the coming months.

Students behave positively when they know what is expected of them, and when they feel safe, and know that someone believes in them and cares about them and their learning. Great teachers and great teaching make a significant difference to how students behave and learn.

Positive behaviour doesn't just happen. Students need to know the expectations and what positive behaviour looks like.

School Wide Positive Behaviour plans need to set out clearly the expected behaviour and any consequences for unwanted behaviour.

Behaviour is a form of communication and serves a purpose. When we understand the purpose of inappropriate behaviour, we can understand how to best respond and intervene.

Positive behaviour is likely to occur more frequently when we:

• identify reinforcers for positive behaviour
• teach replacement behaviours for unwanted behaviour
• respond consistently with predictable consequences that match the behaviour.

Some students will need more support to behave positively, and they may need targeted or intensive support.

Staff and students have recently begun using and becoming familiar with the ‘Holy Cross Consequences Chart’. Any student demonstrating a behaviour inconsistent with our expectations experiences a set of responses and consequences detailed in our Behaviour Consequence Chart. These consequences are meant to ensure that the student restores acceptable practice and repairs any break in relationships or class spirit.

If behaviour is deemed to be a ‘Major Problem’ behaviour or an on-going ‘Minor Problem’ behaviour a student will receive additional consequences. Consequences may include such things as loss of privileges, community service, relocation or lunch date, student contracts, internal suspensions etc. This is dependent on the age of the student and on what inappropriate behaviours are demonstrated. A key component of our plan is regular parental contact. Should a student receive consequences then some form of parent contact is required. This helps in the overall process for students to recognise that School and Home are working together.

All the incidents (Major and Minor) are recorded into a database so that we can monitor progress and review our procedures. We are pleased to report that in the short life of the system here at Holy Cross there has been been a significant decrease in the number of behavioural concerns. This then translates into improved learning outcomes for everyone. Working in partnership and as a cohesive team, with a set system, it should continue to become evident that we are making a positive difference in our School community.

Notwithstanding the importance of following up negative behaviour we continue to have an overwhelming emphasis on the positive reinforcements. Our goal is 20 positives to every negative.

Many blessings for the week

Brad Henry
Assistant Principal – Administration
bhenry2@cns.catholic.edu.au

Curriculum News

SEMESTER 1 REPORT CARDS

Please note that Semester 1 reports are due to be mailed out on Friday 26th June to those families who are financial or have a current payment plan in place.

Please notify the school office if you have changed your address details to ensure delivery.

QUEENSLAND PREMIER’S READING CHALLENGE

‘READING ROCKETS’ AT THE READERS’ CUP

Last Friday 12th June, we saw the culmination of a term’s worth of reading enjoyment and literature sharing when our Holy Cross Readers’ Cup team, the ‘Reading Rockets’, participated in the reading challenge against 23 teams from across the Cairns and Tablelands District at Whitfield State School. Our team, Kit M., Maya B., Jorja A. and Trinity W., used their collective knowledge to collaboratively answer 60 questions about the six titles they had read. Some of the questions required extreme depth and detail. The girls’ great effort saw them place 11th. Their behaviour and teamwork spoke volumes of their Holy Cross Spirit. Well done girls! A big thank you goes out to parents for all of the ‘at home’ support.

Maya B. (5C), Jorja A. (5C), Kit M. (6S) and Trinity W. (5H). (Absent: Ella W (6H))

BOOK REVIEW

A Reading Rocket’s Mini Book Review

The Australian novel ‘Blueback’ by Tim Winton is about the life of a man named Abel Jackson, from when he was 10 years old until he became an adult. When Abel was a child he saw a giant blue groper when he was diving in the bay near his house and called it Blueback. He started to think about the life of the groper and how to save the bay from ‘progress’. My favourite part of the books is the ending because it has a ‘happily ever after’ ending.

My Rating:

Jo Neil
Curriculum Support
jneil@cns.catholic.edu.au

School Notices

Opti-MINDS

It’s Opti-MINDS time again!

What is Opti-MINDS?

“Opti-MINDS is a is an opportunity for students with a passion for learning & problem solving to showcase their skills & talents in an exciting, vibrant & public way.” (Opti-MINDS 2015)

We will form a team (or two) of keen and motivated Holy Cross students to work together over a period of 6 weeks to achieve their most creative solution to a given challenge. The students will then represent the school and present their solution to a panel of judges. The team will also participate in a ‘spontaneous challenge,’ which will require them to think quickly and creatively.

Interested year 5 or 6 students need to show ‘a passion for learning & problem solving’ and be prepared to commit themselves to regular meetings and practice sessions for 6 weeks (starting from week 1, term 3). They will also be required to attend the Opti-MINDS Challenge Day, which will be held on Sunday 23rd August at James Cook University.

Places are limited, as a team contains only 4-7 participants. Interested students can write a short application to Ms Stefanovic, stating what skill/ability they would bring to a Holy Cross Opti-MINDS team and how they have shown that skill/ability in the past.

Coralie Stefanovic
Holy Cross Opti-MINDS Coordinator

Term 2 School Fees

Please note that Term 2 School Fees were issued via email on 24th April and were payable by the 8th May. Please make arrangements to finalise your account as soon as possible if you have not already done so.

Should you be experiencing financial difficulty and are unable to meet your financial obligations please contact the school to make an appointment with our School Principal, Mrs Wendy Manners.

A reminder that all fees are to be paid in full (unless direct debit arrangements are in place) in order for reports to be issued at the end of this term.

EFT Transfer Customers

If you currently use this method of payment please check that you are using our NEW bank details and reference number as shown on the Term invoice to ensure your funds are receipted to the correct account. See below:-

BSB: 084-352
A/C #: 000017443
YOUR REF: 963000 _ _ _ _

Currently there are a number of families who have not included a reference number and are using the incorrect bank details.

Prep 2016 Enrolments

Prep interviews for the 2016 intake have begun and will be conducted throughout this term. All sibling applications should now have been finalised. Please note that although formal interviews for Prep siblings will not be conducted prior to placement offers being released, there will be informal 15 minute meetings organised during Term 3 for ALL current families in order to discuss your child’s individual development, friendship groupings and to answer any questions that you may have.

GOTCHA Points

Congratulations to Petersen House who were the GOTCHA Point winners last week.

TERM 2	DILLON	MALLON	PETERSEN	ROBINSON
Week 8	281	275	296	286

Bike Bus

Holy Cross Bike Bus is now well underway. A REMINDER THAT THE BIKE BUS WILL NOT RUN IF IT IS RAINING OR A STRONG CHANCE OF RAIN.

P & F News

Tuckshop News

Fortnight Special

Baked Beans or Spaghetti Jaffles - $2.50ea

TUCKSHOP ROSTER
WEEK 9		PARENT HELPERS	SLINKY HELPERS
WED	17th June	HELP REQUIRED	Jorja 5C
			Abriel 5C
			Chloe 5S
THU	18th June	HELP REQUIRED	Iona 5C
			Maya 5C
FRI	19th June	Tracey Cook 8.30am-11.30am	Hannah 5S
		URGENT HELP REQUIRED	Leia 5S
WEEK 10
WED	24th June	HELP REQUIRED	Jorja 5C
			Maya 5C
THU	25th June	HELP REQUIRED	Piper 5C
			Abriel 5C
FRI	26th June	Tracey Cook 8.30am– 11.30am	Iona 5C
		URGENT HELP REQUIRED	Jorja 5C

Secondhand Uniforms

Secondhand uniforms and green jumpers are available for purchase at the tuckshop for $5.00 each.

If you can assist in the tuckshop we would love to hear from you. Please contact the Tuckshop Convenor, Kylie Gowlett on 0439 933 980, email: kgowlett@cns.catholic.edu.au or leave your number at the office.

The Arts News

Dance Drama & Music

HOLY CROSS SCHOOL BAND – MUSIC BY MOONLIGHT

It was a pleasure to watch our school band perform at St Andrew’s Catholic College last Wednesday evening (10th June). It was with pride I saw them walk in and play their instruments so well. There were quite a few bands before them and therefore they had big shoes to fill but they did so with gusto! It is relatively easy to play an instrument in practice but it takes so much more to perform as a group in front a large crowd. Congratulations to the students in the band for delivering a fantastic performance. Well done to Ms Julia Russell whose skills as an instrumental music teacher and conductor featured throughout the night. The evening was to raise funds for a charity organisation called Friends of Himalayan Children who are aiding the recent earthquake victims in Nepal. The Holy Cross Band will also be competing in the upcoming Cairns Eisteddfod next week. I wish them well and may God bless them in this competition.

DRAMA RESOURCES – WE NEED YOUR DONATIONS!

We are beginning to build up our drama and dance resources in the DDM. We can purchase some items, however, many of the items below may be your trash and our treasure! If you can donate any of these items, please send them into school and deliver them to the DDM room. THANK YOU!

• Men’s business shirts, suit jackets, ties, hats, belts
• Women’s small dresses, coats, hats, belts, necklaces
• Normal and novelty sunglasses
• Costumes of any sort
• Retro or old fashioned clothes
• Plastic princess crowns, fairy wands etc…
• Shawls or scarves
• Novelty hats eg: cowboy, police, fireman, witch
• Wigs
• Etc…

THEATRE SPORTS – TEACHER VS STUDENT LUNCH TIME COMPETITION

We have had two rounds of Theatre Sport games in this competition. The first round was called “Death in a Minute” and the teachers were the clear winners with a very clever library scene. Round two was called “Slow Motion Commentary” and the students were clear winners with a great slow motion action scene of competitors reaching for a gold medal win. The teachers attempted to do a hip hop dance in slow motion but couldn’t quite keep it slow enough. At this stage the teachers are ahead by a tiny margin of HALF A POINT! This week we are having the last round of Theatre Sports in which the challenge game is called “Space Jump.” This is a three minute challenge where quick thinking, quirky characterisations and improvised story lines will be needed. This Wednesday at 1st lunch, students and teachers will battle it out for the right to be called Theatre Sports Champions!

DO YOU KNOW OF ANY LOCAL COMMUNITY BANDS?

Next semester, I am writing a unit for the year 5 & 6’s called, “Local Community Music.” I will be teaching students about how different music means different things to different people. I wanted to interview local community bands about the messages they want to share with people through their music, why they are in a band and what kinds of music they connect with and why. If you know of any local rock, cultural or alternative style bands that perform in the Cairns district and might be willing to be a part of our unit, please give them my email address, cwight@cns.catholic.edu.au, or leave a message with the school office on 4057 6920. I already have two bands but need more! Thank you!

DDM LESSON UPDATE

Prep students were introduced to the song “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes” this week. We are going to learn this song in preparation for a Cinderella themed assembly performance next term where all the boys are princes and all the girls are princesses. Next term, we start our “Musical Beginnings Unit” which uses a lot of fairy tales and nursery rhymes to teach the basic elements of playing music and singing.

Years 1/2 - “Lets Dance: Movement Stories” – The year 2 students performed their dances last week on assembly. There were smiles, looks of concentration and elation as they completed their dances and the audience clapped loudly. This week all year 1 & 2 students were introduced to the Mexican Hat Dance and then could request their favourite dances. The Monster Mash and the Chicken Dance seem to be the most popular choices.

Years 3/4 - “Blast Off! Life in Space.” - The year 4 students gave me all their plots for various space plays and I chose one idea to base their play upon. The storyline I chose was about astronauts having to travel to the International Space Station to restock the food supplies. The closest space supermarket was Moles on Mars. The mission gets crazy when green blob aliens from the planet Jupizer (which is a planet in another galaxy) turn up for an intergalactic party. Each student has chosen a character and a scene in which they would like to participate.

The year 3 play is about saving the Moon from exploding and a Moon treasure hunt. One confident team of astronauts think they have an easy mission when a mystery team begin taking their treasure and putting everyone as risk. Who is this mysterious team? Will they stop the Moon from exploding? Students will be introduced to this script on Monday as we lost a lesson last week with the public holiday.

Years 5/6 – “Theatre Sports” – There is a team of year 6 students who call themselves the `Black and White Gangsters’ and have become a little bit famous for their witty and hilarious performances within the year 6 individual class competitions that are going on each week. Their improvisation skills are very good, however, there is a year 5 team who is their equal and they call themselves the `Classics.’ Students are interested in seeing these two drama teams compete against each other in the last week of school for one final display of Theatre Sports talent before they start their music unit next term. I am extremely pleased with how all the students have greatly improved throughout this unit. Every student is a Theatre Sports star in my opinion. Well done!

Thank you for all your support! God bless!

Christina Wight

Music News

Instrumental Music News

Music Tuition

Brass/Woodwind

If you are interested in learning a brass or woodwind instrument (including trumpet, trombone, flute, clarinet or saxophone), please contact Julia Russell via email: julia.russell@standrewscc.qld.edu.au

A reminder that instrumental tuition & hire contract agreements state a 4 week’s written notice period is required if your child wishes to cease lessons. In the event of cancellation the full amount of the term fee will remain due and payable for that notice period. All instrumental fees should remain paid in advance.

Drums/Percussion

Are you interested in playing the drums or learning a percussion instrument?

For more information contact our friendly drum/percussion instructor Jen Fengler on ph: 0431461812 or email: jenfengler@hotmail.com

Piano

If you are interested in piano lessons please contact: Paul Brimstone on ph: 40551105

Guitar

If you are interested in guitar lessons please contact: Peter Drazic on email: pjd.guitar@bigpond.com

Sports Notices

Holy Cross Athletics Carnival

A reminder that should there be a need to postpone the athletics carnival due to wet weather which would make this event unsafe, a message will be pushed out on text and via our App Wednesday afternoon and a new date will be set during the first week of Term 3.

Rebel School Tennis Challenge

The second Rebel School Tennis Challenge was held on Saturday 13th June. Congratulations to the following school students who not only participated in the challenge but also won the team event joining with MOGC School:- Astrid G-L., Will G-L., Sabine S., Haydar A., Harley V., Maui C-R., & Leia C.

Special congratulations to Harley V. who also collected one of the sportsmanship awards on the day.

More information will be sent out early next term regarding the next school challenge.

School Holiday Clinic

Trinity Beach Tennis Club is also holding a Tennis Holiday Coaching Clinic.

ANZ Tennis Hot Shots Update

Please note that due to the large number of registered participants in the ANZ Tennis Hot Shots Program this year there is currently a shortage of t-shirts. In the meantime to ensure that everyone still receives a gift, we have been advised that each child will receive the latest edition of the Kids Tennis Magazine until the school receives the order of shirts next term.

Community Notices

Free Positive Parenting Seminars

The Stepping Stones Triple P Project is currently offering parents in Cairns free parenting seminars.

The seminar will give tips and strategies to help manage the big and small problems of family life.

The seminar looks at providing a structured approach to teach your child new skills and behaviours.

Please visit www.triplep-steppingstones.net/au-en/home/ for more information on the Stepping Stones Triple P Project.

Homestay Families Required

Smithfield State High School are seeking interested families to host International Homestay Students. Host families are remunerated and length of stays can be 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. If you have any questions or would like more information please contact:

Donna Lupson, Homestay Coordinator, International Student Programme
Smithfield State High School Ph 4058 4361 or Mobile 0437 447 685.

Well Women’s Clinics (available to Medicare eligible clients)

Service includes Pap Smears, Sexual Health Screening, Breast Awareness, also info on Contraception, Continence, Menopause, Lifestyle Issues, Bowel Health, Domestic Violence, etc. All services are provided by a specially trained Women’s Health Nurse.

Smithfield Community Health Friday 26th June Ph: 4226 4800
James Cook University (JCU) Tuesday 30th June Ph: 4226 4812

FREE Healthy Lifestyle Program

Get your family active and eating well

Local families can sign up the free healthy lifestyle program called PEACH™ - Parenting, Eating and Activity for Child Health. Registrations are now open for a new group to commence in Cairns at in term 3, 2015.

The program is fun for kids and helps parents and carers make healthy eating and activity a part of every-day life. It is available to families with a child aged between 5-11 years who is above a healthy weight their age.

It consists of 10 group sessions that run for 90 minutes each. The first 9 sessions are held weekly within the school term. Ongoing individualised family support is offered through the second half of the program ending with one final group session.

Some of the topics covered include nutrition, relationships with food and eating, changing family lifestyle behaviours and making healthy eating affordable. While the parent sessions are taking place, children enjoy active play with a trained child physical activity facilitator.

The program is funded by the Queensland government and being delivered by the Queensland University of Technology.

If you would like more information about the PEACH™ program or to register please contact free call 1800 263 519 or visit