Principal: Mrs Bec Maxwell
24—32 Grogan Street
Mossman. QLD. 4873
23rd October 2014
Ph: 07 4098 1631
Fax: 07 4098 2267
We are part of the Catholic Parish of Mossman—Port Douglas
www.staugs.qld.edu.au
email: [email protected]
One of the things that I keep hearing from parents is that they love
the community of St Augustine’s School. It is this community that we
saw on Friday night at the Fluro Disco. The work of the parents who
are involved in the Parents and Friends is amazing and the Disco was
a great night—what fun!! It was wonderful to see so many people
turn up on a week end when there were a lot of other things
happening, the dancing was—let’s say ‘inspiring’ and the costumes very
‘interesting’.
A big
goes out to the parents and staff who volunteered
for jobs on the night. It is through the work of these people that we
are able to provide all those extra bits that make St Augustine’s a
special place. This is the community that I refer to—those people
who value St Augustine’s School and are prepared to come and
support the school and show that they are proud to belong to our
Catholic learning community.
The Parents and Friends raised a significant amount of money on
Friday night and this money goes to things like reading resources,
playground resources, and technology resources. This makes such a
difference to your child’s learning.
The Parents and Friends will be meeting over the next couple of
weeks to wind up their efforts for this year, to review their successes
and to plan for their work next year. As always the P & F are looking
for new supporters so if you wish to get involved please feel free to
contact the front office to share your enthusiasm.
We are very fortunate to have such a supportive parent body.
Thank you.
ROAD SAFETY
Each afternoon a staff member is on duty at the front gate of the
school supervising students as they get onto the school buses or as they are collected by
parents. We have noticed a concerning trend whereby parents are allowing their children
to walk across the road unsupervised. As this a busy time where there are lots of cars,
buses and larger vehicles on the road we ask parents to ensure that they escort their child
across the road. Over the next couple of weeks the police will be checking these areas
blog.melissaanddoug.com
The Year 6 / 7 Graduation is fast approaching and before we know it we will be fare welling our current student
leaders. They have done an amazing job this year as the role models for our younger learners.
Just a heads up to the Year 5—7 parents. You received a note on Tuesday saying that we were expecting around
140 or so people—I have since learned that this number needs to be revised to close to 200. While this is a significant number for the Year 5’s cater to so to help
with this the Year 5’s will be running a pie drive to raise some money so that they can make sure that there is enough food on the night : watch this space!!!!!
Catholic Parish
Mossman and Port Douglas
St Augustine Church
24 Grogan Street,
Mossman
Saturday 6:30pm, Mossman
Sunday 7:00am, Mossman
Co-responsible in faith and
development
St Mary Church
2 Endeavour Street,
Port Douglas
Sunday 9:00am, Port Douglas
We acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land, the Kuku Yalanji and Yirrganydji peoples,
and pay our respect to the elders, both past, present and future.
STUDENT
SAFETY
Friday the 31st of October is the annual Day for Daniel. This is a day
when we remember Daniel Morcombe and remind ourselves that we are
all responsible for the safety of all children. As a school we will be asking
all children, staff and parents to wear something red—but more
importantly to have discussion with our children about how to keep
themselves safe. It is vital that we build up our children’s skills and help
them develop the strategies, skills and attitudes that will keep them safe in
all situations. For more information please visit:
http://www.danielmorcombe.com.au/
In recent weeks we
have been promoting
the work of the
School Board and the
importance of its role as a consultative body and how it
works to support the work of our school. Next Wednesday
night we are having a training session for new board members. This session will be lead by Gerard Kearney from
CES. All current board members will be in attendance but
also any one who has nominated for the board, or who is
interested in learning about the board is welcome to come.
The training session is in the school library and begins at
6.30 pm. It will run for around 1 hour.
Monday
27th October
As part of our enrolment procedures all parents are asked
to complete a media consent form. This form indicates
whether we, as a school, can utilise the child’s photo in our
newsletter, on our website and in school or diocesan
publications. It is the parents decision as to how a child’s
photo can be used. We ask that all parents respect this
aspect of privacy—especially when it comes to publishing
photos of school events on personal Facebook pages. If
you are going to post a photo of your child at a school
event and there are other children in the background—
please be aware that the parents of these other children
may not want the picture of their child on your Facebook
page.
Catholic Education Services in Cairns continues to provide
excellent opportunities for our staff to build their professional
capacities. Most recently we had the CTJ day on Monday. All
teachers benefitted from meeting with
peers from across the diocese and focussing on student learning. Other
upcoming PD events are:
 Principals Conference: Bec Maxwell
 Literacy Coaching: Megan Newell
leading participating teachers
 Google Applications: Yvonne
Grant
 Legislation and Learning Support:
Erin Mullane
 APRE Network: Josh Mullane
 SEL Network: Gayle Duncan
www.clipartpanda.com
 Curriculum Support Network: Marie
Fitzgerald
Tuesday
28th October
Wednesday
29th October
Whole School Mass: 9
am. Parents welcome.
RE Curriculum Day: Josh
Mullane @ CES
Curriculum Network Meeting: Mossman hosting
Board Meeting: Library—
6.30pm.
Thursday
30th October
Friday
31st October
Last Friday I attended our final Cairns Diocesan SEL Coordinator’s Meeting. Our day began with an incredible
prayer that opened our hearts and minds to being GRATEFUL. We were lead through the Examen based on
Ignatian Spirituality (1491-1566) where we followed the following process1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Give Thanks
Ask for the Grace to know where you have turned away from God.
Review the day (sights, sounds, tastes, feelings, textures, conversations, thoughts, words and deeds)
Ask for Forgiveness
Ask for God’s grace as you look towards the next day.
In so doing we were able to identify and recognise the smallest things of which we have to be grateful for. I
found this to be truly a blessing as it changed my whole thoughts, values and attitudes towards my day ahead!
And so I now offer to you some of that reflection. May it bring peace and happiness to your day ahead and
food for thought in the way you embrace each moment!
To wake from sleep into this day - Is gift enough for thanks.
To hear a child’s delights in laughter-Is gift enough for thanks.
To sip a glass of clean, cold water –Is gift enough for thanks.
To watch the sunset paint the sky-Is gift enough for thanks.
To share a moment with a friend- Is gift enough for thanks.
To feel the comfort of clean clothing- Is gift enough for thanks.
To form words that make a prayer- Is gift enough for thanks.
Gayle Duncan
(Social Emotional Learning Coordinator)
STUDENT TRAVEL REBATES
Semester 2, 2014
Bus Fare
Assistance
Baldwin Family
7 Nov
Brinklow Family 14 Nov
Caroline H.


21 Nov

Lesley J
Baldwin Family
28 Nov
5 Dec
Students with
Disabilities
Does your child attend a
school outside the Brisbane
City Council boundary?

Does your family spend more
than $25/week* on fares to and
from school (* $20/week if you
hold a concession card)?
Does your child have a
verified disability that requires transport assistance
to and from school?

Has your school’s learning
support teacher assessed
your child’s travel capability
rating as ‘semi-independent’
or more dependent?
Does your child travel on a
publicly available bus not
owned or associated with the
school?
Visit our website to see if you qualify for financial assistance to
help with the 2014.
Late applications cannot be accepted.cost of transport and
apply at www.schooltransport.com.au by 31 October
Just Teasing! Differences between bullying and teasing (Source:www.scholastic.com)
Children poke fun at one another. It’s just what they do. Our instinct may be to immediately stop the behaviour
and try to protect children from it, but, in fact, some teasing is critical to children’s social development. When
kids make fun of their friends without aggression or any intention of hurting their feelings, it’s called positive or
productive teasing. This kind of behaviour helps kids build relationships and use humour to address taboo topics
or handle sticky situations.
60 to 70 % of the teasing young kids do is positive. If we don’t let kids tease at all, we stop the majority of
teasing that helps kids form bonds and navigate social situations. “Teasing is a way to handle the conflicts of our
social lives in less aggressive ways.”
Kids of all ages use positive teasing to forge friendships and gain understanding. A toddler hides a toy in hopes
of getting a friend’s attention. First graders chant “Bobby and Sarah sitting in a tree . . . ” as they begin to
explore boy-girl dynamics. And when 11-year-olds make fun of the music their dad likes, they’re distancing
themselves from their parents’ tastes so that they can discover their own.
Teasing vs. Bullying
Teasing is misunderstood because it is often confused with bullying, which has a strictly negative impact. The
way to distinguish between the two is by the intent. The goal of teasing is to create closer relationships and
make connections. The goal of bullying is to harm. Teasing turns into bullying when kids use it to gain greater
social status. Of course, even the most positive teasing turns sour if it goes too far. To determine whether the
teasing is positive or not, it’s essential to look at context. For example, if kids joke about a child’s shoes, that’s
different from focusing on something much harder to control, such as being overweight. “Teasing a kid behind
a gym out of sight is dangerous, whereas teasing in front of a group of friends is less threatening.”
The line between teasing and bullying blurs again when the child being teased doesn’t know how to respond.
“Everyone has a different set of personal boundaries,” says Rosalind Wiseman, author of Queen Bees and
Wannabes, “and that’s confusing for kids.” But, she says, if a child overreacts or withdraws in response to
teasing, she may lose out on important social experiences.
To help your child understand teasing and even benefit from it:
Teach teasing: teach context clues that surround playful teasing (i.e., body language, laughter, or sarcasm) so
he/she can see the difference between serious and joking conversation and use those tools to joke back.
Define the terms: When both people are equal in size, intelligence, and age and are having fun, it’s teasing. But
when the two aren’t equal—one’s more popular, bigger, or powerful—and the exchange is out of balance, it’s
bullying.
Listen without disagreement: If your child tells you her classmates called her ugly, don’t just jump in to reassure
her that she’s beautiful. “As soon as you do that, you’ve let her be victimized.” Instead, listen to what she says,
and then help her come up with a plan to address it the next time it happens.
Do some investigating: If you want more information, don’t ask your child directly if he’s being teased. Instead
ask a question that can be answered in the second or third person. How do kids joke around these days? Or, what
is teasing like for kids today?
From Michelle Hall, School Counsellor