Dear Parents and Carers

I write this week to remind everyone about social media use by students under the age of 13.  It has come to light this week that some students have active accounts on a social media platform called Tik Tok.  I have included an information flyer regarding this particular website outlining what it is and some of the issues surrounding the site.  

While the school endeavours to assist students to develop cybersafety skills we cannot control the access students have to these platforms.  We can only point out the dangers associated with such sites and remind parents and carers of the age restrictions set out by the sites themselves.  All social media platforms have an age requirement of 13 and above.  This is for a very good reason.  The age limits relate to user maturity, responsibility and awareness.  

There are many concerning features regarding sites such as these.  Students are often unaware that privacy settings are set to minimums as the default.  To protect themselves these should be adjusted.  As such they are often unwittingly posting information to anyone registered on the site.  In the case of Tik Tok I don't even need to be a registered user to access the content.  In fact, if privacy settings are not restricted a simple google search will provide access to content.

In some instances the level of information being shared is far above what you would allow your child to share with a person they met for the first time in public.  Videos posted on the site can contain information such as names, ages, likes and dislikes, images of other children, private details including the contents of rooms and what school they attend. This is more than enough information for online predators to use and or influence young students.

Which leads me to one of the more concerning aspects of any social platform and that is the content exposure and other users.  Like all platforms the nature of the users is as wide and diverse as any you could imagine.  This means that other users could be exposed to highly inappropriate material.  Young students on these sites are vunerable and often not equipped to process such content.  Obviously some users are there for other reasons, whether it be predatory, or information gathering or fraud, where there is an opportunity for gain, others will exploit this to meet their own needs.

I would ask all parents and carers to have a discussion with their children regarding this site and others they may be using.  I would strongly urge you to review any content your children may have shared or consumed.  As I have said some of it is very confronting.  I would also ask you to reconsider their access to such sites based on the sites guidelines and your own assessment of the risks.

Have a great week

Tim

Christmas Appeal Launch

On Thursday our Year 6 captains attended the St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal Launch at St Joseph’s Mundingburra.  At the launch, Bishop Tim spoke about looking after those who are less fortunate this Christmas and how lucky we are not to want for anything.  He also spoke about how we are called to serve others this Christmas. Allister Crocker from St Vincent de Paul explained that by giving this Christmas we are living out our faith in action as we assist and serve others who are struggling at this time of year. 

• bonbons
• Christmas cake
• Christmas pudding
• chips
• chocolate
• nuts
• soft drink
• Christmas foods
• Christmas plates, serviettes etc
• decorations
• Christmas accessories
• linen
• towels

** Please no baked beans for Christmas!**

Sunday's Gospel

Luke 20:27-38 - Jesus answers a question from some Sadducees about the resurrection of the dead.

Children in our culture often know very little about death, dying, and eternal life. In the Gospel this week, Jesus tells us that after we die, we will not need the same things we did when we were alive, but we will continue to have a relationship with God. You could use the example of a tree to help your children understand what Jesus tells us. When a tree is alive it needs water, soil, and sunlight. When the tree is used to make a table, a toy, or something else it has a new purpose. The tree no longer needs water, soil, or sunlight. Read together the short form of the Gospel, Luke 20:27, 34-38. Tell your children about your hope and faith in the resurrection of the body and eternal life with God.

https://www.loyolapress.com/our-catholic-faith/liturgical-year/sunday-connection/32nd-sunday-in-ordinary-time-c-sunday-connection

Have a great week.

Take care and God Bless

Amanda

Our Christmas Concert will be held on Thursday 28th November at 6pm in the Hall.  We hope you can join us.

If you have volunteered in our classrooms this year we would like to thank you by inviting you to a special thank you morning tea.  Please let your classroom teacher know if you are able to come along.

Awards will be presnted at Assembly on the 20th November at 2pm

Class in the spotlight is 2R

http://readiscover1.blogspot.com.au/

 Book Returns: Last week I sent an email home to all students/parents who have overdue books.  I do not mind books staying out a bit longer if students have not finished reading them.  It is more to let you know what they still have out.  Be happy that they actually have a book and hopefully they have time to read it before bed.

All Books are due back Nov 29^th: This week is the last week of borrowing before students have to return their books back before Christmas break.  If you want your students to continue reading over the holidays, they can access the public library.

What shall I read: Better Reading Australia has published a list of the top 50 books, children around Australia have enjoyed reading – Check out the above blog for more information. 

Book Club: All The students have received their books from our final book club for the year. It is great to see so many children excited to receive their new books.  I have noticed that book club is popular until grade 5 then there is a sudden decline.  Hopefully our year 6s are still enjoying reading and maybe the selection is not up to standard in the catalogues.  I will ask for some feedback from students.

Chess Club:  Friday mornings have seen a surge in students coming to play chess before school. Zahra is doing a great job with organising the chess club in the library.

Drama: Preps – Year 2 have been doing a variety of drama activities.  The year 1s are dramatizing the aboriginal legend of Tiddalick the Frog pictured here with their masks designed by my sister who is a set designer for television/movies.  Our preps dressed up last week to act out the story of Goldilocks and the 3 bears.  Year 2 are busily making puppets for their fairy tale presentations.

Awards: Year 5 continue to read towards improving their recreational reading to receive their litpro awards. Year 1 students have received a certificate for borrowing 25 books this year.  The children who reach 50 will receive a prize.  Congratulations to parents for encouraging reading and borrowing this year.

Kid News website: Year 4 students checked out a website with interesting news items specifically targeting their reading level.  They are all fired up about finding coins with minting errors as they could make some money by reselling them.

Happy Reading   

Belinda Walker 

(Teacher Librarian)

Rookies Basketball

Our after school Rookies Basketball program is up and running. Students are enjoying learning new skills in a fun way with Basketball Townsville development officers. 

On Tuesday Prep welcomed three members of our community who keep us safe.

The visit fitted nicely into our Health Unit for this term.

Thank you Chris Chivier's, Hudson's dad for organising our visitors.