Siena Catholic Primary School

Flower Power at Siena

In the spirit of Harmony Week this week, the Year 6 Leadership committee at Siena Catholic primary school  cut out over 100 flowers with over 600 petals to shine a light on this year’s theme, ‘Everyone Belongs’.

Each student received one petal sharing why they felt they belonged and were a part of their class and Siena school community.

Assistant Principal of Religious Education Kim Barrett-Coade said that each petal formed a school art work, “Siena’s Inclusive Flower Orchard”, which has been demonstrated on the back wall of their school hall the Daintree.

“The message of the artwork demonstrates our differences that make us unique, special and valued in our beautiful community – just like a garden of flowers,” she said. “To celebrate Harmony Week we will be showing Care for Others through small acts of kindness, including others, helping others in need, and helping everyone to feel that they belong at Siena.”

Stella Maris Primary School 

Stella Maris Catholic Primary Year 6 students have been investigating the scriptural foundations of how to apply corporal and spiritual works of mercy (Matthew 25:31-46) into their lives during Religion lessons this term.

As a follow-on project, the students were invited to plan an act-of-service in to Stella Maris community.  Assistant Principal of Religious Education, Jennifer Davissen, says that lots of impressive ideas were raised but special mention had to go to Lucy and Sarai, who took on their project with great passion, baking goods and donating them to the Stella Maris Homeless BBQ last Friday night to support those in need and feed the hungry.

“All the treats that they donated were loved by those who attended as they were none left at the end of the night,” she said.

“As we reach the end of our school term, it is so rewarding to look back at the achievements and progress made.

“Sometimes it seems that schools spend a lot of time talking about school values and encouraging students to put them into action.  At the beginning of the year we are setting expectations, establishing routines, practising behaviours and building confidence.  We reflect on how Jesus has taught us to live, making links to our school story and community for inspiration.  As the term progresses, it’s about targeting learning, harnessing energies and identifying needs.

We couldn’t be more proud than when we have students putting their learning into action,” she added.

Siena Catholic College  

First term is rapidly coming to a close, and teachers and students have moved into the assessment phase of their work units. Exams, assignments, oral presentations, videos and art pieces have all been completed or submitted, so that teachers can identify how student knowledge and understanding has grown. Wednesday was the opportunity for our Year 8 and 9 students to gather at St Catherine’s for the weekly Community Mass. In his homily, Fr Will asked students to consider what it means to be invited to the participate in the Divine Dance, and how we might show our acceptance of this invitation by the way we live our lives.

Catharine Hannan, Assistant Principal of Mission & Identity at Siena Catholic College Sippy Downs said that this week the students marked Harmony Day with several events.

“All joined in themed prayers each morning – recalling that it is through the example of Jesus that we see how to treat each other with dignity and respect … so that we might build a community in which the gifts and talents of all are acknowledged and appreciated,” she said.

“While other events included a Filipino dance class and a display of flags from the more than 25 nations represented at the College. Friday saw us again working to support Caritas, with Ozanam’s much-appreciated ice cream stall, and another instalment of the very entertaining Lunch on the Lawn.”