Leaving St. Catherine's?

Students who are leaving St Catherine's at the end of the year (boo hoo!) and are not enrolling elsewhere at another BCE school, you will lose access to your BCE student account (including LIFE, email, MySite and School Portal) after December 31st, 2015.

Bye bye BCE student accounts!

So.... If you are moving on to another Catholic primary school in Brisbane, or a BCE secondary school such as Clairvaux Mackillop or Seton College, then you can relax - you will keep your BCE student account for as long as you are enrolled at that school.

If you are moving on to a State or other independent school such as Villanova, Loreto, St Laurences, All Hallows, Redeemer Lutheran or Lourdes Hill (for example), you will no longer have access to your BCE student account after the last day of 2015. We recommend that once school finishes, you retrieve any files, messages or information currently stored with your BCE accounts that you want to keep, as soon as you can and definitely before December 31st.

You are also advised to change the primary email address on your Apple ID, if it is currently your BCE student email address. You can change the primary email address on the Apple website.

We're sorry to see you go!
Come back anytime, we'll always be here...

Year 5 on FIRE

Year 5 students studied natural disasters this term. In their library lessons with Mrs Hegarty they looked at Jackie French and Bruce Whatley's wonderful picture book, Fire. Here are some of the students' responses to the book and other stimulus materials they were immersed in during "familiarisation" sessions.

Students wrote a paragraph in "first person" point of view, imagining they were fire itself. Four students' written work is accompanied here by the pastel wash art works they created. We are certain you'll be impressed!

When asked about the written task, these children commented:

Kayla: "I love this piece of writing because I think it shows that my writing skills are improving a lot. The task was to pretend you where a fire, and you could be a good fire or a bad fire. I was a bad fire. I used Pages because it's easy and quick and I know how to use it well. I leaned lots of different words and my vocabulary has improved a lot as well spelling and punctuation."

Max: "I used pages because we could make the font bigger and its a good typing app.  I learnt that I am a good descriptive writer." 

Abby: "In library we were looking at similes, metaphors, alliteration and onomatopoeia. We had to write about either being the fire or the victim of the fire."

Rosie: "I wrote this piece of writing because we learned from Mrs Hegarty about the fire and we had to add some metaphors, similes and figurative language. I used pages becuase it's really easy to use and you can change the font or the colour of the writing. I learned  about what damage fires to to people and their houses. I also learned how to use pages better and more efficiently. I loved doing this task and here is my picture I painted myself."

Now sit back, relax and enjoy the students' work...

I am leaping like a cheetah over houses and I can't control my temper. I see lots of cabins so I stretch over to them and scuff them down like a lion. I feel like exploding I am a giant towering over the trees. I can smell everything in my path burning into ashes. I love it. I can just hear everything burning and crackling. I can make every thing go boom. I love to taste the ashes as I make the trees shrivel to little pieces as I grow. Now I'm surrounded by trees. There is nothing in sight but trees and hills. It is so much fun being evil and a bully. The trees tall and tough so they think, but when they are compared to me, they are nothing.

By Max 

I was started by a camp fire, and spread my body to coat the land in flaming, flashing fire. As I spread my body around the vast deserts of Uluru I became bigger and bigger like a balloon . l heard a call like a screeching monkey from the house. I grew more furious. I flickered like a flash light. I was crackling as I was licking and devouring the trees. I heard a boom and loud screams when I hit the car, I was crisscrossing the forest like a fish out of water.

My goal was to destroy the land as much as I could but I felt a vibration on the ground and I saw flashing lights, could this be the end of me? As the fire men worked their way I became extremely angry. I couldn't control it. I couldn't control my body. As they pulled the long hose that was as long as a pine tree, a tree almost fell on them but they kept moving, sturdy and steady . They squirt water on me and I'm losing my steam fast. I taste the cool water against me and then I melt away like a chocolate. Now I am gone forever.

by Kayla W 

I am burning on the stove but then, they left me all alone. Never leave me because II'll leap off and I'll come creeping around the house furiously. I flicker like a damp light bulb and make the ashes crumble like stardust. I make people start screaming and cry for lots of help, but I am powerful because I am a nightmare. I flicker fast , I sprint like a cheetah but you will never escape because I am watching you, always. The fire alarms go off but never worry I'm not scared. I can hear the sirens and my time may be short - but you always know that I might visit again, always. A way to know that I am back is to hear the sizzle, a crackle, a boom and a roar and your friend has come back knocking on the door.

By Marissa

I am the fire, flickering flaming fire. I simmer beneath the tree and the burning house that I have made to burn. I am horrible to lots of people because I make their houses burn off and snap into millions of pieces and now they all hate me. I am the bad fire, I make the houses crackle, snap and CAPOW there gone, I am very damaging and powerful. I can taste the scorching hot flames of the flickering fire. I am like the burning hot sun in the bright and boiling sky on a summers day. I am as bright as neon colours on the people around me. My arms and legs crawl like a baby around the trees and grass. Peoples lives are lost, I can
hear the boisterous sirens coming...
...closer, closer and closer.

My fire starts from a little cigarette and children playing around with me like I am a toy but here's a tip I am NOT a toy I am the blazing blistering FIRE! 

by Rosie

I am one thing that you don't want to be near.  I can break into your house and destroy it by simply dancing around.  I move around the bush, creeping up trees and then scratching them down.  Can anything stop me? No. I am stronger than an elephant and I can annihilate anything that comes my way.  There is only one thing called water, who is my number one enemy.  It tears me down by the long hose connected to a red truck.  When I hear the truck's droning sound, I try to escape, leaping from tree to tree.  Sometimes I'm fast enough but then overhead in the smoky sky, I feel a helicopter spitting water at me.  The last thing I hear in my little life is a sizzling sound as I hit the ground.  I am gone.

by Abby

Keep your iPads "Holiday Safe"

Today, Brisbane Catholic Education staff informed schools of the following: 

In the process of delivering the Virtual Classrooms Activities in 2015, the Office of the Children’s eSafety Commissioner has become aware of two apps that are causing some concern for school communities. These apps are Animal Jam and Subway Surfer. These apps contain an in-built global chat facility, which enables anyone in the world to make contact with users of the apps. The potential for children to be exposed to phishing scams, grooming and cyberbullying is substantial.

The Office of the Children’s eSafety Commissioner maintains an excellent resource page that assists parents to better understand these apps, along with a range of others that may be of concern for young users. 

Do you retain control of your child's Apple ID? 

Do you have some system in place at home whereby you can evaluate apps for potential issues before your child installs them? 

Are you aware of what apps your child is using on their iPad? 

Once school ends for another year and the lovely long Christmas holiday break is upon us, children may be given extended access to iPads and other devices for recreational purposes. Please ensure that you have safety measures and responsible use practices in place at home. Remind children about measures they can take when using screens and digital devices, to maintain their own online safety, posture, muscle & eye health and privacy of information.

New-Look Login for BCE

Tonight, rather than catching up on the latest episode of The Block, Brisbane Catholic Education's Information Services team will be finishing an upgrade to their web portals for school users.

The improvements will make the systems even less vulnerable to unauthorised access and therefore, safer for all.

The two major changes that students and parents will see from tomorrow (Wednesday 21st October) are:

1) A new login page for BCE online services. You will see a background image and the following prompts:

New login screen for BCE services

No prizes for guessing that  you have to click/tap 'Brisbane Catholic Education', then follow the instructions. Usernames and passwords will not change.

2) You no longer need to use ‘catholic\’ before your username. This requirement has been removed to make the login process simpler.

Trailer Adventures

Whoever said trailers were only for movies?

Year 5 Tech Club students have spent the past few weeks working on "Book Trailers", each student promoting a book they've read this year. First they had to carefully storyboard their ideas. Then, after taking photos or video with their iPad camera, creating illustrations in Art Set or still slides in Keynote, they put the trailer together in the iMovie app and created an original soundtrack to invoke the mood of the book for prospective readers.

Below you will find some Book Trailer samples, for your viewing (and future reading) pleasure...

To those who may be packing a different type of trailer for the holidays (or not!), we hope you all stay safe and happy until we see you again in Term 3!

by Mary

by Chanel 

by Maddy

by Mia P

by Phoenix

Move Over Emily Rodda!

The Year 5 classes have been using Australian author Emily Rodda's novel Rowan of Rin for much of their literature studies this term. One of their many response activities included writing a character sketch from the character's point of view.

We hope you enjoy these two wonderful writing samples from Kayla and Angelita.

Depending on you 

My name is Rowan. I'm known as the weak, timid little rabbit. My father died in a fire at the attic. Everyone in Rin is expecting me to follow him in his foot steps. My only friends are the graceful, droning buksha. But they are in danger right now because the water from the mountain mysteriously stopped flowing. Strong Jonn, Vall, Ellis, Bronden, Marlie, Allun and myself Rowan, have to climb the looming mountain and save the bukshahs so they can drink from their water hole again. They can't drink from our well because the water isn't sweet enough for them to drink. 

When we were walking, I had a good vision of the mountain. My backpack was loaded with heavy objects. I wish the bukshah were here so they could carry the burden for us. I'm terrified and suspicious. What if we fail? What if no one makes it but me and I'll be alone and lost? I'm really not looking forward to this at all. The clouds where shrouding the looming mountain. The trees were dangling from their roots. The group and I were startled by the mountain, we presumed at the village that the journey would take one day, but now we take that comment back. We depend on the bukshah but now the bukshah depend on us. 

by Kayla W 

Allun the weak fellow 

I am Allun part of the Rin people. I'm slender, humorous and a joker. I have curly hair, dark eyes and I am a shortie. I'm also a baker. 

I have been successful in my life through the journey of being with the Rin villages. It can be difficult at times, but you got to have some toughness in yourself and that is how us Rin people survive here. 

Us, sturdy villagers live around a towering, looming mountain shrouded in fluffy clouds. Our village is nestled between the mountain and hill surrounded by lush green grass, clear blue patches of water ponds, dirty stones all muddy and brown, thick forest trees with a bukshah pool. I have to say, the bukshah pool is so much work. I haven't heard the dragon roar in a while so I wonder what has happened and I really want to find out! 

I am weaker then other Rin people, so I have to put more effort and try harder then others. I hope that I will be okay and I'll keep calm and stay safe. I have to venture up the mountain because we have a gushing clear blue river running down the big rocky mountain. I am worried because I have been chosen to go up the mountain. The six strongest villagers must brave to the unknown terrors of the mountain. I wonder what will happen? What if we all six don't return back safely? Or one of us gets badly injured? I am hoping for a lot of luck this time!

by Angelita K

 

New App for LOTE Lessons

Sensai has found a great new FREE app to help you learn Japanese. She would like all students to please install the app, called Kana Tutor, on their school iPads. It would be fantastic if you could all have this app ready to go for this week's Japanese lessons.

Kana Tutor by Twin Pines Software