Prepared by Margaret Henderson RSM, CEO, PO Box 102, North Hobart ,Tas 7002

Dear Colleagues

Discussions are still in hand regarding the setting up of the new management Board for Rainbows.   Hopefully this will be operational by next year.

RAINBOWS FEATURES IN CATHOLIC EDUCATION WEEK AT STELLA MARIS SCHOOL, MAROOCHYDORE, QLD

Stella Maris Primary School in Maroochydore (Sunshine Coast) recently held their "Rainbows Launch Week" to kick off their Rainbows program for this year.

They are very fortunate to have a dedicated team of co-ordinators who are very supported by their APRE Lin Johnstone and their Principal Doreen Bazzo, which enables such wonderful things to happen with Rainbows in their school.

You can read all about it in the following article that Lin published in the school’s newsletter.

The program at Stella Maris is quite unique and it is a credit to the many people involved over the years that so many children and their families have been supported through the program.  RAINBOWS has been an integral part of the Pastoral Program offered at Stella for the past 14 years with 30 staff members volunteering to train as facilitators.  A dedicated team also are involved each year in preparing the course, resources and the groups. 

A huge task in itself. 

This year Stella Maris will launch RAINBOWS in conjunction with Catholic Education Week.  Our overarching theme “We’re In This Together” will kick off the launch as an opportunity to heighten awareness for all families of this great program.  No one is immune from tragedy and loss in their lives and by providing support and acknowledgment for these kids we recognize our own frailty. 

Throughout this week the whole school community will share in a liturgical celebration, highlight the awareness of the program through a RAINBOW coloured ‘crazy hair day’, attend a RAINBOWS prayer assembly, weave a friendship band with buddies and participate in a whole school competition to best describe what makes Stella Maris a great place to belong to.

(see photos over)  

NEXT REGISTERED DIRECTORS’ TRAINING AND ENRICHMENT CONFERENCES.

  Details of the 2008 RDs Training and Enrichment conference are as follows.

  Registered Directors –

Sunday 26^th October to Thursday 30^th October 2008

Registration from 4pm Sun.

Conference ends 3.30pm Thursday

Cost: $1,050.00

Enrichment –

Tuesday 28^th October to Friday 31^st October 2008

Registration is from 4pm Tuesday.

Conference closes 4pm Friday.

Cost:  S650.00

Venue: Presentation Spirituality Centre

26 Kooralgin Street, Manly Qld 4179

www.pbvm.org.au/pscmanly

For further enquiries or an application form, please contact:

Gemma Schooneveldt

Rainbows Eastern Regional Director,

Ph:  03 95882845 Fax: 03 9587 4665

Email: gemmani@iprimus.com.au

  EMPIRICAL EVALUATION OF PROGRAM -  EVALUATIONS FOR RAINBOWS PARTICIPANTS

  With a title like this you may well be put off reading on but please do.

  In October 2006 Dr Michaela L. Z. Farber, PhD of the national Catholic School of Social Service, the Catholic University in Washington, DC completed an evaluation of Rainbows.  The significant findings are;

  1.         Participants who experience Rainbows exhibit statistically significant, positive change in their ability to communicate their feelings from pre-test to post-test evaluations.

  2.         These participants experience this positive change regardless of age, gender and despite the type of loss or number of losses that caused them to join the Rainbows support groups.

  3.         Participating in the Rainbows program provides the children with a higher appraisal of their well-being and may enable them to confidently cope with life’s changes and make better choices in behaviour.

 PHOTOS FROM STELLA MARIS SCHOOL, MAROOCHYDORE, QLD

 

  Crazy Hair Day    Crazy Hair Day

    Friendship Bands

 

  Prayer Assembly

  Each class was presented with a Rainbow coloured stole for their prayer table. The readers at the Rainbows liturgy wore them and then passed them on.

When they pray each morning they remember all of the Rainbows people in their prayers.