Week 9, Term 1 2025

Principal's News

Dear Parents/Carers,

This week the leadership team has worked with David McNeale (Education Consultant) and the Orange Team from Townsville Catholic Education to review the school renewal data which has been collected this term.  We have named the four major areas which will be the focus for school improvement in the next five year cycle.  In term 2 there will be extensive discernment with the school community to refine directions in these major areas.  Thank you to all those who completed a survey during term 1 - a special thanks to all those parents / carers who took time to provide additional explanations.  

It has taken some time but we have finally settled on teaching staff for term 2 in year 1.  I am happy to announce that Mr Peter Hughes (Monday - Wednesday) and Mrs Megan Hodge (Thursday - Friday) will be job-sharing this role.  We are lucky to have secured two experienced and committed teachers for this time.

We welcome Miss Lara Applin from Australian Catholic University.  Lara is completing her final practicum in year 1.  She officially commences her teaching time here on Monday 31 March.  I’m sure she will make a positive contribution to our school community. 

Suzette Windridge will be taking long service leave from Monday 31 March through to Friday 2 May 2025.  We wish Suzette all the best for a peaceful break. Take time to relax and enjoy an easier pace of life. During this time Breakfast Club and Gardening Club will be cancelled and both resume in week 3 of term 2.  Suzette will not be replaced in her roles for this period. 

In this newsletter is the advertisement for a school cleaner who will take Bernadette’s place.  Please spread the word far and wide and ask interested persons to phone the school office for further information.

Just a gentle reminder that school commences at 8.30am and all children who arrive after the first bell must go to the office for a late slip.  This procedure ensures the correctness of our rolls.  If for any reason you have to collect your child you must come through the office and sign your child out - even if you are taking them for an appointment and returning them to school.

In 2025 we have been successful in receiving grant funding from Abbott Point Operations Community Support Program.  At assembly this week Adrian Rachmell from Abbott Point presented Initial Lit kits and teacher training for year 1 and 2 as well as a Soundfield System for year 6 and additional resources for the Cool Room.  The ability to access these additional sources of funding is an added bonus for our school.

Townsville Catholic Education has called for Expressions of Interest for an Acting Principal for term 2.  I would expect that you will be advised as to the outcome of this process during week 10 of this term.  Amanda Jones from Townsville Catholic Education will be the  Acting Principal next week.  Amanda has been Principal at St Francis Ayr for the past 4 years prior to this year.

Today was my last day at St Mary’s Bowen.  Please accept my sincere thanks to each and every one of you for making me feel so welcome.  Whilst I am just starting to feel at home and know many of the students I have made commitments in my retirement and my own family is calling.  All the best of the remainder of the 2025 school year.  You will be in my prayers.

God Bless You

Mary-Ellen

Acting Principal

Religious Life of the School

Catholic Schools: Building Brighter Futures

Recent research reported in The Australian reveals some outstanding news for families choosing a Catholic education. A new study commissioned by the Victorian Catholic Education Authority has found that Catholic school graduates, on average, enjoy better outcomes later in life compared to their peers from government schools.

The research, conducted by the Centre for International Research on Education Systems at Victoria University and based on national survey data, highlights several positive trends. Students who attended Catholic schools are more likely to find employment, earn higher wages, and experience better health and overall satisfaction with life.

Additionally, they are more likely to hold positions in careers that actively benefit their communities, reinforcing the strong values of service, kindness, and social responsibility nurtured through a Catholic education.

Furthermore, students from Catholic schools are also more generous contributors to charity, reflecting the values of compassion and giving that are central to our school ethos.

As parents and educators, we have much to celebrate. Our Catholic education truly makes a lasting and positive impact—not only in academic achievement but, importantly, in creating individuals ready to contribute meaningfully to society and lead fulfilling lives. The document "Lay Workers in the Catholic Church in Australia" (2011) states that all people and organisations who work for the Church:

1. are committed to justice and equity
2. uphold the dignity of all people and their right to respect
3. are committed to safe and supportive relationships
4. reach out to those who are poor, alienated or marginalised
5. strive for excellence in all their work.

We will have our final school Mass on Friday the 4th of April to conclude our term. Please come along to St Mary's Church at 9 am and join the community, as we continue on our Lenten Journey towards Easter. 

Blessings,
Mrs Suzette Windridge
Assistant Principal Religious Education (APRE and Chaplain) 

Celebrating Multiculturalism and Harmony Day 2025

This year, our students came together to celebrate Harmony Day with a powerful theme: the elimination of racism and the celebration of our multiculturalism. A special thank you to all those who wore orange in recognition of this important day. 

As the Church reminds us in Nostra Aetate: "All people are created in the image of God, and discrimination based on race, color, social condition, or religion is against the true spirit of humanity." Inspired by this message, students reflected on the importance of embracing diversity and standing against racism in our world today.

As a culmination of their learning, students wrote heartfelt prayers, expressing their hopes for a world filled with kindness, equality, and peace. 

Learning and Teaching

As of this year all schools across our diocese are required to administer DIBELS tests three times a year.

What is DIBELS?

DIBELS is a set of standardised assessments designed to measure early literacy skills in young children. Developed by the University of Oregon, DIBELS provides a quick, reliable way to assess students' reading abilities from Prep through sixth grade. The assessments focus on foundational skills such as phonemic awareness, alphabetic principle, fluency, and comprehension.

DIBELS tests are typically administered individually and take only a few minutes to complete. The assessments cover a variety of literacy skills, including:

• Letter Naming Fluency (LNF): Measures how quickly and accurately a child can recognise and name letters.
• Phoneme Segmentation Fluency (PSF): Assesses how well a child can break down words into individual sounds.
• Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF): Evaluates a child's ability to sound out unfamiliar words.
• Oral Reading Fluency (ORF): Measures a child’s ability to read a passage fluently and accurately.
• Retell Fluency: Assesses comprehension by asking the student to retell a passage they’ve just read.

How Does DIBELS Support Intervention?

Once a child’s DIBELS results are in, teachers can identify specific areas where a student may need extra help. If a student struggles with phoneme segmentation or fluency, for example, targeted interventions can be implemented. These interventions might include small-group instruction, one-on-one support, or specialized activities that help the child strengthen their skills.

The key benefit of DIBELS is its frequent monitoring. Teachers typically assess students multiple times a year, so they can track progress and make adjustments to instruction as needed. This ensures that children who may be struggling are provided with the necessary resources to improve before they fall further behind.

We have recently finished administering our DIBELS tests and last week we had our Curriculum Adviser from TCE Nic Beltramelli visit our school. During Nic’s visit she met with each teacher and analysed their classes data, teachers then mapped out how they are going to use the data to inform their next steps in the classroom to meet the needs of each child.

I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable Easter break, see you back in Term 2 for another wonderful term of learning.

Kind Regards,

Krystal Land

Assistant Principal Pedagogy and Learning

Music & Art News 🎶🎨

Our students continue to amaze us with their creativity and enthusiasm for The Arts. 

Year 2: Feeling the Beat in Twos!

Our Year 2 musicians have been exploring 2-metre songs and games and learning how music can move in groups of twos with a strong and weak beat. Whether marching to the rhythm or playing fun games, the students are developing a deeper understanding of how beat and metre shape the music we listen to everyday. Their favourite activity this week has definitely been playing Bounce High together. 

Year 4: Art with Choice and Creativity! 

In Visual Arts, our Grade 4 students have been refining their understanding of the elements of visual art by embarking on self-directed projects. Using a choice board, they selected a project that best suited their interests. They were able to take ownership of their creativity while applying their knowledge of line, shape, colour and texture. The results have been spectacular!

A message from our School Captains 📝

Term 1 at St Mary's!

The first term at St Mary’s has been very exciting! We have created a handball club, we will have a Colour Fun Run for MMBDO, we will hold our School Cross Country trials Monday Week 10 and we had our Water Walk to raise money for Caritas Australia.

Handball club is going well. We feel we have taught the students some tips and tricks, the proper rules and exactly what is teaming. We will continue this next term!

Mary’s Marvelous Big Day Out (MMBDO) is held each term on the last day of Week 10. This Term we will have a colour fun run. Let’s hope it doesn’t rain too hard!

Cross Country School Trials are on Monday Week 10. This is for 10, 11 and 12 year old's. 10 year old's will run 2km, (4 laps of the track) and 11 and 12 year old's will run 3km (6 laps of the track). Parents may come to cheer on their kids and their teammates. There will also be a water station in the track to hydrate our runners. GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!

We also had our Water Walk. This was to raise money for Caritas Australia. Altogether, we raised a whopping $900. Thanks to all of those who participated! 

Sadly, Friday is Mrs Patterson’s last day. We asked her what she has loved about our school, “I have found St Mary’s an amazing school with just the right amount of students. I have really enjoyed the weekly assemblies and student council meetings.” she says. Thank-you for being an amazing acting principal, Mrs Patterson!

Yours sincerely,

The School Captains of St Mary’s

Charlotte Wood, Emerson Graf, William Dau.

Class Awards - Week 7 - Mercy & Outreach ⭐

Class Awards - Week 8 - Compassion & Care⭐

Birthdays🥳

Cleaner Required 🧹🪣

St Patrick's Day 🍀

Thank you to our Grace 3 Class for preparing and then conducting the St Patrick's Day Meditation for our entire school on St Patrick's Day. You all did a fantastic job!

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Snow Cones ❄️

Thank you so much to our wonderful P&F for making St Patrick's Day extra special with some cool green snow cones! 

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Mary's Marvellous Big Day Out 🐰

We would like to invite everyone in our St Mary's Community to come along to the Term 1 MMBDO. Student's will be participating in an Easter Bonnet Parade, an Easter Egg Hunt and then finishing off the day with a Fun Run/Obstacle Course run by our wonderful P & F. 

Easter Raffle 🐣

Our wonderful P&F members have organised an Easter Raffle. Ticket books have been sent home with the student's, 1 book per family. If you would like another ticket book or would like to purchase an individual ticket, please visit the school office. You can also view the amazing prizes in the foyer. All tickets are due back by Wednesday 2nd April.

Thank you 🙏🏽

We would like to express our deepest gratitude to Abbot Point Operations for the amazing generosity that they have shown to St Mary's. Our school received funds that have gone towards a new sound system for one of our classrooms and resources for our school literacy program. We were also extremely fortunate to add some new resources to our "Cool Room". The students at St Mary's will greatly benefit from your contribution for years to come and we are so grateful for you generosity.

Reminders 💡

Tuckshop Volunteers Wanted 🦸‍♀️🦸

Bowen and Whitsunday Sub District ⚽🏈

Mary's Munchkins Playgroup

Stop, Drop, Go Zone

Uniforms

Uniforms are available for purchase from the school office. Reminder that uniform days have now changed, please see below:

Formal Uniform - Monday, Tuesday, Thursday

Sports Uniform - Wednesday and Friday

Specialty, commemorative and representative shirts - Friday

The Murri Bus Project

Community News

NETBALL IS BACK IN 2025

Registrations are open!

https://registration.netballconnect.com/userRegistration?organisationId=cf3d1c66-1f73-4fc7-880b-94dd59c09b4b&competitionId=c292a28d-efad-4311-b17d-c9c54666e9bb

Net/Set - 22nd April 2025

Go/Juniors/Cadets - grading 18th March 2025

Seniors - grading 25th March 2025 

Please see below times for each age group:

 Net & Set: 3:45pm - 4:30m
Go/Juniors: 3:45pm - 5:30pm
Cadets: 4:30PM - 6:30PM
 Seniors: 6:30PM- 8:30PM

Mary Mackillop OSHC

OSHC at St Mary’s Catholic School is now operating Monday to Friday from  2.45 pm to 6.00 pm.

The government has announced changes in the way that Child Care Subsidy is worked out. The income limit for CCS will be increasing to $530,000, meaning that the cost of OSHC will reduce for the majority of families. The changes came into effect on 10 July.

Food (afternoon tea) is provided at no extra cost. Please see below for more information about the upcoming reduction in fees.

If you would like more information or to register, please contact Theresa on 0428 216 062 OR at bowenoshc@mmcnq.catholic.edu.au

School Dental Service

Tuckshop