Week 1 Term 3

From the Principal

Welcome back for Term 3! I trust you all had a relaxing and enjoyable holiday and are ready for a full term.

NAIDOC

On Tuesday this week we celebrated NAIDOC Day. It is a significant occasion to celebrate the rich history, diverse cultures, and remarkable achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC Day allows us to honour their contributions, recognize their resilience, and promote reconciliation.  

As a Catholic school, we have identified cultural competency as one of our Annual School Improvement Goals, and it is crucial that we incorporate Indigenous perspectives and knowledge into our curriculum and everyday practices. The theme this year was "For Our Elders" and, on Tuesday, the students participated in a liturgy and cultural activities to deepen their understanding, celebrate diversity and promote an inclusive community. We welcomed members of the Juru community into the school for the day to help facilitate the activities, and to provide a Welcome to Country, smoking ceremony and dance tutorials. This was followed by a Walk on Country at Muller's Lagoon on Wednesday afternoon for the teachers. Special thanks go to Ranger Jim Gaston, Darryl Paul, Zane Prior, Shana Lyons, Robbie Luscott, Kristy Sylvester and Pelly Morganson for providing the special services, judging our class door dispalys, and opening our new yarning circle.

NAIDOC

Mulkadee

Next week I will be accompanying students from Years 5 and 6 to Townsville for the annual Mulkadee Performing Arts Camp. The students will head to Townsville on Sunday and will be staying with other students from regional Townsville Catholic Education schools at the Youth With a Mission complex. Together with students from all over the Towsnville diocese they will spend the week learning new skills while practicing and preparing for a performance of Robin Hood at the Townsville Entertainment Centre. We wish the students the best of luck for the coming week.

150th Annivesary Event

As you are all aware, this year St Mary's is celebrating 150 years since the school opened. Students will be performing dances and songs, and conducting tours of the school, as part of the school's annivesary event. This is an important milestone for our school and we would like to see as many families as possible at the afternoon event. Please mark your calendars with the 150th Annivesary event, on Saturday 9 September, from 2pm to 5pm.

God bless,

Alicia

Religious Life of the School

Hello everybody and welcome back to Term 3. I can’t believe we are over halfway through the year! I hope you all had a wonderful term break with your family and students have returned refreshed and ready for another busy term. I have attached the Mass and liturgy schedule below, parents and community members are encouraged to attend as many of our services as possible. Our four major events for this term are the Naidoc liturgy, whole school Catholic Education Mass, Prep classes Father's Day Liturgy and the 150th celebrations. Please note that as a result of the Catholic Education Mass being on Monday morning in Week 3 (24th July), assembly will be moved to Monday afternoon at 2:30. 

NAIDOC WEEK

This week we celebrated Naidoc week with a week full of activities, as well as a special liturgy and ceremony (photos attached). The theme this year was ‘For Our Elders’ and we couldn’t be prouder of our students and the learning and reverence that was demonstrated at our Naidoc events. Many groups could benefit from deepening their understanding of how elders can richly contribute to and guide communities. Across every generation, indigenous Elders have played, and continue to play, an important role and hold a prominent place in communities and families. They are cultural knowledge holders, trailblazers, nurturers, advocates, teachers, survivors, leaders, hard workers and loved ones. Thank you to everyone who attended the celebrations and contributed to Naidoc week at our school, including the Juru dancers, Mrs Sylvester, Mr Paul, Zane and Shana Prior and Robbie. Also thank you to Ranger Jim and Pelly from Townsville Catholic Education for hosting our staff Walk on Country. 

CATHOLIC EDUCATION WEEK

In week 3 this term, we will also celebrate Catholic Education week. Catholic Education Week is an opportunity for all 309 Catholic schools in Queensland to celebrate and promote their distinctive mission and ethos. Catholic education strives to make a difference in the lives of those in our schools and in the wider community by challenging young people to live out the message of Jesus and to reach their full potential as compassionate, contributing, life-giving members of society. On Monday the 21st of July, we will have a whole school Mass to mark the beginning of this week. I will be taking our school captains to participate in a special Mass in Townsville on the Tuesday of this week, which will be held at Sacred Heart Cathedral. The theme this year is communities of faith, hope and love. Teachers will look at these virtues and how they can all be found in scripture. With virtues, the more we practice them, the closer we grow to Jesus and the stronger our families and communities become. Ask your child’s teacher which lessons or activities they will be doing for Catholic Education week and come along and join in with their learning! I have included two prayers below from the Catholic Eduation website should you wish to use them during this special week:

Act of Hope
O Lord God,
I hope by your grace for the pardon of all my sins
and after life here to gain eternal happiness because you have promised it
who are infinitely powerful, faithful, kind,
and merciful.
In this hope I intend to live and die.
Amen.

Act of Love
O Lord God, I love you above all things
and I love my neighbor for your sake
because you are the highest, infinite and perfect good, worthy of all my love.
In this love I intend to live and die.
Amen.

Prayers excerpted from the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, ©
Copyright 2005 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 

Thank you everyone, have a wonderful term!

Many blessings, 

Mrs Windridge. 

swindridge@smbtsv.catholic.edu.au 

Learning and Teaching

Welcome back to Term 3! I hope everyone had an enjoyable break and found time to recharge. As you know in May of this year our students in Years 3 and 5 participated in NAPLAN Testing, they completed testing in the following areas: Numeracy, Reading, Writing, and Language Conventions (Spelling and Grammar.) This week our school received the Student and School Summary Report for each student who participated in the testing. Over the course of the semester Catherine Antonio (IPT), Alicia Ninnes, and I will work with the teachers to analyse the data and use it to inform the next steps for our learners. We are very pleased with our schools' overall results, which will be shared soon with our school community. 

As per QCAA advice, schools will receive hard copies of the individual student reports which will be sent home to parents. It is expected that these reports will arrive towards the end of July. The Parent Teacher Interviews coming up in week 8 of this term would be a great opportunity to discuss your child's NAPLAN results with your child's classroom teacher if you have any questions or concerns.

Universal Design of Learning is a journey that our school has been on for the past few years. In order to continue to extend our knowledge and skills, this week Mrs. Nicole Beltramelli (TCE Curriculum Adviser) visited our school and worked with our Years 3 and 5 teachers to apply a lens of UDL to their daily learning experiences. "UDL is a framework that was designed to improve and optimise teaching and learning for all based on scientific insights into how humans learn" (Cast Inc, 2023.)

Some of the steps that the teachers undertook in their session were looking at the what, why, and how their individual learners learn best. They then reviewed their learning experiences to ensure that all learners' individual needs were considered and successful learning experiences were offered. 

Kind Regards,

Krystal Land

Learning and Teaching Adviser

Athletics Carnival

On Monday 19 June, our students participated in our annual Athletics Carnival. It was a wonderful day where everyone gave their personal best and demonstrated great team spirit.

We congratulate MacKillop House for being victorious with a final point tally of 1230 points. 

A special thank you to our parents and volunteers and Jesse Foster from Moments by JLF for the amazing pictures. 

More pictures to come - stayed tuned !

Age Champions

5 YO - Lulu Falzon & Lewis Smith

6 YO - Rose Gonzalez & Hunter Dodd

7 YO - Lazariah Prior & Elijah McIntosh

8 YO - Kendall Malone & Rafferty Pilcher

9 YO - Elodie Robertson & Emerson Graf

10 YO - Liberty-Grace Fellows & Sam Murray

11 YO - Adison Jenkins & Beau Roach

12 YO - Anna Sylvester & Domingo del Solar

Final points :

Mackillop 1230

Foley 1114

School Uniforms

Staff have noticed that some students are wearing the incorrect uniform recently. We are going to do a ‘Uniform Check’ in two weeks' time to ensure the school uniform is being upheld by students. Wearing the school uniform should be a point of pride for our students and sets a standard of excellence that we would prefer students and families to uphold. We are giving time for students to correct shoes, jumpers, et cetera, however we will be performing a uniform check in two weeks' time and then following up with students not following our school uniform policy. Please see: School Uniform 

Prep 2024

We are currently taking Prep enrolments for 2024. If you have a child beginning school next year or know someone whose child is due to begin Prep, please get your enrolment forms in ASAP. These forms can be found on our school website. Please follow this link to access our current enrolment form.  

150th Anniversary Event

Design a Brick Fundraiser

Orders have now closed for the first round of the brick fundraiser, however we will be offering another round and chance to order in the future. 

Stay tuned for updated information. 

From the Guidance Counsellor

A SPECIAL REPORT: Celebrating NAIDOC Week

NAIDOC week celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It is celebrated by all Australians and is a great opportunity to recognise and learn more about the history and culture of indigenous communities.

NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee. Its origins can be traced back to the Aboriginal rights movement, when on Australia Day 1938, protestors marched through the streets of Sydney to highlight the status and treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. Today, it is a week-long celebration held in July that consists of range of traditional and contemporary activities.

NAIDOC Week is an important event that helps build positive relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. It enables a deeper understanding of our differences and similarities. NAIDOC week is an opportunity for all Australians to eliminate bias and discrimination by reflecting and reconciling the wrongs of the past to facilitate hope and build a fairer future. Families are encouraged to join in and support young people in learning the significance of NAIDOC Week.

This Special Report offers suggestions on how families can celebrate NAIDOC Week together. We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this Special Report, and as always, we welcome your feedback.

If you do have any concerns about the wellbeing of your child, please contact the school for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to your special report:
https://smbtsv.catholic.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/special-report-celebrating-naidoc-week

Award Winners Week 10, Term 2

In Week 10, our weekly awards were presented to students who have been following Mary's Way by showing "S" safe,Just and Fair.

Mary's Way Award Winners:

Back row: Jake Land, Kye Land, Holly Kahler, Harry Sylvester, Koha Haare.

Front row: Jack Lawrance, Alishia Kirk, William Kelly.

Praise Note Winner of the Week:  Not present.

Star Reader:  Not present.

Award Winners Week 1, Term 3

In Week 9, our weekly awards were presented to students following Mary's Way by showing "B" Be my Best.

Mary's Way Award Winners: 

Back Row: Keira Lane, Andrea Firth, Kobi Buckley, Robert Eldred, Emerson Graf.

Front Row: Rosalina Quisel-Mason, Collins Nowlan.

Paise Note Winner of the Week:  Leroy Freiberg

Star Reader:  Not present.

Birthdays

Birthdays

 Jake Land                                                                                                                  Isabella Mestroni

Matthew Pugh                                                                                                             Makayla Kelly

Ella Wilson                                                                                                                   Joey Beath

Andrea Firth

Leland Acton

Ahkeem Byers

Aaliyah Klaus

Amy Das

Noah Maguire

Maddison Majid- Bird

Nataya Byers

Jayden Kirk

Term 3 Weeks 2-3 Important Events

• 17-21 July - Mulkadee
• 20 July - Catholic Identity Team / Prayer Renewal Project meeting, 3.15pm
• 21 July - Year 5 Class Mass, Pre-Prep
• 24-28 July - Catholic Education Week
• 24 July - Catholic Education Week Mass, 9am; Early Years Testing
• 25 July - School Captains to Catholic Education Week Mass in Townsville; 150th Anniversary meeting, 4.30pm
• 26 July - Bowen Sub-district Athletics trials; Early Years Testing
• 28 July - Year 6 visit to Bowen State High School - Grease matinee; Pre-Prep

Celebrating 150 Years of St Mary's

In light of Mulkadee coming up next week, this week we are looking at some photos of St Mary's plays and musicals from the past.

Please email photos to bwn@tsv.catholic.edu.au 

Extra Activities

Tuckshop Menu Term 3

Mary Mackillop OSHC

OSHC at St Mary’s Catholic School is now operating Monday to Friday from  6.30 am to 8.30 am and 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 will come into effect on 10 July.

Currently the service costs $17.50 for Before-School Care, and $22 for After-School Care, before CCS reductions are applied. Food (breakfast and 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 Miss Rob on 0428 216 062 OR at bowenoshc@mmcnq.catholic.edu.au

Community News