Week 2/3 Term 3

From the Principal

Hello everyone and thank you for taking the time to read our school newsletter for Weeks 2 and 3 at St Mary's. I hope students and families are enjoying the cooler weather lately and have settled into Term 3 well. 

Every year Townsville Catholic Education hosts an Arts Festival called 'Mulkadee' which is very close to my own heart (as a fellow musician). This year I again had the fortune to accompany our students for the week in Townsville. Students from nearly 30 schools travelled to Townsville to participate in drama, dance, orchestra and choir training and performance. Across 5 full days, experts in each field delivered phenomenal instruction in their area of the arts, with students then coming together to present 'Robin Hood' to hundreds of families on Friday night. 

We are truly blessed here at St Mary's to join in with this extraordinary opportunity that no other diocese, or school run organisation, offers anywhere else in Australia at this magnitude.  I could not be prouder of our students and their contribution to this wonderful event. 

On Thursday we will have a P and F meeting at 5 pm in our school staff room, which everyone in the community is warmly invited to attend.  The P and F will also be hosting a Musical Bingo night at the Grand View on August the 12th. Please contact the school office if you would like to book a table. It is going to be a terrific night! 

I would also like to wish our students in Year 6 well as they attend their second transition day at St Catherine's on the 11th of August. Students not attending will be remaining at school. 

Finally, let us all consider the theme of Catholic Education week this year, Communities of Faith, Hope and Love, and ask ourselves, "What am I doing to contribute to a community of Faith, Hope and Love here at St Mary's Catholic school?". Communities are enriched and made strong by people reaching out to participate and contribute in some small way. Let us remember always to show each other love and be filled with faith and hope as we move into the second half of our school year. 

Take care everybody and please don't hesitate to contact me at aninnes1@smbtsv.catholic.edu.au or ring the school office directly.

God bless,

Mrs Alicia Ninnes. 

Religious Life of the School

The Mary’s Way

Hello everybody, I hope you all have had a fantastic two weeks and are enjoying Term 3 at St Mary's. In this newsletter, I wanted to share with you a link to our ‘Mary’s Way’ booklet. Teachers and staff throughout the school use this booklet as part of their process to model, shape, discuss and reward behaviour at St Mary’s, both in and out of the classroom.

This is a wonderful resource for parents if they are wanting to have conversations with students about behaviour, or if they would like to know more about the values we promote within our school. All values are taken from our Mercy history and scripture, and encourage students to develop into well rounded, responsible and caring members of society, formed with a strong foundation of Christian traditions and beliefs. 

Catholic Education Mass

Our four school captains travelled to Townsville on Tuesday to participate in the Catholic Education Mass held by Townsville Catholic Education at the Sacred Heart Cathedral. The Mass was absolutely beautiful, with a full choir and orchestra, and the main celebrants were Bishop Tim and Archbishop Mark Coleridge. I was proud of our youth leaders and inspired by the dedication and reverance shown by all of the students who attended from across the Townsville Diocese. It is wonderful to see that the Catholic faith is alive and strong in North Queensland, and yesterday I was filled with a renewed hope for the future of the faith. 

Youth Group

Our youth group is working hard to raise funds to attend the Ignite convention this year in Brisbane. We are asking for community donations for our ‘Spring Gardening’ raffle. Parents, students and community members are welcome to drop off a small gardening item to fill our wheelbarrow at the school office. Please also support our youth group by purchasing a ticket in the raffle at the office. If you know of any teenagers or young people who may be interested in attending, you can find out more information at: https://igniteconference.com.au/about  or contact me at swindridge@smbtsv.catholic.edu.au We thank Mrs McEniery and her husband for the generous donation of the wheelbarrow, which will be a part of the raffle. Students will also be running a sausage sizzle at Home Hardware on the 12th of August, so please feel free to donate baked goods to sell or pop on down to say hello and buy yourself breakfast! 

Altar serving and Reading at Mass training:

Sister Judith Foster will be visiting us here on the 11th and 12th of August to train students and adults in altar serving, reading at Mass and Sacramental training. If you are interested in reading at Mass or know children who would also like to altar serve (who are confirmed), she will be training students at 2pm on Friday the 11th, and readers at 5 pm. I will be taking St Mary's students, who may like to altar serve, to the Church for the 2 pm training on the Friday. For anyone who cannot make the Friday, she will also be providing training at 9 am on Saturday, 12th of August. 

Message from St Vincent de Paul's: On Friday the 18^th of August, St Vincent de Paul's society will be hosting a sleepout at Vinnies Donation Hub at 1 Woodman Court, West End, 4810. For those who would like to participate, please know that you are welcome to join us on the night or assist with the setup on Friday afternoon or pack up on Saturday morning or donate in support of one of the participants in the sleepout. This event assists those who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless through the financial outcome.  For more details, please contact – Aathu Wilson at 0438 016 672 or at Aathu.wilson@svdpqld.org.au.  Please see the link below for our website for any donations. https://vinniesqld.grassrootz.com/townsville-community-sleepout

(Please note the St Mary's Mini Vinnies students sleepout will be in Term 4 this year). 

Thank you everyone, have an amazing weekend! 

Many blessings to you all, 

Mrs Windridge. 

swindridge@smbtsv.catholic.edu.au 

Learning and Teaching

This week our school received the paper copies of the Individual Student Reports for each student who participated in the NAPLAN testing earlier this year. The reports are to be sent home to parents by no later than Friday 4th August. If you do not receive a copy by then contact Kathy Lowcock in the school office. Please remember to discuss any questions or concerns about these reports with your child's classroom teacher. 

On Monday and Tuesday of this week Catherine Antonio (IPT) and I attended MiniLit Sage Training. We are looking forward to co-ordinating this program in our school from 2024 onwards. Please keep an eye out for further information towards the end of this year, as we will be having a Parent Information Session on the intervention program and how it can benefit struggling readers. 

Across Prep-Year 2 this week our students have completed their Early Years Post Test for Literacy and Numeracy. We are eagerly waiting for our feedback session with Nic Beltramelli (T.C.E Curriculum Adviser) and Terhi Reid (T.C.E Speech Pathologist) on Thursday 31st August to receive our results. This is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the individual successes of our learners, and identify the next steps in their learning journey in order to ensure that we are meeting their needs.

I will be on long service leave from Week 6- Wednesday of Week 8. During my absence if you have any Learning and Teaching related questions please contact your child's classroom teacher and/or Alicia Ninnes (Principal).

Kind Regards

Krystal Land

Learning and Teaching Adviser

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 who are not following our school uniform policy. Please see: School Uniform 

Athletics Trial

Well done to all of the students who participated in the Bowen Sub-District Athletics trials on Wednesday. They all put in a wonderful effort and represented St Mary's with pride. Congratulations to Sam and Ella who qualified for the Whitsunday trials next month in shot put for both and 200m for Sam as well.

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

From the Guidance Counsellor

In this edition of SchoolTV - CYBERBULLYING

With the advent of the internet, smart phones and tablets, there is now a whole new digital dimension added to traditional schoolyard bullying. There was once a time when bullying victims were given some respite outside of school hours, but sadly these days, online bullying can occur 24/7. In today’s world, teaching your child about online and cyber safety, is as important as learning to swim or cross the road!

Cyberbullying can be identified as being the repeated behaviour by an aggressor with the intent to harm or embarrass. Technology enables these aggressors to share information widely and quickly, making this form of bullying extremely dangerous and harmful. However, the answer is not to shun the internet nor social media. Instead, parents are encouraged to embrace it and instil a family internet policy to protect their children without limiting the freedom to learn, explore and communicate online.

In this edition of SchoolTV, parents are provided with useful guidelines and advice on how to minimise the risks. Children have the right to feel safe, regardless of whether it is in the schoolyard or online.

We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this edition of SchoolTV and we always welcome your feedback. If you have any concerns about your child, please contact the school guidance counsellor for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to the Cyberbullying edition of SchoolTV
https://smbtsv.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/cyber-bullying

Award Winners Week 2, Term 3

In Week 1, our weekly awards were presented to students who have been following Mary's Way by showing "S" Show Respect.

Mary's Way Award Winners:

Back row: Ethias, Elodie, Ella, Jayden, Tyler.

Praise Note Winner of the Week:  Oscar.

Star Reader:  Rosalina.

Award Winners Week 3, Term 3

In Week 3, our weekly awards were presented to students following Mary's Way by showing "M" Mercy and Outreach.

Mary's Way Award Winners: 

Back Row:  Knite, Tate, Austin, Annalicia.

Front Row: Ivy, Miranda, Zane.

Paise Note Winner of the Week: Isabella.

Star Reader:  Ella.

Birthdays

Birthdays

                                                                         Blake, Lazariah and Beau. 

Term 3 Weeks 4-5 Important Events

• 3 August - P&F meeting, 5pm
• 4 August - Federal Non-Government School Census; Yr 3 Mass
• 3 August - Mary Mackillop Feast Day meditation
• 10 August - Board meeting, 5.15pm
• 11 August - Yr 6 Transition at St Cath's; Whitsunday Athletics Trials
• 12 August - Musical Bingo at the Grand View Hotel

Celebrating 150 Years of St Mary's

This week we share with you exerpts from the writings of Father Thomas O'Dwyer, who was stationed in both Bowen and Collinsville many times, from the 1930's and thereafter. You may notice some familiar names and find his anecdotes quite entertaining (we certainly did!). Thank you to Sister Mary Lowcock for sharing. 

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 Camila on 0428 216 062 OR at bowenoshc@mmcnq.catholic.edu.au

School Student Broadband Initiative

The School Student Broadband Initiative, in partnership with NBN Australia is providing unconnected school aged students and their families with free internet for 12 months.

This Initiative aims to boost education opportunities by providing up to 30,000 Australian eligible families with school age children (K-12), with free nbn-powered broadband internet at home.

For more information on how to apply and grant guidelines follow the link:

Community News

UQ Research Project

Auskick