Week 4/5, Term 1, 2024

Weeks 6 and 7 - What's On

• Saturday, 24 February - Clean Up Australia Day event, 9am at the Soundshell
• Wednesday, 6 March - Friday, 8 March - Year 6 Camp, Paluma
• Thursday, 7 March - P&F Meeting
• Saturday, 9 March - Family Mass, 6pm

Principal News

We have reached the half-way point in Term 1, and have had a very busy two weeks. Suzette and I each attended the Enhancing Catholic School Identity training for Principals and APREs in Townsville. The focus for Catholic Identity in TCE schools this year is on developing a hermeneutical (or meaning-making) shift within our students, staff and parent community. To assist in this, our school is continuing the work we began in 2023 on the Prayer Renewal Project, with the Prayer Renewal team meeting on Thursday last week. The team will be opening up the project to our wider community over the coming months, as we explore the Ten Characteristics of Catholic Prayer, and develop a new school prayer. The current school prayer holds a lot of sentimental value to our wider community, and we would like to keep the new version fairly similar to the current one. The current prayer is missing something, though.

Dear God,

You have shown how much you love us all by the gift of your only Son.

We pray that we will come to a close, loving relationship with you through following His example.

Help us to show each other that we care, and so make our school a place of love, happiness, work and achievement.

We ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Amen

We are a Marian school, with St Mary Help of Christians as our patron saint, yet the school prayer does not currently mention Mary. The Prayer Renewal Team will be holding a fun evening on Wednesday, 20 March, from 5pm to 7pm, in the staffroom. This evening will have a variety of activites to help gather ideas from students, staff, parents and parish members as we begin developing our new prayer. Pizza will be provided. We hope you can join us!

Our school was also visited by members of both the Inclusion Team, and the Orange Service Team from TCE over the past two weeks. We appreciate the time given to us when specialists visit the school to provide their advice and guidance. The Inclusion Team worked with our teachers, Mrs Catherine Antonio and Mrs Krystal Land on strategies for supporting students within the classroom. As a result, the placement of school officers has changed for some classrooms, due to the operational needs of the school. It is our hope that parents understand and trust these decisions as our priority lies in supporting all students in being successful on their learning journeys. 

Finally, we look forward to seeing many of our families tonight for our P&F beach-themed disco. The P&F have put a lot of effort into preparing for the disco, and the Student Council have gathered song lists, game lists and challengers for the Foley vs Mackillop dance-off! The disco promises to be a lot of fun! Mrs Windridge has also put a lot of work into preparing for tomorrow's Clean Up Australia Day event, with approximately 50 students letting us know that they will be there. Please gather at the Bowen Sound Shell at 9am for our opening of the event and breaking everyone up into groups. Remember that we will require parents to stay for this event to help supervise the children, as we will be spreading out along the Front Beach.

God bless,

Alicia Ninnes

Religious Life of the School

Hi everyone! Teachers have been working hard to engage and immerse students in learning about Lent this term. Please enjoy having a look at photos of some of our activities so far. 

A few reminders that there are some upcoming events, please see attached fliers. Also don’t forget to fill out your ECSI surveys, parents who do so will enter the draw to win a Whitehaven family cruise (please send a snapshot of survey completion to Suzette, Krystal or Alicia). 

Take care and please contact me if you have any questions or wish to help out with any of our school’s pastoral activities or events. 

Many blessings, 

Mrs Suzette Windridge

(Assistant Principal Religious Education, Chaplain, Teacher).

Shrove Tuesday

Ash Wednesday

Another terrific practice session of footy on Tuesday this week. Thanks again to our amazing coaches. Students are absolutely loving it! Please remember to send a hat and mouthgaurd in with students. See you next Tuesday (students turning 8 and above). 

Thermomix tickets are selling fast! Please pop into the school office or ring up to organise a phone purchase before they are all gone. Well done to some of our members of the youth group who sold tickets and sang at the markets last weekend. Voices of angels too, and so much fun! 

Join the St Mary's school community and youth group for a pool party on March 9th, followed by the Family Mass at 6pm. Students Years 4 and above. Details below. 

Please consider sending in a small amount of money to donate to Project Compassion for Lent this year. Currently, Year 4 is well in the lead and doing a fantastic job raising funds for those in need. 

Learning and Teaching

NAPLAN- Accessibility

NAPLAN is for everyone: help available for students with a disability sitting NAPLAN.

The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) is committed to an inclusive testing process that allows all students to participate in the National Assessment Program. ACARA has released a series of videos where students, parents, carers, and teachers talk about the sense of belonging and achievement students get from participating in NAPLAN with their peers.

NAPLAN’s disability adjustments enable an equivalent learner experience for students during testing and include, for example, magnification, alternative questions, keyboard accessibility, extra time, rest breaks, and tailored testing.

Student Halle shared her gratitude that the NAPLAN adjustments allowed her to have an equivalent experience to her classmates. “NAPLAN online was actually really helpful because I was in the same classroom as all my other … peers. In some ways, it felt better to be part of the class than to be going up somewhere else.”

This information can help schools, parents, carers and students to together identify reasonable adjustments required for individual students with disability to access NAPLAN. Students, parents and carers can also get hands-on experience with the format and adjustments of the test on the NAPLAN public demonstration site. The Guide for schools to assist students with disability to access NAPLAN provides an overview of the process that teachers, in consultation with parents and carers, follow to assist students with disability.

NAPLAN results can assist teachers by providing additional information to support their professional judgement about students’ levels of literacy and to monitor their students' progress over time against the national measure.

Student Shaun encouraged all students to give NAPLAN a go. “If it’s your first time doing it, just don’t worry about it ... I felt proud of myself for not giving up and just going through it.”

ACARA gratefully thanks and acknowledges the students, parents/carers, teachers and schools who shared their experiences, and gave their time and support to the development of the video series. Visit nap.edu.au to watch the videos, or for information on tailored testing, accessibility, disability adjustments, or to view the NAPLAN public demonstration site.

Kind Regards,

Krystal Land

Acting Assistant Principal Pedagogy and Learning

Week 3 Awards - Compassion and Care

Week 4 Awards - Safe, Just and Fair

MacqLit Graduate

Birthdays

Guidance Counsellor News

In this edition of SchoolTV - SLEEP
Students today have extremely busy schedules, with ever increasing responsibilities at school and at home. Many kids, especially adolescents, are going to bed later and later and are at risk of sleep deprivation. This affects three areas of a child’s development: psychological, physiological and psychosocial. All three are essential to a child's growth, learning ability and overall wellbeing. Sleep is vital to a child’s overall development and is as important as diet and exercise.

Sleep also strengthens a child’s immune systems and supports their ability to function properly on a daily basis. Children who do not get enough sleep show increased levels of aggressive behaviour, are less attentive and are much less active. Trying to catch up on sleep on weekends is not the answer and can still lead to severe sleep deprivation.

In this edition of SchoolTV, parents will learn about the importance of sleep and how sleep deprivation can have adverse effects on a child’s health and wellbeing.

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 Sleep edition of SchoolTV: https://smbtsv.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/sleep

The Resilience Project

P&F Disco

The P&F is having a great start this year with a full AGM, a new constitution drafted (available for your review in the school office), Tea & Tissues on the first day of school, and tonight being our first disco for the year! Get your tropical gear ready and bring your dancing shoes to the big shed at 6pm! Please remember that parents must stay with their children at the disco and cannot drop them off and leave. We look forward to seeing you and your family there!

We are also underway with planning a Family Fun Day for this year. Mark your calendars for Saturday, 25 May 2024, for this fabulous day. We would love to know how you and your family would like to support this great event for St Mary’s. It’s a day to showcase our school to the community for future prospective students and families, as well as getting our school community together, working as a team and showing off our talents while enjoying a wonderful family day. Please contact us by emailing pandfstmarysbowen@gmail.com with your talents/passions or businesses that you would like to share with the school.

Non-State School Transport Assistance Scheme

As part of our ongoing efforts to support families, we wish to provide you with information regarding the Non-State Schools Transport Assistance Scheme (NSSTAS), an initiative funded by the government and managed by Queensland Catholic Education Commission.  

About:

• • What is it: The Students with Disability program helps reduce transportation costs for families of those students whose disability necessitates transport assistance to and from non-state schools.
  • Application Process: We encourage you to visit https://www.schooltransport.com.au/ for a straightforward online application. 
  • When to apply:
    • Semester 1 Travel: Please apply in May 2024. 
    • Semester 2 Travel: Application opens in October 2024.

What’s New in 2024:

Following the discontinuation of the Education Adjustment Program (EAP), the eligibility criteria has been updated.  

Revised Eligibility Guidelines: 

• NCCD Requirement:
• The student must be recognised in the most recent NCCD submission as requiring supplementary, substantial, or extensive adjustments due to a disability. OR 
• If the student is in Prep or a new student, the student must have a diagnosed disability and the school must confirm by the end of Term 1 that the provided adjustments align with the descriptors of supplementary, substantial or extensive in the NCCD guidelines. 
• Individual Education Plan:
• An Individual Education Plan or equivalent document must highlight transport needs unique to the student’s disability, that are demonstrably different to those of their same age peers. 
• Travel Capability Rating (TCR):
• The student must have a TCR of C, D, E, or F as per the Student Travel Capability Rating Scale. 
• Or meet Exceptional Circumstances eligibility:
• Additional provisions are in place for those meeting specific exceptional criteria.

We recognise the complexities surrounding these changes and wish to assure you of our support throughout this process. Our goal remains to facilitate a seamless and hassle-free travel experience for your child and family.

Should you have any questions or require further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Mary's Munchkins Playgroup

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 came 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

Cooinda Family Centre

School Dental Service

Tuckshop Menu 2024