Week 8/9 Term 1, 2024

Weeks 10 and 1 - What's On

• Wednesday, 27 March - 9am, Whole School Mass in the Church
• Thursday, 28 March - MMBDO (Easter activities, including Bonnet parade, Egg Hunt, and a Picnic at 1.20pm); Last day of Term 1
• Monday, 15 April - First day of Term 2
• Thursday, 18 April - Prayer Renewal Project meeting, 3.15pm

Principal News

Each year, Townsville Catholic Education schools are asked to develop key goals for driving school improvement and to present these as part of the Annual School Improvement Plan. These goals are formed by referring to the Townsville Catholic Education Strategic Directions (linked below), the school's own Strategic Renewal Goals (also linked below), and other data available to the school, such as the results of our annual School Satisfaction Survey, our Enhancing Catholic School Identity surveys, and students' learning, behaviour and attendance data.

Earlier this term, the school leadership team met with the Orange Service Team to present our three key goals and our Annual School Improvement Plan for 2024. These were then presented to the Senior Leadership Team of TCE for approval. The three key goals are shared below:

• By the end of 2024, evidence-based pedagogy will be used, through the Learning and Teaching Cycle, to improve student learning data.
• By the end of 2024, we will strengthen the Religious Life of the School through active engagement in Mission, ECSI, Liturgy, and the Prayer Renewal Project.
• By the end of 2024, St Mary’s will create orderly learning environments to improve engagement, learning, behaviour and wellbeing data for staff and students.

Some of the strategies related to these goals have been:

• Focused planning for the transition to Version 9.0 of the Australian Curriculum, particularly in Mathematics and English, in 2024. This includes the implementation of an extra Student Free Day, provided to all TCE schools, on Friday, April 26.
• Streamlined and strengthened processes for Tier 2 Literacy Intervention in MiniLit and MacqLit.
• The implementation of Learning Through Doing hands-on mathematics resources
• Developing supports for improving attendance data for students who have low academic results related to low attendance.
• Engagement with local organisations to strengthen community partnerships, particularly with the St Mary's Parish, First Nations organisations, and the other Bowen schools.
• Mission in action, including the development of a community garden and the development of the Buddies program into a Catherine McAuley Society.
• Engagement with the ECSI surveys, to gather current Catholic Identity data in the lead-up to our Year of Renewal in 2025.
• Completion of the Prayer Renewal Project, and the development of a new school prayer.
• Implementation of projects that respond to staff, parent and student feedback, including a review of PB4L processes, and enhancing student and staff wellbeing.

The development of the NRL team and Cross Country carnival were both examples of projects that were the direct result of responding to community feedback.It has been wonderful to see sporting opportunities increasing this term, and we look forward to the continued support of our community as we continue to develop in this space. Thank you to all staff and parents who have assisted in the coordination and execution of these projects. Your time and efforts have been greatly appreciated!

God bless,

Alicia Ninnes

Religious Life of the School

Our school is proudly considered a 'Mercy' school, with its values and charism linked to the founding order which ran St Mary's school for so many years, living and working here within the Bowen community. 

The Mercy sisters were established by Catherine McAuley in 1827 in Dublin, when she used her inheritance to open a Mercy house to take care of and educate poor and vulnerable women and children. She established the Sisters of Mercy which was to spread quickly throughout Ireland and England. 

Here at St Mary's, the Sisters of Mercy arrived in 1885 to take over from the St Joseph Sisters.  They are the reason why we have values such as compassion and care, mercy, outreach and justice within our school rules, mission statement and school prayer. 

The St Mary's youth group will be changing their name to the Catherine McAuley Society to more closely reflect these values as well as our heritage.  This group will continue to meet at school and for term excursions, and the Catherine McAuley Society will be run at St Catherine's College as well, which will allow the two schools to join together in this aspect.  This year, this group will look at fundraising for:

- a hearing dog and it's training and placement ($3000)

- birthing kits for overseas vulnerable communities 

- investigation and support of a marine sustainability project

Parents are more than welcome to support this group in a range of capacities, and join us in helping students realise their potential to be agents of Mercy in our modern world. Please contact swindridge@smbtsv.catholic.edu.au for further information. 

St Patrick’s day was celebrated last Friday here at St Mary’s and students had a wonderful time! Thank you to our parents and staff for supporting this event, we know that students will look forward to this again next year.

Students and staff had a great time at our recent St Mary’s youth group event. What a wonderful way to spend a Saturday afternoon, together by the pool eating pizza! Thanks to all who participated and to our young leaders who lead us in prayer and activities. The family Mass was also well attended and we appreciate all those who took the time to come along. 

Next week Mini Vinnie’s students will travel to Murroona Gardens to participate in Easter art games and activities. We wish them well and hope it brings some warmth and Easter cheer into the resident’s day. Please ensure notes are returned as soon as possible if you wish your child to attend or obtain another note from the office (only Mini Vinnies students). 

There will be a whole school Mass on Wednesday 27th at 9 am in the Church, in our last week of term, to celebrate Easter and the end of the school term. This will be run by students in Years 5 and 6, however students in years P- 4 will be contributing either a short song or performance. Please come along if you are free, everyone is warmly welcomed and encouraged to attend. 

Over the past few weeks we have been busy installing the new school and parish garden, which students in each grade will access weekly, in order to continue enacting our commitment to Laudato Si` goals. We can’t thank the Bowen Men’s shed enough for their hard work and the creation of our garden beds and fencing. Also to Hillary’s Earthworks for their generous donation of 5 tonnes of soil! Lastly, Lowcock builders have been instrumental in allowing us to complete this project and have provided much needed funds and expertise. We are so grateful to them all as a school and hope these agencies know how much they are appreciated and valued for their good works within the local community. We can't wait for our garden to be completed and to start growing some amazing things! Watch this space for regular updates on what we are growing and learning about in our new school and parish garden. 

Families navigating difficulties around money, housing, health and racism

Many families struggle with financial difficulties, homelessness and navigating related support services. There may be other challenges they’re facing at the same time, such as physical illness, violence or racism. Experiencing these kinds of stressors can lead to feelings of shame, blame and powerlessness for both parents and children. They may pile up to create more difficulties – including social, emotional, physical and material challenges. This selection of resources from Emerging Minds Families is designed  for families to access independently. They have been co-designed with families who’ve been through tough times to spark hope for others when navigating difficulties around money, housing, health and racism and include:

• talking to children about family money struggles
• tips for families experiencing homelessness
• families responding to racism
• skills for navigating services, and much more.

Please also feel free to make a time to see Alicia or myself if there is any additional support we can give to you or your family in a pastoral capacity. 

Learning and Teaching

NAPLAN Testing is now complete, and we would like to thank our Year 3 and 5 Teachers and their support staff for ensuring that the students put in their best efforts on testing days. We look forward to receiving our data in Term 2 to see how our students went.

ClickView is a wonderful resource that the Townsville Catholic Education Office provides for all schools in our diocese. Please see the brochure below for more information and contact your child's classroom teacher if you wish to explore the resource at home.

Congratulations to our Quick Write winners for this term. Next term we will be conducting another Quick Write so that we can continue to encourage all students in our school to enjoy writing by following The Writing Process to do so.

Next term the Premiers Reading Challenge will also begin. Each year we are trying to increase the number of students who participate in this initiative. A note will come home to parents and carers early in the term with more details about the challenge. 

Don’t forget to mark Friday 26th April into your calendars as a Pupil Free Day, as the teachers will be having a Professional Development Day to delve into Version 9.0 of The Australian Curriculum for English. If you would like to check out the new curriculum head to https://v9.australiancurriculum.edu.au/

I hope that you all have a safe and happy holiday, see you back for another wonderful term of learning in Term 2!

Kind Regards,
Krystal Land
Acting- Assistant Principal Pedagogy and Learning

Week 8 Awards - Mercy & Outreach

Week 9 Awards - Compassion & Care

MacqLit Graduates

Birthdays

Cross Country

Guidance Counsellor News

In this edition of SchoolTV - HAPPINESS & GRATITUDE

Happiness is a term that captures a huge variety of positive emotions such as humour, serenity, optimism, joy, pride, inspiration, love and hope. Happiness means different things, to different people and is essential to your understanding of emotional literacy. Throughout history, philosophers, religious writers and poets have pondered on the meaning of happiness and how it might be achieved. In the last few decades, scientists and psychologists have researched this further by studying a field of science called positive psychology.

The result of this research suggests there is a strong correlation between gratitude and greater happiness. Practising gratitude helps you shift your focus to positive memories or experiences, noticing the good in your life. Over time, this will re-wire your brain to create new neural pathways, increase your state of happiness and overall wellbeing.

In this edition of SchoolTV, parents and care-givers will learn how to achieve happiness and the benefits of practising gratitude.

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 Happiness & Gratitude edition of SchoolTV
https://smbtsv.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/happiness-gratitude

The Resilience Project

Family Fun Day

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 Holiday Activities

Bowen Wharf: Have your say

School Dental Service

Tuckshop Menu