Week 4/5 Newsletter Term 3 2024

Term 3 Week 6 & 7 - What's On

• Thursday, 15 August - Year 5/6 Life Education 
• Friday, 16 August - Day of Action Against Bullying
• Friday, 16 August - Pre Prep 8.45-11.30am
• Monday, 19 August - Book Week Parade, 9am
• Thursday, 22 August - 9.15am Olympian Visit - Years 4-6
  
• Thursday, 22 August - 5..15am IEAG  Meeting
• Friday, 23 August - Pre Prep 8.45-11.30am - Parents invited to attend
• Friday, 23 August - Wake up and Read Performance 
• Friday, 23 August - Premiers Reading Challenge Forms Due 

Principal News

Dear Parents and Guardians,

As we look ahead to the future of St Mary’s Catholic School, I want to share some important information about the ongoing School Renewal process led by Townsville Catholic Education and how it involves our school community.

Townsville Catholic Education's School Renewal Process

Every five years, schools within the Townsville Catholic Education network undergo a comprehensive School Renewal process. This process is crucial in shaping our school’s future, ensuring that we continue to provide the best possible education and spiritual development for our students. As part of this renewal, our school will enter its Year of Renewal in 2025, and we are already laying the groundwork for the decisions that will shape our Strategic Goals for the next five years.

Importance of Parent Feedback

One of the most significant aspects of the School Renewal process is gathering data from our community to inform our decisions. This year, we have focused on collecting feedback from our parents through various surveys.

• School Feedback Surveys: These surveys, which were emailed to parents on July 25, are designed to capture your thoughts on a wide range of topics related to our school’s operations, culture, and overall environment. Your responses are vital in helping us understand what we are doing well and where we can improve.
• Enhancing Catholic School Identity (ECSI) Survey: Earlier this year, during Term 1, we collected data from the ECSI survey. This survey plays a critical role in evaluating how effectively we are living out our Catholic identity and how we can continue to grow in this area.

The insights gained from these surveys will be instrumental in shaping our school’s Strategic Goals for the coming five years. Your input ensures that our planning is aligned with the needs and aspirations of our school community, particularly as we approach our Year of Renewal in 2025.

Enhancing Catholic School Identity Project

I also want to highlight the importance of the Enhancing Catholic School Identity Project, a key initiative by Townsville Catholic Education. This project is central to our mission of nurturing and deepening the Catholic identity of our schools. As part of this commitment, Townsville Catholic Education sends principals to Leuven, Belgium, for two weeks of intensive study focused on this project. This experience allows school leaders to gain valuable insights and strategies that they can bring back to their schools, ensuring that our Catholic identity remains vibrant and relevant. Townsville Catholic Education has elected to send me to the course this year, so I will be away from school from 29 August to 13 September. During this time, Mrs Suzette Windridge will be my replacement lead of the school, supported by Mrs Krystal Land. I trust they will be given the community’s full support while they lead the school in my absence.

Conclusion

As we prepare for our Year of Renewal in 2025, I encourage all parents to participate in the surveys and share your honest feedback. Your contributions are essential to our planning process and will help us continue to build a strong, faith-filled community at St Mary’s Catholic School. Together, we can ensure that our school continues to thrive and grow in its mission of providing a high-quality Catholic education.

Thank you for your ongoing support and partnership.

God bless,

Alicia Ninnes

Religious Life of the School

Mary Mackillop Feast Day

Thursday 8th of August is recognised as Saint Mary Mackillop’s Feast Day. Mary Mackillop was born in 1842 in Fitzroy, Melbourne. When Mary saw families living on the margins without access to education, she set up a school to teach children herself — despite their circumstances. She and the Sisters of St Joseph went wherever the need was greatest. Although they faced enormous challenges, they continued to walk with people every step of the way. She once famously said ‘Never see a need without doing something about’, and she really did live by this motto. This August, let’s walk in Mary’s footsteps and stand up for those facing adversity. Each class met at 9 am in the big shed on Thursday for a whole school meditation to recognise Mary Mackillop’s special day. Thank you Year 4 for leading this special event. 

My New Gallery

Reef Guardian

Thank you Mrs Rees for organising a plastic free week here at St Mary's. Mrs Reef is leading the Reef Guardian project at St Mary's and students have loved the challenge! Well done Year 1 on using the least amount of plastic and winning the overall prize. 

St Mary's was blessed to be visited by two lovely Mercy Sisters this week, Sister Josephine and Sister Mary-Terese. These Sisters became sisters at the age of 19 and have been Sisters for 63 years! They were taking a stroll down memory lane and visiting Saint Mary's, where they taught primary schooling in the 1960s and 70s. 

Year 3 are currently learning about the structure of the Catholic Church and our local parish, how we work and live together as a family, and were visited by some of our more senior members of the Parish. Mrs Menzies, Mrs Fisher and Mrs Hammond shared with students their experiences as young people in Bowen, and as members of the Church. Aren't we lucky to have such a wonderful community here at St Mary's? 

My New Gallery

Term 3 Masses and liturgies:

We are busy raising funds to send local young people to Brisbane in September to attend the annual Catholic Youth Conference. This allows regional students to mix with a huge group of young Catholics in a fun environment in which music, drama, workshops and guest speakers meet for three days of faith formation. If you know a young person who may be interested or benefit from getting involved in this amazing opportunity, please contact swindridge@smbtsv.catholic.edu.au or gtait@tsv.catholic.org.au

Learning and Teaching

Last week parents of Year 3 and 5 students should have received their child's student report for their NAPLAN testing. Please take the time to read this report, celebrate your child's successes, and discuss further any questions that you may have with their classroom teacher. 

Parent Teacher Interviews will be held in Week 8 of this term, if this is not your first year at St Mary's you will have noticed that the format for these interviews will be a little bit different from other years. This year the interviews will be held over two afternoons and the location will be in the big shed. Parents and carers will present to the table that the teacher they are booked with is seated at, a bell will then ring as a cue 1 minute before the interview is scheduled to finish. This change has been made to ensure that we are working with teachers to support their well-being in relation to work intensification. If you are unable to make an interview on the set days/times due to other commitments, such as work, please get in touch with the school office and they will pass a message on to the classroom teacher to liaise with you to book an interview at a more convenient time.

On Thursday 29th August our students will be participating in buddy reading with parents and the Muroona Gardens residents after the Father's Day Liturgy. Buddy reading is a high-impact teaching strategy that helps students improve their reading. We would love it if you could come along and support this event. Some of the benefits of buddy reading are:

- builds the confidence of struggling readers and those who are reserved,

- allows students to take on the role of being a mentor/leader,

-provides students with an opportunity to engage and improve their skills by authentically reading,

- improves the love of reading/levels of engagement, and, 

- deepens a child's understanding and comprehension of a text.

Kind regards,

Krystal Land

Acting Assistant Principal and Pedagogy 

Week 3 Awards - "Compassion & Care"

Week 4 Awards - "Safe, Just & Fair"

Birthdays

Reef Guardian's

Last week, as a Reef Guardian's school, St Mary's participated in the "No Plastic July Challenge". The students were encouraged to bring reusable containers for their lunch and received class points for every lunchbox that achieved this goal. Congratulations to the Year 1 Class for collecting the most points!

NRL Gala Day 2024

Thank you to Queens Beach State School for letting us join in at their NRL gala day. 
We had an absolute ball and can’t wait to do it again!  

200% Percent Wolf Movie Premier

Our Movie Premiere, 200% Wolf, was a 100% success tonight with smiles all around! Thank you so much to all of the organisers, volunteers and of course The Bowen Summergarden Cinema for a fantastic night!

My New Gallery

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Bullying No Way, National Week of action - Friday 16 August

Next week on Friday we are asking the students at St Mary's Catholic School to wear purple to show our support in the prevention of bullying. 
BULLYING NO WAY!

Bowen State School - Year 6 Transition

Celebrating Queensland's School Crossing Supervisors for 40 years of service

This year, Queensland’s School Crossing Supervisor Scheme celebrates 40 years of keeping
kids safe as they travel to and from school.
We would like to say a big thank you to our wonderful School Crossing Supervisor/s, Matthew and Avril, for
everything you do for our students and school community! You do a great job keeping our
students and other pedestrians safe as they cross the road in peak drop-off and pick-up times.

Why not say a big thank you the next time you see them on duty! You can also show
your appreciation for School Crossing Supervisors by slowing down, following directions
and being courteous while travelling in our school zone.

Did you know?
• The School Crossing Supervisor Scheme is operated by the Department of
Transport and Main Roads.
• There are more than 2000 school crossing supervisors who operate over 1300
crossings at more than 700 Queensland schools.
• There has not been a single fatality on a supervised crossing since the scheme
started in 1984.

Visit from Sister Marie Therese & Sister Josephine

We were very lucky to have Sister Marie Therese and Sister Josephine visit our school, as they were doing a walk down memory lane. 
Greg and Susanne Luckel joined the sisters on their tour of the school. 
The students from all over the school had many questions for the Sisters of Mercy! 

Book Week Costume Parade- Monday, 19 August

AFL Auskick

AFL Auskick is being held every Wednesday at 2nd break. If you child would like to join in on the AFL action, please see the contact details on the above flyer. 

St Mary's Stop, Drop and Go! Let's keep it a safe zone.

Guidance Counsellor News

In this edition of SchoolTV - ANXIETY

Most young people today experience anxiety at some point in their life. Sometimes that slight rush of anxiety that occurs prior to an exam or sporting event, can enhance their performance. However, experiencing too much anxiety, over long periods of time, can be extremely damaging to their health and wellbeing. There is a difference between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ anxiety.

Statistics show, that the psychological health of young people today is far worse than it was a generation ago. This is having an adverse affect on children in both primary and secondary levels. Some of their issues of concern include stress, school, study, body image and friendship.

Parents need to be aware of the warning signs of ‘bad’ anxiety. There are preventative measures parents can implement as well as teaching kids the skills to cope more efficiently with their anxiety.

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 counsellor for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to the Anxiety edition of SchoolTV
https://smbtsv.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/youth-anxiety

The Resilience Project

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 Mrs Sue Lawless on 0428 216 062 OR at bowenoshc@mmcnq.catholic.edu.au

Cooinda Family Centre

School Dental Service

Tuckshop Menu