Week 2, Term 3 2024 - 16th July 2024

APRE's Reflection

This morning some of our student leaders and the Too Deadly Mob attended the Mackay Catholic Schools NAIDOC Mass.

During the Mass, Father Andrew delivered his homily and he asked the students to recall a time when they had to do something very new, such as attending your first day of school or moving to a brand new school, and to discuss what that feeling was like.

The students had no difficulty recalling a time where they had to ‘beat their nerves’ and show confidence, persistence and resilience.

This reminded me of the many students at St Mary’s who take on extra roles and challenges. Without these brave children we would not have such a vibrant community. Without children like these, we would not have leaders in our society who speak out against injustice, who call for all people to be treated with respect and who bring inventions, art and creativity to our world.

I applaud our Too Deadly Mob for sharing their cultures and talents with our school community under the guidance of Mrs Tatchell and Mrs Ahwong. Just as I applaud all students who speak at assemblies, join in our clubs and lead the school in liturgies, singing, dancing or eisteddfods.

Confidence is a skill which can be taught, practised and improved. Our You Can Do It lessons assist with this process, and it is also nourished with good examples from others; especially parents, and when great encouragement is given for being brave enough to volunteer.

We have the perfect example of confidence, contrasted beautifully with great humility, in Jesus.

Just as our school motto tells us; we can learn from Christ.

Terri Leotta
Deputy Principal/APRE

From our Principal | Mr Wes Rose

Congratulations
I extend a warm congratulations to Curtis and Sharnee Cunningham on the birth of their son, Wilder.  Wilder is a baby brother to Adeline in Year 2!

NAIDOC Mass
Today our school captains, indigenous students, Mr Rose, Mrs Leotta and Mrs Ahwong attended the Regional NAIDOC Mass at Joseph’s Church.  It was a lovely service and I thank the priests and organising committee for planning such a reverent service.

P&F Meeting
I advise that our next P&F meeting will be held next Tuesday 23^rd July from 6pm in the staffroom.  All families are most welcome to attend.

Centenary Celebrations
Please find below some important information about our upcoming Centenary celebrations.

• Centenary Mass. Tuesday 6^th August from 9am on the basketball court. This Mass will be celebrated by Bishop Michael McCarthy.  All parents, relatives are invited to attend. Refreshments afterwards.  RSVP here.
• Centenary Dinner. Friday 9^th August from 6pm-11pm at the Pavilion 500 (Showgrounds). We welcome past and current families, students, parishioners and other guests to this celebration dinner.  This is sure to be a lovely night, so if you would like to attend, please book here. Perhaps get a few fellow parents from your child’s year level and come along!  Our special guest is Golden Guitar winning artist, Mr Graeme Connors, a past student of St Mary’s. Dress is smart casual.
• Centenary Open Day. Sunday 11^th August from 9am-1pm. Our Open day will showcase St Mary’s school for current and past families and students.  With free jumping castles, a memorabilia display, food/drink and student entertainment, it is sure to be a lovely morning for the whole family.  I ask that children wear their centenary shirts on the Open Day.  We do need several parent helpers to assist, so please register your availability here.

If you have any old school memorabilia that you could lend us for the Open day, please let Mel McGuinness know at smm_centenary@rok.catholic.edu.au  I look forward to celebrating this special milestone with you.  If you have any queries, please let me know.

Centenary Commemorative Pin
Last week, all students received a commemorative pin to celebrate our school’s centenary year.  The cost of these pins has been generously donated by our P&F and can be worn by students either on their hat or shirt each day.  I trust that families look after this keepsake of their child’s enrolment in our centenary year.  Additional pins will be for sale for $5 in our school office and at our open day on Sun 11^th August.

Satisfaction Surveys
As part of our ongoing school improvement journey, we invite parents, staff and Year 4-6 students to provide feedback on their experience of St Mary’s school.  As such, we have engaged the professional services of MYP Corporation to undertake a strictly private and confidential School Results Survey on our behalf. The survey should take approximately 10 - 15 minutes and will need to be completed online between 22^nd July and 4^th August. Next Monday 22^nd July, families and staff will receive an email to complete our 2024 satisfaction survey.  I ask all families to please take the time to register a response.  Your feedback will assist us to shape the future direction of our school.

Staff News

• This Monday, we welcomed Miss Caitlin Kennedy from James Cook University who is completing her 3-week prac placement in Year 5M.
• This Wednesday, Mrs Terri Leotta (APRE) will attend the regional APRE cluster meeting.
• This Thursday, Mr Rose and Mrs Ahwong will attend the MDSS Athletics carnival.
• This Thursday and Friday, Mrs Belinda Battaia (APC), Mrs Belinda van Lint (6V) and Mrs Denise Rokic (PR) will attend the Diocesan Mathematics Project meeting in Rockhampton. I wish these ladies all the best as they join with other educators from around the Diocese to explore ways that we can continue to enrich the teaching of Mathematics at St Mary’s school.

Quote of the Week

Pay School Fees Online

REMINDER!

Parents can now pay school fees through the Parent Lounge using their card.  Term 3 statements were issued last week.

Log into your Parent Lounge, then click on Accounts & Payments and select School Fees Account:

Once you are in your School Fees Account page, click on “Make a Payment” on the right-hand side:

Enter the amount you would like to pay in Account Payment and click Proceed to Payment:

Select your email, then click Proceed to Payment:

The Confirmation screen will appear, check your details and if correct click Pay Now.

This will take you to a Westpac Screen where you can enter your card details and pay your nominated amount:

2024 International Competition for Schools (ICAS) Invitation

Children in years 4-6 are invited to take part in the 2024 International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS).  The assessments are suitable for students wishing to extend themselves academically and take up the personal challenge of competing in an international assessment. Your child will be presented with high-quality, expert-developed questions, allowing them to apply their learning without the need for prior study or revision.  The competitions form the largest independent assessment program for schools in Australia, Asia and the Pacific region.

At St Mary’s we will be offering the following competitions this year:  Science, Mathematics, Spelling and English.

The entry fees for the competitions are as follows:

All year 4–6 families will be emailed the ICAS letter containing further details of this year’s offerings.  If you would like your child to participate in one or more of these competitions, please make your payment using the ICAS parent payment system by Monday 29th July.

Belinda Battaia
Assistant Principal: Curriculum

Centenary Memorabilia

Catholic Education Week

Celebrated annually in week 3 of term 3, Catholic Education Week is an opportunity for all 312 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.  

Students at St Mary’s will be involved in activities throughout the week as shown below. 

The week will conclude with a special invitation for all families to attend the Youth Mass at St Mary's Church, 5pm on Saturday 27th July, followed by a Disco in the St Mary's Hall at 6.15pm.

Tuesday 23rd July
8 – 8:25am Parish Mass.
12 – 12:45pm  Mercy Works Visit for Years 4-6 (School Hall).
2 – 2:45pm St Patrick's College Band Performance (School Hall).  

Wednesday 24th July
9:30 – 10am 1B present a Thank You gift to their St Patrick’s Reading Buddies.

Thursday 25th July
3:15pm Preparation for Communion Workshop  (Year 4 Sacramental Students).

Friday 26th July
8:35am Assembly, followed by Catholic Education Week Liturgy led by Year 2. 
2pm Rock, Pop Mime! performance for school students.

Saturday 27th July
5pm-6pm Youth Mass and Pizza, followed by a Disco in the hall, 6:15-7:30pm. 

Terri Leotta
Deputy Principal

Book Club Orders

PLEASE NOTE: Book Club orders are due 29th July, NOT 29th June as stamped on catalogues.

Jump Rope for Heart

What a great start to JRFH St Mary’s. It was fantastic to see excited about skipping in PE lessons and ready to learn new tricks. Well done to 4C who took on the challenge of learning ‘The Cowboy’. Many of them were able to consistently lasso their rope by the end of the lesson.

The challenge of the week is ‘The Running Man’. Running Man

As a school we have raised $825 and logged 2 hours of home skipping. Don’t forget you can register via the QR code on the back of your keyring and log the hours that you are skipping at home.

Simone Sibley
HPE Teacher

Challenge Cup 2024 Wrap-Up

Netball

After a term of Friday morning netball training and an amazing effort at the Netball QLD Gala Day in Term 2, our Challenge Cup team finally hit the road to Yeppoon to compete in three days of Challenge Cup. The weather was on our side and the girls adjusted to the grass courts in no time with three wins on Day 1 against St Mary’s, Bundaberg, St Paul’s, Gracemere and Star of the Sea. We started Day 2 with another win against St Therese’s, Monto followed by an 11-11 draw against St Anthony’s, Rockhampton and two further wins against St Joseph’s, North Mackay and St Joseph’s, Wandal. Unfortunately, based on our for and against, St Anthony’s were in the lead to progress to the Cup semi-finals and we therefore went on to compete for the Shield.  Our first game of Day 3 was against St Patrick’s, Bundaberg. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to go our way in this game and we had our first loss of the carnival. But the girls didn’t give up, they came back fighting and finished strong with a convincing win against St Patrick’s, Emerald putting us in 7th place out of 32 teams. What a great effort! 

The girls were excellent representatives of our school, displaying determination, positivity and never-give-up attitudes. Lauren, Hannah and Georgie were our super shooters, getting the goals in, even if the poles were wobbly and the ground very uneven. Sophia, Jess, Jaylah and Harper S defended like champions and Addi, Riley and Kalani used their speed and agility to move the ball through the centre court. It was great to see the way all of the girls worked together as a team, encouraged each other and supported our Challenge Cup rugby league team when they had the opportunity.

Special thanks to Talia Cookson for her umpiring expertise and to our support crew of parents and grandparents who encouraged from the sidelines and assisted with scoring. A big thank you also to Mrs Sibley for assisting with training sessions during Term 2. 

Belinda van Lint - Coach

Rugby League

Last Wednesday, our St Mary’s Battlers set off on the highway southbound for Yeppoon on the Capricorn Coast.  The boots were packed, the jerseys were washed and the parents were as excited as the players!

After two days of tough rugby league, the players had secured their spot at the top of their pool.  A playoff for the cup was imminent. 

They came up against a strong St Joseph’s, Park Avenue side in the semi final fighting to progress through to the grand final of the Cup.  St Joseph’s proved too strong edging the win by a try and a conversion.  We then played off for third and fourth position against Sacred Heart, Yeppoon and again went down by a try and conversion.  To single any one player out for their effort would be to sell the whole team short, as it was an outstanding team effort to progress through our pool as strongly as we did, playing with a level of sportsmanship and support for team mates that made all of the St Mary’s community proud. 

A special mention to our Battlers coach Mr Clancy for his dedication to the growth and development of our players both on and off the field.  Phil organises tents, ensures we have water and snacks, prepares drills for training and provides a level of side line support to players that ensures all finish their game with a ‘smile on their face’.  

Thank you to all staff and parents who made the trip such a memorable one, we will hold a special assembly on a coming Friday (date to be confirmed) to thank our staff, helpers and players.  

Belinda Battaia

Student of the Week

Week 1, Term 3 Student Award Winners

Community News