Week 10, Term 1 2024 - 26th March 2024

Reflection - Week 10

In your household there are sure to be those who are counting the sleeps till Easter, when rabbits and eggs undergo a remarkable change and assume the luscious texture and taste of chocolate?

We all know that rabbits and eggs, as such, do not turn into chocolate. Increasingly the real meaning of Easter namely, Christ’s Resurrection, is also questioned and presented as simply not true. The Resurrection of Jesus is central to Christian faith; indeed, to be a Christian it is essential to believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. About 25 years after the Resurrection, St Paul in his letter to the people of Corinth, stated, “If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.”       1 Cor. 15: 13,14.

It is clear from all the earliest accounts of the Resurrection that Christ was preached as having appeared to His followers not once only, but several times over many weeks. Could it have been that the first preachers of the Resurrection were deliberate liars? Did they hide the body of Christ and then spend the rest of their lives telling people that He had risen?

Yet there was no motive for such a lie, for the preaching of the Gospel brought with it no worldly advantage. The Apostles seized no land, piled up no gold, gained no political power or social status. Rather, they faced persecution from both the Jewish and Roman authorities in Palestine and throughout the empire. According to the Acts of the Apostles, in the years immediately following Christ’s death, His disciples suffered imprisonment, flogging, stoning and execution. And according to the Roman historian, Tacitus, the majority of people held them in contempt and Nero had them burnt to death. Why would even one person, yet alone large groups of people, face such things for a lie? The Apostles had no motive to preach the Resurrection unless they believed it, and no motive to believe it unless they had seen Christ risen again.

The people who plotted the death of Jesus, the authorities in Jerusalem, were fearful of the spread of Jesus’ influence and were hostile to Him and His followers. If they wished to crush the new religious sect, they would simply have to produce Christ’s body. That they did not, sufficiently indicates that they could not. Adapted from writings of Thomas Crean O.P.

The Resurrection does not mean that Jesus resumed His previous life as an ordinary person, rather, it means that Jesus entered another kind and level of existence. This, Jesus alluded to when He said to the robber crucified next to Him, “Truly, this day you will be with Me in paradise.”  Luke 23:43.

As we are about to enter the season of Easter, we too, are all called to be ‘Resurrection People” which means to be people of hope and not despair. This is not to say that faith in Jesus means we try to pretend that bad things are really good. Rather, we know that God will take our difficulties and weave them into purposes that will be revealed. And when God is done, we become wiser, stronger and more compassionate for having faced these difficulties.

Peace and best wishes for a Glorious Easter.

Terri Leotta
Deputy Principal

From our Principal - Mr Wes Rose

School Holidays

I wish all students, families and staff every blessing over the Easter long weekend and the school holidays.  Please note that school resumes on Monday 15^th April.

Staff news

• This Thursday we farewell Mrs Tami Standish, who has been a teacher assistant with us for the past four years. Tami has worked across our school, supporting staff and students and we are sad to see her go.  Next term, she commences her new role as a teacher aide at Catherine McAuley College.
• We also farewell Mrs Angie Albert, who has accepted a part time contract at St Francis Xavier for the remainder of the school year. Angie has been a dedicated teacher, working in Year 5SA and most recently Year 2A.  We are hopeful that we will see Mrs Albert return to St Mary’s to do some relief teaching later this year.
• I advise that Mrs Stella Rodrigues will be on leave until the 1^st Stella is travelling to Brazil to see her family, which had been challenging to do over the past few years with the travel restrictions.  During her absence, Mrs Nella Simpson will be the teacher assistant in Prep P.
• Ms Maria Lenz is on long service leave this week and will return in the first week of term 2.

Enhancing Catholic Schools (ECSI) Survey

Thank you to the 91 families who have so far submitted their ECSI survey certificates.

As we want as many parents as possible to participate, we have several incentives, including;

• A class party for the highest percentage (per capita) of completed surveys. (see the graph below for the class survey numbers. Year 2A currently lead the race!)
• A raffle that parents enter once they have completed the survey;
  • 1^st Prize $200 school fee discount
  • 2^nd Prize $100 school fee discount
  • 3^rd Prize $50 gift card

Please note, upon completion of the survey, you will need to print the certificate of completion and hand it in to the office to be eligible for the incentives. 

HOW TO COMPLETE THE SURVEY

1. Go to www.ecsi.site/au/user/
2. Enter the ECSI Website password: Ghj654
3. Click on "new user" and enter our school’s survey access code cC7uQg so that your input will be linked to our school.
4. The ECSI survey should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
5. Upon completion, print the certificate of successful participation and return to our school office.

For further information, please refer to the letter that was emailed to you.  I thank you for your assistance with this important initiative and ask that you take the time to submit a response.

Centenary Cookbook – Recipes Needed!
This August, we are celebrating our school’s centenary and as a part of the festivities, we are publishing a St Mary’s cookbook that will display some favourite family favourites.  Cookbooks will be available for purchase during our centenary celebrations. As part of this project, we ask interested families and staff to submit a recipe of your choice.  Recipes must be submitted (in a word document) via email including these details: 

• Recipe Title
• Submitted by (include your names and grade in 2024)
• Recipe description, special memories you may have of this dish or of St Mary’s. (2-4 sentences.)
• Ingredients
• Method

We ask that you also include up to 3 digital photos of the recipe, your family or both and we will use as needed.  Submissions need to be received via email by 15^th May.  Please note that we may receive duplicates of certain recipes, and in this case, you may be emailed to submit another recipe.  Also, whilst we will try to include every recipe submitted, we are restricted as to the number of pages we can fit in the book.

Also, if your family or business would like to sponsor the production of this cookbook, your name and business logo will be acknowledged within the opening pages. To submit your recipes or for more information, please email smm_centenary@rok.catholic.edu.au

Quote of the Week

Easter Mass Times

Holy Week Liturgy

We invite all students to dress in the custom of Jesus' time for our whole school liturgy to be held on Thursday 28th March in the School Hall.

Year 6T will lead each class as they present The Stations of the Cross. The picture at left is an indication of what to wear. Please ensure students wear their school uniform underneath along with normal school shoes.

Thank you.

Terri Leotta
Assistant Principal: Religious Education

Easter Egg Scavenger Hunt

Project Compassion - Easter Sunday

You can donate through Project Compassion using donation boxes in student classrooms and envelopes available from your parish or by visiting caritas.org.au/project-compassion or by calling 1800 024 413.

Caritas Classroom Tally

St Mary's Centenary Shirt Competition

REMINDER: DESIGN SUBMISSIONS ARE DUE THIS THURSDAY 28 MARCH.

To commemorate 100 years of St Mary’s, we are holding a competition to design artwork that will feature on a polo shirt which will be on sale during the celebrations later this year.

        To enter the competition: 

1. Reflect on what makes St Mary’s a wonderful school.
2. Decide on how to present your thoughts artistically.
3. Fill a 20cm diameter circle (click on link below) with your coloured design.
4. Submit your design to the School Office by Thursday 28 March.

Prep 2025 Enrolments

Do you have a Prep student beginning in 2025?

Thank you to those families who have already submitted their enrolment application online. We encourage both existing and new families who have a child starting Prep in 2025 to lodge their enrolment application as soon as possible. Applications are to be made via our online enrolment application available on our website www.smmrok.catholic.edu.au/enrol-now

Applications close on the 3rd May, with interviews commencing on the 17th May.

Please contact the school office for further information or any assistance required.

Green Card Draw

Sport News

P & F News - St Mary's Pie Drive

Less than 2 weeks to get your pie orders in!

Don't forget to ask your family and friends if they would like to place an order for scrumptious pies to support our St Mary's P&F Pie Drive. 

Thanks to Byrnes Pies, we have a great selection of pies and sweets to choose from. Fill the fridge or freezer with quick, easy, and tasty dinner solutions.

Orders will close Monday 8th April
Delivery will take place during the second week in Term 2.

Scan the QR code to order, click on this link or alternatively print out the order form (click on link below) and drop back to the office with money orders by Wednesday 27th March.

Contact Melissa McGuiness - 0439 375 509 for any enquiries. 

St Mary's Trivia Night

It’s a Mexican Fiesta!

The P&F are excited to announce our biggest fundraiser of the year - St Mary’s Trivia Night.

St Mary's Trivia Night is a highlight in the Mackay community social calendar. With an excess of 250 attendees, it is a night not to be missed.

Guests are seated at tables of 10, and have 8 rounds of questions to try win the $1,000 Cash Prize! 

This year we aim to deliver a fun community event with all funds raised going towards projects that will enhance the educational experience for the students of St Mary’s Catholic Primary School.

Drink tickets can be purchased on the night or Pre-Purchased Drink Tickets can be bought through the link below -  10 tickets for $30 (1 ticket = $3 water/soft drink), (2 tickets = $6 beer/wine), (3 tickets = $9 slushies, UDL, spirits)

https://events.humanitix.com/st-mary-s-trivia-night-2024

Swap It - Week 10

Student of the Week

Week 9, Term 1, Student Award Winners

Community News