Week 1, Term 3 2024 - 9th July 2024
From our Principal | Mr Wes Rose
Welcome to Term 3
I hope that you all had a good school holiday break and are ready for the many great learning activities and school events that we have scheduled in Term 3. Some of our events include;
Catholic Education Week Liturgy Fri 26/7 8:30am
Year 5 camp to Seaforth Wed 31/7-Fri 2/8
St Mary’s Confirmation Sat 3/8 5pm - St Mary's Church
Centenary Mass Tues 6/8 9am - Basketball Courts
Centenary Dinner Fri 9/8 6pm-11pm - 500 Pavilion
Centenary Open Day Sun 11/8 from 9am-1pm
Book Week Parade Tues 20/8 8:45am
Year 6 Camp to Capricorn Coast Tues 27-Thurs 29/8
Pupil Free Day Fri 30/8
St Mary’s Feast Day Fri 6/9
International Food Day Fri 6/9
Art Extravaganza Tues 10/9 5:30pm-8:30pm
St Mary’s Got Talent Thurs 12/9 11:15am
End of Term 3 Fri 13/9
Term 4 Commences Mon 30/9
Congratulations
I extend a warm congratulations to Sean and Emily Hanly on the birth of their daughter, Maisie. Maisie is a little sister to Cohen in 1S.
School News
- I extend a warm welcome to our new Year 3P teacher, Mrs Caitlin McKenzie. Caitlin is well known at St Mary’s, having worked as a relief teacher at our school many times over the past few years. Caitlin is also a mum of 2 small children, with her daughter Piper in Prep P. Caitlin is a warm and organised person and I am sure she will love teaching Year 3P for the remainder of the year.
- Mrs Lisa Cusack is on Long Service Leave for the first 5 weeks of Term 3. In her absence, Mrs Leigh Ford will teach 4C. I thank Leigh for taking on this contract and know that she will do a great job.
- Mrs Berardi is away this week and during her absence Mrs Jenny Place (Mon-Tue) and Mrs Aileen Balding (Wed-Fri) will teach the class. We wish Donna all the best as she recovers from surgery on her ear.
- Welcome to our New IT support officer, Mr Brenton Keith. Brenton joins us from the private IT sector and will be working at St Mary’s each Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Centenary Dinner
St Mary's school is excited to be celebrating 100 years with a formal dinner on Friday 9th August. We sincerely hope you will be able to join us for this milestone event. Please note there are limited tickets available, so book your tickets asap to secure your seat. Please book here.
Centenary Commemorative Pin
Today, 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 Sunday 11th August.
Centenary Shirts
Our new centenary shirts are looking great and I thank the many families who ordered a shirt. These can be worn to school each Friday for the remainder of the year. We do have limited sizes still available, both in kids and adult sizes for sale at $35 each. If you would like to purchase a shirt, please see the school office asap.
Maintenance over the Holidays
The following maintenance items were undertaken over the school break;
- Air conditioning servicing in F Block (Middle Years).
- Resurfacing of the Hall flooring, as well as the senior toilets.
- External washdown of all buildings.
- LED sign on the Hall will be repaired this Thursday.
NAIDOC Mass
Next Tuesday, our school captains, indigenous students, Mr Rose and Mrs Ahwong will attend the Regional NAIDOC Mass at Joseph’s Church.
P&F Meeting
I advise that our next P&F meeting will be held Tuesday 23rd July from 6pm in the staffroom. All families are most welcome to attend.
Southern Suburbs Athletics Carnival
Well done to the 10-12year old students who participated at the Southern Suburbs Athletics Carnival last term at the ARC. For those students who were selected into the SS Athletics team, the Mackay District Athletics Carnival will be held at the ARC on 18th-19th July. Those athletes need to return their paperwork and payment to the school office asap.
Challenge Cup Rugby League/Netball
All the best to the students participating in the Diocesan Challenge Cup competition in Yeppoon this Wed-Fri. This carnival is always a great event and I look forward to our students representing their school with pride and determination. I thank the following staff members for coaching/managing the teams; Phil Clancy, Belinda Battaia, Rob Townsend and Belinda van Lint.
Whitsunday Voices
This Thursday, our Year 4-6 students will attend a session of Whitsunday Voices. This annual literary festival is always a great opportunity for our students. For more information, please visit their website.
Parent/Teacher Interviews – Week 2
As previously advised, Semester 1 student report cards are available via parent lounge. Following the release of these reports, I ask all parents to make a time to meet with their child’s teacher to discuss their progress and areas for improvement. Parents can book a time during week 2 (18th-22nd July) via Parent Lounge.
Uniform Reminders
With the cold weather upon us, it is timely to remind parent and students of the uniform expectations at St Mary’s. A reminder to all families of our uniform guidelines. Some important areas to note include;
- Students are to wear plain black footwear (formal shoes or joggers). Please note that appropriate footwear can be purchased from many retailers in Mackay, including Athletes Foot and Intersport.
- Navy jumper with school badge on left side. Navy stockings or tracksuit pants.
- No coloured nail polish or acrylic nails.
- Boys hair styles. Be neat in appearance and not falling into eyes or past the collar. Hair may not be dyed or worn in a style that is extreme or inappropriate for school (e.g. no tracks, rat’s tails, mo-hawks, top knots, hair no shorter than gauge 2 or undercuts that have a large variance between length).
- Boys: No earrings or body piercings.
- Girls hair styles. Be neat in appearance and not falling into eyes. Girls with shoulder or longer length hair must have it tied back. Hair may not be dyed or worn in a style that is extreme or inappropriate for school. Hair accessories should be minimal and must be in colours of navy, blue or white.
St Mary’s School Song
Back in 1924, this journey began, when the Sisters of Mercy marched across the land.
Committed to faith and community, with us today, lives the legacy…
Those are the opening lines of our very own St Mary’s School Song, “Learn From Christ”! Students and staff collaborated with musician Josh Arnold to compose and record this song in our centenary year, which is a wonderful celebration of our great school. “Learn from Christ” showcases all the talent, colour and life of St Mary’s, so make sure you check out the music video!
Quote of the Week
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
- Eleanor Roosevelt
Parent Teacher Interviews
Bookings for next week's Parent Teacher Interviews can be made from 4pm today.
Please log into Parent Lounge and click on Parent Teacher Interviews on the left to book an appointment(s). If you have difficulty logging in, please do not hesitate to contact the office for assistance.
Note 1: if you child is in 6V, you will see a separate booking schedule with dates for the following week.
Note 2: if you child is in 4C, we will arrange a interviews on Mrs Cusack's return in August.
Pay School Fees Online
Parents can now pay school fees through the Parent Lounge using their card. Term 3 statements will be issued later this 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:
New School App
We are excited to announce that St Mary's is launching Parent Orbit, a new mobile app for parents.
This new app will be rolled out across all Catholic schools and colleges within the diocese, limiting the amount of apps parents need to use with children across different schools and high schools.
We are aware that parents have been having problems with the current SZapp, and we would like to reassure everyone that the Parent Orbit app has been specifically made for all schools within our diocese and will seamlessly run in line with our current platforms: Parent Lounge and Teacher Kiosk.
We will be launching within the next few weeks.
If you have any questions, please contact the school office.
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.
Tuesday 23rd July
8 – 8:25am Parish Mass.
12 – 12:45pm Mercy Works Visit for Years 4-6.
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
Sport News
Congratulations to the 50 students that represented St Mary’s at the Southern Suburbs Athletics carnival in week 10 of term 2. It was pleasing to see great sportsmanship towards all competitors throughout the day from all our students. There were some fantastic results with many students placing in the top 3 and getting the chance to compete at Mackay District Athletics next week. Good luck to the following students in their respective events:
Jett Devries – Shot Put
Ava Corrigan – 800m & Discus
Isabella Villon – Long Jump
Makenna Malagueno – Shot Put
Lexie Martin – 100m, 200m, Long Jump & High Jump
Nina Lucas – 200m, 800m & 1500m
Rylie Hanson – 800m & 1500m
Samantha Poelstra – High Jump
Harper Standish – High Jump
Jaylah Breayley – Discus & Shot Put
Reginald John Pula – 100m, Discus & Shot Put
Raidyn John Pula – Shot Put
Flynn Pearce – 200m, 800m & 1500m
Oliver Standish – High Jump, Long Jump & Discus
Brady Vassallo – High Jump
Sophia Zammit – Discus
Oscar Devries – High Jump
Simone Sibley
HPE Teacher
Jump Rope for Heart
Get ready everyone as Jump Rope for Heart kicks off this term at St Mary’s.
Jump Rope for Heart is the Heart Foundation’s primary school skipping challenge that helps kids move more, have fun, and raise funds for lifesaving research and programs.
Students will be skipping throughout the term in PE lessons, at lunch times and before school on Thursday mornings (starting in week 2).
If you wish to register your child online, simply follow the link below to get started. www.jumprope.org.au/parents
More detailed information will be emailed to all families this week.
Happy skipping everyone.
Simone Sibley
HPE Teacher
Eco Heroes Challenge
Last term our Eco Heroes worked together to create a submission for the Great Barrier Reef Eco-challenge, in conjunction with Science Week. Their objective was to produce a product which uses the ‘fun theory’ to encourage other students to care for the Earth. Our students needed to be creative and innovative and design something exciting and engaging which would inspire all, to keep our environment clean. Together we designed a remote-controlled rubbish collector.
After trialling the prototype, it underwent some modifications, including bumper pads on the front and back, and a safety flag. A removable rubbish container was also added to make it easier to clean.
Yesterday the rubbish collector was trialled in the Year 3-6 lunch area with great success. The Eco Heroes have named it 'Buddy' and it will continue to be operated by the Eco Heroes at break times.
Congratulations to our Eco Heroes, especially our Year 6 leaders Sophia and Georgia, who continue to work together, to enact the Catholic Social Teaching; Caring for our Common Home.
Terri Leotta
Deputy Principal
Green Card Winners
Congratulations to our Green Card winners for Term 2:
Prep - Airlie, Year 1 - Maisie, Year 2 - Emma, Year 3 - Declan, Year 4 - Imogen, Year 5 - Gab, Year 6 - Noah.
The winner of our special green card draw is Bethany in Year 4 who won a popcorn party for her class..
Student News
Congratulations to Zander O (Year 6V), who represented St Mary's recently at a Robotics Competition held at Mackay Showgrounds. Zander received fourth place after competing on his own against 21 other teams.
Music Program
Hi parents/guardians! I am Chelsea Jansen, Instrumental Strings Tutor, teaching Violin and also teach the Cello. I would love for you to consider your child (years 2-6 only) learning strings at St Mary’s with me and help us grow a string community at the school.
I have 10 years teaching experience at various local Catholic Education schools, conduct local school string ensembles, am a performer with extensive performance experience and studying at the Conservatorium of Music. I provide my students with a tailored-approach learning experience and expose students to a wide variety of music with a passion for developing their music skills whether for specific goals or purely fun and enjoyment. I offer both private and group lesson options (groups only subject to availability).
For enquiries and further information, please contact me on 0402 231 740 or email Chelsea.jansen@outlook.com. As soon as an instrument is organised (I will help you with this), students can have an immediate start!
Community News
