Week 7, Term 3 2022 - 23rd August 2022

Principal's Reflection

When we think of the term courage, we often think of outstanding acts of bravery done by people that have special qualities or attributes. 

Courage involves making good choices in the face of fear or obstacles.  It’s another term for bravery. 

When we think of courage, saving someone from a burning building or fighting off a wild animal are scenes that spring to mind for most people.  When we consider the Bible, we can see that a recurring theme throughout both the Old and New Testaments is people showing courage in the face of adversity, emboldened by their faith in God.

While it is true that these acts define courage, it can often seem that this understanding can leave most of us feeling like we may never have the fortitude to do something this courageous in our lives.  However, others suggest that the everyday acts of courage are more challenging than these once-in-a-lifetime events. 

It is important to define courage as an action where we do not let fear hold us back from exploring new opportunities, developing our skills, and doing what is right.  It is in this definition that we can display courage on a daily basis.

As parents and teachers, it is crucial that we frequently model courage for our students and children.  This modelling reinforces what psychologists term “social referencing”, which is the way that children use the behaviours of adults to come to understand the world around them.

In a practical sense, here are 12 everyday acts of courage from Author, Maggie Warrell, which can be displayed by us all.

1. The Courage to Take Responsibility - Whilst you can’t always control your circumstances you can always choose how you will respond to them
   

2. The Courage to Live with Integrity - Placing integrity at the cornerstone of every decision you make requires a willingness to do what is right above what is convenient or politically expedient

3.  The Courage to Challenge Your ‘Stories’ - Being willing to challenge your stories unleashes you to experience live in a whole new, more exciting and more meaningful way.

4. The Courage to Dream Bigger - You will never be able to have your dream job nor live your dream life unless you first find the courage to dream big enough to identify what it is. Your life is as big as you dare to dream it!

5. The Courage to Be Who You Are - In a world that pressures for conformity it takes courage to be who you are. Be genuine, humble and, unpretentious but most of all, just be yourself.

6. The Courage to Speak Up - Dare to speak up, to give voice to your concerns, your feelings and thoughts and to engage in conversations that you’ve been hesitant to have before.

7. The Courage to Step Boldly into Action - Nothing changes if nothing changes. Have the guts step boldly from your comfort zone to make the changes and take the chances that call you forward to fulfilling the potential within you.

8. The Courage to Persevere - Face your challenges with a deep determination to staying the course.

9. The Courage to Say No - Saying no when you need to, may never be easy but the price you pay for not doing so far exceeds any momentary discomfort.

10. The Courage to Open Your Heart Fully - Life’s richest fulfilment comes from being as open to experiencing life’s pain as deeply as its joy.

11. The Courage to Let Go - Finding the courage to let go will not impede you ability to achieve what you seek most from life, it will enhance it.

12. The Courage to Be a Leader - Leadership is not a position; it’s a choice. By choosing the path of integrity, personal responsibility, and courage you will automatically shine your light so brightly that it will reveal to others the majesty of their own.

Sources: https://www.successconsciousness.com/blog/personal-development/acts-of-courage/

https://www.pbs.org/parents/learn-grow/age-5/character/courage#:~:text=Courage%20involves%20making%20good%20choices%20in%20the%20face%20of%20fear%20or%20obstacles.&text=It%20means%20we%20do%20not,and%20doing%20what%20is%20right.

From our Principal - Mr Wes Rose

Book Week Dress Up Parade
Congratulations to all staff and students on the amazing book week dress up parade this morning.  Each year I am blown away at the excellent costumes on offer.

Staff training
This afternoon, all school staff are involved in a professional development session facilitated by Rowena Hardy from Minds Aligned.  This is the second part of a training package focusing on personal wellbeing, goal setting and improving performance at work and at home.  Rowena is an engaging presenter and I thank her for returning to work with our staff.

Year 5 Camp to Seaforth
Our Year 5 students had a great time at Seaforth Pines last week. Our school staff, parent volunteers and the camp staff all remarked on their good behaviour, lovely manners and their ‘have a go’ attitude to all activities.  I sincerely thank Mrs Rokic, Mrs Lewis, Mrs Gordon, Mr Ricciardi, Mr Stables and Mr McNamara for supervising the students.

Baby News
Congratulations to the Balding family who welcomed baby Cameron last week. He is a little brother to Amber (Prep C).

Students Riding to School – Safety Notice
We have been advised of some near misses and unsafe riding habits from our students who ride to/from school.  Students are to dismount their bike when they reach the school boundary and walk it into the school grounds.  At the end of the day, students need to be mindful of other parents/families exiting school, and to cross Juliet St safely using either the school crossing or the traffic lights near Mercy College.  I ask parents whose students ride to school to discuss this with them.

Early Departure and Late Arrival at School
For the safety of all students, it is important that the following procedures are followed when students are collected early or arrive late for school;

• If your child needs to leave school during the day for any reason, they must be collected from the school office and signed out. Advanced notice to the school office will assist in having students ready at the collection time.
• Please do not go directly to your child’s class, as the class teacher is unable to amend the attendance roll.
• When returning to school following an appointment, students must report to the office so that the class roll can be marked accordingly.
• Students who arrive late to school in the morning (after 8:30am) must report to the school office before going to their classroom. This will prevent SMS messages being sent to parents when children are present at school.

Uniform Reminders
I issue an important reminder to all parents about our school uniform guidelines.  We are noticing the vast majority of students are adhering to the uniform expectations, which is pleasing to see.  However, we have noticed that there are a couple of areas that some students and parents need to be reminded of.  They include;

• Boys hairstyles. 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).  This includes mullets.
• Girls earrings. We are noticing some girls wearing large, dangly earrings that are not appropriate for school. Girls are reminded that studs and sleeper style earrings are preferred.
• Winter clothing. A reminder that the school jumper is to be worn. Navy trackpants (boys/girls) or navy tights (girls) can also be worn. Please avoid undershirts and other, non-school jumpers.
• School shoes. Plain black footwear is to be worn each day. An all-black jogger is recommended.

To access our full uniform guidelines, please click here.

Quote of the Week

APRE: Terri Leotta

October - Month of the Rosary

Next Term all classes will pray The Rosary each day in October. St Mary's honours the Blessed mother of Jesus and our school booklist requires that each student have their own set of Rosary beads throughout Prep to Year 6.

If your child does not have rosary beads, please purchase a set through our school office for $12 or source them from home, St Vincent de Paul or South Mackay Newsagency.

Terri Leotta
Assistant Principal: Religious Education

Tuckshop News

Artist in Residence - Maria Lenz

This week marks the beginning of our St Mary’s Art Program.  Each of the year levels are exploring a different artist and different techniques in creating art. 

The children in year 6 are exploring the work of renowned Brazilian artists, Os Gemeos, who use their distinctive, flamboyant and unique style filled with patterns and details, to create street art that reflects hip hop and urban youth culture. 

In year 5, we will delve into the vibrant, colourful world of Wassily Kandinsky and his landscapes. These works explore the relationship between colour and form, with a thick impasto method of applying paint that finds its influence in the Impressionist movement. 

Year 4 are looking at a contemporary Japanese artist who is often referred to as ‘the Princess of polka dots’.  Yayoi Kusama works across painting, sculpture, film and installation, but it is her distinct and highly unique portraits which will be the subject of our study and work in year 4. 

The year 3 classes will study the work of Georges Seurat and Paul Signac, who are the two artists attributed to the development of pointillism in art, where small dots of pure colour are applied to compose an entire painting.  

The still life paintings of Wayne Thiebaud focus on repetition, colour and line and have an almost hyperrealistic approach to shadows. The year 2 children will delve into his wonderful and delicious world of cakes, pies, icecreams and all things that make you go ‘mmmmmm!” 

Year 1 will look at the art of Mary Blair, who developed a distinct look to her work by using vivid colours to create swirling, highly imaginative images that influenced many of Disney’s feature films of the 1940s and 1950s. 

The preps will explore the colour symbolism in the paintings of Franz Marc and enjoy his love of painting brightly coloured animals.

Maria Lenz
Artist in Residence

Art Extravaganza-Tuesday 13th September

The annual St Mary's Art Extravaganza is back for 2022 showcasing artwork from students Prep to Year 6 following their lessons with our resident artist, the talented Ms Maria Lenz.

The entry fee is a cash donation (to purchase your child(s) artwork).

There will also be art displays from our photograhpy club, the P&F's Sip & Paint event, and other artists.

Live music, a bar and food will take place on the green.  Bento boxes will be available to pre-order closer to the event.

If any parents would like to volunteer, please contact the school office.  We are looking for help in these areas:

- bar staff
- money collectors
- set up and pack up
- kitchen and serving

Queensland Road Safety

Queensland Road Safety Week is just down the road

This year's Queensland Road Safety Week theme is 'Road safety starts with me' and will run from 22 to 26 August 2022.  We're setting aside Friday 26^th August to wear yellow to mark the important week and spark a conversation about what each of us can do to stay safe on the roads.

The safety of our students, parents and carers, and staff is paramount, and we all have a role to play.  Students become road users at an early age, as a pedestrian, scooter or bike rider and they are our future drivers. Influencing positive road safety attitudes can never start too young.

It's not too late for adults in our school community to brush up on their road safety knowledge either.  Our children are watching us and learning from us, and it's critical that we're modelling the safe behaviours we want to see today and into the future.

We are asking everyone to consider how road safety starts with you:

• Is it leaving 5 minutes early to beat the school rush?
• Is it walking the extra distance to use the school crossing?
• Is it resisting the urge to double park?

During the week, we have the following activities planned for classes to participate in:

• school assembly with invitation to parents, grandparents and friends

• a range of interactive activities in classrooms
• road safety quizzes

For more information visit the Department of Transport and Main Roads StreetSmarts website and follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Belinda Battaia
Assistant Principal: Curriculum

Book Club

Father's Day Stall

Our wonderful P&F are making it easy to spoil Dad this Father’s Day!

Monday to Thursday next week, from 8am - 8:25am, students will have an opportunity to buy Dad something special from our Father’s Day Stall which will be set up inside the school hall. 

We wish all our fathers a very happy Father's Day on Sunday 4th September.

Sport News

During the last 2 weeks some of our students have competed in high level competitions throughout Queensland. These students should be immensely proud of their sporting achievements regardless of what their result was at their last event.

Congratulations to Emmi B who played in the 10-11 year old Queensland netball Championships in Caloundra. She played well and was voted ‘Most Valuable Player’ by her team and the Sunshine Coast team. Well done Emmi.

Congratulations to Tommy L who played in the 10-12 year old Queensland Tennis Championships. He played well and came 25^th overall out of 48 players. A huge effort Tommy. Well done.

Congratulations to Tommy H who competed in the 1500m and 800m at the Capricornia trials this week. He came 2^nd and achieved a PB for both events.

Congratulations to Madison M who competed in the 1500m and 800m at the Capricornia trials this week. She placed 6^th and achieved a PB for the 1500m.

Simone Sibley
HPE Teacher

Well done St Mary’s on another fantastic week of skipping. There is some very fierce competition between students to gain the title of weekly class skipping champion. The introduction of ‘Peppers (speed skipping)’ for the last 2-3 students has seen some new champions beat previous winners. A huge shout out to Harry R for being his class skipping champion 6 weeks in a row! An amazing effort. Our fundraising total stands at $3152.77 with 4 weeks left.

Prep C - Oliver M                                                    Year 3M - Lexie M
Prep P - Hudson B                                                  Year 4C - Jack D
Year 1B - Dillon M                                                  Year 4K - Indy G
Year 1L - Ila M                                                          Year 5L - away on camp
Year 2A- Finn S                                                        Year 5R - away on camp
Year 2B - Rex M                                                       Year 6M - Leo C & Emmi B
Year 3B - Nina L & Levi O                                     Year 6V - Harry R

Rugby League - St Mary's Battler's

We played our final round game last Wednesday against a strong Fitzgerald State School.  The wind made it difficult for both sides, with neither kicking a conversion for the six tries scored throughout the game.  We went down in the end two tries to four.  The Battlers have certainly done themselves proud throughout this 2022 season and we now await confirmation of a spot in the finals.  Let’s go Battlers!

Year 6 News

Yesterday, the year 6 students welcomed Mrs Christensen (Leo’s mum) to speak of her work at the Neighbourhood Centre in Mackay.  The students were invited to help welcome new Ukrainian refugees to our city by making paper sunflowers out of cut out hands.  The group learned of the significance of the sunflower as the national flower of Ukraine emerging as a global symbol of resistance, unity and hope.   They wrote messages of welcome and hope to the families who will soon join our local community, following a gathering at the Neighbourhood Centre this Friday. Thank you for sharing your time and knowledge Mrs Christensen.

St Mary's Got Talent - Save the Date

P & F Thank You

St Mary’s Paint & Sip

Thank you to everyone who came and joined us for a morning of fun and creativity.

Thank you to the AMAZING Kylie Ferriday for guiding and teaching our artists and to all the wonderful volunteers who helped make this new St Mary’s event extra special.

A shout out to Primal Coffee for their generous donations of coffee beans.

All the amazing artworks will be on display at the St Mary’s Art Extravaganza, Tuesday 13^th September.

See you all there.

Bianca Miles
P & F Events Coordinator

Student of the Week

Week 6, Term 1 Student Award Winners

Community News