Week 1, Term 2 2023 - 18th April 2023

Principal's Reflection

Dear parents, staff and students,

Welcome back to Term 2.  I trust that you enjoyed the school holidays and the blessings of the Easter season, a time when we remember the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  As we see in the above video, these events nearly two-thousand years ago still resonate with people today and continue to hold great significance to people’s personal faith lives, the Christian religion and indeed the life of our own Catholic school.

Easter Sunday celebrates that darkness was overcome by light.  The resurrection of Jesus is a central tenet of the Christian Faith; indeed the Apostle’s Creed emphasises Jesus’ birth but then skips to his death, burial and resurrection.  An excerpt of the Apostle’s Creed states,

I believe in…Jesus Christ, his only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the
Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried; He descended into hell;
on the third day He rose again from the dead…

However, it is also important not to forget the events within Jesus’ life that give each of us a wonderful exemplar for our own lives.  If we only look at the end results, we miss the fullness of the narrative–the history of failures and successes, the lessons learned and the witness given. 

Yes, we bask in the glory of Christ’s Resurrection, but never forget Jesus’ backstory; his humble birth, inclusive ministry, and message of love. That’s what you’ll need to know – and follow – to achieve the great things of this season.

All the very best,

Wes Rose
Principal

From our Principal - Mr Wes Rose

In our Prayers
It is with great sadness that we learned of the passing of Evelyn Arbuthnot over the school holidays. Evelyn was a beloved member of the St Mary's school community, and her loss will be deeply felt by all who knew her.  Evelyn and her husband Chris’ children - Pat, Jessica, Georgia, and Justin - all attended St Mary's school.

Our thoughts and prayers are with them during this difficult time. We know that Evelyn was a loving and dedicated wife and mother who absolutely adored her family.  She will be remembered for her kind and generous nature, her organised nature and her warm personality.  We extend our deepest sympathies to Chris and the family, and we stand ready to offer our support and comfort in any way that we can.

Baby News
Congratulations to Darryl and Alicia Vogler, who recently welcomed their fourth child, son Connor Vogler, to their family. 

Staff News
This term, we welcome back Mrs Katrina Wilkes, who returns to her role as Administration Secretary.  We also welcome Mrs Peta Armstrong, who returns from Long Service Leave.  It is good to have both ladies back at St Mary’s.

ANZAC Day Parade
ANZAC Day is one of Australia’s most important national occasions. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War.  To commemorate this special national day, I invite all staff and students to participate in the ANZAC Day parade next Tuesday 25^th April. 

Students are to dress in their formal school uniform and assemble in the Canelands carpark (Matsuura Drive) from 8:00am.  Either drop your child off in the allocated drop-off area or park in the upper-level car parking (P1) or  walk your child to the ground-level car park.  Look for the St Mary’s flag and staff members.  The march will start at 8:35am and will proceed down Victoria and Wellington Streets.  Following the march, students can be collected in the usual place, near the roundabout on Alfred and Macalister Streets (between the MECC and Central SS).  For more information, please see the relevant maps that show assembly, the parade route and dispersal.

P&F Meeting
Our next P&F meeting will be held this evening (Tuesday 18^th April) from 6pm in the staffroom.  At this meeting, we look ahead to some upcoming P&F events including the Trivia night.  Our meetings are always kept to one hour and are a practical way to get involved with the school.  As an added bonus, our executive roles have been filled for the year, so you won’t get a job!  Looking forward to seeing you there.

Sporting News

• Southern Suburbs Cross Country is this Friday 21/4/22 at the Gooseponds. 9am start. All the best to our 10-12 year old competitors. Mrs Dalglish and Mrs Standish will attend with our students. Private transport is to be arranged.
• St Mary’s Battlers Rugby League commences this term, with training this each Monday from 3pm-4pm. Interschool games start next week; draw forthcoming
• The Futsal Gala Days will be held in Sarina next Wednesday 26th and Thursday 27^th April and Mrs van Lint will supervise students.
• Notes went home today about the Southern Suburbs Tennis trials, to be held at the Pioneer Tennis courts on Friday 5^th May from 1:30pm-4:30pm. If your child did not receive a note, please contact the office.

Maintenance Work
The following jobs were completed over the school holidays.

• A new underground sprinkler system was installed on the oval.  This is a significant project which will keep our oval looking great all year round.
• New external ceiling was installed under the walkway between the library and F Block, as well as outside Year 2.  The remaining ceiling in the F Block undercover area has been removed and will be replaced in the next school holidays.
• Emergency lighting and safety switches were tested.
• All concrete surfaces around the school were pressure cleaned
• Air Conditioners were serviced in B Block

School TV
St Mary’s is very excited to introduce a new initiative to help support the wellbeing of our students. After all, happy and well supported students are better equipped to learn and succeed.

We know that it can be difficult and time consuming for parents to source credible information when it comes to ongoing wellbeing support strategies for their children.   To aid with this we have partnered with SchoolTV, an online resource designed to empower parents to better deal with the challenges for raising happy, well and resilient young people.

Because parenting doesn't come with instructions, the SchoolTV resource has now been implemented at our school to assist parents and caregivers in navigating the challenges of modern-day parenting. This outstanding resource delivers credible information with practical strategies featuring video interviews with leading specialists, supported by a host of resources from key wellbeing organisations.

SchoolTV offers parents a fresh approach to the issues and pressures faced by children and young people in our communities throughout Australia.

Some topics featured include:

• Youth Anxiety
• Raising Girls
• School Refusal
• Positive Parenting
• Digital Reputation
• Managing Screen Time
• Cyberbullying

We encourage you to visit our SchoolTV site and view the content but more importantly use this resource if and when needed to support your child and family through particular needs as they may arise. At a time when the wellbeing of our youth has never been more challenged, we are pleased to be able to offer this accessible, credible and empowering resource to our families.

Many thanks again to the support provided by Catholic Education Rockhampton Northern Region to get this up and running across all schools in the region.

Quote of the Week

Prep 2024 Enrolments

St Mary’s are currently taking enrolments for Prep 2024. We encourage both existing and new families who have a child starting Prep next year to lodge their enrolment application as soon as possible. Applications are to be made via our online enrolment form available from our website https://www.smmrok.catholic.edu.au/enrol-now and close on 20th June.

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

Youth Mass & Children's Liturgy

PLEASE JOIN US!

St Mary's School will join with St Patrick's College to celebrate our Youth Mass this Saturday 22nd April, St Mary's Church at 5pm. Children's Liturgy will also be held.  

Mass will be followed by a pizza outside the church. Everyone is most welcome to attend.

We look forward to seeing you there. 

Mrs Terri Leotta
APRE/Teacher

MJR Sessions

Last Term our Year 6 students participated in training to prepare them to lead MJR (Making Jesus Real) sessions. 

MJR sessions are mixed age groups of students from Prep to Year 5, led by a Yr 6 student.  MJR sessions are always a highlight of the year for all students and will commence this Friday afternoon (21st April).

Mrs Terri Leotta
Assistant Principal: Religious Education

Project Compassion 2023 Final Tally

Thank you to our school community for the very generous donations to Project Compassion last term. Together we raised $1,894.25. 

Congratulations to Year 2A who have risen to the challenge with a huge donation of $197.70. 

Mother's Day Stall

Sport News

P-2 Fun Run and Year 3-6 Cross Country

We finished term one with two fantastic sporting events; our P-2 Fun Run and Year 3-6 Cross Country.

Our P-2 students ran laps of the school oval before completing an obstacle course and it was great to see so many smiling faces throughout the morning.

Thank you to all the parents who came and cheered from the sidelines.

Congratulations to the following students who placed in their running event.

Prep boys- Andy Taylor, Ivor Smith, Flynn Dodds
Prep girls- Aleyna Rokic, Stella Goodwill, Charlotte McNamara
Year 1 boys- Declan DePaoli, Oliver Mayberry, Cayden Bailie
Year 1 girls – Asha Saroglia, Adelynn Leslie, Amelia Brake
Year 2 boys – Alfie Moffat, Charlie Strickland, Hudson Perkins
Year 2 girls – Olivia Rose, Tayla McGuiness, Jessie Ricciardi

Our year 3-6 students elected to run a competitive 2km or 3km race or a 1km fun run. Students had to push themselves in hot conditions to complete their 2 or 3 laps of Queen’s Park. There were many tired students crossing the finish line who showed great resilience to keep running even when they wanted to give up.

Congratulations to the following students who placed in their running event.

8 year boys – Malachi Nyenuh, Hugo Connors, Theo Pidgeon
8 year girls – Bethany Miles, Isabelle McLachlan, Lily Mulherin
9 year boys – Ewan Ruddick, Samuel Christie, Colten Petzer
9 year girls – Ava Corrigan, Isabella Villon, Audrey Hartl
10 year boys – Oliver Standish, Blake Dyson, Parker Appleton
10 year girls – Rylie Hanson, Nina Lucas, Harper Standish
11 year boys – Thomas Hurley, Nev Lucas, Cooper Ricciardi
11 year girls – Annaliese Miles, Magenta Newland, Indy Gillis
12 year boys – Thomas Louw, Harry Vella, Jimmy Rogers
12 year girls – Mayson Vassallo, Ariah Corrigan, Brielle Sellentin

After 5 years of cross country domination by Illawong Blue, Eungella Green finally broke through for a win!

Thank you to all the parents who gave up their time to be a track marshal and to those that come to support their child as they ran their event.

Simone Sibley
HPE Teacher

St Mary's Pie Drive - Collection Dates

Pie Drive collection will be from the St Mary’s School Hall on the following dates:

- 2pm to 3.30pm Wednesday 26^th April
- 8am to 8.30am Thursday 27^th April

For alternative collection arrangements, please contact Melissa McGuiness direct on 0439 375 509.

Thank you to all who supported this P&F fundraiser. 

Run Club

Run Club will return this Thursday 20th April  and is for all students from Prep -Year 6.

The focus this term will be on athletics and training for the 3km Mackay Marina Run (4 June).

St Mary's Chess Club

PLEASE NOTE: If families have any unwanted chess sets that students are able to use for Chess Club, these would be greatly appreciated and can be dropped into the School Office.

Student of the Week

Week 10, Term 1 Student Award Winners

Community News