LINKS: Term Three Week One
From the Principal
Welcome to Semester Two.
A huge welcome back to Semester Two to all our students and families. I am so very excited to join the wonderful St Mary’s School community. Thank you all for your well wishes and warm welcome to Goondiwindi – I look forward to working with you all.
I am originally a Toowoomba girl and was educated at Sacred Heart Primary School and St Saviour’s College, so I am very pleased to immerse myself back in the Mercy tradition. I have been fortunate to work in a variety of places and different schools, so I am sure these experiences will help me lead this community with warmth, compassion and wisdom. I have taught in Roma, Toowoomba, England, Papua New Guinea and Cairns in a range of schools including all-boys, all-girls, coeducational, P-10, P-12, 5-12 and secondary schools. My most recent role was Assistant Principal Mission and Identity at St Ursula’s College.
I would like to acknowledge and thank the staff of St Mary’s School who have all stepped up in what has been a challenging first semester of 2023. Being a member of the Executive Team down is hard enough without the added pressure of the School Renewal and Improvement Process (SRIP) and Non-State School Accreditation Board process (NSSAB) along with the planning for implementation of Australian Curriculum. I would like to acknowledge and thank all staff members for stepping up and putting the needs of the school before their own, particularly, John Shaw, Karra Suhr, Bevin Goodes, Georgia King, Chrissy Border, Abbie Rose, Teen Griffiths and Tenille White. I feel blessed to be surrounded by such a collegial team who know the importance of community.
I would like to thank everyone for the warm welcome I have received to St Mary’s School and to Goondiwindi. I have had the pleasure of meeting many of you so far and am keen to get to know you all. I look forward to working with staff, students, parents and the wider community.
Miss Angela Collins
Principal
From the Deputy Principal
Hello St Mary’s community,
Welcome back. We are now officially into Semester Two. (How many days ‘til Christmas?)
I hope you had a good break, although I think sometimes for parents, school holidays can seem like they are about two weeks too long!
I would like you to join me in welcoming our new Principal, Angela Collins to St Mary’s. I know she is very excited to be here and is looking forward to meeting everyone.
Please ensure you make an appointment to see the relevant teacher(s) if you wish to discuss your child’s report, or if the teacher indicated that they would like to see you.
Looking ahead at the Term Three calendar, we have a number of special events coming up, including:
Week Three: Catholic Education week, including Friendship Day
Week Four: Prep interviews
Week Five: Goondiwindi Eisteddfod
Week Seven: Book Week
Week Eight: St Mary’s first Science Week & Fair
Week Ten: Year 9 & 10 work experience and Year 6 Canberra tour
I know this term will go as quickly as all the others!
God bless,
John Shaw
Deputy Principal
Secondary News
Welcome back after the holidays! We are all excited about what Term Three, and Semester Two, has in store for us. There are plenty of exciting events to look forward to, including the inaugural 'Sleepout,' Friendship Day, and a Science Incursion (more details coming soon).
This term will have a strong emphasis on academics, so I encourage each student to seize every opportunity and seek assistance or clarification from our staff to ensure optimal learning.
In addition to welcoming back our returning students, I extend a warm welcome to our new students and their families. A survey will be sent to our students shortly to gather feedback on teaching and learning. Week Two will mark the start of our highly anticipated Chess Competition, which has generated great excitement among the students.
Lastly, we express our heartfelt gratitude to Bruce and John for their tireless efforts in maintaining our school grounds, creating a beautiful space for our students to gather, play, and socialise.
Mr Bevin Goodes
Assistant Principal Secondary
Religious Life
NAIDOC WEEK
As NAIDOC Week falls in the middle of our holidays, we have chosen as a community to acknowledge NAIDOC Week this week. The theme for 2023 is ‘For our Elders’. This theme provides a wonderful platform for our community to explore the many achievements of our Elders, to learn more about the struggles they have gone through and to consider the teachings they have to share with us. Yesterday classes participated in a beautiful reflective prayer experience. On Friday 4K will present their liturgy to the school celebrating NAIDOC Week. All friends and families are welcome to attend Friday 14th July at 8:45am in the Centenary Centre.
Vinnies Sleep Out
This year our secondary students will have the opportunity to participate in the Vinnies Sleepout. On Friday 21st July, students will gather after school and prepare to sleepout to raise awareness for the increasing number of homeless people in Australia. This is a fantastic way for students to engage in raising awareness about homelessness, whilst also giving students the opportunity to experience what it might be like for someone sleeping rough. Permission for this event will be pushed out on the parent portal later this week.
Remember everyone can help our homeless community. Please see below on ways you can help.
Catholic Education Week
Catholic Education Week will be held from 23-29 July this year, providing an opportunity for all Catholic education communities around Queensland to celebrate and promote the distinctive mission of Catholic schooling.
The theme of Catholic Education Week in 2023 is Communities of Faith, Hope and Love. This year St Mary’s will be celebrating with Michael Mangan (one of our religious music artists we regularly use at school) leading a concert. The remainder of the day, students will be participating in our annual Friendship Day.
On Friendship Day, Thursday 27th July, students select an activity of their choice and are broken up into small groups. The sessions range from nature walks, cooking classes, art activities, fishing, outdoor games and sports and more. I am seeking any volunteers to help students in their chosen activity. I’m happy to coordinate the activities and resources, but would love as many parents, parishioners and members of the community to be involved as possible. I would also love some dads to help with fishing groups, woodwork and any other activity that would appeal to our boys. Please email me if you can help with any part of our day
Friendship Day is a wonderful opportunity for all members of our school, parish and community to come together and celebrate the wonderful things happening not only in our school, but within the realms of Catholic Education!
Please note that Friday the 28th July, is the final day of Catholic Education Week, and a Pupil Free Day for our students. This Pupil Free Day is set aside for Bishops In-service Day, where teachers from our Diocese gather and listen to the Bishop, the Director of Catholic Education in Toowoomba and guest speakers address, celebrate the wonderful things happening in our Diocese and participate in Mass together.
Karra Suhr
Assistant Principal Religious Education
Sports Report
What’s on Term Three, 2023
Week One: Friday 14th July Catholic Schools Athletics Carnival
Week Two: Tuesday 18th July DD girls Rugby League
Week Three: Thursday 27th July Mac Zone Athletics
Darling Downs Girls Rugby League
Any girl interested for trialling for the 11 and 12 years rugby league please sign up outside the library. Nominations will close by the end of the term. These trials will be held on Tuesday, 18th July in Toowoomba.
Athletics Carnival
Congratulations to Loretto House on taking out the win in the Athletics Carnival. Age champions and record breakers were acknowledged on assembly this week. They will be placed in links next fortnight.
Catholic Schools Athletics Carnival
Following on from our carnival, a large contingent of athletes will head to Toowoomba on Friday for the Catholic Schools Athletics Carnival. This is always a very good day with our athletes getting a chance to compete in their events before the Mac Zone Athletics. Please bring notes back by Wednesday.
Mac Zone Athletics Carnival
Notes will be handed out later in the week for this carnival. Mac Zone Athletics is Thursday, 27th July.
Queensland Cross Country Champs
Best wishes to Elkie Wood as she travels to Hervey Bay this weekend to take on the Queensland Cross Country Championships.
Yours in Sport,
Kathy Spicer
Jump Rope for Heart
Jump Rope for Heart
This week we launch the ‘Jump Rope for Heart’ program. Please read the information flyer that has been sent home with your child. There is by no means any pressure to fundraise. If you would like to register your child to fundraise, please head to the website: www.jumprope.org.au/parents and follow the prompts.
Each class has committed to participate in 30-minute skipping lessons each week using the Jump Rope for Heart resources. The Student Council will run weekly skipping challenges and students are encouraged to skip during their playtime in the Centenary Centre if interested.
We will have our ‘Jump Off Day’ later in the term, Friday 11th August. This day will celebrate and showcase our efforts over the five weeks. Students are invited to wear free dress and paint our school ‘red’. During our school assembly, we will have students showcase some of the tricks they have learnt.
If you have any questions about Jump Rope for Heart, please contact Tenille White: Tenille.White@twb.catholic.edu.au
Library News
Please ensure students have their books/bags each week on the following days:
Monday: Prep to Year 2
Tuesday: 6G, 4M, Year 3 & 6P*
Wednesday: 4K, 4L, 5F, 6R & 5S*
*change of day for Term 3
Book Club
Students will receieve Issue # 5 by the end of this week. Orders are due online by Thursday 27th July.
You can view the catalogue here: BOOK CLUB ISSUE 5
Due to the ordering system, no late orders will be accepted. Please order online using ‘the loop’ platform. Information can be found on the order forms. Thank you for your support of Book Club, all purchases contribute to reward points for our school library.
Book Week
I know, you all love it and are so excited!! Book Week, which celebrates the best of Australian Children’s Literature, runs from 21st to the 25th August (week seven) and the theme for the year is
‘READ, GROW, INSPIRE’.
Our dress up parade will be held on Friday 25th August, time to be confirmed by week 3.
Book Week seems to be one of those things that has exploded outside of schools and is now advertised and promoted as yet another way to spend money. This is competely NOT what we would like our Book Week celebrations to be about. Reminiscing about favourite books and finding new favourites with family is the ultimate goal for us. Costumes can be very simple and effective. For ideas, have a look through your kids favourite books with them or come on in and find something different in the library.
There will be more costume ideas in Links in weeks three and five. Please come on in and see us if you would like some assistance, we’d love to help!
As always, you can search our school catalogue at : https://au.accessit.online/STM25/
Enjoy your week!
Thank you for your help to encourage reading! If you have any questions or concerns, please e-mail the library staff at:
goondiwindilib@twb.catholic.edu.au
Emma Petrie
Teacher Librarian
Wear ribbons or tease hair and use coloured hairspray
A simple knitted jumper to be worn and borrow the book from our library.
Wear life jackets, this book can be borrowed from our library.
Student Support
Enrichment & Extension
What is ICAS? International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS), is an independent, skills-based assessment program. This competition recognises and rewards student achievement in areas such as English, Mathematics, Science, Writing, Digital Technologies and Spelling. The series of tests are designed to match and test skills that are learned in the school classroom.
ICAS Assessments are online assessments. Students are assessed on their ability to apply classroom learning to new contexts, using higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills. Students are asked to demonstrate a deeper, integrated, and thorough level of knowledge.
For your child to participate in an ICAS test (one or more), please access the parent payment page below and use the school access code. Sign up closes on July 31st.
Your parent page and payment link is: https://shop.icasassessments.com/pages/pps
Your school access code is: EYV261
Assessments will be held in August from the 7th-30th in school time, at a cost of approximately $15/assessment. Now is the time to discuss this with your child to see if they would like to participate in these assessments.
Lou Cowley
Enrichment & Extension
Careers
Work Experience and Career Exploration: Discovering Your Passion
High school is a great time to start thinking about what you want to do in the future – and one way to do this is by gaining work experience. In this blog post, we’ll talk about why work experience is important for high school students like you and how it can help you figure out what you love doing. You might be wondering, “Why should I think about careers now?” Well, exploring careers through work experience can help you make smart choices about your future. It lets you understand what you’re interested in and what you’re good at. So, let’s find out how work experience can help you find your passion.
Discovering through Work Experience
Work experience is basically a way of trying different things to see what you like. You could even do internships, volunteer, or get a part-time job. These experiences all give you a chance to see what different jobs are like and what skills they require.
Learning New Skills
One great thing about work experience is that it helps you develop new skills. You’ll learn things like communication, problem-solving, teamwork, and time management – skills that are important no matter what job you choose in the future.
Making Connections
During your work experience, you’ll meet people who work in the fields you’re interested in. This can lead to future opportunities and help you make contacts for down the track. You might even find a mentor who can guide you and give you advice about your career.
Thinking About What You Enjoy
While you’re on work experience, take a moment to think about what you enjoy doing. What tasks make you feel excited? What kind of work environment do you like? These reflections can help you figure out what you’re passionate about.
Aligning Your Goals
Once you’ve explored different careers, it’s time to align your goals with your passion. Do some research to find out what education you need and what job prospects are like in the fields that interest you. Remember, you want to choose a career that makes you happy and fulfilled.
Looking for More Opportunities
Work experience is just the beginning. Keep exploring your passion by looking for more opportunities. Attend career fairs, join clubs or organisations related to your interests, or consider internships. The more you dive into your chosen field, the clearer your career path will become.
Getting Guidance and Support
You don’t have to do this alone. Talk to your teachers, careers advisors, parents, or professionals in the fields you’re interested in. They can give you advice and help you along the way. You can also use resources (like ours!) or online platforms to explore more career options.
By exploring careers through work experience, you’ll get closer to finding your passion and clarifying your goals. Remember, this is a journey of self-discovery and creating a fulfilling future for yourself. Embrace the opportunities, learn, and let your passion guide you to a successful and happy career.
Rachael Reeves
Career Development Practitioner
Guidance Counsellor
The beginning of Semester Two provides a good opportunity to remind parents and carers about the role of the Guidance Counsellor at our school.
St Mary’s School is a happy place where each child’s education is enriched with joy, friendship and personal growth. Ideally, to support this the Guidance Counsellor at Saint Mary’s provides free services to staff, students and their families. It is a confidential, professional service that aims to support individuals and families.
Services include:
- Counselling,
- Educational Assessments,
- Behaviour Management both at school and home,
- Working with classes and small groups.
Students are referred to the Counsellor through the Student Support Committee or by the School Principal.
Referrals will be presented to the Student Support Committee via the following channels.
Referral by a member of the school staff is a standard convention of school guidance counselling practice. On receiving a referral from a school staff member, following school determined procedures, a School Guidance Counsellor can meet with the student but should not begin counselling or assessments until informed consent has been obtained from the student and/or their parent/carer.
Accepting referrals from parents/carers is an accepted convention of school guidance counselling practice. School Guidance Counsellors should consult with parents/carers to clarify expectations and ensure a common understanding of the purpose and nature of any counselling or assessment to be made by the School Guidance Counsellor.
Students may make a self-referral. School Guidance Counsellors are required to make a professional judgement on the level of understanding and maturity of the student involved, to determine informed consent. Age alone, is never the sole determinant of the capacity to give informed consent. Just as some secondary students may not be judged as being capable of giving informed consent, so too there may be circumstances in which a School Guidance Counsellor determines that a student of primary school age has the capacity and need to self-refer.
With the second half of the school year underway I look forward to supporting your child with the opportunity to reach their full potential, promoting learning, resilience, self-discovery and the development of the whole child.
Paul Fomiatti
Guidance Counsellor
P&F Term Three Meeting
We warmly welcome any parents and friends to attend our Term Three meeting. If you have any items to add to the agenda, please email Denise: goopandf@twb.catholic.edu.au by Friday 14th July. We will send the finalised agenda via the Parent Portal.
Meeting details:
Wednesday 19th July
5:30pm in the Library
Denise Ellis
P&F President
Shaping our Future - Perception Survey
Survey coming soon
Every two years Toowoomba Catholic Schools Office ask staff, parents and students in our schools to share their views, to ‘check in’ on how each school within our community, and as a group of 31 schools together, we are bringing to life our purpose: to enable full and flourishing lives. We do this by asking each of you to complete a perception survey. The Shaping our future – Toowoomba Catholic Schools perception survey will be sent via Sentral on the Monday 17 July, so keep an eye out for it.
For more information email: Angela.Collins@twb.catholic.edu.au
Queensland Child Oral Health Study
Thank you
The QCOHS team would like to extend our thanks and appreciation to the school, parents and students who participated in The Queensland Child Oral Health Study (QCOHS). Your contribution in the form of an oral examination and completion of a study questionnaire has been invaluable and will help us gain a better understanding of the oral health of children in Queensland. Your family’s involvement will make a substantial contribution that will continue to benefit Queensland and Australian children for many years.
From QCOHS Research team
Community News
