LINKS: Term Two Week Nine

From the Principal

The pointy end of term

As we approach the end of Term 2, I would like to thank and acknowledge our wonderful staff who always go above and beyond to provide the best possible opportunities for our students. This has been an extremely busy term and I know many people have been hit by sadness, sickness, and busyness in their lives. It is in these times that we often see the best in people. As a Catholic community, we stand with each other to provide support, love, a helping hand and prayers. We also keep at the forefront of our minds why we come to school each day – for the children you have entrusted into our care! Thank you, staff, so very much for providing so many brilliant opportunities for the students both in and out of the classroom.

I pray that you all have a safe and happy holiday, ready to come back for a busy but very rewarding Term 3.

Under 8s Day

This Friday, we welcome students from a number of schools across our area to celebrate Under 8s Day. Thank you to Tenille White and her team for all the hard work in the lead up to this day.

Drama Festival

This Thursday, our Year 1-6 students will be performing in this year’s Drama Festival as a culmination of their work in The Arts in Term 2. I would like to thank Mrs Benita Klowss for all of her work with this.

Reconciliation

This Wednesday evening, many of our students will participate in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. I wish them all the very best for this special occasion. I would also like to thank Mrs Karra Suhr and Fr Bony for all their work in preparing students for this sacrament.

Year 9/10 Camp

Last week, Mr Bevin Goodes and I accompanied our Year 9/10 students to their camp in the Gold Coast Hinterland. Our students learned a range of survival skills and participated in a 14 km hike. Our students did us very proud! I would also like to thank Mr Bevin Goodes for his organisation of the Year 7-10 camps that have occurred this term. This is such a valuable experience for our students.

Miss Angela Collins
Principal

From the Deputy Principal

Hello St Mary’s community,

We have almost reached the halfway mark for our 2024 school year! Many of our students are very tired and ready for a rest, and not just our younger ones! Our Year 9 and 10 students had a wonderful camp last week, as did the Year 7s and 8s two weeks prior to that. And this time next term our Year 6 cohort will be almost ready to depart for their Canberra trip. Camps are always tiring, sometimes a little daunting, but always very worthwhile, which our students can attest to!

Still to occur this term:

• Under 8s Day on Friday – hosted by St Mary’s School
• Athletics Carnival next Thursday, always a fantastic day
• Mercy Day on the last day of term and a wonderful way to finish the term.

As this is the last Links for Term 2, I want to wish you all a safe and relaxing term break. Enjoy the extra time with your children, and whether or not you are able to get away for a holiday, have a memorable time with your family!

God bless,

John Shaw
Deputy Principal

Religious Life

Reconciliation

Tonight we have 21 students who will be making their First Reconciliation. We congratulate these students on furthering their sacramental journeys. We keep these students in our thoughts and prayers over the coming months.

 Family Mass 

Our next Family Mass is Sunday 16^th June at 9:00am – Please note the new time! During this Mass, we will be focusing on the Parable of the Mustard Seed. Please join us for a lovely morning of Mass, Craft and a BBQ.  

Mercy Day

On Friday 21^st June the school will be holding its inaugural Mercy Day. This is a day for us to remember and learn about our founding the body, the Sisters of Mercy and celebrate the 113 years of education at St Mary’s. During the day we will be holding rotational activities (in place of Friendship Day). Students will have the opportunity to choose an activity of their choice (fishing, craft, cooking etc). We are seeking volunteers to help run an activity (with a teacher). If you would like to come in from 11:15 – 12:45 on Mercy Day please send me an email so I can add you to a group. An outline of the day is as follows:

NAIDOC WEEK

St Mary’s will celebrate NAIDOC Week during the first week of Term 3 (8th  - 12th July). This year’s theme chosen by the National NAIDOC Committee, is Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud & Proud. Year 5S will be leading us in a prayer liturgy on Friday 12^th July. We also have Tawana Carmody, Education Officer: First Nations Education from Toowoomba Catholic Schools joining us. She will speak to the students during the liturgy, spend time in our classrooms on the Friday and then speak to our secondary students in the REC time. 

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. We will start our celebrations with 4/5F liturgy on Friday 19^th July. During this week, we will celebrate Grandparent’s Day on Thursday 25^th July from 8:45 – 11:15am. We ask all our grandparents who are available, to join us for a morning of celebration. Classes will also participate in a few other small activities over the week. Please note that Friday 26^th July is Bishop’s Inservice Day (Pupil Free Day) with all St Mary’s staff in attendance in Toowoomba.

Karra Suhr
Assistant Principal Religious Education

Secondary News

At St. Mary’s, our core values of Faith, Community, Compassion, and Respect shape our school community. This week, we are focusing on the importance of respect. Respect lies at the heart of our interactions, fostering an environment of understanding and inclusion where everyone's voice is valued.

Respect starts with oneself, acknowledging our emotions, skills, beliefs, and abilities. By standing up for our beliefs and taking care of our bodies, we cultivate self-respect. This self-respect sets the foundation for earning respect from others, creating a culture of trust, safety, and wellbeing.

Understanding and celebrating differences, showing kindness, listening attentively, and practicing good manners are all key aspects of respecting others. Additionally, taking responsibility for our actions, such as avoiding property damage, littering, and contributing to a greener world, is essential for promoting respect and care within our school community. Let us all commit to fostering respect in all aspects of our lives at St. Mary’s.

Our lunchtime chess competitions have received a thrilling upgrade with the introduction of brand-new chess timers. These timers will elevate our practice sessions, mirroring the competitive environment of external competitions we participate in and aim to excel at. By training under these standards, we enhance our skills, ensuring a more fulfilling and successful experience overall.

Our Year 9 and 10 students, accompanied by Miss Collins and me, recently embarked on a four-day survival camp. Different from the Year 8 camp, this Survival Program focuses more on developing essential survival and camping skills in an outdoor setting. This unique camping experience offers students the opportunity to learn various skills such as fire-making, camp oven cooking, equipment maintenance, first aid, water purification, shelter building, wilderness navigation, and water crossing in a practical outdoor classroom setting.

In order to prioritise the wellbeing of our students both now and in the future, Nicki Wyllie and I will be participating in a professional development day hosted by The Resilience Project. Founded by Hugh van Cuylenburg, this initiative focuses on promoting resilience and enhancing overall well-being through gratitude, empathy, and mindfulness. By utilising positive psychology strategies, the project aims to raise awareness about mental health and empower individuals to cultivate emotional resilience. We anticipate sharing our insights and discussing potential strategies for implementing resilience-building techniques to support our students.

Mr Bevin Goodes
Assistant Principal Secondary

Sports Report

Dates for Mac Zone 2024 – Term 2

Athletics Training 

Athletics training started in week 3.   Please join us on a Thursday afternoon at the high school from 3.30pm – 4.30pm.  Students can choose whether to do jumps, throws or a running session for training.

State AFL Championships

Congratulations to Ella Dunmill,  Jonathan Webb  and Sam Bishop who competed at the State AFL Championships on the Sunshine Coast last week.

State Basketball Championships

A huge congratulations to Rory Wiggan who overcame a broken arm this term to bounce back and make it to his State Basketball Carnival in Rockhampton. The team had one win for the carnival and finished in tenth position.  Well done Rory on this fantastic achievement.

Athletics Carnival

The annual Athletics Carnival is on Thursday, 20^th June.  Please see parent information.

Athletics Carnival Information

With the Athletics Carnival approaching, please note the following:

• The Athletics Carnival is being held at Gilbert’s Oval (soccer fields) starting at 8.30 am.
• Buses will be notified to drop off and pick-up from the fish statue and walked supervised to Gilbert’s oval.
• Students may be dropped off from 8.20am and will need to be picked up at 3.00pm.
• A canteen will be running on the day and a coffee van from 9am – 11am.
• There are grandstands at the oval, but feel free to bring your own chair.
• If students are planning on wearing spikes, they must be kept in a bag prior to events and then removed straight after the event.
• Please ensure that students have hats, water bottles and sunscreen for the day. House colours may be worn.
• Any students that is asthmatic must carry their puffer if competing in the 800m race.
• The Athletics day is a compulsory school day, and we encourage all students to attend, if your child is not attending due to illness, please ensure you call the absentee hotline on 46712063.
• Any student that is doing Lilly’s dance exam must complete their event before they leave for the exam, and must have written their name on the board outside the library.

Prep to Year 2 Schedule of Events

Event Information – Years 3 to 10

Track Events: Timed heats with ribbons, house championship and age championship points allocated according to fastest times in each event.

Shot Put: To be completed during HPE lesson and top ten compete at the carnival.

High Jump: To be completed during school time on Tuesday 18th June and Wednesday 19^th June as per timetable below.  Students who wish to participate are to wear HPE uniform on these days.

Long Jump: To be completed during the allocated time at the carnival (Years 3-6). Secondary long jump has been completed prior to the carnival.

Discus: To be completed during the allocated time at the carnival, 2013 & 2014 boys and girls only top 10 are competing.

Pre-Carnival High Jump Timetable

Year 3-10 Schedule of Events

“It’s not the will to win that matters – everyone has that.  It’s the will to prepare to win that matters”.   (Paul “Bear” Bryant)

Sausage Rolls                    $4.50

Meat pie                           $4.00

Sauce                                $0.50

Steamed dumplings          $5.50

Hot Dogs                           $4.00

Sushi                                  $7.50

Meat Balls                          $5.00

Water                                $2.00

Orchy Juice                       $2.50

Sweet treats                      $1.00

Yours in Sport,

Kathy Spicer

(Kathy.Spicer@twb.catholic.edu.au)

Extension & Enrichment

Library News

Reader’s Cup

Yesterday we travelled to Toowoomba for the annual Reader’s Cup’ competition. A massive well done to our Primary and Secondary Reader’s Cup teams. These students have been reading the set texts and meeting weekly for the term along with the numerous other committments they have. Great job kids!

Holiday borrowing

It is that time again! Students in Year 2+ will have a time to borrow for the holidays next week. Please assist your child/ren to return all library loans. Students are most welcome to bring books to re borrow next week if they have not finished them as per our usual routines – the kids are great at this! We have some fabulous new books available for holiday reading and winter break is the perfect opportunity to get in some snuggle time with a book!

If you have any questions or concerns, please e-mail the library staff at:

goondiwindilib@twb.catholic.edu.au

Book Club

BOOK CLUB ISSUE 4

Items will be sent home as soon as possible after they arrive which should be this week.

A huge thank you to those families who order from Book Club as your support allows us to purchase many books for our beautiful library!

Emma Petrie
Teacher Librarian

Pastoral

Today, Bevin Goodes and I will be attending The Resilience Project Teacher Seminar in Brisbane, hosted by Hugh van Cuylenburg and Martin Heppell. We look forward to imparting our acquired knowledge to staff and students upon our return.

I have been a huge fan of Hugh’s vast amount of work to assist others strengthen their own mental wellbeing. He co-hosts a podcast called “The Imperfects” with his brother Josh Van Cuylenburg and comedian Ran Shelton. His aim is to help others simply feel happier and he achieves this by sharing his own stories and experiences.

Hugh acknowledges the backlash to the “happiness movement” and says it is an unrealistic goal to always be happy, but instead we need to equip (in our case, our students) with ‘tools’ to put into place when something goes wrong. We often refer to ‘bouncing back’ as demonstrating resilience in these situations.

Hugh has three key principles that underpin his work which are Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness. At St Mary’s we explicitly explore these principles and how they can be demonstrated during Health and Positive Education lessons. I will elaborate on these three key principles and offer suggestions about how our students can practice them daily.

Gratitude- Is about focusing on what you have.

At the end of every day write down three small things that went well today. This will allow you to start looking for the positives and rewire your brain to scan for the positives in your everyday life. Pay particular focus on ‘what went well’ and not what you are grateful for, so you don’t repeat yourself e.g., grateful for my family and friends as this will become too repetitive. Instead (my science project was a success, the game of basketball at lunchtime was fun).

Empathy - Is feeling what someone else feels and stopping to consider others around us.

We can check-in with people we come across daily, make a phone call, send a message, or write a letter to contact those who might be in need of some support or comfort.

Mindfulness - Is about stopping and paying attention to how you are feeling and the people around you. You can use this to manage stress and it allows the mind to acknowledge the physical sensations that the body is having.

Some mindfulness activities include deep breathing exercises, gentle exercise, paying attention to what your mind is thinking, meditation and yoga activities.

Mrs Nicki Wyllie     

Middle Leader: Pastoral                                    

Nicola.wyllie@twb.catholic.edu.au 

Guidance Counsellor

The 30^th Anniversary of the International Men’s Health Week

The Australian Men’s Health Forum website provides lots of information, activities and resources for the International Men's Health Week (30th anniversary this year) that takes place from Monday, June 10, to Sunday, June 16, 2024. See below for a summary & links:

Men's Health Week is a great opportunity for organisations, workplaces, and communities to focus on some of the different ways we can keep men and boys healthier. One way you can do this is by taking advantage of our free Know Your Man Facts toolkits on a range of men's health topics, such as Men's Mental Health, Men's Heart Health, Exercise + Men's Health, and Mateship + Men's Health. You can also watch for our new Know Your Man Facts toolkit on Men's Health Checks, which we will launch in time for Men's Health Week 2024. 

Learn more about the Know Your Man Facts campaign on our website. 

Check out the events section of our website for Men's Health Week activities. If you have a specific Men's Health Week event to showcase, you can upload it to our website or contact kim@amhf.org.au for help.

For more ideas about celebrating Men's Health Week 2024, visit the Centre for Male Health, which leads in promoting Men's Health Week in Australia and chooses a different theme to focus on each year.

This year Healthy Male and Western Sydney University is championing ‘Good Health Heroes’ in a new campaign that promotes a number of healthy habits men can consider adopting in order to increase their overall health across three key categories: Physical, mental and emotional.

The campaign has been developed with support from men’s health organisations, including the Australian Men’s Health Forum.

Brought to life with fun animations, the Healthy Heroes characters build their best healthy self incrementally through small behaviour changes.

Supporters of men’s health can help spread the message by using the hashtag #healthhero and sharing a Health Hero infographic, or posting one of their own photos or videos to show how they are a health hero.

Learn more

To find out more about what's happening internationally during Men's Health Week, visit the Global Action for Men's Health website.

Paul Fomiatti

Guidance Counsellor

Careers

Upcoming Careers Event Information:

June 19, 2024 (Term 2, Week 10):

What: White Card Course – CPCWHS1001 – How to work safely in the construction industry

Where: Gateway to Training (students to arrange own transport – 8:00am arrival and 3:00pm finish)

Who: Registered participants in secondary

*Compulsory for work experience students (Years 9/10 only) who wish to work in the construction industry or any worksite where physical and manual labour are common practice or where one might work with construction materials of any kind*

July 16, 2024 (Term 3, Week 2):

What: Uni SQ Head Start Program – Presentation focused on building self-awareness and talking through future study options available.

*Parent/community evening at 6pm*

Where: Gateway to Training

Who: Years 9 and 10

July 24, 2024 (Term 3, Week 3):

What: Aspire 2 Health Program

Where: Gateway to Training

Who: Years 9 and 10

September 9 – 13, 2024 (Term 3, Week 10):

What: Work Experience Program

Who: Years 9 and 10

Please contact carly.sheridan@twb.catholic.edu.au for any specific enquiries.

Carly Sheridan

Career Development Practitioner

Under 8's Day

P & F

Upcoming School Events & Information