LINKS: Term Three Week Five
From the Principal
What a busy place of learning and connecting we have here at St Mary’s School. Last week, Anna Woods, Tenille White and I were involved in Prep Interviews. Such a lovely few days meeting our future students and their families. We look forward to welcoming our new Prep students for their transition days later in the term and again early next term.
Amongst all of this, our students have been busy rehearsing for their Eisteddfod pieces. It was so lovely to walk around and hear and see the expressive tones during rehearsal. I wish all students involved good luck and would like to thank our staff who have worked tirelessly to prepare both individual and group pieces. Thanks also to Benita Klows, Sam Jessen and Ina Winter for their work in the lead up to this week.
On Saturday evening, I had the pleasure of attending Confirmation which saw 23 young people become fully initiated into the Catholic Church and receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Thanks especially to Karra Suhr for her work to make this liturgy so special. It was fantastic to welcome Bishop Ken to our community. The way in which he interacted with the candidates certainly made it a special occasion for each of them.
A few reminders
Students are reminded that while wearing school uniform, it should be worn correctly e.g correct hat, shirt tucked in etc. This includes before and after school. Some students have been changing into different hats, please wear your correct school uniform and show how proud you are to be a St Mary’s student.
For school pickup, parents and students are reminded that students should be seated either at Prep or in the Undercover area until their parents arrive to collect them. Students shouldn’t be running around and playing during this time.
I would also like to remind parents and students of the need for healthy options for lunches to fuel brains for learning. Please do not bring lollipops or other confectionary items for lunch.
The transition from winter to summer uniform will be the 1st September. I apologise for any inconvenience that this causes, but we are concerned about the cooler early mornings that are still occurring.
Principal’s Forum
This week, from Tuesday to Thursday, I will be in Millmerran, gathering with Principals from across the Diocese for the Principal’s Forum. In my absence, Mr John Shaw will be Acting Principal and I thank him and the rest of the Executive Team and staff for their work during this time.
Miss Angela Collins
Principal
From the Deputy Principal
Hello St Mary’s community,
In my last Links article, I touched on a useful website for information on apps that your children may be using. This Federal Government website, called eSafety, has many other useful resources to help keep your children safe online. Two of these, eSafety Webinars and Parental controls, are discussed below:
- eSafety webinars:
eSafety has 17 webinars for parents and carers in 2023. They are free. The webinars for this term are:
- eSafety 101: How safety can help you (this one has occurred)
- Online boundaries and consent (23rd August, 7 September)
- Getting the most out of gaming (15th August, 12th September, 19th October)
- Online relationships and consent: sending nudes and sexting (31st August)
- Getting started with social media: TikTok, YouTube, Instagram (5th September, 21st November)
These webinars can be found at https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/webinars
Or www.esafety.gov.au and select “Parents” tab, then “Webinars for parents and carers”.
2. Parental controls.
This is an instructional web page that shows parents/carers how to set up parental controls to help reduce risks for children by doing some or all of the following: Limiting access to dangerous websites, allowing parents to monitor what their children are accessing, applying filters and placing time limits to block access after a certain time. Parental control tools can be used for devices including: home Wi-Fi networks, computers, smart TVs, mobile devices and gaming consoles, and in apps and programs such as search engines, streaming services and web browsers. The Parental controls page is located at https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/issues-and-advice/parental-controls
Alternatively, go to www.esafety.gov.au and select the “Parents” tab, then “Parental controls”.
God bless,
John Shaw
Deputy Principal
Religious Life
Assumption Mass
The Assumption of Mary on August 15th is a day we remember Mary, Mother of God, having completed the course of her earthly journey before ascending into heaven.
Students will attend Mass on this day in two sessions.
9:45-10:45 – Years 4 - 10
12:15 – 1:15 – Prep to Year 5
Everyone is welcome to join us at one of these celebrations.
Confirmation
Congratulations to the 23 students who were Confirmed by Bishop Ken on Saturday evening. It was Bishop Ken’s first visit to Goondiwindi as our newly elected Bishop and it was lovely to welcome him to our parish.
The students were very well prepared for their Confirmation and represented themselves and their families with distinction. These students are now preparing to make their First Holy Communion in October. We wish them well in their preparations.
Kaloma Visits
Our Year 9 and 10 students are currently undertaking some service learning at Kaloma over the duration of the Term. The students have learnt about Aged Care homes and why they are vital organisations within communities. Students then visit Kaloma and their beautiful residents and complete reflections after their fortnightly visits about their experience and new learnings. To date, the students are enjoying their service learning and looking forward to further opportunities which may arise later in the year.
Family Mass
Our next Family Mass is scheduled for Sunday 20th August. Our Secondary students will be leading and preparing for the Mass. Mass will begin at 9:30am with a craft activity planned within the Mass and will conclude with morning tea for all to enjoy. Please join us if you can!
Karra Suhr
Assistant Principal Religious Education
Secondary News
As we find ourselves at the midpoint of the term, we thank our students for their dedication to their studies and engaging wholeheartedly in extracurricular pursuits.
As Catholic Education Week came to a close, our school buzzed with an atmosphere of camaraderie during Friendship Day. This event was a great opportunity for students to foster deeper connections and participate in a range of diverse activities, all centered around the theme of friendship. Reflecting on the day, it's clear that we share a wealth of common ground. Friendship Day is one of my personal highlights of the year, and I am already looking forward to next year’s.
Last Thursday, our school leaders stood united, with the Goondiwindi RSL in a touching vigil to honor the memory of Sapper Gregory Vince Brady, a Goondiwindi Vietnam Veteran who made the ultimate sacrifice for his nation. Alongside representatives from fellow Goondiwindi schools, it was a privilege to pay our respects to a local hero. This solemn occasion reminded us of the privilege we enjoy in calling this town and country our wonderful home. Thank you to the RSL for inviting us to participate in the vigil.
As the weather embraces the warmth of approaching summer, don't forget about the run/cardio sessions followed by netball training. These offerings are designed to keep participants fit, flexible and strong as we welcome another splendid Southeast Queensland summer.
Sausage Sizzle and Fun Await! Anticipation builds as we look forward to next week's event where the 7-10 campus will once again welcome our Year 6 friends. A sausage sizzle and engaging games await during the second break on Wednesday (week 6). These gatherings never fail to create moments of enjoyment and camaraderie for everyone involved.
There has been palpable excitement and a great atmosphere in the science lab as our chess enthusiasts go head-to-head to sharpen their skills ahead of the up-and-coming Chess competition that begins next week. An improvement by all has been evident which has been bolstered by peer coaching, healthy competition, fair play and amazing sportsmanship. Humble victories and gracious defeats have been evident throughout.
In closing, we would like to wish all Eisteddfod participants the very best of luck in this year's Eisteddfod. The dedication and hard work witnessed to date will undoubtedly yield rewarding results in the end.
Mr Bevin Goodes
Assistant Principal Secondary
Sports Report: Prep - Year 6
What’s on Term Three, 2023
Week Five: Friday 11th August - Jump Rope for Heart – ‘Showcase Day’
Week Six: Tuesday 15th August - DD track and Field
Week Six: Wednesday 16th August - T20 Cricket Blast
Mac Zone Athletics Carnival
Congratulations to our large contingent of athletes who headed to the Mac Zone Athletics Carnival on Thursday 27th July. Special congratulations to our two age champions – Elkie Wood and Hudson Derbidge.
The following students have now gained selection to head to the Darling Downs championships in Toowoomba on Monday 14th and Tuesday 15th August. Congratulations to –
Girls: Lola Tomkins, Alexis Wiggan, Elkie Wood, Audrey Woods, Paisley Wren.
Boys:Harry Baker, Hudson Derbidge, Jim Jekyll, Digby Morris, Oliver Rae, Kingsley Reardon, Joey Rocks, Henry Smith, Jonothan Webb, Rory Wiggan, Jack Wood and Jock Jekyll.
Jim, Joey and Kingsley
Queensland Rugby Union Championships
Congratulations to Jock Jekyll and Jett Brennan who recently competed at the State Rugby Union Championships in Ipswich. From all accounts, they played well and came up against some solid opponents.
Jett and Jock
T20 Cricket Day
The annual T-20 Cricket Day is on a Riddles Oval (AFL grounds) on Wednesday, 16th August.
Please meet Mrs Reeves at the oval by 9am. The day should finish by 2.30pm, so students will need to make arrangements for pick up and drop off.
"The secret of getting ahead is getting started"
Yours in sport,
Kathy Spicer
Sports Report: Year 7 -10
Our Secondary students are continuing with their sport rotation of clay shooting and squash. The students are learning and improving various skills associated with each sport. Each week we welcome some Year Six students to join us in experiencing some of the different sports we engage with for sport. This gives our students more opportunity to integrate with our seven to ten students and see what we have on offer.
Border District Athletics
On Thursday 27th July we had a strong group of students attend the Border Districts Athletics Carnival in Warwick. These students competed in a range of events on the day. Each student conducted themselves in a mature and respectful manner all day, showing great sportsmanship, grit and a positive competitive spirit.
Each student was incredibly competitive in each of their events and we came away with many PB’s and several top three placements.
Lachlan Henderson – 1st 100m, 1st Long Jump, 3rd High Jump
Dani Walters – 1st Javellin, 2nd discus
Jye Bader – 3rd 800m
Ava Campbell – 2nd 100m
With these amazing results, the students have qualified to compete at the Darling Downs Track & Field in Toowoomba on the 17th & 18th August. We are incredibly proud of all students that competed at the carnival and wish the place getters luck at DD.
Abbie Rose
Middle Leader: HPE & Arts
Jump Rope for Heart Showcase
Jump Rope for Heart has literally jumped straight into our hearts!
Over the last five weeks students have been skipping during lunch breaks and spotted outside of school logging their skipping minutes.
Although fundrasing was not our main focus, our school community have raised to date $16 936.00! WOW!
Students are encouraged to wear RED on Friday to show support and raise awareness of the Heart Foundation. It is a full free dress day - enclosed shoes, sunsafe clothing and school hat are to be worn though.
Classes are finalising their 'jump off' champions and their special acts for the Showcase morning on Friday. We will notify you if your child is participating this evening. The P-6 class champions will compete against each other and Mrs Spicer. The 7-10 class champions will compete against each other and Mr Goodes. We will then move into showcasing special acts/skills from each year level.
Special thanks to Mrs Kathy Spicer for coordinating this initiative, our classroom teachers for running the lessons each week and Mrs Leadbetter and Mrs White for running skipping skills each Wednesday playbreak.
Please see further details below.
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 and 5S
Read, Grow, Inspire - Book Week 2023
Dress up parade details
Date: Friday 25th August
Time: 9:00am
What to wear: A costume reflecting a BOOK you have loved, connected with, been inspired by etc
Please see below for easy ideas for costumes, please know we value participation in our parade not time consuming or expensive costumes and our library staff are happy to help with ideas.
Make a set of ears and wear tan clothing if possible
Wear gardening clothes and bring along a tool that is safe for the parade.
Wear a red jacket and dark coloured clothing. Creat a witches hat out of card boaard and bring a marshmallow on a ‘stick’ that is not dangerous for other students (will only be used during parade)
The Great Book Swap
Students are invited to bring aong up to 5 books they would like to swap with other students. If your child would like to participate they will have received a note this week with all of the details.
There will be more costume ideas in Links in week seven. Please come on in and see us if you would like some assistance, we’d love to help!
As always,you can search our catalogue at : https://au.accessit.online/STM25/
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
URSTRONG Program
At the beginning of Term two, students and staff launched into our URSTRONG Friendship Program. Students began learning about the language of friendship within their Health lessons, and staff have been using this language, to foster a common language of friendship across the school.
Research shows that relationships are the heart of wellbeing and learning. When we get friendships right in schools, children flourish!
URSTRONG provides our teachers with a friendship skills curriculum that helps our students establish and maintain healthy relationships, manage conflict with kindness and increases their overall resilience.
As we continue to embark on our journey to create a culture of kindness at St Mary’s, we implemented a new initiative this term “Friendship Spotters.” This sees our 7-10 students joining the P-6 students in the playground and selecting 2 students each week who are demonstrating excellent friendship skills.
We are also super excited to announce that the Founder of the URSTRONG program, Dana Kerford, has been named as one of The Most Influential Educators 2023 by The Educator.
The award represents leaders and trailblazers who are making significant contributions or innovations within the field of education in Australia. Dana created a first-of-its-kind friendship skills curriculum, Friendology, that’s used in schools across Australia and globally.
During Assembly on Friday 18th August, we will showcase some of the language and friendship skills we have learnt so far during our URSTRONG Health lessons. We might also have a special Friendship Ninja visiting us. We welcome you to come and join us for this presentation.
URSTRONG Parent Community
A reminder that if you want to join the URSTRONG Parent Community. You need to activate your membership by entering an email and a contact phone number. You will then have free access to hundreds of resources to support you and your family.
Nicki Wyllie
Prep - Year Six Health Teacher
Guidance Counsellor
Online Safety and the importance of speaking with your children
The eSafety commissioner is urging parents and carers to speak with their children about online safety, warning complaints of serious cyberbullying involving under 14s more than tripled last year compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
Some handy resources to share include:
- For online safety information for parents and carers, visit: gov.au/parents
- For advice on how to set parental controls across home wi-fi, devices, software and more, visit: gov.au/parental-controls
- For online safety webinars for parents and carers, visit: gov.au/parents/webinars
- For advice on the latest games, apps and social media, visit: gov.au/esafety-guide
Paul Fomiatti
Guidance Counsellor
Careers
Considering Careers in Agriculture
Did you know that half of all you eat is produced by women, and women make up 50% of the rural workforce? Me neither, but this campaign aims to change all that and shine a light on women in farming roles. I know some work is taking place right now in this space to improve visibility of agricultural careers in Australia with awesome people like Nicole McDonald and AgriFutures Australia. Did you know that half of all you eat is produced by women, and women make up 50% of the rural workforce, Visible Farmers is a campaign that is aiming to increase the awareness of women who work in agriculture and what they do. The following are a couple of other resources that can be used and/or looked at in relation to careers in agriculture. GenAG is a is a Canadian program that asks students to work in groups to create a marketing campaign to promote careers in agriculture, and then compete with other teams to win prizes. I think this is just genius - get students to do the work and create the marketing campaigns, while they get to sit back and offer the prizes, and there's a reasonable chance that the student's ideas would be better than something an expensive marketing firm could come up with. Career Harvest is the place to go if you are looking for a breakdown of all the possible careers in agriculture.
Rachael Reeves
Career Development Practitioner
P & F News
We have a winner! Congratulations to Carol Prior ticket number #161... you are the lucky winner of the whole lamb box!
Special thanks must go to the following people:
- Our families who supported the raffle.
- Our Student Council Exectutives who spent their afternoons selling tickets at school.
- Our Secondary students and their families who sat with the raffle over multiple mornings.
- Foodworks and the Larder for letting us sell outside their shops.
- Gibson's Butchery for their support in preparing the lamb.
- Denise Ellis and Craig Sim from Apex Dorpers for donating the lamb.
Danielle Stephenson
P&F Secretary
Family Science Evening
The P&F are proud to host our first ever 'Science Fair' and 'Family Science Evening' in a few weeks. Students are busily working away on their projects and feedback from our parents about this intiative has been positive.
We would love families to come to the Science Evening and take part in the science challenges and mingle with other families. A BBQ dinner and Bar will be available. Please see the below flyers for information.
