Year 3 - Miss Katherine Spalding

Hello families,

Welcome back to a brand-new term! I hope you had a restful break and are ready for exciting learning adventures ahead. Our Year Three students have been busy exploring a fascinating new topic.

In science, we have been exploring the solar system. They’ve been investigating the proportional sizes of the earth, moon and sun by comparing them with objects in the classroom and around the school.

Last week, we also participated in the NAIDOC celebrations. The students proudly marched alongside their peers, celebrating Indigenous culture and heritage. We also had the privilege of learning with Alara Cameron sharing his wisdom and teaching our students some invigorating yoga poses, fostering mindfulness and well-being.

We’re thrilled about the term ahead!  Plenty of exciting things to look forward to!

School Guidance Counsellor - Mr Jesse Kupper

Hello everyone!

My name is Jesse Kupper. I am the Guidance Counsellor at St Mary’s. I’m thrilled to have the chance to contribute to the wonderful newsletter at St Mary’s.

I thought that it might be helpful to share what my role in the school entails and the ways in which I work collaboratively with our school and broader community. Generally, I work out of our Toowoomba office and meet with students, staff and families online through video chat. Since Covid lockdowns we have found that the number and quality of resources available for use in working online with others have grown considerably and as a result, I’m able to utilise highly engaging and relevant programs and materials when meeting with our students virtually. However, I am also very grateful in that I am supported to visit our school communities in person three times per term which enables me to paint a much more detailed picture of how our school communities are developing and where I can be the most supportive.

What I do for St Mary’s: As your School Counsellor, my role extends beyond the traditional “Guidance Counsellor” label. I’m here to:

• Support Students: Whether it’s navigating friendships, managing emotions, or setting goals, I’m here to listen, guide, and empower our students.
• Collaborate with Staff: I work closely with teachers to address student needs, provide resources, enhance the overall learning environment and utilize industry connections to ensure our supports are the best that they can be.
• Connect with Families: I meet with parents and guardians to learn their child’s needs and offer education, support and provide assistance in linking families with out of school agencies who can provide further assistance. As part of my newsletter entries, I will be sharing with all, helpful resources and strategies every few weeks. Please let me know if there are any specific topics that you would like addressed or would like to learn more about here.

Feel free to reach out to me anytime—my visiting weeks for Term 3 are Weeks 2, 6 and 9. I can generally be found in the meeting room next to the main office so please feel free to come and say hi at school drop off or pick up.

Warm regards,

Jesse Kupper

School Counsellor

Year 6 - Miss Taylor Morrison

Welcome Back, School Families!

We hope you had a restful and enjoyable break. As we begin a new school term, we are excited to see familiar faces and welcome new ones to our community. This term promises to be filled with learning, growth, and memorable experiences for all our students.

Year 5 - Miss Holly Price

Welcome to term 3 families!
Overview of the term in Year 5 is below:

• English: narrative writing. Focusing on using exciting story starters.
• Math: Chance and data, translations, reflections and rotations.
• Religion: How can Jesus' message challenge me today?
• HASS: Human impact on our natural environment/ natural disasters.
• Science: Our place in space, exploring the solar system.

Year 4 - Mrs Madisen Flaherty

Welcome back to everyone for term three!

The start to this term has been fantastic for year four. The students and I have been participating in team building and getting to know you activities as I am new to the school and the year four class this term. The students have thoroughly enjoyed this and have shown great teamwork together. 

The students also participated in a yoga workshop with Alara to celebrate NAIDOC week. 

The mercy value focus this term is hospitality, therefore, the students have engaged in conversations and participated in activities to reflect on what hospitality means to them and how this is represented within our classroom and the wider school community. 

We are looking forward to a great term in year four and achieving our goals!

Mrs Flaherty 

Flyers

July Birthdays

Tuckshop - Mrs Alice Short

HPE & Sport - Mr Pete Lambourne

The Arts - Mrs Leilani Thomas

Did you know? There are only 5 WEEKS until Charleville Performing Arts Festival and only 17 WEEKS until Shrek the Musical! This year seems to be whizzing by!

Charleville Performing Arts Festival

In case you missed it, CPAF has been brought forward a week due to Races so be sure to update your calendars to the 21^st – 25^th August. Here at St Mary’s each class enter two choirs, a chorale singing choir as part of their music lessons and a spoken verse choir they perform with their classroom teachers. We will head down to the Racecourse as a school excursion to perform, watch and experience the magic of the festival! SO be sure to keep your eye out for more information once the program is released (5^th August).

If you or your child are entering don’t forget that nominations are due on Monday 22^nd July.

Shrek the Musical

Term 3 rehearsals started this week and are going swimmingly! It is not too late to join the ensemble, so send your little performers my way or send me an email to let me know. If your child wants to be part of the ensemble but is unable to join the after-school rehearsal, they are welcome to join the lunchtime rehearsals for the junior ensemble. See below for more!

APRE - Mrs Kirsty Lines

Welcome Back!

Welcome back to Term 3 – Where is this year going??  Some key dates concerning RE events are below:

Catholic Education Week – whole school mass led by Year 5 students | Friday, July 26^th 11:10am in the church

First Eucharist – Parish Mass with cake and celebration afterwards | Sunday, August 11^th 9:00am in the church

Our Lady of the Assumption – whole school liturgy led by Year 3 students | Thursday 15^th August 10:00am in the church

Grandparents Liturgy – including classroom visit and morning tea | Monday, 9^th September 9:00am in the church

Prayer Assemblies

Please see below for your child’s class’s allotted prayer assembly / liturgy / mass time and date.

Catholic Education Week

Our annual celebration of Catholic Education is coming up fast – July 21 – 27^.  This year our staff head out to St Finbarr’s in Quilpie for our Bishop's Inservice Day on Monday, July 22.   This day is a pupil free day.  We will celebrate as a whole school with Mass on Friday, July 26 at 11:10am in the church.  You are most welcome to join us and support our Year 5 students as they lead mass with Fr Peter.  We’d love to see our community there! 

Wishing you a blessed fortnight,
Kirsty Lines

APRE

Principal - Ms Katrina Dunne

Welcome back to Term 3! We are excited to have our students, families, and staff return to school and dive back into learning. May this term be filled with enriching educational experiences and success for all our students. We encourage parents to actively engage with the school community this term. This could involve dropping into your child's classroom for a quick visit, lending a hand at the upcoming athletics carnival, or simply having conversations at home about what your child is learning. Your involvement is invaluable in supporting your child's growth and achievement. We look forward to partnering with you this term to make it a productive and rewarding one for the entire St Mary's School family.

Welcome new staff

We welcomed Mrs Flaherty, Year 4 teacher, and her family this week. They have settled into their new home and are enjoying the slower pace that Charleville brings to their relocation.

On Tuesday this week, a new School Officer joined our team, Miss Shehani. Shehani is looking forward to learning the ropes of the school officer role and getting to know our students and school community. Please join me in welcoming Shehani.

Ms Mac is excited to be back at St Mary’s this term. You will see Ms Mac in a few different roles for the remainder of this year, including teacher librarian and health teacher.

NAIDOC Week 2024

NAIDOC Week was a wonderful celebration at St Mary's School this year. As the host of the closing ceremony, our school community came together to honour the history, culture, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We are grateful to all who participated - parents, elders, and special guests - for making the event so meaningful. A big thank you goes to our school captains, Sam Jones and Ella Owen, who did an excellent job as MCs, as well as our talented choir led by Mrs Thomas. NAIDOC Week reminds us of the rich indigenous heritage in our region, and we are proud that St Mary's could play a role in hosting this important community event.

School Attendance

Consistent school attendance is critical for student success. When students miss school, they miss out on vital learning opportunities that are difficult to make up. This can cause them to fall behind their peers academically, which can have long-lasting effects. We strongly encourage all parents to ensure their children attend school regularly, arriving on time and staying for the full school day. Absences should be limited to cases of illness or family emergencies only. By prioritising attendance, you are investing in your child's future and setting them up for the best possible learning outcomes. The teachers and staff at St Mary's are here to support you and your child - please reach out if you need any assistance in maintaining strong school attendance.

Uniform Reminder

Winter uniform is plain navy. Black shoes required, (except for sport day only). Correct uniform is expected each day. Incorrect uniform requires a parent explanation to the class teacher. Please note from week 4, incorrect uniform will result in a phone call home to request parents deliver the correct uniform to school.

St Mary’s Fete – 10 weeks to go!

SAVE THE DATE | Friday 11^th October 2024

Last term, a Microsoft form was sent to parents via parent portal (see below). Please complete this form to register yourself as a volunteer for the school fete next term. We look forward to bringing this exciting event to the community in October. Vanessa Alexander is the fete coordinator this year. Only ten weeks to go!

https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=_f1LV0RCBUK3EBaPWwxYDY02do4BFBhCpX5UzLf9ScxUQ1BWOTQ2VzgwUTg1RUs2TlRWUzRFQzgwNi4u

Have a wonderful fortnight.

Kind regards,

Katrina

Lost Property

Tuckshop - Mrs Alice Short

Tuckshop will recommence in Term 3 on Friday 12th July with orders due on Wednesday 10th July. Please note that there will be no tuckshop on 19th July. Instead, we will be offering a menu for the Athletics Carnival which is being held on that date. Orders for the Carnival are due on 12th July. 

Flyers

June Birthdays

The Arts - Mrs Leilani Thomas

… and that’s a wrap for Creative Arts 2024!

In case you did not know, the Arts consists of 5 different subject areas that we categorise into creative arts (Visual Art & Media) and performing arts (Music, Drama and Dance). At St Mary’s we do Creative Arts in our first semester, and next semester we will dive into Performing Arts.

Shrek the Musical Jr.

Our production of Shrek the Musical Jr. is coming along nicely! If you would like to get involved, please let us know! Next term we will be building sets, creating props and sewing costumes. Any volunteers who wish to help are more than welcome!

Scripts:

All characters should now have their scripts. If they do not, please ensure they come and see me this week if they wish to take them home over the holidays. Lyric books are also available for ensemble characters and P-Y2 students.

Music:

Our students have mentioned having a difficult time finding the correct version of our songs when playing music at home. If your performer wishes to stream their music, you will need to specify the ‘junior’ version. Feel free to download the songs directly through the following link: Shrek JR. - Rehearsal Guide Vocal Tracks (feel free to bring in a USB or CD and I can add the music and/or script to it).

HPE & Sport - Mr Pete Lambourne

What’s happening this term in PE…

T-Ball

For the last 5 weeks of this term the students have been fully engaged in the fundamental skills of Tee ball. The focus being throwing, catching and hitting. I have observed directly the advancement and rising ability levels of all the students as a result of having a go.

In week 7 I had the pleasure of taking 8 St Mary’s students to Chinchilla for the South-West Regional Soccer Trials where they represented the school superbly.  Also, this term I have been running a Soccer Clinic for all students on Monday/Tuesday from 8am along with testing the students with a Beep Test.

Next term the Athletics carnival is at the end of week 2, so our focus for the next week and start of term 3 will be all things athletics. By working together, we can keep fostering an atmosphere where each student feels appreciated, encouraged, and equipped to reach their greatest potential.

May peace be with you.

Pete Lambourne

PE Teacher

Library - Mrs Michelle Sheehan

Two St Mary’s teams competed in the Readers Cup competition held at the School of Distance Education last week. This competition involves the students reading five nominated titles and then answering questions as a group of four for each book. Teams from Augathella, Charleville State School and the School of Distance Education also participated, with our two teams St Mary’s Teams coming first and second. The Question Marks are now off to Brisbane for the state competition in September, and a big thankyou to Rex Airlines for provisioning seven resident fares for our five students and two adults attending.

Thank you to Katrina Lehmann for submitting and acquitting a Gambling Community Benefit Fund Grant on behalf of St Mary’s Library. We are all excited about our new furnishings and loving our upper and lower quiet areas.

Students are also enjoying hammering on our new carpentry table, funded also by the grant.

Any wood off cuts would be greatly appreciated. Just drop them to the library.

In our Prep lesson last week we read the story, How to Hatch a Dragon. As a follow up activity, the students located the Library Web App icon on the iPads and completed the matching online puzzle. Students also navigated the menu bar to customise their number of puzzle pieces.

Preps very happy with their completed puzzle.

Some library lessons across the grades this term have also incorporated story extension activities utilising Kahoot (an online quiz) to answer comprehension and vocabulary questions.

The Year Two students selecting their answers pertaining to the Dreamtime story, Why the Kangaroo Hops.

It is imperative that students continue reading over the two week break.

Happy holidays and I will see you back at the commencement of Term 4, as I am taking Long Service Leave next term.

Michelle

APRE - Mrs Kirsty Lines

Sacramental Program

Congratulations to our newly confirmed students!

On June 15^th, during 6pm mass, seven St Mary’s students were confirmed by Bishop Ken and Fr Peter.  Congratulations to Clara Alexander, Dominic Chang, Henry Lehmann, Samuel Jones, Ari Thompson, Grace Sullivan and Sophie Williams. 

Bishop Ken remarked on how well prepared the students were.  Well done to everyone involved and we look forward to supporting these students in term 3 as they continue their sacramental journey, making their First Eucharist on Sunday, August 11 at 9am mass.

Please see a picture below of our newly confirmed students with Bishop Ken and Fr Peter.

Catholic Education Week

Catholic Education week is just around the corner, taking place early next term from 21 – 27 July.  The theme is ‘Communities of Faith, Hope and Love'.  We look forward to celebrating Catholic Education with you and your family.  Part of the celebrations will involve a whole school mass on Friday, 26 July.  All are welcome!

Prayer Assemblies

Thank you to our Prep students for a very insightful prayer assembly last week about the power of kindness.  We look forward to seeing Year 2 perform their prayer assembly this Friday, June 21.  Please see a picture below of the Preppies looking ready to do a great job before their assembly.

Have a Wonderful Winter break!

Wishing all of our families and communities a healthy, happy and relaxing holiday – see you in Term 3!

God Bless,

Kirsty Lines

APRE