St Mary's School, Charleville eNewsletter

Prayer

Loving God, You teach us through Jesus how to welcome others with kindness and care. Help us to be like Mary, taking time to listen, to be present, and to share love with those who come into our lives. Bless our new students and their families. May they feel a deep sense of belonging here in our school. Teach us to open our hearts to everyone, just as we would open them to You. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Principal - Ms Megan Pearce

Dear St Mary’s Families,

What a vibrant and rewarding fortnight it has been at St Mary’s! The energy, commitment and care across our school community continues to shine through in all that we do.

We have just wrapped up our celebrations for Catholic Education Week, guided by the 2025 theme: “Communities of Faith, Hope & Love.” From our Confirmation Mass to our hosting of the Bishop’s Inservice Day, it has been a time of reflection, celebration, and deep connection to the mission that guides us as a Catholic school.

A special mention must go to our 16 students who received the Sacrament of Confirmation, a proud and sacred milestone in their faith journey. It was heartening to see our parish, school, and families come together in support of our young people as they continue to grow in faith.

Our Bingo Night was another fantastic success, full of fun, laughter and plenty of winners! Not only did it bring our school community together, it also raised valuable funds to support our Year 5/6 Camp later this term. Thank you to all who attended and helped bring this event to life.

Behind the scenes, we continue to focus on learning and improvement. This fortnight has seen:

The start of Prep enrolment interviews for 2026. What a joy it is to meet the next generation of learners.
A review of student attendance, with a renewed push for our goal of 96% attendance for 90% of students.
Continued work on behaviour support and Positive Behaviour for Learning strategies, ensuring a calm and productive environment for all students.
Implementation of intervention support in reading across the school

As we move into the second half of Term 3, I want to thank all of you, students, staff and families for your support and partnership. Whether it’s showing up to events, reinforcing positive routines at home, or simply offering a word of encouragement, your contribution is valued and deeply appreciated.

Warmest wishes,

Megan

Every Day Counts at St Mary’s

At St Mary’s, we believe every child matters, every moment matters, and every day at school counts. As we move through Term 3, I want to speak about something that has a huge impact on your child’s learning, friendships, and future success: regular attendance.

Research is clear, children who attend school regularly are far more likely to achieve strong academic results, maintain healthy friendships, and develop positive habits that last a lifetime. Conversely, even small absences add up quickly. Did you know that missing just one day every two weeks adds up to 20 days per year. A full month of lost learning?

That’s why we’re setting a whole-school attendance goal:

✅ 96% attendance for at least 90% of our students. This means aiming for no more than 8 days absent across the whole school year.

To support this goal, we will be:

Monitoring attendance fortnightly to keep families informed and supported.
Celebrating attendance successes to build a strong culture of commitment.
Introducing fun incentives, including:

🎶 The class with the highest attendance each fortnight will get to choose the music for the school bell!

🏅 Students who achieve 96% attendance or higher will receive a certificate at the end of the term.

We know life happens, children get sick, families face challenges, and we will always respond with understanding and support. If your family is facing difficulties with getting to school, please reach out. We’re here to help.

But together, we can make school attendance a shared priority. Here’s how you can support your child:

Talk positively about school and teachers.
Aim for consistent routines with early bedtimes and smooth mornings.
Avoid holidays during term time.
Send children to school unless they’re genuinely unwell.
Communicate openly with us if there are any concerns.

By showing our children that school is important and non-negotiable, we set them up for success, not just today, but for the future.

Let’s work together to help every student thrive, every day.

Online Games
A reminder to parents to monitor closely your child’s online interactions. Devices should always be used by children in a public place in the home, not in bedrooms. That way, adults can monitor children’s online interactions. Also, please remember that most social media and games like Fortnite have a minimum age of 12, which means most of our children in primary school should not be playing these. For further information, visit: https://www.esafety.gov.au/kids

APMI - Miss Imogen Hunt

What a joyful and hope-filled fortnight it has been in our school community!

We were blessed to celebrate the Confirmation of fifteen of our students, a significant milestone in their faith journey. The ceremony was made even more special by the presence of Bishop Ken, who joined us in Charleville to lead this sacred occasion. His warmth and wisdom were deeply appreciated by students, families, and community members alike.

As part of Catholic Education Week, our Year 4 students led a beautiful liturgy centred on this year’s theme: Communities of Faith, Hope and Love. Their creative presentation of the Gospel in rap and poetic form was a standout moment, bringing the message of Hope to life in a way that was both engaging and inspiring.

We have also seen fantastic engagement with our Mercy Merit Draw. It has been amazing to witness so many students earning points for demonstrating our Mercy values. This week, our focus is on Excellence – and we are already seeing students rise to the challenge with enthusiasm and pride especially when getting ready for learning.

Thank you to all families and staff for your continued support in nurturing a community where faith, learning, and love can flourish.

Warm regards,
Imogen Hunt
Assistant Principal – Mission and Identity

Learning Support - Mrs Majella Lynch-Harlow

Evolving Learning Support: A New Approach to Helping Every Student Thrive

Dear Parents and Carers,

Some parents may be wondering why their child is no longer being withdrawn from the classroom for ‘intervention’ lessons, as may have happened in the past. This change is part of a broad shift in how we deliver learning support—one that is grounded in current research and best practice for inclusive education.

In previous years, learning support often followed a withdrawal model, where students needing extra help were taken out of the classroom to work in small groups or one-on-one with a support teacher or school officer. While this approach can still be very effective in certain situations, we are now embracing a more inclusive and flexible model known as the Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS).

What is MTSS?

MTSS is a tiered approach to learning support that includes:

Tier 1: High-quality whole-class instruction for all students

- using high impact, highly effective teaching practices

- focus on active engagement for all students

- focussed behaviour management to reduce distractions

Tier 2: Targeted support and adjustments for students who need a little extra help within the classroom. Teachers record these adjustments for students in their Planning for Personalised Learning. Examples may include:

- providing a simpler reading passage

- repeating instructions and using visuals

- having a second teacher in the room to support diverse learners to participate in whole class activities

- offering sensory tools

- school officer/teacher working with a small group of readers who are practicing similar skills

- reteaching a concept in a different way to a small group

- offering additional opportunities for supported practice

- Social emotional programs for small groups of students.

Tier 3: Intensive, individualised support for students with more significant learning needs. This is usually managed within the classroom. Examples of these supports include:

- Supported individual practice of phonograms (letters/sounds) multiple times per day with a school officer

- A second teacher in the room providing a modified lesson to one or two students

- One-on-one supported reading with a teacher or school officer each day (timetabled as part of reading lessons)

- Highly specialised equipment that is used as part of a student’s daily learning.

Using Data to Guide Support

Teachers use a range of data—including screening tools, reading assessments, and classroom observations—to identify students who may benefit from additional support. This information helps us form small groups or provide individualised assistance based on specific learning needs.

When Withdrawal Still Makes Sense

Although our goal is to keep students in the classroom as much as possible, there are times when a withdrawal model is the most effective option. For example:

Older students who need intensive support to close gaps in literacy may benefit from focused sessions with a teacher outside the classroom. This term, a few students in years 3, 4 and 5 participate in four 60-minute reading intervention lessons

Students who are new to learning English often require dedicated time and space to build foundational language skills with the support of a teacher. This term, some students receive three 30-minute lessons per week in addition to extra help in the classroom.

Students who require counselling services or benefit from social emotional programs. Guidance Counselling services provide one-on-one support to students. External providers such as AngliCare can provide targeted programs to support small groups of students to improve their self-awareness, understanding of emotions, practice regulation skills etc.

In these cases, withdrawal allows for targeted, uninterrupted instruction that can accelerate progress.

Why This Matters

Students remain part of the classroom community.

Support is more immediate and responsive.

Teachers collaborate to meet diverse learning needs.

It fosters a more inclusive and equitable learning environment.

We’re committed to continually improving how we support every learner. If you have any questions or would like to learn more about MTSS and how it’s being implemented, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Warm regards,
Majella Lynch-Harlow
Learning Support Teacher

Prep - Mrs Bernice McPhee

Welcome to Term 3.

Prep are off and running. During Investigations we are having lots of fun with magnets, finding out what is magnetic and what is not. We also have a hospital in our dramatic play corner. Students are loving being doctors, nurses, and patients. Baxter the Bilby even visited the hospital and had his leg bandaged. Students really do love Investigations.

We celebrated NAIDOC with a visit from Alara Geebung in week one, who showed us how to do some Indigenous Yoga and also showed us different boomerangs. In week two we joined with all the other schools in Charleville to participate in the NAIDOC March, ending at the State School. Thank you to our Year 5 buddies who kindly walked with us and looked after us on the day.

Sports Day was cold but lots of fun. Students had great fun participating in all events. The teacher’s race was a fun one to watch! Miss Lamb was the VERY speedy giraffe.

The most anticipated day of the year was on Thursday 24 July - ONE HUNDRED DAYS of School! There was much excitement in the Prep room! A big thank you to our parents who made such great One Hundred Day shirts for our kids to wear! We did activities all to do with the number 100. We made Fruit Loop necklaces with one hundred Fruit Loops, and iced biscuits and made one hundred out of lollies. We made 100-day crowns and completed one hundred exercises. We punched one hundred holes in our mini books and stacked one hundred cups to make a tower. We made one hundred dot pictures with daubers and the number one hundred with Lego. We made faces with glasses that were the number one hundred. We also shared our fun day with Baxter the Bilby, who the Year 2 class kindly shared with us! Thank you! Last but not least, we had a party for lunch with lots of delicious food. Thank you to our families for helping us celebrate this fun day!

Year 1 - Mrs Susan Holloway

It is hard to believe that Term Three is flying past so quickly. Year One is well and truly back into their learning routine.

We were fortunate to have Bishop Ken Howell drop by our classroom on the Tuesday after our Bishop's Inservice Day. Bishop Howell took the time to answer questions from students and share information about his garments and the cross he wears. The students enjoyed interacting with the Bishop in a relaxed setting.

Who doesn't like a soft fluffy duckling?! We had a visit from three ducklings early in the term which caused much excitement and entertainment! They were very cute indeed!

We are busy practicing our poem for the Charleville Performing Arts Festival and are looking forward to performing in the coming weeks. This, along with our regular learning, is making Year One a busy place to be!

Enjoy the rest of your day,

The Year One Team

Year 2 - Miss Shauna Gallagher

Year 2 has been working amazingly across all of their learning areas. To celebrate their great learning, we had a pyjama party brunch at the end of term 2. Check out some of the pictures below to see the wonderful spread that was put on by our class. We would like to say a massive thank you to all of the parents and guardians who helped out that day.

We have had a busy start to term 3. Alara Geebung, an indigenous artist, visited us in week 1 to share knowledge of some traditional tools. We were in awe when he began to make smoke using fire sticks. We enjoyed coming together as a school to celebrate NAIDOC week in both our liturgy and marching through our town’s streets.

We had great successes at the Athletics Carnival. It was fabulous to see such great sportsmanship, (this is a Tier 3 word that we’ve learned), among the year 2 crew.

Year 2 performed a beautiful poem written by our wonderful school officer, Miss Kidd, for Mrs. Pearce on Principals Day. They only had 2 days to learn it and they were amazing!!!!

Our Mercy Mindset in focus this term is Justice, and the class have strived to show responsibility and understanding across their daily school lives.

In English, we have been really interested in exploring the 3 tiers of our vocabulary. We have also been doing intensive phonics and spelling learning with Miss Majella and Mrs. Pearce. It is very exciting to see the progress that has already been made this term.

In math, we have been working extra hard to consolidate our knowledge and understanding of number. We have also been using different strategies to work out tricky addition and subtraction problems. At the end of term 2, we visited Ms. Kidd’s shop to spend the school’s play money which involved buying different items when we showed that we can make $1 by exchanging smaller value coins.

We are looking forward to our Performing Arts presentation. There is still some rehearsing and polishing to do but keep your wigs on, it will be worth the wait.

And last but certainly not least, we are looking forward to the colour run at the end of the term. We cannot wait to see what wild and whacky obstacles we will have to go through.

Stay tuned in the next newsletter to find out what other learning adventures we go on.

Norths Devils Promote Connection and Gratitude

Our Year 4, 5, and 6 students had a special visit from the Norths Devils, who led a meaningful session focused on connection, respect, and gratitude. Through interactive activities, students learned the importance of supporting peers, showing kindness, and appreciating the good things in life.

Highlights included partner interviews, group gratitude discussions, and a vibrant handprint poster created by all students to symbolise unity and belonging. The session encouraged students to connect with others and themselves, reminding us that small acts of kindness can make an enormous difference.

A big thank you to the Norths Devils for inspiring our students and leaving a lasting impact in our classrooms!

Please enjoy some photos of the finished product below.