28/2012

5th September 2012

Wednesday, 5th September

QCS Test Day 2

Young Australian

Presentation

Thursday, 6th September

Protected Industrial Action

Tuesday, 11th September

Whole School Assembly

Friday, 14th September

Movie Night

Sunday, 14th October P&F Working Bee 8am-12

All Important Dates are now on our

College website: www.saintmarys.qld.edu.au

Dear Parents, Carers and Friends of Saint Mary’s,

On Monday, we notified parents and carers by email, SMS and letter about tomorrow’s protected industrial action. The part of the text of this message is repeated below:

I am writing to you to advise that Saint Mary’s Catholic College is one of 169 catholic schools

throughout the state where the staff have voted in favour of Protected Industrial Action on Thursday 6 th

September following a ballot of union members.

Our school will be significantly affected by this strike. At this stage I am asking that you keep your

children at home tomorrow. If you are unable to make alternative arrangements for the care of your

children the school will provide supervisory care. As per previous communications, please notify us by the end of today if your child will be in attendance tomorrow.

Last week, we also employed a number of new staff who will take over both new and existing roles. We would like to

welcome on board:

Valerie Mathews: Indigenous Support Worker (new position)

Stephen Simpson: Indigenous Participation Officer (filling in for Auntie Daisy)

Michelle Davis: Tuckshop Convenor(relacing Heather Barrett)

Jodie Hilsley: Cleaning (relacing Heather Barrett)

Recently, our students competed in regional primary and secondary athletics carnivals. I would like to acknowledge all 16 of our students (nearly 5% of the College) who have made the regional Athletics team: Clare Adcock, Claire Anderson, Nellie

Blee, Aaron Bryan, Gabe Crane, Brooke Davis, Cassie Firman, Matt Harch, Chris McCarthy, Steph Mumford, Rahab

Murray, Ellen Nixon, Thomas Schmidhauser, Zac McKie, Tori Watson and Lachlan White.

This week some of our Year 12 students have been completing their QCS test. This can be a stressful time for students, but our Year 12s are looking confident. We have put on a special breakfast for them today to celebrate this great effort.

This week, we also received the government’s Next Step information which tracks the destinations of last year’s Saint

Mary’s graduates.

Consistently, Saint Mary’s has had this district’s best percentage results for university, TAFE and apprenticeship

placements and this looks like it has continued to improve with even higher university placements last year than in previous years.

Yours in Christ

Mr Michael Nayler

Principal

Saint Mary’s Catholic College Parents and Friends Association

cordially invite you to attend their

‘Death By Chocolate’ High Tea Fundraiser

at

Mulanah Gardens When: Sunday, November 4th at 1pm

Cost: $45 per person

Dress: Smart Cocktail Attire Limited tickets available. For bookings please contact

Saint Mary’s Catholic College on 4162 2011.

From the Deputy QCS Exams

Well done to Year 12s who completed their

QCS exams today. The exams are very

challenging and we hope their results will

hold them in good stead when they are

released in December.

Uniforms

Thank you to all students who are wearing

their formal uniform on Tuesday’s. Just a

reminder that it is compulsory for students

in Years 10 to 12 to wear formal uniform on

Tuesday. I would encourage students in

Years 6 to 9 to wear

formal uniform on Tuesday.

God bless,

Mr Sean Erwin

Deputy Principal

APRE News Reaching the Heart of your Teen

An 8 Session Program for parents

Reaching the Heart of Your Teen look at

the many factors that make living with a

teenager a delight, or a constant struggle

and disappointment.

It is a Christian based program that brings

hope to families challenged by the pressure

of living with a teen. Practical steps are

offered to rebuild and maintain family

harmony and a loving relationship that can

last a lifetime.

Where: Uniting Care Community,

1 Victoria Street, Kingaroy

When: Thursdays (11 Sep-29 Oct) 12.30pm

to 2.30pm

Cost: Workbook approx. $20, $2 per person

per session for afternoon tea

Enrol: Uniting Care Community Office

4160 4600

Program Session Topics

The healthy family profile

The power of relationships

The many ways of love

From authority to influence

Why teens don’t talk or listen

Discipline flow chart

The corrective side of discipline

State of the New Religious Education

Curriculum

I have been asked by staff and a few

students, “is Religion part of ACARA?” In

short, it is not, however Brisbane Catholic

Education Office has put a lot of time and

money into

writing a new Prep to 10 Religion Syllabus

that is in line with the many changes

ACARA has brought to other subject

areas. The new RE program is expected to

be in place by Term 4 next year for all BCE

schools. The program was recently present-

ed to the Archbishop Coleridge, who was

more than happy with its direction. The core

content was closely reviewed by Fr

Anthony Mellor, BCE’s theological advisor,

who made very few changes. This brings us

to a point where BCE have posted the draft

of the programme for review and comment

by

interested staff.

I have been involved in a few of the early

planning days in Brisbane and from what I

have seen and heard the programme looks

very

comprehensive, sensitive to ecumenical

nature of our demographic, rich in inquiry

method and investigation yet faithful to our

home Catholic Tradition. What is

encouraging is students will seem to have

more opportunity to finish high school with

a good level of religious literacy and a

sound grasp on theological and historical

parts of Religion.

The College will feel an increased push in

the academic importance and rigour in

Religious Education next year and beyond

and I hope that families and students

embrace the changes. It is certainly a good

time to look at our current teaching of this

subject and move

forward.

Recently Mrs Beth Nolan form Brisbane

Catholic Education spent a day with a

couple of our teachers assisting them in the

planning of Religious Education Units for

Term 4. We will certainly be looking to

people like Beth (our Education Officer

Religious Education or EORE) in the future

for advice and tips on improving our

knowledge and methods in Religious

Education.

God bless,

Mr Martin Perrett

APRE

Sport News As mentioned last week the Secondary

South Burnett Sports Carnival was held

down at KSHS. Although not coming away

with any trophies, true indication of our

effort can be recoginised in the fact we had

a whopping 15 students qualify to represent

the South Burnett in Gympie for the Wide

Bay trials. This is a

tremendous effort considering the size of

our school. So well done to; Claire Ander-

son, Nellie Blee, Aaron Bryan, Gabe Crane,

Brooke Davis, Cassie Firman, Matt Harch,

Chris McCarthy, Steph Mumford, Rahab

Murray, Ellen Nixon, Thomas

Schmidhauser, Zac McKie, Tori Watson

and Lachlan White for their efforts and

good luck to them in Gympie

Last Friday Chris Cook, Wade Toms and

myself took four teams away to Wondai to

play Rugby League and Netball against

Wondai SS and

Proston SS. The afternoon was a great suc-

cess and our teams represented the College

with valour and sportsmanship. Due to

some games being cut short (time con-

straints) no official results were recorded,

however the afternoon formed a

blueprint as to how we can get further

'sports days' of a various nature up and run-

ning for smaller schools such as ourselves

and getting our kids active and playing with

their peers.

Yours in Sport

Mr Mark Holmes

Sports Coordinator

Library News Lexile Awards

Congratulations to the following students

who have received Lexile awards!

Blue Award (3 Books) Sophie Weier, Billy

McKie

Red Award (5 Books) Khyla Thompson

Bronze Award (10 Books) Lannah

Sowden, Nicholas Elliott

Premiers Reading Challenge

The Premiers Reading Challenge at Saint

Mary’s has ended. Thank you for your

support of this challenge. I am in the

process of completing the electronic data for

student submissions. I am looking forward

to handing out these certificates to students

who have completed the challenge early

next term.

Kind regards,

Mrs Melanie Burr

Teacher-Librarian/

7-9 Curriculum

Coordinator

Tuckshop

News Friday’s extra choice menu

Morning Tea and Lunch Hot Dogs $3.50

Lunch Bag System Only Oven Baked

Fried

Rice $3.50

Orders only - no orders will be accepted

after morning tea on Friday.

Kind Regards

Mrs Michelle Davis

Tuckshop Convenor

Counsellor News This Week is National Child Protection

Week with Friday being White Balloon

Day. What does the white balloon

symbolise? The White Balloon was

considered symbolic of the issue of child

sexual assault following reflection on a

public demonstration, which was held in

Belgium on 20th October, 1996. On this day

300,000 people gathered with white bal-

loons and white flowers in a show of public

sympathy and

support for the parents of the young girls

who were either murdered or missing at the

hands of a previously convicted and re-

leased paedophile Marc Dutroux. White

Balloon Day is now Bravehearts’ signature

national event and the white balloon has

become synonymous with child protection

in Australia.

Protecting Children is a vital element

Parents play their part to protect and

care for children and young people in

our community by providing loving and

supportive environments and by show-

ing how to have respectful relationships. Being a new parent can be challenging.

Accept offers of help (especially the ones

where cooked meals are involved!) Link in

with services that support you — New

Parent Groups can be fantastic.

It’s ok to reach out and ask for support.

Discover what helps reduce your stress and

assists you to best care for your children.

Parenting courses can help you be the best

you possibly can be.

Listen to your children and involve them in

planning things as a family.

Parenting isn’t always easy. Share your

experiences and skills with other parents —

it can help you realise that you are not

alone.

Take time out when you feel stressed or

upset — look after yourself.

Parenting can be positive — notice the

good times too.

Make plans for enjoyable “family time” —

this can help build close relationships.

Talk about safety with your children. Talk

about what being unsafe might look and

feel like at home, in the community, online

or at school. Make plans about what to do

if they feel unsafe.

Celebrate your children and their

achievements, values and interests and

support your children when times are

tough.

This will build a strong family that is

loving and safe.

Get involved in your community. Joining

groups will help you and your children to

have fun and meet people.

Kind regards,

Mr Graham Turnbull

Guidance Counsellor

Year 12 News Movie Night Date Claimer

Friday, 14th September our Year 12

students are holding a movie night located

in our Mary Knoll Centre. Gold coin

donation entry.

Two sessions will be held. The first session

will be for Under 15 from 3.30pm and the

second session for 15+ from 6pm. Families

are welcome to attend. Bring a blanket and

a comfy pillow and come and enjoy our

movie night.

Popcorn and drinks will be available for

purchase through out the evening.

All funds raised are going towards the Year

12 Valedictory.

Motors in Motion Cake Stall

Our Year 12 students are looking for

support for our Year 12 Valedictory dinner

to be held at the Kingaroy RSL Tobruk

Room. The Valedictory recognises the

outstanding efforts of students who have

completed their secondary studies.

The Year 12 students are pledging support

for this evening via organising fundraising

but are seeking further support from

families and the business community to

enable them to make this evening a

success.

On the 27th October we are holding a cake

stall at the event, Motors in Motion that

will be held at the Kingaroy Aerodrome.

We hope that you will be able to support us

by donating some cakes and slices etc. to

sell to the community.

Closer to the event there will be white trays

available from the College office for

packaging of your items. Your bake items

will need to have the ingredients displayed

to advise people of what ingredients you

have used.

If you are able to assist with this event can

you please contact the College office on

4162 2011.

Kind regards,

Miss Tamara Poole

Year 12 Homeroom Teacher

Year 11 Leadership Days The Year 11 students met as a group last

Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss their

ideas and aspirations as the College leaders

for 2013. Mr. Nayler, Mr. Hutton, Mr.

Perrett and Mr. Curran spoke to the group

on a number of topics concerning concepts

of leadership, the role of the Student

Representative Council and how Catholic

spirituality can be situated central to

effective and authentic leadership. Students

were asked what they as an individual can

contribute to Saint Mary’s in 2013 to make

it a great place of broad learning for all

students. Every student has a gift that they

can lead in.

Saint Mary’s already is a College that

fosters inclusiveness, community

involvement and a warm and supportive

environment. The students were asked to

consider the gift of the College to them and

how they can make it even better. Many

group discussions and physical leadership

activities kept the students engaged and

focused. Feedback from them was very

positive and encouraging. In the next few

weeks, the College Leadership and staff

will meet and further develop ideas for

what promises to be an exciting 2013 for

Saint Mary’s Catholic College.

Kind regards

Mr Gary Curran

Pastoral Care

Coordinator

P&F News

Raffle

Thank you to Tyrepower Kingaroy for

providing the Craig Lowndes Gift Pack for

the P&F Raffle.

Working Bee

Come along and help us clean up the

gardens and plant some new trees on the

slope of the lower oval. Bring the kids

along too. Free LandCare sample bags with

water bottle, stickers etc. for all. This pro-

ject is supported through funding from the

Australian Government’s Caring for our

Country.

Sunday 14th October

8am-12 noon

(Free BBQ lunch provided by P&F)

Date Claimers

Motors in Motion

We are looking for volunteers to help out at

the P&F sausage sizzle at Motors in

Motion on Sunday, 27th October from 9am

to mid afternoon. Please contact Fiona on

0407 629 570 if you are able to help out for

an hour or two on the day. Year 12 students

will also be conducting a cake stall, face

painting and lucky dips to raise money for

the Year 12 Valedictory. Cakes/slices/

lollies can be dropped off at the aerodrome

from 8am to 9am on the day of the event.

SMCC Trade Training centre students will

also be showcasing their

talents on the day.

Mark your diaries for Sunday 4th

November for the Death by Chocolate

High Tea. More information to follow.

Kind regards,

Damo Martoo

P&F President

Sacramental News

A Sacramental Information evening for

parents of children who are interested in

beginning the Parish Sacramental Program

will be held in the Media room at the Col-

lege. This will be at 1.30pm and again at

6pm on Wednesday 19th September. The

meeting will take

approximately 60 minutes. Please contact

Mr Peter Undery on 0401 289 922 or at the

College on 4162 2011 or Fr John Hong on

4162 1958.

Sausage

Sizzle

Every Tuesday Lunch

$2 Sausage on bread

$1.50 Popper

$3 Combo (sausage and popper)

Pauls Milk Collect-a-Cap

Families that use Pauls milk, please keep the specially marked lid. The collection box is located in the College front office.

Date Claimer Wednesday, 5th September QCS Test 11am Years 3 to 6 attending Young Australian

presentation Netiquette 1.20pm Years 7 to 11 attending Young Australian

presentation Cybershots Tuesday, 11th September 8.45am Assembly Whole School - formal uniform

Years 6 to 12 Friday, 14th September Movie Night held by our Year 12 students - more

information to follow Monday, 17th September Year 9 Home Economics students cooking with

guest chef Jimmy Stephen Wednesday, 19th September 10am Orchestra performing at Orana Nursing

Home Friday, 21st September 2pm Benedictine awards in Mary Knoll Centre Term Three finishes Monday, 8th October School resumes for Term Four Tuesday, 9th October Whole School Assembly Sunday, 14th October P&F Working Bee Wednesday, 17th October FOGS Career Expo Friday, 26th October Good Samaritan and Music Bursary due into the

office

Blue Care and SMCC Fundraiser

Any music students interested in

participating in this event please contact

Mrs Jo Hopkins on 4162 4787.

This event will be held on 20th October at

7pm at the Uniting Church Hall Kingaroy.

BIGGEST BINGO Saturday 15th September

At

Kingaroy RSL

Eyes down 1.30pm

Jackpots all in 90 calls

$200, $150, Aces High

The biggest one $1000

Icy Cups

Every

Thursday Lunch

50c each

Friday, 14th September

Mary Knoll Centre

Under 15 at 3.30pm

15+ at 6pm

Gold coin donation

Popcorn and drinks available

Murgon & District Cricket Club Sign-ons

Thursday, 13th September 3.15pm to 5pm

(before school holidays)

Thursday, 11th October 3.15pm to 6pm

This sign-on will have a bbq and first training session.

Fees: Milo In2Cricket $80: (includes a package from Qld Cricket) U/10: $30 Shield Competition (both ages): $100 (includes free new design club shirt)

Payment is required at either sign-on

Casual Employees

Wanted

Evening and Weekend Work

Please contact

Morgan or Narelle

4164 0330

if you are interested.

More

Information

on our

College

Website