Newsletter 05 June 2025

From our Principal

Dear Parents,

Kids are our most precious resource.  As a society we should never tire of looking for ways to protect them and grow them into resilient, responsible, thoughtful and well-educated young people.  As a parent, one of the hardest things to do is to say “NO” when the whole world seems to be saying “YES”.  An article on the Catholic.net describes how “cool” things previously reserved for teenagers have insidiously crept into the lives of primary school-aged children.  Girls fashions are more sexually provocative.  Preteens are allowed telephones and computers in their bedrooms.  Vulgar and violent movies target the 8 to 12 year olds.

So how do parents wisely decide what to allow when children insist “But everybody’s doing it!”?

Unfortunately, no magical list exists, nor should there be one.  Rather, parents can fortify themselves by focussing on raising children with the right values and asking some pointed questions.

First, parents should determine if the latest craze is good for their children’s souls.  “How strict or lenient you are is not what is ultimately important.  What matters, is to have the basics down.  Ask yourself “What will harm their souls?”  But how do you know if something is good for the soul?  In moral decision-making, our Faith teaches us to be prudent, rely on experience and call on the Holy Spirit in prayer.

The seven virtues, faith, hope, charity, prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance – are components of character.  Ask yourself, “Will this build or degrade my child’s character?  Does this help my child to grow or weaken in his/her demonstration of the virtues?”

What seems like a big deal may not be; and something may actually be neutral in its effect on your child’s character.  Ask yourself:  “How important is this going to be five years from now, twenty years from now and when I go to the Last Judgement?”

Concentrating your time and energy on to your children is a huge investment in their future and the future of society.  Kids are precious – love them.

Geraldine Rostirolla

Principal  

ATHLETICS CARNIVAL SAUSAGE SIZZLE - ORDERS DUE FRIDAY 06 JUNE at 1:00pm 

The tuckshop will not be open on Wednesday 11 June. A Sausage Sizzle will be available to purchase via Quickcliq by Friday 6 June at 1:00pm.

Please note: There will be a limited supply of sausages for Parents / Spectators available to purchase on the day until sold out.

RE Matters

Lord, send out your Spirit and renew the face of the earth.

Prayer – Come Holy Spirit

http://www.catholic.org/prayers/prayer.php?p=331

Pentecost in 2 Minutes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5tr4pqWIo4

Holy Spirit Rock (based on Galatians 5:22-23) by Michael Mangan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_ZpnQnmmfI

MARY MOTHER OF THE CHURCH

Mary was there from the very beginning, for the birth of Jesus and at the ‘birth’ of the Church.

The Monday after Pentecost is the Memorial Feast of The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church.  This feast day, instituted by Pope Francis, was announced and celebrated for the first time in 2018. 

SACRAMENTAL PROGRAM

Students enrolled in the parish Sacramental Program will be confirmed by Bishop Michael McCarthy and receive Eucharist for the first time in June. Please continue to pray for all of these students and their families.

WATER BUCKET CHALLENGE – WALK FOR WATER

Did you know that more than 2.2 billion (1 in 3) people around the world, do not have water security – they don’t have access to clean drinking water, water is scarce and/or they need to make long, sometimes treacherous, journeys every day to collect water.

At our Athletics Carnival on Wednesday, we will be having our annual ‘Walk for Water.’ We do this in solidarity with the large number of women and children who walk for water every day. With our focus on water during Lent, this year’s ‘walk’ will be even more meaningful for our students. Our ‘THE BIG WALK’ challenge was a wonderful success.

Be sure to encourage those taking part in the ‘walk’ and feel free to add a donation to their buckets. Coins and notes gratefully accepted.  All monies raised will be added to our ‘THE BIG WALK’ total and forwarded to CARITAS, who work in communities around the world, where water continues to be a life and death issue.

For more information, visit https://www.caritas.org.au/global-issues/water/

TINNIES FOR VINNIES - FAMILIES HELPING FAMILIES

Each year Vinnies supports individuals and families in our community who are in need. Unfortunately, with an increasing number of people seeking assistance, their stock of tinned and non-perishable foods is running very low. They have asked for our help.

If you are able to assist Vinnies in their valuable work by contributing some of the needed food items, it would be very much appreciated. Donations can be dropped into the school office.  They will be collected and distributed in the coming weeks.  Many thanks in advance for your generosity and prayers.

 PLEASE JOIN US FOR THE HARVEST MASS

This is a special outdoor Mass where we pray for a safe sugarcane harvest season in our fields and mills. The priest blesses the machinery brought down by farmers. It's a great Mass for families. Bring a plate and stay after Mass for a shared afternoon tea.

For more information please phone Laurence on 0427638673.

For weekly Gospel readings, reflections and meditations go to http://www.prayasyoucan.com.au/

Download this week’s parish bulletin @  https://rok.catholic.net.au/parish/mackay-st-josephs/#

For Parish News go to the Catholic Parish of North Mackay and Farleigh Facebook page.

VIRTUE OF THE FORTNIGHT – CREATIVITY

“Creative people do not see things for what they are, they see them for what they can be.”   (Unknown)

Creativity is the power of imagination.  It is discovering your own special talents.  Dare to see things in new ways and find different ways to solve problems. With your creativity, you can bring something new into the world. Creativity helps us to be all we are called to be.

“My dear young people, the Church needs you, your enthusiasm, your creativity and the joy that is so characteristic of you.” (Pope Francis)

Noeleen Kliese

Assistant Principal Religious Education

Curriculum Corner

ICAS - ACADEMIC COMPETITION

If you are interested in entering your child, please complete the link below:
Parent Code: YKT454
Parent Page Link: https://shop.icasassessments.com/pages/parent-payment/YKT454

Registration for all subject areas closes on Monday 28 July at 11:59pm

APA News

Amanda McDonald

Assistant Principal Administration

Strategic Priorities 2025

SchoolTV

There are lots of amazing resources available on SCHOOLTV to support and empower parents to better deal with the challenges of raising happy, well and resilient young people. For short video clips, articles and fact sheets, from leading specialists and key wellbeing organisations, check out the ‘ALL TOPICS’ tab via the link below or on our school website.

Resilience is the focus of our Peer Support activities this year.  Be sure to check out all School TV's fabulous parent resources on building and supporting resilience.

Sporting News

ATHLETICS TRIALS

Final trials for field events will take place tomorrow Friday 6 June. Trials for the 200m and the 1500m event have now been completed.

Students who have been successful in the trial process over the past few weeks will be competing in the 200m finals on Wednesday and field event finals on Tuesday and Wednesday. 

ATHLETICS CARNIVAL - NEXT WEEK

* IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR PARENTS *

Athletics events will be held over two days:  half-day field events on Tuesday 10 June and Full Day carnival on Wednesday 11 June. Parents and friends are most welcome to attend the carnival, and we appreciate your support. Parents will have a designated area on the oval and at field events whereby they may view the day’s proceedings. We ask that all parents please observe our WPH&S requirements and refrain from calling children from their house area to cross the track to the parent area. Students have been instructed that they are to remain in their house areas when not competing.  Also, for the smooth-running of the carnival, and safety of all, parents are asked to not walk across the running tracks or enter the roped-off field event areas. Thank you for your ongoing support. 

Tuesday  - Half Day Field Event Years 3-6 Programme below:

ATHLETICS CARNIVAL PROGRAMME:

Wednesday - Athletics Carnival P-6 Programme below:

CASH payment is preferred

BADGES, BADGES, BADGES!

Support your house and help others at the same time. Carroll, Castles, Wallace and McBride badges will be on sale on Monday. Badges will be $1.00 each and all monies raised will be added to our Water Bucket Challenge donations. Many thanks for your support and for cheering on your team.

MACKAY DISTRICT SCHOOL SPORTS - FORMS AVAILABLE FOR COLLECTION

The following Mackay District Sport forms are available for collection from Mrs Bottcher. Nominations are due back to the SPORTS BOX in the LIBRARY by the due date with the levy payment.

• MDSS 10 - 12 yrs Boys CRICKET Trials (Due Monday July 14)

Students who wish to nominate should be clearly competent and have played a reasonable amount of the sport.

Lisa Bottcher

HPE Teacher

Congratulations to Alexa and Owen who were awarded U8 Club Age Champions for the 2025 Nippers season at Eimeo Surf Lifesaving Club over the weekend. Nice to know our beaches are safe with these future lifesavers! Well done Alexa and Owen.

Around the School

ROCK POP MIME COMPETITION - RESULTS

Congratulations to our amazing Rock Pop Mime team who performed last Wednesday night at the MECC! It was a fantastic night of family entertainment where 10 teams performed in the Primary School section.  

The Rock Pop Mime is an event organised by The Lions Rotary Club for primary and secondary schools in and around Mackay. It is a dancing, acting and lip syncing competition. The students are judged on several criteria including originality and creativity; miming; accuracy of movement; costumes; participant enjoyment and overall impression.

Our performance was entitled “Part of their World” and was our take on part of the story of The Little Mermaid. Our team of 25 students with two reserves prepared a performance filled with colourful sea creatures, powerful characters and unforgettable moves. The audience was taken on a journey beneath the sparkling ocean surface to Ursula’s dark and dangerous sea cave, where voices were stolen and choices were made. Ariel found herself torn between two worlds. Was she to stay true to herself, or risk everything for something new?

We want to extend our thanks to the support given by the teachers at Emmanuel including Amy Clark, Dayna Giarrusso, Chloe Ward and Larissa Simonsen and members of the leadership team and support staff. We would also like to express our gratitude to the families of the students involved as well as some other very generous members of our community. They say it takes a village to raise a child - well it certainly took a small village to get this performance on the stage. Our team of volunteers helped with set and costume design and construction as well as with hair and makeup on the night. Special thanks goes out to Mr Eric Bibb for returning once again to paint the most amazing backdrop design and Mr Ben Clutterbuck for an outstanding soundtrack. 

We are very proud of the way in which our students conducted themselves in the spirit of the competition. We are also proud of their performance which was outstanding but unfortunately we didn’t gain a place this year. This was an opportunity for grace and growth which comes from competition.

Official Placings

1^st – St Mary’s Catholic Primary School with “Toy Story - If You Believe”

2^nd - St Francis’ Catholic Primary School with “Barbie and Ken”

3^rd – St John’s Catholic Primary School with “If the Shoe Fits”

Our students lit up the stage with the most fantastic costumes, creative choreography and best dramatic performances. We could not have asked for more as their teachers and hope the feeling of joy and pride they had once they finished performing lives with them as a core memory for years to come.

Larissa Simonsen

Rock Pop Mime Coordinator

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School Choir

Awards

Congratulations to the students pictured below who received an award in Week 6.

Finance

TERM 2 SCHOOL FEE STATEMENTS - OVERDUE

Term 2 Parent Accounts were emailed to all families on 28 April. Payments are now overdue as of Monday 12 May.

If you are making fee payments by Internet Banking, please ensure you use the six-digit Parent Code that appears on the top right hand corner of your Statement as your reference. Please contact the Finance Office if you have not received your statement, or if you wish to discuss making payments via a regular Direct Debit Authority.

Do you hold a current ‘means tested’ Government Health Care or Pensioner Concession Card? Parents/Carers with an eligible means tested Australian Government Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card can receive a 40% discount on the All-inclusive Education fee of all eligible students from the family (after any family discount has been applied). 

SCHOOL FEES EXPLAINED - FLYER

Please find attached a “School Fees Explained” flyer, developed to inform our Catholic Education families of the Federal Government SRS Funding model (Gonski model) and the impact on School Fees for Catholic Schools. The flyer outlines the direct nexus between the Federal Government means-tested Capacity to Contribute of each School community, and School Fees.

Tuckshop News

Please Note: It is imperative that volunteers DO NOT attend tuckshop if they are unwell or have anyone at home who is unwell.

Parent Orbit

The Parent Orbit app, which is connected to Parent Lounge, will improve our communication with each other as it offers a quick and easy way to receive notifications, view academic reports, book Parent/Teacher interviews, add and acknowledge Student Absences, view and pay School Fees, accept or decline excursions via the Events and Payments tile, update student details, email class teachers and much more.

Notices

CASH ONLY - Please remember to bring small change when purchasing from the Uniform Shop.

Community News