LINKS: Term Two, Week One

From the Principal

A Prayer for his Holiness Pope Francis

On Easter Monday, we heard the news of the passing of Pope Francis. Pope Francis has led the Catholic Church since 2013 and has done so in an inclusive and progressive way. He has truly shown us how to be people of service and reach out to those on the margins of our society. A humble and faithful servant leader, Pope Francis has shown us how to be Christ-like, as he was throughout his ministry. We pray for the repose of his soul.

Loving God,

We commend to Your eternal care

Your faithful servant, Pope Francis.

We remember his life of humble service,

his genuine commitment to the poor and marginalised,

his tireless efforts to bring compassion, mercy and

justice to the world.

He was a shepherd who walked with his flock –

choosing simplicity over splendor,

dialogue over division,

and love over judgment.

Pope Francis challenged us to faith in action,

that the Church must be a field hospital for the wounded.

Lord, may we be people inspired by such witness

and that of Pope Francis’ desire to build bridges

among peoples of all faiths.

May his soul now rest in peace and may his

example inspire each of us to follow Christ with

humility and joy.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord,

and let perpetual light shine upon him.

May he rest in peace.

Amen.                 

Source: National Catholic Education Commission 21/04/2025

Easter Season

Welcome back to a new school term after, what was hopefully, a refreshing break for your family. As Catholics, we are now in the Easter Season. After the preparation season of Lent, we now reflect on the hope that was given to us through the Risen Christ on Easter Sunday. We are so very blessed at St Mary’s to live in a hope-filled community full of kind, compassionate people. I wish you and your family a very warm welcome to this new term, and may it be filled with hope of the opportunities that a new term can bring.

Busy start to Term 2

Term 2 is always very hectic in schools and this year is no different, particularly in these first few weeks with several public holidays. I thank those parents who were able to attend Parent Teacher Interviews yesterday and I thank the staff for the hard work and preparation that is put into making sure these run smoothly.

This Friday, we will march as a school for ANZAC Day in the town march. I encourage students to meet at the Anglican Church at 9.45am for a 10am march. I would also like to thank our school captains for leading the speeches and laying wreaths this Friday. As a school, we will remember ANZAC Day with a liturgy on Monday at 8.45am in the Centenary Centre. A reminder that Friday 2^nd May is Goondiwindi Show Holiday and Monday 4^th May is Labour Day Holiday.

Attendance Matters

One of the biggest factors in student success is attendance at school. Did you know that if a student aims for 90% attendance, this means that they are still away for 18 school days per year? That is nearly 4 weeks’ worth of learning missed. Please see refer to our website for our procedures on how we manage attendance at St Mary’s: Attendance Flowchart Procedures

Parent Engagement Network:

Our first PEN meeting is on Tuesday 13^th May from 5.30 – 6.30pm in the Library. Please come along for a discussion on how we, as a community, see this new parent body working for us at St Mary’s School.

Mobile Phone and Wearable Device Guidelines

The SLT have reviewed our use of Mobile Phone and Wearable Device Guidelines and these have been updated on our website:

https://goondiwinditwb.schoolzineplus.com/_file/media/1132/st_mary_s_mobile_phone_and_smart_device_guidelines_2025.pdf

Op Shop Volunteers

The St Mary’s Op Shop are seeking volunteers to assist. If you are interested, or know of anyone who would be interested, please contact Annette Billsborough on: annetteb06@bigpond.com

Angela Collins
Principal

From the Deputy Principal

Hello St Mary’s community,

Welcome back. I hope you had a restful time.

How did you like the different format for our Parent-Teacher interviews? I realise it won’t have suited everyone, but it certainly seemed to run smoothly and was less of a problem logistically.

Homework and Willingham’s Memory Model:

Our teachers participated in some professional development during the pupil-free day on Tuesday. One of the models that was discussed was one that I could really relate to, particularly with respect to homework, so I thought I would share it with you. It is called Willingham’s Memory Model 

Willingham's memory model provides a clear framework for understanding how we process and retain information. The model, outlines the journey of information from our environment to long-term memory. Initially, information is captured through attention. This attended information then enters our working memory, where it is actively processed. For this information to be stored in long-term memory, it must undergo a process called learning.

The model also highlights that not all information makes it to long-term storage; some may be forgotten if not adequately processed or rehearsed. Once in long-term memory, retrieval processes allow us to bring this stored knowledge back into working memory when needed.

Applying Willingham's model to homework emphasises the importance of active engagement and repetition. When students pay attention during lessons and actively engage with their homework assignments, they are more likely to transfer this new knowledge into their long-term memory. Repeated practice and revision help reinforce these connections, making retrieval easier during tests or future applications.

God bless,

John Shaw
Deputy Principal

Religious Life

Dear Students, Families, and Staff,

Welcome back! I hope you had a restful and joyful Easter break. As we return to our school community, we carry with us the profound message of Easter: the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This event symbolizes hope, renewal, and the triumph of life over death, reminding us of the enduring power of faith and love.​

In Memoriam: Pope Francis (1936–2025)

It is with deep sorrow that we acknowledge the passing of Pope Francis on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, at the age of 88. Miss Collins and I were lucky to see the Pope and celebrate a Mass with him at World Youth Day in Brazil not long after his Papal appointment in 2013. It was clear then what a wonderful man he was! He championed the causes of the marginalised, advocated for environmental stewardship, and sought to reform the Church to be more inclusive and welcoming to all. He was a man we could all learn something from. 

Let us honour Pope Francis' memory by embodying the values he modelled daily: kindness, humility, and a commitment to justice and peace. 

Calling for Participants in Our Sacramental Program

We are excited to announce that our upcoming Sacramental Program is now open for enrolments! This is a wonderful opportunity for students and their families to deepen their faith journey and participate in the preparation for key sacraments within our community.

Whether your child is preparing for First Reconciliation, First Holy Communion, or Confirmation, we warmly invite you to be part of this meaningful program.

If you are interested in joining or would like more information, please don’t hesitate to contact me either by phone or email (karra.suhr@twb.catholic.edu.au)

If you’re interested in joining, please attend a short meeting on Wednesday 7^th May at 5:30pm in the Church.

ANZAC Day March

We encourage our school community to participate in the town's ANZAC March, taking place on Friday, 25th April.

Students are asked to gather in full formal summer uniform in front of the Anglican Church at 9:45 am for a 10:00 am start. Students are welcome to wear medals, badges or bring memorabilia. We also require all students to bring a hat.  

ANZAC Day Liturgy

We warmly invite you to join us for our ANZAC Day Liturgy, a special occasion to honour and remember the sacrifices made by the men and women who have served our nation. The liturgy will take place on Monday, 28th April, at 8:45 am in the Centenary Centre.

We thank 4M for preparing and presenting our liturgy, it is sure to be a reflective and heartfelt gathering for all.

Mother’s Day

We invite you to our Mother's Day Liturgy, prepared with love by our Year 1L class. This special celebration will take place on Friday, 9th May, at 8:45 am in the Centenary Centre. It will be a heartfelt occasion to honour and cherish the incredible mothers and mother figures in our community.

Additionally, at the back of this newsletter you will find more information about our Mum’s at The Movies Night, which will be released very soon. It promises to be a fun and social evening, so stay tuned for all the details!

Wishing you all a great week!

Karra Suhr
Assistant Principal Mission & Identity

Secondary News

Welcome to Term Two!

We’re excited to kick off Term Two and look forward to making it as productive as possible together! This term promises to be filled with exciting and unique opportunities for learning and creating lasting memories. Key events to look forward to include:

• Cross Country Carnival
• Resurrection Mass
• ANZAC Day
• Round 1 of Immunisations
• Goondiwindi Show
• Mother's Day
• The Resilience Project Parent Information Session
• Year 7 Retreat
• Mums at the Movies
• Year 7 and 8 Camps
• Year 9 and 10 Work Experience
• Year 5 Transition Barbecue
• Broncos Cup Competition
• Arrow Tag
• School Disco
• Secondary Movie Night
• Athletics Carnival
• Mercy Day

As you can see, we have a vibrant community, and we encourage everyone to seize every opportunity available. Embracing these experiences will lead to a fulfilling and enjoyable Term Two in 2025!

The Resilience Project Update

The Resilience Project will continue to be a key focus this year, particularly during our camps, where students will have the chance to try new activities and step outside their comfort zones on their journey of self-discovery.

Join us for the Parent Information Session in Week Three to learn more about The Resilience Project. This is a great opportunity to ask questions and gain insights into our initiatives, and we encourage all parents to attend!

Celebrating Small Wins: The Key to Big Success

In our busy lives, it’s easy to fixate on big goals and overlook the small victories that pave the way to success. At St Mary’s School, we recognize the importance of celebrating every achievement, no matter how minor. Whether it’s mastering a difficult concept, completing an assignment, or simply showing kindness to others.

Celebrating these small wins is essential for our overall well-being and success. When we acknowledge our achievements, dopamine—a neurotransmitter that promotes feelings of happiness—is released in our brains. This chemical reinforces positive behaviours and motivates us to keep striving for success.

By recognizing small wins, we not only uplift our mood and motivation but also foster confidence and self-esteem as students learn to appreciate their own progress. Furthermore, acknowledging achievements contributes to a supportive community where everyone feels valued.

This term, we would like to commend Lachlan Henderson for beginning his school-based apprenticeship. On behalf of the St Mary’s Community, we wish you all the best, Lachlan! We are incredibly proud of your dedication and work ethic.

Bevin Goodes
Assistant Principal Secondary

Pastoral

Caring for our children in an online world

At the end of last term our School Student Protection Contacts Miss Collins, Mr Fomiatti Mrs Castle and I attended a Student Protection Symposium organised by the Toowoomba Catholic Education Office.

One of the speakers was Susan McLean from Cyber Safety Solutions. Susan was a member of the Victorian Police for 27 years. Her vast experience and wealth of knowledge was impressive and so relevant for this digital world that we now live in.

As educators and parents, we want to empower our students/children and prepare them to have a safer future when online. One of the big ‘take aways’ from Susan’s presentation was to know and apply the 50% rule. 50% of your job is to keep your kids safe online and 50% of your job is to make sure your kids are not causing harm to other kids online.

Susan reiterated many of the messages we heard from our guest speaker to our school last year, Trish Munn from Eyes Open Social Media. She emphasised the importance of telling a trusted adult about any inappropriate images/content or messages that they may come across when using social media platforms and encouraged parents to know who their children are talking to online and being aware of the content they are accessing.

Susan also discussed the importance of being the most consistent voice in your child’s head and to learn the language of teens and the emojis they use to communicate with peers. She advocated strongly for keeping digital devices out of bedrooms and private areas and the importance of reporting to appropriate services and blocking.

Please find a link to Susan’s Cyber Safety Solutions website below. I found the videos on the main page particularly useful.

Home - Cyber Safety Solutions

For more information or Pastoral concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Nicki Wyllie
Middle Leader: Pastoral

Nicola.wyllie@twb.catholic.edu.au

Sports Report

Welcome back to Term 2! We have another busy term full of sport! What a great way to start the term with our Cross Country Carnival. Please see some important news and dates below.

Mac Zone Rugby League  

Congratulations to Fred Giltrow, Kingsley Reardon, Max Burrow, Bronson White, Hudson Derbidge and Charlie North who were successful at the Mac Zone Rugby League Trials. These students will compete at Darling Downs Rugby League trials on Tuesday 29th April and Wednesday 30th April.

Mac Zone Basketball  

Congratulations to the following students who successfully made the Mac Zone Basketball Team:

Archer Heath, Alfred Charles, Digby Morris, Bronson White, Chase Ambrose and Tess Cathcart.

Best of luck at Darling Downs Trials on Thursday 24^th April!

DD AFL 10-12 years  

Congratulations to the following students who will were successful in making the Darling Downs AFL Team:

Huson Derbidge, Bronson White and Charlie North.

DD Netball

We had a group of St Mary’s Students represent Mac Zone at the Darling Downs Netball Trials last term. Congratulations to all students for a great effort. A special congratulations to Lizzy, Payton, Hudson and Bronson who made the DD team. Kate, Max and Fred were selected as shadow players for the DD team too! Great work!

Term 2 Primary Sport Dates

Term 2 Secondary Sport Dates

Rommy Beckinsale 
Middle Leader: Sport

rommy.beckinsale@twb.catholic.edu.au

Cultural Report

Welcome back to term 2, in what will be a term of consolidating and polishing performance items ready for the Eisteddfod in term 3. Thank you to the Cherubim and Seraphim singers for their support of the Easter Liturgy at the end of term 1, and at the Resurrection liturgy today, on the first day back.  We value these special times on the liturgical calendar where we can practice acts of service through song for our community.

Eisteddfod: If your child wants to enter solo sections at the Eisteddfod, remember that all Eisteddfod entries are due by Friday May 2.  I encourage you to follow Goondiwindi Apex Eisteddfod on Facebook for any updates regarding entries, schedules, programs etc.

Term 2 Choirs of Angels Schedule: Below is a reminder list of special rehearsals for term 2 as listed on the Sentral calendar. Please note the Cherubim afternoon rehearsal on May 16 has been cancelled due to an availability issue.

Teachers performing in our community: Don’t miss your chance to see five of our St Mary’s staff onstage on May 16-17 for the Performing Arts Musical ‘No Ill Feeling’. From head surgeon to patient, and resident psychiatrist, our staff are having a playing a wide range of characters not to be missed!  Tickets are available from the Cinema. Be advised the Director’s rating for this show is PG.

Benita Klowss
Middle Leader: Culture

Library News

Borrowing in weeks 1 to 3

Due to public holidays, staff on leave and other circumstances, borrowing days have been changed for weeks 1 to 3.

Week One

Thursday 24^th April – Prep to Year 2 borrow (Year 2 students please return holiday borrowing)

Week Two

Wednesday 30^th April – Years 3 – 6 return and borrow

Week Three

Tuesday 6^th May – Prep, Year 1, Year 2, 3M and 6R return and borrow.

Wednesday 7^th May – Year 4, Year 5, 6P and 3R return and borrow

Have a great week and Easter break everyone!

If you have any questions or concerns, please email the library staff at:

goondiwindilib@twb.catholic.edu.au

Student Support

Sound Scouts – Prep Hearing Screeners

At St Mary's this semester, we are offering free hearing checks to our prep students. If you would like to take advantage of this opportunity, please click on the link below to give consent for the hearing screener or complete the attached consent form and return it to school.

https://ssimpl.soundscouts.com.au/portal/players/intake_form/3730ec53-d30c-41f2-afe6-bcd4d072dab9/

After I have completed the screener on your child, I will email you with the results, and share any further steps the program recommends.

An estimated 1 in 10 children suffer from hearing loss which left undetected can lead to speech, learning and behavioural problems. The Sound Scout App allows us to screen our students through 3 interactive games, testing speech-in-quiet, tone-in-noise and speech-in-noise.

Collaborating with the National Acoustic Laboratories, Sound Scouts have created this online hearing test app that delivers an immediate report, including next steps if a hearing loss is detected.

Allison Marsh 
Middle Leader - Learning Support & Student Services

Guidance Counsellor

Immediate support for families: free online program helps parents of kids with disability

Families of children with disability facing long wait times for diagnosis and support can now access Stepping Stones Triple P Online - a free, evidence-based parenting program funded by the Australian Government that offers immediate, practical strategies to help children thrive and boost parental wellbeing.

Triple P International Country Director, Carol Markie-Dadds, said that approximately 1 in 13 children in Australia (an estimated 356,000 children aged 0 to 14) live with disability. The ongoing strain on the disability workforce, difficulties in accessing support, long wait times, and cost-of-living pressures, mean that children are missing out on critical early intervention support. Parents and carers are left feeling overwhelmed and isolated.

“Early intervention in the form of parenting programs gives immediate support to families with disability by equipping parents and carers with the valuable tools and strategies needed to understand and respond to their child's needs and their own,” Ms Markie-Dadds said.

“Stepping Stones Triple P has been the subject of a large research trial across New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland. The course was found to provide significant benefits to families with disability, including improved family relationships, reduced parental stress, increased parenting confidence, and improvements in children’s emotional and behavioural wellbeing.”

Additionally, the program produces benefits for families with neurodiverse children, who have different thinking patterns to neurotypical children. This includes children diagnosed with autism and ADHD,” she said.

“Childhood is a crucial stage of development for all young people, particularly so for children with disability and unique support needs. Delays to accessing support early in a child’s life have a direct impact on the level of care and support a person with disability will require into adulthood.”

“The mental health and wellbeing of carers is also at-risk - around twice as many parents of children with disability report moderate to high stress levels compared to parents without a child with disability.”

“When parents and carers feel confident and empowered to support their child with managing daily routines, building connections, and being independent, the entire family benefits,” Ms Markie-Dadds said.

AEIOU Foundation Head of Research, Dr Kate Liley said, “With families of autistic children facing unique and heightened challenges, AEIOU welcomes initiatives that provided affordable, evidence-based support to parents to help them navigate these challenges.”

The online flexibility of Stepping Stones Triple P reduces having to attend in-person appointments, which can be impractical for parents and carers of children with disability due to caring responsibilities or those living in regional or remote areas.

Brisbane mother-of-two, Rachel, did the program when her son was 3 years old, after being diagnosed with autism.

“I did the course when Jason was young, and I still use the things I learned daily. It gives you confidence that stays with you for life. You always have this toolbox in the back of your mind to help you navigate parenting. Making the online program free for every family will mean so much to so many,” Rachel said.

“There's a lot of stigma around doing a parenting course, but you do the course if you want to be given all the best information about child development in the most efficient way. There are many reasons to do the program and no reasons to not do it,” she said.

Parents and carers can sign up for Stepping Stones Triple P Online now at:

triplep-parenting.net.au

Paul Fomiatti
Guidance Counsellor 

E Paul.Fomiatti@twb.catholic.edu.au 

COMMUNITY NEWS

Goondiwindi Show - Friday 2nd - Saturday 3rd May 2025

Please see below link to the Show Schedule Cookery and Entry Form. White plates will be available for collection at the school office.