YEAR 10
Planning Your Journey

Sophie McQueen

Head of Year 10 smcqueen1 @cns.catholic.edu.au

YEAR 10 KEY INFORMATION: WEEK 4

Welcome Mass

The College gathered on Wednesday for our Welcome Mass, a special occasion to officially welcome our new Year 7 students into our community. It was also a wonderful opportunity to acknowledge and commission our Year 10 Junior Leaders. They represented themselves exceptionally well—standing with pride, demonstrating maturity, and embracing the responsibilities that come with their new role. I look forward to working with them and the entire cohort as they demonstrate leadership, integrity, and pride in belonging to our College.

School Photos

A reminder that Year 10 school photos will be taken on Tuesday. Students who are not meeting uniform expectations will not be permitted to participate. Please ensure your child is in full and correct uniform on the day.

National Day of Action Against Bullying

The National Day of Action Against Bullying will be recognised on Friday, Week 4. Across the College, students in every year level will participate in targeted Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) lessons designed to deepen their understanding of respectful relationships, safe behaviours, and the importance of standing up to bullying. Activities promoting kindness, inclusion, and responsibility will also take place throughout the school on Friday.

I look forward to seeing our Year 10 students lead the way and actively participate in these activities. Their involvement supports our College Guiding Principles of empathy and dialogue, helping to build a safe and caring community for all.

QTAC Competition

QTAC is organising a poster competition for the 2029 QTAC Year 10 guide. If your child is interested, please check the QTAC competition website for details and entry. Submissions close on 6 March.

Navy Careers Opportunity

Click on the following link for further information regarding the opportunity to undertake 2 days of work experience at the Navy Base in Cairns.

https://defencecareers.nga.net.au/cp/index.cfm?

UNIFORM SCHEDULE: WEEK B

Sport Information - Week 4

It’s been another exciting week in sport at St Mary’s College.

CISSA sport started on Wednesday with all teams playing friendly matches against Trinity Bay State High School. This was a great opportunity for our teams to gain valuable match practice before the season started.

We always love to hear about students' sporting achievements throughout the year. If you are comfortable in sharing your students' outstanding achievements, please email the details through to SMW.Sport@cns.catholic.edu.au.

This week, we congratulate Darcy O from Year 9 on his success at the Australian Open Water Championships in Bunbury, Western Australia. Darcy placed 3rd in the 18 & under 2.5km race and 19th in the 14 & 15 years 5km race. He is now ranked 17th nationally and 4th in the state. Congratulations, Darcy - we are very proud of your achievements!

TCS trials are ongoing; trial dates and paperwork links are below.

2026 TCS Sports Calendar

Peninsula School Sport Permission Booklet

WHOLE-OF-COLLEGE NOTICES

Introducing our Heads of Departments across the College!

Our Heads of Department are knowledgeable about curriculum and classroom learning for specific subjects. Parents are encouraged to contact the Heads of Department for all engagement, learning, and subject-related questions and concerns. The staff listed below are available via email and phone to the College and look forward to meeting you throughout the year.

Assessment Calendars

Students have been emailed a copy of the Term 1 Assessment Planners. These are available to parents via the Parent Portal.

Student Early Departure Reminder

If you need to collect your child/ren early from school, please note the following:

Provide the office with adequate advance notice via the MyCE app, Parent Portal, email or phone.
Advise your child's name, the date and time of collection, and the reason for leaving.
Students must present themselves to the front office to sign out before leaving.
Parents/carers are required to collect their child from the Front Office to ensure we meet our duty of care obligations.

Thursday Early Finish Procedure

Students must remain in the Library until they are collected from the College on Thursdays, with a 1:45 pm finish time, if they cannot be collected before 3:00 pm. This ensures students are supervised appropriately. Students are not to leave the College and return at any time, or access other areas of the College.

Riding to School

We ask parents to support the College in reminding their child to meet the following College expectations when riding to and from the College:

Wear a helmet (required by law)
Walk bike/e-scooter in and out of the College grounds using the designated bike path
Lock bike/e-scooter in the designated bike racks (unlocked bikes/e-scooters are parked at the student's risk)
Only 1 student per bike/e-scooter

School Photos

Monday 16 and Tuesday 17 February 2026.

Families are asked to ensure students wear their best formal uniforms for this event.

The Uniform Shop

The Uniform Shop will be closed on Monday, 16 February and Friday, 20 February 2026.

The Tuckshop

We have had a significant increase in online orders. We apologise to the students who experienced long wait times today. We will make adjustments before next Friday to ensure a smoother process. We are also continuing to work through some issues with My School Connect.

It would be extremely helpful if parents could clearly communicate with their child about what has been ordered and whether it is for first or second break. This will save a considerable amount of time trying to locate orders to ensure students receive their lunch on time.

Thank you for your understanding and support as we refine this process.

Commemoration Mass and Morning Tea

Sunday, March 8 2026, 10:00 am

We warmly invite you to join us for St Mary's Catholic College Commemoration Mass. This special occasion marks 40 years since the commemoration of the opening of the College. Following Mass, morning tea will be provided.

Please register via the following link: https://www.trybooking.com/DIYHJ

College Key Dates

Please note that all key dates are listed in the College Calendar. This can be accessed via the MyCE Parent App and synced with your personal calendar.

Event	Date	Term
Ash Wednesday	Wednesday, 18 February	Term 1
Swimming Carnival	Tuesday, 3 March	Term 1
Commemoration Mass & Morning Tea	Sunday, 8 March	Term 1
Cross Country	Wednesday, 1 April	Term 1

Parish Support - Our Lady Help of Christians

Dear Parents and Carers, your children attend school within our parish boundaries, and we warmly welcome your support. You can be a volunteer and/or contribute to the parish financially (one-off or regular donations).

Our banking details are provided below:

Earlville Parish Account

BSB: 084352

Account number: 000004441

Reference: Surname and initials of first name(s).

Please contact the parish office if you have any questions.

Thank you for your support, Fr. Nathan.