Pastoral Bulletin
Welcome to Week 10 of Term 2 2023
News and Reminders from your Pastoral Leaders.
General School News
- Congratulations to Heavy House for taking out the Champion House for Athletics. Tuesday was a wonderful showcase of great sportsmanship through faith, hope and love in our College.
- As we wrap up Term 2, we continue to maintain high expectations of all students with uniform and personal grooming, classroom behaviour and attendance. Good teaching and learning will continue throughout Week 10. Should your child be absent from school please contact the College and have your child check in with their teachers for work missed.
- Report cards will be distributed on Friday June 23 through the College portal. Please take time to review this important academic progress with your child to reflect, set goals and work towards overall success.
- Best of luck to our QISSN and Confraternity Teams heading to Brisbane in the first week of the school holidays to compete against other Secondary Independent Schools from across Queensland. Good luck also to the St Mary’s Run Squad heading to the Gold Coast in the middle weekend to compete in the Gold Coast Running Festival 10 km distance. We look forward to hearing about all the sporting successes when we return in Term 3.
- This term has been extremely busy with public holidays and camps/retreats. It has been a successful term with excellent sporting, cultural, arts and academic achievements across the College. It has been a pleasure to witness such personal growth of our students over the past ten weeks and we look forward to more in Term 3.
Regards,
Leah McBryde
Assistant Principal, Junior Years (7 - 9) | lmcbryde@cns.catholic.edu.au
Justin Brennan
Acting Assistant Principal, Senior Years (10 -12) | jbrennan2@cns.catholic.edu.au
Year 7
- Congratulations to all Year 7’s who competed in events at the Athletics Carnival last Tuesday. Participation numbers from the cohort was high which was amazing to see.
- Effective and efficient diary usage has been increasing throughout the cohort. Some excellent examples have been observed in morning Pastoral Groups. Consistent diary usage is key to developing long lasting organisational skills. Keep up the excellent work!
- Permission forms for the Year 7 Camp will be sent out very soon. Once received, please read documentation carefully, as these include details such as medical information to provide, departure & pick-up times and other camp logistics.
Regards
Nathan Haydon
Head of Year 7
Year 8
- Those who report bullying promote accountability, justice and help build a safe college community. Speaking up for yourself and others ensures that those who engage in these behaviours are stopped and face the appropriate consequences.
- On Tuesday 11 July St Mary’s will hold our Subject Expo in the Hugh O’Brien Centre. Students and parents are invited to view subject displays and speak with teachers from 3.30pm until 4.30pm in preparation for subject selections in Term 3. Subject selection handbooks will also be published on the College website at the end of Term 2.
- Congratulations to Heavey house and all those who attended and competed in the college inter house athletics carnival.
Regards
Andy Winter
Head of Year 8
Year 9
- On Tuesday 11 July St Mary’s will hold our Subject Expo in the Hugh O’Brien Centre. Students and parents are invited to view subject displays and speak with teachers from 3.30pm until 4.30pm in preparation for subject selections in Term 3. Subject selection handbooks will also be published on the College website at the end of Term 2.
- I am so proud of our year 9s and their attendance at the athletics carnival. Thank you to the families who have supported us with the uniform expectation these past 2 days. It truly helped to enhance the house spirit and build a positive culture.
- Although we are at the end of the term, attendance is still important. Most subjects will be starting to teach skills which will be needed for the next unit. This is also a great time of term for students to speak with their teachers and discuss strategies they can use to ensure they are successful in the subject in term 3.
Regards
Saripha Curro
Head of Year 9
Year 10
- On Tuesday 11 July St Mary’s will hold our Subject Expo in the Hugh O’Brien Centre. The Subject Expo allows all curriculum departments and external providers the opportunity to showcase the learning opportunities that are available to students moving into senior schooling.
- Parents are invited and encouraged to join their child to view the Subject Expo displays and speak with HODs, Teachers and External Certificate providers from 4.30pm until 5.30pm.
- From 5.30pm – 6.30pm there will be an information evening for Year 10 students and parents about Senior Pathways at St Mary’s.
- A follow-up Q&A Zoom session will be held on Thursday 20 July for parents who have any further questions or are seeking clarification regarding senior subject selection.
- SET (Senior Education and Training) Planning meetings will occur in Week 3. This is where an individualised meeting will be held with parents, students and an experienced member of staff to discuss the subjects chosen for Year 11.
- More details including booking procedures, will be communicated in the end of term mailout to families. Subject selection handbooks will also be published on the College website at the end of Term 2.
- Thank you to the parents who have replied to the Retreat & Alternative Program Parent Slip that was emailed out on Friday 2nd June. The cut off date for reply is next Friday 23rd June.
- Next Semester, Year 10s will have the opportunity to participate in the ‘Aspire to Teach’ program. Students will undertake training in ‘ready reading’ and other skills for teaching, before working with St Gerard Majella students to assist them with their reading. The training and school visits will take place during sport time (which will be Tuesday afternoon next semester). Students are being sent an expression of interest regarding this program so if they are interested, they need to complete the form.
Regards
John Cahill
Head of Year 10
Year 11
- It was so great to see the yr11 students so involved in the House assembly prior to the Carnival as well as the Athletics Carnival! Good leadership was observed on both days!
- Congratulations to all those who applied for Leadership positions in yr12; interviews for College Captains are taking place on Monday.
- Term 3 day 1 is Road Safety Day (RYDA)- a parent slip was sent, please acknowledge. This is part of our SEL program and it is not optional. Yr11s are learning to drive, it is important to fully understand the potential dangers.
- It is important that students reflect upon their semester one results now as they will need to finalise their Unit 2 subjects by the end of Week 10 this term. All subjects have now started Unit 2 work and if students join any later than the end of Week 10, they will be unable to catch up on work missed. To change a subject, students will need to meet with Ms Ambrose to discuss the change, see if the change can occur with line constraints and get a form signed by parents/guardians to allow the change. Thank you for your assistance in spending time considering the best subject choices for Unit 2. There is one more opportunity to change for Unit 3 & 4 (and that is at the end of Unit 2 - October 2023).
Regards
Sophie McQueen
Head of Year 11
Year 12
- Congratulations to all House leaders and the seniors who assisted - you led your teams well and participated with pride - Good work!
- Monday - Emmanuel College from UQ will be here to speak to any students interested in studying and living in Brisbane - check daily notices for when and where.
- Tuesday - JCU open day - you should have lodged your interest with Mrs Ambrose by now if planning to attend. mMake sure you have informed your teachers and found out what work you will miss.
- Students received the QTAC guide last week (electronic/paper available) – this guide assists them with applying to University courses (Bachelor degrees) and TAFE Diplomas. Students are encouraged to read through them to look at options for the future. Students will have an information session at school on 1st of August regarding QTAC applications and JCU will hold a QTAC webinar 27th of July (to register visit https://jcu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_JWexiwRAThqFJy4F3fnx1A#/registration)
- The electronic version of the QTAC guide can be accessed at https://www.qtac.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/QTAC_Y12-Guide_2024-compressed.pdf
- With holidays around the corner, please remember that your subjects have not ‘finished’ for the semester, in fact most are in the middle of an IA3 assessment or will be holding one early next term. It is important that you attend all your classes this week and continue to work on achieving your best.
- I would like to wish all students and your families a very safe and restful break. I hope you enjoy your time off and come back rested and refreshed for Term 3.
Regards
Lucy Fitzpatrick
Head of Year 12
lfitzpatri@cns.catholic.edu.au