St Joseph's Catholic School - Mundingburra eNewsletter

Acknowledgement of Country

We respectfully acknowledge the past and present traditional owners of this land on which we stand, the Wulgurukaba and neighbouring Bindal people who are the custodians. We pray that we can walk together to a better future.

From the Principal

Dear Parents and Carers, Staff and Students

Welcome back to Term 3 and our first Newsletter for the term. I hope those in our school community who were lucky enough to have time off over the recent holiday break were able to enjoy the beautiful weather and spend some quality time with family, whether at home or away. We’ve had an energetic start to Term 3, with so much already happening in our school community.

The term began with a great social event hosted by our P & F Association. The Pop Icon themed Trivia Night was well attended and created a great sense of fun and connection for everyone involved. Events like these take a lot of planning and effort behind the scenes, and we are so grateful to the P & F for their dedication and ongoing support. I would particularly like to express gratitude to James and Chole, the husband and wife team who not only organised the Trivia Night, but also ran the event. A big thank you also to Amanda, Meagan and Mia for their contributions to a wonderful night. Occasions such as these strengthen the sense of community that makes our school so special.

Interschool Sport for our Year 6 students kicked off in Week 1, and will run through until Week 7. We are looking forward to witnessing the enthusiasm and sportsmanship on display as our students represent the school in touch and soccer. Participation in sport provides so many benefits for young people — building teamwork, resilience, and confidence while encouraging healthy, active lifestyles. We’re proud of the way our students have begun the season, and look forward to seeing them continue to grow and enjoy the competition.

Tomorrow we have a number of students who are taking part in the annual Challenge Games. This event is a wonderful celebration of inclusion, courage and achievement, offering a unique opportunity for students to come together in a supportive and competitive environment. We are thankful to Therese and Mia, our Inclusive Practices teachers, for facilitating our participation in this event and for making the experience such a special one for all who attend. It is great to see the staff and students involved embracing this experience.

Finally, we’re excited to celebrate a major milestone for our Prep students this Friday as they reach their 100th day of school! This is a significant moment in the school journey of our youngest learners. It’s incredible to reflect on how much they have grown and achieved in just a few short months – socially, emotionally, and academically. We look forward to marking this occasion with a variety of activities, including a metamorphosis of our preppies from our youngest students to our oldest as they dress up to look 100 years old.

Thank you to all families for your continued support as we commence yet another busy and rewarding term. We look forward to the many exciting learning and community opportunities ahead.

Enjoy the rest of your week.

God bless

Tracy

ARPE News

Catholic Education Week will be celebrated in Catholic schools next week in Queensland. This annual event is held to promote the special ethos of Catholic schools and to highlight the great things that take place in Catholic schools every day. The theme for this year’s celebrations is: Communities of Faith, Hope and Love.

Catholic education strives to make a difference in the lives of those in our schools and in the wider community by challenging young people to live out the message of Jesus and to reach their full potential as compassionate, contributing, life-giving members of society.

Dignity Pack Appeal

This Friday 25th August some of our students will be participating in a homeless sleepout night with students and staff from Marian and St Joseph’s The Strand. They will spend time learning about what it means to be homeless and ways in which they can help. As part of this they will be creating Dignity Packs that will be supplied to the homeless. We are asking for donations of toiletries to help with this.

Feast Day of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop

School Celebration: Our school community will celebrate the Feast Day of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop on Friday 8th August. We will begin our day with a Mass in the Shelter Shed. All are welcome to join us. Students will then join together to participate in a range of hands-on activities to explore some of the characteristics and values of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop; trusting, contemplative, traveller, teacher, team player, communicator, resilient and compassionate. Mary MacKillop was a woman whose faith led her to blaze untravelled paths and live a life in the service of others. A woman we can be truly inspired by to live the Gospel of Jesus.

Sacramental Program

For those families enrolled in our sacramental program please see the timetable below. We will be starting our lessons next Monday afternoon. All students involved will need to bring a snack for afternoon tea and meet Mrs Plant and Mrs Taylor in the shed after school. Parents do not attend the lessons.

Christian Meditation will take place each Thursday morning at 8:00am in the Library. Meditation is a form of sacred and silent prayer, known as prayer of the heart. It is a lovely way to start the day!

Assemblies

Our next assembly will be in:

Week 3: Catholic Education Week Liturgy hosted by Year 6 Students 8:45am

Week 4: Will be hosted by 2A 2:00pm

May God’s blessing be with you, Peta.

The Joey's Way

Term 3 Important Dates

Please see our Term 3 Important Dates listed below.

Kindly note that there have been some amendments, and this is the most up-to-date version.

Star Students

100 Days of Prep!

Friday 25th July will mark 100 days of school for our Prep students! It’s a wonderful opportunity to reflect on all the learning we've done so far and enjoy some fun activities together, all while dressed as 100-year-olds!

Library News

This year the Children’s Book Council of Australia celebrates the 80^th year of amazing shortlisted award-winning books, encouraging children to imagine, explore and create their own adventures. An inspiring snapshot video at today’s Assembly; ‘Book an Adventure’, was introduced to students from PREP-Year 6. This immersive lively video on books and adventures, launched the Book Week 2025 for the Term 3.

The 2025 special artwork and artist, chosen to inspire the Book Week 2025 theme of ‘Book an Adventure’, is the artist Jess McGeachin, who has also been nominated as one of the illustrators in the Shortlisted Category - CBCA 2025 Eve Pownall Award nominations – called, ‘South with the Seabirds’.

This factual book about Macquarie Island is the inspiration for the Macquarie Island scientific reading tent, set up in the library, for students to enjoy reading and imagining themselves camping on the Island. Jess McGeachin’s fantastical journey illustrations, reflect the theme for this year, inspiring children to go on an adventure through time, in different lands and expand their imaginations!

Book Week 2025 will peak during 16 – 23 August with celebrations and announcements of the winning awards for the best categories of Australian Authors and Illustrators from the Shortlisted Books. There are currently six shortlisted categories:

CBCA Book of the Year for Oder Readers (directed towards Secondary Students)

CBCA Book of the Year for Younger Readers

CBCA Book of the Year for Early Childhood

CBCA Book of the Year for Picture Book

CBCA Eve Pownall Award

CBCA Award for New Illustrator

This year the library will have every fortnight, a new scientific investigation display from the Queensland Museum on many different topics. This week we have a collection of items showing a snapshot, with artefacts, specimens, replicas and models on the topic of ‘Pirates’. This should excite and inspire those Grade 2 pirates in the next few weeks!

Check out the many other topics on the scientific investigation displays each fortnight.

Our exciting Book Week Parade will be held on Tuesday, 19^th August 2025 at 9.00am. Students will be discovering more great Australian literature every week, which will inspire Book Week costume ideas. More information will be discussed in the next Newsletter or you are very welcome to contact us for any queries about the Book Week 2025 program.

Also, students in Grades 4 and 5 have a unique opportunity this year to enjoy a 10-week Reading Adventure Journal. Students have been given an individual ‘Reading Passport’, to read at least one special book each week, choosing a genre or book they don’t usually try! Each week their Reading Adventure Journal will be stamped by a Librarian, until 10 genre suggestion boxes have been filled. Enjoy your Reading Adventure!

As usual there are lots of adventures to have in the library during this term…join the adventure!!

SCHOLASTIC BOOK CLUB

Scholastic Issue 5 pamphlets were sent out to students last week. Any orders made through the Scholastic LOOP system will need to be finalized by Wednesday, 30 July 2025.

SORA BOOK HUB

Sora eBook hub will commence this week with Mrs H. at lunchtime Thursday! Join the Club!

J.R.R. Tolkien

Happy Reading!

St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal

First Nations News

NAIDOC Week March

During the school holidays students, staff and family members joined in the Townsville NAIDOC March from Kirwan State Highschool to Riverway. It was great to see the students proudly holding the banner that was made by P-6 students during our NAIDOC activities in Week 10. Many families stayed on and enjoyed the stalls, rides and entertainment at the Deadly Day Out. Thank you to everyone who was involved.

Digital Technologies News

🔆 Rising Sun 3D Printing Support - Ephemera 2025 ‘Tide Walkers’🔆

Last term, our Year 6 students were lucky to visit Rising Sun FPV in Townsville for an exclusive look at professional 3D printing in action.

With Ephemera 2025 commencing over the weekend, we encourage all St Joseph’s families and friends to support Zak and his team as they reveal their incredible artwork to the community. Their display is at Site 22 on The Strand, right on the beach opposite the Watermark Hotel, with lighting for night viewing too!

The towering male and female crabs were 3D printed using recycled filament and rubbish collected from local beaches — a massive project for Rising Sun FPV. Our students had the chance to hear Zak and his team explain the creative process and see real-world technology in action.

If you’re visiting Ephemera 2025, don’t miss Site 22 and the chance to support the amazing work of Rising Sun FPV!

Cast your vote for Zak and the team in the Wilson/Ryan/Grose Lawyers People’s Choice Award from the 19th of July here (Voting closes Friday 1 August 2025)

Guidance Counsellor

National Child Protection Week is coming!

National Child Protection Week falls in week 9 of term 3 (7- 13 September). The theme for this year builds on last year’s focus and is ‘Every Conversation Matters: Shifting Conversation to Action’.

According to NAPCAN “This theme highlights that while open discussions are crucial, words alone are not enough: we must turn dialogue into meaningful action. NAPCAN acknowledges that while conversations can raise awareness, challenge harmful norms, and spark new ideas, real change happens when we take steps to create safer environments for children that prevent them from harm. This year, we are focusing on moving beyond conversations to concrete actions that prevent harm and instead, focussing on strengthening support systems, and empowering communities to actively protect children. By shifting from conversation to action, we can ensure that every child not only feels heard but also experiences real safety, care, and protection.”

Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024

In November 2024, Australia’s Parliament passed the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024. The bill was introduced to address ongoing concerns about the impacts of children’s access to social media platforms.

The Online Safety Amendment amends the Online Safety Act 2021. It’s designed to create specific requirements for children’s access to social media platforms, the most notable being a ban for children in Australia under age 16 from holding accounts on these platforms. Companies operating affected social media platforms will be expected to introduce and enforce age gating to prevent children from using the platforms.

This new legislation comes into effect in December 2025. You can find out more here https://www.esafety.gov.au/about-us/industry-regulation/social-media-age-restrictions

Inclusive Education

Celebrating Disability Pride Month – July

Throughout July, we proudly recognise Disability Pride Month – a time to celebrate the diversity, strength, and contributions of people with disability in our community and around the world.

Disability Pride Month is more than awareness – it's about embracing the idea that disability is a natural and valuable part of human diversity. It’s a reminder that all people, regardless of their abilities, have the right to be respected, included, and celebrated for who they are.

At St Joseph’s, we are committed to creating a learning environment where every student feels valued, supported, and safe to be themselves. We believe that difference is something to be proud of, and that all students bring their own unique perspectives and talents to our school community.

This month is an opportunity to talk with our students about kindness, inclusion, and acceptance – and to recognise the importance of listening to and learning from people with disability. We encourage families to have these conversations at home too, and to celebrate the strengths and stories of people living with disability in our broader community.

Christian Meditation

Live Webinar Event - Strengthening Young People Against Anxiety

Friendology

P&F News

📢 Calling all Mums! 📢

We know Dads don’t always check the school comms (or their emails… or their calendars… or their messages…), so we’re counting on YOU to spread the word!

The St. Joey’s Father’s Day social event is happening on Saturday, 23 August from 3pm at the Seaview Hotel - Sports Bar.

What’s in it for the Joey’s father figures?

✅A kid-free, partner-free arvo

✅ A bit of a chin-wag about nothing in particular

✅Sports on screens + some food and drink

✅A kid-free, partner-free arvo (did we mention that already?)

📆 When: Saturday, 23rd August from 3pm

📍Where: Seaview Hotel - Sports Bar

🎯TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW : https://www.trybooking.com/DDQMN

(If you’re a Dad that does read the school comms - you’re making the rest of us look bad!)

Mass Times

Parish Mass Times

Wednesday 7.00am

Friday 7.00am

Saturday 5.00pm

Sunday 7.30am

Term 3 Week 2 Newsletter 2025