Gilroy Santa Maria College eNewsletter

Arts Retrospective

Families and members of the Ingham community are invited to join us for our ARTS RETROSPECTIVE to be held on Thursday 30 May! Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online at:
https://compasstix.com/event/c8a5d3ef-e889-4ed7-8071-57643fe82e87

Save the Date

Important Information

Prayer

We give you our college. We give you all the teachers and staff who work here. We give you all the students who study here. We pray our college will be a place of great discovery, adventure and creativity.

May it be a place where we love to learn and where we learn to love. A place where everyone is respected and all are deeply valued.

We ask all this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

From the Principal - Kevin Barnes

Dear Families,

I am seeking parent support to ensure our students wear their uniforms with pride and adhere to the standards set out in the uniform guidelines. Uniforms are an important part of the Gilroy Santa Maria College identity and must be worn by all students

Specifically, I remind all students that the acceptable jewellery standards are a watch, a plain necklace with a religious emblem to be worn under a shirt/blouse, a plain ring, no more than one pair of studs or sleepers to be worn in a female's earlobes. No male students are to wear earrings whilst in the College uniform.

I also remind all students of the requirement to wear the college bucket hat when moving around the school premises and during lunch breaks. I thank parents for your insistence in ensuring students attend school, meeting our uniform expectations.

Last Friday we held the first Transition Day where we invited all Year 6 students and parents to the College to showcase what Gilroy Santa Maria College has to offer students who are moving to secondary school next year. The morning session involved inviting prospective parents for a meet and greet coffee, a brief information session and a school tour whilst the students began their subject rotations with sessions in the workshop, hospitality kitchen and science labs. It was great to see the excitement and enthusiasm as they tried new experiences and developed hands-on skills. We look forward to further developing those skills and experiences in the coming weeks as we prepare for 2025.

Following discussions at the recent College Board meeting, I am seeking parent nominations to re-form the Parent and Friends (P&F) committee. The P&F are the parent representative body of the College who serve a very valuable role within the organisational structure of the College.

The purpose of the P&F is to provide support to the College Leadership Team, assist with building a strong sense of community within the College and provide additional fundraising opportunities for projects that directly benefit students. The P&F offers an opportunity for parents to meet in a relaxed and friendly environment and be involved in discussion about key aspects of College life.

I urge all parents and caregivers to consider joining the P&F and making a difference to our students' lives through being involved in our College. To express your interest in being part of the GSMC P&F please email admin@gilroysm.catholic.edu.au so we can make a difference together.

God bless
Kevin Barnes

From Maddyn White - Acting Assistant Principal - Pastoral

Dear Parents and Carers,

As we start to reach the pointy end of the term, it’s essential to reflect on the critical role of our Pastoral Care Team here at Gilroy Santa Maria College. Our pastoral leaders are vital in the domain of student wellbeing and welfare and we are so lucky at our college to have a supportive team of Pastoral leaders available to assist students in navigating the day to day challenges of life and school. Pastoral care isn’t just a complementary practice at Gilroy Santa Maria College; it’s an integral part of our school mission which is

“To nature the growth of the whole person in a safe, supportive and inclusive Catholic learning environment"

I encourage you to reach out to your child’s respective pastoral leader if you have any questions or concerns regarding your child.

God Bless,
Maddyn White

Essential Emails

Yr 7 & 8 Pastoral Leader:	Ms Paula Rand	prand@gilroysm.catholic.edu.au
Yr 11 & 12 Pastoral Leader:	Mrs Erin Cerutti	ecerutti@gilroysm.catholic.edu.au
Guidance Counsellor	Ms Kate Stringini	kstringini@gilroysm.catholic.edu.au
Acting Assistant Principal - Religious Education:	Mrs Cassandra Venturato	cventurato@gilroysm.catholic.edu.au
Acting Assistant Principal - Pastoral & Yr 9 & 10 Pastoral Leader:	Ms Maddyn White	mwhite16@gilroysm.catholic.edu.au
Deputy Principal:	Mrs Melissa Carr	mcarr1@gilroysm.catholic.edu.au
Principal:	Mr Kevin Barnes	kbarnes2@gilroysm.catholic.edu.au

From the Business Manager –Ros Giuliano

School fees are now overdue.

Thank you to all who have paid fees to date. If you have not paid recently
please do so ASAP.

In accordance with the mission, values and ethos of our school, we remain
committed to providing an education to all students regardless of their financial circumstances.

BPAY is our preferred method of payment. The details are on the family statement. You can also pay weekly, fortnightly, monthly or by term by Payway, direct debit, credit card, cash or cheque.

As always, if you have any questions or queries, please contact the Principal or myself to discuss the matter. The sooner you make contact the sooner we can work together for a solution.

Ros Giuliano
rgiuliano@gilroysm.catholic.edu.au

Gamers @ Gilroy

Saturday 18 May, saw the second gamers event for the year with quite a few new participants. There were some Year 7 students who attended for the first time. A couple of former students who are now beginning teachers also attended. Mr Auld assisted in organising and running the event. We raised close to $300 for charity. Gamers@Gilroy - Gaming for good!

Interschool Cross Country

Gilroy students travelled to St Teresa's Abergorwrie on Tuesday 14 May. All students represented the college with pride, showcasing their long-distance running skills. Gilroy won the Overall Boys trophy and secured 6 of the 12 age champions. Congratulations to the following students for receiving Age Champions for their age groups;

12 years: Adam Mammino & Lacey Jayasuria

13 years: Lara Biasi

14 years: Sofia Inunciaga

15 years: Meg Thomson

Opens: Nathan Venturato

Jaidyn Spina
HPE Academic Leader & Sports Coordinator

Congratulations

A big congratulations goes to Millie-J Lino Gofton for representing the northern region in school football (soccer) as the goalkeeper in Wynnum Brisbane.

Millie-J had an amazing carnival overall and her team took 5th spot and were ranked the highest regional team for the tournament. From this, Millie-J was selected for the Queensland U15s Schoolgirls Football Merit team.

Pastoral Leaders - Messages

Go Pink for Breast Cancer

On Thursday, May 23, staff and students wore pink and donated gold coins to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, raising over $500. The day began with a sea of pink throughout the school, from pink tutu’s, socks, and ribbons, the students enjoyed the experience.

During our Pastoral lesson, Students enjoyed cupcakes, jelly cups, and lollies while being entertained by a cricket match played by senior students and staff, with the teachers taking out the win.

A huge ‘Thank you’ goes to our Year 11 & 12 Hospitality students who helped prepare sweets, and the staff and students involved in the cricket match.

Uniforms are an important part of the Gilroy Santa Maria College identity and must be worn by all students. Our uniform has been designed with the North Queensland climate in mind and provides comfortable and stylish wear for students in all year levels. The range of uniforms is designed for sporting activities, daywear and formal occasions. We are confident that our students will take pride in being members of the Gilroy Santa Maria College community and will choose to present themselves well.

The following guidelines have been established to assist students to make appropriate decisions about their presentation and grooming, so as to enhance the personal dignity of the students, and to promote the identity of the College in the wider community. For further information please refer to the Gilroy Santa Maria College Uniform Policy.

Hairstyles - Hair should always be clean, neat and tidy. Students are expected to wear their hair in conventional styles and colours, avoiding extremes of fashion.

Hairstyles should not impede learning or vision (hair over the eyes).

Unconventional cuts and styles are not acceptable. Examples of unacceptable trends include: dreadlocks, clip-on hair extensions, hair wraps, coloured beading, “Bali-style” braiding/corn rows (unless culturally appropriate), mohawks, mullets, ‘rats tails’, ‘patterns’ or lines cut into the hair.

Male students:

Hair must be above collar length.
Should be clean-shaven. Consideration will be given to cultural traditions.
Hair colours that the College deems extreme or not natural, including multi-coloured hair, is unacceptable.

Female students:

Must have their hair fully tied up if below collar-length (half up/half down is not permitted.)
Hair ties and accessories must be

Scrunchies, ribbons or small to medium size claw clips
School colours only (royal blue/navy, yellow or white)

Hair colours that the College deems extreme or not natural, including multi-coloured hair, are unacceptable.

Jewellery - Jewellery is not a necessary part of the College uniform. However, the College does allow the following items to be worn:

A watch
A plain necklace with religious emblem to be worn under shirt/blouse.
No more than one pair of studs or sleepers to be worn in female’s earlobes.
No male students are to wear earrings whilst in the College uniform.
A plain ring.
All other forms of bracelets, anklets, earrings, wristbands or piercings are banned from being worn at school or with the College uniform outside of school hours.

Make-up and Nail Polish – Students are not to wear coloured make-up or nail polish with their College Uniform.

Use of Diary:

Positive use of the student diary encourages organisation and discipline and is linked to improved quality of academic work. The student diary should be used to record subjects and prepare for the week ahead, as well as plan the completion of upcoming homework and assessments. Student diaries are also used as a communication tool between students, parents, and teachers.

Students need to ensure they have recorded their subjects and assessments for the rest of this term. Each day, students need to record their homework or the focus for the lesson, check for upcoming assessments and plan their time to ensure submission timelines will be met.

Year 11 Camp:

The Year 11 camp is scheduled for Term 3, week 1, to Columba Catholic College, Charters Towers. Permission forms were handed out last Thursday at the Year Level Assembly. If your child still needs to bring their note home please encourage them to pick up a permission form from Student Reception. All forms must be returned to Student Reception no later than Week 8, Friday.

Tuckshop

Parent Helpline for those who are having trouble placing their child's tuckshop order on the Flexischools tuckshop app.
Ph 1300 361 769

Student Accident Protection Plan - Claim Form

Student Accident Claim Form

Accidents will happen and they can be costly. Student Accident Protection Plan is a student accident insurance policy specifically designed to help cover the costs. Please click on the link above for more details and how to make a claim.