1 May 2019

Newsletter Articles

Important Dates

Gilroy on the Go

Aladdin

Confraternity Fundraiser - Lamingtons

All Aboard

During the first term, Miss Roseanne Coyle initiated the idea of a Model Railway Club at Gilroy Santa Maria College. She donated a number of model railway magazines, buildings and accessories that had been collected over a number of years. We have a number of students who are interested in model trains and so, Mr Matthews sought a suitable layout table that would be both affordable and convenient. He was able to find a foldout layout that came with some tracks and rolling stock. Mr Staples assisted in fixing the layout to the back wall in M7.

Soon after, Kubby Beaumont-Auld offered his expertise in model trains and became the chief engineer assisting in laying the track and planning the layout while Mr Matthews continued in the role of ‘The Fat Controller’, overseeing the club’s activities.

And so it was that the Model Railway Club was formed. Since then, Miss Coyle has purchased plastic sugar cane to add to the layout and in the coming months, we will have some buildings and scenery set up. Along with Miss Coyle’s and Mr Matthews’ contributions, Ross, from the local second-hand/antique store in Ingham, has been very generous in providing discounted rolling stock and even donated some free paints, tracks and spare parts. Thanks, Ross!

The Model Railway Club was initially intended for students in Yrs 7 and 8 but we welcome any model train enthusiasts to participate and contribute. The club meets at Second Lunch on Wednesday and Friday in M7.

Michael Matthew

La Mano Nera

Last term, Yr 10 Preparation for Essential English students studied advertising techniques and then read Adam Grossetti’s play, “Mano Nera” (The Black Hand). “Mano Nera” was the stimulus for students to create an advertising campaign, promoting the school’s production and presentation of the play.

“Mano Nera” highlights the activities of the notorious Black Hand gang that was active in Ingham from around 1930 to 1935 and provides an intriguing insight into life in Ingham during that period. As a culminating activity, students went on a short historical tour of Ingham with local historian, Mrs Bianka Balanzategui, as the tour guide.

Some of the sites that were visited during the tour included the Ingham Railway Station, Noorla Hotel, which was a boarding house for cane cutters, the old cemetery, Tyto Wetlands where some of the farming machinery from the era is on display and other historical buildings and sites that were relevant to the play. Students and staff were fascinated by Mrs Balanzategui and her vast knowledge of the district and the people involved.

Hopefully, students benefitted from the experience. Thank you to Mrs Balanzategui for giving up her time to be our tour guide. Thanks also to Mr Peter Staples who drove the bus and to Miss Phoebe Slater for supporting students during the term and helping to supervise the excursion.

Below are some photographs that were taken during the excursion.

Ingham Railway Station. If the line hadn’t been built in Ingham, Halifax would have been the main centre.

Yr 9 Food Tech

The Yr 9 Food Technology class have been involved in preparing menus and food options for assessment, which have teenage appeal.

Recently, they each cooked their designed dish to share with the class for lunch. The class made sushi, rice paper rolls, stir fry, smoothies, sausages rolls, quiche & fried rice. Some recipes were designed based on family traditions. Well done to the Yr 9 students.

Danielle Mastrippolito

ANZACs Remembered at Ingham RSL Section of the Cemetery

Modern History students along with Senior Leaders placed Australian Flags at the Ingham RSL section of the cemetery recently.

ANZAC Day March

Each year our school is well represented at ANZAC Day March's around the region, including Ingham, Cardwell and Halifax. Students are proud to March to show respect to all soldiers.

ANZAC Day Liturgy

Recently our school commemorated Anzac Day with a liturgy. We were fortunate to have Captain Cameron Coppo, a past student of Gilroy, speak to the school about the significance of Anzac Day and the importance of remembering those who have served our country during times of crisis and to reflect upon their selfless sacrifice.

Principal

Dear Gilroy Santa Maria College Community

Last week, with two public holidays was a crazy way to begin what is going to be a crazy term. With so many events and activities taking place in our school calendar, we all will have our running shoes on to ensure everything goes smoothly. It started with our ANZAC commemorations, which again showed me how important our College and the wider Herbert River and Cardwell communities view this truly national day. It demonstrated a great spirit, one of appreciation, respect and reverence. We had over half our student population and many of our staff attend either one or more ceremonies in which we were represented at six different commemorations beginning at the Dawn Parade in Ingham and finishing at Cardwell. Thanks to all families who attended the various ceremonies. We also commemorated ANZAC day at school with a meaningful Liturgy. Congratulations and thank you to Ms Timms and Ms Cianciullo for the important role they played and thanks also to our school leaders and senior history class for presenting such an informative, spiritual and respectful ceremony.

This Thursday 2 May, we conduct the first of five Yr 6 Transition Days in preparation for secondary schooling in 2020. All children throughout the Ingham district have been invited to attend these days and I’m confident they will enjoy the experience. Students will experience lessons in our great facilities, meet our teachers and generally become familiar with our school. We received great reviews to previous years’ program with many parents sharing that it made the transition to secondary school very smooth. If you know of any families with current Yr 6 students encourage them to attend or contact the school for more details.

Over the Easter holidays, we received terrific news about our 2018 NAPLAN results. We were acknowledged Australia wide for the excellent improvement our students made in Reading and Numeracy from when they were Yr 7 students in 2016 to when they were Yr 9 students in 2018. I share with you excerpts of the letter I received:

Dear Principal,

I am pleased to advise that ACARA has identified your school as having demonstrated substantially above average gain in reading and numeracy achievement, as measured by NAPLAN.

On behalf of ACARA, I would like to extend my congratulations to you and your school community on this achievement. Improvement in student literacy and/or numeracy of this magnitude, as measured by NAPLAN, is significant and worthy of highlighting and acknowledging.

Regards
David de Carvalho
Chief Executive Officer
Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority

I trust you would agree it is something we should be very proud of. While on NAPLAN, our current Yrs 7 and 9 students will sit NAPLAN Testing in Week 4. Both year levels will be joining the rest of the country in completing Literacy and Numeracy tasks. Results from the testing provides reports that identify areas of success and areas that might need improvement both at an individualised and whole school level. The results of these tests are becoming increasingly important and I encourage students to give themselves the best chance of success by being well rested and prepared for these three days.

On Thursday 23 May, we will conduct our Parent/Student/Teacher Interviews. They will be conducted between 3:10pm and 7:30pm. Booking times and instructions will be sent out next week with the Interim Report Cards.

Next week on Thursday and Friday, our school community has the pleasure in presenting our latest musical “Hairspray” at the Kelly Theatre. I’m informed that Friday’s concert is sold out so contact the office for tickets to Thursday’s shows. As you could imagine hours and hours of preparation has taken place and I’m sure it will be great entertainment. A huge thanks to our Director Ms Linley Cerqui who has truly devoted the last six months of her life to this production. Thanks also to the many staff, students and parents who have contributed so generously. Come along to see our students sing and dance, hear the great sound of our band and the costumes and props that all make up what promises to be a fun show.

Last week we welcomed Ms Kim McLean to our teaching staff. Kim is an experienced teacher and joins our English and Humanities departments. Kim replaces Mr Gerhard Bekker who moved to Brisbane.

As mentioned previously it is a busy term. Please keep an eye on the important dates listed on this newsletter, the Compass News Feed and follow us on Facebook for updates to events and activities.

God Bless
John Nuttall

From the Acting Assistant Principal
(Administration & Curriculum)

Welcome back to everyone for Term 2. I hope you had a relaxing and enjoyable break and are well rested for the very busy term ahead.

TERM 1 EXAMS

I would like to congratulate students on their examination efforts and results. Students have recorded their results in their school diary and an Interim Report will be available next week. As always, those students who are putting in the effort both in class and at home are reaping their just rewards and achieving great results. Along with some commendable results, also some need to reflect on their commitment to their academic studies. Students who are not achieving satisfactory results should be considering their options and reassessing their approach. Please take advantage of the extensive afterschool and lunchtime Academic Support offered by the college. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your child’s progress, then please ensure an appointment is made with subject teachers when Parent/Teacher/Student interviews are held on Thursday 23 May and take advantage of this opportunity to discuss your child’s progress.

ASSESSMENT PLANNERS

Students are already well underway with coursework and assessment tasks for Term 2. The Term 2 Assessment Planners have been emailed to all students and Parents. These planners are also available on the website. Students will need to use these planners to carefully organise their study and homework time as the planners indicate a very busy term ahead. Being organised is an integral part of being successful in life. My QCE is available on the QCAA website and is deliberately designed for students. It has many helpful sections and certainly worth a visit. The following advice comes from this website.

Get Organised

Organising yourself and your study space will make it easier to finish your tasks on time and not feel overwhelmed.

Organise yourself

• Create a study space that is free of distractions and has everything within reach.
• Keep a calendar on your wall and list the dates of your assessments.
• Get into a routine and set aside blocks of study time each day.
• Build 'free' time into each day for something you enjoy.
• Take regular breaks and move around to keep your mind and body active.
• Limit distractions such as social media.
• Allocate time each week to catch up with friends and family.

Organise your work

• Forward planning — understand the components of each task and how long they might take.
• Time management — make a plan and allow for unexpected events such as technology issues (they will always happen!) or changes in personal circumstances.
• Manage multiple deadlines — divide each assessment task into smaller 30-minute tasks (essay plan, essay introduction, essay body, etc.) and slot these into your calendar.

COGNITIVE VERBS

The New QCE System demands that students are very aware of certain verbs called Cognitive Verbs. Teachers will use these verbs in their teaching and assessment for all subjects across all grades. It is vital that students understand what the verb is asking them to do. All verbs and their definition are in the school diary and on the walls of each classroom. In each newsletter, I will endeavour to share with you a verb poster that has been supplied by QCAA. Of particular interest is the suggested “sentence starters” which students may find useful. The first cognitive verb is ANALYSE, please use this link to get to the poster.

NAPLAN TESTING - Yrs 7 & 9

Yrs 7 and 9 students completed a practice NAPLAN test on Tuesday 30 April in preparation for the formal testing, which will be in week 4 from Tuesday 14 May – Thursday 16 May. Students are required to bring 2B pencils, eraser, sharpener and a calculator. Students who are exempt from these Tests have already been notified and will have an alternate program during these times.

Yr 10 SET PLAN

Thank you to Mrs Douglas who started the SET Planning with Yr 10 in the last week of Term 1. Please take advantage of the wealth of knowledge that Mrs Douglas can offer. There are a multitude of career pathways open to students.

Yr 6 TRANSITION PROGRAM

On Thursday, Gilroy Santa Maria College will host Yr 6 students for their first of five transition days for secondary schooling at the college. These days offer an excellent experience for life as a student at Gilroy.

ANZAC DAY

One of the most important commemorations days of the year is ANZAC Day. Last Wednesday we held our own commemoration, thank you to Christine Timms, Heidi Cianciullo and the senior Modern History students for organising and presenting a remarkable tribute. Thank you also to Danielle Mastrippolito and her Food Technology classes for baking the scrumptious ANZAC biscuits that everyone enjoyed. As always, the commemoration was very well organised and served as an honourable dedication. Thank you also to the large number of students who attended the various parades around our district. It is very obvious that our young people have great respect for this event.

God Bless
Joan Devietti

From the Assistant Principal
(Religious Education)

Welcome back to Term 2. I hope you had an enjoyable break over Easter. It is always wonderful to see everyone safely back at school and ready to start afresh. We have lots in stall for this term in the religious life of the school.

Yr 8’s and 10’s will be on retreat shortly. Yr 8 will be heading to Quinola Lakes in Week 4 for a retreat centred around what it means to be a good friend. Yr 10 are off to Camp Gelding in Week 5. This is a new site for this retreat. The Missionaries of God’s Love Youth Group will be overseeing the retreat again this year, which I am looking forward to. They ran this retreat last year, which proved to be a very positive experience for the students involved.

The Yr 11 students are in the process of implementing their Social Justice Projects in the school community. Students have identified issues that impact many different groups within society and have come up with campaigns to further increase our awareness of them. I look forward to sharing some of their ideas with you for the rest of the year.

Easter was celebrated over the holidays. This season is the most significant in the Church calendar. During Lent, we were called to reconciliation, repentance, prayer, almsgiving and fasting. It is now time to rejoice that Jesus is alive. He is guiding and loving us and through this joy, we are to celebrate life and become beloved followers of Jesus. Through our good actions and words, we truly show our faith in the risen Lord.

God bless
Christine Timms

Prayer

Jesus, we celebrate your new life with great joy. May we have your life in us that others may see your good works in all that we do. May alleluia be our song this Eastertide, and may we walk with you as one set apart for God, as one called to holiness and wholeness. Amen.

God Bless
Christine Timms

From the Acting Assistant Principal
(Pastoral Care)

Thanks in advance,

Bullying Survey:

It would be naive to think that bullying doesn’t occur in all schools and at Gilroy Santa Maria College, we are committed to providing an inclusive, safe and supportive learning environment, which means doing everything in our power to minimise and prevent incidence of bullying. In response to the National Day of Action Against Bullying (15 March 2019), a school-wide bullying survey was emailed to all students last term. The aim of the survey was to collect data to help better identify key factors including where, when, how, who and how often bullying is occurring in our college.

Thank-you to those 195 students who took part in the survey, the data proved very informative and we will be using it to help guide our school approach against bullying. For example, the majority of bullying at our school occurs in the lunch and play areas and we are working to increase awareness of this and reviewing staff area duty allocation.

The results showed that 41% of students from Yrs 7 - 12 have never been bullied at Gilroy Santa Maria College and a further 31% stated that they have only experienced it once or twice in their time here. The flipside of this is that 28% of students indicated that they are exposed to bullying more than once a month. Some results were not so surprising, such as 30% of students who have been bullied identified that they have been cyber bullied and that this mainly occurs on weekends. 11% of students also identified that they are bullied by students from a different school.

The most common type of bullying at school is being teased or called names, closely followed by rumours being spread and the exclusion from groups. We are working collectively to address these issues as a whole school and in year levels as 93% of bullies are in the same grade as the bullied. Over the coming terms we will be using role-play to equip students with some first-hand skills to combat bullying. Last term Pastoral Leaders ran a session on rumours in their year level assembly as the most common type of bullying experienced was being teased or called names, followed by rumours being spread. This involved some simple games of Chinese Whispers and evidence informed practice on why students bully.

The person students are most likely to tell if bullied are their friends, followed by a parent. This demonstrates the positive relationship you have with your children. Alarmingly, 28% of students stated that they just keep it to themselves. Please continue to encourage your students to share information, as we cannot help students with an issue that we don’t know about.

We are hoping to send out the same survey at the end of the year and at the start of next year in order to track our effectiveness at minimising the incidence of bullying at Gilroy Santa Maria College. If you have any concerns regarding bullying at our school, please do not hesitate to contact myself or any of our staff members.

Blessings
Karen Lahtinen

From the Business Manager

Welcome back to the new term. School fees will be issued and emailed this week so keep an eye out for them. If your email address or any details have changed over the holidays, please let the office know. If you receive your school fees by mail, it means we do not have your correct email in our system.

Term 2 School Fees are due 31 May 2019

There are a number of fundraising activities happening around the school this term. QISSN are selling chocolates and Krispy Kreme donuts and Confro is selling lamingtons. If you would like to support any of these please contact the school office.

If you are paying by direct debit, please ensure you include the family code located on your statement.

If you have any outstanding, fees please contact the school. Please do not let them go into arrears. As always, if for any reason you are finding it difficult to pay school fees. Please contact the Principal or myself to discuss the matter

BANK DETAILS are as follows:

WESTPAC Ingham
BSB - 034-187
Account Number – 145 925
Name – Gilroy Santa Maria College
Detail – (Family code from statement)

Ros Giuliano

Sports News

Yr 7 NQ Netball Cup

Back row: Cobie Skinner, Ashleigh Smallwood, Adele Jensen,
Lijllianna Heystraten, Danika Marsh
Front Row: Grace Moloney, Lucy Biviano, Louise Poggio,
Lara Deambrogio, and Jennifer Bridges

On Friday 26 April, a group of Yr 7 girls travelled down to Townsville to play against schools in the NQ Netball Cup.

In hot and humid conditions, the girls played four games coming away with one win. The girls gave it their all and left nothing on the court, taking many positives away from the experience. We are looking forward to building as a team, and continuing to play other teams around the district.

Calendar of Sporting Events:

Term 2 is looking at being another busy term for school sport. Students are reminded to keep an ear out in homerooms, check the information board for calendar of events and ask their HPE teachers about sporting events.

Key Dates:

Erin Cerutti

Academic Support

PLEASE NOTE: All students welcome for Homework, Assignments, Academic Tutoring and Organisation.

Indigenous Homework Support

Tuckshop News

VOLUNTEERS ARE ALWAYS NEEDED!

Tuckshop Volunteers are only needed to work from 8:30am to 12:00pm.

Please note: The NEW lunch times are as follows:

1st Lunch – 10:55am – 11:25am
2nd Lunch – 12:55pm finish 1:25pm

Start time is preferably 8.30 am- 12.00pm or until when you are available. Thank you and we look forward to seeing you all again this year.

If there is any query in regards to this roster or you are unavailable please contact:

Sandra Benedetto [0427 765 321] - Jodie Lino [0407 904 918]

What’s Happening in the Parish

Ingham Region Catholic Parishes Newsletter

UP Coming Events:

• Lourdes Fete—Saturday 11 May
• St Peter’s School Silver Circle—Saturday 18 May
• Youth Mass—Sunday 19 May 7.00pm
• Confirmation—Thursday 30 May & Friday 31 May
• Debutante Ball—Saturday 1 June
• Walk for Witness—ecumenical prayer walk through Ingham - Sunday 2 June
• Feast of St Anthony at Bemerside—Sunday 9 June

Father Damian McGrath
Parish Priest
Ingham Region Catholic Parishes

Advertising with Schoolzine

Would you like to advertise in our new Schoolzine eNewsletter? Currently, Schoolzine is working diligently to source family friendly advertising sponsors and will then rebate quarterly 20% of revenue back to the school.

If you are interested in advertising either contact the school office or feel free to email Schoolzine any questions, suggestions or advertising enquiries.

Email: advertising@schoolzine.com.au
Phone: 07 5414 2361