30 April 2025

Message from the Principal

Dear Parents and Carers of the Mary Help of Christians Catholic College Community,

A warm welcome to Term 2. It is so wonderful to start the term in our beautiful college, with the great majority of the building works completed. Final works such as the completion of remaining concrete pours and the installation of the tiered seating in the Auditorium are currently taking place. We look forward to our gardens growing and flourishing in the years to come.

ANZAC Day

We paused as a College, to recognise the sacrifice of those who served as ANZACs in World War I and to honour the service men and women who continue to serve our country every day. 

Last Thursday, we gathered for a meaningful ANZAC Liturgy where we listened and responded to the Gospel, joined together in prayer, and commemorated the courage, sacrifice, and service of those who have served our nation.

We were privileged to welcome Jacinta Stokes, a veteran of the Australian Defence Force, as our guest speaker. Jacinta offered a powerful reflection on the significance of ANZAC Day, deepening our understanding of the enduring values of service, courage, and resilience.

Lest we forget.

On ANZAC Day, a group of our students and staff proudly represented Mary Help of Christians Catholic College at the ANZAC Day Parade; our first march of many to come.

A heartfelt thank you to all students and staff who participated, and to the families who joined us in commemorating ANZAC Day. The students looked incredibly smart in their formal uniform, representing the occasion with pride and respect.

FACE Network Meeting

We are pleased to announce that our first FACE (Family and Community Engagement) Network Meeting will be held soon, and we warmly invite all parents and carers to attend.
Further details are provided below: 

Blessings 

Mardi Grubba
Principal

Catholic Identity, Mission and Wellbeing

Remembering Pope Francis (1936 - 2025)

On the 21st of April, Easter Monday, the sad news was announced that Pope Francis had passed away. Our College has joined with all of Townsville Catholic Education and, indeed, with the Catholic Church worldwide in commemorating his life and his contribution to the Church as it is today.

Mary Help of Christians Catholic College is fortunate to have been established during the papacy of Francis: the values we hold and seek to share with our community have been influenced significantly by his application of the teachings of Christ. Perhaps most notably, our three pillars – Learning, Service and Compassion – reflect his renewal of the fundamental Christian belief in the unique dignity of every human person. This is a belief that we seek to promote in all that we do as a College and as a community. We are grateful that, over the twelve years of his stewardship of the Church, Pope Francis captured the essence of Christ’s message so clearly.

As we move through the Novemdiales, nine days of mourning following his funeral last Saturday, we keep Pope Francis in our hearts. Our prayers as we have joined together in assemblies and other gatherings have honoured Francis’ life and legacy, and we will continue to mark this period of mourning throughout the Novemdiales by flying our flags at half mast.

As a community, we will continue to promote the legacy of Pope Francis through our ways of being, keeping in mind the simple prayer taught to him by his grandmother and shared with the world five years ago:

Jesus, make my heart more like yours.

Mr Graham Joseph
Assistant Principal - Catholic Identity, Mission and Wellbeing 

Learning and Thinking

The importance of reading to every learner’s success

Being able to read fluently is one of the keys to success in secondary school.  By the time students arrive in Year 7, the emphasis of the Australian Curriculum has transitioned from learning to read to reading to learn.  By the time they arrive in Year 11, they will be expected to read complex extended texts independently, particularly in subjects like English, Modern History, Legal Studies, Engineering, and all of the science subjects - Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Psychology. 

Being able to read fluently isn’t a luxury - it’s a skill that we need to support all students to develop.  However, for a variety of reasons, not all students have attained the expected literacy benchmarks prior to the end of primary school. As part of our college’s efforts to support the ongoing literacy development of all students, we have implemented the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) assessment to screen all Year 7 students for reading comprehension and oral reading fluency. For Year 7 students, these short, standardised assessments provide a measure of two key components of reading ability:

• Reading fluency refers to your child’s ability to read text accurately and automatically so that they can free their brain up to focus on understanding what they are reading.
  
  
• Reading comprehension refers to your child’s ability to understand what he or she reads. It is the ultimate goal of reading instruction.
  

By utilising these tools, we have been able to quickly identify students who may need additional support in their literacy journey. The data gathered from these screenings is allowing us to do two things:

1. introduce planned whole-class oral reading strategies. These strategies involve engaging students in reading aloud activities that promote fluency, comprehension, and confidence. Whole-class oral reading not only enhances individual reading skills but also fosters a collaborative learning environment where students can learn from each other.
   
   
2. for students who require more intensive support, we are currently in the planning phase to implement targeted tier 2 reading interventions. These interventions provide focused, small-group instruction designed to address specific reading challenges. Our Inclusive Practices Leader, Mrs Laura King, will be in touch with you as the term progresses if your child has been identified as needing this additional level of intervention and support.

Educational research clearly shows that these strategies can significantly enhance students' reading abilities and contribute to their overall academic success. We look forward to seeing the positive impact of these programs and continuing to support our students in their literacy development.

God bless,

Mr Paul Allan
Deputy Principal - Learning and Thinking

College Administration

Reminder: Catholic Schools Pupil Free Day - Friday 2nd May 2025

There is a pupil free day scheduled for all systemic Catholic schools in the Townsville Diocese on Friday, 2nd May 2025.  This means there will be no school on this day and parents/carers need to make alternative arrangements for the supervision of their children.  

During this pupil free day, teachers will attend a series of workshops designed to deepen their knowledge and understanding of the new version 9.0 of the Australian Curriculum, which is currently being implemented in stages across all schools.

School Class Photos

School class photos are occurring on Friday 16th May 2025.  Students will need to ensure they are wearing their full and correct formal uniform on the day.  Families are now able to place their photo orders online by clicking here. You will need to use the Access Key Code: JYDQ7KAZ when placing your order, please refer to the flyer below for further information.

Do you know about the College Calendar?

There is a public-facing calendar on our college website where you can see all of the important dates coming up in the life of the college.  You can access the calendar by visiting this link:

https://www.mhoc.catholic.edu.au/about-us/calendar/

First Nations Education

We have had a wonderful uptake for the Emerging Leaders program this year, with 100% of our First Nations students enrolled in the program. For those families who are yet to return their Personal Agreement Plans (PLAs), please return these as soon as possible.

On Wednesday 21st May from 5:30-6:30pm we will be holding a First Nations Advisory Group meeting at the College. We would like to warmly invite any First Nations families to join us, as we discuss important topics relating to First Nations Education here at Mary Help of Christians. A formal invitation will be sent out shortly with more information.

Co-Curricular Update

Dear Parents and Carers, 

Welcome to Term Two. Our Co-Curricular program is gaining momentum, with a range of activities now available for students to enjoy during their lunch breaks. Please refer to the timetable below for details on what's currently running—these sessions will continue through to the end of Week 3.

Stay tuned: a new timetable with additional Co-Curricular offerings will be released in Week 4!

Instrumental Music

Learning an instrument is a wonderful journey that not only develops musical skills but also builds confidence and resilience in young people. Applications for our Instrumental Music Program are still open, and we’d love to see more students get involved.

If you're interested in having your child learn an instrument or would like more information, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me.

Kind regards,

Lisa Arnold
Co-Curricular Design and Delivery Leader 

Guidance Counsellor

Welcome back to term 2! Hopefully our students and families had a lovely break from the busy school routine and everyone enjoyed settling back into college life last week.

Here are some helpful tips for parents on listening to young people. It is not always easy due to some additional communication barriers that adolescents face.

NAPCAN (National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect) have suggested the following helpful hints on how to be a good listener for a young person.

1. Show interest - Ask open ended questions rather than close questions that require a yes or no answer. 
2. Show respect - Feel privileged when a young person shares a problem with you. Offer ideas which may help them come up with their own solutions. 
3. Avoid being bossy - Offer ideas, opinions and support but avoid being judgemental or bossy. 
4. Allow for silences - Young people may not give answers. Leave the conversation open and they may come back to it. 
5. Be patient and find the right moment  - Suggest opportunities for one-on-one time when choosing to discuss big issues.  Young people may enjoy cafe visits and walks to avoid other family members such as siblings becoming involved in conversations. 
6. Encourage family discussions - Have open regular discussions as a family about general daily events. 
7. Build in family get together times - A dedicated time each week for the family to engage in a fun activity can provide opportunities to build connectedness. 
8. Other adults can be a support - Don’t be offended if a young person would prefer to talk to another adult instead.
9. Get to know their friends - Invite friends around so that you can get to know more about the people that the young person is engaging with most often.
10. LET THEM KNOW YOU ARE THERE - No matter how independent a young person may seem they always need to know that significant adults in their lives are there for them even if they may not always agree.

Parenting Ideas

Parenting Ideas is an online platform that provides evidenced based research to help people successfully raise confident, happy and resilient kids. The website provides resources for parents, including tip sheets and webinars, to help in different areas throughout the parenting journey. To access information on anxiety, resilience, technology, relationship and friendships, stress management and many more visit https://parentingideas.com.au/

Meet the Staff

Jazmine Manoff
Teacher

• What is your role at the college?
  

  I am an English, Humanities and Religion Teacher here at Mary Help of Christians Catholic College. 
  

• What did you do before joining Mary Help of Christians?
  

  Prior to my journey at Mary's, I worked as an English teacher at Ryan Catholic College & Heatley Secondary College. 

• A couple of fun or interesting facts about you?
  

  An interesting fact about me is that I love to play Dungeons & Dragons and have been for over a decade! 

• What do you love about working at Mary Help of Christians?
  The thing I love about working at Mary's is the community. Everyone is welcoming, supportive and understanding of one another.