Term 2, Week 10

Message from the Principal

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

I wanted to take the time to let you know about our College Strategic Priorities [2024-2027] and how they are related to our College Mission.

Our College Mission

Inspired by Jesus, with Mary as our model of faith, we are called to experience the fullness of life through learning, service and compassion.

In living our college mission, we strive to honour Mary and emulate her faith and love for God as we journey together. We are a Christ-centred community of learners with bold minds, generous spirits and compassionate hearts. 

The college leadership team has developed an ongoing plan for continuous school improvement. Firstly, as a Catholic school, we are always committed to strengthening our Catholic identity. 

We have identified the following key improvement priorities to guide us in our work. Over the four year timeframe, we will implement our Strategic Plan through four successive Annual School Improvement Plans. Implementation Plans are also in place for each of the four Strategic Priorities, guiding the alignment of the Annual School Improvement Plans to the Strategic Priorities.

Our Strategic Priorities [2024 - 2027]

During 2028, the fifth year of this renewal cycle, the College will reflect on the Strategic Priorities and how effective we have been in terms of achieving them.

The year following the 4th year of the School Renewal Cycle is the “Year of Renewal”. During Term 1 of this year, we will undertake a rigorous and systematic self-evaluation, with the support of their current Townsville Catholic Education service team. This demands a thorough investigation into how key stakeholders (staff, students, parents, system, parish and diocese) perceive the school's effectiveness and a careful examination of the school's performance, based on relevant evidence.

We look forward to bringing these goals to life and working with you in the spirit of open communication and support as we continue to develop this wonderful college.

Complaints Process

Townsville Catholic Education schools have a clear process for making complaints. It is important that all complaints are handled in a positive and transparent way. We would like to ensure that you are all familiar with the process. The Complaints Process can be found on our College website under the About Us tab. Please visit the detailed explanation of the process on the website should you need advice around the process for making a complaint. Please note that we encourage any issues to be raised as soon as possible so that matters can be addressed in a timely and transparent manner. 

Building a culture of high expectations - celebrating excellence

At Mary Help of Christians Catholic College, we are developing a culture of high expectations guided by our three pillars - learning, service and compassion. On the last day of term, we will acknowledge and affirm students who have demonstrated excellent attendance and Green Level (positive) behaviour at all times as they both directly impact on a student reaching their potential and experiencing personal excellence.

Students who have demonstrated excellence in their studies and obtained outstanding results on their Semester 1 report will also be invited to an Effort and Excellence in Learning Morning Tea with the Principal, acknowledging their effort and accomplishment.

Parent Information Evening 

We warmly invite you to our Parent Information Evening in the first week of Term 3, designed to support families in helping students make a strong start to Semester 2.

Theme: Setting Up for Semester 2: From Surviving to Thriving
Date: Wednesday 16th July 2025 (Week 1, Term 3)
Time: 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Location: College Auditorium

This evening will cover practical strategies and insights on:

• The importance of regular attendance and how it impacts learning
• Supporting your child’s academic progress at home
• Navigating Google Classroom and Compass effectively
• Encouraging responsible digital citizenship, including managing social media and friendship challenges

Whether your child is already thriving or finding their way, this session will offer tools and tips to help them feel confident and supported during the semester ahead.

Please note: the intended audience is parents/carers.
We look forward to seeing you there.

Thank You

Finally, I want to thank you for your support in Term 2. It was another very busy term, with many goals set and achieved. Your support is absolutely integral as we work as partners towards building a community which gives hope to all who are a part of it. We look forward with great excitement to what Term 3 will bring to Mary Help of Christians Catholic College and feel blessed to share this journey with you.

Blessings.

Mardi Grubba
Principal

Catholic Identity, Mission and Wellbeing

Student Representative Council

Last week we held our first Student Representative Council (SRC) Meeting. It was a very productive and positive meeting and we look forward to working with our councillors to ensure that every student in our College has a voice. As well as providing members with leadership and advocacy experience, the SRC gives students the opportunity to engage in problem-solving and creative decision-making, seeking always to make our College community just a little bit better.

During assembly on Friday we presented our SRC members with their official badges, recognising their leadership and commitment to representing their peers and helping shape the future of our College. Our current SRC members will hold office until the end of Term 3, when we will hold elections for our Term 4/Term 1 Student Representative Council.

Learning and Thinking

Semester 1 Reports

Semester 1 Reports will be available via the Compass Portal on Friday, 27 June 2025. These reports provide a valuable snapshot of your child’s academic progress and personal development across all subjects throughout Semester 1.

Each report will include:

• Learning Area Statements: outlining key content covered in each subject.
• Semester Results: reported on a five-point scale (A–E) for each subject.
• Application to Learning feedback: reflecting your child’s effort, engagement, and responsiveness to feedback, rated from Needs Attention to Excellent.
• Personal and Social Responsibility feedback: reflecting classroom behaviour, emotional regulation, and respectful interactions, also rated from Needs Attention to Excellent.
• A Pastoral Care Comment from your child’s Pastoral Care Teacher, offering personalised insights into their engagement in the life of the college.

Please note: Subject-specific comments will no longer be included in reports across Townsville Catholic Education schools.

Tips for Discussing the Report with Your Child:

• Celebrate strengths: Acknowledge areas where your child has performed well to build confidence.
• Focus on growth: Use feedback on effort and responsibility to encourage reflection and goal-setting.
• Stay positive: Frame challenges as opportunities for improvement, not criticism.
• Set goals together: Help your child identify one or two realistic goals for Semester 2.
• Keep communication open: Let your child share their thoughts and feelings about their progress.

Parent-Student-Teacher Interviews will occur early in Term 3 on two afternoons:

• Thursday 24 July 2025
• Tuesday 29 July 2025

Interviews will be held in the college auditorium (B5/B6). Bookings via Compass will open early in Term 3. Further information will be distributed to families via the Compass News Feed.

If you have any questions about the report format or accessing it via Compass, please contact the College office.

NAPLAN 2025 Results

The National Assessment Program — Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) provides information on how Australian students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 are performing in numeracy, reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation.  The college has now received the Student and School Summary Report results for NAPLAN 2025.  

For all standalone high schools, the Year 7 NAPLAN results provide valuable information about the capabilities of students who are joining the school from a diverse range of primary school contexts. This is one of the benefits of the Federal Government moving the NAPLAN tests forward into Term 1:  they now provide a good snapshot of the Year 7 group’s strengths and opportunities for growth in numeracy, reading, writing, spelling, grammar, and punctuation skills, reflective of their seven years of primary education.

As such, the Year 7 results are an excellent starting point for us to implement teaching and learning processes that result in growth for every student by the time they undertake NAPLAN tests in Year 9. Teachers will use the 2025 NAPLAN data to support the targeted development of literacy and numeracy knowledge and skills for all learners in the current Year 7 cohort over the next two years.

Individual Student Reports (ISRs) for NAPLAN 2025 will be released to schools from the commencement of Term 3.  When the ISRs are received at the college, I will arrange distribution to parents/carers of all participants.

Promoting Digital Citizenship with Hapara Monitoring – Semester 2 Update

As part of our ongoing commitment to fostering responsible digital citizenship and supporting focused learning, the College will be implementing Hapara Monitoring across all classrooms from the commencement of Semester 2.

Hapara is a digital tool that allows teachers to view and guide student activity on school-managed Chromebooks during class time. It helps ensure that students remain on task, use technology appropriately, and develop strong digital citizenship skills.

Teachers will be able to:

• pause Chromebook screens to enable attention to learning
• close student tabs remotely if they are being distracted
• block selected sites for the duration of the lesson if they are causing distraction
• see which document the student is working on and redirect them to the correct document if needed

These tools are in addition to the Diocesan-wide internet filtering and online safety mechanisms deployed across all networks at Townsville Catholic Education schools.

Why Hapara?

• Approved by Townsville Catholic Education for use in our Catholic schools.
• Reduces digital distractions by keeping students focused on learning tasks during class time.
• Promotes personal accountability and responsible use of technology.
• Supports teacher feedback and timely redirection when needed.
• Encourages open conversations about respectful and ethical online behaviour.

This initiative aligns with the goals of both our college’s Learning and Thinking Framework and Student Engagement Framework. It is part of our broader strategy to prepare students for life in a digital world.

When will Hapara be used?

Hapara has been configured to enable teaching staff to monitor school-managed Chromebook screens between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday to Friday, during school terms.  To be monitored, the school-managed Chromebook must be connected to the school network.  

Monitoring is not possible outside these hours, or if a child is absent from school and using their Chromebook to access the internet from home.

How you can support at home:

• Talk with your child about the importance of using technology responsibly.
• Closely monitor the amount and type of screen time your child has at home.  Encourage regular screen breaks and healthy digital habits.
• Reinforce the idea that online actions should reflect the same respect and care we show in person.

If you have any questions about Hapara Monitoring or how it is being used in classrooms, please don’t hesitate to contact me via the College office.

Changes to the Year 7 Timetable for Semester 2

Students will have some changes to their timetables in Semester 2.  These changes are typical of high school processes to accommodate the breadth of the Year 7 curriculum.  

Changes include:

• History is finished for the year. All students will study Economics and Business in Term 3 and Civics and Citizenship in Term 4.
• Students who studied Music in Semester 1 will change to Visual Art in Semester 2, and vice versa.
• Students who studied Digital Technologies in Semester 1 will change to Design and Technologies in Semester 2, and vice versa.
• Integrated Learning is finished for the year. With the arrival of the 2025 NAPLAN results, these classes will be replaced by Literacy Acceleration classes. Literacy Acceleration classes will be purposefully grouped and are designed to stretch students’ skills in reading, writing, spelling, grammar, and punctuation, using evidence-informed instruction suitable for adolescent learners.  Due to the purposeful grouping, these classes will be equally as valuable for high achievers as for students who experience significant challenges with literacy. Students will have another opportunity to engage with Integrated Learning as an elective subject in Year 8.

Semester 2 timetables will be made visible in Compass during the second week of the school holidays. Each student will receive a printed copy of their new timetable on the first day of Semester 2.

Thank you

Thank you for all of your support throughout Semester 1!  All students in our foundation year have made a great start to high school. Some students have had to dig deep to meet our expectations for learning in a structured and orderly classroom environment. We are committed to setting every student up for success throughout high school and beyond. This is one of the defining features of our college approach: high expectations coupled with supportive persistence, aimed at helping every learner experience success, even when the going gets tough.

I wish you all a safe and happy semester break. See you in Semester 2.

God bless,

Paul Allan
Deputy Principal - Learning and Thinking

College Administration

Term 3 Date Claimers

Save the dates for the following!  These dates were correct at the time the newsletter was released.  Please refer to the official college calendar on the Mary Help of Christians Catholic College website for the most accurate and up-to-date information.

First Nations Education

Integrated Learning - Wednesday 25/6/25 - Week 10

Students will be participating in a range of activities during Integrated Learning, to celebrate National Reconciliation Week. This is an extension of the activities held in Week 6 for Integrated Learning. Students will participate in a Dance workshop with Will Mabo, Weaving activity with Carly Leon-Simmons, Cultural Walk with Pelly Morganson, Yarning circle and activities that support the National Reconciliation Week theme of “Bringing Now to Next”.

NAIDOC Celebrations - Wednesday 23/7025 - Week 2

Mary Help of Christians will be celebrating NAIDOC in Week 2 of Term 3. Staff and students will be participating in a range of activities that support this year’s theme “The Next Generation: Strength, Vision and Legacy”. Will Mabo, Wulgurukaba Walkabouts and the team from Komet Torres Strait Arts and Culture will be helping facilitate activities on the day. Activities will include arts and craft, didgeridoo workshop, writing workshop, woomera throwing, sampling native foods and learning more about First Nations histories and culture. Wider community members are welcome to attend our NAIDOC liturgy, which will be held from 11:40-12:10pm. It is just a requirement that you sign into the office upon arrival. More information will be sent out to students and families at the beginning of Term 3.

Co-Curricular Update

Homework Program

Our Homework Program has now concluded for this term and will resume on Monday, 21st July.

The Homework Program provides students with a focused and productive environment to complete homework and assessments, with support from dedicated teachers who generously volunteer their time to help students achieve academic success.

Students attending the program are expected to come prepared with a plan to work on assigned homework, revision, or other study tasks. Those who arrive without work will be offered a range of literacy and numeracy activities designed to support their learning. Students should arrive promptly at 3:10 pm and follow all College expectations during the session.

For more information, please refer to the Homework Program Information for Families and Students guide.

Athletics Carnival Rescheduled

Due to unseasonal wet weather on June 17th, we had to cancel our Athletics Carnival. However, we have secured a new date! The carnival will now take place on July 17th at the Townsville Sports Reserve.

Students are encouraged to wear a sun-safe shirt in their house colour, along with their sports shorts, sports hat, and closed-in shoes suitable for track and field events.

The tuckshop will be offering a meal deal, which can be ordered via Flexischools. Alternatively, students are welcome to bring their own lunch. Students must bring a water bottle with them. 

Families are invited to come and watch the event; please note that there will be limited shade available.

We look forward to a fantastic day of athletics!

Townsville Esports Cup

On Friday, 20th June, 20 students from our College traveled to St Anthony’s Catholic College to participate in the Townsville Schools Esports Competition. It was an unforgettable day filled with friendly competition, teamwork, and pure gaming fun.

Students competed in a variety of events, including a Minecraft Capture the Flag challenge, a Mario Smash Bros tournament, and a Just Dance competition. Throughout the day, all our students represented our College with pride, showing great teamwork and sportsmanship, both among themselves and towards other competitors.

Congratulations to Alice M. and Analeigha A., who placed 2nd and 3rd respectively in the Just Dance competition—an impressive achievement!

We also extend a big thank you to Mr Richardson and Mr Reedman for their invaluable support on the day and for working with our students over the term to prepare them for the competition.

Readers Cup

The Readers Cup is the flagship event of the Children’s Book Council of Australia – Queensland Branch. It is a statewide competition where teams of students read a set of books and then compete with other teams in their region by answering quiz questions.

This exciting event encourages students to read widely, work collaboratively, and develop a lifelong love of reading. It offers students the chance to compete at both regional and state levels, similar to sporting competitions, and to connect with other young readers who share their passion for books.

This year, seventeen teams participated in the Year 7/8 section of the Townsville region Readers Cup. While our team didn’t place, they had a fantastic night, and we are very proud of the effort and teamwork they demonstrated. Well done to all involved!

Instrumental Music

Engaging with music—whether by playing an instrument or singing—is a deeply rewarding experience that enriches students’ lives in many ways. Our Instrumental Music Program gives students the chance to discover and develop their musical talents while enjoying a range of academic, social, and emotional benefits.

Applications are now open for Semester Two. If your child is interested in learning an instrument, please complete the enrolment form to secure their place in the program.

We look forward to welcoming new musicians!

Thank you

We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all our parents for your ongoing support of our co-curricular programs this semester. Your encouragement and involvement play a vital role in making these activities successful and enriching for our students.

Whether it’s cheering on teams or simply encouraging your child to participate, your support truly makes a difference. Together, we are helping to create memorable experiences that inspire growth, teamwork, and a love of learning beyond the classroom.

Thank you for being such an important part of our school community!

Kind regards

Lisa Arnold
Co-Curricular Design and Delivery - Middle Leader

Guidance Counsellor

Thinking about allowing your child to engage with social media?  We urge all parents to equip themselves with information before making this decision.  Think you Know Australia suggests that as parents and carers, you play an important role in protecting your child from harm.

They aim  to support you in preventing and managing safety challenges that your child may face, as well as guiding your child to understand these and feel empowered to take action. The following safety checklist has been developed to support you in this area if your child meets age requirements to engage with various apps.

A copy of the Family Online Safety Agreement mentioned above for children aged 13 and under can be located here https://fosi.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/FOSI-Safety-Agreement-13-and-under.pdf and another for teenagers can be found here https://fosi.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/FOSI-Safety-Agreement-For-Teens.pdf

Supporting young people on the holidays

Please see that attached brochure from Headspace on ways to support young people with their wellbeing and connection on the holidays

Meet the Staff

Maria Iousa
School Officer - ASL 

What is your role at the college?
I serve as a school officer here at Mary Help of Christian’s Catholic College - Shaw.

What did you do before joining Mary Help of Christians?

Prior to being blessed with my current position, I served as a T.A and Acting College Chaplain at St. Patrick’s College Townsville. 

A couple of fun or interesting facts about you?

I was born and raised in a small town called Porirua in Aotearoa, yet my heritage is Samoan. I moved to Australia in 2018. My professional experience has mainly been in the Early Childhood Education (ECE) field. Two years ago, I sought a career change and have since been working with high school students. In addition to work and being a busy Mum of 4, I serve as the Publicity Officer for the Highlanders Netball Club, who I also play for on Tuesday evenings.  

What do you love about working at Mary Help of Christians?

Being a founding staff member of Mary Help of Christians Catholic College - Shaw has truly been a wonderful blessing. I enjoy my time at MHOC due to the positive work culture, the diverse community of staff and students, and the opportunity to impact our students' learning and well-being journey each day.