Week 7 Term 4 2021

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

I attended a funeral of a close friend, whose father passed away recently.  “Damo” is the gel that keeps a group of school friends together and 35 years later 11 of us gathered to pay our respects at the funeral to his dad.  Fr Mario Debattista was the priest who led the service and concluded the eulogies with a homily that grabbed my attention.  He spoke of our lives being like a tapestry.  When you look at a tapestry, one side is the beautiful image that the artist intends for you to see.  On the flip side is where all the loose ends of material are left, forming a tangled, disorderly, shabby appearance.  Often, we like to show the side of ourselves that is the one we have manicured and groomed for public viewing and approval, much like what the intent of the artist is.  However, beneath the veneer is the messy and often complicated experiences that build the person we are.  For a tapestry to be what it is, it has to have both sides. This too applies to our own person.  There is the side we like to show, but beneath are the bits we like to hide.  Without both sides we are not complete. A beautiful tapestry isn’t complete without both sides, both are equally important.  As people we are not complete by just showing our exterior.  Our vulnerable, ungroomed side is just as important – that is who we are.

A special congratulations to Dylan (Mr Philp) and partner Amber who became proud parents of a baby girl last weekend.  We wish them many blessing and joyful memories.

FROM THE ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

MATER DEI LEARNING EXCELLENCE AWARDS

At Mater Dei, we are committed to Illuminating Possibilities for all. We recognise the unique talents and abilities of each individual and provide a range of opportunities to let diverse lights shine. The Mater Dei Learning Excellence Awards are one such opportunity. Awarded annually as a celebration of the academic year, they recognise excellence in:

• learning achievement
• learning the Mater Dei Way (Dispositions)
• leadership (Specifically for Year Six students)
• learning growth

We will also present the Reid Capp Award. Reid was a previous student of Mater Dei who has cancer, affecting his bone development in his leg. Reid overcame significant barriers in his school life to participate fully and achieve in many fields. He left MD at the end of 2013 and the family left a legacy in thanks to the school community for assisting Reid through his primary school years. As a result, we have an annual award for a student who is achieving despite hardship, displaying resilience and determination.

Our awards ceremonies will be held on Friday 26th November. Parents of children receiving awards will be contacted by Monday 22^nd November and invited to the ceremony.

THE SAMARITAN'S TABLE

As another year draws to a close, and we anticipate the excitement of preparing for the Christmas Season, it is important that we look back with gratitude for all that we have received.

The Samaritan’s Table has continued its wonderful work of providing meals to those in our community who have experienced sickness, hardship, worry or grief. This year, like all others, has seen many members of our community accepting this generosity with humble gratitude. Many families would want to acknowledge the care and compassion that over fifty volunteers have provided to our Mater Dei community this year to prepare meals.

So, to those volunteers, on behalf of the receiving families and the Samaritan’s Table team, we acknowledge your thoughtfulness and kindness as Christ-like and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. You are true examples of our Good Samaritan charism.

Also, a big shout out to Katie Mills who seamlessly coordinates these volunteers and to Jo Noye who manages the traffic flow of all the incoming and outgoing meals. Without you this wonderful aspect of our community would not be possible.

FAREWELL FOR CHRIS

FROM THE APRE MIDDLE LEADER

We are approaching the final 2 weeks of the school year for 2021.  There is always a tinge of sadness at this time of the year as some students, teachers and families prepare for new adventures outside of the Mater Dei community. 

We offer a blessing to staff who are preparing to leave Mater Dei – thanking them for their contributions to our community and wishing them the best for their future endeavours.

We thank you Mr Bartlett, Mrs Lloyd-Jones, Mrs Wells, Miss Gilbar and Mrs Wolbers

We honour Chris, Tab, Pam, Holly and Rosa who have shared their many talents with their students, their colleagues, and the Mater Dei families and are now leaving our community for new adventures.  We thank you God, for the gift of their presence among us.

They have helped to shape the minds around them by sowing seeds of independence, instilling a thirst for knowledge, sharing their friendship, and exhibiting their love for you with their faith.

Faith is the ultimate education.  May they continue to be blessed by You in all that they do, now and in the future.

Amen. 

CHRISTMAS COLLECTION - ST VINCENT DE PAUL

As we move into the Christmas season, we are mindful of people within our community who, for a variety of reasons, are currently struggling to provide Christmas celebrations for their families.   As a school community, we would like to respond to the call to offer a hand up to these people.  We are collecting vouchers that the St Theresa’s Parish St Vincent de Paul (SVDP) group will distribute within our local community just before Christmas.  Previously, we have collected food and toys for distribution.  Providing vouchers instead of food and gifts offers recipients the dignity of choosing appropriate goods for themselves.

We encourage you to donate a voucher if you are able.  As a member of the parish SVDP group, Sr Robin Brady will attend our final Mass on Friday 3 December to receive our gifts. 

Thank you from us, and from the people receiving your gifts. 

Final Mass

On the last day of school, Friday 3 December, Fr Brian will celebrate a final Mass with students at 9.45am in the William Morris Centre.  Because of COVID restrictions, we are unable to welcome parents  to celebrate with us.  Any students who are still at school at 1pm on that day will be supervised in the William Morris Centre for the remainder of the afternoon.

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING CONGRATULATIONS

A big congratulations to Mr Dave Redinger and Mr Dylan Philp who have both successfully completed the Religious Education Accreditation Program (REAP) this year.  As learners for life, teachers are constantly called to evolve professionally.  Opportunites like REAP, which is run bi-annually through Toowoomba Catholic Schools Office, provide the most up-to-date Religious Education learning for our staff.    

IMPORTANT DATES

• Friday 26 November  Farewell to Mr Bartlett – 7.30am breakfast;  8.45am Liturgy
• Friday 3 December   End of year Mass – 9.45am

SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION

STAFFING UPDATE

At the end of the school year, we will be thanking outgoing staff who are moving on to other positions:

• Tab Lloyd-Jones will be moving to Our Lady of Lourdes Toowoomba. We thank Tab for many years of service to our school community and the positive impact she has had on every student she has taught.  The Lloyd-Jones children all attended Mater Dei, making strong connections among the parent body and staff.  We wish Tab all the best in her new adventure.
• Pam Wells will be moving to St Anthony’s Toowoomba. Pam has been at Mater Dei since 2019, teaching in Prep and Yr 2.  Pam has been very generous of her time and talent while at Mater Dei, creating a supportive learning environment for all. We wish her the very best in her position at St Anthony’s.
• Holly Gilbar will be moving to Downlands College to teach in the primary school. Holly has been with us since 2020, teaching in Yr 6 and 4.  Holly has embraced the processes and strategies established in our school wide learning, establishing opportunities for students to be independent learners.  We wish her all the best in the future.
• Rosa Wolbers will be moving to Victoria with her family. Rosa has been a school officer for class support and Prep during her time with us.  Rosa has supported many teachers to provide learning experiences for all of our students, while undertaking her own study to become a teacher.  We wish Rosa and her family many blessing with the move.

Some other staffing considerations for 2022 are:

• Danniel King will be taking parenting leave for the birth of her twin children in the new year. We wish Danni many blessings as she and partner Luke begin their experience of parenting.
• Brendan Redinger was a transfer placement to Mater Dei for 2022. Brendan has since been appointed to principal of St Francis De-Sales in Clifton. As a result of the late movement of Brendan Redinger from our staffing schedule, we have had to revise some of our class placements.  We will post our staffing schedule early next week when we have finalised some position shuffles.
• V We have a couple of School Officer positions that will need appointing for 2022 as well. A process of appointment will be undertaken to fill these positions.
• We are finalising one more teacher placement to balance our staffing next week.

CLASS STRUCTURE UPDATE

Please be aware that enrolments will remain dynamic until the school year starts in 2022.  This is the latest status for projections.

Currently we are focussed on budgeting for additional support for our Yr 4 classes.  Additional support is targeted for additional aide and teacher time during focused Literacy and Numeracy session. 

GENERAL

Parents are reminded that due to student protection considerations they are not permitted to use or enter the children’s toilets. Should you need to use the bathroom while at the school, please see any staff member who can direct you to the staff toilets.

2022 BOOKLISTS

It’s that time of year again when we begin to get organized for the next school year. Booklists for 2022 are now available on our website or you can order online directly from Browns. As we have done the last two years, we are using the school’s bulk purchasing power to buy many of the consumable items that were previously on book lists. This reduces the cost of these items to parents. The consumables levy will be included in the 2022 fees.

LIBRARY

It is that time of year and we are asking for help to get all school resources returned to the library. You should have been receiving overdue notifications from the Mater Dei Library email address but if you are unsure if your child has any outstanding loans or if you are confident an item has been returned, feel free to pop into the library or contact library staff. We would always prefer to check before you search the entire house just in case an item never made it out of the library or has been returned from elsewhere within the school.

If you receive an overdues reminder, please do not send in payment to cover those costs unless you have been invoiced. This allows us to properly track and account for all expenses related to overdue resources. Items outstanding at the beginning of 2020 will be added to your school account.

There will also be an option for some holiday borrowing in Wk 9 for those returning to Mater Dei in 2022. Please have a conversation with your children if this is an opportunity you would or would not like them to take up.

Meredith Thompson
Teacher Librarian

SPORT WITH DANIELLE KING

JUNIOR SWIMMING CARNIVAL

The Junior Swimming Carnival for Prep – Year 3 students will be held on the Monday of week 9 the 29^th of November at the Fairholme pool.  I want to thank all the parents that have nominated their students into events on the day and contacted me regarding any questions around nominating.  If you have not already done so please ensure you have given permission for your student to attend via the parent portal even if they are not swimming on the day.  Further information regarding the day will be sent out in early week 8 in preparation for our carnival in week 9.

SENIOR SWIMMING CARNIVAL 2022 (students born 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 only)

This carnival will be held at Milne Bay on Tuesday 1^st of February next year. We will be using the same system for nominating as last year – Microsoft Forms.  Continuing this way of nominating allows students to complete the process at home with their parents, so a discussion can happen around what events they want to enter and their confidence in entering the event which avoids last minute changes to the program before the carnival.  Please complete a new form for each child eligible to swim at the carnival. 

Please remember the following notes when nominating:

• Students can swim in either a 50m or 25m event in each stroke – up to 4 events in total. A combination of 25m and 50m events across the strokes is fine. E.g. 50m Freestyle, 25m Breaststroke, 50m Backstroke and 25m Butterfly.
• Students who wish to be considered for age champion or selected in the school team must swim in the championship 50m events in each stroke.
• Students currently in Year 2 born in 2013 only need to nominate if they are competent in completing their chosen event, students not nominated will not attend the carnival in 2022. Please still complete the relevant section of the Microsoft Form so that this can be recorded.
• Please contact me danielle.king@twb.catholic.edu.au if you have any questions.

QUEENSLAND PRIMARY ALL SCHOOL CARNIVAL

On the 6^th and 7^th of November our four school touch football teams competed at the Queensland Primary All Schools carnival held in Redlands.  These teams all did extremely well competing against school from all over Queensland on the weekend.  The students that attended made Mater Dei proud by the way they went about playing their games and showing great sportsmanship win or lose.  I wanted to say a big thanks to all the parents that made this opportunity possible for their students by giving up their time to take them away for the weekend.  Thanks again go to all the coaches – Jenna Taylor, Aleisha Wilson, Michelle Lever, Hannah Arndt, Joel Rickuss and Alex Morison.  Congratulations to all students who attended!

BASKETBALL

Please see the attached flyer outlining the basketball camps occurring over the Christmas school holidays that students can sign up for and attend.

TENNIS

The Range Tennis Club will be running some tennis clinics over the summer holidays for any students interested in learning more about this sport. Please visit the following link or more information:

FROM THE SCHOOL COUNSELLOR

Seasons for Growth offers children and young people a safe space to come together, and share their experiences of change and loss.

The Children and Young People’s Program has a safe and engaging curriculum structure that incorporates a wide range of age-appropriate activities involving drawing, role-play, stories, discussion, playdough, music and journal activities.

There are four different levels of the program. Each level includes eight weekly sessions, a final celebration session and two subsequent reconnector sessions (that range from 40 minutes to an hour depending on age). Each weekly session explores a concept theme such as, Life is like the Seasons, Change is Part of Life, ‘Valuing My Story, Caring for my Feelings, Making Good Choices.

All four levels of the program have flexibility to cater for participants with different learning needs or preferences. The learning processes reflect a deep respect for children’s capacity to cope, problem-solve, make good choices, set realistic goals and connect with others. Such learning develops best in supportive social contexts with peers and a caring, skilled adult ‘Companion’. Children’s learning is documented in a personal ‘Seasons for Growth’ journal so that participants can re-visit their insights in the future.

Seasons for Growth groups will begin in Term 1 2022 to support a small number of students who have experienced change and loss – which may include divorce, family breakdown, death or illness in their families and/or their life.

Please let me know if you feel your child may benefit from these groups via email at christina.peak@twb.catholic.edu.au and I will begin to compile lists.

Find out more on the following link:

If your child has been accessing support from the School Counsellor and you haven't received any emails, please check your junk mail as it appears this is where some of the emails are ending up. Please also don't hesitate to let me know if you have concerns or just want to check in how the counselling is going.

TUCKSHOP

The year is coming to an end very quickly and we only have 1 more week of Tuckshop for 2021 -  there will be no Tuckshop in Week 9. Thank you to all of the parent volunteers who make our job so much easier, it truthfully wouldn't be possible without you. Before you know it, we will be back for 2022 Tuckshop and will once again call on you for your support. We'd love to see our old volunteers back but equally, if you haven't worked in the Tuckshop before, please consider it. 

Regards
Mel & Anne

MATER DEI CHRISTMAS CAROLS

MUSICAL LINK NOW AVAILABLE!

This is the final update for our fabulous musical for 2021! 

Thank you to the people who generously assisted with the washing of costumes.  If this hasn’t been returned yet, we ask that they are back at school by the beginning of next week please.

Now sit back and relax.

We are proud to share a link to the recording of our evening performance with you all and hope you enjoy watching this with your family and friends!

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC

Congratulations - Music Success!

Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Rosier along with our whole school would like to congratulate Caleb Foster & Gemma Montgomery for sitting their Preliminary Piano Exam (A.M.E.B) and receiving a Credit for their performances on 24th of October. First exams are not easy and performing on an unfamiliar piano in front of an examiner can be tough! Keep up the great work and we wish you all the very best in preparation for your next piano exam.

Ebony Rosier 
Music & Dance specialist,  Coordinator of Instrumental Music 

CHOIR - End of Year Party

An email was sent to all parents with children in the choir on 26/10. We will celebrate our end of year with a party during morning tea Tuesday 23 November. Please bring along a small plate to share. If your child has allergies, please inform ebony.rosier@twb.catholic.edu.au

P&F

FROM THE NEWLY ELECTED PRESIDENT

Mater Dei P&F AGM and final meetings for 2021 was held on Monday 15/11/21

All Committee positions were declared vacant, and nominations were sought for the following. President, Treasurer, Secretary, Vice President and Class Representative.

After several years of dedicated service, the outgoing President Hugh Bradshaw and Treasurer Tony Beverland have decided not to stand again. We thank them for all their work in support of the P&F over the years, it is greatly appreciated.

The following nominations were accepted and ratified for the next year.

• President - Ed Bracey
• Treasurer - Vacant
• Secretary - Marissa Irvine (continuing)
• Vice President - Barbara Barry
• Class Representative – Cassie Montgomery (continuing)
• Tuckshop Convener – Anne Day (continuing)

We would also like to thank Mr Bartlett for his support of the P&F during his time as principal and wish him well with his new position next year.

The position of treasurer remains vacant, and we would encourage anyone who would be interested in this position please contact the school or a member of the P&F committee. The next P&F meeting will be on Monday 21/2/22 commencing at 6.30pm at the Staff Room all parents are welcome to attend.

Our first function for 2022 will be a welcome picnic on the oval commencing at 4pm on 29/01/22. It will be a great chance for new families to come along and get to know the rest of the Mater Dei community. There will be a free sausage sizzle for the kids and feel free to BYO picnic and refreshments.

On behalf of the P&F I would like to wish all staff, students, and parents a safe and happy Christmas, I hope you enjoy the break. We look forward to seeing you all in the New Year.

Ed Bracey