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Welcome to Week 2 of Term 4, a term that’s always action-packed, full of celebration, reflection, and some anxiety. As we move through these final weeks of the school year, it’s hard to believe that we’re down to just 39 teaching days. That number can feel both exciting and daunting, especially knowing how much we still want to achieve before the year ends.
For our Year 6 students, this term marks the final chapter of their primary school journey. It’s a time of transition, growth, and for some parents (Megan P!) a lot of emotion. This is a reporting semester, and some students may feel added pressure to perform. I want to gently remind our students and our families that while academic results matter, they do not define who you are. As a principal, I’m always more interested in the person you are becoming and the effort you put into all that you do.
As it says in Colossians 3:23:
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters." This verse reminds us that effort and integrity matter deeply in school, in relationships, and in life.
Last Friday, we had our first Prep Transition session for 2026, and what a fantastic turnout it was! It was wonderful to welcome so many new and existing families to our school. The energy in the church was fantastic as Toni (APRE), Miranda (P&F), and I shared our roles and what school life may look like. It’s early days, but next year is already shaping up to be a strong and enthusiastic Prep cohort, and I couldn’t be more excited.
I do need to raise a quick reminder that we’ve noticed a growing number of parents dropping children off in the staff carpark or around the church area and allowing them to walk through to reception. While we understand mornings can be busy, please do not use these areas for drop-off. It creates safety concerns for both staff and students, and we ask that all families use the designated stop, drop and go.
Brendon Napier
Principal
Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome back to our final term of the year! I hope the holiday break brought rest, joy, and renewal for all families. As we step into this last stage of the school year, we do so with enthusiasm and gratitude, ready to embrace the many opportunities for learning, celebration, and growth that lie ahead.
Student Leadership Selection Process
On Thursday 9th October, the students contesting the School Captain positions delivered speeches to the Years 4 & 5 students and spoke about why they would be the best person for this role next year. Following the speeches, the staff and the Year 4 & 5 students voted for their preferred School captains. On Friday, the top four girl (as the vote was so close) and top three boy candidates were interviewed by Mr Napier, Mr Trudy Bouquet-Coate and Mrs Miranda Wilson (P & F Representative) to determine who would be our 2026 School Captains. Our School Captains for 2026, Abigail Bradford and Zavier Stanton were introduced to the school community at Monday’s Assembly. Congratulations Abi and Zavier!
Congratulations to all the students who put themselves forward for these positions. Getting to this stage in the process is a huge achievement – Well done!
This week, the students who are short-listed for the Sports Captain positions will deliver speeches to their teams on Thursday 16th. The staff and student voting will occur immediately after the speeches. The sports captains will be announced at Friday’s assembly. Good luck to all candidates!
First Eucharist and Confirmation
This term, we will have 26 students who will complete their initiation into the Catholic
Church when they receive the Sacraments of Confirmation and Eucharist. This is a big step in the faith journeys of these young learners and we’re looking forward to celebrating this at a special mass on Wednesday 29th October, 6pm at Our Lady Help of Christians Church. The Mass will be celebrated by Bishop Joe and this will be first time we’ve had our Bishop for Confirmation in a number of years. The students who are preparing for these Sacraments are listed below. Please keep them in your prayers as they continue to prepare for this special event in their Religious life.
| Xavier Abeleven | Cienna Doody |
| Isaac Agioritis | Addison Dunstan |
| Tilly Agioritis | Luis Estrada |
| Matilda Allen | Evie Fransen |
| Max Armstrong | Oliver Hislop |
| Ruby Bita | Aiden Kim |
| Johnathan Beal | Max Pagano |
| Mia Bradford | Max Penniment |
| Harrison Caplick | Chelsea Plowman |
| Mitchell Carlsen | Sienna Salerno |
| Lara Cocuzza | Brianna Warren |
| Emily Curcuruto | Bailee Wells |
| Lachlan Curcuruto | Luke Woodward |
What’s on this term
Catholic Mission
During October, Catholic Mission and the broader Catholic community will come together to celebrate World Mission Month, guided by the theme "Missionaries of Hope Among All Peoples."
Together, we have the power to create change and build a more just world for people everywhere. By supporting missionaries in their work, we can create life-changing opportunities for countless children, families, and communities worldwide.
Soctober – Crazy Sock Day Fundraiser for Catholic Mission
Catholic Mission is one of the Catholic organisations that our school fundraises for each year to support the work of the church. On Friday 31st October, we will have a Crazy sock day where the students can wear any crazy/fun socks for the day and bring along a gold coin donation for Catholic Mission. Please put this date in your calendar and help us support the important work of Catholic Mission.
This final term is always a busy yet rewarding one, filled with rich experiences, community gatherings, and special milestones for our students. Together, let’s journey through these last weeks with energy and hope, ensuring we finish the year with strong learning, special memories, and a shared spirit of faith and community.
With gratitude and blessings,
Dr Toni Foley
Assistant Principal - Religious Education
Lauren Blenkinsop
Finance Officer
The P&F AGM is being held on Tuesday 21st October at 5:15pm sharp in the stem lab.
From the P&F Executive Team
If you miss the cut-off for Flexischools, you can ring and order through the Tuckshop directly and pay by credit card over the phone.
** Please take note that the tuckshop will be closed on Thursday 4th and Friday 5th December of Week 9.**
Carmen Mellor
Tuckshop Convenor
Library News
Jill Watson and Paula Tindall
Borrowing Days
Please ensure your child brings their library bag and returns ALL borrowed books at their weekly session.
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
| Year 1 | Year 6 | Prep | Year 5 | Year 4 |
| Year 3 | Year 2 |
Book Fair 
This term we will be hosting a Book Fair during Week 4 (Monday 27th - Friday 31st October). It will be open every day before school (7.45 to 8.05am) and after school (2.30 to 2.55pm) for families and at selected lunch times (cash only) for students. A percentage of all sales will go back into the school library.
The theme is ‘Arctic Adventure - where there is snow much to read”. We are working hard to transform our library for this special event. The Book Fair is a great way to begin your Christmas shopping for family and friends. We look forward to seeing you in Week 4.
Happy Reading,
The Library Team:
Paula Tindall and Jill Watson
The MyCE app will now be our main way of communicating with parents. If you have more than one student attending at different catholic schools, you will be able to see all of them on the one app, instead of accessing the different school portals.
Things that will be able to be seen/accessed on MyCE:
- School Reports (via The Learning Dashboard, NOT Academic Reports)
- Edsmart slips
- Advising of absences
- Access to newsletters
- School Calender, etc
If you require any assistance with the MyCE App, please contact the office.
For problems where not all the usual options/data appears for your child, try the following:
Navigate to MyAccount > App technical support > Refresh my data
This will refresh the App and the data within.
Also, please always use a reliable wifi source - ie. your mobile data or reliable wifi, not public wifi.
ICAS
The results for the Mathematics assessment were quite pleasing. Well done to the following students:
Catholic Young Voice Awards
Chloe Manning (Year 6) was awarded the WINNER of the Junior Photography section for Years 5 & 6 for her photographs and caption of the flower pot outside the ILE. This achievement was announced at a zoom ceremony at the end of August. There were over 500 entrants from across Australia in 3 different categories and 3 different age groups. Well done, Chloe!
Lessons from a pot
Persistence. When we plant seeds, sometimes the plants do not grow, so we try again until we finally succeed. This inspires us to plant more vegetation creating beauty in our gardens. In life, we all have things that fail, we just have to keep trying.
The theme for the competition was “Voices of Hope”. Two other Year 6 students also entered the competition. Emily wrote an article about how we can learn from making mistakes while Liam created a video about his dad who is an IT technician. He said, “When I think of hope, I think of my dad fixing broken computers, to make people happy, and that inspires me.”
Alison Williams
Enrichment Teacher
This is to gather PURPOSEFUL dress-ups and other play equipment for our Year 1 Students, to help build their oral language, content knowledge and social skills as they learn through play.
We are looking for items in GOOD condition, from the list below:
- Weather dress ups (beanies, jackets, hats, jumpers, snorkels, flippers, floaties, sunglasses, other basket, and accessories)
- Australian animals (small animal toys, animal puppets/masks, barn house)
- Toy food/grocery items, cash register and kitchen items.
- Families and jobs (work shirts - hi-vis, nurse equipment/clothing, vet items, toy/dress-up builder items - tools and belts, old laptops, kids-sized fishing rods).
- Fairy tales (dolls and dollhouses, princess/prince/witch/pirate dress ups, fairy tale play, puppets, crowns/tiaras)
- Toys from the “olden days” (marbles, small wooden toys - train sets, cars, dolls, rocking horse, spin top, vintage phone, yo-yo, games)
THANK-YOU!
The Year 5 students had a great incursion last week with the Cairns Museum. They visited to discuss the Gold Rush in Australia and showed us how people panned for gold, cooked, dressed, and what they carried with them — like flour, sugar, and other essentials from the 1850s.
