Newsletter 23 July 2025
From the Acting Principal
Welcome Back to Term 3!
Welcome back to Term 3. I trust you all enjoyed a wonderful Winter break. Term 3 is shaping up to be fun and exciting term with lots of excursions, school celebrations and engaging units of learning. We also look forward to welcoming back our principal, Mr Luke Barrett, on Monday of Week 4.
2026 Prep and Student Interviews
Yesterday we conducted another round of interviews for families wishing to enrol their children at St Monica’s School in 2026. At the end of this term, 2026 classes will begin to be formed, so it is important that we know the total number of students in order to determine the number of classes required. If you know anyone wishing to enrol their children at St Monica’s in 2026, please encourage them to complete an enrolment form via the school website as soon as possible
Catholic Education Week 2025
Celebrated annually in Week 3 of Term 3, Catholic Education Week is an opportunity for all 313 Catholic schools in Queensland to celebrate and promote their distinctive mission and ethos.
Catholic education strives to make a difference in the lives of those in our schools and in the wider community by challenging young people to live out the message of Jesus and to reach their full potential as compassionate, contributing, life-giving members of society.
The theme is ‘Communities of Faith, Hope and Love’.
At St Monica’s School, we will be celebrating Catholic Education Week with the following events:
2025 Catholic Education Week Awards
This year, we are thrilled to have two St Monica’s School staff recognised in the 2025 QCEC Spirit of Catholic Education Awards and Toowoomba Catholic Schools Excellence Award. Congratulations to the following staff members:
Mrs Kate Hughes
- Nominated for the Spirit of Catholic Education Award.
Mrs Elizabeth Smith
- Nominated in the TCS Excellence in Teaching and Learning Awards, Expert in Learning Support Category.
Congratulations ladies, and thank you for everything you do for the St Monica’s School community. You are both winners in our eyes!
Special House Days
Yesterday, students in Kokoda came together for a liturgy to reflect on the events that took place in Papua New Guinea during WWII, when Australian soldiers fought to keep Australia a free country. We remember their bravery, valour and extraordinary example of mateship. This Friday the 25th of July, members from Fromelles will participate in their special liturgy. Beersheba Day is in Week 4 of Term 4. A reminder that students can wear their house shirt on their special day.
Term 3 Whole School and Class Masses
Listed below are the class and whole school Masses for the Term 3. During these Masses, the students participate through singing, presenting the readings and Prayers of the Faithful, and participating in the offertory. All parents, grandparents and families are warmly welcome to attend and sit with their children.
I-CAS Competittions
This term we begin our I-CAS Competitons. Please find below the dates of each competition.
Week 4, Monday 4th August – Digital Technologies
Week 4, Thursday 7th August –ICAS Writing
Week 5, Monday 11th August –ICAS English
Week 6, Wednesday 20th August –ICAS Spelling
Week 6, Monday 21st August – ICAS Science (please note this change of date)
Week 7, Monday 25th August – ICAS Mathematics
WHAT'S ON AT ST MONICA'S SCHOOL. UPCOMING EVENTS.
Week 2
Wednesday July 23 100 Days of Prep Celebration
Friday July 25 Fromelles Day. Students in Fromelles to wear their House shirts. Liturgy at 11:05am
Week 3 CATHOLIC EDUCATION WEEK
Monday July 28 Catholic Education Week Mass and Free BBQ sausage sizzle lunch
Tuesday July 29 St Vincent de Paul Workshops with Education Officer Julie Inskip
Wednesday July 30 Grandparents Day. Prep leading Assembly, followed by time in classrooms and a special morning tea. Remember to return your note if grandparents are attending.
Thursday July 31 Catholic Schools Netball and Touch Football Gala Day for Years 5-6.
Chalk drawing competition back at school for Prep to Year 4.
Friday Aug 1 Bishop’s Inservice Day/Pupil Free Day (no school)
Out of Hours School Care (OHSC) open for students requiring supervision.
Week 4
Monday Aug 4 ICAS Digit Tech Competition
Thursday Aug 7 ICAS Writing Competition
Friday Aug 8 Year 3 Excursion to Cobb and Co, ‘Take a Look Captain Cook’, Interactive learning expo.
Week 5
Wednesday Aug 13 Indonesian Cultural Day
Thursday Aug 14 Author Visit - Greg Dreise
Friday Aug 15 National Day of Action Against bullying – Wear PURPLE
Friday Aug 15 Community under 8s Day
Week 6 BOOK WEEK
Tuesday Aug 19 Inner Downs Athletics for students who qualify
Wednesday Aug 20 ICAS Spelling Competition
Thursday Aug 21 ICAS Science Competition
Friday Aug 22 Book Week Parade after Assembly
Saturday Aug 23 Family Mass at 6pm
Week 7
Monday Aug 25 ICAS Maths Competition
Friday Aug 29 St Monica’s Feast Day (Mass at 9am, Free BBQ lunch on the oval, Old Fashioned Games and St Monica’s Got Talent Competition at approx. 1:00pm)
Week 8
Tuesday Sep 2 Wellbeing visit from Head Space – Years 5 & 6
Parent & Teacher Session from 3:20pm – 4:20pm in the library.
Wednesday Sep 3 Special Father’s Day Assembly in the hall at 8:40am.
Wednesday Sep 3 Oakey Sing Out. Activities during the day & evening presentation at the Oakey Cultural Centre.
Thursday Sep 4 Year 6 excursion to New Acland Mine
Thursday Sep 4 Year 4 excursion to St Helena Island and Year 4 Sleepover
Friday Sep 5 Consistency of Teacher Judgement Day (pupil free day - no school)
Week 9 NATIONAL CHILD PROTECTION WEEK
Parent Teacher Interviews throughout this week
Tuesday Sep 9 Year 4 Touch Football Gala Day
Friday Sep 12 R U OK Day. Special Assembly
Friday Sep 12 Year 2 Excursion – Significant Places in Oakey (Historical Museum, Australian Army Flying Museum, Train, Station, RSL, War Memorial and the Bernborough Statue)
Week 10
Thursday Sep 18 End of Term Thanksgiving Mass
Friday Sep 19 Last Day of Term 3
Prep Enrolments for 2026
As we approach the mid-year mark, we are beginning to form our 2026 Prep class. If you or someone you know is considering enrolling their child at St Monica’s school next year, please encourage them to complete an enrolment form via our school website.
Year 1-6 Enrolments for 2026
As many of you are aware, we currently have waitlists for some year levels. Wait lists play an important role; if a student transfers to a new school due to an event such as family relocation, we can fill the position with a student from the waitlist. Sometimes, if the waitlist is extensive, we can look at creating two classes for that year level the following year. With this in mind, if you know anyone who is looking to move to St Monica’s school, but the year level is currently full, still encourage them to fill in an enrolment form on the website, so they can be interviewed and potentially enrolled as soon as possible.
From the Classrooms
Prep
Welcome back to Term 3! The students have settled in and are ready to continue their educational journey. So far, we have explored Little Red Riding Hood and The Ugly Duckling as part of our focus on fairy tales for this term. Last week, students participated in many activities to celebrate NAIDOC. Activities included snake weaving, biscuit icing, dot painting and making symbols out of playdough. This Wednesday marks 100 days at Prep! This year’s theme is 100 days smarter. The Prep students loved their smart cookie t-shirts and the fun activities throughout the day. Next week we continue the rollercoaster of fun with Catholic Education Week. We will be presenting at Assembly on Grandparents Day Wednesday 30th July.
100 Days of Prep
Year 1
I hope all Year One families had a lovely break and are rested and ready for another exciting term full of learning and creating! We have jumped into our Informative Texts unit, focusing on Australian creeks and the animals and plants that call them home. We created a 'What We Know and What We'd Like to Learn' chart, where students shared their current knowledge about Australian creeks and what they hope to learn about them this term. Everyone had some great information to share and some even better questions! We also started our Biological Science unit where we will further explore living things and how their environments support them. I look forward to sharing more of the students' learning with you in the coming weeks as we dive further into our units this term.
Year 2
What a fun filled 2 weeks we have had in Year 2! NAIDOC week – We followed an Indigenous Elder, Cindy, as she showed us how to draw an Echidna.
Science- We are exploring forces during science this term. We investigated all different items in our classroom that we can push and pull.
English/HaSS- We are investigating toys from the past and present. We went through some toy catalogues and discussed different toys that we would have liked when we were younger versus now!
Year 3
Year Three have had a wonderful start to Term 3. Miss Keleher sent us a postcard from New Zealand telling us all the exciting things she was doing. We then wrote our own postcards for Miss Keleher to read when she returns so she can find out about all the fun we had on our holidays. In Science we are researching facts about The Sun and discovered that the temperature in its center is 15 000 000 C. We are looking forward to a fantastic term ahead in Year Three.
Year 4
In Mathematics we are exploring decimal fractions.
In HaSS we are investigating the first fleet's arrival and its impact on the Indigenous Australians.
Year 5M
Term 3 kicked off with a vibrant and meaningful start!
In Week 1, students immersed themselves in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives, exploring the significance of Connection to Country and ways we can care for our land, people, and community. We had the honour of learning from a local Aboriginal elder and shared thoughtful reflections at our beautiful outdoor yarning circle. Students wrote Dreamtime-inspired poems about their favourite places, drawing on themes of nature, belonging, and spiritual connection. They researched traditional symbols and collaborated on a stunning artwork representing our school community.
We also delved into the history of Indigenous shelters, studying the materials and designs used by the Gaibal and Jarowair peoples of the Oakey region. Then came a creative twist—using natural materials, students took on a design challenge to build model shelters inspired by local traditions, blending history, culture, and hands-on learning in a truly memorable experience.
Year 5R
5R enjoyed planning, creating and conducting surveys as part of their Maths assessment. Some surprising trends were noticed after constructing their graphs.
Year 6
We have some very exciting news! Starting this term we will be incorporating flexible seating in our classroom. This gives students the opportunity to use different areas in our classroom and a variety of seating options such as cushions, lap desks and wobble disks to help improve their focus and work in a way that best suits their learning style. This will be a great chance for students to take responsibility for their own learning and set themselves up for success.
From Music
It's that time of year again! The highly anticipated St Monica's Got Talent show is back! A reminder that all S.M.G.T nomination forms are due back at school by Tuesday 29th July. Please remember to attach the $2 nomination fee, which is a fundraiser for year 5/6 camp. Auditions will be held during Music Lessons in weeks 3 and 4. Students may perform on their own OR in small groups. The judging criteria is:
- Confidence
- Audience appeal
- How polished the performance is
I can't wait to see all the talent our school has on offer this year!
There has been a positive response to Ukulele Group this term! Ukulele Group is held on Wednesdays at lunchtime in the Music Room. Students who have their own ukuleles are encouraged to bring them along. There are also ukuleles in the Music Room for all to use.
Choir is gathering each Thursday lunchtime in the Music Room. Mrs Malone & Mrs Hughes are pleased to see some new faces as well as some familiar ones this term. A reminder that once students have indicated they are keen to be a member of our school Choir, they are expected to be at rehearsals each Thursday lunchtime. We are busily preparing for the upcoming inaugural Oakey Sing Fest (see flyer at the end of this newsletter).
Sports News
Athletics
Catholic Schools Carnival
Unfortunately, this carnival was cancelled due to wet weather and will not be rescheduled.
Inner Downs
A number of students have qualified for the Inner Downs trials which will be held on Tuesday 19 August at O’Quinn Street Oval, Toowoomba. These students received the necessary paperwork on Monday. Please ensure the permission slip and Inner Downs permission/medical form are completed and returned by this Friday, 25 July and that the nomination fee is paid by the due date.
Catholic Netball and Touch Carnivals
On Thursday, 31 July the Year 5 and 6 students will be participating in the Toowoomba Catholic Schools Netball and Touch Carnivals with the netball being held at Nell E Robinson Park and touch at the Kearneys Spring fields. Students need to be at school by 8.00 am ready to catch the bus. They need to wear their sports uniform and hat and bring a waterbottle and food for the day. More detailed information was sent home with students this week.
PE Lessons
Thanks to receiving a Sporting Schools Grant, all students will be participating in a 4 week orienteering program. Mrs Felicity Crosato from Orienteering Queensland will join Mrs Bruggemann for PE lessons in Weeks 3-6 to facilitate the activities. Orienteering is an exciting and challenging outdoor sport that exercises mind and body and is a great sport for all ages.
From the Library
Book Week will be here in Week 6 of this term! This year is the 80th Anniversary of the CBCA Book Week. The theme is Book an Adventure. The Dress Up Parade will be on Friday August 22nd , at the beginning of the school day as usual. Students are able to dress as their favourite book character and stay in costume all day. Grown ups are very welcome to attend the parade and there is always lots of photo opportunities. Students must wear closed in shoes during the school day but may wear costume footwear during the parade. This means they bring their runners to school for after the parade. Our Book Fair is being held in this week also. Please feel free to contact me via email at mandie.tindall@twb.catholic.edu.au or via the school if you have any questions.
Be Well at St Monica's
Let’s go for a hike!
To warm up during this winter weather, why not get the kids and the adults all together to enjoy some quality time in the great outdoors. Hiking is a fantastic pursuit to enjoy during the winter months in Australia. With cooler temperatures and milder weather, it's the perfect time to explore the breathtaking landscapes and natural beauty that the country has to offer. From lush rainforests to rugged mountain ranges, there are countless trails and hiking routes to suit all skill levels and preferences. The crisp air and clear skies of winter create an ideal setting for outdoor adventure, allowing hikers to immerse themselves in the tranquility of nature and escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life. So, lace up your hiking boots, pack some snacks and water, and set off on a winter hiking expedition to discover the wonders of Australia's natural beauty.
Bushwalking can help increase the strength of the cardiovascular system, help lower the risk of heart disease, help maintain a healthy blood pressure and also maintain a healthy bodyweight. For individuals who suffer from heart disease, obesity or type 2 diabetes, bushwalking is the perfect exercise to minimise future risk and keep yourself fit and healthy. Bushwalking also helps improve the mental state of individuals. It allows the opportunity to interact with an engaging visual setting, plus all the sights, smells and sounds you love of the great outdoors generates excitement for your workout. Working out in the Australian environment has been proven to be good for the body and soul. Beyond Blue has advocated bushwalking as an activity for managing moderate depression and anxiety.
Additional benefits of hiking for your children include:
- it gets them out of the house and off screens,
- it helps them connect with nature,
- it allows them to use all their senses,
- it is a free activity that helps to bond as a family,
- it helps build life-long skills.
Within the Toowoomba region there are a number of walks and trails, as well as National Parks, that offer participants everything from a leisurely stroll to a challenging hike. Some of these are located in nearby areas such as the Bunya Mountains, Cooyar, Kingsthorpe, Highfields, Toowoomba, Westbrook and Crows Nest. For more information on walk and trails, go to the Toowoomba Regional Council’s website http://www.tr.qld.gov.au/facilities-recreation/sport-recreation/walks-trails/227-where-to-walk
From the P&F
Uniforms
School uniforms are now available at School Locker online theschoollocker.com.au
Research has shown that one of the real advantages of an education at a Catholic School is that a special and unique pride is developed. One significant way to foster such pride is the enforcement of strict uniform guidelines. All children are expected to wear the school uniform as listed below:
School Uniform - Years 1 to 6
Girls – Formal - Monday, Wednesday & Thursday
- St Monica’s School Dress Uniform
- Dress: Pattern, Sutton no 346(B)
- Dress: Fabric, Check 8021
- Collar: Cesarella 1301, Zip: Birch 265 Bottle Green
- St Monica’s School green school bucket hat
- Short white socks – (no ankle socks)
- All black shoes – may be leather or jogger.
Girls – Sports - Tuesday and Friday
- St Monica’s School Sports Shirt Yr.1 to Yr.5
- St Monica’s School Leader Shirt Year 6
- St Monica’s School Navy Blue Skort
- St Monica’s School green school bucket hat
- Short white socks
- White sandshoes/joggers
Winter Variation
- As Above
- St Monica’s School Bottle Green Fleecy Pullover with embroidered crest
- Green fleecy track pants with sports uniform only.
- Navy Blue Tights (optional)
Boys – Formal - Monday, Wednesday & Thursday
- St Monica’s School Dress Shirt with tartan collar
- Shirt: Pattern, Simplicity 5581
- Fabric: Bottle Green Poplin 8021
- Shorts: Navy Blue Long Shorts (Ruggers)
- St Monica’s School green school bucket hat
- Short navy-blue socks – (no ankle socks)
- All black shoes – May be leather or jogger.
Boys – Sports - Tuesday & Friday
- St Monica’s School Sports Shirt Yr. 1 to Yr. 5
- St Monica’s School Leader Shirt Year 6
- St Monica’s School Navy Blue Shorts (Stubbies)
- St Monica’s School green school bucket hat
- Short white socks
- White sandshoes/joggers
Winter Variation
As Above
- St Monica’s school Bottle Green Fleecy pullover with embroidered crest
- Green fleecy track pants with sports uniform only.
- Long navy-blue pants - Ruggers – Formal uniform (optional)
It is expected that the correct and clean school uniform will be worn at all times. A school uniform can help instil in the students a sense of pride and identity. It also signifies unity and equality.
Prep students wear the sports uniform 5 days per week – Monday to Friday
All Students
Hair: Collar length hair or longer must be tied back with a green band or green ribbon. Natural hair colour is expected. Rat’s tails and tracks are not permitted.
Earrings: Girls: Sleepers and plain studs are the only acceptable earrings.
Boys: No earrings.
Other: Clearly mark all clothing with your child’s name.
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