Dear Parents

Welcome back to Term 2! We hope you had a relaxing and safe holiday break. It’s wonderful to have our students return refreshed and ready for another exciting term of learning and growing together. We have many exciting activities planned, and are looking forward to a busy and rewarding term ahead.

While Easter Sunday gave us an opportunity to celebrate Jesus' Resurrection, and ponder Pope Francis’ Easter message, Easter Monday left the world-wide community in mourning with his sudden, yet not unexpected, passing. 

Pope Francis was a global leader known for his kindness, compassion and efforts to bring people together in peace. He will be remembered for his efforts to modernise the Church, address the climate crisis through his papal encyclical Laudato Si. He promoted inter-faith dialogue, including his historic meeting with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar and visits to Muslim-majority nations. He demonstrated openness and inclusivity towards LGBTQ+ individuals, calling for compassion and understanding, and made historic apologies for the Catholic Church's role in past injustices.  

Labelled the People’s Pope and characterised by humility, Pope Francis preferred the simple life. From residing in the Vatican guesthouse rather in the Papal Palace through to his final gesture as the first Pope in 100 years to be buried outside the Vatican, his pontificate was characterised by humility, grace and the love of us, his people. 

Rest in peace Papa.

Principal Feedback

To support my ongoing professional development and growth, families who have been randomly selected will receive communication and a survey link via email on Friday, May 2. 

The survey will take about 30 to 45 minutes to complete and will be open from Friday, 2 May until midnight on Sunday, 18 May. I kindly ask and encourage you to take part in this survey. The information provided will remain confidential and anonymous. Effective Governance will receive the survey responses directly, and neither I nor the CEDC Executive Team will know who has responded. Your quantitative responses will be presented in a graph, and your comments will be included verbatim in the report. I will then receive a report that does not include any participant identifying details. 

I look forward to receiving this feedback. Thank you in advance to those participating.

Katherine Boot,

Principal

TERM 2 PREVIEW

Monday, April 28 

• 8:45 MOGC Feast Day Mass in the Church
• 10:00 St Monica’s and St Augustine’s visiting Year 5
• 2:00 Feast Day Fun
  

Tuesday, April 29

• 8:30 Parent Engagement - Coffee on the Deck

Wednesday, April 30

• 5:30 MoGC Connect Meeting

Friday, May 02

• 8:30 Assembly

Week  3

Monday, May 05

• Labour Day Public Holiday
  
  

Tuesday, May 06

• 8:30 Parent Engagement - Coffee on the Deck
• 5:30 MoGC Board Meeting (members only)

Thursday, May 08

• 12:00 Andrew Chinn Visit

Friday, May 09

• Mother’s Day celebrations:
• 8:00 Mother’s day Breakfast 
• 8:30 Assembly 3A leading prayer
• Mother’s Day Stall
• 2:15 Year 3 Liturgy

Saturday, May 10

• Sacramental Preparation Confirmation session #1
  

Week  4

Monday, May 12

• Year 4 Daradgee information session with students

Tuesday, May 13

• 8:30 Parent Engagement - Coffee on the Deck

Wednesday, May 14

• 8:45 Year 5 ACER PIRLS Assessment

Friday, May 16

• Walk Safely to School Day
• Meet at the Information centre for an 8:00 departure
• 8:30 Assembly

Saturday, May 17

• Sacramental Preparation Confirmation session #2

Week  5

Tuesday, May 20

• 8:30 Parent Engagement - Coffee on the Deck

Friday, May 23

• 8:30 Assembly - 2A leading Prayer

Saturday, May 24

• Sacramental Preparation Confirmation session #3
  

Week  6

Tuesday, May 27

• 8:30 Parent Engagement - Coffee on the Deck

Wednesday, May 28

• 2:15 Athletics Briefing & War Cries
• Barron - Basketball Court
• Palmer - Junior Field
• Savannah - Deck

Thursday, May 29

• MoGC Athletics Carnival

Friday, May 30

• 8:30 Assembly 1A leading Prayer 

Week 7

Tuesday, June 03

• 8:30 Parent Engagement - Coffee on the Deck

Thursday, June 05

• World Environment Day
• 6:00 Confirmation at St. Monica’s Cathedral 

Friday, June 06

• World Ocean Day
• 8:30 Assembly
• 9:00 Whole School Photo
• 11:15 Whole School Pentecost Mass 

Week  8

Tuesday, June 10

• 8:30 Parent Engagement - Coffee on the Deck
• 5:30 School Board (members only)

Thursday, June 12

• 8:45 Year 5 Liturgy

Friday, June 13

• TCC Athletics
• 8:30 Assembly

Week  9

Tuesday, June 17

• 8:30 Parent Engagement - Coffee on the Deck

Wednesday, June 18

• 4:00 Eisteddfod Literary Award Ceremony at Choral Society Hall

Friday, June 20

• 8:30 Assembly - Prep A leading Prayer 

Week  10

Tuesday, June 24

• 8:30 Parent Engagement - Coffee on the Deck

Thursday, June 26

• Student reports available via the MyCE App

Friday, June 27

• 8:30 Assembly
• Whole school Hip Hop Concert
• 1:45 Hip Hop Concert - parent viewing

As part of our Holy Week Liturgy, Year 1 and Year 2 told the story of Palm Sunday, when Jesus was welcomed into town like a king!

The School Leadership Team washed the feet of the Term 1 Spirit Award recipients, reminding us that Jesus preached about servant leadership by washing the feet of his disciples. Humble loving service is the hallmark of all who wish to call themselves followers of Jesus. Jesus has given them an example: that they do for one another what he has done for them. A little later, Jesus says “Love one another, as I have loved you.”

Year 3 taught us about the Last Supper through drama and song. They acted out the last meal that Jesus had with his disciples. Jesus took the bread and the wine and said, “do this in memory of me”. Therefore, we gather each week as Christians to take part in the Eucharist.

Through song, Year 4 told us about the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus went to pray before his arrest and his disciples fell asleep.

Year 5 enacted the scene when Jesus was questioned by Pilate. Pilate continually points out that he is innocent, proclaims him as the King of the Jews, and finally presents him to the people: ‘Behold the Man. This is your King!’

Year 6 acted out The Crucifixion and we left the church in silence. Jesus was crucified on Good Friday. If you attended a Good Friday church service you would have noticed that the crucifix was removed, that there was no cloth on the altar, no candles and no flowers. There would have been no singing.

In contrast, if you attended an Easter Service the celebration started with the priest blessing a fire, the priest would have traced the cross, the Greek letters Alpha and Omega, and the current year onto a new Easter candle and the candle would have been lit from the new fire. Candles are lit from the Easter Candle as the procession moved into the Church. There would have been singing and bells ringing, because three days after his crucifixion, Jesus rose from the dead. That part of the Easter story is called the resurrection. Our Prep students were learning about the resurrection last term and made a video to share with us.

The Resurrection

When we returned from holidays, our community gathered in the church to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus. Prep led us through this story through role play and we sang the Easter Alleluia by Michael Mangan.

On Monday, we celebrated he feast of Mary, Mother of Good Counsel. Whenever we celebrate Mary, the mother of Jesus, it is a chance to celebrate her faithfulness to God’s call and the wonders God has worked through her. This feast is very special because we celebrate the blessings and good counsel that come through Mary to all who believe in Jesus. Thank you to Fr Dennis Ryan for presiding over our Mass. 

The Feast of the Mother of Good Counsel is important to us in three ways. Mary is the patron saint of our school, our parish, and our Diocese. When we pray to Mary, we say, “Mary, full of Grace.” Mary truly is a woman of Grace. She made room for God in her life and showed us how to live a life of Trust and Faith in God; to become more deeply the person God has called us to be. The Mass was followed by some Feast Day activities, a lunch with our buddies and some Feast Day Fun! 

The parish Sacramental program continues for our registered candidates on Saturday, May 10 at 4:15pm in the hall, with preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation. Families and candidates are invited to attend mass directly after the session.

We gathered to commemorate ANZAC Day, a day when Australians and New Zealanders give thanks for their freedom and peace. We remember and honour those who fought to protect our beautiful lands. On ANZAC Day, we remember all who gave their lives for our freedom and peace. It is also an important day for us to stop and pray for peace – peace in our world, peace among people in our own country, peace in families, and peace in our own hearts.  

 The Ode, was read by Lieutenant Commander Thomas Rue. The Ode is from a poem written by Laurence Binyon entitled ‘For the Fallen”. We usually only say the last stanza of the poem. In this we call to mind those who never come back, those who never grow old. 

Stratford ANZAC Service

Thank you to the staff and families that attended and marched with our school at theStratford Commemorative Service. Our school captains laid a wreath on behalf of our community. 

Mums and special ladies in our childrens’ lives are invited to join us on Friday, May 9, at 8:00am, to enjoy a treat and some playtime with their children, before attending our Mother’s Day Assembly and prayer at 8:30am.

Our Mother’s Day stall will be operating, with gifts available for students to choose from.

To minimise money handling, we follow this procedure:

• Prior to the day of the stall, students bring $5 in an envelope, marked with their name and class, and give it to their class teacher
• The envelopes will be sent to the office, and a list collated, showing those students who can purchase at the stall on Friday, May 9. Each class will be scheduled during the day to make their selection.
• Children can buy more than one gift and some gifts for Grandmothers will be available. 

In 2026, Mother of Good Counsel celebrates 90 years! If you or someone you know has a historical connection to MoGC, has a flair for event management or would like to be part of a committee to plan this special event, we’d love to hear from you. 

Please register your interest at secretary.nthcairns@cns.catholic.edu.au.

Year 5 students at Mother of Good Counsel have been selected to participate in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), an international assessment of student achievement in reading literacy in 2025.

This assessment is part of the National Assessment Program and will take place on Wednesday, May 14. More information about PIRLS can be found via the ACER website. 

Refurbishments on the Presbytery, adjacent to MoGC began last week and will be ongoing for the duration of Term 2. Once refurbished, the building will become the parish house for our assisting Priest, Fr Santhosh. Fr Roy will also live there until his quarters have been renovated at the Bishop’s House.

OSHC families will be impacted by these works as from Tuesday, April 22 cars will not have access to the area between the church and school for drop-offs and pick-ups (NO ZONE). This space will become temporary parking for OSHC staff. Families are required to park on Okeefe Street (YES ZONE) and walk into the OSHC facility. 

If you have time after drop off on Tuesday mornings and after assembly on Friday mornings, please drop by the library for our book covering and coffee session. We have lots of new books that need covering before they can be used, and your help is greatly appreciated. Contact mcreighton@cns.catholic.edu.au with any questions.

On Friday, April 4 we had a perfect finish to the school term with our Prep-Year 2 Cross Country. Well done to our Junior School - every student in attendance participated and completed their event! Some were nervous, some were terrified and some were very excited, yet they all crossed the finish line. A big thank you to our Year 6s who supported and ran with those who were feeling overwhelmed at the start line.

This event concluded our Cross Country carnival. Congratulations to the overall winning team BARRON.

MoGC Connect Meeting

Our next MoGC Connect meeting is scheduled for 5:30 TODAY in the Multipurpose Room, above the library. At this meeting we will discuss:

• Term 1 expenditure & financial standing
  
• Proposed project focus & support 
• MoGC Connect initiatives and events
  • Uniform coordinator
  • Mother’s Day
• 2026 90 Year Celebrations
• Term 2 Working Bee

Future agenda items can be emailed to mogc.connect@cnsstu.catholic.edu.au

Fathering Project

Helping your child understand personal boundaries is one of the most valuable life lessons you can give. Boundaries teach them to respect themselves and others, and to recognise what’s okay and what’s not.

Make boundaries part of everyday conversation Like lines on a sports field, boundaries show us where to stop. Kids need guidance to learn that it's okay to say “no” and that their body belongs to them. Try this: Practice simple role-play scenarios, like “What if someone hugs you and you don’t like it?” or “What if someone makes you feel uncomfortable?” Help them rehearse ways to respond. By talking openly about boundaries, you’re not only keeping your child safe—you’re also building their confidence to speak up and trust their instincts.

Happy families

Mother of Good Counsel subscribes to Happy Families (previously known as Parenting Ideas), one of Australia's most trusted sources of parenting education and support. This subscription provides families with Insight articles (published here each fortnight) and opportunities to attend FREE online webinars.

Insight articles:

• Compassion

Compassion

Compassion 2.29 MB

• Soft Eyes 

Soft Eyes

Soft Eyes 2.26 MB

2025 PARENT CONTACTS

If you have a question about your child’s year level, are looking for information or need some guidance on where to direct an enquiry, these parents contacts are happy for you to reach out to them:

Prep: Stacey Watt staceylwatt@outlook.com	Year 1: Louise Bernstein: louise.bernstein@blueoceanic.com
Yr 1: Emma Smith: emmajb21@hotmail.com Yr 3: Paula Kelly: paulajkelly81@gmail.com	Yr 2: James Rickman jamesrickman@yahoo.com.au
Yr 4: Jenny Gangell jenny.gangell@gmail.com	Yr 5: Joeleen Bettini joeleenb1@bigpond.com  Bindi Cooper coopernb@outlook.com
Yr 6: Kate & Carl Vogler: katevogler@hotmail.com

Our much-loved annual MoGC Connect Mother’s Day Stall is happening again in the library on Friday, May 9. Parent volunteers are required to assist on the day between 9am and 1pm. Available parents can email mogc.connect@cnsstu.catholic.edu.au with their availability prior to the day (in addition to parents who have already indicated their availability in the recent survey).