Newsletter - 11/06/2025

Principal News

Choral Fanfare
A big congratulations to our Junior and Senior Choirs who both performed beautifully in the Choral Fanfare on Monday. Both choirs sang beautifully and backed this up with highly respectful behaviour when watching the choirs from other schools who performed. Well done to Linda Miller for your work in preparing these choirs for the Regional Final. For further information, please see later in the newsletter.

Athletics 2025
Next week, we have our Junior Sports, Field Events and Athletics carnival. A big thank you to all involved in preparing for these events. We are looking forward to seeing all of the children out in their house colours trying their best for their teams.

Thank you
Last week, we had a group of dads who came to a working bee to remove the Year 2/3 playground. Thank you so much to the fathers who gave up their Saturday morning to work in our school. We really appreciate your support.

Report Cards
Our school report cards will be sent out on the last day of this term. Please ensure that we have your most current details so that report cards are sent correctly.

Let’s talk uniforms….
Uniforms help create a sense of belonging. When everyone wears the same attire, it minimises visible economic differences and fosters a more inclusive environment. For students, this can reduce peer pressure, allowing them to focus on learning.

Beyond Appearance benefits include
Equality – Uniforms level the playing field, reducing judgement based upon fashion or brand choice.
Safety – In schools, uniforms help identify individuals quickly, enhancing security.
Convenience – Choosing what to wear each day becomes a non-issue, saving time and reducing stress.

As we approach Winter, please ensure that your child is wearing the correct uniform every day by wearing a royal blue jumper or jacket. If wearing long pants or tracksuit pants, these are also to be of a royal blue colour.  

Jewellery is limited to a watch, one signet ring and a necklace only if it has religious or cultural significance.  Please ensure that children adhere to this as they will be asked to remove any additional jewellery they may be wearing.

The wearing of false nails is not allowed at Fitzgerald. Children are learning to handwrite effectively and efficiently and the wearing of long, fake nails prohibits the correct holding of a pencil and may cause future handwriting to lack fluency and ease. Please ensure that all children’s nails are natural and free of polish.

Student Council Information
Next Wednesday our students are invited to show their State of Origin allegiance and wear either maroon or blue for a gold coin fine for the student council. Years 3 – 6 may wear this for the full day where as Prep – Year 2 students may change after their Junior sports day if they wish.

On the last day of term, the students will be watching a movie either in their classroom or in the school hall. The student council are selling snacks for this movie session. This note was sent home last week. To order snacks for your child to have during the movie session, please return this form to the school office by next Friday (20 June) along with the cash in either a brown bag or an envelope with their name and class clearly marked on the front.

Tracey Adams
Principal

Heath & Physical Education

SPORTS DAYS  |  WEEK 9

Tuesday June 17
Field Events Finals
800m for 10,11, 12 years (held at second break)

Wednesday June 18
Junior Sports Day: Prep – Year 2
800m 8 & 9 years (held at second break)

Thursday June 19 Mackay Show Holiday

Friday June 20
Senior Sports Day

Russell Hope
HPE Teacher

From the Guidance Officer

Recently I posted about the Raising Children Network and now I am happy to announce that they have created a FREE Raising Healthy Minds app. 

The Raising Healthy Minds app is a free, personalised, pocket resource to help parents and carers raise confident, resilient children. Co-designed with parents and experts and funded by the Australian Government, Raising Healthy Minds aims to support children’s social and emotional wellbeing with evidence-based information.  

You’ll find information on topics like dealing with worries and making friends, as well as ideas for day-to-day life, like creating family routines, looking after yourself as a parent, and building strong relationships.  

The app offers a mix of quick-read articles, videos and animations aimed at parents and carers of children aged 0-12 years. You can tailor information to the age of your child and opt-in to receive helpful tips.  

Raising Healthy Minds provides simple-to-use information at your fingertips with clear actions you can start today.  

Download from Google Play or the App Store or go to the link below to learn more and raise a healthy mind 🧠😊  

Alexia Wotherspoon
Guidance Officer

Positive Behaviour for Learning

Katelyn Sartor
Teacher 6C

Music & Instrumental

CHORAL NEWS

Overdue!!!

There are still several families with overdue choir levy payments.  Please check this and complete payment as soon as possible.

Choral Fanfare

Congratulations to our Junior and Senior Choirs, who performed beautifully yesterday at Choral Fanfare.  Both choirs were selected as Regional Finalists.  The Junior Choir received a Platinum Award (Division 3) and the Senior Choir received a Gold Award (Division 1) and were awarded the Most Outstanding Choir.

EISTEDDFOD

The following groups will be competing in the Mackay Eisteddfod in Term 3, August.
- Year 3 Junior Choir
- Year 4 Junior Choir
- Senior Choir
- Year 6 Folk Group
- Beginner String Ensemble
- Senior String Ensemble
- Beginner Concert Band
- Senior Concert Band

Information regarding these performance dates will be sent home at the end of this term.  Please pay close attention to dates, times and uniform requirements.

Linda Miller
Music Teacher / Instrumental Music Coordinator 

From the Arts

Wakakirri Update

All rehearsals from now on, are extremely important as we have a few things to achieve, including costume fittings, video planning and formal filming for our video entry.  Please see table below for rehearsal times.

The filming will be taking place during the before and after school rehearsals as well as on Sundays. We also have our other filming day on the Thursday of the last week of school where we will be travelling by bus to Centre Stage Dance Company (Wood Street, Mackay).

If students are away during these rehearsals they could possibly miss being filmed for certain parts of our video. As you can imagine it is very difficult coordinating over 60 students and having them altogether on the same day.

Our School Recording Day
Thursday 26 June 2025 (Last week of the term)
Our production will be filmed on location at Centre Stage Dance Company, as part of our story. Students will travel by bus, to and from the location where it will be filmed.

Arrival at school on Thursday 26/06/2025
Students need to arrive at school at 8:00am (meet outside the hall foyer) for costume and make up. The bus will be leaving the school at 9:30am and returning to school by 2:30pm.

A letter is going home with participating students this week with further information including hair and costuming instructions.

Two consent forms need to be completed and returned. 

Samantha Scott-Girgenti
Dance / Drama Teacher

From the Library

Brittany Kendall          Jo Struthers
Teacher Librarian       Teacher Aide

Student Council Movie Afternoon

Student Council are putting on a movie afternoon on the last day of term to raise funds to go towards painting handball courts around the school.  The below order form was provided to every student.  Please ensure this form is returned with cash by June 20 if your child wishes to have snacks during their movie.

NAIDOC Week | Mackay Community

As part of Mackay’s NAIDOC Week celebrations, we invite all students and their families to join us for the NAIDOC March 2025. This event is on the school holidays so students will be required to have supervision from their parents or guardians for this event, however Fitzgerald’s First Nations Teacher Aide (Taiya Thaiday) will be there to March with the students as well. Students are not required to wear their uniform but are advised to wear comfortable shoes to walk in and wear a hat. The information below gives details on the path that will be walked on this march, where to meet and the rough arrival time to Queen’s Park. Just a reminder this is not a school excursion and is on the school holidays, all supervision will need to be by parents/guardians.  Please click on the pictures below for further information.

Taiya Thaiday
First Nations Teacher Aide

Shop for Schools | Mt P Shopping Centre

Upcoming Events

PCYC Fitzgerald Fun Squad

JOIN THE FUN SQUAD AT PCYC FITZGERALD! 

Looking for a fun, active, and engaging way for your kids to burn energy, build confidence, and make new friends? Look no further than PCYC Fitzgerald’s Fun Squad – where every session is packed with excitement, movement, and unforgettable memories!

What’s Fun Squad all about?
It’s a high-energy program designed for primary school-aged kids who love to move, laugh, and try new things. Think obstacle courses, team games, creative challenges, and loads of surprises – all run by our friendly, experienced youth workers and coaches.

Why parents love it:
- Promotes healthy habits
- Builds teamwork and leadership
- Safe, inclusive, and supervised environment
- Helps kids unplug from screens and connect in real life!

Perfect for kids who:
- Have endless energy
- Need a confidence boost
- Want to make new friends
- Just love having FUN!

Sessions run before school, after school and on the holidays! Spots are filling fast – don’t miss out!

Visit the link below to enrol today.  Let your kids join the squad where fun is the goal, and every child is a star 🌟

P&C News

🍩 Tuckshop Treats & Community Cheers! 🍩
Our tuckshop is thriving, thanks to the incredible support from our school community! We've streamlined our processes, and it's heartwarming to see so many smiling faces enjoying their lunches. A special shout-out to our dedicated volunteers—your contributions make a world of difference!

👩‍🍳 Volunteer Call-Out!
We're opening up opportunities for more volunteers to join our tuckshop team. Whether you can spare an hour or a morning, your help is invaluable. Kids absolutely love seeing familiar faces when they pick up their lunch—it adds a special touch to their day! If you're interested, please reach out to us at fitzgeraldsspc@outlook.com or call (07) 4965 6333, option 3.

📋 Menu & Feedback
We're continually working to improve our menu and processes. Your feedback is essential in helping us serve our students better. Feel free to share your suggestions—we're all ears!

🍩 Krispy Kreme Fundraiser Update
Exciting news! Our Krispy Kreme orders will be arriving this Thursday. We'll send out text messages to notify you. We anticipate having some leftover boxes, which will be available for purchase—stay tuned for further notifications.

🏆 Fundraising Champions
Congratulations to our top fundraisers! Each of the following students will receive a free box of donuts:
- Prep: Leo Edge
- Year 1: Ellie Maiden
- Year 2: Hugh Campbell
- Year 3: Georgia Dean
- Year 4: Metao Howat
- Year 5: Benson Tass
- Year 6: Coen Taylor
- Staff: Mrs. Adams

A special congratulations to Ellie Maiden, our highest overall fundraiser! Additionally, Prep 1/A sold the most dozens and will enjoy a donut class party. Well done to all, and thank you to everyone who participated!

🎉 Upcoming Events
- Senior Sports Day: We'll be running a stall at the Senior Sports Day. Please note, the tuckshop will be closed on this day. Check below for the sports day menu.
- Sports House Earrings: Now available on Flexischools and will also be sold on Sports Day.
- NAIDOC Special: Available for ordering on Flexischools until 15th July. No late orders will be accepted.

🛠️ Playground Update
Thanks to our incredible Fitzy Dad Squad, the old 2/3 playground has been successfully removed—what a group of legends! This adjustment has slightly amended our quote. Once we receive the updated quote, the P&C will submit a grant application to the QLD Community Gambling Fund Benefit. If successful, we'll proceed with the new playground installation and allocate the funds raised so far to our next exciting project.

Thank you for your continued support in making our school a vibrant and nurturing environment for our students!

Jess Majid
P&C President

FITZY'S TUCKERBOX MENU

Community | School Holidays

For those families who wish to attend Circus Quirkus, please contact the office as we have been provided with limited tickets.

Community News