Term 4 Week 2 Newsletter

Principal Report - Mrs Janine Butlin

Principal Message

15^th October 2025

Over the school holidays, I was fortunate enough to take part in a Pilgrimage to Italy with a group of educators from the Toowoomba and Townsville Dioceses, accompanied by the Bishop of Toowoomba, Ken Howell. A Holy Year is celebrated every 25 years and represents a time of remarkable grace. On Christmas Eve 2024, Pope Francis opened the Holy Doors in St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. This ceremony marks the beginning of the Holy Year and is rich in symbolism. The Holy Door, also known as the “Door of Great Pardon,” is sealed from the inside with bricks and is opened by the Holy Father during the Jubilee Year. As the door opens, it sends a symbolic message that the doors of divine justice and mercy are open for the world. It also symbolizes Christ who knocks at the door of every human heart.

Many pilgrims from across the world have visited Rome to pass through this doorway and encounter the grace of this declared year of favour. In Rome, they have already welcomed 25 million visitors to St Peter’s Basilica, and it is expected that 34 million pilgrims will have walked through the Holy Doors by the time they are closed on 6th January 2026.

There were many special moments during my two-week pilgrimage—too many to mention here. However, the general audience with Pope Leo XIV on the last Wednesday, where I gathered with 40,000 pilgrims outside the Vatican, is something I will never forget. During this audience, the Pope was driven around the crowds, stopping many times to bless babies passed to him. During his address to the crowd, Pope Leo XIV called upon those gathered to turn to Mary in a special way for the gift of peace, urging Catholics around the world to unite in daily prayer.

We also visited the tomb of St Carlo Acutis. Carlo was born in London in 1991 but moved to Milan shortly afterwards, where he grew up. From a young age, Carlo displayed a deep Catholic faith, especially a love for the Eucharist. He was also a whiz with code. At just 11 years old, he created a website cataloguing Eucharistic miracles and Marian apparitions. He is known as ‘God’s Influencer.’ His faith was contagious. Tragically, he was diagnosed with leukemia in October 2006 and died just days later on October 12, aged 15. Two official miracles attributed to Carlo’s intercession paved his journey to sainthood: healing a child in Brazil and a Costa Rican woman recovering from brain trauma after visiting his tomb.

He was canonized a saint by Pope Leo on 7th September 2025. I visited Carlo’s glass tomb at the Sanctuary of the Spoliation (Santa Maria Maggiore) in Assisi. St Carlo is seen as a modern saint for modern times—his life story speaks powerfully to a generation fluent in screens but searching for meaning.

“Pilgrimage is the journey of the heart, where every step becomes a prayer.”
This journey to Italy was more than a physical passage—it was a pilgrimage of hope, renewal, and deep spiritual connection. Walking alongside fellow educators and under the guidance of Bishop Ken Howell, we were united in faith and purpose. From the sacred silence of Assisi to the vibrant crowds in Vatican Square, each moment was a reminder of the grace that surrounds us when we open our hearts to the divine. The Holy Year has offered a profound invitation to reflect, to pray, and to carry the light of hope back into our communities and classrooms. It was a privilege to be part of this sacred experience, and I return with a renewed spirit and a heart full of gratitude.

God Bless

Janine

Pope Leo XIV & St Carlo

Assistant Principal Mission Identity Report - Mrs Fiona Drew

Welcome back to Term 4 and the race to the finish line for the 2025 academic year. This term promises to be a busy one with 9 weeks but lots to fit in! We finished Term 3 with our celebration for the students focusing on what we are thankful for at school. I hope the holidays were restful for students and families and they have started the term rejuvenated and ready to go.  

Term 4 MacKillop Value – Listen to God’s Call

This term, the Mary MacKillop value for St Stephen’s is ‘Listen to God’s Call’. MacKillop Club members will make this their focus during meetings and activities this term.

Catholic Mission Month – Socktober

October is Catholic Mission Month and St Stephens will be participating in the annual event of Socktober. Catholic Mission is the Australian agency of the International Pontifical Mission Societies. They share in God’s mission to reach out and give life by sharing our personal and financial resources. Students are invited to wear their crazy socks on Friday 17^th October and bring in a gold coin donation. Money raised will go towards supporting communities in Zambia. 

Family Mass/Patronal Celebrations

Our Term 4 Family & Patronal Mass will be held on Sunday 26^th October at 8.30am. We are delighted to have Bishop Ken join us for this special celebration. This will be followed by Morning Tea and the Silver Circle raffle in MacKillop Hall. Thank you to families who have purchased tickets in the raffle.  Everyone is welcome to come along and celebrate the church’s Patron Saint, St Stephen, together as a St Stephen’s Catholic School and Parish Community.

Day for Daniel

Friday 31^st October is Day for Daniel. Students are invited to wear red to raise awareness of child safety, protection and harm prevention. No gold coin donation is required.

Year 6 End of Year Events

An email has been sent to Year 6 families to inform them of special days for our Year 6 Graduates.

- Thursday 4th December - Graduation Mass 9.30am

- Thursday 4th December - Graduation Dinner 5.30pm for a 6pm start

- Friday 6th December - End of Year Awards 10am

Date Claimers

All Saints Feast Day mass – Tuesday 28^th October

Remembrance Day Liturgy – Tuesday 11^th November

Christmas Concert – Monday 24^th November

Middle Leader Report - Mrs Danielle Conway

CTJ Day

In Week 8 of Term 3, Toowoomba Catholic Schools held a pupil-free day dedicated to Consistency of Teacher Judgement (CTJ)—a vital part of our commitment to delivering high-quality education for every student at St Stephen’s.

This year, we were pleased to join with staff from St Joseph’s Millmerran to engage in rich professional discussions around student work samples and curriculum. These collaborative conversations provided valuable insights and strengthened our shared understanding of student achievement across schools.

CTJ Day offers our teaching staff dedicated time to align curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, and reporting. These discussions are part of a broader moderation process that occurs throughout the teaching and learning cycle, ensuring that teachers make informed and consistent decisions about student progress.

Importantly, moderation is not just about marking—it’s about knowing each child deeply and supporting their individual learning journey. By investing time in these collaborative practices, our teachers ensure that your child’s education is guided by clear expectations, consistent standards, and a shared understanding of what success looks like.

If you have any questions about how we plan for, teach, assess, and report on student learning, please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s classroom teacher. We value your partnership in supporting your child’s success.

End-of-Year Testing: Celebrating Growth and Guiding Future Learning

As we approach the end of the school year, students at St Stephen’s have begun participating in standardised testing in Literacy and Mathematics. These assessments play an important role in helping us understand where each student is in their learning journey, inform future teaching, and measure individual growth across the year.

The data gathered from these tests supports our commitment to providing high-quality, targeted education. It helps teachers identify areas of strength and opportunities for further development, ensuring that every learner receives the support they need to thrive.

I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate our students for their hard work, persistence, and positive attitude throughout the year. Their efforts in these assessments reflect the dedication they’ve shown in their learning every day.

I also extend my heartfelt thanks to our incredible teaching and support staff, whose commitment to excellence and belief in every child’s potential continues to make a lasting impact. Their thoughtful planning, ongoing assessment, and deep care for each learner ensures that every student is given the opportunity to succeed.

If you have any questions about your child’s progress or the assessment process, please reach out to their classroom teacher. We value your partnership and look forward to continuing to support your child’s learning journey.

Arts Showcase

In the final week of Term 3, St Stephen’s came alive with colour, sound, and expression as students showcased their talents through a vibrant display of performances and artwork. The event was a wonderful opportunity for families to experience the rich and diverse work being done in The Arts across our school.

Parents and carers were invited to explore a variety of student-created pieces, from visual art installations to musical and dance performances. The displays highlighted not only the creativity and skill of our students but also the dedication and passion they bring to their artistic pursuits.

It was heartening to see the community come together to celebrate the achievements of our young artists. Events like these remind us of the importance of The Arts in fostering imagination, confidence, and collaboration.

We are incredibly proud of all our students and grateful to the staff who support and inspire them every day. Thank you to everyone who attended and helped make the week such a memorable celebration of creativity.

Happy Learning, always,

Mrs Danni Conway

Arts Showcase

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Staffing Update

Staffing Update – Miss Lucy Norman

We wish to share that Miss Lucy Norman will be relocating to St John's Roma at the end of 2025.

Lucy began her journey at St Stephen’s School in 2021, teaching Year 1 for two years. Over the past two years, she has brought her energy and enthusiasm to both Prep and Physical Education. In her time with us, Lucy has worked tirelessly to organise our sporting events and has shared her special talent for gymnastics, coaching our students with passion and skill.

Her versatility, dedication, and warm presence have made her an integral part of our Early Years Team. Lucy will be dearly missed by students, staff, and families alike.

We wish Lucy all the very best as she embraces this exciting new chapter in her teaching career. A new generation of students awaits her inspiration at St John’s Roma.

Chloe Thompson - School-Based Apprentice

St Stephen's School would like to acknowledge and celebrate the achievements of Chloe Thompson, a dedicated Year 12 student at St Joseph's College and past student of St Stephen's, who has successfully undertaken a school-based traineeship over the past two years.

On Wednesday, 15th October 2025, Chloe proudly attended the Toowoomba Catholic Schools: Year 12 school-based apprentice and trainee employer thank you breakfast, an event that recognises the valuable partnerships between students, schools, training organisations, and employers. 

Chloe commenced her traineeship in Year 11 and has continued to excel through Year 12, balancing her academic and sporting responsibilities with her vocational training. Her dedication and enthusiasm have been evident in all aspects of her work, and she has consistently demonstrated maturity, initiative, and a strong work ethic.

Opportunities like these not only enrich our students’ learning experiences but also prepare them for future success in the workforce. We wish Chloe all the best in her final weeks of high school and graduation.

Prep 2026 & 2027 Enrolments

Blue Card Changes

Changes are coming to the blue card system to strengthen safeguards for children in Queensland, simplify blue card requirements for applicants, card holders and employees, and to align Queensland’s Working with Children Check with other Australian jurisdictions. These changes will come into effect from 20 September 2025. 
Due to these changes, St Stephen’s School will require all parents and carers who currently volunteer or wish to volunteer in the future, to apply for a Volunteer Blue Card so that they can participate in any activities involving students including, reading, swimming, sports carnivals, celebrations, excursions, tuckshop etc. 
If you wish to apply for this Volunteer Blue Card, please visit and complete the Volunteer application form, which is free for volunteers.

This form, once completed, will need to be signed by Mrs Janine Butlin prior to submitting the application online.  These forms can be sent to school with students and will be returned via students. 
Please note that all NEW volunteers who have not completed the Volunteer Induction with St Stephen’s School, during 2025, are still required to complete the following application, watch the video and complete the Volunteer Declaration form, as well as the Blue Card application.

This is a new requirement and must be explicitly followed by all schools as of 20^th September 2025.  We thank you for your understanding and protecting our students.

Carnival of Flowers Win !

We are thrilled to announce that our gardens have won third place in the School Premises Carnival of Flowers competition!
A huge congratulations to Mrs Wright—your dedication and green thumb have truly made our school bloom beautifully. 🌼🌿
Thank you for bringing so much colour and joy to our grounds!

Sport News - Mrs Jodie Ferguson

Sports News Term 4 2025 

Inner Downs Trials  

There will be Inner Downs Trials held throughout the year. If you are born 2015, 2014 or 2013 and interested in attending any of the trials, please fill in the Representative Sports Nomination form 2025 which was emailed out to all eligible students. Please email Mrs Ferguson at jodie.ferguson@twb.catholic.edu.au if you are interested in trailing. When the nominations become available closer to the trial, Mrs Ferguson will send home the necessary paperwork. The medical/permission consent form needs to be filled in and returned to the school for principal approved absence. Then it is the responsibility of the child to take this paperwork and pay any fee required to trials, prior to, the due date. NO PAYMENT = NO TRIAL and NO FORM = NO TRIAL. Please keep your eye out in the school calendar newsletter for nominations, trial dates and further information.   

Year 3-6 Cricket Blast Gala Day – Wednesday 22nd October 

All year 3-6 students will be participating in a Gala Cricket Day at Bridgman Oval, Pittsworth against other local schools. This is a social fun day. Teachers will wait for bus students in the morning and return before bus pick up in the afternoon. Students will walk to and from this event with their Class Teachers. Please remind your child to wear sports uniform, hat, sunscreen, pack extra snacks/food and plenty of cold water on this day. No additional outside cricket equipment is required. 

Swimming Lessons and Carnival 

Swimming lessons will commence on Monday, 3rd November and run for three weeks, concluding with our School Swimming Carnival on Thursday, 27th November at the Pittsworth Pool.  

  The allocated swimming block times will be:  

 Swimming Fees 

The total cost of swimming lessons for 2025 will be $50 per child. In previous years, families who held a swimming season pass received a reduction in their school swimming fees. This year, we have been informed by the Pittsworth pool that this will no longer be the case. From now on, all students will be charged the full swimming fee, regardless of whether they hold a season pass. 

Parents will be invoiced in Week Two and payments are due by 27th October. Payment must be made prior to the first swimming lesson.   

All students are expected to participate in swimming lessons. If your child is unable to attend a lesson due to illness or injury, unfortunately no refunds will be given. 

 Important Reminders  

Please on swimming days:

# Pack extra food in children’s lunchboxes as they will be hungrier than normal. 

# Children are not to wear swimmers to school in the morning.  

# Please ensure your child has an easy to carry swimming bag with the following items: 

• Swimmers, rash vest (compulsory), goggles, swimming cap (preferred) & towel.                                             Please make sure all items are clearly named.

Parents, please check your email as there are online forms that need to be attended to for new students in regard to their swimming ability and also a swimming nomination form for year 3-6 students. 

Any questions please contact jodie.ferguson@twb.catholic.edu.au. 

 Student Sporting Achievements  

Please feel free to send through any photos of students and their sporting achievements if you wish for them to be included in the school newsletter, attention to Mrs Ferguson. jodie.ferguson@twb.catholic.edu.au  

STEM ( Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)

In Term 3, students from Prep to Yr 6 had fun while learning to design, create and test structures such as Hoop Planes, Paper Planes using flaps, Rockets and Catapults. They also made caterpillars crawl to learn about forms of movement and motion. In teams, students were able to build Paper Cup Towers without the use of their hands, by creating a quadrupus device to lift and move the cups into position to build each level of their tower. This term, students will continue to enjoy designing, creating and testing structures and objects during their STEM lessons, exploring the fundamentals of physics.  Our minds certainly have been very creative.  Kind regards Mrs Nina Raggett

Piano Lessons with Mrs Ruth Shepherd

If you are interested in your child learning piano from a fully qualified teacher with 30 years of experience, contact Mrs Ruth Shepherd on 0427 910 303 for more information. 

It is essential that students have a piano/keyboard at home on which to do their practice.  Music is fun!

PEN (Parent Engagement Network) News

Upcoming St Stephen's School PEN Meetings : 

Executive Meeting :                           12th November,  2pm

General Forum Meeting :                12th November,  3.15 - 4pm     

                                                                  Topic - 2026 Annual Action Plan & Open Classrooms

Outside Hours School Care News

Sentral Parent Portal

Reminder to all parents to access the Parent Portal.

The Parent Portal is used for absentees, newsletters, parent teacher interview bookings, report cards, NAPLAN results, calendar of events, notices and letters to parents.

If you are having difficulty with the Parent Portal please contact the School Office for assistance. The Parent Portal is the communication method used for the day to day running of the school.

Flexischools - Online Ordering System

Flexischools is an online ordering system that the school uses for the ordering of Tuckshop, Event Catering and Special Fundraising Food Days.

Tuckshop is open one day a week on a Thursday. Special Canteen days are also held sometimes throughout the year. This makes it easier for families and school staff.

Community News