Unlocking children’s reading potential: evidence-based teaching and universal screening

Evidence-based teaching and universal screening are vital. Reading is key to student success and well-being. Teachers can use evidence-based teaching approaches and universal screening tools to identify reading difficulties and provide timely support. Townsville Catholic Education (TCE) schools are

Girls' Schools Matter

St Margaret Mary’s College has been offering the option of a girls’ only education for over sixty years; an opportunity to provide an education where girls can take centre stage and become global changemakers. In this blog I will outline how a girls’ education still matters and the

Rural Teaching Incentives & Benefits with Townsville Catholic Education

Teaching in Australia is a vital profession, shaping future generations and strengthening communities. In rural and remote regions like North Queensland, the demand for educators is higher than ever due to challenges such as geographic isolation and limited resources. Teachers in these areas p

Ready for High school?

Transitioning to high school is a significant event in every child’s education journey. While it is a very exciting time for many children, it can often be overshadowed by feelings of stress and anxiety. The change of their social status within their friend group and the increased number of te

The Future is Here: RoboSumo competition showcases tech-savvy students

St Anthony's Primary School hosted an exciting and innovative competition on Tuesday 30 July, bringing together six primary schools from the Townsville Diocese for a day of technological challenges. The RoboSumo competition saw students from St Anthony's, Marian, St Benedict's, St Clare's, St Joseph

How to Develop Critical Thinking in Students

Critical thinking continues to be one of the most important skills that employers seek in the workplace. The leading global consulting firm, McKinsey & Company recently reported that cognitive skills, which include critical thinking, are essential to future-proof individuals’ ability to wo

The Benefits of Service Learning

What is Service Learning? Service learning describes pathways for learning that are grounded in students’ experiences of service action, but include purposeful reflection to discern the inner transformation that results from encounters with others. These two intentional components of service a

Teaching and Regional Areas- Top Benefits and Rewards

Embarking on a teaching career in remote Australia has been one of the most rewarding and unique experiences of my professional and personal life. Mount Isa, in North West Queensland, where I now call home, is a place where community and collaboration intertwine with the beauty and tranquility of ou

Bringing Innovation and Functionality to Prep Classrooms at St Francis Catholic School, Ayr

St Francis Catholic School in Ayr is proud to announce the completion of our newly refurbished Prep classrooms, designed by i4 Architecture and constructed by Simon Bell Construction.  The project, fully funded by the school, aims to create a modern and functional learning environment for our y

Vocation Enlightened the Radio Star

The contemporary world of teaching is so much more than the Jackson 5 sang about in 1970. As well as A, B, Cs and 1, 2, 3s, teachers are increasingly responsible for the holistic care and development of students. Whether it is coaching sporting teams before school, running musical rehearsals on week

Empowering Teachers, Empowering Students

Empowering Teachers, Empowering Students: The Benefits of Highly Accomplished and Lead Teachers in the Classroom When teachers grow and continue to learn both professionally and personally, so do your children in their classroom. This is evident as teachers progress through the different career stag

St Clare's Catholic School Students Embrace LittleScribe Mini-Writing Festival

In an effort to improve and develop writing skills amongst their students, St Clare's Catholic School recently participated in Australia's largest online, interactive writing festival for schools, the LittleScribe Mini-Writing Festival. The festival, which took place in Term 3, saw Year 2 and Year 4

Bringing Bush Tucker Back: How St Benedict's Students Make a Difference Through STEM and Design Thinking

St Benedict's Catholic School, Shaw entered the STEM Mad competition this year. STEM MAD is a national competition that celebrates STEM learning initiatives, addresses real-world problems and encourages students to make a difference (MAD) in the world by acting for justice and the com

Lego Robotics: Innovative Minds in Action

Townsville Grammar School hosted the annual Townsville Junior Lego Robotics Competition, with a dynamic display of creativity and ingenuity. Teams from schools in Townsville, the Burdekin and Charters Towers participated in this event where young minds were challenged to craft innovative solutions u

St Mary's Catholic School Celebrates 150 Years of Excellence in Bowen

St Mary's Catholic School is celebrating 150 years of dedicated service to the Bowen community in 2023. Since its establishment in 1873, St Mary's has been an enduring symbol of faith, knowledge, and service, providing generations of students with a strong foundation for success. Principal Alicia Ni

Healthy Minds Project Continues

Students from six local high schools across Townsville came together last month, for the second interactive workshop for the Healthy Minds Project. The project, funded by Rotary Club - Townsville Central, and hosted by Ryan Catholic College, aims to empower students to be ‘Leaders of Change&rs

Exploring Innovations: Robotics Enhancing Student Learning

Townsville Catholic Education (TCE) has recently purchased a variety of robotics kits to trial in its Catholic schools. To facilitate this, TCE will make the kits available for schools to borrow, rather than incur the cost of purchase. Collection of the kits will be available from the TCE office in

High Potential Learners at Ryan Catholic College, Townsville

HPL is an exciting new program dedicated to Ryan Catholic College’s High Potential Learners. It is a program that is created with a focus on the integration of knowledge, rather than focus on a singular topic of interest. It focuses on Entrepreneurship principles where finding soluti

Digital Accessibility for All

Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) is about getting everyone talking, thinking and learning about digital access and inclusion. More than one billion people live with disability globally, who are underserved by today’s digital products. Someone with a disability must be able to experien

St Joseph's Catholic School, The Strand Celebrates 150 Years of Excellence in Education

St Joseph’s Catholic School, The Strand proudly celebrated a momentous milestone in its rich history with the commemoration of its 150th anniversary last month. This significant achievement not only recognises the school’s steadfast commitment to education but also pays tribute to the en

Kilah Gaston among delegates attending the 28th National Schools Constitutional Convention in Canberra

This week, Year 12 Ryan Catholic College student joined 115 other senior students from around Australia to attend the 28th National Schools Constitutional Convention (NSCC) at the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House, Canberra. The program, funded by the Australian Government Depar

Lights, camera, engagement

Southern Cross Catholic College (SCCC) has been a prolific figure in the Townsville Catholic Education diocese since its grand opening in 1998. Originally a primary school, SCCC has since expanded to P-12 and is home to over 1450 bright eyed students. On paper, SCCC might appear like your average sc

Hear what International Women's Day means to our senior students

At Townsville Catholic Education, we #EmbraceEquity every day. Hear from four of our Townsville secondary students on what International Women's Day means to them. 

Students get switched on with Certificate II in Electrotechnology

Thirteen Townsville Catholic Education students have been given the opportunity to commence a Certificate II in Electrotechnology (Career Start) while completing their secondary school education. In partnership with Major Training (RTO 6139), students from Ryan Catholic College, St Anthony’s C

What is it Like Teaching in Townsville

What Is It Like Teaching in Townsville? Thinking about making the career switch to teaching in Townsville? Perhaps you’re already teaching in another city in Queensland or around Australia? Townsville’s population growth is well ahead of the national average, which means that teaching jo

Understanding the importance of sport

Understanding the Importance of Sport in Schooling       Sport and schooling have gone hand in hand for centuries, with physical education and sport classes being taught in some form since the late 1800s. Today, however, the value of sport in schooling has grown expone

The Writing Project

The boardroom at Townsville Catholic Education office was abuzz with excitement last Thursday as the seven Writing Project schools  from across the Townsville Diocese joined together in a celebration writing.  Participants have recently completed their first year of a two year professional

Innovative Teaching in Our Schools

In semester one this year, two P-12 Colleges within the Townsville Diocese took the opportunity to deliver learning and teaching a little differently! Columba Catholic College in Charters Towers partnered with St Anthony’s Catholic College to teach Physics to a combined group of Year 11 and 12

Remembrance Day - Draw To Remember

Remembrance day – Draw to Remember Ahead of Remembrance Day this year, the RSL QLD approached our local schools to engage students in a creative and colourful mural while reflecting what Remembrance Day means to them.  The newly launched ‘Draw to Remember’ pilot initiative off

St Colman's School enriched with resilience

Source: https://www.cowboys.com.au/news/2022/10/25/st-colmans-school-enriched-with-resilience/ St Colman’s School, nestled among the picturesque cane fields of Home Hill, has joined the North Queensland Toyota Cowboys’ team of schools enriching their community with GEM (gratitude, e

Step into Prep

Supporting Your Child to Step Into Prep in 2023 Starting school is an important and exciting milestone for children and families.  A positive transition to school sets children up for a love of learning. Families play a critical role in supporting their children as they step into Prep. Here are

Readers Cup

Readers Cup is a Queensland based academic event which harnesses the reading skills of students within a competitive environment.  To be successful in this competition, students are asked to read and comprehend five age specific books. At the regional competition 25 teams from many Townsville a

How To Support and Advocate for Your Child with a Learning Difficulty

Schools in Australia aspire to promote equity and excellence, so all young Australians can become successful learners, confident and creative individuals, and active and informed citizens. As parents, there is great excitement, hope and a degree of trepidation your child’s schooling will resul

The Importance of Perspective-Taking for Social Development

As seen in PakMag- August issue. As parents, we may aim for a life of ease and tranquillity for our children, but the reality is that there will always be challenges along the way. The secret is to empower young people so they can navigate their way through challenges while interacting positively, r

SMMC Diplomats' Club

The Diplomat's Club is a student club that was created at the beginning of 2022 for the express purpose of discussion. As online media brings us news of the events happening in our global community, particularly the invasion of Ukraine, many students here at St Margaret Mary’s have felt the ne

Surviving the School Holidays - helpful tips

Fashion students at SMMC take on a new (wild) adventure

We have all heard the saying in theatre, ‘never work with children or animals’, the courageous Year 12 Fashion students at St Margaret Mary’s College are bravely doing both.  Led by local theatre director, Carla Lejarraga and head of costume designs, Judy Atzeni and with the s

PE Teacher by Day...Rugby League Star by Night

Get to know Alisha Foord, PE teacher at Good Shepherd Catholic School, Rasmussen and part of the Gold Stars 2022 Squad. How long have you been a teacher?I began teaching in term 2, 2021. I am currently in my second year of teaching. What made you want to become a teacher?I have always love

For the Love of Reading and Writing

As parents, we always  want the best for our children. One thing you can do to give your child the best start in developing their reading and writing skills, is to  talk with your child. And read. read, read and read some more. The earlier you take an active role in your child’s lit

St Benedict's continues paving the way for sustainability

St Benedict’s Catholic School, Shaw is proof that showcasing world-class sustainability is possible, no matter the size or scale of a project. The Prep to Year 6 school is known as one of Australia’s greenest schools, embracing sustainable practices for the natural and built environments

Principal's Reflection - National Reconciliation Week

Almost thirty years ago in the International Year of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, Australia held its first Reconciliation Week activity - a week of Prayer for Reconciliation. This was an event celebrated by Australia’s major faith communities of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism

Celebrating Laudato Si' Week

Laudato Si’ Week, a celebration of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’: On Care For Our Common Home, and a call to action for Catholics around the world, is being celebrated 16-24 May, 2022.  What is Laudato Si’?In 2015,  Pope Francis wrote to the world, and Cathol

Japanese Immersion at St Anthony's Catholic College

St Anthony’s Catholic College is the only school in Townsville to offer a Bilingual program. This unique approach to education is shown to strengthen the learner’s ability to process information, which prepares them for higher-level thinking skills and enhances brain development. Led by

Marian students and staff "buzzing" with new school rules

The students and staff at Marian Catholic School are all ‘buzzing’ this year with the introduction of their new school rules.  As part of a Positive Behaviour for Learning approach, the rules have been introduced across the school to encourage students to take responsibility for the