Week 6 - Term 4 Newsletter 2021

Principal's Message

2022 Staffing 

After much thought and consideration please see below our staffing and classroom arrangements for 2022. I acknowledge there are some changes to our existing structures. Please be aware that we have structured our spaces slightly different due to student numbers and available staff funding for 2022.

• Leader of Infants - Mrs Deb Bailey
• Leader of Primary - Mrs Deb Mullins
• Kindergarten - Miss Alex Lovegrove
  
• Stage 1 - Miss Isabelle Moore 
  
• Stage 2 - Mrs Carly McLennan & Miss Lauren Ross (Fri)
  
• Year 5 - Mrs Louise Senz & Mr Luke Hitchings (Fri)
• Year 6 - Mrs Phoebe Zietsch & Mrs Kate Duncan (Fri)
• Infants Literacy & Numeracy Intervention & RFF - Mrs Mandy Smith
• Primary Literacy & Numeracy Intervention & RFF - Mr Luke Hitchings
  
• Teacher Assistants - Miss Alesha Tipler, Mrs Bobbie Waghorn & Mr Brendan Randall

I am pleased to announce that next year we will also be welcoming two new staff members onto our teaching team in 2022.  Miss Alexandra Lovegrove (Maitland Diocese) and Miss Lauren Ross (St James Yamba) will be joining us and we look forward to having Alex & Lauren on staff next year and what they will bring to our community. Alex who relocated up to the North Coast earlier in the year is currently working within all classrooms as a relief teacher. 

It is also with mixed emotions that I inform our school community that at the end of the year Miss Ayres, Miss Imeson & Miss Pooley will not be continuing at St Joseph's in 2022. Miss Ayres has accepted an full-time appointment at St Ambrose Pottsville next year, Miss Imeson will be shifting accross to St James Yamba and Miss Pooley is relocating back to the Ballina area. I would to thank all of these ladies for their commitment to our school community, particularly Lauren who has led a number of our Digital Technologies & STEM initiatives for our students & staff over the last couple of years & Rach who has been back with us for the last few years during her transition back into teaching. We will miss all of these ladies however wish them all the best as they take the next steps in their teaching careers.

School Uniform

I would like to ask all families to make a concerted effort with their children around wearing our correct school uniform. I acknowledge at the end of the year there can be at times a battle with some children wearing the correct uniform. However, over the last few weeks there have been some noticeable lapses in our students' compliance with the uniform requirements as a whole. Please be particularly conscious of the following:

• Boys black shorts are to be plain black with no emblems, brands or football club shorts.
• Girls are to wear maroon skorts not black tights/jeans. If cold, maroon stockings or track pants are to be worn.
• Hair attire i.e. scrunchies are to be of school colour i.e. maroon, white or yellow.
• All students are to be wear black school shoes Monday - Thursday, both jogger or leather are acceptable.

Moving foward I have asked all teachers to be consistent and persistent in enforcing our Uniform Poicy. 

End of Year Activity Days

We will celebrate the end of 2021 with "Activity Days" on Monday 13th - Wednesday 15th (Week 11). These organised days will be fun-filled and a wonderful way to celebrate our school year and build a sense of belonging amongst our staff & students. Unfortunately, COVID-19 Guidelines don't allow parents to attend these various events. A detailed note will be going home next week. We are conscious of placing unwanted financial pressure on families at this time of the year, and after the year we have had, and thus there will be no cost involved, with all costs covered by the school.

• Monday 13th -  Inflatable Ninja Warrior Course & Movies in classrooms
• Tuesday 14th - Christmas Activities & Christmas Carnival
• Wednesday 15th - Water Activities at Maclean Pool

Kind regards,

Dale

Leaders of Learning

Learning in the Early Years

Kindergarten

This fortnight in Mathematics Kindergarten has been learning all about 3D objects and volume. 

They have been learning to:

• name and describe familiar 3D shapes.
• identify the features of a  3D shape
• describe and compare the volume and capacity of objects and containers.

Using everyday activities and experimenting with real objects help children understand measurement concepts.

The terms non-standard and standard are often used when describing prescribed learning outcomes for measurement. Measuring with non-standard units means measuring things with blocks, pencils, hands, feet, etc. As long as the items used to measure with are all the same size, e.g. identical blocks or brand new pencils, they are suitable to use. For example, the book below is almost six blocks long.

Stage 1

This fortnight Stage 1 have been learning about time using both digital and analog clocks. Year 1 have been learning to:

• read and show o'clock and half past times.

and Year 2 

• read and show o'clock, half and quarter-hour time.

Time is a foundational concept in the Early Years, and students build from simple timelines and language such as yesterday, today and tomorrow in Kindergarten to using clocks. You can support your child at home by having and referring to analog clocks (not just digital). You can also scaffold your use of time by saying things like, "We are leaving at half-past 11. We are leaving at 11 thirty."

Learning In Primary

Stage 2 Maths

This week S2 are focusing on Patterns and Algebra.

• Year 3 - We are learning to investigate the conditions required for a number to be even or odd and identify even and odd numbers.
• Year 4 - We are learning to solve word problems with missing numbers.
  

Patterns and algebra problems often involve working backwards, using a process of elimination, trial and error, and inverse operations. Students are learning to find multiple ways to solve problems and determine which strategies may be more efficient than others.  Students are developing a bank of problem-solving strategies to use.

Stage 3 Maths

This week S3 have been focusing on Length and solving length problems about perimeters. Year 5 also have a refresher on using a formal algorithm to solve more complex addition and subtraction problems when mental computation is not an efficient option.

• Year 5  - We are learning to calculate the perimeter of two-dimensional shapes. 
• Year 6  - We are learning to solve problems involving length and perimeter.

A common misconception students have in this strand is confusion between 'area' and 'perimeter' and knowing which is which.   As with all mathematical concepts, they are understood best if students can connect the abstract idea to a concrete (real-world) example to provide a context for learning.  For example,  using trundle wheels to measure the basketball court gives the students a real context for learning.  Working on multiple solutions provides the students with an opportunity to be creative with their answers, eg. I have 16 metres of fencing to fence a paddock with 4 straight sides. What could be the dimensions of my paddock?  Tasks such as this assist students to develop deep conceptual mathematical knowledge and skills.

S2 and S3 Maths

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Mission & Values

Mercy in Action - HOSPITALITY

The simple act of greeting people by name can have powerful and lasting benefits, and addressing someone by name demonstrates hospitality and is highly valued at St Joey's.  Our name is a big part of our identity, and it means something when people remember it and use it. The bottom line is always how you make people feel, and using and remembering someone's name makes people feel good!

This week I would like to acknowledge Jai and Aiden, who consistently demonstrate HOSPITALITY every time I see them in the mornings, always ready to say hello with a smile and ask me how I am.  Thank you, boys, for showing this value in action.

EXURO Retreat - Year 5

Last Friday, all our Year 5 students participated in a Faith Retreat led by myself, Mrs Mclennan and Miss Ayres. The theme for the day was 'discipleship' and based on the following scripture;

"Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but be an example for the believers in your speech, your conduct, your love, faith and purity." 
1 Timothy 4: 12

The retreat aligns perfectly with the leadership roles which our Year 5 students are preparing for in 2022. The three sessions for the day included:

1. What is a disciple?  
2. How to be a disciple.
3. Out into the world - How can I make a difference in the world?

The students engaged in a range of individual, group and team activities to explore the focus for each session, and like any retreat day, the highlight was the feast... hamburgers and chips for lunch and cake for afternoon tea!   Next year the students will participate in a Year 6 retreat, Incitare. Hopefully, restrictions will be lifted, and the students will be able to mix and meet new friends by gathering at McAuley Catholic College with other Catholic schools.   Our Yr 5 "disciples" were presented with a Certificate of Participation at our Awards Assembly this week. (Absent from photo: Ryley, Emma and Jai).

EXURO retreat

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Remembrance Day Service

This week we commemorated Remembrance Day with a service led by our Year 6 leaders.  In preparation for the service, all classes viewed a short video explaining the significance of the red poppy and a little bit of information about World War 1 and, in particular, John McCrae, a medic who wrote the poem; In Flanders Fields, which Jemima read beautifully in our service.  Approximately 63 000 men and women died in World War 1, and our students showed their respect by placing a red poppy on our new fence underneath our flags.   Special thanks to Jack, Mahala, Ella, Jemima, and Hailey for leading the service in a reverent and respectful manner.  Also, thanks go to Hugh, Aiden, Tasmyn and Emma for assisting with the flags.

Mrs Mullins

Remembrance Day Service

Class News - Stage Two

“Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought, and the thought has found words” – Robert Frost.

“Poetry is the rhythmical creation of beauty in words” – Edgar Allen Poe

In Term 4, Stage 2 have been working tirelessly on all things poetry, a particular favourite topic of Ms Zietsch and Miss Pooley!

Our first venture was into the world of ‘free verse’ poetry; where lines can be as long or as short as the author wants, where there isn’t rhyming and where descriptive language is key!
Here are a few that Stage 2 made through an awesome website called ‘magnetic poetry’ – providing the students with a variety of words they then turned into perfect prose.

We then moved into the well-known acrostic poem and shape (also referred to as ‘concrete’) poems. Students were able to manipulate their word and word choices to either ‘fill’ the space of their chosen shape, usually depicting the topic or subject of the poem, or use their words to outline their shape. Have a look at our co-constructed shape/ concrete poem about STARS!

The students then tackled cinquain AND diamante poems, which share similarities of a diamond shape structure and consist of a combination of nouns, adjectives, verbs and synonyms. It was wonderful to send our Grandparents/ Grand-friends either a cinquain or diamante poem describing them and their impact and love from our students.

Throughout the exposure to all these various poem types; students were asked to inspect the structure, sentence structure/ stanzas and investigate for language forms and features – such as: similes, metaphors, alliterations, onomatopoeias, personifications, descriptive and emotive language and MUCH more.

“...sweat dripping down my face like a fountain.” - Tommy H (simile)

“Now! SQUELCH. SPLATTER! Goes the paint when it shoots off my paintbrush and hits the canvas.
My creation.” - Sarah (onomatopoeia)

“...the wave roars as I slice the top off with my board…” - Huey (personification)

Stage 2 have blown us away with their poetry writing and subsequent emotion, passion, and skills; we could very well have the next Maya Angelou, T. S. Eliot or Ezra Pound in our midst!

Miss Pooley & Miss Zietch

Class Awards

Congratulations to the following students recognised at this fortnight's Awards Assembly:

Principal Awards:  Lawson Bell, Brock Camilleri, Bronx Hickling, Ethan Mclean

Class Awards:

Pastoral Care - School Counsellor

Exploring Character Strengths – HELPFULNESS

What is HELPFULNESS?

Helpfulness is being of service to someone or something. If you are growing helpfulness, it means you practice being useful. It doesn’t mean always doing what other people want instead, it is looking at people around you and asking: How can I be of benefit (B.O.B)?

What does it look like in practice?

• We look for chances to be of service to others, such as holding the door open for someone who is carrying something.
• We don’t wait to be asked to help, we notice what someone needs, and we do it. For example, we see a friend has forgotten their pencil, and we offer to lend them ours.
• We notice that someone is carrying a lot of things, so we go and ask them if they need help.
• We see that a person is struggling to do up their laces, and we ask them if we can help.
• We set ourselves a Be of Benefit challenge: how can I B.O.B today?

How can we encourage helpfulness in our children? 

To help children develop helpfulness, this is a great resource.

To learn more about character strengths and to access the resource that these “Exploring Character Strengths” Newsletter articles have come from, visit https://growyourmind.life/

Kate Naylor – School Counsellor & Art Therapist

Library News

Mrs Waghourn 

School Banking

School Banking update from Commonwealth Bank:

For 90 years, our School Banking program has helped children learn about money, reinforced the importance of regular savings and provided structure for parents to support their children to save. 

Though the program continues to have strong support from schools, parents and teachers, recent decisions by some state and territory governments because of a review by the corporate regulator mean we are unable to continue providing programs in schools, and we have had to make a difficult decision to close our School Banking program for all government and non-government schools across the country. 

Our School Banking program was established in 1931 at a time when having a bank account was not commonplace, and since then, we have helped more than 15 million Australians take their first financial steps. This would not have been possible without the wonderful support we have received from schools like yours, including all the parents and volunteers, and for this, we are deeply grateful. Thank you.

Even though this is a sad time, School Banking has taught so many young Australians, past and present, the value of money and we believe this should be celebrated. We have created a place for you to share your stories, fondest memories and lessons learnt through the program. To share your story and access our financial education resources, please visit commbank.com.au/schoolbanking 

Even though the CommBank School Banking program will not be returning to your school after this year, you can continue to make deposits into your child’s Youthsaver account through online transfers or at any CommBank branch. If you need further information, please phone 132 221 or visit your local CommBank branch.

Dear School Banking Families,

I am in the process of wrapping up the program at St Joseph’s. As a goodwill gesture, every active school banker will receive a reward item regardless of the tokens collected.  In addition, any students who have already earned ten tokens can still redeem them for a reward.  As this is subject to the availability of reward items, I will contact these students shortly. On behalf of St Joseph’s, I would like to acknowledge and thank the School families both past and present for their support and participation in the School Banking program.  I would also like to thank the previous School Banking Co-Ordinators for their time and commitment. If I can assist with any queries, please contact me via the School Office.

Kind regards,

Kathy Johnson - School Banking Coordinator

Notes Sent Home

Community Notices