Week 2 - Term 3 Newsletter 2022

Principal's Message

Dear Families and Friends,

Welcome back to what is shaping up to be another wonderful term of learning and community, it has most certainly been a busy couple of weeks to start the term. I trust you have all had an enjoyable and safe holiday break with your families. 

Parent Learning Night - Writing Workshops

After a number of interrupted years of Covid-19 Restrictions, we are looking at reinstating our Parent Learning Nights, with this term's focusing on the 'Writing Process'. This night will take place on Tuesday 9th August from 5:30 pm - 7:15 pm (Dinner will be provided from 5:30 pm-5:50 pm). This night will not only explore how we teach writing to your children but explain the 'what & why' of our Whole-School Agreed Writing Process.

Following dinner under the shelter, we will break into Infants & Primary groups and seek to unpack some of the 'skills & strategies' we employ when teaching writing to your children.  To assist us in our preparation for this night, we are asking parents to RSVP their attendance and if dinner & babysitting will be required. Please RSVP using this LINK.

School Improvement - Parent Survey

As part of our focus on school effectiveness, St Joseph’s will be participating in an online survey for students, teachers and parents to provide feedback on their experience of our school using an online survey – Tell Them From Me (TTFM®). The surveys are an important part of our whole school evaluation and planning process. The survey window will be from Week 4-6 this term, and communication will be dispersed via Compass.

We would like to invite you to complete the Tell Them From Me (TTFM) Partners in Learning survey from Week 4 onwards. As we value the role of parents and carers within our school community, we would greatly appreciate your feedback. The information you provide will be used to maintain our commitment to working together in partnership further to improve student learning and wellbeing in our school.

The survey is anonymous and will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. You will be able to access the parent survey on your computer or mobile device when the survey window opens.

 The student survey will also provide valuable feedback on what our students think about school life, how engaged they are with school and the different ways teachers interact with them. The survey measures include such topics as emotional and social well-being, physical health, and behaviours and attitudes linked to student success. The survey also allows students to give their thoughts and feedback in open-ended question responses. 

Covid-19 Restrictions

With COVID-19 still spreading throughout the community this winter, please be advised that the following guidelines remain in place for students & staff, including:

• Staying home if unwell or showing any symptoms, and not returning to school or work until fully recovered.
• Close contacts (student & staff) are able to attend school despite a household member contacting Covid-19 however the school MUST be informed &  a daily Rapid Antigen Test MUST occur prior to attendance. (Adults must wear a mask indoors at all times & strongly encouraged for students)

  
  

Please also note NSW Health has revised the COVID-19 reinfection period from 12 weeks down to four weeks effective from 19 July 2022. People who have previously had COVID-19 should test for COVID-19 after 28 days since their isolation ended if experiencing symptoms and follow the relevant health advice if they test positive. People who test positive again will be reported and managed as new cases.

Parent Forum Meeting

Next Tuesday, 2nd August (5:00-6:30 pm), we will be holding our Term 3 Parent Forum meeting in the School Library. 

It would be wonderful to see some new faces share their voice and ideas. Whilst most of our Executive Positions are filled, we are always looking for new parents who would like to be involved in 'Parent Voice & Parent Community', which is the main focus of our Parent Forum.  Please know that ALL PARENTS ARE WELCOME TO ATTEND each Termly meeting.

If you have any questions, want an item added to the agenda, or are interested in any of the above positions, please get in touch with Lauren Kirkland, our Parent Forum Secretary (lozzacdk@gmail.com).

Staffing Changes

Lastly, I would like to welcome Miss Ava Bowcock to our school staff team. Ava will be replacing Miss Alesha Tipler for the remainder of Semester 2 as a teacher assistant who heads off on maternity leave. Ava will primarily work in the Stage 2 & 3 classrooms, however, she will end up working in all learning spaces at some point. We welcome Ava and wish Alesha all the best as she spends this important time with her new addition.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Kind regards

Dale

Leaders of Learning

Excursions

Excursions are an integral part of the school curriculum. They enable students to explore, extend and enrich their learning and provide great memories for the future.

The Benefits of School Excursions are:
Provides another dimension to class-based learning and helps reinforce what has been taught in the classroom - Students may get to learn in a new environment with new teachers or instructors.
Students are excited and energised by the anticipation of leaving the classroom and school environment.  Fun school excursions will help students retain the information they learned on their trip.
Children can learn about and see new things in a less structured environment - student learning can be hands-on or interest-driven, and they may be excited to learn something from someone new who is an expert in their field.
Exposure to new experiences - outside the classroom, students can be exposed to new experiences and observe new things, such as rare and exotic wildlife and plants, different cultures and tours/visits to iconic buildings and areas. 
Social skills - Getting out of the classroom allows children to spend time with each other in a new environment without the structure of the classroom. School excursions often require students to spend time in small groups, observing, chatting and learning.

Learning in the Early Years
On Monday, Stage 1 had a wonderful time at Dolphin Marine Conservation Park in Coffs Harbour. This was a great opportunity to ‘learn across the curriculum’ and incorporate several different Key Learning Areas. Making connections in this way deepens and strengthens students’ understanding. This term, Stage 1 is learning about Living Things in Science, Habitats, Mapping and Places in Geography and Informative Texts in English. Our excursion provided experiences that teachers will springboard off to build excitement, enthusiasm and authentic learning.

Next week Kindergarten will be travelling to Townsend Park. This excursion will provide opportunities to write recounts and descriptions (English), investigate different materials used to make places (Science), explore how people use places for different reasons (Geography) and learn to play fairly (PDHPE). It was also just a fun day out, with hot chips as a bonus!

Stage 1 Excursion

Year 1 Phonics Screening Check - Information for parents and carers

What is phonics?

Phonics is the relationship between letters and sounds and is vital in learning to read. Some children struggle with learning to read, so they must be identified quickly so teachers can plan for any specific support they may need.

What is the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check?

The Year 1 Phonics Screening Check is a short, quick assessment that tells teachers how your child is progressing in phonics. Your child will sit with the class teacher and will be asked to read 40 words aloud. These words include 20 real words and 20 nonsense words (indicated by a monster image). The test normally takes a few minutes. If your child is struggling, the teacher will stop the check. The check is carefully designed not to be stressful for your child.

Why use nonsense words?

The assessment includes pseudo or nonsense words to see if the student can use their knowledge of blending to read a word rather than their memory of having seen that word before.

If you have any further questions, please talk to your child’s class teacher.

Mrs Bailey

Learning in Primary

Stage 2 Excursion 
This week, Stage two went on a wonderful, exciting excursion to the Macadamia Castle. This excursion had been planned last year and had to be rescheduled due to COVID, so it was great to be able to provide this experience for the students free of charge. 
The students will use this first-hand experience to launch their learning in English to compose informative texts, focusing on writing recounts, information reports, procedures and descriptions.  The students will incorporate photos taken on the day into their writing to enhance the informative nature of their texts further. 
The students explored various living things, including plants and animals and their natural habitats, and learned their important role in our world. They discovered the basic needs of all living things in urban, rural and natural habitats and how we can help them survive. It was fantastic to travel off campus for such a rich experience.

Mrs Mullins

Mission & Values

Mercy Value - Hospitality and Father's Day
At the Home of Martha and Mary (Luke 10: 38 - 42)
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Hospitality is more than merely serving food. The essence of hospitality is presence. The truly hospitable person offers the gift of their time, attention and interest. Here at St Joey's, Hospitality is a value that we strive hard to enact every day, from simply greeting someone in the morning with a 'Hi' and a smile to sharing a meal and prayer during liturgies. This term, we will be celebrating 'Father's Day with a gathering where we acknowledge and thank all the people who fulfil the role of a father in whatever capacity it may be.  It is a tradition at St Joey's to acknowledge our students with a slideshow featuring the special men/people in their lives.  I know it seems a way off, but I am asking for photos sooner rather than later. Please send them to deborah.mullins@lism.catholic.edu.au with the names of the people in the photo.  

Sacraments - Reconciliation/Holy Communion
This term, we have four students who will participating in the Sacraments of Reconciliation and First Holy Communion.
Olivia McIntyre
Jacob McIntyre
Reece Bennett
Ash Hitchings
First Holy Communion will be held on Sunday 11th September, 8:30 am at St Mary’s Church, Maclean. This date also coincides with our Parish School Mass and all staff, family and friends are welcome to attend. 
We wish the communicants all the best as they undergo preparation for these sacraments.

Friday Parish Mass 
This term our students will begin attending Parish Mass on Fridays. Mass commences at 12:00 pm and goes for approximately 20 minutes.  The following roster will be in place for the first 5 weeks of term. 
Week 2 - S1 & S2
Week 3 - Kindergarten & S3
Week 4 - S1 & S2
Week 5 - Kindergarten & S3
Family and friends are welcome to attend Mass with the students.

Dates to Save

• Week 4 - Reconciliation Retreat & Reconciliation 2:15 pm (Sacrament) Thursday11th August
  
• First Holy Communion Preparation  Classes - to be confirmed
  
• Week 7 - Father’s Day Celebration: Friday 2nd August 
• Week 9 - Parish School Mass and First Holy Communion: Sunday 11 September (Wk 9)
  
  

Mrs Mullins

Class Awards

Our Principal's Award winners are:

• Kindy - Marco Quarello
• Stage 1 -  Cooper Want
• Stage 2 - Caide Schlyder
• Year 5 - Lachlan Coulter
• Year 6 - Kayla Ellis

Our Class Award winners are: 

Class News - Kindy

Our Kindy students have been working really hard already and enjoying being back at school with their friends! 

English - Writing Descriptions 

In writing, we have begun learning about how to be authors. We are doing this by writing descriptions. This week's topic was ‘All About Me’, where students have been writing all about themselves and what makes them, them! We also cannot wait to write about our Picnic at the Park next week!

Mathematics 

In Maths, we have been learning about money and groups that have equal sizes. We have been using our critical thinking skills to make equal groups and recognise when groups are not equal. One of our questions this week was ‘If you have 5 pairs of shoes, how many shoes do you have altogether?’. We enjoyed challenging ourselves in Maths this week, and finding the answer was 10. 

Sport - Touch Football 

We have begun our sport for this term which is touch football. Kindy are enthusiastic and eager to try new sports and excited to learn more about touch football this term!

Miss Lovegrove

School Sport

Zone Athletics Carnival

Thankfully, a clear blue sky greeted us on Thursday morning, and the Clarence Zone Athletics Carnival was able to go ahead at the Coffs Harbour International Stadium. A great day was had by all, and I would like to thank our students for their effort and behaviour on the day. I was particularly proud of our runners who completed the 800m event at the end of a long day. Congratulations to Josie Chapman, who placed 3rd in the Snr Girls 800m and Tasmyn Norris, who finished 2nd in the Snr Girls 200m. Both girls will be representing the Clarence Zone at the Lismore Diocesan Athletics Carnival in Coffs Harbour on the 10th August.

Mr Hitchings

Pastoral Care - School Counsellor

Exploring Your Values

At the end of last term, I shared information on how to define your personal core values. Knowing your core values is the first step, next I will share ideas on how to apply them in your daily life. The key is to establish daily behaviours that keep your values at the forefront of your mind.

1. Put your core values list where you can see them.
2. Discuss them with close family and friends.
3. Put the right people in your life (and eliminate the wrong ones).
4. Assess your daily tasks each morning.
5. Integrate them into your regular conversations.
6. Apply them as key motivators.
7. Evaluate your day.

Check out the attached article to access more information and expand on these ideas.

Kate Naylor - School Counsellor & Art Therapist

Pastoral Care - School Chaplain

St Vincent De Paul Winter Appeal

Our Winter Appeal is well underway, yet we are still in need. The Vinnies retail team needs high-quality winter garments they can sell in local shops. 

We would love quality over quantity; perhaps each student could bring in one item of clothing from home. 

The following items would be fantastic:

•       men’s and women's jackets
•       men’s and women's  jumpers

Boxes and bags will be provided at school. The money generated from these sales will be channelled back into services for the local community.

Student Representative Council (SRC)

Our first term 3 SRC meeting will be on Wednesday 27th July. The agenda for this meeting will be;

• Equipment for the playground, funded by the Parent Forum.
• Term 3 Fundraiser
• Meetings run in our library during eating time at lunch and recess. 

Community Connect

Our wonderful Parent Forum will host a morning tea for Little Joey’s families in week 3. Thank you for embracing the Sister of Mercy Value, Hospitality, towards our school community, a practical, thoughtful, warm, open, respectful, and welcoming action.

We are so lucky to have such an involved Parent Forum.

More information will be coming over the next couple of weeks.

Ms Mead

School Chaplain

Library News

Change of library days

As the Little Joeys program will run in the library each Friday for the remainder of the year, library borrowing times will change for each class. Please check below for your child’s new library day to ensure their books are returned, and library bags are brought into school to transport them to and from home. Many thanks in advance.

Tuesday: Yr 6 & Stage 1

Wednesday: Stage 2 & Yr 5

Thursday: Kindy 

Save the date!

We’ll be celebrating Book Week at St Joseph's from 22nd Aug - 26th Aug this year. The Scholastic Book Fair will be open in the library both before and after school, and the week will conclude with our annual Book Character Parade on Friday, at a time to be confirmed. More details to follow closer to the date.        

Mrs Waghorn

Pastoral Care - Family Connect

A Message from Skye Pullen, our Family Connect Worker

Welcome back for Term 3. As your school’s Family Connect worker, I am here to support families to access the services they might need to help their families thrive. I can assist in a wide range of areas including NDIS, housing, counselling, parenting programs, supporting parents of children with anxiety through the Cool Kids program, family violence and addiction services and many other services that families may need from time to time.

I have a background in social work and teaching and have worked extensively in health and community projects and am a qualified practitioner in many parenting programs including 1,2.3 Magic and Tuning into Teens.

I care deeply about promoting family wellbeing and can help families access a wide range of support services and I encourage any of our parents/carers to make contact with me if they would like more information about the help and support I can provide.

Skye Pullen

0417004779 or skye.pullen@socialfutures.org.au

Parent Forum

Lauren Kirkland

Chairperson of the Parent Forum

Community Notices