Week 6 - Term 1 Newsletter 2021

Principals Message

Dear Families and Friends,

St Joseph's Feast Day
I am pleased to let you know that we will be celebrating the Feast Day of St. Joseph on Friday 19th March as a School Community. Whilst we normally celebrate this day out at Brooms Head unfortunately the tidal charts are working against us this year and the beach will more than likely be inaccessible. As a result we will be celebrating this day at Wooli Water Park. 

This will be a lovely day where students and teachers participate in a Liturgy followed by a day of fun on the water slides and activities together with a BBQ lunch. Due to COVID Guidleines of the WaterPark parents and families are UNABLE to attend. A permission note will be sent home next week with more details.

Parent-Teacher Interviews

Please be advised that our Term 1 Parent-Teacher interviews will be held in Week 9 this term (Monday 22nd - Friday 26th March). Please note that our Interviews are strictly  20 minutes and spaces are limited. If you are struggling with the booking process, please ring the School Office on 66452340, and we can book you in. All parents/caregivers are encouraged to attend these meetings so we can discuss your child’s transition into the new school year and together set important learning goals for Term 2 and identify ways we can each best support your child.

With regard to Covid-19 precautions, if you are unwell, please do not attend the Parent - Teacher Interview as we can always reschedule. Upon arrival, please wait outside the classroom until called in by your child’s Teacher/s. On entering the room, please sanitise your hands and remain socially distanced from others (Please note staff are cleaning spaces between interviews). When you have completed your interview, we ask that you don’t linger at school chatting to others.

Please follow the instructions below to make a booking:

• STEP 1: Go to www.schoolinterviews.com.au & Click 'Make a Booking' and enter the code '3hus2' 
• STEP 2: Enter your details
• STEP 3: Select the teachers you wish to see
  
• STEP 4: Select the appointment times that suit your family best

When you click FINISH your selected bookings will be emailed to you immediately. If you do not receive your email, please check your junk-mail, or enter the event code again and check your email address spelling. Update your details if the email address is incorrect.

Parent Forum Meeting

Thank you to those parents who were able to attend our Term 1 Parent Forum meeting last week. This meeting was an opportunity to plan out the year ahead as a group and make sure it is focused on 'Parent Voice & Parent Community'. I would like to reiterate that ALL PARENTS are welcome to attend our Parent Forum Meetings each term, it is not a closed meeting, so please, if you are even interested in finding out more make sure to attend our Term 2 meeting.

Strengthening our Parent Partnership is one of our goals as a school and part of doing this is ensuring we are able to provide regular opportunities for parents to "learn", as we know we are all "learners". It is essential that we work alongside our parents in providing professional development in areas of interest or need. Due to 2020 being interrupted by COVID-19 Restrictions, the group decided to continue with what had been allocated for Parent Learning opportunities in 2020. These nights will occur on a termly basis & you will note that all 3 of these nights align themselves to our 3 focus areas as a school community:

• Term 2 - How to support your child in Writing (Teaching & Learning)
• Term 3 - Supporting Healthy Friendships (Pastoral Care & Wellbeing)
• Term 4 - Understanding our Mercy Values & Christian Meditation (Catholic Identity & Mission)

An important role in our Parent Forum Exec is our Class Parents, please be aware that we are still looking for a Parent Rep for our Year 3 Families & Year 6 Families for 2022  if anyone is interested at all.

Parent Pick-up & Drop Off

Whilst I reiterate the difficulties at the moment with parents unable to come onto the school site before or after school,  I need to again remind parents that when dropping off or picking students that there should be NO CARS IN THE ALLOCATED BUS ZONE. Our Bus Zone is clearly marked on the 'school-side' of Stanley Street & it is important for the safety of all students & families, that when parking for the collection or dopping off of students that this is done outside of this zone.   

Thanking you,

Dale

Leaders of Learning

Learning in Infants

Here at St Joey’s we are committed to helping each student achieve to a high standard. In 2021 Mrs Bobbie Waghorn is working with the guidance of Miss Moore and Mrs Senz to support students in Stage 1. Mrs Waghorn works with either individual students or a small group to consolidate learning that has happened in the classroom. In English, identified students work with Mrs Waghorn using individual programs designed specifically for them by the class teachers. Theses programs target areas where students require further support. Children participate in activities that build on their phonic knowledge (the understanding of the letter/ sound correspondence), their ability to hear and record sounds and read text fluently. Student understanding is monitored and the program adjusted as students progress. During Maths, Mrs Waghorn works with a group of students during the Warm-Up phase of the lesson, playing games planned by the teachers, that support the development of mathematical understanding.  

Mrs Bailey 

Learning in Primary

Teaching Assistants in the primary classrooms...behind every good teacher is an even better TA!

In our school, our Teaching Assistants have two main roles: supporting children’s learning, and supporting the class teacher. Their duties vary and include:

• Setting up equipment and helping to prepare resources for lessons.
• Providing support to children who need additional help with their work.
• Helping pupils develop independent learning skills, manage their own learning and prioritise their time.
• Providing one-to-one and small group support.
• Listening to children read.
• Taking warm-up groups in mathematics.
• Looking after children’s pastoral needs as required.
• Helping with school trips, events and outings.

Miss Alesha and Mr Randall

Miss Alesha works in our Stage 2 classroom whilst Mr Randall works in Stage 3 on a carefully planned basis with pre-determined students.  They are familiar with the goals of the students with which they work, but their role also includes larger group supervision whilst the teacher works with smaller groups or particular students. They are often responsible for monitoring students in specific learning areas which have been identified by the classroom teacher.   

In English,  Miss Alesha and Mr Randall both read daily on a one-to-one basis with students who require a little extra practise. During other reading and writing activities, they supervise independently working students whilst teachers lead small guided groups.  In this supervisory role, they still have students who are ‘on their radar’ to check in with, and ensure they are clear about the learning intentions and tasks.

In maths, they supervise a small group of students during the warm-up part of the lesson. They run this activity with their allocated students and feedback to the teacher how the students went on that task.  These groups are flexible and change fortnightly based on the needs of the students.

During the afternoons, our TA’s role shifts to a more supervisory mode. They assist the classroom teacher and students whilst they undertake learning in the remaining Key Learning Areas of History, Science, Creative arts and PDHPE.

Our teaching assistants are an invaluable human resource for our students and teachers and we are truly grateful to have such dedicated people helping to educate and love our students.

Mrs Mullins

Mission & Values

Second week of Lent - Aspire to be more

This week in Lent the students have been exploring how they can help others. Helping can come in many forms and during Lent we encourage our students to donate money to Project Compassion which is run by Caritas Australia.  Caritas use this money to provide essential services to people in vulnerable situations. Donation boxes are placed in each prayer space and there is also one on the front desk in the office and the staffroom.  Through our RE lessons In Kindy, Stage 1 and  2, the students have been thinking of ways they can help at home, going the extra mile and doing a little more. Not only may they earn some pocket money from which they may like to donate some to Project Compassion, but it also encourages them to think of serving others, just as Jesus modelled to his disciples.  In Stage 3 RE lessons, the students have been researching different organisations that serve people in communities who suffer injustices.  I have included a short video featuring Emma Senz  (Year 5) explaining what she is learning in RE, the information which she has to research and her options for presenting.   It is clear that Religious Education lessons are not only teaching our students Catholic Values, but the lessons are also rigorous and challenging as you would expect in any Key Learning Area.  Thanks Emma for sharing with us.

The Five Finger Prayer 

Prayer is simply talking to God, but explaining that to a child may seem difficult. They may struggle to understand how how they can talk to someone they cannot see?  The Five Finger Prayer is a simple and visual way to teach kids what or who to pray for, as well as a reminder that prayer is simply a conversation with God just like a conversation with a friend. 

How does it work?

• THUMB = Pray for those closest to you, closest to your heart, your loved ones.
• POINTER FINGER = Pray for those who instruct/teach you, the people who point the way. 
• TALLEST FINGER = Pray for those who stand tall for us and lead us.
• RING FINGER = Pray for those who are weak, sick or in pain.
• LITTLE FINGER = Pray for ourselves.

This week, all the students were given the opportunity to pray The Five Finger Prayer and it might be one that you may like to pray at home with your child.

Year 6 Incitare Retreat  (In-chit-are-ay)

Our Year Six students travelled to McAuley Catholic College today to attend their final primary school retreat with 60 other Year Six students and Catholic Schools Youth Ministry Australia leaders from high schools in the Lismore Diocese.  The retreat was filled with hands on activities and small and large group discussions designed to support students in trying their hardest to live a Christian life.  Miss Imeson attended the retreat with our students and here are some memories from the day.

Mrs Mullins

Class Awards

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

Principal Awards:  Noa Chapman, William King, Alexandra Wardleworth, Mia Connolly

Class Awards:

Class News - Stage 2

Ahoy from the Stage 2 scuba dudes/ dudettes; complete with sea creatures and seaweed!

It has been a busy 6 weeks for the little learners in our class. Our imaginative writing is coming along splendidly as we work out how we, as authors, create strong characters and well-developed settings through rich and detailed language.

Below are some interesting ‘hook’ sentences the students have been generating to get their reader hooked on their text…

BANG! I hear something smash. My eyes open wide and I can see my alarm clock, it reads 12:00 am … MIDNIGHT! - MEESHA (Onomatopoeia) 

“The alarms were going off all around me. I ran as fast as my legs possibly could. Then, all of a sudden, I went invisible…” - HUON (Straight into action)

“The witch had one brown tooth, twenty moles, 1 green, dirty eyebrow and two murky eyes. She had an old vomit coloured hat, pink pointy ears and a disgusting, tattered dress.” - GEORGIA (Character description)

In Visual Arts, we and the rest of the school have been focusing on ‘portraiture’. These pictures are from our week looking at an artist called Roy Lichtenstein from the ‘Pop Art’ movement. (Pop Art began in the 60s and involved lots of bright colours, patterns, bold outlines and often words, faces and food were the subjects.)

Miss Zietsch

Stage 2 Scuba Dudes and Dudettes!

Pastoral Care - School Counsellor

Exploring Character Strengths – TOLERANCE

Tolerance is being patient, understanding and accepting of anything different.

Tolerance also involves accepting the things you wish were different but that you cannot change. Being tolerant involves being flexible and reminding ourselves that things don’t always have to go our way. Tolerance means even when it is ‘too’ hot or ‘too’ cold or something is taking ‘too’ long, we don’t get ‘too’ fussed and react inappropriately.

What does it look like in practice? 

• We don’t expect others to think, look or act just like us.  
• We show patience and forgiveness when people make mistakes.  
• When someone does something that annoys us,  we try to breathe and walk away and go about our day without it ruining our mood.  
• If a situation isn’t turning out exactly as we had planned, we try not to get too bossy and angry.

“The highest result of education is tolerance. Long ago men fought and died for their faith; but it took ages to teach them the other kind of courage; the courage to recognise the faiths of their brethren and their rights of conscience.”  Helen Keller (1903)

Mrs Kate Naylor – School Counsellor & Art Therapist

Pastoral Care - School Chaplain

Fundraiser Project Compassion

In week two of Project Compassion we are introduced to Margret. Margret, 39, is a teacher at a vocational school for deaf students in the Solomon Islands. She was born deaf, so she knows the challenges it poses to education and employment. To hear more about Margret’s story and how Project Compassion has helped her please watch this quick VIDEO with your family. Thank you for the kind donations we have received in our classrooms. If you can help people like Margret please send in donations with your children. The class that raises the most will be rewarded with a hot treat at the end of the term. 

Learning Assistance Program

The Learning Assistance Program (LAP) is a student-centred and volunteer-based mentoring programme designed to assist schools to implement one-to-one learning that supports, guides and enriches the wellbeing and learning outcomes of their students from Stage 1–Stage 3.Students and volunteer mentors meet at the same time, during one lesson, once a week. We are fortunate enough to have this program reintroduced into our school for 2021. We have four wonderful volunteers that will be reading with our students on a Thursday. 

Seasons for Growth

Seasons for Growth will resume for Kindy- Stage 1 on the 4th March. If you would like your child to participate in this program please contact our office. Please click on this LINK for more information about this program.

Student Representative Council

The SRC had their first formal meeting on Thursday.  Topics on their agenda were:

Establishing a peer communication box. This would be a box placed under our shelter area and students can write suggestions or concerns that they have. These suggestions/concerns would be raised at the following SRC meeting.

An SRC organised fun day for the end of each term for their peers. Some of the ideas for a fun day were: Water park, Warrior course, movie and pizza afternoon and a "Teachers can't say no day"! These will be discussed over the coming meetings.

Breakfast Club was a success once again. Students lined up from 8.30-8.50am to enjoy toast with cheese, honey and vegemite, fruit cups, yoghurt and weetbix. Our SRC Captain Mia Connolly delegated to our wonderful student helpers; Sarah Afzal and Ivy Towner,  jobs to make breakfast a well-oiled production. 

Mrs Juana Mead

School Sport

Winter Sports Trials

This week we had Jason Maitz, Hugh Bell (Boys Rugby Union) and Matias Ward (Boys Soccer) attend the Clarence Zone Winter Sports Trials in Woolgoolga on Wednesday 3rd March. It is great to see students with a passion for sports who are willing to make the long trip down to Woolgoolga to experience their sport at the next level.

Jack Robinson, Ryley Bultitude, Jai Adamson (Boys Rugby League), Mahala Hitchings and Tasmyn Norris (Girls Soccer) also nominated for their respective sports but due to the lack of nominations will progress straight through to the Lismore Diocesan Winter Sports Trials which will be held in Grafton on Friday 12th March.

We wish all of our students the very best in their respective trials and we hope it is an enjoyable and positive experience for everyone. 

Mr Luke Hitchings

Library News - Premier's Reading Challenge

The library is always an exciting place, but it's about to get even more exciting because it’s Premier’s Reading Challenge time again! The Premier’s Reading Challenge (PRC) opened on March 1st and closes on the 20th August 2021. It aims to encourage a love of reading for leisure in students and is not a competition but rather a challenge to read, to read more, and to read more widely. 

During this time students are required to read between 20-30 books (depending on their age) and log them online before the closing date. We have SO many wonderful books in the library at St Joseph's, and I will be available to assist students to log their books electronically in the library if needed.  Kindergarten and Stage 1 students can read books on their own, read with someone else, or have a book read to them. While students in Stage 2 & 3 must-read independently, however, someone can help choose their books. 

This is a great initiative to foster a love of reading in our children,  and I encourage family and friends to support our important young people in this year’s challenge.  

The more that you read, the more things you will know. 

The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”

— Dr. Seuss 

Mrs Bobbie Waghorn              

Archibald Excursion

Our Stage 2 and 3 kids were fortunate to travel down to Coffs Harbour last Friday and visit the prestigious Archibald exhibition. Visiting the exhibition was a great cultural experience for the students as they tried to find the energy and symbolism in the portraits, and respected & appreciated the various types and styles of art. The students were also taking inspiration for their own “Archibald Portrait” they will be completing for our whole school visual arts culmination project on the 30th of March. A huge thankyou to Miss Zietsch for organising this for our Primary Classes and for going down on her weekend to take photos for our Infants students.

Archibald Excursion

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St Joey's Archibald Prize

School Events & Dates

WEEK 7

• Friday 12th March - Diocesan Winter Sports Trials

WEEK 8

• Wednesday 17th March - MHS Year 6 Transition Day
• Friday 19th March - St Joseph's Day Celebration

WEEK 9

• Monday 22nd - Friday 26th March - Parent Interviews
• Thursday 25th March - NAPLAN Practice Tests (Year 3 & 5)
• Friday 26th March - School Cross Country

WEEK 10

• Tuesday 30th March - World of Maths Visit
• Wednesday 31st March - SRC Fun Day
• Thursday 1st April - Easter Liturgy
• Thursday 1st April - LAST DAY OF TERM 1

Notes Sent Home

Please find below links to the following School Notes that were sent home in the last fortnight:

Community News