Week 2 - Term 4 Newsletter 2023

Principal's Message

Dear Families and Friends,

Welcome back to what is our final term for 2023. It is always so lovely to see the children return to school and reconnect with teachers and friends.  Everyone has settled back in and had a fantastic first two weeks.

Leader of Catechesis and Evangelisation/ Mission and Values

I want to take this opportunity to thank Deb Mullins for her leadership and support of staff, students and families in meeting the Mission of both our school and Church. Deb has led by example for many years and worked tirelessly to prepare liturgies and masses, support children as they prepare for Sacraments and develop meaningful and engaging religious education programs for both staff and students. Her passion and dedication to this role has been inspirational. Deb has decided to take a break from this position for the remainder of 2023. On behalf of our whole school community - thank you, Deb.

Louise Senz has taken on the role of Leader of Catechesis and Evangelisation for the remainder of this year. She is already hard at work preparing students for First Holy Communion. I look forward to working closely with Lou as she shares her passion and knowledge with us and embraces the challenges of her new role. Congratulations, Lou.

Winnie The Pooh Musical

Next week, we will all have the chance to enjoy our long-awaited school musical - Winnie The Pooh. A large group of students, led by the ever-enthusiastic Ms Zietsch, will perform over four days to a variety of preschool groups, with the week culminating in a community performance on Thursday, 26th October. 

The evening will begin at 6:00 pm with dinner. All proceeds go back into our Creative Arts programs. Available will be:

Hundred Acre Wood Hotdogs - $5 (vegetarian option available)

Roo's Refreshments (assorted soft drinks and water) - $2

Piglet's Popcorn - $1

The performance will begin at 6:30 pm following dinner.

Grandparents Afternoon

On Thursday, 2nd November, we will hold our annual Grandparents Afternoon from 1:00 pm. We invite all of our Nans, Pops, Grandpas, Grandmas and friends for a wonderful afternoon of celebration & activities alongside the students. 

Grandparents Day celebrates the diversity of grandparent relationships across age groups, cultural backgrounds, and geographical locations. Grandparents, grand-friends, kin, and those who take on the role of a grandparent in their family or community are recognised for their contributions.

The day will begin with afternoon tea out in the playground with the students, followed by activities in the classroom. We hope to see you there.

Enrolments for 2024

We are currently looking at enrolments in all year levels and staffing for 2024. If you know of any families looking to enrol, please encourage them to make contact, even if it is to have an opportunity to walk through our classrooms and school grounds and see our students' engagement and the safe & supportive environment we provide.  

There is the chance that some spaces next year will have a 'waiting list', if you know any families considering St Joey's in 2024, I encourage you to let them know to enquire at the School Office as soon as possible.

Warmest regards,

Deb

Leader of Learning

System-Wide Assessments - Progressive Achievement Tests (PAT)

All Catholic Schools in the Lismore Diocese are required to undertake specific assessments in Reading and Maths in Term 4 as an essential part of tracking and monitoring student performance and growth.
The assessments are administered to students online, and staff use the assessment data to identify starting points for learning, target teaching and monitor growth.
Measuring a student’s knowledge, skills and understanding in a subject helps pinpoint where they are in their learning journey – and what they need to progress.

This week our classes from Years 1 to 6 will participate in these assessment tasks.
Here are some sample questions from some of the tests.

Mrs Bailey 

Year 1 PAT Maths Questions

Year 2 PAT Maths Questions

Year 3 PAT Maths Questions

Year 4 PAT Maths Questions

Year 5 PAT Maths Questions

Year 6 PAT Maths Questions

Mission & Values

October - The Month of the Holy Rosary

The month of October is dedicated to the Holy Rosary, one of the best-known of all Catholic devotions. In October, Mary appeared for the last time to the shepherd children in Fátima, Portugal, urging them to "say the rosary every day to obtain peace for the world".  The best way to celebrate the month is, of course, to pray the Rosary. During morning prayer this week, the children have all prayed The Joey Rosary (a short version of the Rosary).

This is a great guide to praying the Rosary for kids

Mercy in Action Award    

Congratulations to this fortnight's Mercy in Action Award winner, Lila Salter. Lila receives the award in recognition of displaying the Mercy Value of Compassion, demonstrated through the care and concern she shows for others. Lila pays attention to the needs of others. She is aware of how people feel and wants to help them when they're sad, upset, or in need. Lila is a great friend who listens, understands, and tries to make others feel better. Congratulations, Lila.

EXURO Year 5 Retreat                                                                                 

Friday 28th October 2022

9:30 am - 2:30 pm

Exuro is a retreat day for Year 5 students from parish primary schools based in regions of the Diocese to celebrate their faith at a diocesan level. Exuro is Latin for ‘on fire’. This retreat will be a one-day opportunity to bring students together with like-minded peers, to share and build relationships that strengthen the practice of their Christian faith and to be leaders in building strong Catholic school communities. The activities will be a mixture of large and small sharing groups and celebrating a Liturgy together. 

• When: Friday, 27th October 2023
• Bus Departure: 8:45 am and return to school by the end of the day.
• Where: McAuley Catholic College, Grafton
• Cost: Nil.
• Lunch/Morning Tea: Students are to bring their own food and drink. 
• Dress: Sports uniform, joggers and hat

Dates to Save

• Week 3 (Friday) - Yr 5 Exuro Retreat 
• Week 4 (Mon 31 Oct) - Grandparents Day
• Week 4 (Wed 1st Nov) - All Saints Day
• Week 4 (Thurs 2nd Nov) - All Souls Day
• Week 5 (Sun 5th Nov) - First Holy Communion and Parish School Mass
• Week 6 (Mon 13th Nov) - Yr 4 Accendere Retreat 

Mrs Senz

Class Awards

Our Principal's Award winners are:

Our Class Award winners are: 

Class News - Kindy

It’s been really lovely to see our Kindy’s reconnecting with one another and settling happily into familiar classroom routines after the break. Here’s a peek into our learning so far this term. 

Our wonderful storywriting drew inspiration from the picture book Wombat Stew by Marcia K. Vaughn and Pamela Lofts. Together, we wrote our own version of Wombat Stew with new characters created by the children. In mathematics, we have been investigating half as two equal parts of a whole and using symbols as communication for mathematical ideas. Kindy have used their knowledge of halves to make a starburst and have participated in many hands-on experiences to develop their understanding.

Recently, we were very excited to receive a letter from Santa requesting our help to design new toys for Christmas. It's been a lot of fun developing ideas and concepts for this scientific inquiry.

Our budding artists have been busy exploring the wonder and beauty of God’s creation through painting and drawing. We have launched into building a class mural to display our wonderful artwork.

Mrs Bennett

School Sport

Term 4 Sport

It was great to see everyone swimming and surfing today. 

Mr Hitchings

Pastoral Care - School Chaplain

Crazy Socktober Day

On Thursday, 19th October, St Joey's students wore their craziest socks to celebrate Socktober.

Socktober is a way schools and students can celebrate World Mission Month in October. Throughout  2023, students and their families across Australia will team up to support families in Timor-Leste facing health and wellness challenges. 

Thanks to your generosity, we raised $140- an amazing effort! Our donations go to the Catholic Mission to help children in need in Timor-Leste. 

St Vincent De Paul's Christmas Appeal 

St Vincent De Paul’s Christmas Appeal continues to rebuild strength in the men and women experiencing disadvantage this Christmas. St Joseph’s School Community has a proud tradition of supporting the St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal each year, and will continue in 2023. Our launch will be held on Thursday 9th November. 

Your family is invited to participate in the Christmas Appeal by donating non-perishable food, new toys or money. Hampers will be located in classrooms for students to place items. These hampers are given to families within Clarence to help make their Christmas a special one. 

World Teachers Day

World Teachers’ Day will be celebrated across Australia on Monday 30th October 2023. It’s a chance to celebrate teaching and for communities to thank teachers. St Joseph’s will celebrate our incredible teachers and show them how much they are appreciated. 

Thanking you,

Ms Mead

School Chaplain

Parent Forum

Term 4 Parent Forum Meeting

Our Term 4 Parent Fourm Meeting is Tuesday 31st October at 5:30pm in the school library.

Please remember that everyone is welcome and this is great opportunity  to find out about what is happening at our school. 

If your are unable to make it but would like an agenda item tabled, please email me at lozzacdk@gmail.com

Lauren Kirkland

Chairperson of the Parent Forum

Community News

Maclean Fire Station Recruiting On-Call Firefighters 

Maclean Fire Station is recruiting On-Call Firefighters for their station.  

By joining Fire and Rescue as an On-Call Firefighter you are supporting the community of Maclean to be prepared for anything. An On-Call Firefighter declares their availability each week to respond from their home or workplace to a variety of emergency incidents as well as speak to their local community about staying safe. Maclean Fire Station had 107 calls in the last year, 86 of these calls less than an hour duration.  

All training and work undertaken for Fire & Rescue is paid, uniform is provided and being an On-Call Firefighter is a great way to learn new skills and be part of an emergency services team taking care of your community. 

Captain Owen Gray invites members of the community who live in the Maclean, Townsend and Gulmarrad area to apply. Visit www.fire.nsw.gov.au to apply or call 1800 347 437 for more information.