Week 6 - Term 3 Newsletter 2024

Principal's Message

Dear Families and Friends,

I trust that everyone has a wonderful Father's Day celebration on Sunday & that you are able to celebrate all our dads, step-dads, grandfathers and other significant men in your children's lives. Thank you to all of these males and the incredible role models you are and the guiding presence you play in our children's lives. We are very thankful. Also, a huge thank you to Mrs Louise Senz & Miss Juana Mead, who made our Father's Day Liturgy & BBQ lunch today such a memorable and wonderful experience for our dads & students.

Book Week

A heartfelt thank you to Mrs. Dani O'Brien for her dedication and passion, which transformed our School Library into a vibrant hub of reading celebration during National Book Week. Mrs. O'Brien has led the way with several engaging activities, including the Book Fair, exciting Book Competitions, and the lively Book Parade, all beautifully aligned with this year's theme, "Reading is Magic."

Since taking on the role of librarian in 2024, Mrs. O'Brien has done a remarkable job fostering a deep love of reading among our students. Her exceptional efforts have brought the magic of books to life, encouraging personal growth and inspiring young minds. This year, she has also motivated our students to fully participate in the Premier's Reading Challenge, resulting in an outstanding 100% completion rate—a truly amazing achievement! To celebrate our students' commitment, I am thrilled to announce a 'SURPRISE' excursion for the entire school on Wednesday, 11th September. More details will be shared on Compass next week.

School Review - NEW DATES - Week 9

Please be advised that after postponing our School Review  in Week 4, we have been provided new dates for the review to occur in Week 9 this term (Monday 16th September - Wednesday 18th September). 

As mentioned in earlier communication, this review will involve a visiting Panel who will provide an in-depth examination of our teaching methods, curriculum, and overall school environment using the ACER School Improvement Tool as a reference point to how we are tracking as a school community and assist planning out our 2025-2027 School Improvement Plan.

I am encouraging any willing parents to contribute to this process as your insights and perspectives are crucial in helping us identify our strengths and areas for improvement. 

For that reason, I am asking any parents who would like to contribute to this process to RSVP to Mrs Bell (amelia.bell@lism.catholic.edu.au) as we will be having a parent session on Monday  16th September at 2:30-3:15pm.

During this session you will be able to give the Panel valuable insight into the direction of our school. I am hoping that by making it just prior to school pick-up we may able to get 8-10 parents. Your support to this process is much appreciated.

'Right to Disconnect' Legislation

As you may be aware that a recent change in workplace legislation has introduced the right for employees to disconnect outside of their working hours. This new law will come into effect on 26 August 2024.

Our teachers are committed to providing the best education and support for your children. To ensure they can maintain a healthy work-life balance and deliver their best during working hours, the new legislation allows them to refrain from monitoring, reading, or responding to work-related communications outside of their scheduled hours.

We kindly ask for your understanding and cooperation in regard to this new legislation. Here are a few points to keep in mind:

• Response Time: You are of course welcome to send emails and messages at a time convenient to you, however, please understand that if sent to a teacher outside of their working hours, they may not respond until they are back on duty.
• Urgent Matters: If you have an urgent concern, please consider whether it can be addressed during working hours. If immediate attention is required, please email myself (dale.layland@lism.catholic.edu.au)
• Ongoing communication: We will continue to communicate important updates and information in a timely manner. However, non-urgent inquiries will be addressed during the teachers' working hours.

Thank you for your support and understanding as we implement this important change.

School Spelling BEE - Thursday 19th September

Just a reminder that as part of celebrating the wonderful learning in our classrooms, the school would like to highlight the importance of spelling and the great spellers amongst our students.

Students will participate in elimination rounds to be held within classroom learning time next week, with the Top 4 students from each stage moving on to compete in Stage-based finals (i.e. Year 3&4). Our Spelling Bee Finals will be held on Thursday 19th September at 2:00 pm (Week 9) in our amphitheater, and we would love to have as many parents as possible join us in this event. Please note all students competing in the final rounds will be revealed prior to the day.

Hard copies of our Spelling Bee List Words were sent home, and PDF versions of each Stage's words can be found on the Newsfeed of Compass.

Kind regards

Dale

Upcoming School Dates

• Stage 2 Basketball Gala Day (Monday 26nd September)
• Stage 3 Netball Finals - Casino (Wednesday 4th September)
• Jump Rope for Heart  - Final Activity (Thursday 5th September)
• Yr 4 Accendre Retreat (Monday 9th September)
• Public Speaking Finals (Tuesday 10th September)
• PRC Reward Day Excursion (Wednesday 11th September)
• Spelling Bee Finals (Thursday 19th September)
• S2 & S3 Touch Football Gala Day - Yamba (Friday 20th September)
• SRC Talent Quest (Thursday 26th September)
• Staff Development Day Friday 27th September

Leaders of Learning

The Five Critical Questions: Exploring "How Do You Know?"

This week, we continue our focus on Lyn Sharratt’s 'Five Critical Questions' with the third question: "How do you know?"—specifically, how do you know how you are doing in your learning?

Answering this question requires students to reflect on their progress and find evidence that they meet the Success Criteria for each task. By identifying this evidence, whether it’s feedback from their teacher or improvements in their work, students gain a clearer understanding of their learning journey and become more engaged in the process.

Descriptive Feedback, Self-Assessment and Peer Assessment

To answer "How do you know?" confidently, students rely on descriptive feedback from their teacher, which is directly connected to the learning intentions and success criteria. This feedback is timely, specific, and avoids general comments like "good job." Instead, it provides clear guidance on what the student did well and what they need to work on. Additionally, teachers help students develop self-assessment and peer-assessment skills so they can independently monitor and evaluate their progress.

For example, students might reflect by saying, "My teacher and I discussed my writing, and we decided I need to focus on...," or "My friend gave me feedback on my reading fluency, and I realised I need to work on...," or "I self-assessed using the writing checklist and realised I needed to improve my..." These reflections show that students actively use feedback to improve their work and understand their achievements.

Supporting Your Child at Home

You can support this process at home by regularly asking your child, "How do you know how you’re doing?" This simple question encourages them to think critically about their learning and recognise the evidence that shows their progress. It’s an effective way to help them become more aware of their learning and take ownership of their improvement.

Next week, we will explore the fourth question, "How can you improve?" as we continue to examine this approach and its positive impact on our students' learning experiences.

Mrs Senz, Mrs Mclennan and Mrs Mullins

Mission & Values

Mercy In Action Award

This fortnights Mercy In Action Award recipient is Sophia Wright. Sophia embodies exceptional courage both in her academic pursuits and athletic endeavors. She demonstrates remarkable bravery by embracing challenges with a positive attitude, pushing beyond her comfort zone, and persevering in the face of difficulties. Whether tackling tricky class tasks, or showing resilience and determination in sports, Sophia stands out for her unwavering commitment and fearless approach. Her courage inspires others to take risks, embrace new experiences, and strive for excellence as well. Congratulations Sophia!

Father’s Day Liturgy

I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to all the parents who joined us for our special Father's Day liturgy. It was a wonderful opportunity for our school community to come together and honour the love, guidance, and support that fathers provide. We hope the liturgy conveyed the deep appreciation and respect we have for all the remarkable individuals who play a fatherly role in our students' lives.

I also want to express my gratitude to our school leaders—Roo, Grace, Avah, Ta’j, Zoe, Flynn, Meesha, Tully and Georgia—who had limited time to prepare for the event. Their dedication and effort in creating a meaningful and memorable experience for our students and parents are truly commendable.

A huge thank you must also go to Miss Juana and her team for their incredible effort in preparing our burger lunch. This is a major undertaking, and Miss Juana consistently approaches it with immense love, care, and attention to detail.

Your presence at the Father's Day liturgy highlighted the strength of our school community. Your support and involvement in your child's education are deeply valued, and we are grateful for the chance to celebrate with you.

Thank you again for attending and for being such inspiring role models for our students.

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School Parish Mass and First Holy Communion

This term, our School Parish Mass and First Holy Communion will be held together on Sunday, 8th September at 8:30am in St. Mary’s Catholic Church Maclean. Our First Holy Communicants have been preparing over the last four weeks, making their First Reconciliation and taking part in a number of preparation classes. The final step in their preparation will be a Reconciliation refresher on Friday, 6th September. All students, family and friends are warmly invited to attend Mass and be part of this very special sacrament.

This year, our First Holy Communicants are;

• Sam Kirkland
• Jack Kirkland
• Oli Ward
• Jesse Bennett
• Sophia Wright
• Archie Patten

This Mass will be led by our staff and students. If your child would like to assist in the Mass, please let me know by emailing louise.senz@lism.catholic.edu.au The following roles are available; Hospitality, Reader 1 and 2, Responsorial Psalm and Prayers of the Faithful. 

Mrs Senz

Class Awards

Our Principal's Award winners this week are:

Our Class Award winners this week are: 

Class News - Stage 2

Stage 2 has been deepening their understanding of our Mercy Values and recognising these values in their own behaviour and the actions of others. Each fortnight, we focus on one Mercy Value. Together, we create an anchor chart, brainstorm ways to demonstrate the value, and reflect daily on how we’ve lived it. This fortnight, our focus has been on the Mercy Value of compassion, and we are incredibly proud of the great acts of compassion our students have shown towards one another. Here is a small sample:

• I helped a younger student who had spilled their lunch.
  
• Dad’s been really busy, so I’ve been helping him without asking for any pocket money.
• I put other people's feelings before mine because I could see they were upset.
• I helped a younger student who couldn’t count their money at the book fair.
• I helped the other team play the game.

In addition to their work on Mercy Values, our students have been working hard in maths, focusing on solving problems in a variety of ways. This skill is essential as it helps them develop flexibility in their thinking, encourages creative problem-solving, and prepares them to tackle challenges from multiple angles. We are proud of the persistence and creativity they are showing in their mathematical learning.

Mrs McLennan & Mr P

School Sport

We've had an exciting few weeks filled with various sporting activities, and we're thrilled to share the latest updates with you!

S3 Basketball Day Success: Last week, our S3 students participated in Basketball Day at the Raymond Laurie Sports Centre. It was fantastic to see students playing with smiles and pride, refining their basketball skills, and for some, experiencing the sport for the first time. We look forward to continuing this enthusiasm with the upcoming S2 Basketball Day this Monday. If your child is interested in pursuing basketball further, please contact Steve at Yamba Trawlers for information on upcoming competitions.

Grafton Touch Day: Recently, we took two competitive sides, S2 and S3, to Grafton for the NSW Touch Association (NSWTA) gala day. Our junior team went undefeated, while our senior team celebrated several victories, with high spirits throughout the day. We're excited to bring these skills to the Yamba Touch Day later this term, scheduled for Week 9, Friday.

Clarence Football Academy: We are pleased to share a flyer for the Clarence Football Academy, offering a fantastic opportunity for students to receive coaching from an accredited NPL coach over the holidays. The program is available for students aged 5-16 and is a great way to enhance football skills.

Junior Futsal Competition: Attached, you'll also find information on an upcoming junior futsal competition at the Raymond Laurie Centre, perfect for our football enthusiasts!

Afterschool Netball Clinic: Our afterschool netball clinic kicked off this week, and it was wonderful to see students learning new skills, supporting each other, and sharing big smiles. These skills will benefit them both on and off the netball court. If you have any suggestions for future afterschool sports programs, we would love to hear from you!

Thank you for your continued support and encouragement of our students' sporting endeavors. We look forward to more exciting events ahead!

Warm regards,

Mr Gilchrist

Creative Arts

The creativity and dedication to the melamine plates over the last few weeks (despite some interruptions etc) have been UNREAL; each plate is as individual and amazing as the student who designed them. There will be some very happy and proud students who get to eat off their plates mid-next term! I have loved watching this process!

Ordering has been extended until Monday the 2nd (Week 7) 5PM cutoff  - place orders here

In other news; I have placed another art resource order for the whole school to benefit from; the below equipment (purchased at the beginning of the year) has had a very decent amount of use across K-6 (and Little Joeys this term!).

On order we have coming:

• Triangular textas
• Coloured pencils
• Black permanent markers
• Coloured permanent markers
• Acrylic paint markers (assorted colours)
• Paint Markers (brights and pastels)
• Craft tubs
• Craft packs

Plus a few art caddies and storage boxes for ease of transporting and organising!

Including this, we also have a brand new collection of hand (20) and finger puppets (44) which are being used across Kindy, Year 1 and Year 2 this term for Drama. 

WOW these are cute AND fun! These puppets will live in the library cubes to foster imaginative play, creativity, fine motor skills, social skills and much much more.

We are very lucky to have all our students who respect and treasure all these resources!

Big artsy dramatic love!

Ms Zietsch

Technology News

ICT: Engaging and Transforming Student Learning.

In today’s rapidly evolving world, keeping students motivated and engaged in their learning is more important than ever. At St Joey's, we’re embracing the power of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to bring lessons to life and make learning an adventure for every student.

Captivating and Inspiring Students

Our students are diving into exciting projects using cutting-edge technologies like Virtual Reality, drones, 3D printing and robotics. These tools are not just innovative—they are deeply engaging, capturing students’ imaginations and inspiring them to explore new possibilities. Whether they’re programming a robot, piloting a drone, or exploring a new environment through VR, students are developing critical skills while having fun.

Connecting Learning to the Real World

These technologies also provide a direct connection between classroom concepts and real-world applications. When students engage with these tools, they experience the impact and purpose of their education in a way that’s relevant to their lives today and in the future. It’s about making learning meaningful and showing students how the skills they develop now can be applied in the world around them.

Our commitment is to create learning environments that are not only effective but also dynamic and relevant. We want our students to be excited about coming to school, curious about what they’ll discover next, and confident in their ability to use these tools to solve problems, think critically, and collaborate creatively.

We’ll be sharing more stories in the coming weeks about how our students are using these digital tools to push the boundaries of their learning and explore new possibilities.

Warm regards,
Mrs Mclennan

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Pastoral Care - School Chaplain

A Memorable Father’s Day Liturgy and Lunch

Dear Families,

We are delighted to share the heartwarming success of our recent Father’s Day Liturgy and Lunch, a special event that brought together our school community in a celebration of the significant men in our lives.

This year’s festivities began with a touching Liturgy, where the children expressed their love and appreciation through heartfelt prayers, songs, and reflections. It was a beautiful reminder of the profound impact these special men have on our lives. 

Following the Liturgy, everyone gathered for a delicious lunch featuring our signature “Dad Burger”—a treat that was a hit with both kids and adults alike. The atmosphere was filled with joy and laughter as families enjoyed the meal together, creating cherished memories and strengthening bonds.

A heartfelt thank you goes out to Melissa, Deeanne & Naomi and the Student Representative Council (SRC) for their exceptional help with catering. Your hard work ensured that the meal was a delicious success.

In addition to celebrating our special men, we also raised awareness for a very important cause on Jersey Day. Everyone looked fantastic in their team jerseys, and it was wonderful to see our school community come together to support organ and tissue donation awareness. Your participation in this initiative was deeply appreciated and highlighted our collective commitment to making a difference.

 We look forward to many more opportunities to celebrate and create joyful experiences together.

Warm regards,

Ms Mead - Student Wellbeing Officer/School Chaplain

Pastoral Care - School Counsellor

RAISING RESILIENT KIDS

Over the past two terms we’ve focused on building kids' resilience.

The strategies already covered including resilient thinking styles, healthy habits, strong relationships, positive emotions, and using your strengths, apply to parents as well as kids.

Parenting can be a joyful, rewarding and challenging experience and parents often need resilience to recover quickly from difficulties, disruptive change, or ongoing stress without feeling overwhelmed or reacting negatively with charged emotions.

Parenting is a 24/7 complex job and the demands of family life and eternal pressures can be exhausting at times.

If you're looking to build your own resilience, you could start with finding time to do something to take care of yourself each day or at least on a regular basis. This will look different for everyone. Identify what works best for you and aim for activities that are easy and inexpensive.

If you're looking for ideas, some suggestions include

• exercise
• alone time
• connecting with friends 
• change of scenery
• time in nature 
• reading a book or watching a favorite TV show
• hobbies 
• listening to your favourite music

Becoming aware of our batteries running low and taking action to recharge, is an important part of building resilience. Try to avoid getting too depleted as it's much harder to get back to being at our best when we’re exhausted.

Prioritising some self care is not only important for our own resilience, it helps us to parent the way we'd like to and role model resilience for our kids.

 If you have any questions or would like to discuss any of this content further you can contact me at the school on Thursdays and Fridays or via jessica.jones@lism.catholic.edu.au

Jess Jones - School Counsellor

Bullying & Friendships

Fostering Friendships

Building and maintaining friendships is an essential aspect of a child's social and emotional development. By providing guidance, support, and opportunities for social interaction, parents play a vital role in helping their children develop and maintain meaningful friendships that contribute to their overall happiness and well-being.

Here are some tips for parents to help foster friendships:

1. Encourage Social Interaction: Encourage your child to participate in social activities and group settings where they can interact with peers. This could include playdates, extracurricular activities, sports teams, or community events. Exposure to different social settings provides opportunities for your child to meet and connect with others.
2. Lead by Example: Children often learn social skills by observing the behaviour of adults. Model positive social interactions by being friendly, empathetic, and inclusive in your own relationships. Demonstrate the values of kindness, cooperation, and respect for others in your interactions with friends, neighbours, and family members.
3. Teach Social Skills: Help your child develop essential social skills such as communication, listening, sharing, and cooperation. Role-play different social scenarios with them and provide guidance on appropriate ways to interact with others. Encourage them to greet new people, initiate conversations, and find common interests with their peers.
4. Support Their Interests: Encourage your child to pursue their interests and passions, as this can help them connect with like-minded peers who share similar interests. Whether it's sports, music, art, or hobbies, support your child's pursuits and help them find opportunities to engage with others who share their passions.
5. Promote Inclusivity: Teach your child the importance of inclusivity and acceptance of others who may be different from them. Encourage them to be open-minded, empathetic, and welcoming to children of diverse backgrounds, abilities, and interests. Emphasise the value of forming friendships based on mutual respect and understanding.
6. Be Supportive: Be supportive and understanding if your child experiences challenges or setbacks in their friendships. Offer a listening ear, validate their feelings, and provide guidance on how to navigate conflicts or misunderstandings constructively. Help them develop resilience and problem-solving skills to overcome social hurdles.
7. Monitor Screen Time: Be mindful of the amount of time your child spends on digital devices and social media. Excessive screen time can hinder opportunities for face-to-face social interaction. Encourage offline activities that allow for meaningful interactions and foster authentic connections with peers.

Stay involved in your child's social life by maintaining open communication with them about their friendships and social experiences. Show genuine interest in their friendships, ask about their day, and offer guidance or support when needed.

Library News

What a fantastic week it was in the world of books for our 2024 Book week. Thanks to our wonderful school community the whole Book Fair was a huge success. It was such a pleasure to see so many students enjoying browsing, recommending and discovering new books. Not only does Book Fair promote a love of reading but it also helps us raise valuable funds to purchase books for our own library here at St Josephs. Your contributions have made our 2024 book fair an unforgettable event!

Thank you.

Mrs O'Brien

Parent Forum

Please see the below flyer for details on a FREE Parent Information night for Parents of Tweens and Teens. This information night  has been made available by the Catholic Schools Parent Assembly.

Community Notices