2 August 2023

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Dear Parents & Guardians

Welcome to Week 4 of Term 3

Many of today’s messages are those of gratitude for the many people who work to make our school such a wonderful family community.

Thanks to all who helped at NAIDOC Day last Thursday.  The day is always a very special celebration on the Joey’s annual calendar.  Thanks to all who volunteered their time to make the day a huge success.  Well done to Jessie Ivers for her work to make the day such a special event and for the P&F Association for generously providing a sausage sizzle for our kids on the day.

A huge thank-you to Leah Benson who has offered to co-ordinate the Joey’s teams that will take part in the Saturday morning Junior Touch competition.  With the season starting on Saturday the 12^th of August, I would also like to thank all of the community members who have volunteered.

It is with much pride that we acknowledge our wonderful Outside School Hour Care Director, Chelsea Holden who on the 24^th of July, marked 21 years of service at St Joseph’s Park Avenue.  Chelsea is a great servant of Catholic Education who provides a huge wealth of experience as an educator and carer.  As Principal, I have been very privileged to work with Chelsea and appreciate her commitment to the students, parents, staff and community of St Joseph’s.  Well done Chelsea, we love having you as a part of our community and I am sure many would acknowledge that you have made a difference in the lives of thousands of students at Joeys and beyond over the last 21 years.

This month we will be celebrating the St Joseph’s Park Avenue Kindy’s 10Year Anniversary.  On Wednesday 30^th August, the Kindy will be holding a ‘Stay and Play’ morning for families with Mr Fitz sharing his favourite childhood book with the current Kindy kids followed by the cutting of a 10^th Anniversary cake.  More details will be sent out to current families in the coming weeks.

St Joseph’s Kindy Enrolments for 2024 are open.  To find out more about St Joseph’s Kindergarten, including the current statement of fees, please scan the attached QR code or go to their website –

Prep Interviews for 2024 are currently well underway and will be closing in the next week.  With 2024 offers being emailed out on August 18^th, any current siblings wanting to attend need to have had an enrolment interview booked by the end of this week.  If this has slipped your mind, please contact the school office immediately to book a time as soon as possible.  The absolute cut-off date for enrolment in 2024 would be Tuesday the 8^th of August.

Don’t Forget….

• Capras Cup Day. (9-10 years) Saturday 5^th August @ Emmaus
• Mary MacKillop Feast Day Mass. Friday 11^th August
• Feast of the Assumption. Tuesday 15^th August
• National Day of Action Against Bullying & Violence. Thursday 17^th August
• National Science Week. 12^th-20^th August
• 2024 Prep Offers emailed out. Friday 18^th August
• National Book Week (Read, Grow, Inspire) 19^th-25^th August
• Term 3, Week 7 – Book Character Parade & ‘Joey’s in Jama’s’ night.
• Season B Sport concludes/Grand Final Day. Friday 25^th August
• Term 3, Week 8 – Book Fair in the library.
• SJAP Kindy’s 10Year Anniversary. Wednesday, 30^th August

Kindest Regards
Bernard Fitzgerald
Principal - St. Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Park Avenue

St Joseph’s 2023 School Improvement Priorities:

• Prayer Life
• Learning Dispositions
• Increased Learning Gain & Achievement

RELIGIOUS MATTERS

17^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jesus describes the Kingdom of God.

Matthew 13:44-52

Scriptural context – Matthew Ch 13
Over the last few weeks, we have now heard Matthew Chapter 13 almost in its entirety. We heard first the parable of the sower then last week three short parables about weeds amongst the wheat, the mustard seed growing into a great tree and leaven in the flour. Finally, today we have had these additional pithy parables. The entire chapter seeks to paint metaphoric images of the kingdom. Woven through these images is a suggestion that the kingdom is open to all – all are presented with the invitation – but not everyone will accept that invitation or respond to it in the same way.

@Liturgy Help – Greg Sunter

Liturgical Celebrations Coming Up

*SJPA – St Joseph’s Park Avenue
*OLHC – Our Lady Help of Christians church (next to St Joseph’s, Park Avenue)
*HF – Holy Family Parish Centre (next to Anthony’s School)
*MPA – Multipurpose Area (Basketball court)

Elizabeth Carter
Assistant Principal Religious Education

CURRICULUM NEWS

ICAS

St Joseph’s is offering ICAS assessments again this year.

What is ICAS? 

ICAS is an online academic competition that is designed to assess students’  higher order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Mathematics, Science, Writing, Spelling and Digital Technologies. 

Each assessment celebrates students’ accomplishments by providing opportunities for recognition and development. Every student who participates will receive a printed certificate and an online results report. Top performers will be eligible for medals. 

We encourage you to consider entering your child into ICAS this year.   

How to participate in ICAS: 

If you wish for your child to participate in ICAS this year, please: 

1. Read about ICAS subjects and prices here: (icasassessments.com/products-icas) 
2. Read the terms and conditions here:
3. Go to Parent Portal to purchase tests here:
4. Enter our school’s access code –  FPT347
5. Enter your child’s details, select the tests you would like to purchase, then proceed to payment. 

After payment is made via the Parent Payment System, you will receive an order confirmation email, please keep this for your records. 

Table 1: ICAS sitting windows per subject. 

Cut off dates to order tests are:
Digital Technologies and Writing – 1^st August
English – 7^th August
Science and Spelling Bee – 14^th August

If your child is away on the testing day, there is some flexibility for them to sit the assessment, but it must be in the same week as the scheduled date and fit in with the availability of staff trained in the implementation of ICAS assessments.

Premier’s Reading Challenge

The Premier's Reading Challenge (PRC) is an annual state-wide initiative for state and non-state schools and home-educated students up to Year 9, as well as children attending early childhood centres. Since the program’s inception in 2006, more than 20 million books have been read, and in 2021 alone, 168,000 school, early childhood and individual readers participated in the challenge reading more than 2.39 million books throughout the PRC reading period.

The challenge is not a competition but aims to improve literacy and encourage children to read widely for pleasure and learning. Students can participate in the challenge within their school or as individual readers (home-educated students or students whose schools are not participating in the program).

For a student to successfully complete the challenge they must read or experience the allocated number of books for their year level during the reading period. Students who complete the challenge have their efforts recognised through the receipt of a Certificate of Achievement signed by the Premier of Queensland.

Why read? Literacy skills are vital to ensuring children have the best chance to succeed in their schooling and life. The PRC is an opportunity for students to be enthusiastic about reading, writing, authors and illustrators. Reading a variety of books builds vocabulary and knowledge, improves spelling and comprehension, can improve confidence and is also a great way to relax.

To successfully complete the PRC, students must read or experience the number of books indicated on the reader record form.

Please see the link below for the reading record form if your child is interested in participating.  All forms need to be returned to the office by 25^th August to be eligible for a certificate.

Regards
Mrs Deanne Senini
Assistant Principal Curriculum

CLASSROOM NEWS

PREP

Term 3 is shaping up to be one of Prep’s best yet! Our Prep students have settled back into the routines of school life and have enjoyed many special events such as NAIDOC day.

This term in English, we are continuing to develop our knowledge of letter sounds and use these to inform our writing and reading. We are also exploring fairy tales; our favourite is Jack and the Beanstalk. We are growing our maths knowledge this term by exploring ‘friends of ten’ and ‘rainbow facts’. During our religion lessons, Prep has investigated the ways people apply Jesus’ teaching to life in modern times. Our class was also invited to perform the ‘Our Father’ prayer song at the Catholic Education Week prayer celebration.

We are also thrilled to announce that our ‘Farm Life Banner’ won 1^st prize at the Rockhampton show.  Congratulations to all of the Prep students who contributed to the collaborative art piece.

National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence (NDA)

In 2023, the National Day of Action against Bullying & Violence (NDA) will be Friday, 18 August. It is open to all government, Catholic and independent schools around Australia.  

At St Joseph’s Park Avenue, we will wear orange or kindness shirts in Week 6 on Thursday, 17 August, to support this day. Students will take part in themed activities throughout the week.

This is not a fundraiser but a day to create awareness and promote kindness. The NDA theme for 2023 is 'growing connections'. This theme supports research findings that strong school community connections and social skills are protective factors in the prevention of bullying and help enable positive, help-seeking behaviors in students.

Brooke Black
Pastoral Support and Wellbeing

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Congratulations to the following students and staff who will celebrate their birthday this week.  They are: Ruby J (P), Harrison B (4), Liam Z (6), Temujin W (P), Delany A (6), Alyssah P (3), Mrs Gabriel (Yr 3), Chelsea Holden (OSHC) and Mrs Senini (APC).

Have a great day.

TOUCH FOOTBALL

Touch Football Development Session Thursday 3rd of August and Thursday 10th of August, 3pm till 4.15pm, Please bring a hat and water bottle. 

We have arranged for Jayden Benbow from Queensland Touch to conduct  2 Touch Football Development Session for any children interested. This session is aimed at different skills and is free to attend.  The first Session will focus on Ball Skills and the second session will focus on Movements Patterns.  

DRAKES SUPA IGA

Drakes Fundraiser for St. Joseph's Cathedral

I thank you for your support of this project which has raised over $40,000, of which the school community has played an important role.  Please continue to support the Cathedral by shopping at DRAKES using your key tag and receiving the benefits.

If you have not been part of this fundraiser you are invited to get a key tag from your local School or Church and shop at your local Drakes, one cent in every dollar you spend will go to the Cathedral.  No Fuss, only benefits.

Hoping to see you at Drakes 
Stay Safe

Shirley Hopkins,
Co-ordinator, Drakes Fundraiser for St Joseph's Cathedral