29 May 2024

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Welcome to Week 7 of Term 2.

It was great to see so many of our school community come together with the parish to celebrate last Friday’s Our Lady Help of Christians Feast Day Mass and Saturday’s Children’s Mass.  We were also lucky to have Archbishop Charles Balvo’s time in Rockhampton kick-off with his attendance at Mass.  Fr Alex let the congregation know that it is the first time that an Apostolic Nuncio to Australia had visited our church making it a very special event.  Both the Bishop and His Excellency were great with the children.  Well done to those students and their families who took part in the Sacraments of Confirmation and First Eucharist over the last couple of weeks.

Today we celebrate Bishop Michael’s 10^th Anniversary of becoming the Bishop of the Rockhampton Diocese.  Some staff and students attended a special celebration for Bishop Michael today with a special Mass of thanksgiving being held tonight at 5:30pm at St Joseph’s Cathedral. On behalf of the St Joseph’s community, I congratulate Bishop Michael and thank him for his wonderful support for our school and parish.

Tomorrow we will have some special guests to our school with Bishop Michael, Apostolic Nuncio to Australia, Archbishop Charles Balvo, Diocesan Director Miss Leesa Jeffcoat and Assistant Director Schools, Rockhampton Mr Mike Kelso all taking some time visit our Joey’s community as the Archbishop tours around the Diocese with Bishop Michael.

Information on next week’s athletics carnival days should have been sent home earlier this week.  Please look over the information regarding next Monday and Tuesday’s events.

Parents, please find attached Advice #2, developed to inform our Catholic Education families of the new Federal Government Funding model (Gonski model) and the impact on funding for Catholic Schools. Advice #2 outlines State and Federal Government responsibility with non-government school funding and how parent community Capacity to Contribute (CTC) shapes School Fees. Advice #2 illustrates the relationship between the three funding sources in funding 100% of the School Resource Standard (SRS), and importantly explains how the total funding to Catholic Schools operates.

Our St Joseph’s Kindy will be hosting an Open Afternoon on Wednesday the 12^th of June from 3:15pm-5:00pm.  Come meet the dedicated teachers and explore some of the experiences offered in their play-based, approved kindergarten, early learning program.  Please read the included flyer and for more information, please phone the Kindy on 0437 658 756.

Don’t Forget …

• Athletics Field Events Day. (9-12yrs) Mon 3^rd June @ SJPA Oval.
• Athletics Track Events (Whole school) Tues 4^th June @ Emmaus Brosnan Oval.
• Semester 1 Performing Arts Assembly. Mon 10^th June in MPA @ 8:35am.
• Show Holiday. Thurs 13^th
• Children’s Mass. Sat 15^th June in OLHC @ 6:30pm.
• Semester 1 Academic Awards. Mon 17^th June in MPA @ 8:35am.
• Semester 1 Academic Reports posted to Parent Lounge. Wed 19^th
• Under 8’s Day. Thurs 20^th
• Semester 1 Concludes. Fri 21^st

Have a great week.

Regards
Bernard Fitzgerald
Principal
St Joseph’s Catholic School, Park Avenue

St Joseph’s 2024 School Improvement Priorities:

• Christian Virtue – Dignity
• Increased Learning Gain & Achievement
• Learning Dispositions

CURRICULUM NEWS

Chess News

Congratulations to Mr Smith and the two chess teams who participated in the Gardiner Chess Competition last week.  This was the second time we have entered this competition and our results have significantly improved from last year.  Congratulations to Tayte Mooney, Jimmy Farr and Rhyver Maker who all received merit ribbons and well done to the Joey’s Masters team who missed out on third place by just half a point.  The teams represented Joey’s with exemplary behaviour.

Premier’s Reading Challenge

I am delighted to invite all students to join in the 2024 Premier’s Reading Challenge (PRC).

The PRC is not a competition but a way to encourage students to develop a love of reading for life. Students are encouraged to select a range of fiction and non-fiction books suited to their reading ability and record books read during the reading period, from 7 May to 23 August. Attached to the newsletter is a reader record form to tally books read throughout the challenge.

To complete the challenge:

• Prep to Year 2 must read or experience at least 20 books
• Years 3 and 4 must read at least 20 books
• Years 5 to 9 must read at least 15 books.

Experiencing books can include shared reading, listening to stories, or reading picture books. The aim for the 2024 challenge is to encourage students to make time to read. Last year saw more than 110,000 children from around the state participate.

Book suggestions are available on the PRC website: 

Every student who completes the challenge, and returns the completed record reader form, will receive a Certificate of Achievement. I look forward to seeing as many of our students as possible take part in the 2024 Premier’s Reading Challenge.

ICAS

Once again, St Joseph’s will be offering ICAS assessments for students who wish to participate.  ICAS continues to lead the way in international academic competitions. Over 10 million school students from 16,000 schools across 41 countries have been inspired, celebrated and challenged since the annual event began over 40 years ago.

ICAS recognises academic performance in a way others celebrate achievements in sport or the arts. Students can sit up to six literacy and STEM papers including English, Mathematics, Science, Digital Technologies, Writing and Spelling Bee. The questions are engaging and fun and have been designed by psychometricians, education measurement experts and experienced teachers to push students to their academic limits, as well as test higher-order thinking and problem-solving abilities.

More information on these assessments can be found at icasassessments.com

Purchases must be made before Monday, 29^th July
To sign your child up for any of these assessments and to pay for the assessment please log onto the following link and use the below school access code:

Your school access code is: WSO834
Your parent page link is: 

Regards
Deanne Senini
Assistant Principal Curriculum

RELIGIOUS NEWS

Pentecost Sunday
Jesus sends forth the apostles with the promise to be with them always.
Matthew 28:16-20

When we are baptised, it is done in the name of God as Trinity. We are baptised in the name of a God that has relationship and love as the inner core:

‘Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.’

‘Father... ’ Think of your father, your mother, your grandparents. Think of life, think of being created. Think of the times you have been creative and you have formed something out of an idea. This is what our Abba is about. What kind of God is this? Why are we baptised in the name of this God? What does it mean?

‘ ... Son... ’ Think of yourself as a son or a daughter. Think of yourself as a brother or a sister. Think of yourself as a teacher or a student of another. Think of yourself as a friend. This is what Jesus is about. What kind of God is this? Why are we baptised in the name of this God? What does it mean?

‘ ... Holy Spirit.’ Think of holiness. Think of power. Think of energy. Think of goodness. Think of the positive force of doing the right thing just because it’s the right thing to do. Think of the joy that comes to you when you make the right decision. Think of the harmony of all people joining together to be a support to one another.

Think of love. This is what the Holy Spirit is all about. What kind of God is this? Why are we baptised in the name of this God? What does it mean?

@Liturgy Help – by Lisa-Marie Calderone-Stewart

Special guests join SJPA for our Children’s Mass and Sacraments.

We shared a wonderful celebration last Saturday night with children who received the Sacraments of Confirmation and First Eucharist. It was a full church, and the joy of this celebration was felt by us all. Congratulations to all the children who have completed the Sacramental Program this year. We pray you will continue to receive Jesus in the Sacred Eucharist at Mass as often as you can.

It was a great honour to have His Excellency, Archbishop Charles Balvo, the Apostolic Nuncio to Australia, join Bishop Michael and Fr Alex at this Mass.  As the Pope’s representative in Australia, Archbishop Balvo works to continue the unity between the Pope and the Catholic Church in Australia. Like other diplomats, the Apostolic Nuncio also serves to establish and maintain a relationship of mutual understanding between Church and State, for the peace and progress of our nation and peace between different people.

Liturgical Celebrations Coming Up

Elizabeth Carter
Assistant Principal Religious Education

CLASSROOM NEWS

Yr 6

Hi all, where has the time gone this term? Year 6 has been extremely busy and working very hard!

In Religion, we have delved into the Lord’s Prayer to find out what it actually means. We have had Mrs Carter visiting us regularly during Christian meditation to introduce different ways to pray the Lord’s Prayer including exploring the Aboriginal Lord’s Prayer, through images and song. Students have looked at the structure of the Lord’s prayer and have begun to make meaning as to why we say it and when it is said.

In English, the class novel, ‘His Name was Walter’ has been a big hit! Students are eager to sit down each day to read two chapters. They are questioning, predicting and engaging with the storyline, we are so impressed. Students have then been completing multiple assessment tasks based around this, including writing their own opening chapter to a new mystery novel.

The Science Unit was practical and exciting! The students were focussed on chemical reactions where they explored the reactions of various grades of steel wool with vinegar, water and salt to form rust. The classroom then had a slight smell to it for longer than we would have liked!

As we continue to make our way through the final year of primary school, we will endeavour to keep you updated on our successes both educational and personal. The Year 6 classroom is full of fun, laughter and memories we hope they take with them for many years.

My favourite part about Year 6 so far is…

Mason - My favourite part about Year 6 so far is school camp. Canoeing was the best activity.

Ella S - My favourite part of Year 6 are the senior shirts. The design is very cool.

Lilah - My favourite part about Year 6 is being able to be a senior. The coolest part about being a senior is all the little students are looking up to us.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Congratulations to the following students who will celebrate their birthday this week.  They are: Elizabeth G (Yr 5) Oliver M (Yr 2), Harrison M (Yr 3), Elizabeth C (Yr 5) and Rory W (Prep).

Have a great day.

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