1 June 2016

Newsletter Articles

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

This week in Australia we celebrate Reconciliation Week. While transforming our society into one of equity for all peoples should be an 'everyday occurrence', during this week in particular we should take time to pause to consider where we've come from, who we are and where we are going as a nation. Importantly, what can I do to help get us there?

Reconciliation must live in the hearts, minds and actions of all Australians as we move forward, in the knowledge that we believe in fairness for everyone, that our diversity makes us richer, and that together, we are stronger.

(Reconciliation Australia)

Reconciliation Week 2016

Last Wednesday afternoon the staff were engaged in a professional development session focusing on religious education and I would like to thank Mrs Gail Davis for giving of her time and expertise to run the 3 hour session with the staff.

Similarly my thanks to all of the parents, volunteers, helpers and teachers for their organisation, planning and assistance with our Joeys Under 8s Day last Thursday. This is a day that the students always enjoy.

An important reminder that next Monday evening, 6th June, there will be a parent workshop aimed to assist parents in identifying signs and developing skills to help students who may be dealing with anxiety - both in their school and home life. This is a significant and growing area of concern with many children and I would encourage you to come along if you are interested in this topic. The workshop will run from 7.30-9.00pm at the Kevin Castles Centre (Cnr West and Denham St). A similar session is being offered for staff in the afternoon. Please view the flyer in the left menu for more details.

Please note that, due to a couple of logistical issues, the planned Yr 6 'Car Wash' that was initially scheduled for this Saturday, 4th June has been postponed to a date to be determined.

Also happening next week is our June P&F meeting. At the request of parents, the day and time for the meeting has been changed in an attempt to allow more parents to attend. Importantly our meeting will take place on Wednesday, 8th June and will commence at the earlier time of 5.30pm.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Don't forget ….

• Mon 6/6 - Athletics: Field Events @ School;
  - Parent Workshop on Anxiety: 7.30pm;
• Tue 7/6 - Athletics: Track Events @ Emmaus;
• Wed 8/6 - P&F Meeting @ 5.30pm

Have a great week!
Alan

APRE REFLECTION

A Prayer for the Journey of Healing

Almighty and loving God, you who created all people in your image,
Lead us to seek your compassion as we listen to the stories of our past.
You gave your only Son, Jesus, who died and rose again so that sins will be forgiven.
We place before you the pain and anguish of dispossession of land, language, lore, culture and family kinship that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have experienced.
We live in faith that all people will rise from the depths of despair and hopelessness.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families have endured the pain and loss of loved ones, through the separation of children from their families.
We are sorry and ask Your forgiveness.
Touch the hearts of the broken, homeless and inflicted and heal their spirits.
In your mercy and compassion walk with us as we continue our journey of healing to create a future that is just and equitable.
Lord, you are our hope. Amen

By the National and Torres Strait Islander Ecumenical Commission (www.ncca.org.au/natsiec) Used with permission.

Have a great week.

Regards
Bernard Fitzgerald
St. Joseph's PA APRE

RELIGIOUS MATTERS

Prayer Assembly

3A will be leading us in Prayer this Friday at 11:40am in Our Lady Help of Christians Church. The Year Threes will be focusing on how we can make a positive difference to the world around us by respecting others in what we do and say. This fits in very well with our Joey's theme this year, 'How can we be Good Shepherds'.

All are welcome to attend.

Hope to see you there.

Regards
Bernard Fitzgerald
St. Joseph's PA APRE

SPORTING MATTERS

ST JOSEPH'S PARK AVENUE 2016 ATHLETICS CARNIVAL

Monday the 6th and Tuesday the 7th of June are the dates for the running of our annual St. Joseph's athletics carnival for 2016.

Monday 6th June – Field Events

Field events will be held at school on the Monday for all of our 9 – 12 year old students who qualified in high jump, long jump and shot put as well as ball games practice as we have been preparing the children for these events during P.E. lessons.

The rotation of activities will begin as soon as possible after the normal 8.35am bell, as such there will be no Monday morning assembly.

Students will need to be dressed in their normal school sports uniform including shoes and socks as well as their school hat. As we will be in the sun for a great portion of the day, each student will require sunscreen and a water bottle.

Students will need to have lunch as per normal on this day.

Ribbons for the day's events will be handed out in the Multi-Purpose Area at 2:45pm.

Tuesday 7th June – Track Events

Track events such as our 800m, 200m, relays and sprint events will be held on the Tuesday at Emmaus College's Yaamba Road campus, also known as Brosnan Oval. Students will need to be dropped off at this venue by 8.30am for the official carnival opening at 8.45am as there will be no buses provided from school.

Students will need to be dressed in their normal school sports uniform or may wish to support their sporting house by wearing a coloured shirt with their normal school shorts, school hat, shoes and socks. Please ensure all items of clothing are clearly labelled. House colours are; Daly – green, MacKillop – yellow, Leahy – red.

Children will be required to bring along their own lunch unless they have pre-ordered lunch through the school. Water bottles should be frozen the night before and can be refilled by the students during the day from the available water stations.

We ask that your child has applied sunscreen before they arrive at the venue on Tuesday, while also bringing sunscreen so that it can be re-applied every 2-3 hours.

Fluro zinc is not to be applied to students before or at the carnival.

The carnival presentation of trophies will be held at 2.15pm with students being able to be collected at the venue at 2.30pm.

Regards
Bernard Fitzgerald
St. Joseph's Park Avenue APRE

Friday Sport 03/06/2016

Netball

SNR B 12:30
St Joseph's PA v Crescent Lagoon Red on court 5

SNR C 1:10
St Joseph's PA v Parkhurst on court 6

SNR D 12:30
St Joseph's PA v St Pauls on court 7

JNR C 12:30
St Joseph's PA v Allenstown on court 8

JNR D 1:50
St Joseph's PA v Glenmore on court 10

All Netball games played at Jardine Park

Hockey

1:20
St Joseph's PA 1 v St Anthony's 1 on Turf 4

1:00
St Joseph's PA 2 v St Joseph's Wandal 5 on Turf 4

1:20
St Joseph's PA 3 v St Anthony's 3 on Grass 1

2:00
St Joseph's PA 1 v St Mary's 2 on Grass 1

1:40
St Joseph's PA 2 v St Joseph's Wandal 1 on Turf 4

2:00
St Joseph's PA 3 v Heights 2 on Grass 2

All Hockey games played at Kalka Shades

Rugby League

6A 12:45pm
St Joseph's PA v St Anthony's @ Colts

5A 1:45
St Joseph's PA v Frenchville @ Victoria Park Top

5C 12:45
St Joseph's PA v RGS @ Victoria Park Top

All students will be required to wear a wide brimmed school hat and it is advisable to have a frozen water bottle each week.

CURRICULUM NEWS

Important Curriculum Dates

UNDER 8s

Last Thursday was our annual Under 8s Day celebration. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the children for their enthusiasm and positive behaviour throughout the day. I would also like to thank everyone who helped out in anyway throughout the day. A special thanks to our P&F who provided the sausages and ice blocks and for preparing and cooking the food on the day. I would also like to thank the Queensland Ambulance Service for providing a car and two officers to talk to the students throughout the morning. Thank you to Mr Fitzgerald for setting up tents and running the dance session on what was a very busy day for him. I would also like to thank the teachers who put a lot of thought and effort into preparing and running engaging activities for our younger students. All the students seemed to really enjoy the day.

HASS

The introduction of the Australian Curriculum has brought with it many changes to the subjects taught at school. One of these recent changes is to do with the subjects of History and Geography. Previously these have been stand-alone subjects. They are still separate subjects however they have been joined with the new subjects of Civics and Citizenship (years 3-6) and Economics and Business (years 5 and 6) in a combined Learning Area called Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS). On this semester's report card you will see the learning area of HASS which will consist of a combined mark for History, Geography, Civics and Citizenship (years 3-6) and Economics and Business (years 5 and 6).

LITERACY CORNER

Reading:

Learning to read involves children learning skills in comprehension, fluency, accuracy and expanding on their known vocabulary. This week's skill comes under the heading of comprehension.

Strategy – Use Prior Knowledge to Connect with Text

Readers bring information from what they already know or what they have read before about a topic and connect it with what they are reading to increase their understanding of the text and to remember what they have read. Using prior knowledge can help students connect their own experiences with the text to better understand and make sense of what they are reading.

Spelling:

Strategy: Rhyming words

Write each of your spelling words. Next to each word write a rhyming word. It's ok to use a nonsense word if you can't think of a rhyming word. This strategy reinforces the spelling pattern the student is studying.

Eg cat, bat – reinforces the at word family

Regards,
Deanne Senini
Assistant Principal Curriculum

CLASSROOM NEWS

Yr 4

This term is flying by and we have been super busy in Year 4. In Science we have been working on a unit called Friends or Foe. So far we have learnt about the lifecycle of a tomato plant, dissected a flower to investigate the different parts and are now starting to learn about the different ways that the flowers can be pollinated. In Geography we have been researching South America and Africa and are learning various facts about the different countries in these continents. As the term starts to draw to a close the Athletics Carnival is just around the corner along with 4H's Prayer assembly in Week 10. We hope to see you all there.

The Year Four Team.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Congratulations to the following students who will celebrate their birthday this week. They are: Eli Cory (1N), Chloe Bragg (1M), Kayla McMillan-Falge (6Bl), Amelia Horton (1M), Scarlett Horton (1M), Cassius Austin (PM), Ava Tranberg (1N), Luke Burnham (5C), Lachlan Davies (6Br), Joshua Harkin (4M) and Henry Timms (PM)

Have a great day.

JOEY'S CAR WASH - POSTPONED

The Car Wash that was scheduled for this Saturday has had to be postponed. We will let you know when another day is available. Thanks

YR 7 2017

Emmaus College is finalising enrolments for Year 7 2017. Very limited places remain for this intake, please contact the office or visit the link below to access an enrolment package.

VOLUNTEERS INDUCTION SESSIONS

WPH&S Volunteers Inductions are necessary for the safety of your children. Therefore we ask that all parents who generously volunteer their time to the school, either in a classroom or in the tuckshop, attend a very brief induction regarding maintaining a safe environment for the children of St. Joseph's.

These sessions only take about five minutes and are available after assembly on a Monday morning with Deanne Senini, or with Ray Carrington on Thursday afternoons from 1:30pm - 3:30pm. Tracy Wren will also be conducting induction sessions in the tuckshop, if you are helping out in there.

Thanks,
Ray Carrington

UNIFORM SHOP

Our uniform shop is run by VOLUNTEERS of the school and is open

Monday morning from 8:15- 8:45 and
Tuesday afternoon from 2:45 - 3:15
Friday morning 8:15 – 8:45

Please feel free to drop by any uniforms you no longer need to sell. Proceeds can go back to you or you can donate it back to the P & F.

FRIDAY PIZZA

Meatlovers, Chicken and Aioli and Hawaiian Pizza are available every Friday for $1.50/slice. Please have your order in a Brown Paper Bag with your name, class and order on it, with the money in side.

Please use a brown paper bag with child's name and class written on the front.

TUCKSHOP IS UNAVAILABLE ON FRIDAYS

DRAKES SUPA IGA

Simply scan your Drakes Supa IGA key tag and the checkout with your groceries, and automatically 1 cent of every dollar you spend goes to the Cathedral Conservation Fund.

Key tags are available from the office, local church or Drakes stores. Put it on your car keys so you remember to use it.

Key tags can be used at any Drakes Supa IGA supermarket in Queensland. Currently in our Diocese Drakes stores are located at

• Glenmore (North Rockhampton) - Gladstone
• Emu Park - Toolooa Street
• Calliope - Sun Valley

EMMAUS COLLEGE ADMIN POSITION