9 November 2016

Newsletter Articles

FROM THE ACTING PRINCIPAL

Schools and families are reporting increasing incidents of problematic sexual behaviours by children. Sometimes these behaviours are between same age peers and can involve very young children such as Prep and Year 1 children. These behaviours can indicate a child has been harmed but sometimes we cannot understand how they have learnt these behaviours - although wonder about the impacts of our increasingly sexualized world and the role of media.

At St Joseph’s we take child protection very seriously. Some of the ways we attempt to reduce the risk of any inappropriate behaviours at school (including sexual behaviour) are to have clear school rules, policies and expectations of children’s behaviour and particularly around use of toilets. We also have an annual visibility audit to try and identify areas at school where inappropriate behaviour may occur. As you also know all children at St Joseph’s participate in the Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum.

However it is very important that at home you also talk to your child to reinforce the protective behaviours messages. It is also important to monitor your children’s use of technology and be aware of media and advertising content that they may be exposed to.

To assist you to have these on-going conversations with your children, this is a link to further material from the Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum that may help you with talking to your child.

There are also some additional resources that discusses age appropriate sexual behaviour including the Traffic Lights model Traffic Lights and from “Stop it Now”. There are also a number of age appropriate story books that you can read with your children.

If you would like further information please contact myself, Acting School Principal Mr Bernard Fitzgerald or our school Counsellor Mrs Camelia Perkins who can provide you with further advice and resources.

Last Friday night the 5 Star Club generously presented the Joeys community with a cheque for $1500. The work done by this organisation over the years and the positive impact it has had on our community has been truly wonderful. We appreciate the support from the 5 Star Club. They are true legends.

I would also like to take the opportunity to thank both the P&F and the School Board for the fantastic effort they have put into the school community over the past year. On behalf of the school, I would like to express our appreciation of the effort our P&F Association and School Board dedicate to the service of others. They are indeed Good Shepherds.

With this being the last week of swimming, I would also like to thank Mr George Hunt for driving the bus for 8 of the days of swimming & Michelle Brook for picking up a day at short notice. The generous actions of these two community members have saved our school thousands of dollars in bus hire and allowed us to keep our five-week swimming program so affordable.

Please also take the time to peruse the Fee Discounts – 2017 Initiative insert from the Diocesan Catholic Education Office that has been included as an attachment in this newsletter.

Don’t Forget …

* Fri 11/11 - Remembrance Day.
* Wed 16/11 - Swimming Carnival.
* Thur 17/11 - Emmaus Year 6 Orientation Day
* Mon 21/11 - Year 5 & 6 PDE talks
* Thur 24/11 - Presentation Night

I hope you have a great week.

Regards
Bernard Fitzgerald
St. Joseph’s PA Acting Principal

APRE REFLECTION

This year 11 November marks the 98th anniversary of the Armistice (suspension of fighting) which ended the First World War (1914–18). After the end of the Second World War, the Australian and British governments changed the name to Remembrance Day. Each year on this day Australians observe one minute’s silence at 11 am, in memory of those who died or suffered in all wars and armed conflicts.

LEST WE FORGET.

Regards
Bernadette Brennan
St. Joseph’s PA Acting APRE

RELIGIOUS MATTERS

4M Prayer Assembly

This Friday the students from 4M will be leading us in our Remembrance Day ceremony. To commemorate this day the prayer assembly will be commencing at 10:40am in the multi-purpose area. Everyone is welcome to join us in memory of those who died or suffered in all wars and armed conflicts.

‘Vinnie’s Christmas Hampers – Term 4 Joeys Giving Plan

We are continuing to collect items for the ‘Joey’s Christmas Hamper Appeal’ over the next couple of weeks. Families are asked to donate an item each week to their child’s classroom hamper where possible. To ensure the St Vincent DePaul Society have ample time to distribute the items, please ensure the goods have an expiry date that would reach into early 2017. This appeal is potentially life changing and our support in previous years has been tremendous.

If you are able, please contribute to this worthwhile cause.

PRESENTATION NIGHT

This year our Presentation Night will be Thursday 24th November and the theme is Carols by Candlelight. The school has purchased coloured LED candles for the evening. These can be purchased for $3 from each student’s classroom teacher. The candles will be labelled and given out to the students on the night.

Please be aware that we should not have naked flames or torches at the event.

SAVE THE DATE – Final Children’s Mass for 2016

Our final Children’s Mass with the Our Lady Help of Christians Parish will be held next week on Saturday the 19th of November. It would be lovely to have as many of the Joey’s community come along to celebrate. It would be especially great to have as many of our Year 6 students as possible as it will be their last parish mass as St Joseph’s Park Avenue students. Hope to see you there.

Peer Support – ‘Moving Forward - Resilience’ 7th Session

This week we further develop the range of strategies we can use in challenging situations. This session focuses on step 3 of the model, Proceed. In order to learn from situations and move forward children need to go beyond thinking of strategies and action them. Children recognise despite the use of a range of strategies, sometimes they cannot change the situation. At these times, it is important to accept the situation and move forward with a positive outlook.

Encourage your child to follow through with strategies they have discussed and planned to use. It is important to then help them evaluate if this has worked or if they need to try a different strategy.

Regards
Bernadette Brennan
St. Joseph’s PA Acting APRE

SPORTING MATTERS

2016 Swimming Carnival

This is the last week of swimming lessons. The swim program concludes next week with the annual St Joseph’s Park Avenue swimming carnival which will be held on Wednesday, the 16th of November at the Southside Pool.

The carnival will be held in the evening, commencing at 5:30pm sharp with the Prep races and finish at approximately 8:00pm. As it may be a late night for some of our younger students, age championship medallions will be presented in the MPA at 8:35am on Friday morning in front of the entire school. This presentation cannot go ahead Thursday as previously stated because we have now been informed the majority Year 6 students will be attending their Emmaus Orientation Day.

Regards
Bernadette Brennan
St. Joseph’s PA Acting APRE

CURRICULUM NEWS

BOOKLISTS

2017 Booklists will be sent home this week. Please check with your child that they have received it. Once again Capricorn Educational Resources (CER) in Alexandra Street has offered to give a generous amount of money back to the school when Joey’s parents purchase their school supplies from them. Of course you are able to purchase your child’s supplies from wherever you wish, however I have worked closely with the ladies from CER and they guarantee supply of the correct equipment. Teachers put a significant amount of thought and time into developing the booklists so I ask that you provide your child with all the equipment listed. If purchasing from CER you are welcome to drop your order into school before the end of Term or take it directly to CER.

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 – Check for Understanding

This strategy teaches children to stop frequently and check or monitor whether they understand what they are reading. This is typically a quick summary of what they’ve read, starting with who and what.

Spelling:

Strategy – Across and Down Words: Write each of your spelling words across and then down. See the example below.

Example:

FAST
A
S
T

Regards,
Deanne Senini
Assistant Principal Curriculum

FINANCE NEWS

TERM 4 FEES were due on Tuesday 25th October

Fee Accounts for Term 4 were due for payment on Tuesday 25th October.

If your account remains unpaid, these are now Overdue.

If paying by Direct Deposit, please use your Account Number (6 digit number on your Fee Statement) as the reference.

If you are unable to settle your account, your immediate contact with either Bernard or Megan is requested to advise when the account will be settled.

2017 Confirmation of Enrolment forms (Orange) were sent home earlier this week with the eldest in the family. If your form has not made it home, another can be collected from the office or by opening the attachment below.

These details are used to calculate the discount you are eligible for if you have other students at St Joseph’s (same family) or attending other primary and secondary schools in the Diocese in 2017.

If this form is not returned, the school will be unable to incorporate discounts you may be eligible for and also unable to backdate discounts.

ALL Forms (even if you only have 1 child in the Diocese next year) MUST be returned by

MONDAY 21st November, 2016

CLASSROOM NEWS

Year 5

In Year Five this term for Geography we have been learning about catastrophes, like cyclones and tsunamis, and how big and severe they are.

We have learned that the tsunami in Indonesia had a magnitude of 9.1, that the thickness of the inner core of the earth is 1,367 km thick and that cyclones can range in size. We also found out the dates and names of many cyclones and learned about the structural damage they can cause. We have learned that there are one to five bushfires in Australia each day and the fact that there have even been natural disasters that have affected Rockhampton.

Maths

In Mathematics we have been planning and designing our dream houses. We designed our houses in our maths books and then used a website to transfer our house from our book to our computers. Before we transferred our house plans, we had to work out the perimeter and find out the area for our houses, otherwise we would not have known the prices for our skirting boards and flooring.

H.A.S.S

In HASS we have had to work through a number of tasks to equal 20 points. There were seven categories we could work through, Verbal, Mathematical, Visual/Spatial, Kinaesthetic, Musical, Interpersonal and Intrapersonal. Different activities were worth different amounts of points. Knowing=1 point, Understanding = 2 points, Applying = 3 points, Analysing = 4 points, Creating = 5 points and Evaluating = 6 points.

Some students have been creating and building volcanos and dioramas. Others have been writing songs or finding well-known tunes and performing them.

Science

Earlier on this term our assignment for Science was to make a board/video game about matter. The goal of this assignment was to teach people about solids, liquids, gases and plasma. Most people in the class made a board game but some made theirs on Tynker, a coding program for kids.

Leadership Speeches

Students in Year Five are currently working hard at creating speeches for different leadership positions. The leadership positions include Sports Captains and Student Councillors. There are six Sports Captains in total and six Student Councillors in total. The Year Fours and Fives will be the voters for our leadership positions.

Written by Curtis, Calan, Megan, Tyler and Bryce.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Congratulations to the following students and staff who will celebrate their birthday this week. They are: Brock Rowley (4H), Emma Harkin (6Br), Riley Slater (3A), Claire Farrow (3T), Trinity Jones (PW) & Mrs Crosthwaite (office – for Tuesday). Have a great day.

NATIONAL DISABILITY INSURANCE SCHEME

Do you know of someone who has a diagnosed disability? If the answer is YES then PLEASE READ THIS….

The NDIS supports people with a permanent and significant disability that affects their ability to take part in everyday activities. This scheme is currently being trailed in Queensland.

The scheme is designed to identify supports to help individuals

• Live their life as independently as possible.
• Achieve goals in education, employment, health and wellbeing.

It also focuses on early intervention where getting early supports can reduce the impact of disability on you or your child. PLEASE READ the attached flyer and attend this session if you are able. Other information and sessions are happening regularly and if you are unsure about whether or not you should attend or have any questions in general please ask and I can point you in the right direction.

Dates: 6th December 2016
Location: CPL Centre 39 Macaree St North Rockhampton
Time: 9:30.00am – 12.30pm
Register Now – Reserve a seat Places are limited

Thanks,
Kath Howell (Learning Support Coordinator)

CASSEROLE CLUB

We are in need of some frozen meals for our Casserole Club. These meals can be Stews/casseroles, mild curries, Spaghetti Bolognese, etc – whatever can be made, frozen, defrosted and heated.

We distribute these meals to families who are finding things a little tough from time to time. And as little as a frozen meal for dinner goes a long way. If you could help us out, please see Sue in the Tuckshop for some containers for the meals to go in. We do ask that you put the name of the meal and the date that it was cooked on the lid. Your help is greatly appreciated by all who receive.

Thank you

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. Sue Clarke 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
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.

Extra Opening Hours

Shellie Harkin will be opening the Uniform Shop on the following dates from 5pm – 6pm. Monday 21st November, Tuesday 22nd November, Monday 28th November and Tuesday 17th January 2017.

Shellie will also open from 9am – 11am on Thursday 19th January, 2017

FRIDAY PIZZA

Meatlovers 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

A NIGHT OF WINE AND ART

On Friday night the 25th of November at The Cathedral College Assembly Hall, the AZAR Dementia Unit invites you to A Night of Wine & Art. Tickets are $20 each and can be purchased by calling Debbie on 0432 350 486 or Louise on 429 518 483. For more information, please see attached flyer.

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC IN 2017

Are you wanting your child to learn a musical instrument in 2017? Enrolments have now opened!

All interested students can pick up an information note at their school office. Copies of these forms are also available at the link below. There is also an option to enrol online – just follow the link on the above webpage. Students currently enrolled in 2016 will receive their note in their instrumental music lesson in the next two weeks.

New and existing students must enrol for 2017 and a $10 enrolment fee is payable at time of enrolment, either in a sealed envelope with the child’s name and INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC, or directly to Emmaus College (either campus).

Enrolment forms will not be accepted at your school’s office after Week 7 – all enrolments after this time must be online, or handed to Reception at Emmaus College, Yaamba Rd campus.

Any queries can be directed to Alexia Lally at Emmaus College (Yaamba Road) - Alexia_Lally@emmaus.qld.edu.au.