13 September 2017

Newsletter Articles

FROM THE ACTING PRINCIPAL

Well done to both our Year 6 students and staff who put on a wonderful school disco last Thursday evening. It has been over two years since we have held a disco due to the removal of our double block and the lack of a fence to ensure a closed in area. With this in mind we were all a little nervous before Thursday night, but both the leadership of the Year 6 students and the excellent behaviour of our P-5 students made it a wonderful night. Thanks also to the parents and especially Mr Harkin for all of the help that made it such a great event.

This week we farewell Miss Black as she will be travelling around Europe for the first five weeks of Term 4 while taking some well-deserved long service leave. With that I am pleased to announce that Mr Paul Nicholson will be in the Year 6 Flexible Learning Area working with Miss Ferguson during this time. I am sure you will join me in wishing Brooke all the best on her travels and extend a warm welcome to Paul from our Joey’s community.

R U OK? Day is being held nationally on Thursday the 14th of September. Please spend some time this week reaching out to the people around you and ask them if they are OK. As a Catholic community we are always striving to show care and concern for all people. R U OK day is encouraging us to have courageous conversations with those around us to ensure they are alright. We all have many pressures in our daily lives and even though we are quick to offer help, we sometimes are not quick to seek assistance when it is needed. We need to let people know that they are not alone and that there are many people around who care for them. The R U OK site recommends that if you are concerned for somebody’s welfare to follow these four steps to support them.

1. Ask
2. Listen
3. Encourage action
4. Check in

For more information, please visit the R U OK? Official website.

Over the last couple of weeks, we have had some issues surrounding our students and the use of social media. I remind parents that students should be at least 13 years of age to have an Instagram, Snapchat, Musical.ly and other social media accounts. Schools are doing a lot of work educating students about the dangers of inappropriately using social media accounts. Even though much of the use of these social media accounts happens away from the school environment, it unfortunately seems to manifest itself at school when our students again become face to face with each other. The age limits for the use of these accounts are put in place for a good reason as many students may not be socially ready from a maturity perspective for the continual communication, personal criticism and mature references that these accounts afford. I was taken back to hear that a large portion of our Year 6 students have multiple social media accounts, across multiple social media platforms. Please have a chat with your child about this issue and what your expectations are as a parent. Due to student protection issues, I would also ask that there be absolutely no photographs posted by our students that include our St Joseph’s school uniform or posts that refer to our school in any way on student accounts. Thank you for your consideration on this very important matter.

Good luck to both Mrs Brennan and Mr Joyce who will both be taking teams away to compete in inter-school sporting competitions today. Mrs Brennan and our Year 6 touch team will be competing in the Catholic Schools Touch Challenge against Catholic primary schools from Gladstone, Yeppoon, Rockhampton and schools from out west today at the touch fields. Mr Joyce will be taking a number of our students and taking part in the primary schools T20 cricket competition also being held today.

All the best also for our netballers who will travel to the Sunshine Coast this Friday to compete in the Samsung Cup Netball competition. The students have been well prepared by both Mrs Tranberg and Miss Agius and should do our school proud over the holiday break in what is a very prestigious competition. A big thank-you also to Mrs Brennan who has volunteered her time to be our bus driver during this time.

Finally, to all of our families, have a happy and safe holiday break.

Don’t Forget …

• School Board Meeting, Wednesday 13th Sept @ 5:30pm
• Andrew Chinn School Visit & Concert, Thursday 14th Sept
• Free Dress Day, Gold Coin Donation for Operation Christmas Child, Friday 15th Sept
• Samsung Cup Netball, 15th – 17th Sept @ Sunshine Coast
• School recommences for Term 4, Tuesday 3rd of October

Have a great week and I look forward to working with you in Term 4.

Regards
Bernard Fitzgerald
St. Joseph’s PA Acting Principal

After School Care Program.

Our St Joseph’s Outside of School Hours Care runs from Monday-Friday 3-6pm. To seek further information, please contact the OSHC Coordinator from 2-6pm weekdays on 0408703482 or via email at sjpa_oshc@rok.catholic.edu.au.

Our OSHC will also run Vacation Care for the upcoming holidays which will be available Monday-Friday 18-29 September 7.30am-6pm. Bookings welcome from children attending all schools. For further information, please contact Chelsea Holden on 0408 703 482.

We’re asking parents to help identify Australia’s most outstanding teachers and principals!

Please nominate the outstanding principals and teachers you know, so they can get the recognition they deserve.

Please also share this information with your fellow parents and teachers, and encourage them to nominate or apply.

Nominations for the 2018 Commonwealth Bank Teaching Awards are open until October 12.

These prestigious Awards have been created by Schools Plus and the Commonwealth Bank to celebrate and reward excellence in teaching and school leadership.

$45,000 Teaching Fellowship

In 2018, 12 outstanding educators will receive a $45,000 Teaching Fellowship, comprising $30,000 for a project at the Fellow’s school, $10,000 for professional development and a $5,000 study tour to a high-performing education system. The Awards are open to teachers and school leaders from all Australian schools across the Government, Catholic and Independent sectors. To help spread the word about the Awards, check out this toolkit of materials , including posters for school staffrooms, suggested social media posts and a brochure.

Visit the link below for more information or to nominate a great teacher or principal.

This is a great opportunity to acknowledge the inspiring work that goes on in Australian schools!

Bernard Fitzgerald
St. Joseph’s PA Acting Principal

APRE REFLECTION

Our school vision statement suggests ‘we live the Gospel message, in and through a Christian community.’ Our commitment to join the Operation Christmas Child program is congruent with this vision. God’s dream is for a just and fair world. Jesus worked with the poor, outcasts, Samaritans and sinners to decrease the margins in the community and to help the vulnerable. This is the vision, we too at St. Joseph’s Park Avenue, are striving for.

Loving God,
May we always remember that by serving the women, men and children most vulnerable to poverty and injustice, we are loving and serving you. Give us the wisdom to see the structures which create and perpetuate poverty and the passion to make a change.

Have an enjoyable and safe holiday

Mrs. Bernadette Brennan
Acting APRE

RELIGIOUS MATTERS

No Prayer Assembly this Friday

NET Ministries Children’s Mass

On Saturday night we celebrated our Children’s Mass with members of the NET Ministries. The NET team lead all the music and performed the Gospel. Those children who were there enjoyed the experience and got to spend some time with these young evangelists after mass.

Andrew Chinn Concert Tomorrow

Tomorrow, Australian religious songwriter and singer, Andrew Chinn, will be visiting our school to share his songs with our children. Andrew’s songs, such as “These Hands”, “Rainbow” and “An African Blessing” are used in classrooms and liturgies around Australia, New Zealand, USA and Canada. Parents/parishioners are warmly invited to be a part of the celebration of faith and fun. There is no charge for adults. The concert will take place in the multi-purpose area, at 1:35pm. We look forward to seeing you there.

To raise funds for the collecting and shipping of the Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes we will be having a Free Dress Day this Friday. Children are asked to make a donation of a gold coin towards this program. Each box we pack needs ten dollars to cover its journey to the child in need. If you wish to donate more money this can be done through classroom teachers or the office. Together, Joeys can “be the someone to some in need.”

Bernadette Brennan
Acting APRE

Mass times

Weekday

Tuesday 9.00am Holy Family
Wednesday 12.00 Noon St Mary’s
Thursday 8.00am Emmaus College (Yaamba Rd)
Friday 9.00am Our Lady Help of Christians

Weekend

Saturday – Vigil
6.00pm Holy Family
6.00pm Our Lady Help of Christians
Sunday
7.00am St Mary’s
9.00am Holy Family

Bernadette Brennan
Acting APRE

SPORTING MATTERS

Samsung Cup Netball Team

This Friday, 11 of our netballers are heading to the Sunshine Coast to compete for the Samsung Cup over the weekend. Many thanks to Mrs. Tranberg and Miss Agius for their amazing efforts in training this team throughout the year in preparation for this event.

Good Luck Girls!!

Season C Sport

The next season of sport commences on Friday of Week 1, Term 4. The sports we are competing in are softball/teeball, T20 cricket and basketball. All sports are played at the same venues every week.

• Basketball is a round robin intra-school competition run by Mrs. Senini at school
• Softball/Tee-ball is held at Kele Park, Kalare Street, (off Western Street)
• T20 is held at McLeod Park

Softball/Tee-ball players can bring their own mitts and bats if they have them. Otherwise the school has plenty of equipment.

T20 cricket is a modified version of cricket. If players have their own bats, they can bring them to school for approval prior to interschool sport commencing in week one.

Bernadette Brennan
Acting APRE

CURRICULUM NEWS

Woolworth’s Earn and Learn

Once again St Joseph’s has registered to be part of the Woolworth’s Earn and Learn program. Through this program we will be able to get new educational resources for our school.

From Wednesday 26th July to Tuesday 19th September we are collecting Woolworths Earn & Learn Stickers. You will get one Woolworths Earn & Learn Sticker for every $10 spent (excluding liquor, tobacco and gift cards). Place the Woolworths Earn & Learn Sticker onto a Woolworths Earn & Learn Sticker Sheet and when it’s complete, the Sticker Sheet can be dropped into the Collection Box here at the school office.

At the end of the promotion we’ll be able to get some great new equipment. The range is extensive and offers lots of items ideal for our students – including resources for Maths, English, Science and some fantastic fun supplies for Arts & Craft, Sport and for our library. Last year through this program we purchased a variety of maths equipment including a teaching clock for every classroom, some stopwatches and sporting equipment.

You can get a sticker card from any Woolworths Supermarket and we will keep spare ones here in the office if you need an extra one. Please make sure you completely fill the sheet before you return it to school as partly filled sheets are not counted.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy and safe holiday break.

Regards
Deanne Senini
Assistant Principal Curriculum

CLASSROOM NEWS

PREP

It’s been such a busy time in Prep! Prep W led our Father’s Day celebrations with a beautiful prayer assembly followed by a shared morning tea. From all accounts the Dad’s loved their portrait shirts and had a giggle at the answers on their ‘My Dad’ questionnaire.

We also were able to go on our first school excursion. Students were so excited to board the bus and travel across the river to the Pilbeam Theatre to watch the ‘We’re going on a bear Hunt’ production. The show was a wonderful way for students to see the book they have been reading come to life and they loved every minute.

Back in the classroom we became scientists discovering the best materials for creating boats that float. We have planned our designs carefully, made adjustments and this week will test them out! Stay tuned for the results of our creations!

The Prep Team

YEAR 1

A highlight of the term was working on a Mathematical Investigation ‘Ramp Champ’. Students started their engines as they investigated racing a toy car down a ramp. The challenge involved weight, length in metre, measuring and counting. Working in small groups, the students carried out their investigation utilising our outside working space. They tried lots of different problem solving ideas to race their cars to obtain the longest distance possible.

I hope everybody has a well-deserved rest over the break and return to school happy and healthy ready for a busy term 4.

Mrs Ann McCutcheon and Mrs Karen Fox

YEAR 2

YEAR 3

3A

This term has been extremely busy! We have done lots of learning and have enjoyed some special days. Here are some snaps from Science week, Harmony Day, Under 8’s and Book Week.

3T

We have enjoyed lots of variety in our learning this term. We decided to make our classroom more flexible this term by making good choices of whom we sit beside each day and placing our equipment at that desk. We have planted vegetables in our garden and enjoy the outdoor space with our new mat from the P & F. As the term comes to a close we are completing our ‘Design a Town’ projects in HASS.

We loved participating in Harmony day, dressing up for Book Week and tasting Judaic food as part of our Religion unit this term

We hope everyone has a lovely relaxing holiday.
From Mrs Tennyson and the students in 3T.

YEAR 4

Bradley Vasquez – I have loved using Google slides for my HASS Assessment.
Ella Bath – Science has been my favourite thing. Building a package and protecting a biscuit.
Claire Farrow – My favourite thing this term was HASS because I got to learn lots about explorers.
Karlin McKee – In PE I liked being active and running around playing Rugby and kicking the ball.
Joshua Conway – This term Science was my favourite subject. I liked learning how to design a package to protect a biscuit and the different materials we used to protect it.
Nicholas Brook – I have enjoyed the HASS Assessment using the Google slides presentation on Captain James Cook
Oscar Tranberg – In maths I have liked doing Kicking It because it helped me improve my multiplication and my division.
Hannah McCrohon – In religion I liked when we learnt about what books are in the bible.
Nick Thompson - This term I have really enjoyed Science and Technology. We designed and created a package to protect a fragile biscuit. I liked testing my package. My biscuit was protected and didn’t break.
Sarah Clarke - My favourite activity this term was our HASS presentation. I created a slideshow on Willen Janszoon. It has been very interesting looking at life in the 15th and 16th century.
Breanna Gear - I thoroughly enjoyed the visit from the NET team last week. We played games and did actions and sang songs. We also watched them do an act.
Xavier Rooney - I liked doing my HASS assignment and learning about different places around the world. I also enjoyed the visit from the NET team.

YEAR 5

Things we have enjoyed this term in year 5!

Charlie - Challenge cup Grand Final
Chloe & Jayla – Challenge cup Netball was awesome.
Dakotah – Learning about indigenous culture on Harmony Day.
Brenten – Learning about fitness and healthy lifestyles in Health.
Josh – Playing interschool sport and representing school for Capras Cup.
Harrison – creating a working water wheel for Science Week.
Nicholas – Choosing assessment from Matrix for Science.
Ashley – learning about programming robots in technology.
Mercedez – Creating imovies.
Tendi – PE lessons.
Braydon – Interschool Athletics carnival.
Shari – Learning about Natural disasters.
Chloe – learning about and writing biographies.
Jayla – learning about the solar System in Science.
Leo – Using a matrix to select assessment for Science and HASS & learning about graffiti and street art.
Sienna – Learning about the galaxies in space.
Blake – learning about tsunamis.
Isobella – Learning about astronomy.
Callum – programming Mrs Tranberg (robot) to make Jam Sandwiches in an unplugged Technology lesson, so funny.
William – School Disco
Bella - Going to Samsung Cup for Netball

YEAR 6

This term we held the first disco in a couple of years. Mr Fitzgerald made sure we were prepared with a dance session. The disco was a great success and we had a terrific time. We look forward to our next one.

Here is a clip of us practicing our dance moves. Movie courtesy of Bryce.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Congratulations to the following staff and students who will celebrate their birthday this week and over the holidays. They are: Xavier Boswood (PM), Savannah Austin (4W), Nicholas Thompson (4W), Cooper Kane (4J), Kobe Hannah (2F), Paige Barron (2F), Mia Cruickshank (1M), Chace Da Silva (3A), Dylan Neden (5T), Dominic Whiting (2H), Layla Whittaker (1M), Logan McDonald (4W), Karlin McKee (4W), Oscar Tranberg (4J), William Farr (1M), Xavier Rooney (4J), Sarah Marlin (4W), Cooper McCrohon (2H), Anikah Savage (2H), Alivia Muir (PW), Linkin Richardson-Burge (3A), Finn Wyatt (PW), Isabelle Barber (3A), Abraham Hunt (4W), Hayden Hamilton (4J), Harper Cook (PW), Nate Barron (5C), Miss Foster (Y5), Miss Giles (Indigenous Liaison Officer) and Mr Barker.

Have a great day.

FINANCE NEWS

Fee Accounts for Term 3 were due for payment on Monday 7th August.

If your account remains unpaid, these are now extremely Overdue.

Your immediate attention to this matter would be appreciated.

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.

TOUCH NEWS

‘THANK YOU’ to Joeys Touch Football Coaches, Managers and Sponsors.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the coaches and managers for their commitment to the Joeys junior touch football teams.

Please note:

No Games - Saturdays 23rd or 30th September and will recommence the following week.

Huge thank you to following businesses for their kind sponsorship to purchase more touch shirts, these are in production and hopefully will be ready for the start of touch fixtures after the holidays.

Thank You
Kerrie Tennyson

VACATION CARE

Please find attached the Program and Booking Form for Vacation Care these coming Holidays.

If you would like to know more about Vacation Care, please call Chelsea on 0408 703 482.

TUCKSHOP NEWS

Fandangle ice-creams will no longer be available from the tuckshop, they have been replaced with Billabong ice-creams. We have chocolate and rainbow flavours. The price will remain the same as Fandangles ($1.50). Thanks

INTERSCHOOL GYMKHANA 2017

Please see the attached flyer for all information regarding the up and coming Interschool Gymkhana. If your child/ren ride and would like to compete in this competition (which St Joey’s have won the past six years), please see Kath Howell.

SCHOOL BANKING

If you are wanting to start school banking but are unsure of what to do, pop in to the office and we can help you out.

School banking is done thru the school every Thursday.

LOST PROPERTY

The lost property is starting to mount up. If your child/ren are missing their jumper or school jacket, lunch box, water bottle or hat, this is where it could be.

At the end of the term, all unnamed items will be discarded or donated to the Uniform Shop.

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, and on Tuesday afternoons from 2:30pm - 3:00pm. Sue Clarke will also be conducting induction sessions in the tuckshop, if you are helping out in there.

Thanks

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 any uniforms you no longer need so they can put out to sell. Proceeds can go back to you or you can donate it back to the P & F.

The Uniform Shop has quite a lot of good second hand uniforms. Please feel free to pop in (at the opening times above), and have a look.

There are second had Emmaus uniforms also.

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)
• Emu Park

TENNIS

Beak’s Tennis Holiday Programs and Term 4 coaching spaces available, call 0419 026 963 or message us on Facebook for more information