7 March 2018

Newsletter Articles

FROM THE ACTING PRINCIPAL

I realise that early on in the year there can be many fund raising pressures for our Joey’s families and the wider community in general. With Year 6 Easter raffle tickets, Project Compassion, St Pat’s raffle tickets, Fete raffle tickets, Samsung Cup fundraising, Year 6 Camp costs and school fee payments just to name a few, I realise that things can become very tough. I am also very aware that some of the timing for these causes is unavoidable due to the timing of certain events. I assure all of our families that I am aware of these pressures and will work to ensure that our future fund raising be a little more moderate and spread out for the rest of the year.

On the weekend we welcomed the NET Team to the North Rockhampton Parishes with a sausage sizzle after mass on Saturday evening. The National Evangelization Team will be based in North Rockhampton and be active members in the four catholic schools during 2018. The team will be frequenting some of our parish masses as well as our school during various events.

Throughout the year we may hold some free dress days and other small fund raising events to help with sponsorship of the five NET team members, but in light of how much fund raising is currently happening, we would look to address this matter sometime in Term 2. I am sure we will all make the NET team members welcome.

As mentioned last week, the new Right Relationships – Parent Code of Conduct and Parent Grievance Procedures & Guidelines were posted to the School App last week. These documents can be found under the parent info/documents tabs of our skoolbag app. I urge you as parents and caregivers to take the time to familiarise yourself with these important documents. I have also included a link to the Rockhampton Catholic Education site where the documents can also be found.

A Parent Lounge information night with Bernadette Handley from the Catholic Education Office of Rockhampton will be held next Wednesday, March the 14th at 6:00pm in the MPA. Bernadette has a wealth of knowledge in regards to Parent Lounge and will be coming in to show everyone how to make best use of it’s many features and to answer any questions you may have.

The Parent Lounge tool will now be the primary method in which you will book parent/teacher interview times and access your child’s end of Semester reports. It is also widely used by Emmaus and TCC where the majority of our students attend for their secondary schooling, so getting to know how to use this valuable tool will be essential for your child’s future education.

St Patrick’s Day raffle tickets will need to be returned to our school office, sold or unsold for collection by Tuesday the 13th of March. Proceeds from this event are distributed to all the Catholic schools in the Rockhampton and Capricorn Coast area. Details on where you can purchase tickets as well as other relevant information can be found on the included promotional poster.

A reminder that the P&F Fete committee is currently selling unlimited ride passes for our St Joseph’s Fete in the school office for $25. If you purchase your unlimited ride pass before April 19th you will go into the draw to win your money back.

If you were unable last week, please read the Queensland Parents and Friends Association brochure titled; ‘Parent Engagement In Learning And Wellbeing Fact Sheet,’ and it is well worth a read with some great information included for parents and caregivers.

Don’t Forget …

• Fete Meeting, Wed 7th March @ 3:15pm
• St Pat’s Race Day tickets returned to school office, Tues 13th March
• School Board Meeting, Wed 14th March @ 5:00pm
• Parent Lounge Information Night, Wed 14th March @ 6:00pm
• Sacrament of Penance, Thurs 15th March @ 6:00pm Holy Family Church
• St Joseph’s/Grandparents Day Mass, Fri 16th March @ 9:00am in OLHC Church
• St Pat’s Race Day, Sat March 17th

Have a great week.

Regards
Bernard Fitzgerald
St. Joseph’s PA Acting Principal

APRE REFLECTION

Our Project Compassion classes introduce us to Bayan, this week. Bayan is a 12-year-old Syrian girl, living with her family in Jordan. However, Bayan grew up in Syria’s capital, Damascus. The Syrian conflict turned their lives upside down and they were forced to flee. She struggled to overcome the trauma of growing up in a conflict zone, facing the prospect of missing out on schooling. As their time in Jordan extended, Caritas Australia stepped in to provide vital academic support. Bayan started attending one of Jordan’s Caritas Schools which operates on Saturdays, providing tuition to disadvantaged students. Now, Bayan is an academic high-achiever, flourishing in a stable school environment.

With our help, we can help people gain work and participate in local their communities.

Please donate to Project Compassion boxes in classrooms.

Bernadette Brennan
Acting APRE

RELIGIOUS MATTERS

Year 5 Prayer Assembly

This Friday 9th March, the students in Year 5 will be presenting their prayer assembly about kindness. This prayer celebration will be held in OLHC after first lunch finishes at 11:30am. All members of the school community are welcome to join us.

St Joseph’s Feast Day/Grandparents Day Mass – 16th of March

Our annual St Joseph’s whole school Feast Day Mass followed by our Grandparents Morning Tea will be held next Friday, the 16th of March commencing with the mass in OLHC Church at 9:00am followed by the morning tea in the MPA till 11:00am.

Families are asked to contribute to the morning tea and celebrate this very special day as a whole community.

• eldest children in Grades 3 – 6: plate of sandwiches to share
• eldest children in Prep to Grade 2: plate of biscuits, cakes or other sweets to share.

Hope to see you there.

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

Rockhampton District Selection Trials

Term 1

Below are the Rockhampton and District Trials (RDS) for the following Primary School sports happening in Term 1. If your child has the prerequisite skills and you wish for them to trial in the following sports you can contact me through the school office to obtain the appropriate trial forms. Alternatively, the forms can be downloaded in the Parents Notes section of the Skoolbag App.

• Rugby League –Girls (11-12yrs) Mar 7 Frenchville 4pm – 5:30pm
• Rugby Union – Boys (10-12yrs) Mar 19 Frenchville SS 4pm
• Tennis – Boys & Girls (10-12yrs) Mar 19 Rocky Tennis 9am – 3pm
• Touch F/ball –Boys & Girls (10-12 yrs) Mar 22 Touch Fields 4pm – 6pm

Please be aware that for your child to attend these trials as a 10-year-old student that they would need to be exceptional as they will be competing against students up to 12 years of age.

School Cross Country/Fun Run

We are holding a School Run4Fun for the students as a fundraiser this term so we do ask for your support. The event will be held on 19th April (Week 1 next term). The day’s focus is on fun and fitness with the added benefit of raising funds for our school.

This event will be the trial and selection for the school cross country team that will go on and compete at the RDS trials on 1st May.

It’s all about participation, with students treated to a great day as a reward for their fundraising efforts. Family support is key to our fundraising success and we encourage all students to participate. The more money we raise the more we can provide for the students through vital school projects, in particular interschool team fees, playing uniforms and athletics equipment.

The fundraiser commences in the next two weeks, so keep an eye out for the Sponsorship Form each student will receive to help raise funds for our great school.

Friday Sport

Oz Tag

Boys

St Joey’s Blue v Mt Archer 1 on field 5 at 12:38
St Joey’s Maroon v Allenstown on field 7 at 1:52

Girls

St Joey’s Maroon v St Mary’s 3 on field 5 at 1:15
St Joey’s Blue v RGS White on field 5 at 1:52
St Joey’s Navy v RGS Black on field 10 at 1:52
St Joey’s White v The Hall 2 on field 6 at 1:52

Soccer

Yr 6

St Joey’s Blue v Frenchville SS 6 on field 2 at Norbridge Park @ 1:35
St Joey’s Maroon v Lakes Creek SS at Pilbeam Park @ 1:35

Yr 5

St Joey’s Navy v Lakes Creek SS 5 at Pilbeam Park @ 12:40
St Joey’s White v Frenchville SS 5 on field 2 at Norbridge Park 2 @ 12:40

Bernadette Brennan
Acting APRE

CURRICULUM NEWS

Important Curriculum Dates – Term 1

PARENT LOUNGE INFORMATION SESSION

Beginning in 2018, as a way of moving our school forward in the technology realm and aligning with other schools in the Diocese, we will be implementing Parent Lounge.

Parent Lounge will enable parents to log in to a secure site where they will be able to complete a variety of tasks including:

• Access and print student reports
• Book Official Parent Teacher Interviews
• Update contact details
• Make fee payments
• View student attendance records

To assist parents to learn how to navigate this site we are offering a parent information session on Wednesday, 14th March beginning at 6pm.

Please complete and return the attendance section of the note which went home if you are planning on attending.

Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum

Throughout Semester One, our school will be implementing the Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum with students in all year levels. The curriculum is based on principles of best practice in child safety education and centres around three key messages: Recognise, React and Report. Through a series of lessons, students will learn how to recognise, react and report when they are unsafe or find themselves in situations that can have a significant detrimental effect on their physical, psychological or emotional wellbeing. The Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum links very closely with the Australian Health Curriculum. Therefore, these lessons will be delivered by Miss Tennille Kerrisk as part of our Health Curriculum on a Tuesday and Wednesday. The Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum has been mandated by our Diocese to be actively taught in all of the Rockhampton Catholic schools each year.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this program please don’t hesitate to contact either Miss Kerrisk, Mrs Senini or Mr Fitzgerald.

Information about the Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum can be found below

Capricorn Educational Resources (CER) Donation

I would like to acknowledge our Parent Community for supporting our school by purchasing school supplies from CER. I was presented with the news that Joey’s has over $1300 of store credit to spend at CER on resources for our school. I also thank the ladies from CER for offering this opportunity to our school.

Woolworths Earn and Learn Promotion

This week we received the Earn and Learn maths equipment from the 2017 promotion. We were lucky enough to acquire a significant amount of maths resources which are already being used in classrooms. I thank the school community for supporting this promotion and for Woolworths for this generous donation. Woolworths also dropped in a large box of fresh fruit for the school to enjoy. The children certainly have enjoyed this fruit at breakfast club this week.

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 accuracy.

Strategy – Cross Checking……Do the pictures and /or words look right? Do they sound right? Do they make sense?

Cross Checking is a strategy for ensuring the words (and sometimes pictures) make sense and match the letters on the page. When a word doesn’t make sense in the sentence they cross check the word with the pictures and look at the letters and sounds in the word. This concept is usually used for beginner readers.

Spelling:

Strategy: Definitions

Knowing and understanding the meaning of a word is an essential part of any spelling program. Whether your child looks up the word in a dictionary, asks you for the meaning, draws a picture to illustrate the meaning or writes out the meaning, it is important that they understand what their spelling words mean. They can then confidently use any new words in their speaking and writing.

Regards,
Deanne Senini
Assistant Principal Curriculum

FINANCE NEWS

TERM 1 FEES were due on Tuesday 13th February

Fee Accounts for Term 1 were due for payment on Tuesday 13th February.

If your account remains unpaid, these are now three weeks Overdue and require your urgent attention.

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.

CLASSROOM NEWS

Yr 3T

Term One in 3T

What a great start we have had to the year. We would like to share a few photos of our journey so far –

As part of Technology we designed, created and investigated solar ovens.

We had a great time learning about African culture, animals and drumming techniques.

Mrs Tennyson and the students of 3T.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Congratulations to the following students who will celebrate their birthday this week. They are: Breanna Gear (5), Charlotte Lambert (1H), Noa Barnes (3T), Estelle Hunt (4), Georgia Bubb (6) and Koby Goody (PG).

Have a great day.

YEAR 6 EASTER RAFFLE

As you may have already seen, Yr 6 is holding an Easter Raffle to fundraise for their annual camp. We will be selling tickets in the Multipurpose area in the mornings and in the area outside Yr 1 & 2 of an afternoon. Tickets are $1 each. Please keep in mind that if your parents give you money for Caratas, you need to put that in the Caratas money box in your classroom.

FESTIVAL OF COLOUR – 29TH APRIL 2018 – SAVE THE DATE

Our $25 Unlimited Rides passes have arrived!

The Festival of Colour will be showcasing various rides. These include a Merry-Go-Round, Spinning Cannibal Pots, The Sizzler, a Rock Climbing Wall and 2 Jumping Castles. For $25, you can buy a wrist-band which will give you unlimited rides on the day.

Passes are available for purchase from the office, and the wristbands will be available to pick up at the ride counter on the day. They will available right up until the fete, but be sure to get in early as if it’s left until the day, unlimited ride passes will cost $30 instead. Happy riding!

Sponsors of the week

We would like to extend our sincere thanks to the sponsor for this week, the State Member for Rockhampton Mr Barry O’Rourke, on behalf of the Rockhampton office. Thank you for your generous contribution to the Festival of Colour.

Fete meeting today at 3:15

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC

Are you wanting your child to learn a musical instrument in 2018? Enrolments are still open and there are places available!

Instruments still available to learn include Flute, Percussion, Violin, Viola and Cello.

Further information (and online enrolment) is via the following link:

Alexia Lally
Director of Instrumental Music
Phone: 4923 5782

SCHOOL BANKING

Don’t forget School Banking every Thursday. This is for all students from Prep to Yr 6

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 don’t take long and are available after assembly on a Monday morning with Deanne Senini, and on Wednesday afternoons from 2:30pm - 3:00pm. Debbie Rooney 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 hand 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