7 February 2018

Newsletter Articles

FROM THE ACTING PRINCIPAL

During last Friday’s opening school mass, Mrs Brennan revealed our 2018 St Joseph’s theme. The theme focuses on our school motto, ‘Strive for an Ideal.’

After mass I spoke to this theme and surprisingly, many of our students did not know what the word ‘strive’ meant and even less surprisingly what the word ‘ideal’ meant.

I explained that to strive for something meant to work very hard to obtain something, to put in extra effort above and beyond what we are already doing. The word ideal was a little harder to broach, but essentially I told the community, staff, students and parents alike, that we are working towards perfection. We work towards being better each day and even though we will never be perfect, we must strive to become the best person we can possibly be each and every day. I mentioned that as individuals it is sometimes hard to be kind to others that hurt us, but Jesus’ example of forgiveness is our ideal. Sometimes we will be faced with adversity in our work, on the sporting field, in the classroom yet we must develop the resilience, strength and stamina in order to continue to achieve in all fields of our life. We too as a school community must strive to be better in 2018. The official theme reads as follows;

2018
Strive to be kind!
Strive to achieve!
Strive for an ideal!

This week we will also be holding our Parent Information nights. A friendly reminder that we have discouraged students from coming along and playing on the night and have asked that no balls or play equipment is brought along if they have to attend. The night is an excellent opportunity to meet with your child’s teachers and I will also take the opportunity to address some new changes in 2018 surrounding the implementation of St Joseph’s electronic Parent Lounge, improvements to our Academic Reporting schedule and our new Academic Achievement Awards. An updated Parent Handbook will also be available on the night and will also be posted to the official school app for your perusal. I hope to see you there. Parent Information Sessions are:

Wednesday, 7th

• 5:00pm Yr 6 & Yr 3
• 6:00pm Yr 2

Thursday, 8th

• 5:00pm Yr 1 & Yr 4
• 6:00pm Yr 5

Inter-school sport begins this Friday for our 10-12 years’ students with teams taking part in OZ Tag and Football (Soccer) fixtures during Season A. All students have been made aware that representing our school is a privilege not to be taken lightly and much is expected of them in terms of their behaviour and ‘sportspersonship.’

Please ensure all students have a water bottle during these fixtures as the weather has been very hot.

I thank both Fr Marcel and Fr Jomon for presiding over our Opening School Mass last Friday morning. It was wonderful to see so many community members come along and celebrate the official opening to our school year.

With the Lenten season just around the corner, information about both Shrove Tuesday and our Ash Wednesday celebration will be coming home soon. This year we will be joining the parish for an Ash Wednesday mass in OLHC church at 9:00am instead of a liturgy in the MPA that we have had over the last few years. All parents are welcome to attend mass with us.

Thank you to the P&F and other Joey’s community members who gave of their time to host our annual Welcome BBQ last Thursday evening. The event was a wonderful opportunity for staff, students and community members to get together in a slightly less formal setting and get to know each other a bit better.

Finally, please note that our annual Bishop’s In-service Day for staff professional development will be held on Friday the 16th of February (next week). Due to all staff attending this day it is a Pupil Free Day for all Catholic Schools in Rockhampton and the Capricorn Coast, however Outside of School Hours Care will still be operating that day. Thank you in advance for your understanding in this matter.

Don’t Forget …

• Parent Information Nights, Wed 7th & Thurs 8th Feb.
• Season A Inter-School Sport commences, Fri 9th Feb (10-12 years)
• Shrove (Pancake) Tuesday, 13th Feb
• Ash Wednesday whole school mass, 14th Feb @ 9:00am OLHC church
• Bishop’s In-service Day, Fri 16th Feb (Pupil Free Day)

Have a great week.

Regards
Bernard Fitzgerald
St. Joseph’s PA Acting Principal

APRE REFLECTION

Last Friday we celebrated our Opening School Year Mass and welcomed Fr. Marcel Kujur as our newly appointed Parish Priest. The focus of the mass was “light for the world” and refers to each member of the school focusing on our talents and sharing them with others. This year at Joey’s we are calling everyone, staff and students, to set goals and work towards the school theme;

• How can I be someone who shows and shares kindness?
• What am I going to aim for while I’m learning in the classroom, when I’m performing on the stage or playing on the field.
• What is my ideal?

Bernadette Brennan
Acting APRE

RELIGIOUS MATTERS

This Week:

3T Prayer Assembly

This week the children from 3T will be presenting the first prayer assembly for the year. This week the prayer assembly will be in the MPA and commence as soon as possible after the end of lunch bell at 11:30am. All families are welcome to join in these prayer sessions.

Coming up in Week 4:

Pupil Free Day

A reminder that next week, Friday 16th February, is our Bishop’s In-service Day. This is a faith development day for all school staff members in the Rockhampton area and so is a Pupil Free Day for students. This will be hosted at Emmaus College and as such the office will be closed on Friday, 16th.

Next week on Saturday, 17th February we will be celebrating the first of our Children’s Masses for the year. These are always special celebrations in which the children participate in the ministries and we lead the singing with children’s hymns. The Joey’s tradition includes staying on for a cuppa and a catch up after mass. If you are able to join us, please bring a plate to share.

LENTEN SEASON

The Lenten season begins next week, and St. Joseph’s has traditionally celebrated Shrove Tuesday by having pancakes and fruit available from the tuck-shop. To be able to do this, classes will be asked to provide either; pancakes, fruit or margarine and spreads. The pancakes and fruit will be available during ‘Breakfast Club’ for a gold coin donation. Notes will be sent home soon indicating which food your child’s class has been assigned to donate.

This year, the whole school will be attending Ash Wednesday Mass at OLHC church on Wednesday 14th February at 9:00am. Everyone in the school and wider communities is welcome to attend this parish mass.

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

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.

• Basketball – Girls (10-12yrs) - Feb 12 St. Mary’s 4pm-5pm
• Basketball – Boys - Feb 12 St. Mary’s 5pm-6pm
• AFL – Boys (10-12yrs) - Feb 21 RSHS 4pm
• Netball – Girls (10-11 yrs & 10-12yrs) - Feb 22 Emmaus 4pm
• Rugby League – Boys (10, 11 & 12yrs) - Mar 4 RSHS muster 9am – 11am
• Hockey – Boys & Girls (10-12 yrs) - Mar 5 Kalka Shades 4pm – 6pm
• 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 Football – 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.

Friday Inter-School Sport

Inter-school Season A sport commences this Friday 9th February for all children aged 10, 11 and 12 (born 2008, 2007, 2006) The sports we are participating in this year are OZ Tag and soccer. Season A runs through until week 2 of term 2 when the finals are held. Draws will be published in the newsletter and on the Skoolbag App each week.

Students playing in inter-school Soccer are required to have their own socks, boots & shin pads as safety equipment. Children cannot take the field if they are not wearing shin pads and football socks. The school soccer socks are maroon with two or three stripes at the top.

Please ensure children have sufficient sized water bottles to take with them.

If you are spectating and wish to take your child home after their game, it is imperative to let the teacher with the team know.

Have a great week
Bernadette Brennan

Friday Sports

Oz Tag

Boys

SJPA Blue v Allenstown (Field 10 – 1:10)
SJPA Maroon v RGS Red (Field 5 – 12:30)

Girls

SJPA Blue v Frenchville 1 (Field 5 – 1:10)
SJPA Maroon v Mt Archer 3 (Field 2 – 12:30)
SJPA Navy v Mt Archer 2 (Field 9 – 1:10)
SJPA White v RGS Black (Field 6 – 1:50)

Football – Soccer

SJPA White v Frenchville SS 5 (Norbridge Park 2 – 12:40)
SJPA Blue v Frenchville SS 6 (Norbridge Park 2 – 1:35)
SJPA Maroon v Parkhurst SS (RGS – 12:40)
SJPA Navy v St Mary’s Girls (RGS – 1:35)

Bernadette Brennan
Acting APRE

CURRICULUM NEWS

Important Curriculum Dates – Term 1

Parent Information Nights

Our Parent Information Nights will be held this week on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th February. This is an informal evening where the teachers in each year level will present the curriculum they will be covering this year. This evening also allows our teaching staff to discuss expectations and procedures in their particular classrooms as well as school procedures and expectations. A note regarding these nights went home last week.

Start Smart Sessions

During week 4 all students from Year 1 – 6 will be involved in a session on being money smart hosted by the Commonwealth Bank. These sessions were presented last year and the students really enjoyed the experience.

It’s never too early to teach children the value of money. Research indicates that it is crucial to develop financial literacy skills from an early age. The Start Smart Primary program teaches these skills in a way that students can understand and enjoy. It was developed with a panel of leading specialists in primary education, cognitive development, instructional design and financial literacy.

More information about this program can be found at:

ICAS

The University of New South Wales will, once again, be running the International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS) in 2018. These competitions are open to any children in Years 3 to 6, and some of the competitions allow the year 2 children to participate. Those children wishing to be involved can participate in the areas of Digital Technologies, Science, Spelling, Writing, English and Mathematics.

Dates and costs associated with the competitions are as follows:

These competitions are a great way for students in our school to compare their academic achievements against students in other schools around Australia. If you would like more information please visit the UNSW website:

It would be appreciated if anyone wishing to enter any of the competitions could return the permission slip (sent home this week) to the office, along with entry fees by Monday 5th March (beginning of Week 7 - Term 1).

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 at:

LITERACY CORNER

This year as a regular part of the newsletter I will be discussing one reading and one spelling strategy parents can use with their children at home to consolidate what is taught in class.

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 – Use pictures, illustrations and diagrams

Yes, it is ok for children to look at the picture to help them work out a word. It is a common misconception that looking at the picture is ‘cheating’. At Joey’s we actively teach this strategy to the students and encourage them to use the picture to help provide clues to what they are reading.

Illustrations give clues about the meaning of words and text. Paying attention to the pictures may also confirm the meaning of words. Students learn to cross check which means asking themselves: do the pictures match what I think the word means and does it make sense?

Spelling:

At St Joseph’s we teach spelling using a word study approach. Students learn different strategies and rules associated with spelling. They also participate in various activities to help consolidate their learning. Below is a strategy / activity you can do at home to assist your child/ren to master their current spelling pattern.

Strategy – 3D words

Use play dough or clay to sculpt your spelling words. This strategy provides children with another way of seeing their words which will hopefully help them to visualise the words when they are writing.

If there are any curriculum related concerns or questions you may have throughout the year, please don’t hesitate to book a time to discuss these concerns or questions with me.

Regards,
Deanne Senini
Assistant Principal Curriculum

FINANCE NEWS

TERM 1 FEE ACCOUNTS

Fee Accounts for Term 1 were emailed and posted out on Tuesday 30th January.

These are due for payment on Tuesday 13th February.

If you have not received your Fee Statement, please contact Megan for a copy.

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

If you have an outstanding amount and are unable to make any payment, can you please make immediate contact with Bernard or Megan to advise your current situation.

CLASSROOM NEWS

Year 1

We are in Year One

Our students have made a fantastic start to 2018. We are amazed at the wealth of knowledge each and every one of the students bring to the classroom and their curiosity about each other and the world around them. In our classroom, we have been focusing on following routines, rules and working both independently and as part of a group. We are looking forward to a fantastic year ahead filled with faith, learning and new opportunities.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Congratulations to the following students who will celebrate their birthday this week. They are: Mia Bolck (2F), Laine Hockings (4), Zac Wilson (6), Abigail West (4), Mia Duncan ((1H), Grace Lloyd-Jones (4), Amaya Murphy (2J) and Oliver Smith (3T).

Have a great day.

FESTIVAL OF COLOUR – 29TH APRIL 2018

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

As a way of showing our appreciation to our wonderful sponsors, we will be featuring a “Sponsor of the week” in each newsletter up until the week of the fete.

Our first featured Major Sponsor is a family run business from our Joey’s community, Leisure Pools Rockhampton.

Locally operated by the Hallam family, they are one of our Gold Sponsors. Look them up on Facebook by searching “Leisure Pools Rockhampton”, head over to the website below, or call 1300SPLASH as heard on the radio. To find out more about owning that spectacular pool you’ve always dreamed of. Hey, we live in Rockhampton… who hasn’t thought about owning a pool right?

Leisure Pools Rockhampton can make that happen for you, and we are grateful for their continued patronage.

JOEYS COSTUME BANK

St Joeys is looking for unwanted costumes and dress-ups from Prep age to small adult size.

If you have any sitting in storage, we would LOVE to make use of them.

These costumes will be made available to all teachers for use in class related activities, as well as in circumstances where students may not be able to access costumes for school related events (at teacher discretion).

Our aim is to make such events and occasions stress-free and inclusive of all students.

All costume donations can be handed to the Office or Library (please no props such as guns and swords).

Thank you again to our wonderful Joeys community for your generosity!

Michelle Roberts
Library

SCHOOL COUNSELLOR NEWS

Welcome parents/carers to the new school year!

Parenting can be rewarding and sometimes challenging. As an accredited Triple P Primary Care practitioner, I can assist you in a one-to-one format to develop plans to manage behavioural issues (e.g. tantrums, fighting, sharing, swearing etc) and skill development issues (e.g. staying in bed at night, eating independently, toilet training, etc). I can provide 1 to 4 sessions (15-30 minutes each), depending on what would work for you. Sessions can be done in person, over the phone, or as a combination of both.

If the Primary Care style does not suit your circumstances, I’d be happy to provide information around the wide range of Triple P formats available.

Please contact me if you would like to discuss further.

Lisa Hilliard
St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School
(Wednesdays, Thursdays & Fridays)
4922 1906

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.

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