14 November 2018

Newsletter Articles

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

As you will be aware, we have made some changes to our school office routines in order to continue to ensure the ongoing safety of both our staff and students.

Due to these changes, even though our school office will be open beyond the following times, the school office doors will remain locked until 8:00am in the morning and then again be locked at 3:30pm in the afternoon. If you need to gain access to our school office outside of these times, please knock and someone will let you in.

This however has highlighted a safety concern for our students moving forward. Official times for the duty of care for our students begins at 8:15am in the morning and finishes at 3:20pm in the afternoon. We are increasingly having many students arrive as early as 7:30am in the morning well before a staff member is on duty. If for some reason you need to drop your children off early in the morning, this should be done with a specific arrangement made with the Principal. There should never be a situation where students should arrive at school and be unsupervised before a staff member arrives. Similarly, in the afternoon all students should be picked up by 3 ;20pm in the afternoon. It has been school policy in the past that if your child, regularly, has not been picked up by 3:30pm, they are supposed to be booked into Outside of School Care at the cost to the family. I do not wish to do this as it adds an expense for families, creates a legal issue for OSHC in terms of numbers and staffing. To avoid this situation, beyond the occasional issue that may arise, I ask that you make arrangements for your children to be collected before 3:30pm in the afternoon when the school office should be locked. Thank you for your consideration in this matter.

Please return the purple continued enrolment notes that were sent home last week by this Friday, the 16th as we need to know accurate enrolment numbers for both staffing and resourcing next year.

A huge thanks to the 5 Star Club that operate at the PA Hotel for their generous annual donation to the Joey’s community. Last Friday night, the 5 Star Club again donated $1000 to the school that will go toward school resources for our students.

Thank-you for the wonderful work this generous organisation continues to do in supporting the local Park Avenue area.

Thank-you to all those parents for taking the opportunity to see me about class requests over the last fortnight. I took all requests to the teaching staff yesterday and Class lists for 2019 are now final. Due to the Privacy Act, we will be reviewing how we will be notifying parents about which classroom teacher each student will have in 2019. I must also mention that the posting of class lists in their entirety, as we have done in the past, is no longer recommended at educational institutions due to the Privacy Act. If you need further clarification on this matter please do not hesitate to come and see me through the school office.

I have taken the opportunity to include our school’s new ‘SunSmart and Excessive Heat’ policy that was completed by the school Board. Please take the opportunity to peruse this important safety document and provide me with any appropriate feedback if necessary. The policy will also be available on our new school app this week.

Don’t Forget …

• 2019 booklists sent home, Week 6 – Thursday 15th November
• Children’s Mass, Saturday 17th November @ 6:30pm in OLHC
• Swimming Carnival, Week 7 - Wednesday 21st November
• Emmaus Year 6 Orientation Day, Thursday 22nd November
• Presentation Night, Thursday 29th Nov @ 6:00pm in MPA
• Season C Sport Finishes, Friday 30th November
• Semester 2 Academic Awards Assembly, Monday 3rd Dec @ 8:35am in MPA
• Semester 2 Reports posted to Parent Lounge, Tuesday 4th December
• Year 6 Graduation Mass, Wednesday 5th December @ 6:00pm
• Year 6 Fun Day, Thursday 6th December
• End of Year Mass/2019 Leadership Induction, Friday 7th December 9:00am
• St Joseph’s school office closes for holiday break, Friday 14th December
• St Joseph’s school office reopens for 2019, Monday 21st January
• 2019 School year commences, Tuesday 29th January @ 8:35am

Have a great week.

Regards
Bernard Fitzgerald
St. Joseph’s PA Principal

We have been asked to distribute the following information documents about My Health Records for you to peruse before it comes into effect. Please take the time to read these documents so that you can be fully informed.

APRE REFLECTION

Q. How can a Christian community maintain hope and counteract despair about the future?

Q. How do you demonstrate hopefulness in your life?

@Liturgy Help

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
5.00pm Holy Family
6.30pm Our Lady Help of Christians

Sunday
7.00am St Mary’s
9.00am Holy Family

Bernadette Brennan
APRE

RELIGIOUS MATTERS

What’s happening this Term

Presentation Night

This year our Presentation Night will be Thursday 29th November and the theme is Christmas Party. Classes will be presenting songs and some dance performances during the evening which commences at 6:00pm. Our annual school awards will also be presented throughout this evening.

Final Children’s Mass for 2018

Our final Children’s Mass with the Our Lady Help of Christians Parish will be held this Saturday evening the 17th of November at 6:30pm. 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.

Bernadette Brennan
APRE

SPORTING MATTERS

Swimming Carnival

Our annual swimming carnival will be held next Wednesday 21st at the Southside Pool.

The carnival is commencing at 5:00pm sharp with the Prep races and finishes at approximately 8:00pm. The 25m races will be held first in the short course pool. Following the completion of all 25m races we will commence the 100m and 50m races in the main pool. The program will be completed with the open house relays.

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 Friday morning in front of the entire school.

Friday Sport 16th November

Softball/Teeball

Yr 6 Boys
St Joeys v RGS on 4

Yr 5 Girls
St Joeys 1 Blue v RGS 2 on 1C
St Joeys 2 Maroon v Mr Archer on 2C

Softball/Teeball games are now being played at KELE PARK

All Games commence at 12:30

Cricket

St Joeys 1 Blue v St Joeys 2 Maroon on field 7
St Joeys 3 White v St Joeys 4 Navy on filed 3
St Joeys 5 Gold v Mt Archer on field 5

All games played at Kalka Shades starting at 12:45pm

Basketball

12:15 – 12:55
Tilted Tortoises v Pink Pandas

1:00 – 1:40
Squishy Squids v Raging Rhinos

1:45 – 2:25
Dunking Ducks v Fearless Falcons

Bernadette Brennan
APRE

CURRICULUM NEWS

IMPORTANT CURRICULUM DATES

BOOKLISTS

2019 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 have offered to give a generous amount of money back to the school when Joeys 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.

SEMESTER 2 REPORT CARDS

Semester 2 reports will be available to parents through parent lounge at the close of business on Tuesday 4th December. Report Cards will no longer be printed and sent home to parents - they need to be accessed through your parent lounge account. The link to parent lounge is:

SEMESTER 2 ACADEMIC AWARDS ASSEMBLY

Our normal Monday morning assembly on Monday 3rd December will be dedicated to acknowledging those students who have excelled in their studies throughout Semester 2. The assembly will begin at 8:35am. All parents and friends are welcome to attend.

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 FEE ACCOUNTS NOW OVERDUE

Term 4 Fees were due for payment on Monday 29th October. These are now two weeks overdue and your urgent attention to this matter would be appreciated.

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?

Fee Accounts are now being published to Parent Lounge and will no longer we posted out in hard copy. You will need to Login to Parent Lounge to access your Fee Statement.

Please remember to update your Concession Card if it has expired, as you are unable to get the Concession without a new card being presented.

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

CLASSROOM NEWS

Yr 2

Year 2 Poets

This term we have been looking at a range of poetry in English such as Nursery Rhymes, Alphabet poems and Haiku. Haiku are traditionally written about nature and the seasons and here are some of ours.

Polar bears playing
In the cold snow quietly
With their small babies.
Gabriella Halil

Boiling volcano
Lava erupting, flooding
Steaming down the sides.
William Farr

Honey bee flying
Around all of the flowers
Hides from animals.
Matari Tanner

Winter is icy
There is so much deep thick snow
At the cold Arctic.
Lily McDonald

Giraffe! Tall and free
Reaching for leaves from a tree
Could not touch his knee.
Kyiah Tobin

Silent crocodiles
Camouflaged in deep water
Moving quickly now.
Cairon Smith

Turtles swimming slow
In the cold salty water
Hiding in their shell
Portia Andersen

Lurking silently
In the dark cool tree shadows
Was a striped Tiger.
Quinn Rooney

Soaring eagles are
Swooping to get food to eat
On the high mountains.
Lachlan Applewaite

Boiling hot desert
Waiting for water to come
So it can cool down
Brittney O’Leary

Bears walking slowly
Gracefully down the river
Playing on green grass.
Slater Malone

Falling water off
A big cliff into a pond
It’s a waterfall.
Isabel Harth

Elephants stomping
To the waterhole for drinks
African sunlight.
Mia Bolck

A bird in the sky
Up high, he is soaring fast
Scared to fly so much.
Jordanna Corry

Cat scratching madly
In the front yard on the grass
Around trees at night
Heidi Nembach

Lions relaxing
Feeling the burn if the sun
Rubbing at his mane.
Henry Timms

We hope you have enjoyed reading our poetry.
From Year 2

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Congratulations to the following students who will celebrate their birthday this week. They are: Claire Farrow (Yr 5), Trinity Jones (Yr 2) and Antwan Austin (Yr 5)

Have a great day.

P&F AGM and SWIMMING CARNIVAL

Just to clarify, the notice about the P&F Meeting contained the wrong date. Our AGM and final P&F meeting for the year will be held this coming Tuesday, November 20 at 6pm in the staffroom. Please come along to share in stories, drinks and some nibblies, as we reflect on the year that was. We all hope to see you there, and sorry for the confusion.

On another note, our annual Swimming Carnival is being held next Wednesday 21st November at the Southside Pool. The P&F will again be holding a Sausage Sizzle BBQ for dinner. If you and your family would like a sausage while you watch your kiddies have a swim and some fun, they’ll be available to order at $2 each, with or without onion. Please see the note that was sent home today with your children. All orders must be in by Monday 19th November to avoid missing out.

The P&F will also be needing help to cook and man the BBQ. We all would like the chance to be able to watch our kids swim, so many hands make light work. If you’re able to spare a few minutes in between races to help cook and sort orders, please see or message Amanda Conway up until, and on the night. The P&F greatly appreciates any help.

TUCKSHOP NEWS

As the end of the school years is coming to an end, Tuckshop will be running stock down. At the moment we are running low on Peter’s Ice Blocks, so please take into consideration your child might need to make another choice.

Thanks
Debbie Rooney

VACATION CARE

Please find attached the Dec/Jan Vacation Care Booking form. If you are requiring care for your child/children, please fill in and return to Chelsea ASAP. This booking form has the opening and closing dates for the December/January period.

Thanks

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC IN 2019

Enrolments have now opened for Instrumental Music Tuition in 2019! The following instruments are available: WOODWIND (Grade 4-6) – Flute, Clarinet, Saxophone, PERCUSSION (Grades 4-6), BRASS (Grade 4-6) Trumpet, Trombone, Euphonium, STRINGS (Grades 2-6) - Violin, Viola, Cello, Double Bass, GUITAR (Grades 3-6) and VOICE (Grades P-6).

All interested students can pick up an information note at their school office from the end of Week 6. Copies of these forms and the online enrolment link are also available via the link below.

The information letter and enrolment forms have been emailed home to all instrumental music parents whose children are currently enrolled in the program in 2018 – please email Alexia Lally: Alexia_Lally@emmaus.qld.edu.au, if you have not received this email.

PARENT LOUNGE

Changes to your address, phone number or work phone number can be made in Parent Lounge. Simply log in, go to the Parent Details tab, make your changes, then submit.

SCHOOL BANKING

School banking every Thursday.

Please send your child’s banking book in so they can place it in the grey classroom-banking bag.

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 do not 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 conduct induction sessions in the tuckshop, if you are helping 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 be 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 inside.

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