13 February 2019

Newsletter Articles

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Over the last week I have been in contact with Marg Murphy’s family in regard to a memorial being held in Rockhampton for those who were unable to attend her funeral in Brisbane last Friday. I am pleased to inform you that Marg’s extended family invite those in the Joey’s community that knew Marg to come along and celebrate her life this Saturday, 16th February at 9:30am in Our Lady Help of Christians church. After the memorial, there will be a power point presentation and morning tea in the St Joseph’s Multi-Purpose Area.

Please pass on this information to all those who knew and loved this very special community member.

During last Friday’s opening school mass, we presented our school community with our 2019 St Joseph’s theme. The theme focuses on 2019 being the ‘Year of Active Improvement’ by challenging our community to Strive to be the best version of me. After mass, I challenged our whole community, myself included, to continue to strive to actively improve in all that we do each day. To strive to improve in the classroom, in the sporting arena, in the playground and at home.

After mass, we also took the opportunity to present our 2019 Student Leaders to the school community. Our 2019 School Leaders are;

Student Council - Chloe Baker, Sarah Clarke, Hayley Hallam, Lachlan Roberts, Jackson Seierup & Oscar Tranberg

Daly House Captains - Hannah McCrohon & Zac Joyce
Leahy House Captains - Mia Jahnke & Cody Neden
MacKillop House Captains - Breanna Gear & Nicholas Thompson

I look forward to working with these student representatives in 2019.

Last Thursday, our lower school staff held their first PLC meeting for the year. This Professional Learning Communities initiative will be held each Thursday alternating between the Upper, Years 4-6 and Lower, Years Prep-3 school teaching staff. These meetings will be held while our students attend hymn practice in OLHC church each week. Please be aware that the teachers will be in these meetings from 2:15pm - 3:15pm and may not be immediately available for general class enquiries on their alternate weeks. We also may have other teachers dismissing your children during these alternate weeks, so I please urge you to be patient with us as we iron out all the kinks over the next few sessions. The PLC initiative is another way for our teachers to meet professionally in order to be able to provide the best educational opportunities for our students. If you wish to know more about our Professional Learning Communities, please do not hesitate to contact either Mrs Deanne Senini or myself through the school office.

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 changes to our homework policy, school NAPLAN targets as well as our students having Individual Learning Goals in reading, writing and mathematics. 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, 13th

• 5:00pm Yr 6 & Yr 3
• 6:00pm Yr 2

Thursday, 14th

• 5:00pm Yr 1 & Yr 4
• 6:00pm Yr 5

In 2019, our school will be engaging Speech Pathologist, Suzanne Vandeleur as a part of a Speech Language initiative that St Joseph’s is undertaking in 2019. Suzanne has worked closely with Joey’s in the past and will begin the new year by screening all of our Prep students as part of our whole school processes. This initiative is a huge boost for our school, but please be aware that this is an additional language support at a whole school level and will not be replacing individual private therapy. We welcome Suzanne and her wealth of experience in working with students in the field of speech therapy.

Inter-school sport begins this Friday for our 10-12 years students. 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 frozen water bottle during these fixtures as the weather has been very hot.

Finally, please note that our annual Bishop’s In-service Day for staff professional development will be held on Friday the 22nd 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 13th & Thurs 14th Feb.
• Season A Friday Sport commences, Fri 15th Feb
• Margaret Murphy’s Memorial Service, Sat 16th Feb in OLHC @ 9:30am
• Children’s Mass, Sat 16th Feb in OLHC @ 6:30pm
• P&F Meal Deal, Wed 20th Feb
• School Board AGM, Wed 20th Feb @ 5:30pm
• Bishop’s In-service Day, Fri 22nd Feb (Pupil Free Day)

Have a great week.

Regards
Bernard Fitzgerald
Principal
St Joseph’s Catholic School, Park Avenue

APRE REFLECTION

CATCH THE MESSAGE OF JESUS

The Sunday reading from Luke’s Gospel relates Jesus’ preaching and teaching from a boat. When Jesus wants to go fishing, Simon tries to talk him out of it after having caught little during the day. Simon is in for a surprise when the nets come back full of fish. Jesus calls disciples from every way and walk of life, with the particular gifts and skills that we might also have, even though we might not think our gifts and skills are so great.

This imagery of fishing with Jesus is a great way to understand disciple¬ship. Just as fishing without Jesus results in empty nets, trying to live and work without being a disciple of Jesus leaves us empty.

© Lisa-Marie Calderone-Stewart - St Mary's Press

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

School Theme for 2019

Last Friday we celebrated our Opening School Year Mass and revealed the theme for 2019. This year at Joey’s we are calling everyone, staff and students and parents to:

Strive to be ‘The Best version of me.’

This is the Year of Active Improvement. We want everyone to set goals, little ones and big ones, that can be worked towards. If improvement is going to occur, we need to actively be committed to having a role in it. If I want to be more efficient, or a better friend, or better in a subject area, then I need to recognize the role I must play in this improvement.

Throughout the year, we will continually have discussions with the students in classrooms, on assembly and in the playground about ‘active improvement’ and ‘the best version of me.’

Children’s Mass this Weekend

Our first Children’s Mass for the year is this weekend at Our Lady Help of Christians church (next to the school) at 6:30pm. The readings and other ministries of the mass will be carried out by many of our students. Everyone is welcome to join us for this Eucharistic celebration and we stay on for a light supper afterwards. If you are able to join us, please bring a plate to share.

After this mass we are going to have a sausage sizzle to accompany our usual supper. If you are available to cook the snags, your help would be greatly appreciated. Notes went home earlier this week with options for participation. If these could be returned by Thursday to give some idea of attendance it would be wonderful.

Coming up in Week 4:

Pupil Free Day

A reminder that next week, Friday 22nd 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, 22nd.

Program Achieve – You Can Do It!

This year we are introducing to all classes The NEW Program Achieve. This curriculum contains lessons that teach attitudes, values/character strengths and social-emotional skills for success, relationships and wellbeing as well as for overcoming social-emotional blockers.

The 32 lessons at each year level are organised to be delivered across four terms and cover the following topics:

1. Achievement: Work Confidence (growth mindset), Persistence, Organisation and Teamwork
2. Relationships: Values, Character Strengths and Getting Along Skills
3. Well-being. Resilience and Happiness (awareness, self-management, ABCs of emotions, cognitive restructuring, mindfulness) and
4. Social-Emotional Blockers: awareness and management of anger, not paying attention, procrastination, worry, feeling down.

Each social-emotional learning lesson addresses one or more aspects of the ACARA national curriculum's Personal and Social Capabilities. Joeys is commencing lessons this Friday and they will continue across the school in all classrooms most Fridays throughout the year.

Bernadette Brennan
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.

• AFL – Boys & Girls (10-12yrs) Feb 20 RSHS 4pm-6pm
• Hockey – Boys & Girls (10-12 yrs) Feb 20 Kalka Shades 4pm – 5:30pm
• Touch Football – Boys & Girls (10-12 yrs)Mar 1 Touch Fields 4pm – 5:30pm
• Rugby League – Boys (10, 11 & 12yrs) Mar 3 RSHS muster 9am – 11am
• Rugby League –Girls (11-12yrs) Mar 6 Frenchville 4pm – 5:30pm
• Rugby Union – Boys (10-12yrs) Mar 25 Frenchville SS 4pm-5:30pm
• Tennis – Boys & Girls (10-12yrs) Apr 1 Rocky Tennis 9am – 3pm

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 Friday 15th February for all children aged 10, 11 and 12 (born 2009, 2008, 2007,) The sports we are participating in this year are softball/teeball 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, & 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.

Cross Country Training

Cross Country training will commence this Thursday morning at 7:30am. Students need to meet Mrs. Brennan at Colts Rugby field (Tom Nutley Oval off Knight Street) dressed in appropriate running gear. Training will commence with stretches prior to running the various distances based upon age. Upon completion of training at 8:00am we will walk back to school. St. Joseph’s Cross Country Carnival and Fun Run will be held on Tuesday 19th March at Colts. The Rockhampton and District Cross Country trials are being held on Tuesday 30th April at Kalka Shades. Students are required to bring their uniform for the day to change into after training.

Training Days and Times:

Tuesday 7:30am with Mr. Nicholson @ Colts
Thursday 7:30am with Mrs. Brennan @ Colts

Distances:

10 Years (2009) 2000m
11 Years (2008) 3000m
12 Years (2007) 3000m

Those students wishing to train, need to return the permission note prior to joining the sessions.

RUN4FUN / Cross Country

We’re excited to participate in the School Run4Fun again this year. The focus will be on fun and fitness with the added benefit of raising funds for our school. 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.

TOUCH FOOTBALL JUNIOR DEVELOPMENT DAY

Rockhampton Touch Association is holding their annual Development Day for juniors interested in learning more about touch footy. This event is open to every child from the ages of 9 to 16, no matter what experience or skill level they have.

(Children under 9 may find skills and drills a bit advanced and the morning too long).

Date: Sunday 17th February, 2019
Times: 9:00am – 11:00am (8:30 arrival for registration please)
Bring: Hat and water bottle and wear shoes and sunscreen
Provided: Morning Tea is provided
Cost: NO cost

Anyone interested should email Denise at admin@rockytouch.com for more details or to register to attend (for catering purposes and to ensure sufficient coaches and support staff are in attendance.

Friday Sport

Soccer

Yr 5 boys St Joeys Navy v Glenmore SS @ 12:40 @ Glenmore SS 1
Yr 6 boys St Joeys Maroon v Glenmore SS @ 1:35 @ Glenmore SS 1
Yr 6 girls St Joeys v Glenmore SS @ 1:35 @ Glenmore SS 2
Yr 6 Blue (mixed) St Joeys v Park Avenue SS @ 1:35 @ PASS
Yr 5 White (mixed) St Joeys v Park Avenue SS @ 12:40 @ PASS

Softball/Teeball

St Joeys Navy v Ridgelands on 2C
St Joeys White v Glenmore on 3A
St Joeys Maroon v Crescent Lagoon on 4C
St Joeys Blue v Glenmore on 4A
St Joeys Gold v Allenstown on 1A

All games commence at 12:30/12:40 and are played at Western Street

CURRICULUM NEWS

Important Curriculum Dates – Term 1

Parent Information Nights

Our Parent Information Nights will be held next week on Wednesday 13th and Thursday 14th 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 early this week and has been posted to the Skoolbag app.

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 has been mandated by our Diocese to be actively taught in all of the Rockhampton Catholic schools each year. In 2019, classroom teachers will teach these lessons on a Friday morning as part of the Health Curriculum.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this program please don’t hesitate to contact either Mrs Senini, Mr Fitzgerald or your child’s classroom teacher.

More information about the Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum can be found via the link below.

LITERACY / NUMERACY CORNER

This year as a regular part of the newsletter I will be discussing one reading, one spelling and one numeracy 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 Fluency.

Strategy – Practise Common Sight Words and High-Frequency Words.

Once children have a solid bank of sight words which they can recognise quickly their fluency will improve because they won’t be stopping at every word to try to decode it. It is essential for fluency that your child knows their sight words.

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. As an additional resource, your child will be learning chants and actions to assist them to master the many and varied ways to spell particular sounds.

Below is a strategy / activity you can do at home to assist your child/ren to master their current spelling pattern.

Strategy – Bubble Letters: Write and colour each of your spelling words in bubble letters or fancy shapes.

Mental Computation:

Knowing strategies to assist students to recall number facts quickly is essential for success in mathematics. Each year level will be focussing on particular number facts strategies throughout 2019. Please contact your child’s teacher to find out the strategy your child should be practicing this week.

Game – Cards

• Using a pack of cards, turn over two cards and race your child/ren to mentally calculate the sum of both cards. This game can also be used for subtraction, multiplication and division. You could also extend the game by using more than 2 cards.

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

Fee Accounts for Term 1 have now been emailed and posted on Parent Lounge.

All new families would by now have received their Parent Lounge Login details.

If you have not received these, please contact Tracey or Megan in the office.

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

CLASSROOM NEWS

Yr 1H

1H 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: Cooper Lee (2M), Braydon Smith (1C) & Gabriel Maker (3T).

Have a great day.

P & F NEWS

Welcome to the first of our weekly P&F updates.

Congratulations to our P&F committee for 2019, who were successfully elected at the AGM last year. They are:

President: Amanda Conway (Grade 6 and 4)
Vice President: Kate Nembach (Grade 3)
Secretary: Claire Morrison (Grade 5)
Treasurer: Debbie Rooney (Grade 6 and 3)

Please come and see any of us, should you have any questions regarding the P&F.

For those that couldn’t make our first meeting for the year, there was a lot to discuss, and you’ll find a summary of what was discussed attached to the newsletter.

Next week kicks off with a Meal Deal supporting HeartKids and the Leukemia Foundation. This will be held on Wednesday 20th February, and a note went home on Monday, and is also on the school app.
If you’d like to help us prepare, please let us know.

Please also note that REGULAR TUCKSHOP IS NOT AVAILABLE this day.

Our next event will involve preparing lunches for the Rugby League Muster on Sunday 3rd March. Again, if you can assist us, this would be much appreciated. The school receives a large donation for providing these lunches, so put it in your calendar.

Thanks, and have a great week
Joeys P&F

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.

ABSENTEES

Absentees can be done through the Skoolbag App. Click on our School Logo, eforms and then Absentee Form.

All notifications from the school are done through this app. Our weekly Newsletters are also posted to this app.

Please make sure that you have downloaded it.

SCHOOL BANKING

School banking happens every Thursday.

If you wish to start school banking, you need to open a Youth Saver Account at the Commonwealth bank, make no deposit and they will provide you with your banking book and details.

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

TUCKSHOP NEWS

Please find attached a Tuckshop Menu and a Tuckshop Volunteer form. Both of these went home last week, but if you are ever needing them, they can be found here in our Newsletter each week as an attachment.

UNIFORM SHOP

Our uniform shop is run by VOLUNTEERS of the school and is open

Monday morning from 8:15 - 8:45 and Wednesday afternoon from 2:45 – 3:15.

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

Piano 2019

As part of the Rockhampton Catholic Primary Schools Instrumental Music Program, Piano lessons are available in 2019 for Prep to Year 6.

Please contact Mrs Lynette Anstey for further details on 0419 358 485 or 4933 3661 or anstey.family@bigpond.com

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC IN 2019 – ENROLMENTS CLOSE END OF WEEK 3!

Enrolments are still open for Instrumental Music Tuition in 2019 and there are still vacancies on most instruments.

The following instruments are available for tuition: 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).

Information letters, forms and the online enrolment link are available via the link below.

Please email Alexia Lally: Alexia_Lally@emmaus.qld.edu.au for any further information.

TENNIS

Hello Ladies anyone for TENNIS. Tennis Rockhampton would like to invite ladies of all ages and standards to the Region Tennis Centre on Lion Creek Road for FREE ladies tennis coaching. Program will run from 11th of February to the 25th February every Tuesday night from 6:30pm.

Tennis Rockhampton also offers junior and senior coaching 6 days a week. We cater for all ages and standards with group, squad and private lessons available.

If you would like any more information on any programs we offer or would like to book a spot please phone Glenn on 0431 229 146.