27 November 2019

Newsletter Articles

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

As the end of the school year draws near, we still have a few significant events to celebrate on the Joey’s calendar. The first of these being our school Presentation Night this Thursday, 28th November. The evening will be held in the school Multi-Purpose Area beginning promptly at 6:00pm. Each grade level has been working hard to prepare a Christmas song to perform on the night, which will also include the presentation of our annual awards that recognise the efforts of students throughout the entire year. I would ask that during the evening we keep general conversation to a minimum as a form of respect for those performing or presenting and receiving awards on the night.

The theme is ‘Joyous Christmas’ as we celebrate what has been a very busy and productive year.

The night is anticipated to conclude at approximately 7:30pm and it would be lovely to see as many of our students and their families come along and attend.

Next Wednesday evening, 4th December we will be celebrating our Graduation Mass for the Year 6 students, which will mark the culmination of their primary schooling. The evening will commence with mass in OLHC Church at 6:00pm followed by a presentation & dinner for the students and their parents in our Multi-Purpose Area. Parents and children will need to be checked off our list before entering the MPA for dinner. I am sure it will be a memorable night for all those who are involved.

Drawing our school year to a close will be our End of Year Mass next Friday, 6th December. We will be celebrating with a whole school Mass commencing at 9:00am. The Mass not only provides us the opportunity to say farewell to our Year 6 students for the final time, it will also incorporate the induction of our student leaders for the 2020 school year.

We must also be aware that we share Friday’s mass with the Parish, so I request that we leave the parking spaces directly outside the church vacant for the use of our senior parishioners.

Please remember that during all of these celebrations that we not use the parking in the mall car park as retailers in the mall have previously mentioned that there is no parking available for their patrons.

In an effort to try and alleviate these parking issues, we will be making parking available on the grassed area beyond the end of the Multi-Purpose Area on both sides of the new demountables during all three of our major end of year celebrations.

School reports for the second semester will be posted on Parent Lounge this coming Tuesday, 3rd December. Please ensure you have your appropriate login details in order to access your child’s information. Please remember, class lists will no longer be displayed in their entirety in the windows of the Media/Drama room. This year your child’s classroom teacher for 2020 will be emailed directly to the address provided in your parent information. If you need to update your details, please do so on Parent Lounge before Monday the 2nd of December.

St Mary’s will be holding their annual Parish Fair this Friday evening on the 29th November beginning at 6pm. The Fair will be held at the school on Nobbs Street, North Rockhampton.

It is wonderful news that the third annual Lights of Christmas will again be happening this year. The Lights of Christmas uses the 19th century William Street façade of St Joseph’s Cathedral and 21st century technology to bring Christmas spirit to the Rockhampton community. I am sure this year’s event will be bigger, brighter and even more spectacular.

The family event will again be on between the 17th to the 23rd of December from 7:30pm until 10:30pm each night.

Each show lasts for about 20 minutes and this year the story focuses on Charles Dickens' "A Christmas tree".

What is most exciting though will be the news that our very own St Joseph’s PA will have a slide in the presentation this year. I hope you all get along to see this fantastic event.

Inferno currently has 25% off the retail prices of all Joey’s uniforms. Make sure you get in and grab a good deal.

Finally, congratulations to Jessie Ivers who was successful in her application to the position of the school’s new Indigenous Liaison officer commencing in 2020. Applications for Jess’ now vacated Indigenous Teacher Assistant role will be advertised early in the new year. Jessie is a past student, a current parent and a wonderful community builder who loves Joeys. I am sure you will make her welcome as she begins her new role.

Don’t Forget …

• Week 8 – Projected Capital Works moving week
• Presentation Night, Thursday 28th Nov @ 6:00pm in MPA
• Season C Sport Finishes, Friday 29th November
• St Mary’s Parish Fair, Friday 29th November @ 6pm.
• Semester 2 Academic Awards Assembly, Monday 2nd Dec @ 8:35am in MPA
• Semester 2 Reports posted to Parent Lounge, Tuesday 3rd December
• Year 6 Graduation Mass, Wednesday 4th December @ 6:00pm
• Year 6 Fun Day, Thursday 5th December
• End of Year Mass/2019 Leadership Induction, Friday 6th December 9:00am
• St Joseph’s school office closes for holiday break, Friday 6th December
• St Joseph’s school office reopens for 2019, Monday 13th January (To be confirmed)
• 2020 School year commences, Tuesday 28th January @ 8:35am

I hope you have a great week.

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

APRE REFLECTION

The Crucifixion
The Gospel of Luke 23:35-43

The feast of Christ the King marks the end of the liturgical year and the end of the year-long journey through the gospel of Luke. Given that the second half of the gospel is a physical and psychological journey towards Jerusalem and the death that awaits Jesus there, it is fitting that the final reading for the liturgical year is the crucifixion.

Even in extreme religious views, Jesus and one of the other victims of crucifixion are able to reach out in genuine solidarity to each other. How ironic that it is a condemned thief who testifies to Jesus as Christ the King and how appropriate that we finish the liturgical year with Jesus giving a repentant sinner the assurance of redemption. In this story the powerless are gracious and the powerful are crude and uncaring. When our God is such a compassionate God, it is scandalous that we so frequently lack compassion.

@Liturgy Help – Greg Sunter & Jenny Close

Bernadette Brennan
Assistant Principal Religious Education

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

RELIGIOUS MATTERS

What’s Happening this Term

Vinnies Appeal

Keep the great work going!

The annual Christmas hampers continue this week. Baskets are in all classrooms and waiting to be filled with goodies for Christmas. In case you missed the note, the breakdown of adopted families is below.

This year we have a few options when donating to help those families in our community who may not otherwise have a joyous Christmas:

1. donate Christmas grocery items – NO Chocolate or choc coated products
2. donate some Christmas grocery items and some cash
3. donate cash

*Cash donations will be used to purchase 1 gift for each family member*

Representatives from SVDP will be here for a special handover assembly on Wednesday 4th December at 8:35am. Please support this appeal where possible.

Bernadette Brennan
Assistant Principal Religious Education

CURRICULUM NEWS

Booklist Supplies Procedures for 2020

Thanks to everyone who has supported our new back to school ordering procedures. If you placed an order before the cut-off date for school delivery your child will be given their box of goodies this week.

There is still time to place an order so if you have any questions about the process or need some assistance with placing your order, please come and see me. To have your order delivered to your home before the start of the 2020 school year, please place your order by Sunday, 15th December.

The feedback I’ve received from parents is that the process is very easy to follow and has saved families a significant amount of money. If you have any feedback on this new process, I’d love to hear it and pass it on to Kookaburra Educational Resources.

If you are having trouble locating the ordering instructions or your child’s booklist, they have been added to the Skoolbag app under the parent notes section.

If you’d prefer to purchase from Capricorn Educational Resources, there is a box in the school office to place your order sheet.

Report Cards

Teachers have been busily finishing off assessments and writing reports cards over the last couple of weeks. Student reports will be posted to Parent Lounge on Tuesday of Week 9. Please make sure you are able to access your Parent Lounge account to view your child’s Semester 2 report.

Regards,
Deanne Senini
Assistant Principal Curriculum

CLASSROOM MYTHBUSTERS

1C

FINANCE NEWS

Fee Accounts for Term 4 were due for payment on Monday 28th October. These are now 4 weeks overdue and require your urgent attention.

Just a reminder to any families with students who play a musical instrument or do singing lessons, that these payments have been added to the past few terms school fees and extra payments may be required to cover these costs.

Quite a number of students have outstanding library books from throughout the year. The cost of these books have now been charged to school fees.

Just a reminder to any Year 6 families that will be leaving our school at the end of the year, to please finalise accounts or make an appointment to see Mr Fitzgerald and myself in regards to this.

If paying by Direct Deposit, please use your Account Number as the reference

(this is the 6-digit number on your Fee Statement).

OSHC FOR 2020

ASC booking/enrolment forms are now open for 2020. Please see attachment below, Chelsea or the office for forms.

OSHC is seeking your support to collect the following items to create a Loose Parts outdoor area.

Crates, Rope, Lengths of PVC Pipe, Lengths of Wood/Boards, Nets, Buckets/Baskets, Containers (Milk, Yoghurt etc), Metal Tins, Spools, Pots and Pans, Textiles (Sheets, Shower Curtains, Blankets, Tarps etc) and Laundry Baskets.

If you have any of these items and would like to donate them please contact Chelsea on 0408703482.

Thank you for your support

TUCKSHOP

As we are at the end of the term, Tuckshop has run out of some items. Just please be aware a substitution might be given.

Don't forget to sign up to QuickCliq as next year we will be going online for all lunch orders.

Due to capital works starting over the school holidays, the last day for Tuckshop will be Wednesday, December 4th.

Thank you to everyone for a wonderful year and I wish everyone a happy and safe holiday.

See everyone in the new year.

Debbie Rooney

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Congratulations to the following students who will celebrate their birthday this week.

They are: Koby Savage (PM), Chloe Crosthwaite (3T), Taylor Dives (3T), Preston Livermore (2M) and Nate Barber (2M)

Have a great day.

P & F NEWS

Thank you to all the parents and children who helped cook and serve the BBQ at the swimming carnival last week. The amount of help we received was fantastic. As a lot of our regular helpers get set to leave Joeys, we’re looking for our new wave of families to come forward. If there’s any particular area that you’re interested in, or looking to shadow a committee member, please come and see a P&F representative.

As the year winds down, we’re asking that all returning families to the school, if you haven’t already, get in and register for our online tuckshop service Quickcliq. As of next year, the tuckshop is cashless, and will not accept money in paper bags. The link can be found here at the link below, and it’s also on the app. It’s quick and easy.

Have a great last week!

Reminder:

Thanks,
Joeys P&F

PARENT LOUNGE

Changes to your address, phone number or work phone number can be made in Parent Lounge. To do this, log in through the Skoolbag App, go to the Parent Details tab, make your changes, and then submit.

Changes to Parent Lounge are the submission of your child’s absentee days (but only for the current term). It will be similar to the way you do this on the Skoolbag app. Once accepted our end (when we log into our computer), this will be entered straight onto our system, and saves the double handling.

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

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 at 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

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC 2020

The Rockhampton Catholic Schools Instrumental Music Program is a structured tuition program for students wishing to learn strings, woodwind, percussion, guitar or voice on a group basis.

NEW AND CONTINUING STUDENTS ARE WELCOME.

The program’s aims are to develop a student’s musical experience through group lessons and through performance-based playing in an ensemble.

To enrol for 2020, please go to the link below.

(A reminder for parents to re-enrol their child for 2020 if they wish to continue)

Thanks again,
Stephanie Coughlan
Assistant Director of Instrumental Music
Direct: (07) 4923 5837

KEYBOARD LESSONS

Leanne Voss will offer Keyboard lessons again in 2020 for interested students in grades 1 – 6.

Lessons are of 30-minute duration and will be conducted weekly at school on a rotating timetable so that students do not miss the same lesson each week.

Students will be required to have access to a keyboard for practice, and also purchase a music tutor book and theory book. Lessons will generally be given to groups of 2 or 3 students with some individual lessons available when it is not possible to match students of similar musical ability. The lessons will focus on using a chord bass with an emphasis on utilising keyboard features such as different tones and rhythms.

Playing keyboard is an excellent extra curriculum activity to develop not only musical skills, but creative thinking, hand-eye coordination, concentration and commitment to task.

Enrolment forms are available from the office for both new and continuing students.

SCHOOL HOLIDAY FUN

Thinking how to entertain your kids over the holiday period. See the attached School Holiday Fun at the ISC for more details