6 May 2020

Newsletter Articles

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Last weekend Queensland Premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk made an announcement about the projected return to school dates after initial COVID-19 preventative measures.

The Queensland Government’s Back to School Plan stated;

May 11: Students in Kindy, Prep and Years 1, 11 & 12 return to school.
May 15: Assess easing of restrictions in Queensland.
May 25: Proposed return to school for students in remaining years.

During this time, we will be managing a combination of a return to teaching in the lower school for Kindy, Prep and Year 1 while also providing continued supervision and ‘at home learning’ for Years 2 – 6 over the next few weeks.

With advice from Catholic Education and various Government agencies, the Leadership team will continue to review and update COVID procedures and communicate any alterations to our processes to the extended community as they come to hand.

As we prepare to return to ‘normal’ schooling, we have made the decision to cancel our Semester One Academic Awards. This decision has been made due to the amount of time that COVID has disrupted what I would consider providing our normal academic opportunities for our students. I apologise for any disappointment surrounding this decision, but I also hope you understand our position at this time as we focus more on how we will deliver Semester 2 reporting.

In regard to Friday pizza and icy cups, we are looking to restore both these services in Week 3 with slightly altered processes. Year 6 students will visit each class on Friday morning to collect any icy cup money and the icy cups will be delivered directly to each class just prior to the 3:00pm end of school bell. It is hoped that this will aid in relieving possible car park congestion issues while also avoiding social distancing concerns at the tuck shop.

Friday pizza orders will return as normal, however, over the last few weeks it has come to my attention that we have always charged $1.50 per slice in my 11 years at Joeys, even though the purchase price of the pizzas has nearly doubled over this time. I do not like to inflate prices and have resisted in doing so in the tuck shop as I believe we are providing a service rather than trying to raise money, but in this instance we see the need to increase the cost to $2 per slice moving forward.

Finally, those looking to enrol in Prep for 2021, I encourage you to go online and complete the paperwork as soon as possible, as enrolments for all Catholic schools are now moving online. Tracey has done extensive training with online enrolments, however, I ask you to remain patient with us as this is a very new process for us this year. If you know people with their children in Kindy or have Kindy-age children yourself, please get online and submit applications as soon as possible.

Congratulations to our community on a very successful Week 2 and I am very appreciative of the calm and patient approach that continues to be taken.

Kindest Regards
Bernard Fitzgerald
Principal - St. Joseph’s Catholic School Park Avenue

APRE REFLECTION

Mother’s Day Prayer

Loving God, you are always with us, holding us in your loving embrace.

We place our mothers in your tender care and ask you to give us the strength we need to support them when they are weary, to show them compassion and kindness when they need it, and to have hearts full of love and gratitude for them.

We ask this in Jesus’ name.

Amen.

CURRICULUM NEWS

Important Curriculum Dates:

COMPETITIONS

Literary Competition:

Students in Years 5 and 6 are invited to enter the 2020 Independent Education Union literary competition. To enter this competition, you need to write a poem or short story. If you are interested in entering this competition, please see Mrs Senini for more information. This competition closes on Friday, 19th June.

Art Competition:

Students from Prep – Year 6 are invited to enter the 2020 Independent Education Union Awards for Excellence in Art Design competition. The task is to produce a piece of artwork that best reflects the theme: Perfect Places. If you are interested in entering this competition, please see Mrs Senini for more information. This competition closes on Friday, 24th July.

ICAS COMPETITIONS 2020

St Joseph’s Park Avenue will be participating in the world-renowned ICAS Assessments again this year. ICAS is developed by UNSW Global, a wholly owned subsidiary of UNSW Sydney, with over 35 years’ experience in educational assessments.

ICAS is designed to target students’ higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Mathematics, Science, Writing, Spelling and Digital Technologies.

Each assessment celebrates students’ accomplishments by providing opportunities for recognition. Every student will receive a printed certificate and an online result report. Top performers will be eligible for medals and are invited to attend special award ceremonies to have their academic excellence publicly recognised.

I encourage you to consider entering your child into ICAS this year. The assessments are suitable for students wishing to extend themselves academically and take up the personal challenge of competing in an international assessment. Your child will be presented with high-quality, expert-developed questions, allowing them to apply their learning without the need for prior study or revision.

ICAS Assessments are now online, a move that reflects a sector-wide transition to computer-based assessments. This allows greater accessibility for students and faster delivery of results.

In 2020, students have the opportunity to participate in the following subjects:

Cost per test: $15.95 including GST

In 2020, all payments for the ICAS tests are to be made by parents online. These assessments will take place during the school day as per the above schedule. If you would like your child to participate in any of the subjects listed above, please visit the new online Parent Payment System to make a direct payment to UNSW Global. The Parent Payment System is a simple and secure online payment service specifically for parents to purchase ICAS Assessments.

The web link is:

Our school’s unique access code is: XRM723

Online payment closes Friday, 17 July 2020.

IMPORTANT: Please enter your child’s name accurately into the System as it will appear on their ICAS certificate.

Privacy notification

UNSW Global stores, uses and modifies the ICAS Assessments data in order to generate reports, conduct research and analysis, and improve its products and services. UNSW Global will not hold or use ICAS Assessments data that constitutes personal information for longer than 15 years. As the parent or guardian of a student who intends to sit ICAS Assessments, you consent to the school collecting the ICAS Assessments data that relates to the student, disclosing it to UNSW Global and to UNSW Global’s use of it in the manner outlined above. You also consent to the school assigning this consent to UNSW Global.

We are proud to partner with UNSW Global in offering the ICAS Assessments and look forward to some fantastic results later in the year.

Learn more about ICAS here:

Please do not hesitate to contact me on deanne_senini@rok.catholic.edu.au if you have any questions.

Regards,
Deanne Senini
Assistant Principal Curriculum

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

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

They are: Isabella Austin (Yr 2), Gabriella Halil (Yr 4), Star Loader (Yr 5),Emma Clarke (Yr 3), Wyatt Currie (Yr 5), Mrs Smith (ESO), Mrs Paap (ESO) and Mrs Roberts (Library).

Have a great day.

P & F NEWS

Almost halfway through the period of our joint classroom/at home learning, and we would like to again thank our staff for the support they’ve shown our students, our parents and each other. If you have any queries at all, please email your teacher and refer to the Skoolbag App as your first point of reference.

I know the students have really missed Breaky Club, as we have too, and we’ve also missed out on doing our fun themed days. Friday last week (May 1st) was National Banana Day! We had a great morning planned out for the Thursday, with Banana themed foods and decorations, so we’ll just have to have a belated celebration. If you know of any fun themes we can apply to Breaky Club or Tuckshop, or have any ideas, please drop by and say hello! We’d love to hear of ways to liven things up once we’re allowed to fully open again.

Due to social distancing restrictions, our next P&F Meeting due to be held on Wednesday 13th May will not be held in the staffroom. We will try to host this as a Zoom session, and all are welcome to take part from the comfort of their own home. Like many things, this is unchartered territory, so we will endeavour to make it work. Details will be given closer to the time.

Have a great week!

Reminder:

Wed May 13th: P&F Meeting 6:30pm Zoom session. Further information to be provided

Thanks,
Joeys P&F

JABBERING WITH JOEYS

Jabbering with Joeys

This week we’re playing catch up, so we get to know our Year 6 teaching cohort including one of our newest staff members, Year 6 teacher Leah Ward. We hope she feels at home here at Joeys. Also we have our dedicated Year 6 Education Support Officer, Kaitlyn Brosnan and another of our newer staff members, our other Grade 6 teacher, Hannah Hamilton.

Name: Leah Ward
How long have you been at Joeys?: Since the start of the year
Favourite Food: Lasagne
What did you want to be when you grew up?: A Beauty Therapist
Favourite Music: Everything
Coffee or Tea: Tea
Favourite subject at school: HPE
Hobbies outside of Joeys: Sport (Netball and Touch)
Favourite book/movie: How to Love (Cecilia Ahern)
Favourite colour: Baby pink
Best “Dad” joke: What did the farmer say when he lost his tractor? Where’s my tractor?
Favourite thing about Joeys: The welcoming spirit and the feeling of belonging as soon as you walk onto the school grounds

Name: Kaitlyn Brosnan
How long have you been at Joeys?: A few years on and off, (I also attended as a student from grades 2 – 7), some relief days a few years ago, and this is my 4th year back full time.
Favourite Food: Steak & Salad or soft tacos!
What did you want to be when you grew up?: A hairdresser. (I completed my apprenticeship and was a hairdresser for 5 years before my career change.)
Favourite Music: Country
Coffee or Tea: I could drink either all day long!
Favourite subject at school: P.E & English
Hobbies outside of Joeys: Camping, hanging with friends, reading books & watching movies!
Favourite book/movie: Movie: The Age of Adaline & The Time Traveller’s Wife. Book: Anything crime and mystery related!
Favourite colour: Green
Best “Dad” joke: Q: What kind of cheese can never be yours? A: Nacho cheese.
Favourite thing about Joeys: All the smiling faces, support and the family feel.

Name: Hannah Hamilton
How long have you been at Joeys?: Since the beginning of 2019.
Favourite Food: Chocolate.
What did you want to be when you grew up?: Teacher or a Doctor.
Favourite Music: R&B.
Coffee or Tea: Both!
Favourite subject at school: Maths and Art.
Hobbies outside of Joeys: Baking and crafts.
Favourite book/movie: Book – anything by Jodie Picoult. Movie – Frozen II.
Favourite colour: Mint Green.
Best “Dad” joke: Why did the student eat their homework? His teacher told him it was a piece of cake.
Favourite thing about Joeys: An amazing community of people all in one place!

MESSAGE FROM COMMONWEALTH BANK (School Banking)

The health, safety and wellbeing of our communities and our people remains our highest priority. Due to the ongoing uncertainty surrounding coronavirus, the School Banking program will remain on hold. We will continue to monitor the situation and keep you informed with any updates including how we will be managing Dollarmite tokens for students.

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

FRIDAY PIZZA

Meatlovers and Hawaiian Pizza are available every Friday for $2/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