12 August 2020

Newsletter Articles

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Dear Parents & Guardians

I will begin this week by reminding everyone that this Friday, the 14th of August will be a pupil free day for all school in the Rockhampton area as it is the rescheduled 2020 Show Holiday. Even though I cannot restrict where you go as a family and that this date was really promoted as getting away to see some of Queensland, please be aware that the Queensland borders were closed again last weekend and that there have been travel warning for people in regional Queensland who may be looking to visit the South East corner. Travelling to South East Queensland should only be done so at the moment for dire medical reasons.

If you do choose to travel to the South-East corner which is considered the area containing Brisbane, the state's capital city, as well as the Logan City, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Ipswich and the Lockyer Valley, please let the school know as we will need to liaise with CEO and Queensland Health due to the increasing concerns with a possible second COVID wave.

With possible wet weather around, we will be altering our set-down and pick-up routine on wet days. Due to the slippery nature of the soil in the zone that runs parallel to Lauga Street, we will not be accessing this part of the zone on rainy days. While wet, I have witnessed cars spinning their wheels in the fine silt as well as cars sliding across the surface when attempting to stop. To avoid these situations, we will only utilise the Haynes Street portion that has a different surface. Nearly all families are using the laminated name tags that were even more helpful during the rain. Please ensure that Grand Parents as well as others who may collect your children have these visors and use them by attaching them to their left-hand passenger sun visor that can be easily seen when it is flipped down. Some people have taken to waving their visors at me of an afternoon which also works as well. Thanks to the many people who offered me their umbrellas on Friday noting that Mr Fitz looked like a ‘drowned rat.’ Even though I didn’t take anyone up on their offer, your support was much appreciated.

Prep interviews are well under way with all of the sibling interviews nearly completed. All applications are now completed online via the school’s website. In the last few years we have had to turn away a couple of siblings as they have only notified us after Prep offers have been sent out. To be fair, this scenario is extremely tough on the non-sibling-based families, some of which have had their paperwork lodged for quite some time in an effort to gain entry to Joeys. If you have or know of someone who has a child ready for entry into Prep in 2021, please get in touch with the school office as soon as possible.

Finally, we have our first onsite combined School Board and P&F meeting in quite a few months being held at school tonight in the new Inclusive Curriculum room at 6:30pm. I do however have to appeal to the Joey’s community as the majority of our current School Board and P&F members have children either in their last or second last year at Joeys. I appeal to all of our parents, if you are able to come and be a part of either of these very important parts of our school community, come along and introduce yourself. Now is the time as we need a well-attended, strong School Board and P&F if we wish for Joey’s to remain a strong, family orientated community moving into the future. Please take this into consideration.

Don’t Forget….

• Prep interviews for 2021 are now taking place
• Student Protection Team Inservice. Wednesday 12th August
• Combined P&F and Board Meeting. Wed 12th Aug in ICE room @ 6:30pm
• Rescheduled Show Holiday. Friday, 14th August
• Bernard Fitzgerald Safeguarding Intensive Study 1. Thurs 27th & Fri 28th September
• Bernard Fitzgerald Safeguarding Intensive Study 2. Tues 1st & Wed 2nd September
• 2021 Prep Offers Emailed Out. Thursday, 3rd September
• Pupil Free Day. Friday, 4th September
• Father’s Day. Sunday 6th September

Kindest Regards

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

Happy every day. Learning every day.

APRE REFLECTION

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jesus walks on the water
Matthew14:22-23

Peter takes a big risk. Trusting Jesus, he steps out onto the lake in the middle of a storm. But when the wind frightens him, he begins to sink. Jesus is disappointed that Peter’s faith isn’t greater.

When did you ever take a big risk because you trusted someone? Did it work out, or did you get into trouble?

Is it wrong to have doubts and fears when you take a big risk, even when you trust the person you are with? Or is that just a healthy, practical, safe way to live?

Do you think Jesus is being a bit harsh with Peter? After all, Peter did get out of the boat and walk on the water! Or do you think Jesus is justified in his comment, because Peter is already doing the impossible?

A boat is often used as a symbol of the church. In this story it is easy to understand the symbolism of Jesus coming across the stormy waters and winds of modern times in order to help the church stay afloat.

What do you think are the biggest problems for the church today? What is causing the worst storm?

@Liturgy Help by Lisa-Marie Calderone Stewart

Bernadette Brennan
Assistant Principal Religious Education

CURRICULUM NEWS

Important Curriculum Dates:

SEMESTER TWO PARENT TEACHER INTERVIEWS

At this stage we are planning on having parent teacher interviews in their normal format, however, we will make a final decision based on updated health advice and direction from the Catholic Education Office as the date for interviews (Week 9) draws nearer. More detailed communication will be sent out to the school community in due course. If you need to speak to teachers before the Week 9 formal interviews, please make contact with teachers via email to arrange a suitable catch up time and method.

SCIENCE WEEK

St Joseph’s will be participating in Science Week again this year, however, due to COVID rules and restrictions and due to the added issue of our current building works, Science Week will look different to normal. Students will be doing extra science activities in class during Week 6 as a way of celebrating science.

BOOK WEEK

St Joseph’s Book Week is normally scheduled for Term 3, however the National Book Week dates have been changed to October with the hope that COVID restrictions might have eased more by then. This year we will hold our annual Book Week activities in line with the new National Book Week dates. More information regarding our Book Week celebrations will come out next term.

PREMIER’S READING CHALLENGE

All students are invited to participate in the Queensland Premier’s Reading Challenge again this year.

Reading plays an important part in students’ lives during their school years and beyond. It allows children to actively engage their imagination and opens up a world of educational opportunities.

Last year, 168,000 students from 937 schools took part in the challenge, reading an astounding 2.31 million books. What an incredible result.

The reading period for the 2020 Premier's Reading Challenge commences on Monday 11 May and closes Friday 28 August.

This year the Premier has invited all state and non-state school students to take on the challenge:

• Prep to Year 2 should read or experience at least 20 books,
• Years 3 and 4 should read at least 20 books, and
• Years 5 to 9 should read at least 15 books.

Experiencing books can include shared reading, listening to stories, or reading picture books. The aim for the 2020 challenge is to engage more students reading more books than ever before.

Every student who completes the challenge will receive a Certificate of Achievement signed by the Premier. Students who participate but don’t complete the challenge receive a Certificate of Participation from the school.

Attached to this newsletter is the form to be used to record the books read during this period. Once completed, please send this form back to the school office.

For more information about the Premier’s Reading Challenge, please visit:

To download a reading record form click on the following link:

Interactive school reader record form (DOCX, 941KB)

You can play a big part in your children’s future by encouraging them to be part of this positive initiative.

I look forward to seeing as many of our students as possible take part in the 2020 Premier’s Reading Challenge.

Thanks for your continued patience and understanding of changes in processes during this extra difficult time at St Joseph’s. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Deanne Senini
Assistant Principal Curriculum

CLASSROOM NEWS

Yr 5

Year 5 are trialling a new maths program. Maths Pathways allows our students to work at their own mathematical level, which promotes confidence and allows the students to be successful in the learning process. Students work through 4-6 Modules over a fortnight cycle and these Modules are tested at the of each cycle. The students view their Effort, Accuracy and Growth scores during the learning cycle to follow their progress and to support engagement. During Module time, we engage with Rich Learning Activities and Energies to stimulate students’ curiosity and to build their understanding through productive struggle to help them own their learning. It is also a great opportunity for parents to watch their child’s growth along their mathematical journey.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

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

They are: Nicola Dobbs (Yr 6), Thomas Harth (Yr 2), Rori Kipling (Yr 5), Jaiden Wust (Yr 6), and Jimmy Farr (Yr 1).

Have a great day.

P & F NEWS

Our next P&F Meeting is scheduled for this evening August 12th at 6:30pm in the Inclusive Curriculum room. If you hit the new library/Yr 4 room you’ve gone too far. There’s lots to chat about since our last meeting two months ago, so all are welcome to attend. Even if you’d just like to check out the new rooms, sit and listen and enjoy some food, that’s more than fine.

If there’s a question or an idea you have sitting at the back of your mind, come along or pass it on to one of our executives or members. Especially if you’re in the lower school, particularly the P-3 cohort, we’d love to get the chance to meet and see some newer faces. These discussions and plans are helping to shape your school, so all the more reason to come and be apart of the process. We’d love to see you there.

Reminder:
Wed Aug 12th: P&F Meeting 6:30pm in the Inclusive Curriculum room

Thanks,
Joeys P&F

Jabbering with Joeys

We move to Year 3 this week with one of our newer teaching combos. It’s time to learn some more about Zoe McGinley!

Name: Zoe McGinley
How long have you been at Joeys?: Nearly 2 years
Favourite Food: Pesto Pasta
What did you want to be when you grew up?: Interior Designer
Favourite Music: Old school rock’n’roll
Coffee or Tea: Coffee!
Favourite subject at school: Ancient History
Hobbies outside of Joeys: Boating and catching up with friends
Favourite book/movie: Peter Rabbit
Favourite colour: Pink
Best “Dad” joke: What do you call someone with no body and no nose. Nobody knows.
Favourite thing about Joeys: The support, friendly faces, and sense of community

FRIDAY PIZZA

• Pizza and Icy Cups to be ordered and paid for from outside the Year 6 room in the morning from 8:15 – 8:35am.
• Brown bags not required for pizza – students simply bring their money ($2 per slice) and tell the Year 6 students what you would like to order.
• Pizza slices will be delivered to classes in provided brown bags in tuckshop boxes at lunch time.
• Icy Cups will be delivered to the classrooms at approx. 2:55pm ready for home time.

Please note: There is a pizza order form available if you think this will be helpful to assist your child with the ordering process. Also, Icy Cups can sell out, so it is first in best dressed when ordering in the morning.

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