21 October 2020

Newsletter Articles

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Dear Parents & Guardians

Earlier this week all families will have received a ‘Confirmation of Enrolment 2021’ form. This document is extremely important as I need to know projected enrolments for our 2021 school budget and core staffing. The form also helps with calculating family fee discounts for families with children at both primary and secondary colleges. Please, if your family is not returning to St Joseph’s in the new year please contact me and let me know. The school does have a waiting list and filling vacancies is easier in October/November and nearly impossible in January.

We will be hosting our Prep Orientation tomorrow welcoming 54 new students to the Joey’s community. We will be hosting two separate sessions and our lovely student leaders will be helping us with the organisation of the day.

I have had some enquiries in regard to the clarification of our end of school year date. Please be aware that due to an ongoing pay discussion in Education Queensland schools, the Premier has made the last two days for State Schools pupil free days in order to try and appease the process. Our Catholic Schools however have previously resolved this issue and will have school run until our scheduled finish date of Friday, 4th of December as per normal.

Our final School Board meeting will be held tonight in the new Inclusive Curriculum Education (ICE) room at 5:30pm. We need some new faces on our School Board in 2021 so if you feel like this is an area in which you could support the school, please come along.

It is with a heavy heart that I inform you that Mrs Vaz De Miranda has had to return to Brazil to tend to an urgent health matter with her family. The Year 4 community was notified of these unfortunate set of circumstances last week with Gisele not due back until the beginning of the 2021 school year. I am sure you will join us in keeping Gisele’s family in our prayers over this time.

We also welcome back Mr Paul Nicholson who has graciously accepted the position in Year 4 until the end of the year. I am sure you will all welcome Paul back into the Joey’s community.

Finally, as per my messages on the Skoolbag app and Face Book page last week, please remember to give way to the traffic on Lauga Street when exiting our temporary carpark and drop-off/set-down zone.

Don’t Forget….

• Board Meeting. Wed 21st Oct @ 5:30pm in ICE Room
• 2021 Prep Orientation Day. Thurs 22nd Oct (Group 1 - 9:00am & Group 2 – 12:00pm)
• Book Week Dress Up Day. Fri 23rd Oct.
• Year 6 Camp Alternative Days. Tues 27th – Thurs 29th of Oct
• Remembrance Day. Wed 11th Nov @ 11:00am
• P&F AGM. Wed 11th Nov (Time TBD due to State of Origin clash)
• NAIDOC Day. Thurs 12th Nov
• TCC Year 6 Student Orientation Evening. Mon 16th Nov @ 5:00pm TCC
• Emmaus Year 6 Orientation Day. Thurs 26th Nov @ Emmaus
• Annual Awards/Semester 2 Academic Awards. Mon 30th Nov @ 9:00am in MPA
• Year 6 Graduation Dinner. Wed 2nd Dec @ 6:30pm Frenchville Sports Club
• Semester 2 Report Cards 2020 posted to Parent Lounge Wed 2nd Dec @ 12:00pm
• Year 6 Fun Day. Thurs 3rd Dec
• End of Year Mass/Graduation/Leadership Handover. Fri 4th Dec @ 9:00am in MPA

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

Happy every day. Learning every day.

APRE REFLECTION

This week we're travelling north, into a remote Indian state called Nagalandand visiting the children at the Eden Gardens Children's Home in Khuzama. The focus is on respect and stewardship. At the Eden Gardens Children's Home in Nagaland, the children are stewards of the environment around them, and their respect for their common natural home is not simply a moral duty - it is essential for the survival of the place in which they live. The children must look after the surrounding forests and streams because it is their direct source of water.

Follow this link and you’ll find all the videos, activities, and reflections we are exploring at school

Did you make a Sockball last week? If not, here’s the link to help you get started!

Scripture reflection
Excerpt Psalm 104:2-4

You stretch out the heavens like a tent,
you set the beams of your chambers on the waters,
you make the clouds your chariot,
you ride on the wings of the wind,
you make the winds your messengers,
fire and flame your ministers.
What does Psalm 104 tell us about God's creation?
Can you relate it to where you live?
What are your favourite parts of nature near your home?

Bernadette Brennan
Assistant Principal Religious Education

CURRICULUM NEWS

Important Curriculum Dates:

Book lists for 2021

A note went home last week and was posted on the SkoolBag App notifying families of the process for ordering book list equipment for 2021.

As you will recall from last year, our Parents and Friends Association assisted the school to purchase a variety of bulk stationery items for classrooms in an effort to lower the cost of book lists for families. This will happen again for next year’s book lists and I take this opportunity to sincerely thank the P&F for their generosity.

Please take the time to read the information in the note and consider placing your order soon.

If you have any questions or problems with placing your order, please contact me by calling the school office or via email: deanne_senini@rok.catholic.edu.au.

Book Week

As you all know, the official Book Week was moved to October for 2020. The official 2020 Book Week begins on 17th October and is celebrated through till 23rd October. We will hold our annual dress up day this Friday, 23rd October. Therefore, all students and staff are invited to dress up as a book character or follow the theme ‘Curious Creatures, Wild Minds’. Due to current COVID and space restrictions, we are unable to hold our usual full school parade of costumes, however, we will still present our winning costumes with a book prize and share the day with parents through photos or small video clips.

Day for Daniel

Friday 30th October is Day for Daniel. Students are invited to wear a red shirt, along with the school sports shorts to school this day to help raise awareness of the importance of Student Safety. During the day, classes will be exploring the key messages of Recognise, React and Report.

ICAS Results

Congratulations to the following students who participated in ICAS Digital Technologies and ICAS Mathematics:

ICAS Digital Technologies:

• Sam Conway (Year 5) achieved a merit award scoring in the top 40% of Year 5 participants in Australia.

ICAS Mathematics:

• Thomas Compagnoni (Year 3) achieved a credit award scoring in the top 33% of Year 3 participants in Australia.
• Sam Conway (Year 5) achieved a merit award scoring in the top 39% of Year 5 participants in Australia.
• Jack Wooler (Year 5) achieved a merit award scoring in the top 39% of Year 5 participants in Australia.

Keep an eye out for the remaining ICAS results in future newsletters.

Premier’s Reading Challenge

Congratulations to the students who participated in this year’s Premier’s Reading Challenge. Each child who completed the challenge has been presented with their certificate of participation.

Regards,
Deanne Senini
Assistant Principal Curriculum

FINANCE NEWS

TERM 4 FEE ACCOUNTS

Fee Accounts for Term 4 were emailed and posted to Parent Lounge last week. If you did not receive them, please contact the school.

If you have a Means Tested Concession Card and have not yet provided a copy, please send this through to Megan in the office for verification at your earliest convenience.

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.

When 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 6

Lewis Wogand

Term 4 in Year 6 is always a busy one, with all the exciting activities we have coming up. We will be looking forward to the fun day which will be held on the last Thursday of Term 4 to finish our time at St Joseph’s, with more happy memories and a bit of fun. We will also be partaking in activity week since our Year 6 camp had to be cancelled. At the moment we are busy with all of our assessments and getting ready for high school.

Isabelle Barber

Year 6 in week 4 will be taking a break from school and going on a 3-day activity week. We will start our week with some normal school, and talk about what we need for Tuesday, that is when we go to the Capricorn Caves. At the Caves we will be doing different activities, such as a cave tour. We will start Wednesday at school and participate in teamwork-based group activities led by our principal, Mr Fitzgerald. We will ignore the home bell and have night activities at school. To finish off our activity week Year 6 will be taking a trip to Great Keppel Island, where we will be snorkelling, boom netting, taking a glass bottom boat tour as well as some free time on the beach.

Riley Roser

There are so many great things about St Joseph’s PA, being in Year 6 we are looking back on some wonderful things we have experienced. Some of our best memories are from the sports days, discos, and book week celebrations. One of our favourite parts of Joeys are the amazing teachers, because they have gotten us through so much, and they are so nice and helpful. Saying goodbye at the end of Term 4 is going to be quite a challenge, since it will be a sad time for all of us.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Congratulations to the following students who will celebrate their birthday this week. They are: Kiasharn Henaway (Yr 6), Mackenna Kinlyside (Yr 5), Flynn Kirkman (Yr 2), Joanna Newberry-Janssen (Yr 1), Ava Burns (Prep), Harper Corry (Yr 2), and Lilah Kipling (Yr 2).

Have a great day.

P & F NEWS

Thanks to those who came to our second last P&F meeting last week. Our next and final meeting will be on November 11th with our AGM at the earlier time of 5:30pm, and our final official meeting at 6:00pm. As our school takes shape, now’s the time to come and have your say about what we can accomplish.

Keep paying attention to the “Jabbering with Joeys” segments over the coming weeks. Besides the insight into our staff, it may prove worthwhile…..

Reminder:

Wed Nov 11th: P&F AGM 5:30pm in the Inclusive Curriculum room
P&F Final Meeting 6:00pm in the Inclusive Curriculum room

Thanks,
Joeys P&F

Jabbering with Joeys

We round out Grade 4 this week with Gisele Vaz De Miranda, or Mrs Miranda as she’s affectionately known, and we’re glad she made the move to Joeys almost 3 years ago.

Name: Gisele Vaz De Miranda
How long have you been at Joeys?: This is my third year at Joeys.
Favourite Food: Fresh fruit
What did you want to be when you grew up?: A dancer.
Favourite Music: Any good dancing music.
Coffee or Tea: Green Tea and Gus’ Coffee
Favourite subjects at school: History and Drama.
Hobbies outside of Joeys: Reading and Travelling (?)
Favourite books/movie: Too many favourite books; Favourite movie is “Life is Beautiful”.
Favourite colour: White
Best “Dad” joke: I’m so good at sleeping, I can do it with my eyes closed.
Favourite thing about Joeys: The smiles.

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