18 November 2020

Newsletter Articles

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Dear Parents & Guardians

Last week we had a wonderful NAIDOC Celebration for 2021. Our community had a great day celebrating the theme; ‘ALWAYS WAS, ALWAYS WILL BE.’

It was wonderful to see all the smiles and hear the laughter of our students as they took part in the many activities on offer.

A big thanks to Mrs Jess Ivers and Mrs Ashley Gray who worked to organise such a wonderful celebration for our community. Thanks also to our P&F helpers who provided, cooked and served the sausages for our lunch on the day. I had feedback from these parents that indicated that the students were very appreciative and well-mannered on the day. It is always wonderful to hear positive feedback on the use of good manners from our student body.

I have to make an apology in regard to parents attending or prayer assemblies. If one grade level is holding an assembly, we are able to invite parents to come watch as they are all from the same Year level. Assemblies such as NAIDOC Day where the children are from multi-year levels are still governed under much tighter restrictions.

Again, I apologise for some of the mixed messages and confusion in regard to this last week. We will work to improve communication with this as we move forward.

Late last week we received a COVID procedures update through the Catholic Education Office. Even with slight adjustments to the restrictions we are unable to change the arrangements we have put in place for our end of year functions. The reasoning behind these decisions not only take COVID precautions into consideration but also space and parking availability due to ongoing capital works as well as considering budgeting limitations where we have engaged offsite facilities to host events. I am sure that even though there may be some inconveniences that you will be understanding in the decisions that we have had to make.

In saying that, I believe that Our Lady Help of Christians mass capacity will increase this week from only allowing 70 people to jump to the vicinity of being able to host around 150 people per mass. Even though this is not yet enough for our school purposes, this is a huge step forward in being able to welcome back many more people to our weekend mass celebrations. Please contact the Parish Office if you wish to find out more information. Christmas mass times will also be made available in the next week or so.

After last week’s P&F AGM it is my pleasure to announce our new P&F executive for 2021.

I look forward to working with these community members and thank all those parents who turned up last Wednesday evening. We had a wonderful, robust turn out to our AGM and a great feeling of positivity that our P&F is in great hands for the future.

With that, I would like to pass on my sincere thanks to Amanda Conway and Claire Morrison on behalf of the Joey’s community for the love and commitment they have shown the school through their long-term service to the P&F Association.

Amanda is stepping down as the President of the P&F Association and in her last year at our school will support Lorinda in transitioning into her new role. Claire has also stepped down as secretary, a role in which she has filled at different times, as it is her last year as a parent at Joey’s.

Both of these community members have been great advocates for the future directions and improvements at our school and both have been a tremendous support and motivation for me as a new school Principal. The community thanks you and wishes you well in whatever you choose as your next endeavours.

GO QUEENSLAND!

Don’t Forget….

• Second-hand Uniform Sale. Sat 28th Nov @ 9:30am – 11:00am in MPA
• Annual Awards/Semester 2 Academic Awards. Mon 30th Nov @ 9:00am in MPA (Sorry, no parents allowed onsite due to 500 limit – Event will be zoomed out)
• Year 6 Graduation Dinner. Wed 2nd Dec @ 6:30pm Frenchville Sports Club
  (Year 6 parents issued tickets due to COVID safe 150-person limit at the venue)
• 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 (Year 6 parents issued tickets due to graduation and 500-person limit. No other parents will be permitted. Event will be zoomed out)

Kindest Regards

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

Happy every day. Learning every day.

APRE REFLECTION

In the final week of the Socktober Challenge, we hop across the border and into Cambodia, a nation of exquisite culture but one with a dark history.

We'll meet Dara, a young boy whose life was irreversibly changed by a landmine explosion that took his right hand. We'll spend some time at the Arrupe Centre in Battambang, where Dara lives and where he is given opportunities to develop fully despite the challenges of his condition.

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

Scripture reflection

Matthew 25:35

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me...

What does this passage tell us about how to live a life according to God's way?

Vinnies Appeal

In an effort to support the members of our wider community who may have fallen on hard times this year, we invite Joey’s families to donate grocery items (NO chocolate products or fresh foods) to the hampers in your child’s classroom.

This year we are limited to GROCERY ITEMS ONLY or CASH DONATIONS.

The Families we have been gifted this year are:

A representative from SVDP will be here for a special handover on Friday 4th December after our 9:00am mass. Please support this appeal where possible.

Bernadette Brennan
Assistant Principal Religious Education

CURRICULUM NEWS

Important Curriculum Dates:

Book lists for 2021

A note has gone home and a message has been 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 misplaced your note, a copy can be found on the SkoolBag App under parent notes.

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.

PLEASE NOTE: THE OPTION FOR SCHOOL DELIVERY HAS NOW CLOSED. YOU ARE STILL ABLE TO PLACE ORDERS BUT THE PACKS WILL BE DELIVERED TO YOUR HOME.

Parents will be notified once the packs arrive at school for collection.

Kind Regards

Deanne Senini
Assistant Principal Curriculum

FINANCE NEWS

TERM 4 FEE ACCOUNTS NOW DUE

Fee Accounts for Term 4 were due by FRIDAY 13th NOVEMBER. These are now overdue.

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.

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.

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

Prep

It has been non-stop learning through Term 4 in Prep.

Our science focus on weather was led by our Prac Teacher Miss O’Leary as she taught us how weather impacts us, with the clothes we wear and the activities we can do.

This term we participated in Book Week and our 2nd prayer assembly to celebrate World Teachers Day. This was a wonderful time to reflect on what we love about coming to school and thank all of the teachers, educational support staff, administration and the Leadership Team.

Recently we celebrated Melbourne Cup Day exploring numbers to 25, indirect measurement of length and weight, ordinal language of 1st, 2nd and 3rd and creating our own race wear for role play. NAIDOC Day was a fun filled day learning about the history and culture of our Nation’s first peoples and we enjoyed many activities from traditional dance to dreamtime stories to learning about the many types of boomerangs.

We have recently started to explore Christmas, learning about the Birth of Jesus and creating our letter to Santa. As we begin to transition into Year 1 our investigative play has evolved to take on roles such as Investigator, Reporter and Photographer.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Congratulations to the following students who will celebrate their birthday this week. They are: Seayana Carroll (Yr 6), Kaison Murphy (Yr 2), Azariah Morrison (Yr 6), Linkin Morrison (Yr 6), Sam Conway (Yr 5), Gustavo Da Silva (Yr 3), Indiie Lawton (Yr 3), Callum Richardson (Yr 6) and Mrs Crosthwaite (Office) for last week (sorry).

Have a great day.

P & F NEWS

A huge thank you to all who attended our AGM and final P&F meeting last Wednesday. It was fantastic to see the large numbers we had, all hoping to be a part of our school in the years to come. It’s a testament to our community members, and we can be assured that our school will be in good hands for some time yet. Following on from Mr Fitzgerald’s post, for the first time in many years, we had several nominees for our executive positions, and after an extremely tight vote, we would like to congratulate the P&F Executive Committee for 2021. They are as follows:

We thank outgoing executives Amanda Conway and Claire Morrison for their time on the Executive Committee and in particular Claire Morrison, as she farewells Joeys this year. Thank you Claire, your contributions will be sorely missed.

On Saturday November 28th, the Uniform Shop will be opening in the MPA for anyone to come and purchase some second-hand uniforms for the new school year. Any volunteers who’d like to help on the day are more than welcome, and to learn the running of the Uniform Shop, as we bid current volunteer Rebecca Wogand, farewell at the end of the year. Please contact Rebecca or Amanda Conway for any other info.

This week is our last Jabbering with Joeys segment. Next week we will be running a short quiz, with the person who gets the most correct answers to be the winner of a $15 Wearitto voucher. Time to start studying!

Reminder:

Sat Nov 28th: Uniform Shop sale 9:30am – 11:00am in the MPA.

Thanks,

Joeys P&F

Jabbering with Joeys

This week we get sporty and arty with our new PE and Arts’ teachers Kristy Whitehead and Dolores La Spina. Even though they’re not here everyday, they’re still loved by our kids.

We also welcome back to Joeys, former classroom and PE teacher (and Rugby League coach) Paul Nicholson. We hope you’ve enjoyed being back for this term.

These conclude our Jabbering with Joeys segments and we hope that you’ve enjoyed getting to know our staff a little better. Stay tuned for the special final “quiz” edition next week.

Name: Kristy Whitehead
How long have you been at Joeys?: Since Term 3 2020
Favourite Food: Chips
What did you want to be when you grew up?: PE Teacher
Favourite Music: Kasey Chambers or Country
Coffee or Tea: Neither
Favourite subjects at school: PE
Hobbies outside of Joeys: Oztag, Sketching and being with my 2 children Mazie and Corey
Favourite books/movie: I read a book a week, so don’t really have a favourite, but I love to read
Favourite colour: Purple
Best “Dad” joke: ?
Favourite thing about Joeys: Being able to teach PE to awesome students!

Name: Dolores La Spina
How long have you been at Joeys?: 8 months
Favourite Food: mango
What did you want to be when you grew up?: fashion designer
Favourite Music: classical
Coffee or Tea: both
Favourite subject at school: art
Hobbies outside of Joeys: drawing, painting, gardening, cooking, swimming
Favourite book/movie: Book: Rudyard Kipling’s ‘Kim”, Movie: Anne of Green Gables
Favourite colour: red
Best “Dad” joke: What happens when an artist has trouble finding inspiration?

She draws a blank.
Favourite thing about Joeys: The awesome potential of the students

Name: Paul Nicholson
How long have you been at Joeys?: 4 years
Favourite Food: Mexican/Thai
What did you want to be when you grew up?: Professional sportsman (tennis or rugby league)/coach/PE teacher
Favourite Music: David Bowie/Meatloaf/Queen
Coffee or Tea: Tea
Favourite subject at school: Science/Physical Education
Hobbies outside of Joeys: Cycling
Favourite book/movie: Science Fiction – The Foundation Series by Isaac Asimov. Star Trek First Contact
Favourite colour: Blue
Best “Dad” joke: "Dad, can you put the cat out?" "I didn't know it was on fire."
Favourite thing about Joeys: Professional friendship, collegiality, and great school community

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC 2021

Instrumental Music provides so many benefits to a child – please watch the attached link to a fantastic video about Music and the Brain:

Instrumental Music Learning and Brain Fireworks

Enrolments are now being accepted for new and continuing students to learn the following instruments:

FLUTE, CLARINET, SAXOPHONE, TRUMPET, TROMBONE, VIOLIN, VIOLA, CELLO, GUITAR & VOICE.

Please see the attached information letter for details on required year levels for each instrument, and a downloaded version of the enrolment form.

Enrolment is available online at the link below.

FRIDAY PIZZA

• Pizza is 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 are to be purchased at 3pm outside the Yr 5 classroom.

Please note: There is a pizza order form available if you think this will be helpful to assist your child with the ordering process.

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