10 February 2021

Newsletter Articles

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Welcome to Week 3.

During last Friday’s opening school mass, we presented our school community with St Joseph’s school theme for 2021. Our theme is, ‘The Year of St Joseph’ in which Pope Francis has described St Joseph as ‘a righteous man.’ This year we will be exploring what being a righteous man means and what makes St Joseph such as special man of faith and an example to all.

As our opening school mass was held in the school’s MPA during quite humid weather, we chose not to present our 2021 Student Leaders to the school community on Friday morning, instead opting to do so on our Monday morning assembly.

Our 2021 School Leaders are;

Student Council – Henery Burgess, Samuel Conway, Mackenna Kinlyside, Cooper McCrohon, Olivia Roberts & Ava Tranberg.

Daly House Captains – Patrick Joyce & Amarli Batchelor.

Leahy House Captains – Diesel Gorringe & Mackenzie Zenette.

MacKillop House Captains – Preston Clancy & Charli Thorn.

I look forward to working with these student representatives in 2021.

On Monday morning’s assembly we also presented our school’s Student Protection Contacts for 2021.

The six people on our 2021 Student Protection Team who will also be represented on our posters around the school are;

• Bernard Fitzgerald (Principal)
• Bernadette Brennan (APRE)
• Deanne Senini (APC)
• Brooke Black (Inclusive Curriculum)
• Michelle Hoffman (School Counsellor)
• Chelsea Holden (Outside School Hours Care)

A reminder that tonight we will be holding our first P&F meeting for the year. The meeting will be held in the new library. The meeting will begin at 6:30pm and everyone is welcome to attend. A strong P&F association helps keep our school community strong and centered on our Catholic identity and family values.

Next week, Wednesday 17th February, will be a big day as we will be celebrating Ash Wednesday in the MPA at 10:00am. That day we will also be holding our School Board Annual General Meeting for the year. The meeting will be held in the new library at 5:30pm.

I hope that our ‘Open Evening’ format for our Parent Information Session provided families with an opportunity to touch base with your children’s teachers. COVID restrictions have forced us to adapt our usual processes. Please remember that you can email our staff if needed and that open communication is key to a positive working relationship between school and home.

Finally, please note that our annual Bishop’s In-service Day for staff professional development will be held on Friday the 19th of February (next week). Due to all staff attending, this day it is a Pupil Free Day for all Catholic Schools in Rockhampton and the Capricorn Coast.

Don’t Forget …

• First P&F Meeting for 2021, Wed 10th Feb @ 6:30pm
• Ash Wednesday Mass, Wed 17th Feb @ 10:00am in MPA
• School Board AGM, Wed 17th Feb @ 5:30pm
• Bishop’s In-service Day, Fri 19th Feb (Pupil Free Day)

Have a great week.

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

APRE REFLECTION

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year B
GOSPEL: Mark 1:29-39
Jesus heals Simon’s mother-in-law

The first disciples of Jesus were recruited from among fisher folk. Simon and Andrew were told that Jesus would make them 'fishers of people'. For Simon's mother-in-law, the healing touch of Jesus is a call to discipleship: 'the fever left her, and she began to serve them.' This unnamed woman became a fisher of people too.

@Liturgy Help

This year we are participating more consciously in the You Can Do It! social-emotional learning program in all year levels. Here’s the mission of You Can Do It! Education as a social-emotional learning program.

Helping all young people develop strong self-belief needed for high levels of achievement and wellbeing.

WHAT IS SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING?

Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which children and adults understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.

Bernadette Brennan
Assistant Principal Religious Education

CURRICULUM NEWS

In 2021 volunteers are welcome back at school. There are many different ways you can volunteer here at Joeys. If you’d like to volunteer in the tuckshop please either contact the office or catch up with our tuckshop convenor – Mrs Debbie Rooney. If you’d like to volunteer in your child’s classroom or perhaps another classroom, please approach the class teacher to see what activities are available to assist with.

Before beginning your volunteering, you need to complete a volunteer induction session with myself. These are offered on Monday mornings straight after assembly in the stage area and Friday afternoons at 2:30pm in the office. If these times don’t suit you, please contact me through the office or via email: deanne_senini/rok.catholic.edu.au to arrange another time. Even if you have completed an induction with me before, the induction must be done every year.

To keep everyone safe, please follow the following safety requirements:

• do not volunteer if you are unwell
• sanitise your hands using the supplied hand sanitisers in each classroom or the tuckshop before and after volunteering
• maintain social distancing from any other adults

I look forward to welcoming many volunteers to Joeys this year.

OPEN AFTERNOON

I hope everyone who was able to attend the open afternoon enjoyed meeting their chid/ren’s class teachers and seeing some of the things their child/ren are working on this year. At the open afternoon, parents were given a handout outlining classroom procedures and an outline of planned curriculum. If you were unable to attend, this information is available on the Skoolbag app under your child/ren’s class notes section. I encourage you to have a read of this information. If you have any questions or concerns about your child/ren throughout the year, please make contact with their class teachers.

MEDICAL DETAILS

With the start of a new school year, please ensure your child/ren’s medical details are up to date. To check this information, log on to parent lounge and check the medical tab. Please update if necessary. If your child has a medical action plan, please make sure it is current. If it is due for renewal, please drop a copy of the updated plan to the office or upload it to the medical section for your child in parent lounge. It is essential for the school to have updated medical details on file. Your cooperation with this request is appreciated. If you have any questions regarding this process, please come and see me to email me at: deanne_senini@rok.catholic.edu.au.

Regards,
Deanne Senini
Assistant Principal Curriculum

FINANCE NEWS

Fee Accounts for Term 1 have now been emailed and posted on Parent Lounge.

Term 1, 2021 Fee Statements were emailed and posted to Parent Lounge on Tuesday 2nd February. These are due for payment on Tuesday 16th February. If you currently have a direct debit set up with us, you do not need to do anything further.

If you have a means tested Concession Card and have not yet given a copy to the Finance Secretary, please do so as soon as possible.

All new families should have received your Parent Lounge Login details.

If you have not received these, please contact Tracey or Megan in the office.

If paying by Direct Deposit, please use your Account Number as the reference instead of names (this is the 6-digit number on your Fee Statement)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Congratulations to the following students who will celebrate their birthday this week. They are: Eliana Stevenson (Yr 2), Mia Duncan (Yr 4), Amaya Murphy (Yr 5), Oliver Smith (Yr 6), Ruthie Perkins (Yr 1), Cooper Lee (Yr 4), Braydon Smith (Yr 3) and Lilly Oliver (Yr 1).

Have a great day.

And to all our students who celebrated their birthday over the holidays, we hope your day was a great one too.

P & F NEWS

The P& F would like to extend a warm welcome to all members of our Joeys community for 2021! Thank you for the wonderful photo’s provided for the “first day back”. How wonderful it was to see so many smiling faces!

2020 was a challenging year for everyone, and we are grateful for the commitment, dedication and support our Joeys staff and community have displayed in such trying and uncertain times.

One way to show your appreciation is by volunteering or helping in your child’s classroom or round the school. Whether classroom reading takes your fancy, assisting with Breaky Club before you head off to work, or attending an after-hours meeting, event or function, our aim is to get all families involved in at least one school community activity for the year.

Remember, many hands make light work, and your small contribution can make a BIG impact on the Joeys community!

Just remembering that to volunteer in the school you need to already have a current Blue Card. This is an easy process – just see either Tracey or Megan in the office and they will give you an application. Bear in mind that although quite simple, this process can take up to 4 weeks before you have the actual Bluecard, which you need before you can volunteer. And do an Induction with Mrs Senini.

Any concerns or questions, please contact us through the Joeys Families and Friends Facebook page, or leave your details at the office.

We appreciate any involvement.

Thank you,
St Joseph’s Park Avenue P&F.

EMMAUS COLLEGE

Current, new and prospective families are encouraged to attend our upcoming Welcome to Emmaus event and witness all that our college community has to offer.

Take a tour of our facilities, meet our various Faculty representatives, and be immersed in the vast offerings of extra-curricular life here at Emmaus College.

Enrolment interviews for Year 7/2022 at Emmaus, will commence on Tuesday 9th March and therefore enrolment applications should be lodged before this date.

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