24 April 2021

Newsletter Articles

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Dear Parents & Guardians

Welcome to Week 3

It was wonderful to see so many of our community turn up to ANZAC Ceremonies over the weekend. With a strong representation at the Dawn Service as well as over 130 staff and students turning up to the ANZAC March to honour our armed forces and the ANZAC Spirit of those whose sacrifice allows us the opportunity to experience the freedoms we enjoy today. This is just another reason of why I am so proud to be a part of the wonderful Joey’s community.

As mentioned last week, the new branded formal school socks are now officially the only option for our formal uniform as of the beginning of this Term. It has been wonderful to see just how many families have already purchased these socks. While still on the subject of uniform, I would like to clarify proper school uniform options as we come into the winter months. The following insert has been taken directly from our school’s uniform policy. Please note that neither hooded jackets or maroon-coloured jumpers or track pants are an option.

Parent/Teacher interviews are about to take place over the next couple of weeks. COVID Level 1 procedures are still in place. If, for whatever reason you are unable to attend your interview time, please contact your child’s classroom teacher as soon as possible. This will ensure that they are not needlessly waiting around and, in some instances, can return home to their own families sooner.

Our school photo day is scheduled for Monday the 10th of May in Week 4. Please ensure uniform is correct, neat and tidy and that haircuts are in line with the school’s uniform policy.

With next Monday being a public holiday, we will be having a quick whole school assembly on Tuesday morning the 4th of May. This assembly will be very brief so we can present awards and deliver any notices while allowing classes to attend their specialist lessons as soon as possible.

I have included a CEO poster for you to peruse that highlights the importance of attendance at school. The poster is called ‘Every Day Counts’ and highlights the potential amount of lost opportunities for students if they regularly miss days of school. It is well worth a look.

Have a great week.

Don’t Forget …

• Public Holiday, Monday 3rd May
• Alternate Whole School Assembly. Tuesday 4th May @ 8:35am
• Mother’s Day. Sunday 9th May
• School Photo Day. Monday the 10th of May
• NAPLAN Dates 11th – 14th May
• NRL Development Cup Gala Day. Friday, 14th May
• Laudato Si’ Expo. Thursday 27th May
• Athletics Field Events. Monday 31st May @ St Joseph’s
• Athletics Track Events. Tuesday 1st June @ Emmaus Oval

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

St Joseph’s 2021 School Improvement Priorities:

• Parent Engagement
• Writing
• Social Emotional Learning

RELIGIOUS MATTERS

Fourth Sunday of Easter

The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.

John 10:11-18

It is Good Shepherd Sunday, and the metaphor of sheep and shepherd is very appealing. It speaks of gentleness and caring. There is a trusting relationship here: ‘I know my own and my own know me.’ On the other hand, we are reminded that the role of shepherd involves responsibilities and risks, and for Jesus it means laying down his life for his flock. He makes it plain, however, that this action is intentional, that he is in control and that death is not the end of the story.

@Liturgy Help – Jenny Close

Liturgical Celebrations Coming Up

*OLHC – Our Lady Help of Christians church – next to school
*MPA – Multipurpose Area (Basketball court)

SPORTING MATTERS

Interschool Sport – Semi Finals

Good luck to all our teams that are playing in semi-finals this week. All students will have a game this week even if their team did not make a semi-final. Draws will be posted to the Skoolbag App.

Season B sport commences on the Friday of week 5 (May 21st). Trials and selections for these teams will occur in the coming weeks.

Rockhampton District School Sports Selection

Congratulations to the following students for their selection in the Rockhampton teams. They have been trialling for Capricornia selection in the recent and upcoming weeks.

Bernadette Brennan
Assistant Principal Religious Education

CURRICULUM NEWS

PARENT TEACHER INTERVIEWS

A reminder that Parent Teacher Interviews are happening this week with some classes going over into next week. If you have booked an interview, please ensure you let the teachers know if you can no longer attend your interview. Please be aware that there are to be no students playing around the school during interviews as there is no one on duty after school hours. One of our focuses is to make learning visible to students, therefore, students are encouraged to attend their interviews with their parents. It’s important for them to be part of the conversation about their learning.

ICAS

St Joseph’s will be offering ICAS assessments again this year. These assessments are online assessments designed to recognise and reward academic excellence. The assessments are based on the curricula for the relevant year. Students are asked to demonstrate a deeper, integrated, and thorough level of knowledge. New ICAS assessments are developed annually for each subject in every year level. This is to ensure an engaging and beneficial experience for all students.

ICAS offers the following assessments:

Please note that your child may miss out on their PE or Arts lesson if the ICAS assessment is scheduled for that time. If your child is absent for the scheduled assessment, there is no opportunity for a catch-up assessment and you would need to speak to ICAS directly to try to organise a refund.

To purchase an ICAS assessment for your child please log on to our ICAS parent page at the following link and using the following access code:

Your school access code is: XWG624

ORDERS MUST BE PLACED BY SUNDAY, 25TH JULY.

If you have any questions or concerns about ICAS, please let me know.

NAPLAN

NAPLAN will be occurring this year for our Year 3 and 5 students.

Please see below for our school’s official NAPLAN testing schedule:

There will also be opportunities to compete catch up tests during the week of 17th – 21st May.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your child’s participation in NAPLAN, please contact me through the office or via email: Deanne_senini@rok.catholic.edu.au.

ART COMPETITION

Students are invited to enter the 2021 Independent Education Union’s Awards for Excellence in Art Design competition. All students from Prep – Year 6 are eligible to enter.

Design Task:

• Your task is to produce a piece of artwork that best reflects the theme: Our World.
• You may include a statement or caption to reinforce your visual image.
• You may use a variety of media (paint, crayon, pencil, ink etc). It must also be suitable for exhibition purposes.

Entries close: Friday, 23rd July. Cash prizes of $100 - $350.

Please note: All entries must be posted to the appropriate address in time for it to be received by Friday, 23rd July. Parents are responsible for posting their child’s entry.

Please see Mrs Senini for an official entry form if you are interested in entering this competition.

ST JOSEPH’S TEACHING AND LEARNING FRAMEWORK

Throughout 2019, the staff assisted me to develop a teaching and learning framework for our school. It has since been endorsed by the Rockhampton Catholic Education Office and is currently being implemented across our school. Each week in this newsletter I would like to share a section of this framework with the school community so that everyone is aware of what teaching and learning looks like at our school.

This week we will begin looking at Part 2 of the Teaching and Learning Framework – The School Curriculum Guide. This section is broken up into 5 sub sections: Curriculum Vision, Learning Culture, Curriculum Organisation, Data for Learning and Teacher Expertise.

This week’s focus is on Curriculum Organisation.

Curriculum Organisation

St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School Park Avenue’s curriculum is guided by the Australian Curriculum documents, Diocesan Learning Framework and Diocesan directives. The curriculum is divided into the learning areas of Religious Education, Mathematics, English, Humanities and Social Sciences, Science, Technologies, Health and Physical Education, and The Arts. The learning area of Religious Education is guided by the Diocesan Religious Education Syllabus documents.

At St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School Park Avenue, teachers collaboratively plan relevant and engaging learning experiences in which students are challenged and supported to set and achieve academic goals. Students are provided with opportunities to apply their learning to relevant and purposeful contexts as they build their knowledge and skills to deepen their understanding.

At St Joseph’s, we believe in providing students with opportunities to succeed in all subject areas of the Australian Curriculum. We have passionate specialist teachers to provide students with instruction in the areas of Physical Education, Music, Drama, Dance and Visual Arts.

Regards,
Deanne Senini
Assistant Principal Curriculum

CLASSROOM NEWS

Yr 4

LAUDATO SI’

In Year Four we are answering the call of our Pope to ‘care for our common home’ by driving the sustainability practices at SJPA.

Initiatives like recycling, reusing and composting waste have helped our school to be recognised across Rockhampton as leaders in sustainable practices in schools. It is common for all students to sort their rubbish into the correct bins at lunch time and they are expertly guided by the Year Four students who give their lunchtimes happily to manage our waste.

Year Four are going to make our world green! At the inaugural Laudato Si’ Day at SJPA we will be offering the chance to play carnival games made from recycled, upcycled and reused waste products. And just with any good carnival game every winner gets a prize! Our prizes will be seedlings for you to take home and add to your garden. Does the sound of fresh herbs sound yummy? Maybe you would prefer some beautiful flowers to greet you in spring. We can offer seedlings that will give you these things and more.

As you know, our school is celebrating our efforts in sustainable practices on Thursday 27th May. Each class has been working on a special project for Laudato Si’ and will share their knowledge at a stall or interactive activity for visitors to be part of.

But our classes need help! Notes outlining how you can assist your child’s class have been sent home and we would love for you to think about how you can help us. If you have some spare time, resources or knowledge you can share to help us with our Laudato Si’ Expo we would love to hear from you.

Please contact your class teacher to offer assistance.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Congratulations to the following students who will celebrate their birthday this week and over the holidays. They are: Amelia Jones (Prep), Laythen Schneider (Yr 1), Paige Brydon (Yr 2), Natalia Gray (Prep), Sophie Green (Prep), Lucia Jarrett (Yr 3), Olivia Kaufman (Yr 1), Evie Boswood (Yr 3), Lucas Hodgson (Prep), Jacob McLean (Yr 5), Cruz Nolan (Yr 4), Kaidyn Stuart (Yr 5), Matilda Ballinger (Yr 4) and Jackson Lynam (Prep).

Have a great day.

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