19 May 2021

Newsletter Articles

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Welcome to Week 5 of Term 2.

Congratulations to all the Year 3 & 5 staff and students who took part in NAPLAN testing last week. I walked around to the classrooms throughout the week and am pleased to say that I observed many smiling, positive faces. Well done to Mrs Senini who as always, was extremely organised in the planning and delivery of the sessions.

A reminder to all families that may have younger siblings and are looking to enrol at Joey’s for Prep in 2022, I strongly encourage you to begin completing your online enrolments as soon as possible. In the last few years positions have been in demand. With this in mind, we need to know the number of siblings who will be attending to properly prepare for the enrolment interview process that will begin in early Term 3. Please be aware that even if you have a child currently enrolled at St Joseph’s, we still follow school enrolment policy and interview all possible new students to the school.

As I did with the student body at Monday’s whole school assembly, each Term I highlight our St Joseph’s Student Protection Contacts for 2021. Our team is quite extensive consisting of the following staff members.

If you have any concerns of a student protective nature, please contact either your classroom teachers or a member of the team. Keeping our students safe is everybody’s responsibility and, most certainly a main priority here at St Joseph’s.

On Monday morning’s assembly, I also unveiled the plans for our new Upper Precinct Ninja Course Playground. This new playground will run parallel to the path beside the Kindy near the Haynes Street gate. The project has been in the works for over 12 months and was recently approved by the Diocesan Finance Council. Installation will commence on the first week of the June/July holidays and be ready for use by the commencement of Term 3. We will also take the opportunity to get a top up of the existing soft fall for the Adventure Playground near the Lower Precinct.

As our Adventure playground is P-2, the new playground will be restricted to Years 3-6. As per our normal processes, these facilities will be unavailable for use both before and after school due to a lack of teacher supervision. The facilities will also be an option for OSHC in the afternoon for their service.

The P&F have committed to assisting the school financially to install a shade structure over these new facilities in the very near future.

I have included some computer rendered images for you to look over and if you are a fan of the TV show ‘Ninja Warrior,’ you will indeed see some similar elements present here.

Finally, congratulations to the CQ Capras Challenge Rugby League side that competed at a Gala Day at Rugby Park last Friday. The team improved each game throughout the day and placed 3rd overall. After dropping a very close game to RGS 14-0 in slippery conditions, the team bounced back defeating St Mary’s 24-6 and St Anthony’s 10-6 in the playoff for 3rd and 4th. Across the day we were only defeated by the eventual overall winners in RGS. Well done to all involved including the parents who were able to attend and support the team. The players were very well behaved and represented Joey’s beautifully.

Have a great week.

Don’t Forget …

• School Board. Wednesday 19th May @ 5:30pm in the Library
• Our Lady Help of Christians Feast Day Mass, Fri 21st May @ 9:00am in MPA
• Season B Inter-school sport begins, Fri 21st May
• OLHC Mass Celebration 200 Years of Catholic Education. Mon 24th May @ 12:00pm in St Joseph’s Cathedral (live stream available)
• Laudato Si’ Week. Mon 24th – Fri 28th May
• Laudato Si’ Expo. Thursday 27th May
• Athletics Field Events. Monday 31st May @ St Joseph’s
• Athletics Track Events. Tuesday 1st June @ Emmaus Oval
• Rockhampton Show Holiday 10th June

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

The Ascension of the Lord

Jesus commissions the eleven, ascends to heaven.
Mark 16:15-20

Living the Gospel – Proclaim Good News

Francis of Assisi is credited with saying, ‘Preach the gospel at all times and when necessary, use words!’ In every interaction we have we say so much about who we are, what we think of the other person and what we believe – even without opening our mouth. Our actions and attitudes proclaim our beliefs more powerfully than our words ever do. If we claim to be concerned about justice and yet behave unjustly then it is our actions, not our words, that will be heard! When we are called to ‘proclaim the Good News’ we are called to do this first and foremost in action.

@Liturgy Help – Greg Sunter

Ascension

Liturgical Celebrations Coming Up

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

Laudato Si’ Week

As members of the Catholic Earthcare network, we are called to care for creation. This year we are celebrating Laudato Si’ Week. Laudato Si’ is an encyclical letter (a papal letter) written by Pope Francis on ecology and climate. This letter is about “Care for our Common Home.”

Pope Francis is reminding each one of us of our role in the Plan of the Creator.

We want our school community to unite for a more just and sustainable future. Everyone is invited to attend our Laudato Si’ Expo. The expo will feature class stalls selling a variety of goodies from seedlings to upcycled items. There is a variety of displays from external agencies and games galore all promoting Care for the Common Home. Children are welcome to bring along some money to shop at the stalls and take a chance at the games to win prizes.

Photography Competition

Do you like photography or nature?

This contest is for families.

Take a photo celebrating and showing creations beauty and post it to the Joeys Facebook page or email it to Mrs Brennan. All photos will be displayed at the expo and everyone will be invited to vote for their favourite.

Email your photo to: bernadette_brennan@rok.catholic.edu.au

Bernadette Brennan
Assistant Principal Religious Education

CURRICULUM NEWS

UNDER 8S MORNING – SAVE THE DATE

This year we will be celebrating Under 8s Week with a morning full of fun activities for students in Prep – Year 3. This morning will be held in Week 10 on Thursday, 24th June. More details will be communicated as the day gets closer.

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 has now been completed. Congratulations to all the Year 3 and 5 students and teachers. Everyone remained calm throughout all the assessments and apart from a few small technical glitches, all sessions ran smoothly. I look forward to seeing the results once they are released to us.

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 3 of the Teaching and Learning Framework – The School Pedagogical Model. This section is broken up into 5 sub sections: Preamble, Virtues, Principles of Practice, Mindset Priorities and Learner Dispositions.

Preamble:

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Park Avenue provides
a relevant education

We are learner-centred:

• integrating our Catholic faith with contemporary culture
• delivering authentic, meaningful and connected learning opportunities
• exploring local, regional and global knowledge and issues of importance for our learners

St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School Park Avenue provides
a holistic education

We are caring and transformative:

• developing the spiritual, intellectual, physical, emotional, imaginative and creative capacities of our learners
• partnering with parents, families and the community to bring forth the potentialities of the learners in our care

St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School Park Avenue provides
a quality education

We are a community of thinking and learning:

• responding to individual and group learning needs through the use of high-impact teaching strategies and digital tools
• setting high expectations for each learner and actively engaging learners in the learning process

preparing learners for a life beyond the classroom, filled with purpose and hope

Regards,
Deanne Senini
Assistant Principal Curriculum

CLASSROOM NEWS

Prep

Here we are halfway through term 2 already. Prep have been exploring different celebrations in their lives. We have had the opportunity to celebrate many birthdays, Easter, Anzac Day and Mother’s Day so far. We celebrated Mother’s Day by having a pamper party with the year 1 students to pamper and spoil our mum.

In Religion our focus has been investigating Jesus’ life and his family’s life through scripture and bible stories. In Science we are investigating the different forces and how things move. The students are investigating pushes and pulls, with the students exploring the environment around them and discovering whether they need to push or pull the different objects to make them move.

Also, this term prep will take part in their first sports carnival with the school. In their physical education lessons, they have started to practise and prepare for the different events that they will be taking part in and are very excited for sports day to arrive.

YR 6 FUNDRAISER

Year Six are conducting a Krispy Kreme fundraiser to help raise money for school camp. You can order your donuts through the link below. Order options are:

Original Glazed Dozen: 12 of Krispy Kreme's Signature Original Glazed doughnuts

Fundraising Assorted Dozen: 2 x Choc Iced, 2 x Choc Iced Sprinkles, 2 x Strawberry Iced, and 6 x Original Glazed doughnuts.

Pick up will be Thursday, 24th June from 2pm – 4pm outside the Year Six Classroom (no alternative pick up times will be available). Orders close on the 9th of June. Thanks for your support!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Congratulations to the following students and staff who will celebrate their birthday this week. They are: Bentley McClintock (Yr 2), Izabella Lukic (Prep), Kalani Ivers (Yr 2), Hamish Taylor (Yr 1) and Mrs McCutcheon (Yr 2).

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

FROM THE SCHOOL COUNSELLOR

Violence against women is at epidemic levels in Australia, and young people are some of the most affected.

Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Month is held each May to raise community awareness of the social and personal impacts of domestic and family violence and the support available to those affected. The key aims of the month are to:

• raise community awareness of domestic and family violence and its impacts;
• promote a clear message of no tolerance of domestic and family violence in Queensland communities;
• ensure those who are experiencing domestic and family violence know how to access help and support;
• to help share the message that victims are not to blame for violence;
• encourage people who use abuse and/or violence to take responsibility for their abusive behaviour and seek support to change.

Domestic Violence awareness is represented by the colour purple used as a symbol of peace, courage, survival, honour and dedication to ending violence.

Remember, if you are feeling afraid or unsafe in your relationship, or you want to help a friend, you can seek confidential advice from the DVConnect Womensline service on 1800 811 811 - 24 hours, seven days a week.

The DVConnect Mensline service can also be contacted on 1800 600 636 from 9am to midnight, seven days a week.

If you are in immediate danger contact police on Triple Zero (000) to seek assistance right away.

Check out this government website if you want more information or resources -