9 June 2021

Newsletter Articles

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Welcome to Week 8.

With our plans to work on our 2021 school improvement priorities of writing, parent engagement and social emotional learning well and truly underway, I will take this opportunity to focus on briefly highlighting some of the action plan put in place to support the priority of improving the standard of our student’s writing.

2021 School Improvement Priority - Writing

• In 2021 we have enlisted a writing coach for extension work from Years 2-5
• We have commenced the MiniLit program in the Lower Precinct with a Teacher and ESO delivering the program. Even though MiniLit is based on reading, we know that students who become better readers also become better writers through increased literacy.
• We are reviewing the use of our school technology in preparation for improved online NAPLAN participation.
• Our school has engaged with the Catholic Education Office to set specific NAPLAN achievement targets in writing, specifically paragraphing.
• Classes using ‘Bump it Up Walls’ and teachers using the ‘Data Wall’ in the staffroom.
• In weekly Professional Learning Community (PLC) meetings and staff meetings, the teaching staff have implemented the use of the ‘Writing Analysis Tool’ to track the progress of writing samples from all students and provide data against the 6+1 Writing Traits.
• Teachers are released to implement DRA testing (Developmental Reading Assessment) with all students each semester.
• PAT R testing data is used to inform teachers and help them to formulate ‘next steps’ with the student’s literacy. (Progressive Achievement Tests in Reading is a test of reading comprehension and word knowledge)
• PAT S testing data in spelling is reviewed. We acknowledge that students with increased skills in spelling will apply these skills to produce better, more complex writing.
• All Preps are screened by ‘Entirely Health’ (previously CQ Physio) at the beginning of each year. Entirely Health has a great relationship with with us and provide weekly speech pathology and occupational therapy sessions funded by the school.
• In 2021, Year 5 students all took part in ‘Write 4 Fun’ national competition.
• St Joseph’s takes part in the Premier’s Reading Challenge.
• All staff have been engaging in Professional Development in the 6+1 Writing Traits. These traits are used to improve the quality of our student’s writing and are as follows:
  o Ideas: The meaning and development of the message.
  o Organization: The internal structure of the piece.
  o Voice: The way the writer brings the topic to life.
  o Word Choice: The specific vocabulary the writer uses to convey meaning.
  o Sentence Fluency: The way the words and phrases flow throughout the text.
  o Conventions: The mechanical correctness of the piece.
  o Presentation: The overall appearance of the work.

As you can see, we are implementing many opportunities for our students to access the curriculum and improve the quality of their writing. Remember, you as parents can also foster a positive attitude towards improvements in your child’s literacy by promoting a love for reading and providing as many opportunities as possible for your child to increase their literacy levels within the home setting.

Congratulation to Chelsea Holden who has been appointed to the Director of Outside School Hours Care for both St Joseph’s and St Mary’s. Chelsea has been very generous with her time and support, lending her expertise to St Mary’s while also continuing to be the OSHC Director at our school. As a successful applicant was not found to continue St Mary’s service, Chelsea has stepped in to ensure that the many families that rely on after school hours care for their children to meet their work commitments can continue to do so. Chelsea will still very much be involved here at Joeys but will be split between the two services. I also thank Rosie Stevens who has stepped up and will be taking on more of the day-to-day duties as Chelsea embarks on her new role.

It is unfortunate that our Upper Playground Ninja Course installation has been slightly delayed due to COVID related supply issues. The playground was scheduled to be installed over the upcoming holiday break, however, will now be rescheduled for Week 4 of Term 3.

Just a reminder that next Monday we will be having a Cultural Assembly instead of our usual Monday Morning Assembly. Our Cultural Assemblies give our community a chance to display their skills in a variety of cultural pursuits having a number of our students preparing to show off their musical skills.

The week after will be our Semester 1 Academic Assembly where we will present our Gold, Silver, Bronze, Maroon and Navy awards. Our Prep class will not be involved in this assembly and will head straight to class at the 8:35am bell.

Report cards will be posted to Parent Lounge at 12:00pm on the final Wednesday of Term. These reports are a very important part of the communication between home and school regarding your child’s academic progress. These particular reports are also very important for Year 5 families as Semester 1 reports are integral in the enrolment process for High School.

Have a great week.

Don’t Forget …

• Rockhampton Show Holiday 10th June
• Rockhampton District Athletics 14th – 15th June
• Cultural Assembly 14th June @ 8:35am in MPA
• Semester 1 Academic Awards Assembly @ 8:35 in MPA
• Semester 1 Reports posted to Parent Lounge. Wednesday 23rd June @ 12:00pm
• All Prep enrolments for 2022 submitted online before the end of Semester 1
• Term 3 recommences. Monday 12th July
• Prep Enrolment Interviews for 2022 commence Monday 12th July

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

St Joseph’s 2021 School Improvement Priorities:

• Writing
• Parent Engagement
• Social Emotional Learning

RELIGIOUS MATTERS

The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Jesus took bread, broke it and shared it.

Mark 14:12-16, 22-26

Gospel Focus – Words of Institution

The words of the gospel passage in which Jesus takes bread and wine and blesses them will be familiar. They are the words used at the consecration of the bread and wine during the Mass. The words and actions of Jesus at the Last Supper are regarded as instituting the celebration of the Eucharist. Jesus took an act that was familiar to the Passover meal and gave it a new meaning and a new significance for his followers. What had been a memory of escape from slavery in Egypt became an ongoing reminder of Christ’s continued presence in the Eucharist and in the Eucharistic community.

@Liturgy Help – Greg Sunter

Children’s Mass Date Claimer

It has been a long time coming, but we are going to return to having a regular children’s mass next term. Saturday 31st July @ 6:30pm, will be our first Children’s Mass since the pandemic closed our churches. A Children’s Mass is led by the children, with children’s hymns, children reading and singing and is targeted at their level of understanding. Please add this date to your calendar and more will be posted next term. This will be a great way to celebrate the end of Catholic Education Week for 2021.

Liturgical Celebrations Coming Up

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

Athletics

Congratulations to all students who competed in the athletics carnival last week. There were many moments of great sportsmanship shown between competitors and wonderful support for team houses. Congratulations to the age champions and Daly House who won the Aggregate Points trophy. Well done Leahy for their efforts in keeping the cheering going throughout the day and taking out the Spirit Award.

Good luck to those students who are representing Joeys at the Rockhampton Athletics trails for 10-12 years next Monday and Tuesday at North Rockhampton State High School.

Bernadette Brennan
Assistant Principal Religious Education

CURRICULUM NEWS

WRITE 4 FUN RESULTS

Earlier this term the Year 5 students entered a writing competition. This is an Australian wide competition where the students needed to write either a poem or a short story. We had 15 students successfully progress past the initial judging round. These students will have their pieces published into a book later this year.

There were over 7500 entries submitted so for a school to have 15 successful entries, that is an amazing achievement. Due to this achievement, St Joseph’s also received a congratulations letter and certificate of excellence as less than 5% of schools showed this level of achievement.

Congratulations to the following students who have made it past the initial round and who have their piece published:

• Hayley
• Chloe
• Max
• Lucas
• Quinn
• Cairon
• William
• Connor
• Henry
• Bronson
• Saba
• Gabriel
• Mackenzie
• Brittney
• Lani

UNDER 8S MORNING

All students from Prep – Year 3 will be participating in a variety of activities to celebrate Under 8s week. This celebration will be held on Thursday, 24th June. Students are invited to wear free dress on that day. Please ensure their clothing is sun safe, enclosed shoes are worn and the school hat is also worn. Please also bring a re-usable bag for the students to keep their creations in.

The day will begin with a short prayer assembly led by the Year 3 class in the MPA at 9am. After the prayer assembly, the students will be free to wander around the activities which will be set up around the Prep/Year 1 classrooms and across the oval. The students will be provided with a sausage on bread for first break. Please make sure they have enough food for the rest of the day. Thank you to the P&F for donating the sausages and bread as well as their time to cook the food.

After first break, the students will return to their classrooms for normal teaching and learning until the 3pm bell.

PREMIER’S READING CHALLENGE

All students in Prep – Year 6 are invited to participate in the QLD Premier’s Reading Challenge. Significant details were included in last week’s newsletter for your reference.

To successfully complete the PRC, students must read or experience the number of books indicated below in English or additional languages.

Prep – Year 2 - students are required to read or experience 20 books
Year 3 – Year 4 - students are required to read 20 books
Years 5 and 6 - students to read 15 books

A reading record form can be downloaded from the following website:

or collected from class teachers. Once completed, please return the form to school. The challenge finishes on 27th August. Please have forms returned to school by this date.

INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE IN SCIENCE WEEK

National Science Week is celebrated during the week of 15th – 21st August, which for us, is Term 3, Week 6. The 2021 theme is: Food: Different by Design. This year we are going to celebrate Science Week by organising an expo of displays for our students to engage with.

We are hoping to get some experts to volunteer their time to teach our students something interesting about Science or Technology (if that sounds like you or you know someone who might be interested, please let me know).

As well as these professionals from our community, we’d love for some of our own students to run a display. It doesn’t have to match in with the theme but simply be something to do with Science or Technology that they are interested in.

If your child is interested in running a display, and you are happy to help them learn about their topic and put together an engaging display / activity, please fill in the form that came home last week and return it to the office by the end of Term 2 so that I can begin to organise the logistics of this event and check that the display/activity fits in with our workplace health and safety requirements.

Some ideas:

• Teach the community about the importance of bees and how they help us
• Explain how a volcano erupts
• Show how to filter dirty water
• Become an expert on a natural disaster and teach the community what you know
• Teach the community how to make soap
• Show off your coding skills with a robotics display
• Design a solar powered vehicle

Please note, this is not a competition but simply a way of celebrating Science by sharing our knowledge and passions. Also, parents don’t need to be present on the day as long as the student can talk to their topic and their display.

If you have any questions or would like to volunteer your expertise and time, please contact me through the office or via email: deanne_senini@rok.catholic.edu.au.

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.

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.

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 will look at Mindset Priorities which forms part of our Pedagogical Model.

Mindset Priorities: Ways of thinking about ourselves and others

A mindset can be defined as a way of thinking about ourselves and others. It is often a compilation of assumptions, beliefs and perspectives (Jensen, 2017).

Mindsets held by teachers and learners can, in many circumstances, determine the success or otherwise of teaching and learning strategies. Beliefs, attitudes and assumptions can play a key role in learning progress and success (Dweck, 2010).

As part of our school’s Pedagogical Model, St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School Park Avenue has chosen to focus on four specific mindsets for staff and four specific mindsets for the learners in our school.

These mindsets will be discussed with learners as appropriate to the context, and both staff and learners will be encouraged to model these mindsets in their daily interactions.

• Relational Mindsets for Staff and Learners
• Growth Mindsets for Staff and Learners
• Reflective Mindsets for Staff and Learners
• Professional Mindsets for Staff
• Responsible Mindsets for Learners

Regards,
Deanne Senini
Assistant Principal Curriculum

FINANCE NEWS

TERM 2 FEE ACCOUNTS NOW 4 WEEKS OVERDUE

School Fees for Term 2 were due for payment on Tuesday 11/5/21. These are now 4 weeks overdue for payment and require Urgent Attention.

It is recommended that all families ensure that you regularly log into Parent Lounge and check your Account balances. Although you may be making Direct Debit payments you may need to amend the amount you are paying or make a one-off payment to catch up on the fees so that the outstanding balance does not get too high.

Please contact Tracey or Megan in the office if you require your Parent Lounge Login details.

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 given a copy to the Finance Secretary (Megan), please do so as soon as possible

CLASSROOM NEWS

Yr 3

We have been very busy in Year 3 this term; these are some of our favourite moments.

James Walker – My favourite part of Term 2 has been spending time with my teachers.
Saxon Maker – My favourite part of Term 2 has been learning to write narratives.
Blake Jones – My favourite part of Term 2 has been maths, especially learning about money on Kahoot.
Emilee Thompson – My favourite thing that has happened in Term 2 has been art because I love to be creative.
Charlee Dixson – My favourite thing about Term 2 is science because we have learned about living and non-living things.
Charlotte Hopkins – My favourite part of Term 2 has been Fun Fridays because we do art.
Audrey Brady – My favourite thing of Term 2 was playing on the Adventure Playground after the NAPLAN tests.
Maya Horstman – My favourite thing about Term 2 has been the Indigenous games we do on a Thursday.
Jake Baker – My favourite thing of Term 2 has been the sports carnival, especially long jump.
Nate Oliffe – My favourite thing about Term 2 was the Laudato Si expo because I got to buy homemade things and learn about the environment.
Tate McArthur – My favourite thing that has happened in Term 2 has been learning to code by using Tynker.

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: Robert Larkin (Yr 4), T’ahnee Lawton (Yr 6), Madelyn Lynam (Yr 2), Jaxon Stevens (Prep), Blake Fulwood (Yr 2), Abby O’Sullivan (Yr 5), Remee Horstman (Yr 3), Lilliana Littleboy (Yr 2), Quinn Rooney (Yr 5) and Mrs Brosnan (Office).

Have a great day.

TCC MUSICAL

Please see attachment for the upcoming TCC Musical – The Addams Family, playing at the Pilbeam Theatre on Friday the 11th June and Saturday the 12th June.

DRAKES SUPA IGA

Drakes Fundraiser for St. Joseph's Cathedral

I thank you for your support of this project which has raised over $40,000, of which the school community has played an important role. Please continue to support the Cathedral by shopping at DRAKES using your key tag and receiving the benefits.

If you have not been part of this fundraiser you are invited to get a key tag from your local School or Church and shop at your local Drakes, one cent in every dollar you spend will go to the Cathedral. No Fuss, only benefits.

Hoping to see you at Drakes
Stay Safe

Shirley Hopkins,
Co-ordinator, Drakes Fundraiser for St Joseph's Cathedral