28 July 2021

Newsletter Articles

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Welcome to Week 3.

Well done to our Joey’s senior netballers who travelled out to Biloela to compete at a carnival last weekend. The girls went through undefeated winning all six of their games. Our girls ended up runners up as no finals were held and winners were decided upon from for and against percentages. Thanks to Mrs Tranberg and Mrs Duncan for preparing the team and finding an alternate competition to the Netball State Cup.

Good luck to our CAPRAS Cup team that will be competing at Brosnan Oval (Emmaus) this Saturday morning. This competition is open to students aged 9-10 years in 2021 and is designed as an introduction to inter-school rugby league. Well done to Miss Hamilton and Mrs Brennan who have been preparing the team and I look forward to watching them compete as I perform my duties as one of the Rockhampton Primary Schools executive members in hosting the day.

Unfortunately, our Arts teacher, Mrs Kristy Whitehead has regretfully had to submit her two weeks’ notice to me late last week. Kristy has enjoyed working at Joey’s with our students, however, she has had to prioritise the needs of her family at this point in time. We wish Kristy all the best and will notify the community when we have filled the Arts teacher position.

Congratulations to Jacob, Abigail, Quinn, Thomas, Abbielee, Maiya, Saba, Zara and their families as these students celebrated the sacrament of First Holy Communion at Our Lady Help of Christians last Saturday evening.

I hope to see you at our Children’s Mass this Saturday evening at 6:30pm in Our Lady Help of Christians church. You may have noticed that some work is happening out the front of the church. This is to beautify the transition between the school and church as well as help maintain facilities that may have experienced some ‘wear and tear’ during our extensive capital works project. OLHC masses are still being celebrated with the only entrance down the side of the church between the school. We are hoping this work will be completed swiftly and the area will have a major upgrade. Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Finally, our thoughts and prayers as a community go out to the Tennyson family who have been members of our community for over twenty years in a variety of roles.

Kerrie’s Stepfather and Kelson’s Pop, Eddie Morrison passed away early last week with his funeral being held yesterday. I am sure you will join with me in offering your condolences and supporting Mrs Tennyson and Mr Tennyson during this time.

Have a great week.

Don’t Forget …

• Prep Enrolment Interviews for 2022. Weeks 1-3 in Term 3
• NAIDOC Celebration. Thursday 29th July
• CAPRAS Cup Gala Day. Sat 31st July @ Emmaus
• Children’s Mass. Sat 31st July in OLHC Church @ 6:30pm
• Catholic Education Week. 25th – 31st July
• Upper Ninja Warrior Playground installation. Week beginning Mon 2nd August.
• Prep 2022 offers emailed out 20th August

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

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jesus feeds five thousand

John 6: 1-15

Living the Gospel – Plenty for all

The feeding of the multitude is a profoundly political statement. Quite simply, there is sufficient food in our world to ensure that no one should ever be hungry. Sadly, the distribution of that food is such that there are some in our world whose bellies are expanding from an excess of food while others’ are distended from the lack of it. We can easily feed the entire world. It is the responsibility of those of us in the developed world with more than we need to bring about a more equitable distribution with those who don’t even have enough to live.

@Liturgy Help – Greg Sunter

Liturgical Celebrations Coming Up

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

Peer Support

In Peer Support children will have an opportunity to discuss their personal qualities and strengths. The children will identify their qualities and acknowledge how they contribute to their achievements. Through activities children recognise they used their strengths to achieve success and can be encouraged to approach future activities optimistically.

Ask your child to describe their own qualities and strengths so you can recognise and acknowledge these.

You Can Do It!

What does confidence look like for our students?

Confidence is believing that you have what it takes to be successful and to make friends. Not being afraid to try new things, to make mistakes, express an opinion, talk in front of class, or to meet someone new. Standing up tall, looking at people being talking to and speaking with a clear voice that is not too loud or too soft.

Examples of Confident Behaviour:

Work Confidence

• Choosing to participate in new, difficult activities or classes
• Doing hard work without asking for help
• Offering to take responsibility for organising a class event
• Trying problems and answering questions when not sure of answer

Social Confidence

• Choosing to meet someone new
• Sharing a new idea with classmates
• Speaking in a clear voice so can be heard
• Starting conversations

Positive Attitudes linked to confidence:

• Accepting Myself - I am proud of my positive strengths and differences without ignoring my negative characteristics. I
• accept myself without rating my overall value and self-worth poorly when negative events occur.
• Taking Risks – I want to be successful, but I don’t have to be. It’s not the worst thing in the world to make mistakes.
• Being Independent – I want my friends to like me, but I don’t need them to. It’s important to say what I think and it’s not so bad if other people disagree.
• I Can Do It – I can do things that are very difficult.

Bernadette Brennan
Assistant Principal Religious Education

CURRICULUM NEWS

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, please contact me through the office.

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.

Regards,
Deanne Senini
Assistant Principal Curriculum

CLASSROOM NEWS

Yr 1

Hello from Year 1,

After and well-rested break, we’ve settled back into our routines and we’re eager to get stuck into another term of fun-filled learning.

In our workshops, we’ve been exploring the many ways we can make numbers, through hands on activities such as basketball addition. We’ve also been learning all about procedural texts. Many of us have even helped follow recipes at home and shared some lovely baked treats with the class.

During investigation time, we’ve been exploring natural, managed, and constructed environments and learning how we can take care of our natural environment. We’ve really enjoyed using Google Earth to explore features of place.

In Religion, we’ve been learning to describe ways in which believer’s past and present honour Mary, the Mother of Jesus. We’ve enjoyed learning about the first 2 joyful mysteries of the rosary. As part of the ‘You Can Do It’ program, we’re learning to recognise our emotions and be like ‘Rosie Resilience’ by using positive self-talk to stay calm and solve problems.

FINANCE NEWS

Fee Accounts for Term 3 due this Thursday 29th July

Term 3, 2021 Fee Statements were emailed and posted to Parent Lounge on Thursday 15th July. These are due for payment this Thursday 29th July.

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 and staff who celebrated their birthdays last week and this week. They are: Hunter Collins (Yr 1), Roland Batchelor (Yr 2), Ella Coughlan (Yr 3), Ryan Thistlethwaite (Prep), Lilly Carpenter (Yr 6), Rhalf Dequinon (Yr 3), Pippa Kaufman (Yr 3), Jordana Corry (Yr 5), Kiara and Sophie Coughlan (Yr 1), Paityn Spence (Yr 4), Alex Crane (Yr 6), Vincent Larkin (Yr 5), Brittney O’Leary (Yr 5), Harrison Bell (Yr 2), Liam Jannsen (Yr 4), Mr Nicholson, Mrs O’Brien (Prep), Ms McLeod (Prep), Mrs Gabriel (Prep) and Mrs Hannah (Yr 1).

Have a great day.

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