1 September 2021

Newsletter Articles

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Welcome to Week 8.

Prep offers for 2022 have all been accepted. Thank you to all the families that got back so quickly with your acceptances. I look forward to working with you and your children during their primary education years.

For those families that have accepted, our Prep Orientation Day will be held on Thursday, October 21st in Term 4. More information will be sent out closer to the date.

Just a reminder that this Friday the 3rd of September is a Pupil Free Day across the entire Rockhampton Region. Staff will be participating in Professional Development at school.

Book Week Parade, the Book Fair and Jamas at Joey’s were all a huge success. A big thanks to Mrs Senini and Mrs Roberts for these great events.

The Year 6 class are still looking for anyone who can volunteer to sell some tickets for their ‘Get Active’ raffle. They are looking to sell their tickets for the rest of the Term and draw the prizes on the last day of Term 3.

Congratulations to Jake Baker and his family who celebrated the Sacrament of First Eucharist at OLHC on the weekend.

Well done to our teams who played Grand Finals last Friday. It was a great achievement for our Senior Girls to make the final of the A Division in Netball and our 5C footballers to take on the might of Frenchville. Even though both sides were unsuccessful on the day, both teams played well with tremendous spirit and integrity. This is a great effort with Joeys being determined to compete with the bigger schools.

Have a great week.

Don’t Forget …

• Regional Student Protection In-Service Day. Wednesday 1st September.
• Pupil Free Day. Friday 3rd September.
• Father’s Day. Sunday 5th September.
• National Child Protection Week. 5th – 11th of September.
• Parent/Teacher interviews Week 9 of Term 3.
• Primary Inter-school Touch Challenge. Wednesday 15th September.
• Berry Street Trauma Training. Wed 15th – Fri 17th September.
• Prep 2022 Orientation Day. Thursday 21st October in Term 4.

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

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jesus confronts the Pharisees, who pay only lip service to God.

Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Jesus emphasises the purity that is in our hearts and the purity reflected by our actions. The people criticising him emphasise the appearance of purity and the cleansing rituals required by Law in order to avoid becoming 'ritually unclean'.

How much time, money, and energy is invested in cosmetics, hair products, fashionable clothing, and the like – just so we have the appearance of being popular and successful? Can any of these products actually make someone a better person? How so? What would Jesus say about our addiction to these products?

@Liturgy Help – Lisa-Marie Calderone-Stewart

Liturgical Celebrations Coming Up

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

Peer Support

We further develop the range of strategies we can use in challenging situations. This session focuses on step 3 of the model, Proceed. In order to learn from situations and move forward, children need to go beyond thinking of strategies and action them. Children recognise despite the use of a range of strategies, sometimes they cannot change the situation. At these times, it is important to accept the situation and move forward with a positive outlook.

Encourage your child to follow through with strategies they have discussed and planned to use. It is important to help them evaluate if this has worked or if they need to try a different strategy.

National Child Protection Week

National Child Protection Week is approaching soon from 5-9 September 2021 (Week 9.)

This week is an important one recognised at Joeys. We want our school to be a safe place where students can learn and play.

This year’s theme is:

Every child, in every community, needs a fair go.
To treat all of Australia’s children fairly, we need to make sure every family and community has what kids need to thrive and be healthy.

What you can do:

Week 8 Challenge - Warm Welcomes & Positive Pick Ups
Week 9 Challenge - Deep Listening

This year we will be sharing activities with students, talking about safety, exploring what it means to feel safe, identifying safe adults, discussing how to seek help and speak up, as well as working on a community collage about our community and what is in it that helps me be safe, healthy and thrive. We will be using classroom plants as one of the ways we can explore this idea. What do plants need to be healthy, be safe and thrive. We want to share and extend, some of the student’s learnings by involving and inviting families to take up some of the challenges that the teachers are also committing to.

THIS WEEK’S CHALLENGE - Week 8 - Warm Welcomes and Positive Pick Ups

Think of this like what a fertilizer is to a plant – this is like a little concentrated connection booster can be for children. In the morning teachers and classes will be more focused on WARM WELCOMES and appreciating the students to offer an extra positive start to their day.

In the afternoon it is about reflecting before the days end. Think about ‘WHAT WENT WELL?’ today and inviting reflection to prepare for POSITIVE PICK UPS.

Bringing Up Great Kids

Do you need a space to reflect on your parenting journey and some support to strengthen your family.

Anglicare CQ – is running a Bringing Up Great Kids parenting program – starting in Week 1, Term 4, 6 October 2021.

For further information, eligibility requirements & referral, please contact Rhonda on 07 48375373 or email rnoyes@anglicarecq.org.au

Anglicare CQ also has a Targeted Family Support Program available to families to refer for support for their own families. The program utilises a counselling, educational and skills development approach to support families to build their capacity to grow and strengthen their family. Contact Rhonda on 4837 5373

TED TALK

Recently shared on TED TALK – was Molly’s Talk. It is a great share – 7 mins shared by a 7-year-old.

This talk draws on the five key tips of connect, talk, play, healthy home and community, the talk explains the simple and fun things we can do that make a profound difference to a child’s brain development and wellbeing and the role we can all play, from ages 0-5 years and beyond.

Bernadette Brennan
Assistant Principal Religious Education

CURRICULUM NEWS

BOOK WEEK

Last week we held our annual book week celebrations. Thanks to everyone who supported our events. Both events were very well supported and enjoyed by all. My sincere thank you to all staff who helped out during these events especially as I was too unwell to attend. A special thank you to Mrs Michelle Roberts for all her organisation of the Joey’s in Jamas event.

Thank you to the P&F who provided supper for the Joey’s in Jamas event.

As always, the Book Week dress up day was well supported by both staff and students. I hope you all enjoyed the photos Mrs Brennan has posted to the Joey’s Families and Friends Facebook page.

PARENT TEACHER INTERVIEWS

Semester Two parent teacher interviews will be held in Week 9 of this term. Parent Lounge has now closed for bookings. If you have missed out on a booking, please contact your child’s class teachers to make a booking.

Regards,
Deanne Senini
Assistant Principal Curriculum

CLASSROOM NEWS

Hello from Year 4

How is a child like a plant?

In Year 4 we are caring for not just the environment but also for one very special plant. It is a Peace Lily. This plant was given to us at this week’s assembly. The Child Protection team at Joey’s gave each class their very own plant. It is just for us. We need to nurture it, give it what it needs to survive and provide it opportunities to thrive. We are like a plant and our caregivers are giving us what we need to survive and thrive.

We have learnt that we are just like a plant, a plant that has been carefully grown from a seed. When a seed is planted, it needs to be nurtured constantly until it is established. In the same way, babies need constant nurturing, so they grow into children.

Once a plant is established it doesn’t need intensive nurturing, however, it still needs to be watered day after day, it still needs care. If you do not water the tree often, it probably will not survive. Similarly, we are beginning to show our independence, but we still need lots of care. We are becoming established as individuals, but still need to be “watered” every day. The amount of ‘water’ one child needs is very different from another child.

Some children are not given everything they need to thrive. Some parents find ‘watering’ or helping their children thrive, hard and they need lots of support. That’s where our community can help. If we go away for a while, we ask our neighbours or a friend to care for our plants. If caregivers are finding things difficult, there are places they can go to for help. Our teachers can help find opportunities for caregivers to develop the ways they care for us, so we cannot just survive but thrive.

FINANCE NEWS

Fee Accounts for Term 3 are now 5 Weeks Overdue

Term 3, 2021 Fee Statements were emailed and posted to Parent Lounge on Thursday 15th July. These are now 5 weeks overdue for payment and require your urgent attention. Please contact Megan or Bernard to discuss.

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.

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 last week and this week. They are: Archie Bauman (Prep), Ava Semple (Yr 4), Olivia Coleman (Prep), Hudson McGuire (Prep), Maycie Zanette (Yr 4), Patrick Joyce (Yr 6) and Tom Compagnoni (Yr 4).

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