17 November 2021

Newsletter Articles

FROM THE ACTING PRINCIPAL – Bernadette Brennan

Welcome to Week 7.

Congratulations to our new P&F executive and thank you for the dedication you have shown to this community. The 2022 executive are:

President: Lorinda Goodsall
Vice President: Katrina Perkins
Secretary: Margot Johnson & Petrina Brady
Treasurer: Leonie Mooney

I thank the outgoing members for their service to our school.

Our YELLOW Confirmation of Enrolment forms are due. We require EVERY family in the school to complete this form, to confirm your children's enrolment for 2022. If you plan on leaving St Joseph’s at the end of the school year, please complete the form as there are families on the waiting list.

Presentation Night is just 8 days away. Classes are well into learning songs and rehearsing. If your child is going to be absent on the night, please inform the teachers to ensure the best preparation is possible. Keep an eye out for communication from your teachers regarding costumes or clothing requirements.

Looking forward to the Grinch on Friday night.

Regards
Bernadette Brennan
Acting Principal - St. Joseph’s Catholic School Park Avenue

Calendar Dates – as listed in Events on Skoolbag

Term 4 2021

Week 7

• Friday 19th NOV Movie Night in the MPA and gardens 6:30pm

Week 8

• Monday 22nd NOV in MPA @ 8:35am Semester 2 Cultural Assembly.
• Thursday 25th NOV Emmaus Year 6 Orientation Day
• Thursday 25th NOV Presentation Night in MPA @ 6:00pm

Week 9

• Monday 29th NOV Semester 2 Academic Awards in MPA @ 9:00am
• Wednesday 1st Dec Semester 2 Reports posted to Parent Lounge
• Wednesday 1st DEC Year 6 Graduation Mass in OLHC @ 6:00pm
• Wednesday 1st DEC Year 6 Graduation Meal @ RLC
• Thursday 2nd DEC Year 6 Fun Day
• Friday 3rd DEC @ 9:00am End of Year Mass & Leadership Change Over.
• Friday 3rd DEC 2021 Office Closes @ 3:15
• Term 1 2022
• Monday, 10th January 2022 Office Reopens
• Tuesday afternoon, 18th January 2022 (1:30 – 3:30) Resource Drop-off Day (Please note that this date has changed from Thursday to Tuesday)
• Monday, 24th January 2022 Term 1 Commences

St Joseph’s 2021 School Improvement Priorities:

• Writing
• Parent Engagement
• Social Emotional Learning

RELIGIOUS MATTERS

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Watch for the signs of the coming of the kingdom
Mark 13:24-32

Gospel Focus – Eschatology

Theologians refer to beliefs about the future and the end times of the world as ‘eschatology’. The word itself comes from two Greek words meaning ‘last’ and ‘discourse’ – basically meaning talking about the end. In Christian tradition, eschatology concerns many different concepts: the end of the world; the return of Jesus; the Last Judgment; the fulfilment of the Messianic prophecy; the accomplishment of the kingdom of God. The whole of Mark Ch 13 – from which this gospel passage comes – is referred to as an eschatological discourse by Jesus.

In the midst of this despair and fear, the followers of Jesus are challenged to remember the teachings of the one they follow. This passage is written for them as an encouragement to not give up in the face of what appears to be overwhelming odds. It is a call to hope. Although we can understand the context in which it was originally written, we are also challenged to apply its message of hope and perseverance to our own lives.

@Liturgy Help – Greg Sunter

VINNIES CHRISTMAS APPEAL

Vinnie’s Christmas Appeal continues this week. We hope to continue the tradition of Joey’s generosity by helping less fortunate families through this appeal again.

Each week, the students will be asked to donate a specific item type.

WEEK 7 – Tins
WEEK 8 – Christmas

When you donate, consider what your family likes to enjoy at Christmas, this is usually what other families would like too! This appeal is a great way to live the lesson we can learn from the widow in the Gospel from last Sunday’s Mass. Let’s give generously!

Liturgical Celebrations Coming Up

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

PARISH BULLETIN

Bernadette Brennan
Assistant Principal Religious Education

CURRICULUM NEWS

Report Cards

Semester Two Report Cards will be able to be accessed through Parent Lounge from Wednesday, 1st December. Please ensure you can access Parent Lounge before that date. If you have misplaced your log in details, please contact Tracey in the office.

Booklists

Booklists have been sent home and are also available on the school website. We have made the decision to move away from our previous online supplier due to several issues we have had over the last two years. This will mean that parents will need to source the equipment themselves. Capricorn Educational Resources is once again our preferred supplier. CER have agreed to supply all our booklist requirements, especially the textbooks. There is a box in the office where you can drop your list. It will then be collected by CER and filled. Alternately, you can drop it to CER yourself or source the equipment elsewhere. I would like to thank our P&F who have once again generously purchased several items for our classrooms. This has significantly reduced the cost of booklists for parents.

Life Education Visit

This week we have the pleasure of the company of Liz Hills and Healthy Harrold.

Head to the parent and carer hub via the link below to have a look at the modules that your children will be working through. You will find detailed overviews of the modules and fact sheets with 'conversation starter' ideas so that you can carry on discussing the lessons at home.

Classes will be accessing the following module titles:

Prep – My Body Matters
Year 1 – Ready, Steady, Go
Year 2 – Growing Good Friends
Year 3 – Harold's Diary
Year 4 – Mind Your Medicine
Year 5 – BCyberwise
Year 6 – Relate, Respect, Connect

Regards,
Deanne Senini
Assistant Principal Curriculum

FINANCE NEWS

TERM 4 FEE ACCOUNTS DUE FOR PAYMENT

Fee Accounts for Term 4 are now 2 Weeks Overdue

Term 4, 2021 Fees were due for payment on Monday 25th October. These are now two weeks overdue and reminder letters will be sent out. If you foresee difficulty in paying Fees, please see Bernard or Megan to discuss this as soon as possible.

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. When your card expires, please remember to present your new one to Megan so that you continue to receive the discount.

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).

CLASSROOM NEWS

Prep

As we proceed towards the end of the year, we have been busy working on developing our reading and writing skills. We have been learning about expanding our reading strategies to decode unfamiliar words and enhance fluency. When writing we are investigating how to use our ideas to bump up our writing and use our spelling strategies such as segmenting with our Soundwaves knowledge.

In Religion, we are beginning our investigation into the Christmas Story and how we celebrate The Birth of Jesus. We are also using this time to strengthen our skills of resilience, perseverance and independence as the students get ready for year 1. We have invited the St Josephs’ Kindy students into our classroom to help them build their skills as well, as they transition to school at Joeys.

As we look back over the past year, we can see how much the students have grown and some would like to take this opportunity to share some of their favourite memories from prep.

Jaxon: Ball games on Sports Day!
Bibi: Dancing in our liturgy
Braxtyn: Playing with friends
Tallon: Maths workshops
Archie: Seesaw activities on the iPads
Willow: Going to the Pilbeam Theatre to watch Pete the Sheep
Jax: Playing on the playground

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Congratulations to the following students who will celebrate their birthday this week. They are: Cody Pearce (Yr 1), Amelia McArthur (Prep), Kaison Murphy (Yr 3), Samuel Conway (Yr 6), Gustavo Da Silva (Yr 4).

Have a great day.

KEYBOARD LESSONS

Leanne Voss will continue to offer Keyboard lessons in 2022 for interested students in grades 1 – 6.

Lessons are of 30-minute duration and will be conducted weekly at school on a rotating timetable so that students do not miss the same lesson each week.

Students will be required to have access to a keyboard for practice and purchase a music tutor book and theory book. Lessons will generally be given to groups of 2 or 3 students with some individual lessons available when it is not possible to match students of similar musical ability. The lessons will focus on using a chord bass with an emphasis on utilising keyboard features such as different tones and rhythms.

Playing keyboard is an excellent extra curriculum activity to develop not only musical skills, but creative thinking, hand-eye coordination, concentration and commitment to task.

Enrolment forms are available from the office and in the newsletter for both new and continuing students.

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC in 2022

Enrolments are now being accepted for new and continuing students to learn the following instruments at St. Joseph’s Park Avenue.

FLUTE, CLARINET, SAXOPHONE, TRUMPET, TROMBONE, PERCUSSION, VIOLIN, VIOLA, CELLO, GUITAR & VOICE.

Instrumental Music provides so many benefits to a child – please watch the attached link to a fantastic video about Music and the Brain: Instrumental Music Learning and Brain Fireworks

Please see the attached information letter for details on required year levels for each instrument, and a downloaded version of the enrolment form.

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