27 July 2022

Newsletter Articles

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Dear Parents & Guardians

This week we celebrate 201 years of Catholic Education in Australia. Our school has contributed to 93 years of that tradition, providing Catholic Education to the Park Avenue and wider areas of Rockhampton since 1929.

This week, we celebrate all that Catholic education has provided in the past, live in gratitude for all that we have in the present and celebrate our Faith with joy, hope and love for the future.

Our new precinct signs reflect our Catholic Identity and the special significance of Penola, St Mary MacKillop and Fr Julian Tenison Woods. In 1860, at the age of 18, Mary MacKillop left her home in Melbourne to work in Penola, South Australia. Here, working with Fr Tenison Woods, Mary began her lifelong commitment to providing education and eventually established the Josephite Sisters that work till this day.

Without St Mary MacKillop, Fr Tenison Woods, the Sisters of St Joseph, and their first little school in Penola, South Australia, there would be no St Joseph’s Park Avenue to celebrate today. This week we give thanks to all who have contributed to the last 201 years of Catholic Education and on behalf of St Joseph’s, we especially thank the tireless work of the Josephite Sisters and their continued commitment to God’s work, inspiring us to continue providing Catholic Education well into the future.

While still on the topic of celebrating Catholic Education, at this week’s Monday morning assembly we took the time to acknowledge three staff members who have achieved significant milestones while working in the Rockhampton Diocese. Mr Mike Kelso was present to acknowledge these achievements:

- Ms Brooke Black was presented with her certificate for being nominated for the ‘Spirit of Catholic Education’ Awards 2022. Brooke has been at Joey’s for a significant portion of her teaching career and is still passionately providing a safe and positive environment for our students to learn and grow.

- Mrs Deanne Sennini was presented with her 20 Years Commendable Service to Catholic Education plaque with Deanne now providing positive teaching and learning experiences at the school she once attended as a pupil herself.

- Mrs Kerry McLean was also presented with a 22 Years Commendable Service to Catholic Education plaque acknowledging Kerry’s commitment to providing care for students during Outside of School Care and Vacation Care.

Well done and thank-you to these staff members for their ongoing commitment to Catholic Education.

It is with a tinge of sadness, as well as a tremendous amount of excitement that I make the following announcement. Mrs Michelle Hannah has successfully applied for and accepted the Learning Support Co-ordinator role at St Joseph’s Wandal. Mrs Hannah has been a dedicated staff member at Joeys for well over a decade providing a huge level of commitment to the education of our students across multiple year levels. Michelle, I whole-heartedly agree with how one staff member acknowledged your contribution to Joeys when I announced the news to the staff. The staff member said, “that they (St Joseph’s Wandal) are so lucky to be getting you.” This was incredibly well said and very, very true. To flip this statement, it is incredibly sad to see Mrs Hannah go. She is a valued staff member and will be greatly missed.

Mrs Hannah will be commencing her new role before the end of the year.

More information will be sent home to Year 1 parents as it comes to hand.

I am sure you will all join me in wishing Michelle all the best in her new role.

Catholic Education Week is always ushered in with the Emmaus musical each year. Our Year 5 & 6 students loved attending the ‘dress rehearsal’ last Thursday and raved about it afterwards. Staff who also attended were chuffed to see past Joeys students up on stage blowing them away with their talent and the standard of their performances.

I was lucky enough to attend on Friday night and loved every second of it.

The Musical was wonderful and is a credit to Emmaus College, their students, the staff and their whole school community.

Quite simply, it was awesome to see what young people with a dedicated staff can achieve. Absolutely brilliant!

Unfortunately, we had to cancel our ‘Pyjama Party’ disco last week. As soon as I have the chance to talk with the Year 6 teachers and their class, we will send out the new details as soon as possible.

For those who may have missed it last week, I have tried to include a comprehensive list of dates for Semester 2.

Have a great Week 3.

Don’t Forget….

• Catholic Education Week. 24th – 30th July
• NAIDOC Day. Wed 27th July
• St Mary of the Cross Feast Day. Mon 8th Aug
• Mr Fitzgerald - Long Service Leave. 15th – 19th Aug
• National Science Week. 15th – 19th Aug
• Rescheduled Year 6 Camp @ Chaverim. 22nd – 24th Aug
• Season B Sport Concludes. Friday 26th Aug
• 2023 Prep Offers Emailed Out. Fri 26th Aug
• P&F Trivia Night. Sat 27th Aug
• Mr Fitzgerald’s Principal Performance Appraisal. Tues 30th Aug
• SJPA Book Week. 29th Aug – 2nd September
• Book Fair. 29th Aug – 1st Sept
• Joey’s in Jamas. Wed 31st Aug
• Book Week Dress-up Day. Thurs 1st Sept
• Pupil Free Day, Fri 2nd Sept
• Semester 2 Parent/Teacher Interviews. Week 9 5th – 9th Sept
• National Child Protection Week (NAPCAN). 4th – 9th Sept
• R U OK? Day. Thurs 8th Sept
• Possible Colour Run Days. 15/16th Sept
• Last Day of Term 3. Fri 16th Sept
• Term 4 Commences. Tues 4th Oct
• World Teacher’s Day. Wed 5th Oct
• School Blessing and Opening. Fri 14th Oct
• Prep Orientation Day. Thurs 20th Oct
• Day for Daniel/Canteen Day. Fri 28th October
• All Saints Day. Tues 1st Nov
• All Souls Day. Wed 2nd Nov
• Proposed Swimming Carnival Date. Thurs 17th Nov
• Semester 2 Cultural Arts Assembly. Mon 21st Nov
• Semester 2 Academic Awards Assembly. Mon 28th Nov
• Semester 2 Reports Posted to Parent Lounge. Wed 30th Nov
• Graduation Mass & Dinner. Wed 30th Nov
• Year 6 Fun Day. Thurs 1st Dec
• End of Year Mass & Leadership Changeover. Fri 2nd Dec
• Term 4 Concludes. Fri 2nd Dec

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

St Joseph’s 2022 School Improvement Priorities:

• Prayer
• Family Partnerships
• Increased Learning Gain & Achievement

Positive COVID Case Notification

St Joseph’s Catholic School Park Avenue wishes to advise you that, during the past week, we have been notified of positive cases of COVID-19 in our school community.

St Joseph’s regularly consults with the Catholic Education Office and relevant authorities and continues to follow the advice of Queensland Health regarding cleaning requirements.

Queensland Health has advised that no quarantine of students or staff is required.

As COVID-19 remains active in our community we ask you to continue to monitor your child’s/children’s health and if they develop any flu-like symptoms:

• Keep your child/children at home
• Seek a PCR or Rapid Antigen test where it is recommended and notify the school of positive results. Please be aware, a negative COVID test does not change the requirement to be symptom free to attend school.
• Follow the advice of Queensland Health

As we continue to navigate the pandemic, please remind your child/ren to:

• maintain good hand hygiene at all times
• cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or the inside of their elbow and dispose of tissues in the bin immediately.
• practice social distancing from others where possible
• wear masks when required

We will continue to work closely with health authorities to keep our school community informed of any developments and advice. Thank you once again for your ongoing support.

RELIGIOUS MATTERS
17th Sunday Ordinary Time

Jesus teaches the disciples to pray.

Luke 11:1-13

Gospel Focus – Relationship

A crucial aspect of prayer is the attitude with which we view God. We trust in God’s character that it is not a pointless exercise to ask for something. We trust that God is even more loving than a parent who tries to give their child what they need. If we did not make these basic assumptions about God, there would be little point in prayer. When our prayer lives falter at times, perhaps we need to first check out our relationship with God and our attitude towards God before trying to ‘fix’ the ways we pray.

@Liturgy Help – Greg Sunter

HAPPY CATHOLIC EDUCATION WEEK!

This week we celebrate over 200 years of Catholic Education in Australia. A remarkable achievement and certainly one to celebrate.

LET’S TAKE A MINUTE TO REFLECT ON WHAT CATHOLIC EDUCATION OFFERS TO COMMUNITIES

• A faith-based education which places the values of Jesus at its centre
• A high quality, holistic education for 1 in 5 young Queenslanders, educating them to be well-informed, highly skilled and constructive members of the community
• Values diversity and treats each student with dignity enabling them in turn to promote and respect the dignity of all
• Nurtures in students a commitment to social justice and a critical social consciousness
• Prepares students for global responsibilities through stewardship of the earth’s resources
• Is an integral part of the local and universal Church
• Occurs in welcoming, inclusive, and connected communities.

SACRAMENTAL PROGRAM

Our next Family Workshops are this week. They will be held Tuesday and Wednesday and both sessions are at Holy Family Parish Centre this week. These workshops are the second based around Eucharist. Families will only need to attend one of these scheduled meetings.

A reminder that the link to the important dates for families and other information about the program can be accessed using the link below:

Northside Sacramental Program

Liturgical Celebrations Coming Up

*SJPA – St Joseph’s Park Avenue
*OLHC – Our Lady Help of Christians church (next to St Joseph’s, Park Avenue)
*HF – Holy Family Parish Centre (next to Anthony’s School)
*STM – St Mary’s Church (next to St Mary’s School)
*MPA – Multipurpose Area (Basketball court)

PARISH NEWSLETTER

Elizabeth Carter
Assistant Principal Religious Education

CURRICULUM NEWS

Science Week

This year to celebrate Science Week, we will be holding a ‘science day’ on Thursday, 18th August. On this day each class will set up experiments / displays for students to visit and interact with. This will take place during school time on this day. Students are invited to come in free dress on this day with a science theme if possible. Perhaps they might like to dress like a scientist or get creative with a different idea which is science related. The theme for Science Week 2022 is ‘Glass: More than meets the eye’.

Book Week

This year, Book Week will be celebrated a week later than normal due to a clash with Year 6 camp. Joey’s in Jamas will be held on Wednesday, 31st August in the library. Our annual dress up day will be held on Thursday, 1st September. Both these events are generally very well supported by our community so I look forward to seeing everyone at Joey’s in Jamas and seeing the wonderful creative costumes at the dress up parade. The theme for Book Week 2022 is ‘Dreaming with Eyes Open’.

ICAS

St Joseph’s is offering ICAS assessments again this year.

ICAS Assessments are online assessments, designed to recognise and reward academic excellence. Students are assessed on their ability to apply classroom learning to new contexts, using higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills.

The assessments are based on the curricula for the relevant year. Students are asked to demonstrate a deeper, integrated, and thorough level of knowledge. Our team of expert academics develops new ICAS Assessments annually for each subject in every year level to ensure an engaging and beneficial experience for all students.

Benefits of ICAS:

Provide objective ranking of performance
Encourage students to attain greater academic success
Require students to think beyond the classroom
Recognise student success through medals and certificates

If you would like your child to participate in ICAS this year, please see the table below for prices and the year levels eligible for each assessment. You will then need to log into the ICAS Parent Portal through the link below to make your order. The school will receive notification when an assessment is ordered by a Joey’s parent. Orders close on 1st August.

Your school access code is: ZOV299

Your parent page link is: https://shop.icasassessments.com/pages/pps

If your child is away on the testing day, there is some flexibility for them to sit the assessment, but it must be in the same week as the scheduled date and fit in with the availability of staff trained in the implementation of ICAS assessments.

Premier’s Reading Challenge

The Premier's Reading Challenge (PRC) is an annual state-wide initiative for state and non-state schools and home-educated students up to Year 9, as well as children attending early childhood centres. Since the program’s inception in 2006, more than 20 million books have been read, and in 2021 alone, 168,000 school, early childhood and individual readers participated in the challenge reading more than 2.39 million books throughout the PRC reading period.

The challenge is not a competition but aims to improve literacy and encourage children to read widely for pleasure and learning. Students can participate in the challenge within their school or as individual readers (home-educated students or students whose schools are not participating in the program).

For a student to successfully complete the challenge they must read or experience the allocated number of books for their year level during the reading period. Students who complete the challenge have their efforts recognised through the receipt of a Certificate of Achievement signed by the Premier of Queensland.

Why read? Literacy skills are vital to ensuring children have the best chance to succeed in their schooling and life. The PRC is an opportunity for students to be enthusiastic about reading, writing, authors and illustrators. Reading a variety of books builds vocabulary and knowledge, improves spelling and comprehension, can improve confidence and is also a great way to relax.

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

The requirement for Year 5 through to Year 6 students to read 15 books acknowledges that older students are likely to select longer, more complex books that may take them longer to read.

All reading record forms need to be returned to the office by 26th August to be eligible for a certificate.

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 reading nonfiction texts and using information learned to write facts about animals. We’ve also been learning different strategies to solve addition and subtraction problems and working hard to develop fact fluency.

During investigation time, we get to choose from a range of activities and experiences that help consolidate various learning intentions. We’ve really enjoyed learning about animals and refining our oral language skills at our ‘Vet Surgery’.

In Religion, we’ve been learning to describe ways in which believers past and present honour Mary, the Mother of Jesus. We’ve also started to keep a gratitude journal to record the many ways in which we are grateful for God’s blessings.

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.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Congratulations to the following students and staff who will celebrate their birthday this week. They are: Ryan Thistlethwaite (Yr 1), Rhalf Dequinon (Yr 4), Pippa Kaufman (Yr 4), Jordana Corry (Yr 6), Kiara Coughlan (Yr 2), Sophia Coughlan (Yr 2), Paityn Spence (Yr 5), Vincent Larkin (Yr 6), Brittney O’Leary (Yr 6), Mrs O’Brien (Prep), Ms McLeod (Prep) and Mrs Hannah (Yr 1).

Have a great day.

UNIFORM SHOP

Our Uniform Shop will be reopening Friday Mornings from 8:00 – 8:45am commencing 5th August. The Joeys and Friends Facebook page will still have what is available for sale.

NCCD

Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability

Every year, in August, all schools in Australia participate in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD). The NCCD process requires schools to identify information already available in the school about the support provided to students with disability.

It is now a legislative requirement for the school to inform you if your child will be included in the NCCD. Your child’s teacher would have discussed this with you during your Semester One Parent/Teacher Interview.

If you would like to access other information about the NCCD, this is a link to the NCCD Portal ( (https://www.nccd.edu.au) )

If you have any questions about the NCCD, please contact Inclusive Curriculum.

WONDER RECYCLING REWARDS

Calling all students, parents, grandparents, neighbours, and friends!! St Joey’s will be participating in the Wonder Recycling Rewards program! By collecting your BREAD BAGS for school, we can earn points for new sporting equipment.

What kind of bread bags are we collecting?

The rule of thumb is that if it has contained bread of some sort and is a soft plastic, then it's a bread bag that we can collect (all brands). lf it hasn't contained bread, then it's not a bread bag we can use.

How clean do the bags have to be?

Bread bags should be free from crumbs to ensure no contamination during the recycling process but they do not need to be washed.

Are we collecting bread TAGS too?

No, at this stage we are not collecting bread tags, but you can still recycle them!

When do we start collecting?

NOW!! We can start collecting our bread bags while we wait for our official collection boxes to arrive.

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