16 November 2022

Newsletter Articles

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Dear Parents & Guardians

Last week we held our Parents and Friends Annual General Meeting with the main order of business being the nominations and elections of office bearers for 2023. The following community members will constitute the P&F Executive for 2023 whom I look forward to working with next year.

• P&F President
  Lorinda Goodsall
• P&F Vice President
  Katrina Perkins
• P&F Secretary
  Petrina Brady
• P&F Treasurer
  Leonie Mooney
• P&F Regional Delegate
  Robert Brady
• P&F Grants Officer
  Leah Benson

This Saturday will be our final Children’s Mass for the year. Please come and join us in Our Lady Help of Christians Church at 6:30pm as we celebrate with the Parish. There will be a ‘cuppa’ after mass, so families are asked to bring a shared plate for a light supper if possible. Hope to see you there.

Tomorrow night will be our annual swimming carnival with lower school events happening in the 25m pool earlier in the afternoon and then Upper, Age Championship Events happening in the 50m pool after that.

For the 25m pool, most spectators are on the grassed area between the pool and the toilet blocks and for the 50m events, we ask that families be in the Grandstand as the pool decks either side need to be cleared for lifesavers if needed.

We ask that students not be in the pool other than when they are required for their official races due to safety reasons. Entry should be free for both students and spectators for this event, and due to the evening being a little later on a school night, Age Championship Medals and the overall carnival winner will be presented at a special assembly on Friday Morning.

This week marked our final Monday Morning Whole School Assembly as our final two weeks we will be holding our Semester 2 - Performing Arts Assembly on Monday, 21st November in Week 8 and our Semester 2 Academic Awards on Monday, 28th November in Week 9. All are welcome to attend these special events. If your child will be receiving an award, you will be notified by the school via text message by Friday the 25th of November.

Enjoy the third last week of the year.

Don’t Forget….

• Swimming Carnival @ Southside Pool. Thurs 17th Nov (commencing at 5pm)
• Year 4-6 Intra-school Sport concludes. Fri 18th Nov
• Children’s Mass. Sat 19th Nov @ 6:30pm in OLHC
• Semester 2 - Performing Arts Assembly. Mon 21st Nov @ 8:35am in MPA
• Emmaus Year 7 2023 Orientation Day. Thurs 24th Nov. 8:45am – 2:30pm @ Emmaus.
• SJPA Presentation Night. Thurs 24th Nov
• P&F Volunteers Lunch. Sun 27th @ 12pm, Park Avenue Hotel
• Semester 2 Academic Awards Assembly. Mon 28th Nov @ 8:35am in MPA
• Semester 2 Reports posted to Parent Lounge. Wed 30th Nov @ 12:00pm
• Year 6 Graduation Mass & Dinner. Wed 30th Nov (Mass commencing at 5pm)
• Year 6 Fun Day @ Keppel. Thurs 1st Dec
• End of Year Mass & Leadership Changeover. Fri 2nd Dec @ 9:00am in OLHC
• 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

RELIGIOUS MATTERS

33rd Sunday Ordinary Time

Questions about the Resurrection

Luke 21:5-19

Scriptural context – Apocalyptic writing

Hollywood has done very well out of movies about the end of the world and the term ‘apocalypse’ has come to have this meaning. However, ‘apocalypse’ comes from the Greek word meaning, ‘to lift a veil’ or ‘to reveal’. The apocalypse is not the end of the world, but rather the revelation that will come at the end of the world. Writings such as today’s gospel passage about what will happen at the end of the world and how God will be revealed are described in the Christian tradition as ‘apocalyptic writing’. The most famous of these writings is the book of Revelation.

@Liturgy Help – Greg Sunter

Children’s Mass at OLHC

This Saturday will be our final Children’s Mass at Our Lady Help of Christians Church. Our last celebration was full of happy little faces and many families joined us after Mass to share a meal. If you can come along on Saturday, please complete the form sent home to eldest in the family today and return it to school. It would be great to see lots of our children and families gathered with our parishioners for the last time in 2023.

Sacrmental Program

Please refer to the notice that went out on our SkoolBag app calling for expressions of interest for our 2023 Sacramental Program. This program is open to children who will be 9 years of age (or older) in 2023.

Your family's journey through the Sacraments allows you and your children to develop a deep sense of belonging to our Catholic faith community and a richer relationship with one another and with our God.

We would love to have you join us. If your family would like more information, please use the QR Code below:

Vinnies Christmas Appeal

A reminder to give what you can to our Vinnies Christmas Appeal. I thank you all for the generosity you have already shown and ask that you continue to give what you feel your family can. This week we are focused on Christmas sweets. This might include Christmas cakes, plum puddings, fruit mince tarts, UHT custard, jellies, lollies, etc.

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

2023 Booklists

Booklists for next year were sent home with students last week. They are also available on the SkoolBag app if you need to print one off between now and next year. You will hopefully notice that the quantity of items for parents to purchase has again decreased thanks to the generous support of our P&F. Their contribution to the booklists has enabled many items to be removed from each list, therefore, saving a considerable amount of money for every parent. A huge thank you to the P&F for everything they do to support the school.

Semester Two Reports

Students are busily finishing off assessments so teachers can begin preparing the Semester Two reports. These will be available to parents on Wednesday, 30th November through Parent Lounge. Please remember that Parent Lounge is the only way you can access your child’s report, so please ensure you are able to log in before then. If you need assistance, please contact the office so new log in details can be set up if required. Please encourage your children to work hard over the next couple of weeks and show their teachers what they can do in all assessment areas.

Medication Collection

Please be aware that all medication which is kept at school needs to be collected at the end of the school year. Any medication not collected will be disposed of as per Diocesan policy.

Regards,
Deanne Senini
Assistant Principal Curriculum

CLASSROOM NEWS

Prep

Prep has been working very hard on refining our skills and getting ready for our next adventure – Year 1! In our workshops we are learning how to become independent learners and how to challenge ourselves with problem solving skills and working out what’s next to extend our learning.

In Religion we have been listening to stories from the Bible, learning about the Church and have started to investigate the Birth of Jesus. It is such a beautiful story and a wonderful way to lead us into the holy season.

In literacy we are completing our Soundwaves Book and celebrating all we have done to consolidate our letter and sound knowledge. Our teachers have been reading us many wonderful stories and we have been responding by writing a sentence and illustrating a picture to match. We even have a special Bump It Up Wall where we can look at our own work and see how we can improve.

In Maths we are exploring numbers using 10’s and 1’s blocks, 100’s boards and examining the patterns we see when completing numbers before and after.

It has been a very exciting term and the teachers are very impressed with how dedicated and engaged in learning we have been, and although we will miss Prep, we’re excited for year 1 in 2023.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Congratulations to the following students and staff who will celebrate their birthday this week. They are: Georgia Goodsall (Prep), Cody Pearce (Yr 2), Andie Cook (Prep), Kaison Murphy (Yr 4), Ella-Shae Gardiner (Yr 5) Harper Younger (Prep) and Mrs Hoffman (School Counsellor).

Have a great day.

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC in 2023

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.

Enrolment is available online at

KEYBOARD LESSONS

Leanne Voss will continue to offer Keyboard lessons in 2023 for interested students in grades 1 – 6.

Lessons are of 30-minute duration and will be conducted weekly at school.

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.

UNIFORM SHOP

Our Uniform Shop is open Friday Mornings from 8:00 – 8:45am. The Joeys and Friends Facebook page will still have what is available for sale.

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