8 February 2023

Newsletter Articles

FROM THE ACTING PRINCIPAL

It was wonderful to celebrate our Opening School Mass with the school and parish communities on Friday. Although it was a little uncomfortable due to being a warm day, it was a lovely ceremony. Thank you to Fr Terry who presided over the Mass, our special guests, Mr Hogan for being an Eucharistic Minister, Mrs Voss for playing the organ and Mrs Carter for organising the Mass. During this ceremony, we took the opportunity to welcome our new staff: Miss Liddell, Miss Borich, Mrs Svendsen, Miss Guest, Miss McDonald and Mr Smith. Our new staff were presented with a copy of our school values as well as some St Joseph’s staff apparel.

Welcome BBQ

Yesterday afternoon / evening we held our Welcome BBQ. Thank you to everyone who took the time to meet the class teachers and socialise with other community members. These occasions are a great way for parents to build relationships with the St Joseph’s staff as well as with the wider parent community. Thank you to the staff who gave of their time for this event.

Upcoming Events:

• P&F Meeting – Wednesday, 8th February (tonight)
• Year 4-6 rotational sport activities begin on Friday, 10th February
• Mike Kelso school visit – Friday, 10th February
• There is a pupil free day on Friday, 17th February to enable all staff from our Catholic Schools to attend the annual Bishop’s Inservice Day. Please note there will be no OSHC offered on that day.
• Ash Wednesday - 22nd February
• Year 6 Camp Parent Information Evening – Wednesday, 22nd February

Please feel free to see any member of the Leadership Team if you have any concerns throughout the year. We are more than happy to discuss matters with you.

Regards,
Deanne Senini
Acting Principal

St Joseph’s 2022 School Improvement Priorities:

• Prayer
• Family Partnerships
• Increased Learning Gain & Achievement

RELIGIOUS MATTERS

5th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Salt of the earth, light of the world.

Matthew 5:13-16

Scriptural context – Following blessings

Today’s gospel passage is one that is quite commonly quoted and relatively well known. When it is taken in isolation, it’s very easy to forget that these words immediately follow the Beatitudes that we heard in last week’s gospel. The imperative for justice in the images of salt and light of the world becomes even clearer when we remember that these words follow the blessings on those who are poor; who mourn; who are merciful and fight for justice. Jesus has blessed all these who are least in the world and then charges the disciples to be salt and light for them.

@Liturgy Help – Greg Sunter

Sacramental 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:

Thank you to those families who took the time to join us at our Opening School Mass. As a Catholic school, this occasion is especially important; it allows us to commit our academic year into the hands of our Heavenly Father and allows us time to ask His son, Jesus and the Holy Spirit to guide us through the rigours a new school year will demand of us.

It was wonderful to see members of our wider community show their support for Joeys by celebrating the Eucharist with us. Thank you to our Parish Manager; Mr Hogan, our FIARE consultant; Mrs Benoit as well as members of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart. Each of these represent integral parts of our communal whole and play a special role in the life of Joeys.

A big congratulations to the students and staff who were commissioned for the 2023 School Year by Fr Terry. We know you will all work to make Joeys a place of learning, safety and joy during this academic school year. Thank you for all you have done already to bring our Gospel values of Self Worth, Mutual Acceptance and Personal Responsibility alive in our school.

Friday morning Mass and Prayer Celebrations begin this week. A reminder that they are usually held in Our Lady Help of Christians’ Church. As we did last Friday, we will monitor the weather conditions and may change our Prayer Celebrations venue to the MPA if temperature and humidity make gathering in our Church too uncomfortable. If this is ever the case, a message will be sent via our SkoolBag app. We welcome all members of our community to join us.

A list of the Prayer Assemblies and other celebrations planned for the coming weeks is outlined below.

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)
*MPA – Multipurpose Area (Basketball court)

PARISH NEWSLETTER

Elizabeth Carter
Assistant Principal Religious Education

CURRICULUM NEWS

VOLUNTEERS

As we begin 2023, we look forward to welcoming volunteers back to school. There are various ways you can volunteer at Joey's. If you’d like to volunteer in the tuckshop, please get in touch with the office or catch up with our tuckshop convenor – Mrs Debbie Rooney. If you’d like to volunteer in your child’s classroom or perhaps another classroom, please approach the class teacher to see what activities are available to assist with.

Before beginning your volunteering, you must complete a volunteer induction; this will happen in the office before you start. Even if you have completed an induction before, the induction must be done every year. If you are a grandparent or community member, please apply for a blue card:

We look forward to welcoming many volunteers to Joey's this year.

MEDICAL DETAILS

With the start of a new school year, please ensure your child/ren’s medical details are up to date. To check this information, log on to parent lounge and check the medical tab. Please update if necessary. If your child has a medical action plan, please ensure it is current. If it is due for renewal, please drop a copy of the updated plan to the office or upload it to the medical section for your child in Parent Lounge. The school needs to have updated medical details on file. Your cooperation with this request is appreciated.

Regards,
Brooke Black
Acting Assistant Principal Curriculum

ROCKHAMPTON DISTRICT SELECTION TRIALS

The calendar of dates for RDS Selection Trials for all School Sport has been added to our SkoolBag App. You are encouraged to access this calendar via the app. If your child has the prerequisite skills and you wish for them to trial in the offered sports, please download the Cap Sport documents also on the SkoolBag App and when they are completed for your child, return them to the school office.

Please be aware that for your child to attend these trials as a 10-year-old student that they would need to be exceptional as they will be competing against students up to 12 years of age.

Congratulations

Tom Compagnoni from Year 6 has been selected in the RDS Cricket squad. A big congratulations to Tom and good luck to Tom as he represents Rockhampton at the Capricornia Trials.

Season A Sport

A note was distributed by Mrs Senini last week that detailed our plans for Season A Sport for 2023. This season, we will continue with intra-school sport that we trialled in Season C last year. This decision was made after much consideration and consultation among our staff, students, and parents.

The weather last week highlighted for me the importance of considering our students and how we can best meet their needs while allowing for physical activity. Providing the opportunity for Years 4, 5 & 6 to participate in intra-school sport each Friday afternoon seems to strike a happy medium for our Joeys students.

A commitment to inter-school sport each season has a large impact on the availability of learning time for the relevant year levels. This must be considered in conjunction with the relatively small amount of time students are engaged in physical activity when competing in inter-school sport fixtures.

At Joeys in Season A, we will be spending time developing our skills for sports offered by Rockhampton District Sport, in particular the sports offered in Season B in which we will continue to compete. A big thank you to all the staff from Years 4, 5 & 6 for their continued commitment to the development of our students’ sporting skills and physical activity.

FINANCE NEWS

School Fees for Term 1 have been emailed & posted to Parent Lounge.

Term 1 Fees are due for payment on Wednesday 8th February, unless you have a direct debit in place.

Please ensure that you check your email or log into Parent Lounge to check your School Fees on a regular basis. If you now have another child at the school you may need to increase what you are currently paying so as to not get behind with Fees.

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 this week. They are: Addison Bosel (Yr 1), Hudson Hancock (Prep), Octavia Corry (Yr 1), Eliana Stevenson (Yr 4), Mia Duncan (Yr 6), Billie McDonald (Prep), Ruthie Perkins (Yr 3) & Cooper Lee (Yr 6).

Have a great day.

YR 7 EMMAUS COLLEGE 2023

ENROLMENTS FOR Year 7 2024 CLOSE – FRIDAY 3RD MARCH

Applications for Year 7 2024, close very shortly. We invite interested families with students in Year 6 this year to enrol to join our Emmaus College Community. Enrolment Interviews commence on Tuesday 14 March 2023. Interviews will only be guaranteed for families who have completed their enrolment application by Friday 3 March 2023.

To apply visit our college website from the link below for more information, contact our college Enrolment Officer, Sonya Acutt, via phone 0749235758 or email enrolments@emmaus.qld.edu.au

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.

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