15 February 2023

Newsletter Articles

FROM THE ACTING PRINCIPAL

Mr Fitzgerald

Due to Mr Fitzgerald’s family still needing his support and care on a daily basis, Bernard has decided he needs to extend his leave until the beginning of Term 2. Therefore, for the remainder of Bernard’s leave, I will continue in the position of Acting Principal and Brooke Black will continue in the position of Acting APC. Please keep the Fitzgerald family in your thoughts and prayers.

Friday Sport

Last Friday saw the start of our in-house Season A sport rotations. The students spent the whole afternoon session learning and practising skills for the sports of soccer, tee-ball, basketball and general fitness. Thanks to Catherine Farr for putting together the following clip of the students enjoying the first week of Friday sport.

Access to School

We have had quite a few occasions this year where students have tried to leave the school grounds. As I'm sure you can appreciate, this is a serious safety issue, especially with such a busy road at the front of the school. In order to keep our students safely inside the school, all gates around the school have been padlocked. All gates at the back of the school will remain permanently locked. The gates at the front of the school will be unlocked in the morning when the first staff member arrives at school, relocked once the school day begins and unlocked again at approx 2:45 of an afternoon.

Parents are welcome to enter the school at any time of the day. When the gates are locked, all students and parents should enter the school through the office as per our normal procedures.

Of an afternoon, parents/caregivers are welcome to enter the school to collect their child. We just ask that adults don't linger around outside classrooms, as this can be very distracting to the students.

There are plenty of tables around the school where parents and carers are able to sit and wait for their children to be released at 3pm. Please be aware, however, that at 3pm the MPA court area legally becomes an OSHC space and you will be asked to vacate this area. Prep and Year 1 students will continue to be walked up to the pick up area, as this is also done for the safety of these younger students.

Thanks for your understanding of this important safety precaution we have put in place.

St Joseph’s Learning Spaces

We often have people ask us how our rooms operate and why we do what we do. Over the term, I will share with you the reasons why we love our teaching and learning spaces and philosophy.

Reason Number One:

Our rooms enable small group instruction based on needs. This means lessons are taught to small groups and tailored to suit the current needs of the students in each group. No longer do we have one teacher instructing 30 students at the same time. This allows for teachers to really target the learning needs of each student in the cohort. Teachers keep detailed notes of progress and needs during each workshop and are able to touch base individually with each student.

Tuckshop Volunteers Needed:

Please consider volunteering some of your time in the tuckshop and at Breakfast Club. Without enough volunteers, we won’t be able to offer these services as frequently as we currently do. It’s very simple to volunteer and you don’t have to volunteer weekly, any time you can give will be appreciated. Please see Debbie in the tuckshop if you can help.

Upcoming Events:

• 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 this day.
• Ash Wednesday: 22nd February
• Year 6 Camp Parent Information Evening: Wednesday, 22nd February
• Board Meeting: Wednesday, 1st March
• St Joseph’s Feast Day 17th March: Mass at 9am followed by Grandparent’s Day morning tea in the MPA. Drawing of the Year 6 Easter Raffle.
• NAPLAN: 15th March – 24th March
• Year 6 Camp: 27th March – 30th March

Regards,
Deanne Senini
Acting Principal

St Joseph’s 2022 School Improvement Priorities:

• Prayer
• Family Partnerships
• Increased Learning Gain & Achievement

RELIGIOUS MATTERS

6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

When you say yes, you must mean yes.

Matthew 5:33-37

Living the Gospel – Interpretation

Jesus demonstrates the crucial nature of interpretation. It is easy for us today to look at something like the Ten Commandments or the Beatitudes and dismiss them as irrelevant. Taken literally, they may seem to have fairly limited application to our modern lives. However, interpreted in a broader context and within the context of our own lives, such ancient codes of behaviour can take on new significance. Jesus points us towards the importance of looking beyond the surface and searching out the truth of such statements. Interpretation of scripture for our modern lives and modern world is vital to living life to the fullest.

@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:

This Saturday, 18th February will be our first Children’s Mass at Our Lady Help of Christians church. We welcome all members of our school community to celebrate with us and look forward to sharing a BBQ meal together with our parish community after Mass.

I appreciate those families who have already sent back forms indicating they are going to join us on Saturday. Your support of this important event each month is really appreciated and helps to build community.

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

Rockhampton District Selection Trials

Thank you to those parents who have been proactive in following the new system for RDS Selection Trials.

I have added below the calendar of trials as advised by RDS to date. If you think your child would like to try for selection for any of these school sports, please download the Capricorn School Booklet and submit it to the school at least 10 days before the trial date.

Intra-School Sport

Our first round of intra-school sports was a great success last week. Students were placed in groups across year levels and by all reports, this has been enjoyed by students across years four to six. A big thank you to our teachers who have committed to this initiative and are offering essential skill development for a variety of sports during Friday afternoons.

Elizabeth Carter
Assistant Principal Religious Education

CURRICULUM NEWS

VOLUNTEERS

In 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 pop into the office and see Tracey or Megan to pick up a Volunteer Bluecard Application. In this process, you will have to have a copy of your licence certified by a JP or of someone similar.

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

FINANCE NEWS

TERM 1 FEE ACCOUNTS NOW OVERDUE

School Fees for Term 1 were due for payment on Wednesday 8th February. These are now overdue and requiring attention.

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: Lilly Oliver (Yr 3), Creed Byrnes (Yr 1), Memphis Byrnes (Yr 2), Ella Perry (Yr 2), Raven McKenzie Weeding ((Yr 3), Archie Burch (Yr 6), Noah Wale (Yr 3), Adalyn Cann (Yr 3), Mace Downie (Yr 6) and Jax Maas (Yr 5).

Have a great day.

YR 6 EASTER RAFFLE

This term the Year Six major fundraiser is an Easter multi-draw raffle that will be drawn on Friday 17th March 2023. Tickets are $1 each and to be sold in Weeks 5, 6, 7 & 8. Students will be selling tickets from just inside the gate each morning so please send your child/ren money to purchase tickets.

If you think you might be able to sell a book of 20 or 50 tickets within your workplace or at your sporting club etc please reach out to the year six teachers and we can arrange to get a book of tickets to you for selling. The contact email address is;

SJPA_Year6Teachers@rok.catholic.edu.au

Thank you for your support, it is always a great fundraiser for our year six students.

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 or 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 the link below:

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