Term 2 Week 1

What's on at St Joey's

Principal's Messages

Welcome to Term 2! I trust that the Easter break gave all a chance to refresh and recharge ready for our new term. Easter is such a special season and although the story of Jesus’ death is confronting and sad, the resurrection gives us hope for eternal life in Christ. Easter reminds us of God’s everlasting love for us and we are called to be Easter people, people of hope and love who strive to live more like Jesus in our thoughts, words and actions. Let us be a people of hope and love!

This term we welcome new staff to St Joseph’s, with Mrs Brigitta Gleeson joining the Learning Hub on Wednesdays till the end of the year. This position relieves Mrs Tranter one day per week as she is working in a Teacher Librarian mentoring role supporting other TL’s in the diocese. Brigitta comes to us with great TL experience and also works at St Therese’s New Lambton.

We also welcome back Ms Emma Davies continuing in her role in 3/4 Blue with Mrs Nikki Norley. Emma will replace Mrs Michelle Turner until her return. We continue to keep Michelle, her daughter Flo and their family in our prayers as they work through treatments for Flo’s brain cancer. Michelle sends her love and thanks to all for your support and prayers.

We have also employed Ms Kate Papworth to replace Mrs Linklater for the rest of the year in 5/6 Blue. Ms Papworth also teaches 5/6 Red, so the Stage 3 team has continued stability and continuity. We look forward to hearing the news of Mrs Linklater’s 3^rd baby in the coming weeks.

In our Learning Support team, we welcome, Mrs Heidi Routley in the job share position of Learning Support Teacher with Mrs Amber Christie. Heidi will work Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday each week and Amber Thursday/Friday. I take this opportunity to thank Mrs Amanda Beaukes who assisted Amber last term in running some of our support programs. Amber has been working very hard to keep the full time role operational, meeting our funding requirements and following policies and procedures to ensure our students needs are being met. Huge thanks to Amber for her amazing efforts!

This term we also welcome new families to St Joseph’s. Welcome to the Follington family with Darcy joining 2 Red and to the Parkes family with Cooper joining year 5 in 5/6W and Estelle in Year 1 Blue. We hope you all find SJC a warm and welcoming place to be!

This term will be filled with many important events so please keep informed and up to date by reading the newsletter, check the ‘What's on at St Joey's' section and read our Compass alerts. Please note that if you take your children out of school for holidays or even if they are sick, we are unable to reschedule events or take these absences into consideration, especially if it is a sport qualifying event. This is the same if the event has had to be rescheduled due to weather conditions and your child may be away on the new date. School attendance should be a priority and although we understand the need to take absences for various reasons throughout the year, the school calendar must remain consistent. An example I will give is that of the upcoming school athletics carnival. The student must be present at the event to qualify for the next level eg regional carnival.

If you are considering extended leave please ensure you have notified your class teacher and recorded the absence on Compass. If the days absent are greater than 10 days, an Extended Leave Certificate is required with principal approval. These can be obtained from the school office. Thank you for your support of this process.

Tomorrow our nation stops to mark ANZAC Day, remembering the sacrifice and service of our armed forces and of all service men and women. We particularly remember the Gallipoli campaign of 1915 and give thanks to those who fought for our country to ensure Australia remained safe from war. But we as Australians also take this day to remember all those who have died or have been injured in service of our country. We thank all those who work to protect us and to keep our country safe.

Our Stage 3 students attended the 67th ANNUAL NEWCASTLE & HUNTER COMBINED SCHOOLS ANZAC COMMEMORATIVE EVENT last term. This event salutes the service of those who served, and the performance narrates the untold stories of Hunter men and women in time of war. Our military heritage is celebrated by educating students and the community. These unique events are researched and delivered by students from the three education sectors. Our students reported that it was an amazing experience and they were moved by the local stories presented.

As a school community we are invited to 2 community events, the Dawn Service at Dudley 5:30am and the Lions  Park Service at Charlestown, 11am. Mrs Paff will meet the children who wish to march at Dudley and Mrs Hill will meet the children who wish to join the Charlestown march. Please see the COMPASS alert sent over the weekend for further details. Children are asked to wear their school uniform in respect for the ceremony and of our service men and women.

With autumn now in full swing we are still in Summer uniform but as the days get colder children will need their jackets. Please ensure all items of clothing and belongings have names clearly marked on them so they can be returned when they go missing. We will have a 2 week uniform transition period in the last 2 weeks of May with everyone in full Winter uniform by the 1st June. Please read below for important information about ordering uniforms. Thank you to Lindsey, Hannah and Caroline for opening our uniform shop each Monday and Friday 8:45-9:15am. 

Continuing with our "Getting to Know our Staff" project please see below for staff profiles of Learning Support Teacher, Teacher Librarian, Music/Drama Teacher and our Pastoral Care Worker. We will add our new staff and Learning Support Assistants in the next newsletter.

Thank you and God Bless,

Kate Drake

Religious Education News

ANZAC Day Liturgy

This Friday we will commemorate ANZAC Day with a school liturgy at 9am. Students are welcome to bring a small posy to place under the flagpole as a sign of remembrance. We hope you can join us for this day of National importance.

Sacramental Program

Families of students in year 4 and above who have registered an interest in the Sacramental program for 2023 are invited to attend a parent information night on Thursday, 4 May, at 6.00 pm, in the MacKillop Parish Pastoral Centre Function Room, 7 Milson Street, Charlestown.

The session will cover the structure of the program and the dates and times that the sessions will be held for each Sacrament. Expectations for both the children and parent/carer will also be discussed. It is appreciated if you can please make this important information session, it will run for approx. 45 minutes.

Upcoming liturgies this term

Mother’s Day Breakfast and Liturgy led by year 2, 8am on the 12/5/23

Catholic School’s Week Liturgy led by year 3, at 10am on the 17/5/23

HUB News

Sports News

Congratulations to our students who have qualified for the Diocesan Cross Country to be held at the Maitland Touch Fields, Maitland Park on Wednesday 10th May. More information will be distributed to our team in the coming days.

Best wishes to our representatives trialling at the Football Polding Trials in Tamworth on Friday 28th April. Good luck, Sophiw W, Harry S and Flynn L.

Our school Athletics Carnival will be held at the Fearnley Dawes Athletics Centre on Monday 22nd May. We will need some parent volunteers to assist on the day. Please ensure you are a registered volunteer through our Catholic Schools Office by following this link:

https://www.mn.catholic.org.au/people/volunteer/

P&F News

Our term 2 P & F meetings will be on the following dates: Monday 8th May and Monday 19th June, 6:30pm in the staffroom. We'd love to welcome some new faces so please come along and join us to support our wonderful school.

Canteen News

Kelly our Canteen Officer would love to see you if you have a spare couple of hours to assist in the canteen. Volunteers need to be registered with our CSO, by following this link: https://www.mn.catholic.org.au/people/volunteer/

Once cleared please sign up for a shift. The children love to see you here!

https://signup.zone/ZaEvH97ZwgHreH5Zd

**PLEASE NOTE CANTEEN ORDERS VIA QKR WILL BE CLOSED OFF AT 8:45AM ON THE DAY OF ORDERING. PLEASE ORDER BEFORE THIS TIME.**

Uniform Shop

Transition to winter uniform will be in the last 2 weeks of May, with all students in full winter uniform from Thursday 1st June. During the uniform transition period, QKR orders are preferred. Please allow 1 week for orders to be filled. To ensure that we have enough stock, we would prefer orders to be placed as soon as possible. 

New soft shell jackets are due to arrive during week 1, for any families who had expressed interest in purchasing one and haven’t placed their order yet, please order on QKR and they will be sent home as soon as they arrive. 

Girls navy zip front slacks (tailored) are on sale for $15. 

We do have second hand items available to purchase. Please pop by the shop to view and purchase. Items are $2 each except for soft shells/sports jackets which are $20. 

If you’re keen to help out for an hour a week contact us via email or drop in and have a chat. 

All enquiries to email: chl.uniformshop@mn.catholic.edu.au

ORDER via the QKR App 

OOSH

The before and after school care at St Joseph’s is provided by St Nicholas OOSH, Diocese of Maitland Newcastle.  Open form 7am-8:30am and 3:00pm-6:00pm. 

Please contact Taylor for further information.  

TAYLOR CEFAI  
NOMINATED SUPERVISOR | ST NICHOLAS OOSH    
P 0429 435 571     M  0429 435 571   
Email taylor.cefai@stnicholasoosh.org.au Visit us online www.stnicholasoosh.org.au  

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