Term 2 Week 9

What's on at St Joey's

Principal's Messages

Dear Parents and Carers,

This week our school will host a panel of colleagues from the Catholic Schools Office and other schools as we undergo an External Review. This is a part of our Continuum of School Improvement cycle and gives us the opportunity to reflect on our journey as a school in terms of our School Improvement Plan, our goals, successes and a look at our challenges too. The executive team will be presenting to the panel on Tuesday and then the panel will visit classrooms, interview staff, parents and students to gain an insight into our school. The panel will peruse our documentation, data and evidence of growth and improvement. I am proud to be showcasing our beautiful school this week and look forward to the feedback and recommendations that will be presented to us. Thank you to the parents who have been willing and able to participate in this process.

As a community of faith we keep in our prayers all those affected by the tragic Hunter Valley bus accident. We pray that the families and friends who have lost loved ones can find some comfort in each other, in God and in their communites. We ask our loving God to embrace them in God's care  to help them through these dark days. 

Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon them.

May they rest in peace. Amen.

We give a warm welcome to the Demery family and the Murtagh family as they join St Joeys. Harvey will be joining 2 Blue, Madeline in Kinder Blue and Chayse in 5/6 White. I am sure you and your children will help to make them all feel welcome.

Congratulations to our teachers on parental leave who have welcomed their babies safely into the world.

Mrs Kate Linklater, Tim, Zoe and Milly now have a new daughter and sister, Elira.

Mrs Angela Shaw, Matt and Viviene also have a new daughter and sister, Bronte.

We wish you all much love and joy!

Huge congratulations to Lochlan O'Brien on his amazing achievement in Poldiing Cross Country. Lochlan represented our Diocese and came 16^th in his event. This is a wonderful achievement. We are proud of you Lochlan!

Also we are very proud of our Spelling and Maths Bee finalists who represented St Joseph’s at the Lakes Regional Competition. Well done to:

Spelling Bee Finalists: Stage 3: Urban Bell, Stage 2: Jeremy Hill, Stage 1: Zivah Grosvenor

 Maths Bee Finalists: Stage 3: Beau Drelincourt, Stage 2: Eli Smith, Stage 1: Billie Umeh-Nicholas 

CONGRATULATIONS to Zivah who was the Regional Stage 1 Champion in Spelling and to Billie who was the Regional  Stage 1 Maths Champion. Both students advance to the Diocesan Competition to be held at St Catherine’s Singleton, this Friday. We wish you both all the very best!

Congratulations to our 2023 Athletics Age Champions who were presented with their medals at last weeks assembly.

Junior Girls              Billie Eder

Junior Boys               Lochlan O’Brien

 11yrs Girls                Sophie Whale

 11 yrs Boys             Flynn Larnach

 Senior Girls               Olive Wade

Senior Boys               Jake Staddon

Well done to the Bradman House who were overall carnival champions!

We also congratualte Alannah McGill who recently attended the Global Dance and Cheerleading Games in Hawaii. Alannah's team from the Eastcoast Allstars came away with the Silver Medal. Amazing!

Semester Reports will be uploaded to Compass for parents to access in Week 10. Please take the time to read your child's report and to praise them for their efforts and growth. Please make contact with your child's teacher via email or phone the school's office if you would like an appointment to discuss the reports. 

This is our last newsletter for Term 2. Please note our last day of term is Friday 30th June. Monday the 17th July will be a pupil free day with staff attending a Lakes Region Professional Learning Day titled Learning for Justice; Empowering through Education. Students will return to school in Term 3 on Tuesday 18th July. I take this opportunity to wish our staff, students and families a restful, healthy and happy holiday break.

God Bless,

Kate Drake

News from the Assistant Principal

Dear Parents,

Last week Michelle and her husband Cameron called in to honour #aliahskindnessday. Ahila passed away from DIPG in June 2020. The Turner family delivered over 150 cupcakes to share in the random acts of kindness and honour her memory. It was a lovely surprise visit.

Stage 2 also had a visit from Mrs Turner and Flo. It was great to see Flo riding around on her scooter enjoying the company of our students. Michelle has asked us to pass on her gratitude for the tremendous support she has received from the whole school community. Flo’s radiation treatment showed some good results and at the moment they are enjoying their time at home with mini-break adventures on the weekend.

Stage 2 also had a visit from Mrs Turner and Flo. It was great to see Flo riding around on her scooter enjoying the company of our students. Michelle has asked us to pass on her gratitude for the tremendous support she has received from the whole school community. Flo’s radiation treatment showed some good results and at the moment they are enjoying their time at home with mini-break adventures on the weekend.

Semester Reports

Teachers are finalising the writing of Semester reports. The reports take the same structure as last year.   Key points to note are:

• The strands of English: Reading & Viewing, Writing & Representing and Speaking & Listening, are further broken down to specific skills in these three areas.
• The comments for Religion, English and Mathematics will be in two sections:
• Areas of Strength
• Areas for Development
• Commitment to Learning has a 3-point scale: high, developing & emerging
• Personal & Social Development and Learning Dispositions have a 5-point scale: consistently, usually, often, developing or requires support.

The reports will be available on Compass in Week 10.

Have a terrific fortnight,

with every best wish,

Nikki Norley

Assistant Principal

From the Office of Safeguarding

This week we share a link to an evidence-based resource to address drug safety with children in primary school.  

News from the Religious Coordinator

Faith Life at SJC

Each year we focus on a particular dimension of our Catholic Identity at St. Joseph’s. In 2023 we are considering our faith life which includes:

• Prayer liturgy within our school and classrooms
• Our connection with Parish and participation
• Enhancing the environment to enhance prayer at St. Joseph’s

Each of these items are a consideration this year and an area for continued improvement, particularly the use of our beautiful playgrounds and environment for prayer.

Let’s Help those in need this Winter.

This Winter is particularly tough for some in our community. We know that inflation and the rising cost of living is making this season far less comfortable. As Christians we are called to look out for those in need, so we are planning a second day of activities to support our Winter Appeal. On Monday the 26.6.23 students are asked to purchase cakes and slices and enjoy a lunch time disco supported by our mini vinnies, so to help our local community.

Praying for those in our community

We have all been touched by recent events with the bus accident in the Hunter Valley. Let us remember those who have died and continue to pray for those injured and left behind. We place these families in the care of our loving God.

Eternal rest grant to them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.  
May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.  
Amen. 

News from the Primary Coordinator

Daily Reviews at St Joseph’s

At St Joseph’s we are implementing daily reviews in our Numeracy block to strengthen previous learning and promote quick recall. Reviewing previously learned content on a daily basis strengthens the neural connections over time that are necessary for developing expertise, supporting retention in Short-term and Long-term Memories. Beginning lessons with reviewing previously taught content allows for regular practice to master skills. It is important for concepts and Vocabulary that is relevant for the day’s lesson, which supports the mastering of tasks. Check in with your child around what this looks like in their classroom.

PBL: Care for our belongings

To finish term two, our PBL focus for this fortnight is Care for our belongings. This is a big focus area at St Joseph’s as we currently have our lost property bins filled with belongings such as hats, jackets, ties, lunch boxes and drink bottles. In class students are learning strategies that will help them take responsibility for their belongings. This includes making sure their names are on items and that they develop a routine to check they have all their belongings with them. If you have an opportunity, please discuss these concepts with your children. Be sure to clearly label all your child's belongings and encourage them to collect any of their lost items from the lost property boxes.

Happy Birthday to the following students

We wish the following students are very happy birthday for the month of June/July.

Hub News

Sports News

Congratulations to our 2023 Athletics Champions who were presented with their medals at last weeks assembly.

Junior Girls              Billie Eder

Junior Boys               Lochlan O’Brien

 11yrs Girls                Sophie Whale

 11 yrs Boys             Flynn Larnach

 Senior Girls               Olive Wade

Senior Boys               Jake Staddon

Well done to the Bradman House who were overall carnival champions!

GOOD LUCK to all of our school representaives who will compete at the Lakes Region Athletics Carnival  on Wednesday 28th June. All notes should be returned to Ms Davis by now.

P&F News

We have an active and positive P & F committee at St Joseph's. We support the school in many ways including providing the Uniform shop, Canteen and help fundraise for school goals. We would love to see new members and we meet twice per term. Our next meeting is tonight Mon 19/6 6:30pm in the staffroom. All welcome!

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 the 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/ZYkfNzsbws83p9yHM

Aboriginal Education News

Aboriginal Education 

SAVE THE DATE!!!! NAIDOC DAY

NAIDOC day will be celebrated at our school in week 3 of Term 3 on Tuesday 1^st August

Please mark this day in your diary! Last year all our students and staff had an incredible day and this year will be even better!!!

The theme for NAIDOC 2023 is For Our Elders. As such, we extend an extra special invitation to our student’s older generations family members.  We warmly invite family and friends to join us at the beginning of our NAIDOC day to be part of our Morning Ceremony. Family and friends and then invited to join us at the end of the day for our concluding Afternoon Ceremony- with a special reflection of the day and ‘School Dance Off’.

More specific times and details will be forwarded closer to this monumental event.

First Nations Cultural Events:

10th June: Myall Creek Massacre

On this day in 1838 the Myall Creek Massacre occurred in NSW, and every year a Myall Creek Massacre Memorial Ceremony is held in its memory.

 In 1838, settlers murdered 28 Aboriginal men, women and children near Myall Creek Station. The massacre is a harrowing reminder of Australia's colonial violence and one of the rare cases where the European killers were tried and hanged for killing Aboriginal peoples.

Source: Myall Creek Massacre (1838) - Creative Spirits, retrieved from https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/history/myall-creek-massacre-1838

During the last school holidays, I was privlidged to travel with 14 other employees from the Newcastle/Maitland Catholic Schools Office to visit Moree and the site of the Myall Creek Massacre. Being led through the commemorative sight of this massacre by local Elder- Aunty Sue was a profoundly sad yet moving experience.

During our trip we also learnt about Moree and the town’s historical complexity towards the treatment of Aboriginal peoples living there. Moree town pool is also very well known as the pool which was visited by Charles Perkins and the freedom rides during the 1960’s campaigns for change.

Spending this time in Moree with local Elders as well as our Diocesan staff was a true honour and an experience I will not forget soon.

Click on the below link to learn more about the very sad Myall Creek Massacre.

https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/history/myall-creek-massacre-1838

Danielle Shaw

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Teacher

Uniform Shop

All enquiries to email:

chl.uniformshop@mn.catholic.edu.au

ORDER via the QKR App

Healthy Eating Snippets

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 Michelle for further information.  

MICHELLE BIRCH 
NOMINATED SUPERVISOR | ST NICHOLAS OOSH    
P 0429 435 571     M  0429 435 571   
Email michelle.birch@stnicholasmn.org.au   Visit us online www.stnicholasoosh.org.au