Term 1 Week 5

What's on at St Joey's

Principal's Messages

Dear Parents and Carers,

As we move through the church season of LENT we take time to reflect on ourselves and our actions and try to become closer to God through prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Our school celebrated the Beginning of the Year Mass last Wednesday and the children were respectful, prayerful and responsive to the rituals of the mass through prayer and singing.

Congratulations to our 2024 school leaders who were commissioned at the Mass, sharing their pledge with the congregation and committing themselves to their new roles. I know these students will be wonderful leaders and will do their parents and the school proud!

Councillors: Alice Dunkley, Harper Lee, Lilly Wakem, Kobe Williams, Harrison Smith and Mefi Tauveli

Sports Captains:

Bradman  –  Alexander Binnie and Luke Grogan  MacKillop –  Franklin Crossingham and Jacob Evans 

Irwin - Summer Biddleston and Flynn Larnach  Beachley - Ayrton Grob and Koda Watson

Stewardship Leaders - Felix Cain and Kai Roach

Mini Vinnies Leaders - Isabella Brown, Sinead Wadwell and Abigail Cherry

Congratulations to our swim team who competed at the regional swimming carnival last week. The weather caused some havoc and some races to be cancelled but our representatives were outstanding models of resilience and demonstrated a do your best attitude. Thank you to our Sport Coordinator Mrs Davis and Mr Fox whoorganised our team and assisted on the day. Well done to the following students who advance to the Diocesan carnival tomorrow. We wish you all the very best. 

Jeremy Hill - 11yrs Freestyle,  Breaststroke, Backstroke, Butterfly, Senior Individual Medley
Flynn Larnach - 12yrs Backstroke
Daniel Boulton - 11yrs 50m Butterfly
Leo Mitchell - Junior Breaststroke
Billie Eder - All Age 100m Freestyle, 11yrs Freestyle, Breaststroke, Backstroke, Butterfly, Senior Individual Medley
Leni Eder - 8yr 50m Freestyle

Junior Girls Relay Team - Mia Collins, Lila Worsley, Wilhemina Umeh-Nicholas, Aria Lee

Senior Girls Relay - Sophie Whale, Kalani Britt, Avalon Wilcher, Billie Eder

School Fee Statements will be issued this week. Please read them and organise your preferred payment method. Thank you to those families who have already set up their regular BPay arrangements or who have already paid in full. Please make contact with our office if you have any questions or need assistance.

Our school Welcome BBQ will be held on Wednesday 6th March 6pm-7:30pm. This is a community event to socialise, meet new people and have some fun outside of the school day. Please pre order your sausage sandwiches on QKR and remember to bring cash on the night for canteen drinks and snacks. We need some assistance on the night with the BBQ and service so if you can spare an hour please sign up by following this link : https://signup.com/go/GTgKdBo 

This newsletter we introduce our Kinder, Year 1 and Year 2 teachers by sharing their 'Meet the Teacher' profiles. Have a read and make sure you say hi and introduce yourselves if you haven't met already.

We look forward to seeing many of you at the BBQ!

God bless,

Kate Drake

News From The Assistant Principal

School Improvement Goal: Place Value

Each year every school must select three areas to set improvement goals. One of our School Improvement Goals at St Joseph’s is to improve in the area of Numeracy, in particularly Place Value. Our staff has recently delved into the place value framework, which offers a comprehensive approach to teaching and understanding numbers across the different grade levels (K-6). This framework, based on research, comprises of six key aspects that apply to both whole numbers and decimal place value, serving as a common language for our school.

Here's a brief overview of the six aspects based on the Work of Dr. Ange Rogers:

Name/Record: Students learn to read, write, and record numbers using words and symbols. They also become familiar with place value columns, such as the hundreds and tens columns, and practice rounding numbers to the nearest place value part. Additionally, they grasp the concept of digit value (e.g., understanding that the digit 7 in 75 represents 70).

Count: Through counting forwards and backwards in place value parts, students develop a solid foundation. They learn to bridge forwards and backwards over place value segments like decuples and centuples, employing terms like "before," "after," "between," "more," and "less" to describe numerical relationships.

Make/Represent: Students explore various materials and manipulatives to make, represent, or identify the value of numbers. These materials can be proportional (e.g., base-ten blocks) or non-proportional (e.g., coloured counters), and representations may be canonical or non-canonical, enhancing students' understanding of number values.

Compare/Order: Students learn to compare numbers to determine their relative size, using an understanding of number relationships. They also practice comparing numbers in a multiplicative manner (e.g., understanding that ten times larger than 54 is 540) and placing numbers in ascending or descending order. Additionally, they develop skills in locating numbers on number lines.

Rename: Students gain proficiency in renaming numbers in multiple ways based on place value parts, without relying on manipulatives. For instance, they learn that 1,260 can be expressed equivalently as 126 tens, 12 hundreds and 6 tens, or 1 thousand and 260 ones, fostering a deeper understanding of numerical composition.

Calculate: Apply knowledge and understanding of the place value system when completing calculations using the four operations (e.g., 45 multiplied by ten is 45 tens, 45 plus 100 is 145, 120 divided by ten is 12)

By incorporating these aspects into our curriculum, we aim to provide students with a robust foundation in place value, equipping them with essential mathematical skills for future learning and problem-solving and ultimately improve in this area as a school. I look forward to keeping you updated on our journey of continuous improvement.

NAPLAN

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) will be held from the 13 March – 25 March this year. All students in Years 3 and 5 complete the NAPLAN in the following areas:

• Reading
• Writing
• Conventions of Language
• Numeracy.

  Children complete NAPLAN online, except for the writing test for Year 3, which is completed in a booklet. The results of the tests allow us to identify and celebrate student achievement, and additionally we use the data to identify where we as a school are using effective strategies and programs in our teaching of English and Mathematics.

  Warm regards

  Kathryn Hill

  Assistant Principal

News From The office of Safeguarding

Thank you.

Thank you to James McLachlan, dad of Freddie in Year 1, who organised for a boat to be added to our nature play area. James has worked hard to renovate the boat so that our St Joseph's children can enjoy playing in it.  We are still in need for the boat to be painted and a steering wheel to be added. If you would like to assist, please contact the office or kathryn.hill@mn.catholic.edu.au

Warm regards

Kathryn Hill

News From the Primary Coordinator

This fortnight in PBL, we are focusing on Striving High by Caring for Your Appearance. At St Joseph’s, we take pride in wearing a uniform in a tidy manner, which represents our school to the highest standard. As a parent, you can assist in this by ensuring your child has all the required uniform pieces each day and assist them in taking pride in their appearance, including their hair, shoes, nails. Just a reminder that no costume jewelry or accessories are to be worn at school except a watch and small stud or sleeper earrings.

Students in Year 6 created a video to share with the students about all the positive reasons we wear a uniform and care for our appearance. This includes having a sense of pride in our school, helping you feel equal and part of the team, preparing you for the workplace, showing respect for yourself and your school, promoting excellence by striving high and developing responsibility in the way you present yourself.

We encourage all students at St Joseph’s to wear their hat at lunch and recess times, and on their way to and from school. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation levels are at their peak during a school day, so schools are uniquely placed to educate kids about sun protection and ways to minimise UVR exposure. Wearing the school’s wide brimmed hat regularly can help reduce UVR exposure and ultimately reduce a student's lifetime risk of skin cancer. Students are restricted to covered areas to play if they don’t have their hat. Please make sure your child has their hat each day and that it is labelled with their name. Thank you for your support.

St Joseph's is participating in Schools Clean Up Day this Friday 1^st March in the afternoon. It is an engaging and hands-on way to remind young Australians about responsible disposal of rubbish and consider the consequences of rubbish when it is dropped or irresponsibly dumped in our environment. 

Please encourage your student to bring their hats and gloves this Friday 1^st March  if they have them. We have a few pairs of gloves for each class, and class sets of bags and tongs so that all student can participate in picking up any school and local rubbish.  This initiative is run by the school sustainability leaders and supporting staff.

Warm Regards 

Frances Courtney

News from the Religious Coordinator

Newsletter week 5

Beginning of the year Mass

In week 4 we celebrated our beginning of the year Mass. It was a special time to pray for God’s blessings for the year ahead, welcome our new students and commission our leaders for 2024. Our students participated beautifully, and we are looking forward to a wonderful year together.

Sacramental Program

It is not too late to get involved in the 2024 program. Here are some details which were discussed at the recent information session.

We are trialling a new approach this year for families with baptised students in years 4-6 who wish to have their child make the sacraments of reconciliation, confirmation and Holy Communion and become a full member of the Church. It will allow for a more family guided approach. After registering here: https://mackillopcharlestown.org.au/sacraments/sacramental-preparation-form/ You will be sent a link to complete online lessons in your time. Additionally, there will be a lesson at school, just for students. Sacramental candidates will also need to attend 1 practice evening before the actual sacrament. Mass attendance is encouraged as well.

For further information contact clare.paff@mn.catholic.edu.au

Lent – Project Compassion

Lent is a Season where we try to be more like Jesus, through prayer, giving to others and making more time to do good in our world. Project Compassion is a campaign each year which aims to end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity. Students have the opportunity to donate what they can in their class during the season of Lent to help communities around the world who are less fortunate. This money will be added to funds raised through our pancake sales on Shrove Tuesday See https://www.caritas.org.au/resources/project-compassion/ .

SJC Caring Group

We are inviting new members to join our SJC Caring Committee. The committee is a group of people who have registered their interest in making a meal from time to time for families in our community who are experiencing life issues like a new baby, illness, loss etc. These meals make a huge difference during these times of need. If you are interested in being part of the committee, please email clare.paff@mn.catholic.edu.au.

Sport News

Last Monday our representative swimmers competed at the Regional Swimming Carnival at Lambton Pool. Despite the stormy weather, the students gave it their best and swam incredibly well. All who participated should be very proud! We have 14 students advancing to the Diocesan Carnival tomorrow at the Forum Swim Centre. We wish our representatives all the very best!

Good Luck to:

Jeremy, Flynn, Daniel, Leo, Billie, Leni, Mia, Lila, Wilhemina, Aria, Sophie, Kalani and Avalon.

This past week we have held netball and soccer school trials to determine 3 representatives for the Lakes Region Winter Sports Trials. The Regional trials will be held at various locations on Wednesday 6th March. Huge thanks to our selectors who have given their time to assist the school with this process, Mrs Aurisch, Mr Masters and Ms Morris.

Congratulations to the following students:

Soccer- Flynn Larnach , Ayrton Grob, Michael Muchena and Sophie Whale

Netball – Alice Dunkley, Olivia Brown and Avalon Wilcher.

Class News

Hall of Fame

Jesse represented Lake Macquarie in the U10 Boys Rep team at the Junior NSW State Oztag Championships in Sydney 10-11 Feb.

The team finished 5th in their pool against some quality Sydney teams, improving on last year’s results and having a great weekend away with the team as well! 

Sophie attended the Gold Coast International Futsal tournament held at Carrara Stadium 16-20th Jan, in a Newcastle U13 Girls team, representing Hakoah (Eastern Syd) against 13 other teams.

The girls had an amazing week, came top of their pool with highest goal count in their age division and second in the grand final - Runners Up ~ U13 Girls! 

Billie absolutely smashed it at country !! 

She won the 100m backstroke in 1.19.47 & by 3 secs 🥇

2nd 🥈 in the 50m backstroke In 37.50

& 3rd 🥉 in 50m fly & being rated 13th & swam it in 35.84 !! 

State is in March & she is so far top qualifier in the 100m back. Unbelievable weekend for her!

News from the Library.

Happy Birthday to the following students February to March

We wish the following students a very happy birthday.

Garden Group.

Garden group is meeting once again this year as a free learning space where the children can forage, plant, pick and play.

In return to school this term, students were delighted to discover a community of yellow lady bugs living amongst the zucchini.

This week we discovered cucumbers, zucchini and zucchini flowers as well as radishes, carrots and herbs, all growing strongly after the recent rainy followed by sunny weather.

Matilda also found a very special treasure, a 4 leaf clover!

Sunflowers are also swaying in the breeze, planted by stage 2 as a prayer plant for Flo and her family.

Some are now taller than many of our students!

Fairy play and rock painting have been popular as well as hunting for potatoes.

Garden group is run by one of our LSA's, Kim McAlister,  who is a qualified landscape designer and has a diploma in horticulture, as well as having a  special interest in teaching children through gardening and garden spaces. The group will meet second half of lunch this term, on Tuesday and Friday.

All students with a hat are welcome.

P&F News

St Joseph's still holds a traditional P&F committee with a dedicated group of parents who assist with the uniform shop, fundraising and community events. We meet twice a term, at 6:30pm in the staffroom. We support the principal and school leadership team with initiatives to build community and raise funds for specific resources that benefit our children and school. Our next meeting will include our AGM on Monday 11th March, 6:30pm.

This term we will host a Welcome BBQ on Wedneday 6th March 6-7:30pm. There will be face painting, games and reptile encounters for the children. Order your sausage on QKR $3 each. Drinks and snacks can be purchased from the canteen with cash only.

If you can spare an hour to assist on the night please sign up here: https://signup.com/go/GTgKdBo

We look forward to seeing some new and familiar faces!

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/ZYkfNzsbws83p9yHM

Uniform Shop

All enquiries to email: our volunteers. Shop open Monday and Friday at 8.45- 9.15am

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 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  

MEET OUR STAFF

Healthy Lunch.