Term 2 Week 3

What's on at St Joey's

Principal's Messages

Dear Parents and Carers,

I trust everyone enjoyed some wonderful Mother's Day celebrations, starting with our lovely gathering and liturgy here last Friday. It is always so encouraging to see so many of our mothers, step mums, grandmothers and special people attending our school celebration. I take this opportunity to thank my amazing staff for their combined efforts to prepare the morning tea, serve you and to prepare the students for the beautiful liturgy, including our talented choir. 

Motherhood is such a gift, filled with many joys, worries and challenges at times, but mainly great joy. Mothers help form the future in forming and developing their children, helping them to grow into good humans who can contribute positively to the world. May God bless each of you in your journeys and may you remember our loving God and Mother Mary in your times of joy and struggle. 

Tomorrow we will celebrate Catholic Schools Week which begins on Sunday. We are hosting a liturgy at 10:30am led by Father Tony, followed by open classrooms at 11:00am. The theme this year is "Follow Me!" We celebrate and give thanks for our Catholic schools which strive to foster communities of faith, respect, inclusivity, love and a commitment to excellence in education. We look forward to welcoming those who can attend tomorrow.

Huge congratulations to Tanner (league), Sophie (soccer) and Frankie (hockey) who have been selected for the POLDING teams in their respective sports. This is an outstanding achievement and we are extremely proud of you!

We wish all our athletes the very best of luck at the Diocesan Cross Country on Wednesday. We are so proud of you: Alexander, Kalani, Scarlett, Mia, Eden, Hayden, Alice, Billie, Maya, Stella, Frankie, Flynn, Oliver, Sebastian, Cohen, Daly, Flynn, Aria, Darcy, Kai, Spencer, Lochlan, Cora, Eli, Jesse, Avalon.

Please check all details on the Compass notice.

Congratulations to the Carter family with the safe arrival of Edward, new baby brother for Charles in Kinder.

Also Mrs Christie, Richard and Madi have welcomed baby Lincoln to their family. We wish both families much love and happiness together.

God Bless,

Kate

Assistant Principal

In our ever-changing world, the ability to adapt, learn, and grow is essential for success. At St Joseph’s, we are committed to fostering a growth mindset within our students—a mindset that promotes resilience, perseverance, and a love for learning. Here's what a growth mindset entails and how we can nurture it at home:

1. Understanding Growth Mindset: A growth mindset is the belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed through dedication and hard work. Unlike a fixed mindset, which sees abilities as innate and unchangeable, a growth mindset thrives on challenges and sees failures as opportunities for growth.

2. Praise Effort and Progress: Encourage your child to embrace challenges and view mistakes as learning opportunities. Instead of praising intelligence or talent, focus on acknowledging their effort, progress, and strategies used to overcome obstacles.

3. Promote a Positive Learning Environment: Create a supportive atmosphere at home where mistakes are celebrated as part of the learning process. Encourage curiosity, exploration, and a willingness to take risks without fear of judgment or failure.

4. Encourage Goal setting and Reflection: Help your child set realistic goals and develop action plans to achieve them. Regularly revisit these goals, celebrate successes, and reflect on setbacks to identify areas for improvement and alternative strategies.

5. Model a Growth Mindset: Be a role model for your child by demonstrating a growth mindset in your own endeavors. Share stories of challenges you've faced, the effort you've invested, and the lessons you've learned along the way. Your resilience and perseverance will inspire them to do the same.

6. Provide Constructive Feedback: Offer specific, constructive feedback that focuses on effort, progress, and areas for improvement. Encourage your child to seek feedback from teachers, peers, and mentors, and to use it as a catalyst for growth and development.

7. Cultivate a Love for Learning: Foster a genuine curiosity and passion for learning by exposing your child to a variety of interests, hobbies, and experiences. Encourage them to explore new subjects, pursue their interests, and continuously seek opportunities for self-improvement.

8. Emphasise the Power of "Yet": Teach your child to embrace the word "yet" as a symbol of possibility and potential. Encourage them to replace statements like "I can't do it" with "I can't do it yet," reinforcing the belief that their abilities are not fixed and can be developed over time with effort and perseverance.

By instilling a growth mindset in our children, we empower them to embrace challenges, persist in the face of obstacles, and ultimately reach their full potential. Together, let's cultivate resilient learners who are prepared to thrive in an ever-evolving world.

Warm regards,

Kathryn Hill

Office of Safeguarding

Primary Coordinator

PB4L – Positive Behaviour for Learning

Last week, Mrs Drake, Mrs Hill and Mrs Courtney attended a PB4L professional learning day with our diocesan Catholic schools. PB4L is a whole-school approach we use at St Joseph’s to help develop a culture that supports learning and promotes positive behaviour and wellbeing. The framework is based on building positive, respectful relationships but at the same time providing tools to manage behaviour when things go wrong, using a relational and restorative approach. The professional learning highlighted for us the importance of including the staff, student, and parent voice to build and strengthen our school culture. In the coming months, our Tell Them from Me Survey and other school-based surveys will give you an opportunity to give your perspective on learning and positive behaviour at St Joseph’s that will help us making practical improvements in this area.

Our fortnightly focus this week is Care for Our Surroundings. This Recently our Year 6 environmental leaders have taken on the task of monitoring rubbish during lunchtime eating to improve our care for the school grounds/gardens and encourage students to dispose of rubbish properly, especially on canteen days. In Week 4 we will celebrate Laudato Si Week, where Pope Francis encourages us to take a closer look at how we are shaping the future of our planet, the effect of humanity on global issues such as climate change and poverty, and the protection and care for "our common home."  

Some of our Care for Our Surroundings learning and initiatives this fortnight will include:

• Implementing paper and cardboard recycling back into classrooms
• Participating in the Garden Club with Mrs McAlister
• Taking time to appreciate the school vegetable garden, Aboriginal yarning native garden and our beautiful trees and gardens.
• Mindfully caring for our classroom environment and the resources we share
• Class discussions on how to be more environmentally responsible.
• Having more class lessons outside
• A whole school clean up.
• Praying - turning our attention in prayer to the wonder of creation and reflecting on our responsibility for defending it as stewards of creation. 

Maths and Spelling Bees

In the next month, students in Year 1-6 will be participating in class and stage-based Maths and Spelling bees. The Maths Bee requires students to answer a range of mental arithmetic questions in their head with accuracy, in a 10 second time frame. These include addition, subtraction, multiplication (…groups of…), division (… shared by…) and problem-solving questions. The Spelling Bee requires students to accurately spell words aloud without any visual assistance. You can practise these skills at home if you wish.  https://www.ozspeller.com/

We will let you know the successful Maths and Spelling students in each stage who will represent our school at a regional level.

News from the Religious Coordinator

Yesterday Christians celebrated the Feast of the Ascension. During Jesus’ Ascension, He was with His disciples on the Mount of Olives. He blessed them and asked them to spread the good news of His resurrection throughout the world. Suddenly, a cloud appeared, and Jesus was taken up to Heaven. The disciples watched as He disappeared into the clouds.

The Ascension of Jesus means that we have hope for our future. Jesus’ ascension assures us of our eternal life with Him in Heaven. It also means that Jesus is still with us, even though we cannot see Him physically. He is present in our lives, guiding and protecting us. The Ascension reminds us to spread the good news of Jesus’ resurrection to others, just as the disciples were instructed to do.

Catholic Schools Week

Our theme for Catholic Schools Week this year is 'Follow Me!' (Mt 4:19), which draws on Jesus' simple yet profound invitation to walk with Him on a journey of discipleship. This invitation is not a mere call to walk alongside Jesus but a summons to be transformed by Him. It's an invitation to step out of the familiar confines of our personal "boats," The routines and securities we cling to, and embrace a life marked in trust, faithfulness, and love. As our schools express their love for God, they are inspired to cultivate a compassionate awareness of the needs of those around us. How we demonstrate love becomes paramount, highlighting that our Christian service puts Faith into action.

We will celebrate Catholic School’s Week on Tuesday the 14th of May. Please join us on tar for a liturgy at 10:30am followed by open classrooms at 11am.

Sacrament of Confirmation

Confirmation is the sacrament where the gifts of the Holy Spirit are release more fully into a person’s life.

Candidates are asked to ensure they have accessed materials for preparation.

ONLINE CONFIRMATION LESSONS 1. What is Confirmation? https://player.vimeo.com/video/93167627 2. The Power of Preparation https://player.vimeo.com/video/93167628 3. How Will Confirmation Change You? https://player.vimeo.com/video/93159175 4. On the Day https://player.vimeo.com/video/92971429 5. Decision Point https://player.vimeo.com/video/92971430

These are the dates to for practise and confirmation

Thursday, 23rd May – 6.00pm at St Mary Immaculate Charlestown (Practice Session). • Thursday, 30th May – 7.00pm at St Mary Immaculate Charlestown. (confirmation)

God Bless

Clare Paff.

Hub

Hall of Fame

A huge Congratulations to the following three students who have made the Polding Teams: Tanner for Rugby League, Sophie for Soccer and Frankie for Hockey. This is a huge accomplishment, and we are so proud of you all!

Cora and Evie (year 5) represented the Newcastle Falcons in Tamworth last weekend in the North Eastern NSW Division 1 basketball competition. They both played with determination and commitment, their team is currently tied for first place with two more rounds to play. 

School Fees

AFL Auskick

Happy Birthday to the following students

We wish the following students a very happy birthday.

Gardening

Garden Group

This week in garden group we were treated to flourishing snow peas, as we noticed the seeds we planted late last term had grown along the trellis's we built.

The children had the opportunity to pick the snow peas and enjoy the crunchy fresh pods straight off the vine.

We also planted beetroot, harvested and tasted herbs, including parsley, rosemary and mint, and a few brave students even tasted some garlic chives.

Students also noticed their carrot seeds had germinated, tomato plants were fruiting and one of the garlic cloves we planted was sprouting.

Garden group is not only teaching students about plants, but also team work, patience and gentleness with Gods creation.

Mayla, a senior member of the group from year 5, created the above artists impression of our beautiful area.

P&F News

Our term 2 meetings will be:

Monday 13th May 6pm

Monday 17th June 6pm

All are welcome to join us!

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

* We are very low on second hand items in size 8 and 10 - if you have any at home you don’t need anymore, they are always welcome. Please drop donations into the uniform shop or office.
* Any spare bags for packing orders would be appreciated.
* Thanks for your patience while we try to complete winter uniforms orders as quickly as possible.All enquiries to email: our volunteers.

Shop open Monday and Friday at 8.30- 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  

Happy Feet.

Nutrition Snippet.