Term 3 Week 8

What's on at St Joey's

ASPIRE 2026 Production – AUDITIONS ARE NOW OPEN!!!

Register TODAY: https://forms.office.com/r/8MEB5G79rA

Further Information: https://www.mn.catholic.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/0008436-CS-ASPIRE-2026-Info-Sheet-A4-INHOUSETRIMF-combined-1.pdf

Principal's Messages

Dear Parents and Families,

We give a heartfelt thank you to Kate Drake for her 12 years of devoted service to St Joseph’s. Kate has been an incredible principal whose legacy of leadership, compassion and faith has shaped the very heart of our school. She has created a culture where every child, family and staff member feels welcomed and supported, and her presence will be deeply missed. While it is hard to say goodbye, we are so proud of Kate and congratulate her on her appointment as permanent Assistant Director for the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle. We look forward to honouring her with an official farewell in Term 4.

The role of principalship at St Joseph’s will now be advertised. To support this important process, we invite you to contribute your insights through a short consultation survey. 

To complete the survey click on the link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MZKX8GN 

Last week we join with schools and communities across Australia in recognising National Child Protection Week. Our theme, “Every Conversation Matters: Shifting Conversation to Action”, invites us to reflect on the importance of open, honest, and supportive conversations with our children. We invite you to pause at our school gate and engage in meaningful conversation. As parents, some simple ways to begin these conversations might include: asking your child what makes them feel safe, talking about who they can go to when they need help, or discussing how kindness and respect can be shown in everyday interactions. Together, these conversations nurture trust and empower our young people to speak up and feel supported.

Our school has also been alive with activities that highlight the joy of community and stewardship. Our Stewardship Leaders launched their Laudato Si’ Recycling Campaign, encouraging us all to care for our common home by making small, consistent choices to reduce waste and protect creation.  Last Friday, the sound of laughter and connection filled our playground as we gathered for Donuts with Dads in celebration of Father’s Day—a wonderful opportunity to honour the fathers and father-figures in our children’s lives. Dads and their children participated in a wide variety of fun competitions and activities, from sport and trivia to stand-up comedy and even a paper plane challenge! These events remind us how important play, creativity, and teamwork are in building relationships and celebrating our gifts. This coming Tuesday, we will gather as a community to farewell Sr. Brigid Linehan, the last Josephite Sister to reside in the Convent here at Charlestown. Sr. Brigid’s presence has been a blessing, and her legacy of service, faith, and dedication to Catholic education will remain a cherished part of our story.

With the return of spring sunshine after the rain, our students are especially appreciative of being able to play freely in all areas of our school grounds. I am deeply grateful for the sense of community that shines so strongly here at St Joseph’s. From meaningful conversations at home to celebrations at school; together we are shaping a safe, faith-filled and joy-filled environment where every child can flourish.

Congratulations to the Pettitt family on the birth of a brother Xavier, for Winston in Kindergarten. We wish you all much love and happiness.

Warm regards,

Kathryn Hill

Assistant Principal

Curriculum News

On Friday 22 August, Vanessa Bulloch, mum of Amelia, and her beautiful dog Isha visited year 3 students for a great conversation about the volunteer work she does with Story Dogs at our school. This follows on from the students' Geography unit ‘Citizens In Our Community’, where they learn about volunteering and how others provide for the community. As part of this unit, students have the opportunity to create a volunteering project, something that all year 3 students will be participating in. Story Dogs is a great example of volunteering in action at SJC!

National Child Protection Week

At St Joseph’s we value the importance of keeping all children safe. For National Child Protection Week, this year’s theme is ‘Every Conversation Matters: Shifting Conversation to Action.’ It reminds us that while talking about children’s safety is important, real change comes when we act. Conversations can raise awareness and challenge harmful ideas, but we also need to take practical steps to build safer environments, strengthen support systems, and empower communities to actively protect children. By moving from words to action, we can ensure every child feels heard and truly experiences safety, care, and protection.

Students spent time in class last week having important conversations and being part of the Catholic Schools ‘Decorate Your Gate’ initiative. Displayed on our school gate are meaningful conversation starters that each class has explored together. We invite families to stop with their children at the gate to share the prompts together and talk about child safety. Thank you to Miss Peacock and Mrs Dan for organising this beautiful display and for the video content on Facebook.

Wellbeing News

Grow Your Mind – the insular cortex

This fortnight in the Grow Your Mind program, we are learning about the insular cortex – represented as ‘the sensitive octopus’. The Sensitive Octopus lives deep in your brain and has lots of arms to help you notice what’s going on inside your body. A few key facts about the insular cortex:

• It is like a personal “spy” that checks in on your body, keeping track of heartbeat, thirst, hunger and energy levels, to let your brain know how you’re feeling.
• It gives you empathy – allowing you to feel emotions and help you understand others’ point of view.
• It helps you with your “gut feeling” when something is off and helps you make decisions based on how your body is feeling.

Your octopus is like a guide, reminding you to notice and care for yourself and others.

Kind regards,

Frances Courtney

Assistant Principal

Office of Safeguarding

School Improvement Plan

2025 School Improvement: At St Joseph’s, we are committed to continuous improvement and growth in all areas of school life. In 2025, we will be focusing on our three School Improvement Goals, which will guide our efforts to enhance student learning, well-being, and engagement, ensuring the best possible outcomes for all.

News from the Religious Coordinator

Father’s Day

On Friday we enjoyed a glorious day in the sun and celebrated Father’s Day with our community. We hope all of our SJC fathers, grandfathers and father figures had a wonderful day on Sunday.

Celebration of Sr Brigid Linehan rsj  at St Joseph’s Charlestown

On Tuesday 9^th September, St. Joseph's Primary will be holding a formal farewell for Sr Brigid Linehan rsj. at the school at 2pm and all parishioners are welcome. Sr Brigid was the last Josephite sister living at Charlestown convent. The Josephite sisters were responsible in founding 50 primary schools across our Diocese. The Josephite sisters were initiated by St Mary of the Cross Mackillop.  This is a wonderful tradition and history we must honour.

Primary Coordinator

FACE - Family and Community Engagement

Our next Family and Community Engagement (FACE) meeting will be held on Friday 19th September, at 1:00pm in the HUB, just before our Whole School Writing Fair. All are warmly welcome to attend. We will be sharing our Learning Goals and Vision, and we are keen to hear your input on these, as well as upcoming fundraising initiatives. We look forward to seeing you there and working together to support our school community.

A heartfelt thank you to our wonderful Parent Volunteers who successfully ran our Father’s Day stall, and to Vanessa Bulloch for thoughtfully organising the gifts. Volunteers are the heartbeat of our school community, offering not only practical support and fundraising efforts, but also modelling to their children the invaluable gift of giving back. In today’s time-poor world, their generosity of spirit reminds us all of the importance of service, connection and working together for the good of our children.

School Fees

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Thank you for your continued support and commitment to your child’s education. We are especially grateful for the timely payment of school fees, which plays a crucial role in helping us provide high quality learning experiences and resources for all students.

Now that we are well past the mid year point, we kindly remind families that the Catholic Schools Office requires regular and consistent school fee payments.

To ensure your account is finalised by the end of the year, please refer to your most recent school fee statement. This will guide you on how much remains outstanding and what payments are needed over the coming months. Should you have any questions or require assistance with your account, please don’t hesitate to contact the school office. We are here to help.

Thank you once again for your continued support.

Amale Yi

The Learning Hub

PRC 2025

Challenge Dates

Last chance! The PRC is closing in two weeks! Please ensure all student reading records have been completed before Week 9 this term. The PRC officially closes for students on Friday 19^th September 2025.

Student Logins

Please reach out to Mrs Gibson or Mrs Hoffmann if you would like your child to bring home their PRC login details and if you experience any issues with logging in.

An update of students who have completed the challenge so far in 2025:

Congratulations to the following students who have recently finished the PRC. These students have had their names added to the PRC display in the library and received their Gotcha ticket.

Amelia C 1R and Wyatt M 2R.

Pizza Party

The class who has the highest percentage of students who complete the PRC will be rewarded with a pizza party after the 2025 PRC concludes (early September). As it stands, KB are winning with 10 finishers, 3B are second with 9 finishers and 4B are third with 8 finishers. Anything could happen though as we get closer to the end of PRC, so don’t forget to log your books online! See below the PRC display with the class tallies.

Tournament of the Minds

I had the pleasure of accompanying two teams of Stage 3 students to the Tournament of the Minds (ToM) competition on Sunday 31 August. ToM provides children with a wonderful opportunity to work collaboratively, show creativity, problem solve and perform in front of an audience. Our two teams presented their solutions to the judges and did so beautifully, considering they were not able to seek the help of any adults. Both of our teams chose ‘The Arts’ as their discipline and their challenge was to present at a United Nations conference for the purpose of inspiring world peace through the use of art. Well done for your efforts and success Sadie, Olive, Adelina, Evie N, Willow and Elise C (Team 1) and Nolan, Oscar, Christiano, Finn D, Ogni and Jesse (Team 2).

Happy reading!

Mrs Gibson – Teacher Librarian

Mrs Hoffmann – Library Assistant

Happy Birthday to the following students

We wish the following students a very happy birthday!

Hall of Fame

We love celebrating the achievements of our students both in and out of the classroom! If your child has recently accomplished something special in sports or any extracurricular activity, we encourage you to share their success with us. Whether it's a competition, performance, or personal milestone, we'd be thrilled to feature their accomplishments in our school newsletter. Please let us know so we can celebrate their hard work and dedication! 

A new children’s book from a local author- Carmel Assaf (Aunty of the McElwaine children) 

We’re excited to share that Carmel Assaf, an ex-student, teacher and mum of four, has published her very first children’s book, 'The Donkey in the Mill.' This beautifully illustrated story is the first in the Character for Kids series, which aims to help children grow in virtue and character through meaningful storytelling. The book explores themes such as humility, kindness, patience and quiet sacrifice, and includes discussion questions for parents to spark important conversations at home.

To extend the learning, Carmel has also created free worksheets available on the Character for Kids website. These activities are designed to reinforce the book’s lessons in fun, age-appropriate ways. If you’d like to support this project and bring more values-based books into homes and classrooms, you can find out more or order a copy at: www.characterforkids.com.au.

Karyn introduced her beautiful new children’s book, My Pet Archie.

We’re incredibly proud to celebrate this amazing achievement with her. You can pick up your own copy at MacLean’s Booksellers on Beaumont Street. A perfect addition to any reader’s collection! "Proud” doesn’t even begin to cover it. Congratulations, Karyn!

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

School Holiday Clinic

Lunchbox Snack Ideas

Uniform Shop

Normal Shop Hours: Every Tuesday and Thursday 8am - 10am 

See Elaine and Ian from Wearitto for all your uniform needs. Our uniform shop is run by Wearitto.

We currently have a large tub filled with lost uniform items, many of which do not have names on them and are therefore difficult to return to their rightful owners.

To help reunite these items with your children, we will be placing the tub outside the office today.

Please take a moment to have a look, especially if your child is missing any uniform pieces.

We kindly encourage all families to please clearly label uniforms moving forward, as it greatly helps in returning lost items.

OOSH

We would like to sincerely thank Taylor Richardson for her wonderful work and dedication in our OOSH service. Taylor has been a valued member of our team, and we are so grateful for the care and support she has given to our children and families. As she now prepares to welcome her baby boy, we wish her every happiness and blessing for this exciting new chapter.

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 OOSH for further information: 

Georgina Beavis:  Georgina.Beavis@stnicholasmn.org.au

Area Service Manager

Phone: (02) 4979 1110  Email: oosh-charlestown@stnicholasmn.org.au

Community News