Term 4 Week 2

What's on at St Joey's

Principal's Messages

Dear Parents and Carers,

What a fantastic start to Term 4! It’s been wonderful to see the energy and enthusiasm across the school as we head into this final term of the year. Excitement is definitely building for our upcoming school musical, Finding Hope. Our students and staff have been working incredibly hard behind the scenes, and we can’t wait to share this special production with our school community. Make sure to keep an eye out for updates as we get closer to showtime — it’s shaping up to be a memorable event! Key dates and details can be found in this newsletter, so mark your calendars.

As a Catholic community we are called to pray for those in need. As we see the heartbreaking news from around the world with our brothers and sisters experiencing war, terrorism, famine and homelessness it is difficult to know what we can do to help. Prayer offers us the opportunity to connect to God, to ask for God's intervention and to share our anxieties and concerns with God's power and everlasting love for ourselves and for each other.  Please join us by praying the Our Father, the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples.

During the holidays we have had some maintenance work and improvements completed, including upgrades to our storm water, pest maintenance and some landscaping.

Congratulations to the Thomas family on the birth of a sister Elkie, for Seth in Kindergarten. We wish you all much love and happiness.

Next week we will celebrate World Teacher's Day on Friday 31st October. I am proud of the work we do as teachers every day and feel blessed with the hardworking, caring and positive staff we have at St Joseph's. Teaching is a vocation, and it is in the daily giving of ourselves that teachers help students thrive and grow, not just academically but spiritually, emotionally and socially. I take this opportunity to say a heartfelt thank you to each of our teachers for all they do and Happy World Teacher's Day!

We also pray for our own community and those in need. Deepest sympathies to the Evan's family on the loss of Leo's grandmother. We pray: Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen

Keep in touch with us throughout the term and I will look forward to seeing you at upcoming events soon.

Warm regards,

Kathryn Hill

Assistant Principal

School Musical – Finding Hope

We are excitedly preparing for our upcoming original school musical ‘Finding Hope’ led by Mrs Karyn Savage and Mrs Candice Gibson and supported by a musical committee. Each class will perform a short play and song based around the central theme of hoping for something. Earlier in the year, students workshopped ideas as a class with ASPIRE artistic director Anna Kerrigan. This formed the basis of their script and song choices. ASPIRE’s Jessica Lopez worked with students from Year 3-6 to form lyrics and music of some original songs. ASPIRE’s Lauren Harvey, Lara Crockett and Luke Baker have worked with staff and classes in the areas of dance, prop design and set. We are very grateful for the help of the ASPIRE team in this creative process and we have learnt a lot. Please note the key dates in your diary:

Wednesday 5^th November – full school practise at the Factory Theatre, Trinity College, Adamstown (students are bused to and from the rehearsal)

Thursday 6^th November – 12 pm matinee at the Factory Theatre, Trinity College, Adamstown (students are bused to and from the concert)

Thursday 6^th November – 6pm evening performance at the Factory Theatre, Trinity College, Adamstown (parent transport to and from venue from 5.15pm)

Information from the e-Safety Commissioner - Navigating the social media changes

From 10th December 2025, certain social media platforms won’t be allowed to let Australian children under 16 create or keep an account, giving them more time to develop important skills and maturity. The changes aim to protect under-16s from pressures and risks they can be exposed to while logged in to social media accounts. These come from design features in the platforms that:

• encourage them to spend too much time on screens – for example, by prompting them with streams of notifications and alerts, and pressuring them to view disappearing content
• increase the likelihood of exposure to negative, upsetting or manipulative content served up in their feeds by algorithms.
• have been linked to harms to health and wellbeing – including increased stress levels, and reduced sleep and concentration. 

The age restrictions are likely to apply to Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube as well as other platforms. See the latest list here. There are exclusions for some platforms with no age restrictions, including educational tools such as Google Classroom and YouTube Kids.

The eSafety Commissioner has created a hub designed for preparing parents and carers, educators and young people about the changes. https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/social-media-age-restrictions

As a parent or carer, you can support your child by talking calmly and openly about the age restrictions. This includes asking how they use social media now, helping them understand how the law might affect them, and guiding them to prepare for the change if they are on social media platforms.

Source: eSafety Commissioner

Kind regards,
Frances Courtney - Assistant Principal

Farewell Mrs. Drake

A special Farewell Liturgy for Mrs. Kate Drake will be held on Friday, 28th November at 2pm in the TAR. We warmly invite all past and present families and members of the school community to join us in thanking Mrs. Drake for her 10 years of dedicated service at St Joseph’s, celebrating her vision and the many achievements under her leadership.

If you would like to please contribute to a gift from the school community, donations of $5 can be made via QKR before 14th November. This contribution is entirely optional. You will find this on QKR under School Events & Fundraisers. Thank you.

We look forward to coming together to honour Mrs. Drake and her remarkable impact on our school.

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

Socktober Crazy Sock Day 29th October

October is Catholic Mission month- known as Socktober. Each class has a class sock to raise money for disadvantaged communities. The focus country this year is Zambia, a country in southern Africa where many families struggle to access regular food and education.

Our support helps children and families build a better future. Your donations help families :

 .Grow and store maize for food -

.Earn income through sustainable farming -

.Keep children in school and healthy

On 29 October students will wear their sports uniform and CRAZY SOCKS!

- It is a last chance to bring a final donation to the class sock.

We will award the class which has the:

Heaviest Sock = Ice-block Treat

Most Money Raised = Pizza Lunch!

Parish Mass Term 4

Classes will be attending the Parish Mass at St Mary Immaculate Catholic Church in stages on the following dates:

Stage 1 -19/11

Stage 3 and Early Stage 1- 26/11

Stage 2- 3/12.

You are welcome to join us at 9:30am at the Church.

End of Year Liturgy

This year’s final liturgy and farewell to year 6 will be held on the 10th December at School at 10:15am. We will say thank you for the blessings of the year, wish our year 6 students well and announce school leaders for 2026.

Clare Paff

Primary Coordinator

At St Joseph’s, Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) is central to creating a respectful and caring school culture. Over the next fortnight, our Core Value is Live Like Jesus, with a focus on Use Kind Words and Actions. Using kind words and actions helps us build positive relationships, show empathy, and make our school a happy and safe place for everyone.In class, students have been exploring: 

• What kindness looks like, and sounds like in our school 

• How our words and actions can affect others 

• Why kindness spreads, just like a “boomerang” 

• Ways we can show kindness on the playground and in the classroom. 

 Through discussions, role plays, and creative activities, students have been practising how to speak kindly, include others, and help those in need. They also reflected on small acts of kindness they can do each day to make a difference in someone’s life. 

 You can support this focus at home by: 

• Encouraging your child to notice and name kind acts they see 

• Talking about how kindness can spread through families and communities 

• Modelling positive and caring language when solving problems together 

 At St Joseph’s, we Live Like Jesus when we use kind words and actions! 

 Emily Dale  

Primary Coordinator  

FACE - Family and Community Engagement

Our next FACE meeting will be 5pm Wednesday 19th November in our staffroom at SJC. We hope to see you there!

Conversations with your children:  

Volunteering at SJC

We regularly need volunteers for various roles within our school. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer at our school, please follow the instructions on the link below:

Volunteer - Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle

Student BYOD Devices important message

Student BYOD Devices important message: Windows 10 is reaching end of life

Action is required for students with BYOD Windows 10 devices as Windows 10 will soon no longer be supported by Microsoft. To ensure your student device security you should upgrade to Windows 11 as soon as possible. Microsoft has announced that support for Windows 10 will end on 14 October 2025, meaning it will no longer receive critical security updates.

To stay protected and ensure optimal performance, it is strongly recommended that all students with BYOD Windows 10 devices follow Microsoft’s instructions and upgrade to Windows 11 as soon as possible. There is no charge for this upgrade.

• We ask that all families with Student Windows 10 computers complete this process before 15 October 2025 so that students do not experience disruptions to their learning.
• Most newer devices will support Windows 11.
• If the device is too old, you may need to consider an alternative supported device (where possible).
• If you need assistance or have questions about upgrading, please reach out to the IT support team in our school.

Why this matters:

• Microsoft will stop supporting Windows 10 from 15 October 2025.
• Upgrading to Windows 11 ensures your child’s device remains secure and supported.
• Student Work Protection: Staying current helps safeguard assignments, projects, and personal data.

Ways to install Windows 11 - Microsoft Support

Upgrade to Windows 11: FAQ - Microsoft Support

Read our FAQs for more support:

How do I check what version of Windows am I running?

• Select Start > Settings > System, then select About. You then see Edition, Version, and OS Build information.

What if my device can’t upgrade?

If a Student’s BYOD laptop is running Windows 10 and can’t be upgraded to Windows 11 (usually due to older hardware), Microsoft is offering a free security update program to help keep the device safe for one more year.

The Windows 10 Extended Security Updates (ESU) program is designed to keep your current Windows 10 PC protected after support ends, helping you stay secure during the transition.

How to Join Microsoft’s ESU Program

Microsoft has made it easy to enrol directly from the laptop:

• On eligible computers, a setup wizard will appear in Settings > Windows Update.
• There are three ways to enrol:

1. Free – Sync your settings to the cloud using Windows Backup. You must be logged in as administrator and with a Microsoft account.
2. Free – Use 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points.
3. Paid – Buy a one-year license for $30 USD (families cover this cost).

Extended Security Updates (ESU) program for Windows 10 | Microsoft Learn

School Fees

Dear St Joseph's Family,

We hope this message finds you and your loved ones well and enjoying the final term of the school year.

We would like to kindly remind all families that, as requested by the Catholic Schools Office, all outstanding school fees are to be finalised within the next 5 weeks. This ensures that our school can continue to provide the highest quality education and resources for our students, as well as plan effectively for the year ahead.

If you are experiencing any difficulty with payment or need to discuss your account, we encourage you to contact the school office at your earliest convenience.

We are more than happy to work with families to find a suitable arrangement.

Thank you for your continued support.

Amale Yi.

Garden Group

Story Dogs

Happy Birthday to the following students

We wish the following students a very Happy Birthday!

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

Lunchbox Snack Ideas

Healthy, refreshing, and easy snacks are perfect for keeping kids energised during summer play. Summertime Snacks
Why not try these tasty summertime snack ideas.

. Make fruit skewers from slices of watermelon, berries, grapes, and
pineapple.
. Freeze grapes or mango for an easy grab-and-go snack
. Blend yogurt with fresh fruit and freeze in moulds to make
smoothie popsicles.
. Freeze plain milk poppers or reduced fat yoghurt pouches.
. Add frozen berries to reduced fat yoghurt.
. Veggie sticks with hummus.
. Water with fresh frozen berries or lemon.
. Frozen fresh juice ice blocks or cups.
. Smoothies made from frozen fruit and milk.

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

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

Catholic Schools Code of Conduct