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- School Banking Update
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Kindergarten 2022
Once again, we had a wonderful time this week welcoming our new Kindergarten children for 2022 to school for our transition morning. They were supported beautifully by our Kindergarten team to meet each other, explore our school and learn more about what happens at school for when they come next year. We thank our team at school for the preparation for these days and the parents and carers who have entrusted their precious children to our care. We can’t wait to see them again when they collect their “Ready Set Go” packs on Monday 6th December.
P&F Colour Explosion
Thank you to the P&F Committee who have been committed to making this fun for our students, at no cost to families. Thank you also to the parents who assisted with colour packing this week; we got it done in no time with much fun and laughter. Some of us were being too clean in our packing resulting in a high five to the cheek!
CONGRATULATIONS
Special congratulations to Chayse Jones (3H) and family who welcomed a new baby brother named Finley.
Year 3 and 4 “Young Mary” performance
Our Year 3 and 4 students were fortunate to spend time learning about the life of Mary MacKillop on Tuesday through a performance by Glenn and Taylor from STARRS Productions. This had been organised earlier in the year through a CSO initiative but was postponed due to COVID. Our teachers and students found this a very engaging performance and had some wonderful questions to ask at the end of the play. Please enjoy a reflection from two of our Year 3 students.
On Tuesday Year 3 and 4 watched a Mary MacKillop play. It was about the story of Mary MacKilllop and how she started the first St Joseph’s school to help all children to get an education. She was a brave and strong lady with a kind heart. The story was fun and interesting and was easy to understand. We learnt a lot about the life of Mary MacKillop. - Zoe and Ivy
Celebrating Our Faith
Our Kindergarten students have been learning about ‘Creation’. This unit explores the wonder and beauty of God’s creation. It presents creation as God’s gift to God’s people and a reflection of God’s goodness. Prayers of praise for creation and commitment to care for it have been shared as ways of responding to this gift. The story of Noah and the Ark has been told as it tells of the renewal of creation and God’s promise of continued blessing on the whole of creation throughout time. As you can see they all enjoyed retelling the story through play.
Learning Together
New K - 2 English and Mathematics Syllabus
We all know that it is vital our children have strong foundations in literacy and numeracy. Literacy and numeracy skills are essential to unlock children’s academic potential at school, improving their overall academic outcomes.
Next year our Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 teachers will begin implementing a new English and Mathematics curriculum. It is very exciting to see the changes which have been made to ensure our students are laying the foundations for future learning. The new syllabuses emphasise key concepts, identify essential knowledge and skills, and include new outcomes to clearly show what is essential.
Drop Off and Pick Up Safety Reminders
As we become busier at this time of year it is a friendly reminder to follow our traffic management plan shared with parents earlier this year. It is important we are mindful that children are entering and leaving our gates at key moments.
Parents and carers dropping their children to school in the morning are encouraged to use the ‘Kiss and Drop Zone’ located before the bus bays. This area is designed for the convenience of parents and carers and for the safety of children. This is a non parking zone, which means drivers can stop for a maximum of two minutes. This area minimises traffic congestion for all and aims to maximise student safety.
If you arrive after the school gates are closed at 8.55am, please enter via the School Office under the care and supervision of a parent or carer who will need to sign the students in for their day of learning.
For those children who catch school buses to or from school, from 30th November 2021 all school buses will have new route numbers to become part of a state-wide standardised program. These changes include bus routes for Port Macquarie, Laurieton, Wauchope and Kempsey regions.
New school bus route numbers will start with ‘S’ (for school bus), followed by a three-digit route number. For example, S100.
To find the new route number of your school bus:
- see the attached list of bus route number changes;
- check the Busways website at busways.com.au/portmacquarie; or
- contact Busways on 02 6583 2499.
For more information on school bus services, visit transportnsw.info.
Student Absences
Currently we are experiencing issues with the school not receiving SMS replies relating to student absences. To assist with this problem, please record a student absence by submitting it either via the school website, Schoolzine App (SZapp), phoning the school on 6583 3848 or sending an email to sjpport@lism.catholic.edu.au before 9:00am.
Student Medical Appointments and Early Departure
We strongly encourage parents to organise medical appointments outside of school hours (Start 8:55am and Finish 3:10pm) but are conscious that this is not always possible. For your convenience if you have to make a medical appointment for your child during school time please be aware of our breaks for your planning as there will be a delay in getting your child to the office if they are out at lunch play:
Lunch 1 is at 11:00am - 11:40am
Lunch 2 is at 1:40pm - 2:10pm
Hometime messages
If there is a change to your child's hometime travel arrangements please let your child know before they leave the house or write a note to your child's teacher. Some parents also write a "H" (homelines) or a "B" (buslines) on their child's hand. We understand that plans may change during the day and ask that you phone the office Aunties on 6583 3848 between the hours of 8:30am and 2:30pm. This enables us to ensure that your child gets the message in a timely manner. Please DO NOT email the school or message your child's teacher directly as it may not be seen in the timeframe you require. If an emergency occurs or there is a late change to your child's home time plan we will do everything we can to get the message to your child after 2:30pm. Please be aware that a warning school bell sounds at 3:00pm for classes to prepare to leave the class for hometime at 3:10pm which makes it difficult to guarantee that a message will get to your child.
Band lessons for Term 4 will finish on Week 9. There will be no lessons in Week 10.
Please contact Sharon Green (Band Co-ordinator) on 0416 291 648 if you have any queries regarding band.
Religious Education
In our learning about the Sacraments, Year 6 investigated the ways in which we can assist those who are sick in our community. After brainstorming ideas, a group of students analysed the results and created an experience for their classmates. They led the learning for the class whereby students created Prayer Cards to distribute to CCA facilities.
Science & Technology
We have been investigating the transformation of energy and electrical circuits. Part of this learning was deconstructing and reconstructing torches and creating circuits using found materials. This investigative learning provides opportunities for problem solving, critical and creative thinking, research and design.
Personal Development & Health
We engaged in a whole day learning experience regarding puberty and personal development. A major part of the day was learning about the ways in which we can develop respectful relationships. We were very fortunate to have the team from Liberty Services lead an interactive session that helped us understand the ways in which we can encourage, respect and nurture relationships that are positive and built on equity and communication.
Elise Howard
Year 6 Teacher
Leader of Learning Stage 3
Literacy Intervention Groups
For nearly 3 terms, certain students from Years 1 to 5 have been learning in specialised Intervention groups with Mrs Toole, working on Phonetics, Spelling, Reading and Writing. They have ended their hard work by performing Readers Theatre Plays for the younger classes, demonstrating their improved reading aloud skills and their new found confidence. These students are to be congratulated on their hard work and their performances. They have made wonderful progress and growth this year.
VOLUNTEERS
We have made the decision to wait for 2022 to welcome back volunteers onsite and to spend the rest of this term reconnecting with previous volunteers and encouraging new ones to get in touch.
LUNCH ORDERS
Canteen lunch orders can be placed via Flexischools or by dropping them in the basket on the counter each morning.
Flexischools is our preferred method for submitting lunch orders.
Reminder - Cutoff time for online orders is 8:30am
- Download the Flexischools app from the App Store or from Google Play.
Note: for iPhone and iPad please select ‘Allow’ notification - Click “Register Now” to create account
- Top-up your balance
- Start ordering immediately
- Alternatively Go to www.flexischools.com.au or you can find the link on the school website.
Don’t forget you can place your online orders days or even weeks in advance, making the morning rush even easier!
Kim Goldie
Canteen Coodinator
KSC | Elsa Bolehala | Sequoia McCarthy | Levi Widdison |
1B | Lewis Freeman | Lincoln Picton | Islah Kingsmith |
1R | Harry Herbert | Cleo Gawith | Jay Tymerski |
2S | Flynn Watts | Keilah Long | Angelrose Sefin Vallooran |
3H | Dakota-Rose Fletcher | Jade Hanks | Bronte Sprague |
4F | Tomas Butler | Drew Evans | Hudson Alexander |
5L | Peyton Berry | Matilda Coleman | Samuel Cummins |
5S | Lainey Campbell | Jackson Coleman | William Richer-Waters |
6H | Zara Lawrence | Jesse Steinhour | Storm Hardy |
New uniform items will be available for sale from when the Uniform Store opens for January trading on 4th January 2022.
- Lay-by is available prior to that time:
- Sizing can be gauged using the existing uniform items.
- The lay-by will be set up and a deposit taken.
- Progress payments can be made.
- Lay-by can be collected in January.
- Sizing will be checked at the time of collection and adjusted if required.
The last day for School Banking is Tuesday 7th December.
Due to recent decisions by some state and territory governments and because of a review by the corporate regulator, Banks are unable to provide programs in schools any longer. This means that we are unable to continue providing School Banking to our students.
Even though the CommBank School Banking program will not be returning, you can continue to make deposits into your child’s Youthsaver account through online transfers or at any Commonwealth bank branch. Thank you to all the students that have participated in this program.
Week 9 - Term 4 2021 |
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Monday 29th November |
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Wednesday |
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Thursday 2nd December |
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Friday 3rd December |
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Sunday 5th December |
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Week 10 - Term 4 2021 |
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Monday 6th December |
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Tuesday 7th December |
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Wednesday 8th December |
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Thursday 9th December |
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Friday 10th December |
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Sunday 12th December |
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Week 11 - Term 4 2021 |
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Monday 13th December |
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Tuesday 14th December |
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Wednesday |
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Week 1 - Term 1 2022 |
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Monday 31st January |
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Tuesday 1st February |
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Wednesday |
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Thursday 3rd February |
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Friday 4th February |
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Week 2 - Term 1 2022 |
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Monday 7th February |
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Please note these dates can change from time to time due to unforeseen circumstances and we will endeavour to advise you of any changes at the earliest possible opportunity. Our school Google calendar can be accessed via this link for additional advanced dates -
For your convenience 2021 school term dates are listed below. They are also located on our website. Click on the words “TERM DATES” on the home page.
TERM 4
Kindergarten to Year 6 commence classes Term 4 – Tuesday 5th October 2021
Staff Development Day (Pupil Free) – Friday 5th November 2021
Kindergarten to Year 6 last day of classes from Term 4 - Wednesday 15th December 2021
Other Holidays in 2021
Christmas Day - Saturday 25th December 2021
Boxing Day - Sunday 26th December 2021
Changes to school bus route numbers with schedule
Out of Uniform Day for Parish Christmas Hamper Appeal - Email
Students Transition Day to Next Years Classes