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Things to remember for 2022
It was our great pleasure to share the beautiful tradition of Mass to start the school year with our Parish Priest Fr Paul this morning. We are grateful for him always in our Parish, but in particular, when he leads us in Mass or prayer, he is able to make the message of Jesus clear to us in a way that makes sense. This morning he started his homily with a familiar context of our recent swimming carnival, with a start we instantly recognise (On your mark, get set, go!). Then he described other starts we recognise in everyday life. This moved into messages of the practical ways that we start a year and continue through with the way in which God would want us to, and with him supporting us throughout the year. We share this with you today as these are the things all of us as teachers, parents and community members we want our children to do as well. Remember:
- You are truly blessed by God and special in his sight.
- To love and care for one another always.
- There must always be love and trust at St Joseph’s and no bullying or fighting.
- To always try to understand how another person feels.
- To try to forgive another person if they don’t do the right thing to you.
- That God loves you and so do your teachers and parents; show that to them in return.
- To treasure your year at St Joseph’s; learn and join in as much as you can.
May this year be an amazing year for every single student, parent, carer, family member, staff member and Parish community.
Congratulations Miss Barber
We would like to acknowledge and congratulate Miss Lucy Barber, Year 3 teacher in 2022, for her recent Graduation Ceremony. Miss Barber completed her degree in teaching last year and was a regular casual teacher during Term 4. We are proud of her achievements and are grateful to have her on our staff.
Celebrating Our Faith
Student Representative Council (SRC), Sports Captains and Year 6 Leaders
Today we held our Mass for the Beginning of the School Year for 2022. It was a celebration of Eucharist, our school community and student leadership. We missed our parent community being part of our celebration, due to the COVID restriction currently in place.
A special thank you to our Parish Priest, Father Paul Gooley who presided over our celebration.
Our SRC, Sports Captains and Year 6 students were inducted through a commitment to student leadership and badging ceremony at the end of our liturgy.
The commitment pledge was recited by all Year 6 students. We as a school community are committed to developing leadership skills for every student. The student leadership skills we support and develop are life skills that every student needs to ensure they lead themselves in the right direction and learn to be a positive influence on others.
Opportunities will arise throughout the year that will empower our students to develop skills with resilience, perseverance, confidence and emotional learning.
We look forward to supporting all our SRC, Sports Captains and Year 6 Leaders throughout 2022.
While we were unable to invite parents and carers to the Mass, we invited parents of our school leaders to take a photo opportunity afterwards in a COVID safe manner.
Learning Together
Learning Intentions and Success Criteria
The beginning of this year saw our students engage in developing their own learning intentions and success criteria focussing classroom behaviour. Learning intentions and success criteria provide an opportunity for students to have voice in what the focus is and how they can show success. They are co constructed, purposefully unpacked, easily understood, referred to by the students, and visible in the classrooms.
Year 5 students and teachers unpacked their behavioural learning intention together and created what they expect for themselves and their teachers. From here each student and teacher set a goal to work towards.
Over the course of the year students will engage in creating learning intentions and success criteria in a number of Key Learning Areas.
The Uniform Store has received their delivery of new uniform items. If you were waiting on items to come back in to stock or were looking to purchase any new uniform items please drop in and see them.
They are located at 6 Boronia Street, Port Macquarie, next to St Agnes’ Primary School.
Opening hours are:
Monday to Friday 12:00pm – 5:00pm
Saturday 9:00am – 12:00pm
2023 Kindergarten Enrolment Information Sessions
Come and meet our Principals and learn about the St Agnes’ Catholic Parish Education pathway and what we can offer for your child’s schooling.
Registration is essential to attend our Information Nights for parents considering our schools for Kindergarten in 2023. Click on the link in the below flyer to register and school tour information.
2023 Year 7 Enrolments
More information on 2023 Year 7 Enrolments can be found by clicking on the link in the below flyer.
Student Absences
Currently we are experiencing issues with the school Absent SMS system relating to student daily absences. We will be temporarily disabling this platform and 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.
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 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.
Basketball
We congratulate Peyton Berry and Xavier Mat who were selected in Lismore Diocesan teams to attend Polding basketball on Friday 25th February at Tamworth. What an amazing result and a fantastic opportunity for them both!
Swimming
Three cheers for Hastings! Congratulations Hastings House for winning the 2022 St Joseph’s Primary Swimming Carnival. Hastings Sports Captain Isabella Hawkins proudly accepted the St Joseph’s Swimming Carnival Shield during last Friday’s presentation.
Congratulations to the following students who represented St Joseph’s at the Hastings Zone Swimming Carnival. Our wonderful athletes displayed incredible sportsmanship and determination while competing at a very high level.
Matilda Beresford, Charlie Burns, Gemma Cooper, Hannah Cooper, Bronte Gawith, Charli Hoitink, Braxton Hoitink, Charlie Holloway, Archie Holloway, Aliva Johnson, Zoe Lawrence, Harry Lawrence, Xavier Mat, Tyler Mat, Baxter Matthews, Isabelle Moane, Cjay Connor, Caden Connor, Eden Pope, Charli Robinson, Billy Stapleton, Sunny Stapleton, Lailah Watson, Nyah Watson, Evie Johnson, and Drew Evans. We also congratulate Lily Skinner, Georgia Bell and Cooper Bell who were unfortunately unable to attend. We are extremely proud of you all!
On top of that, the following students have earned the amazing opportunity to represent Hastings at the Diocean Swimming Carnival on Wednesday 23rd February.
Harry Lawrence | Hannah Cooper | Gemma Cooper |
Zoe Lawrence | Lailah Watson | Eden Pope |
AFL
We wish Xavier Mat the best of luck this Friday as he travels to Grafton for the Diocean AFL trials.
Gymnastics
The Term 1 Dance Fever Multisport Gymnastic program for Kinder to Year 6 will run on Thursdays from Week 3 to Week 10. It is an exciting and essential area of our Sport program that will develop fundamental gross motor skills using equipment, their body weight and a partner.
David Lynch
Sports Coordinator
Saints Youth Drama are excited to be back with their
after school drama program.
Currently we have limited spots in our Tuesday afternoon class for
Kinder to Year 2 and our Wednesday afternoon class for Year 3 to 6.
Please message Sandra Thompson on 0408 810 705
if you wish to secure one of these spots!
KHB | Sophie Richardson | Toby Burnham | Maxi Clement |
1CS | Isabelle Mat | Levi Widdison | Oliver Hardy |
3D | Emmett Riske | Yzekiel Nieva | Koen Swaysland |
3MH | Elsie Steadman | Wynter Stewart | Marco Grech |
4MM | Lucas Single | Ayla Moss | Rhys Cutler |
4R | Jacob Gluckstern-Hill | Bronte Sprague | Emily Smith |
6H | Justin Dennison | Maddyx Gray | Amelia Thompson |
6L | Joseph Hunt | Anabelle Hicks | Samuel Cummins |
K-2 Dance Diaries
Dance and Holistic Health
Dance is a wonderful physical and artistic activity leading to greater levels of energy, coordination, flexibility and muscle strength. Dance lessons in Term 1 2022 will focus on stamina building and will help students form a better understanding of a healthy lifestyle and a greater sense of bodily awareness.
K-2 Dance involves high-intensity movement, coordination, strength and endurance. Dance lessons not only teach kinesthetic memory but are an excellent form of exercise for total body fitness whilst building artistic and creative skills.
All young children move naturally to express emotions, thoughts or feelings and often simply because it is a joyful and wonderful thing to do. During a dance class this movement is given form and structure, it is set to music and is performed with the added awareness of the audience. It evolves into a dance movement or combination of dance steps and children take enormous pride in achieving this type of structured movement.
(source: https://www.thedancecentreperegiansprings.com/single-post/2016/07/18/the-importance-of-a-dance-education)
Already students across K-2 have begun learning their performance items for the Week 10 Infants Showcase and I encourage you to allow your child time to rehearse at home:
CLASS |
ITEM |
1PS |
Zippa Dee Doo Dah Goanna Gang |
1CS |
All the Colours of the Rainbow Play School |
2BT |
Here Comes the Sun Imaginary Future |
2DT |
If All Of The Raindrops Old Town School of Folk Music |
KBB |
Teddy Bear Twist Play School |
KHB |
Sweet Child of Mine Jae Hall |
A note regarding the Infants Dance Showcase was sent to you earlier this week - please take note of the day and time of the event as we would love to have you there (COVID restrictions permitting).
Dancers of the Week
The following students have been selected because they have shown excellence in dance skills (e.g. balance, coordination, strength, flexibility etc), enthusiasm in learning activities and a positive attitude towards their dance education:
Kindergarten |
Year 1 |
Year 2 |
Toby Burnham |
Zoey Smurthwaite |
Cleo Gawith |
Congratulations!
Stay tuned for next week’s ‘K-2 Dance Diaries’ article.
Donation Request
Nicola Jackson
K-2 RFF Teacher
Term 1 Canteen Menu
Volunteers
At this stage we will not be having volunteers helping in the Canteen until further notice. In the meantime, if you would like to register to volunteer when we are able to welcome helpers back, you can do so via the link. Click here for Volunteers Form
Supply Issues
There are currently a variety of supply issues across the country impacting some items that I usually stock. I will update Flexischools daily however if an item you order is unavailable, I will offer an alternative or a credit.
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
As the new year starts, our students who received tuition and were in our concert band in 2021 have started back with their tutors. We look forward to being able to give them an opportunity to showcase their skills soon in front of our students. We hope that in the not too distant future, parents and carers will also be able to come back to school and be their audience. We will continue to communicate this as time goes on.
In collaboration with the showcase of the current students, in the coming week or two we are planning for the band tutors to be able to demonstrate instruments to students in Years 3-6 so that they can be aware of what can be possible if they wish to consider signing up in 2022. Students in Years 4-6 are able to sign up from the start of 2022, but we don’t begin with Year 3 students until later in the year when they are more ready for the commitment it requires. Tutors will demonstrate to students and then have available notes to come home for parents and carers to complete if they are interested.
We will be clear with students that it is the parent and carers’ decision with their child if they are able to commence music tuition and band, as this may not be something families can afford or want to add to the activities your child already does. You may like to have a conversation with your child prior to the demonstration to ensure they understand this from your point of view. If you do not want your child to receive a note, please let their class teacher know.
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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 2022 school term dates are listed below. They are also located on our website. Click on the words “TERM DATES” on the home page.
TERM 1 2022
School Administration Day (Pupil Free) - Friday 28th January 2022
School Administration Day (Pupil Free) - Monday 31st January 2022
Year 1 to 6 Maths Assessment Interviews - Tuesday 1st February to
Thursday 3rd February 2022
Kindergarten Best Start Interviews - Tuesday 1st February to
Friday 4th February 2022
Year 1 to 6 commence classes for Term 1 - Friday 4th February 2022
Kindergarten commence classes for Term 1 - Monday 7th February 2022
Last day of classes for Term 1 - Thursday 7th April 2022
Staff Spirituality Day (Pupil Free) - Friday 8th April 2022
TERM 2
Kindergarten to Year 6 commence classes for Term 2 - Tuesday
26th April 2022
Kindergarten to Year 6 last day of classes Term 2 – Thursday
30th June 2022
Staff Development Day (Pupil Free) - Friday 1st July 2022
TERM 3
Kindergarten to Year 6 commence classes for Term 3 - Monday
18th July 2022
Kindergarten to Year 6 last day of classes Term 3 – Thursday
22nd September 2022
Staff Development Day (Pupil Free) - Friday 23rd September 2022
TERM 4
Kindergarten to Year 6 commence classes for Term 4 - Monday
10th October 2022
Kindergarten to Year 6 last day of classes for Term 4 - Friday
16th December 2022
Staff Development Day (Pupil Free) - Monday 19th December 2022
Staff Development Day (Pupil Free) - Tuesday 20th December 2022
Other Holidays in 2022
Australia Day – 26th January (Public Holiday)
Good Friday – 15th April (Public Holiday)
Easter Monday – 18th April (Public Holiday)
ANZAC Day – 25th April (Public Holiday)
Queen’s Birthday – 13th June (Public Holiday)
Labour Day – 3rd October (Public Holiday)
Christmas Day - 25th December (Public Holiday)
Boxing Day - 26th December (Public Holiday)
Year 6 Incitare Retreat Day - Expression of Interest
Infants Dance Showcase Invitation
2022 Netball NSW Schools Cup (Year 5 and 6 students)
2022 Zone Winter Sport Trials - Successful students