Filter Content
Meet and Greet
Next week we are pleased to be able to invite parents and carers to our Meet and Greet sessions with their child’s teacher/s. This is a short meeting to personally meet to share information about your child with their teacher and ask any questions you may have at this early stage of the year. We continue to ask that if parents, carers or children have cold or flu symptoms, they do not come to the school and should make contact with the school office.
End of Term Community Activities
As we come to the close of the term with only two weeks to go, here are the main events that parents and carers can be involved in that build our community across the school:
- 30th March - Whole School Cross Country.
- 1st April - Out of Uniform Day for Project Compassion (gold coin donation), Easter Hat Parade and Prayer Assembly hosted by Year 1.
- 5th, 6th and 7th April - Sacrament of Penance (Year 4).
- 6th April - Kinder to Year 2 Dance Showcase.
Please remember that Thursday 7th April is the last day of school for Term 1 and there will be no supervision on Friday 8th April for our pupil free Staff Spirituality Day.
CELEBRATING OUR FAITH
Out of Uniform Day for Project Compassion and Easter Hat Parade
Spanning across the six weeks of Lent each year, Project Compassion brings thousands of Australian schools, parishes and supporters together to raise funds for people living in some of the most vulnerable communities across the world. Throughout Lent we have had the Caritas Project Compassion boxes available across the school for donations to be made. We have also used the video resources from Caritas to demonstrate to our students the difference that our support makes in the lives of those we support.
We are inviting our students to come to school out of uniform on Friday 1st of April for a gold coin donation to go to Project Compassion. For students that choose to wear out of uniform, please consider clothing that is comfortable for learning and being outside (sleeves, closed in shoes and hats are still required). While we encourage this as a community, it is a non-compulsory activity. Please note: children should wear clothes they already have, in place of their uniform; there is no need to purchase something new for the day.
The donations that we collect can help vulnerable communities around the world to:
- Improve access to food and clean water.
- Support education and skills training.
- Help vulnerable communities to increase their income.
- Provide training in disaster risk reduction.
In addition to this, as we celebrate the lead up to Easter and the concluding time of Lent, we will also be holding an Easter Hat Parade and our Prayer Assembly hosted by Year 1 on Friday 1st April at 9:15am. All children are invited to parade wearing their simple, home-made creations. Please do not go to any expense for this fun celebration. Parents and carers are welcome to attend the parade and assembly. More details to come about how the parade will be organised.
We thank you in advance for your participation in celebrating this season, and your kind generosity to help future generations and communities around the world live a better life.
Learning Together
Thank you Corey Tutt
This week we were the very fortunate recipients of a box of brand new picture books focused on telling stories in the words of our First Nations People. Corey is a proud Kamilaroi man who mostly grew up in the Yuin Nations of the South Coast. He is an Aboriginal Australian mentor and STEM champion. He is the founder of Deadly Science, an initiative that provides science books and early reading material to remote schools in Australia.
Corey has written a number of books himself, with his most recent book being ‘The First Scientists - Deadly Inventions and Innovations from Australia's First Peoples’. We would like to thank Corey for his generosity in supporting our students to deepen their understanding of Australia's First peoples and reminding us that if we care for Country, the Country will care for us.
Whole School Writing …
On Tuesday our students arrived to find a mysterious egg sitting in the COLA. This egg was the provocation for some very interesting and creative writing from all our students. One student’s thoughts were….
The Mystery Disappearance of the Diamond Encrusted Egg
By Charlie Burns
What….Who took the museum's most famous diamond encrusted egg? Who took it?
The town museum has the most high IQ security.
“I know. I know who took the egg”. I confronted Ms Hatherly.
“You took it. I know you did.”
Ms Hatherly said “No, no I didn’t.”
“Yes you did.”
I kept saying that she did take the egg until I spotted her partner, the skillful one, Mr Taylor. And then I saw her other partner, the technology genius, Mrs Blundell.
“You did it.” I chanted. “Yes, yes you did.”
Joel arrived and he started chanting by my side “You took it. You took it.”
We kept going until they confessed. We called the police and told them everything.
Text Help
Students have a variety of Texthelp extensions available to support them in accessing the curriculum using digital technology. These extensions can be accessed from home. For more information please visit the Text Help website.
Year 7 2023 Enrolment Information
Year 7 2023 Information Nights
The Year 7 2023 Information and Open Evenings for parents/carers with their Year 6 students will be held at:
MacKillop College Hall on Monday 2nd May commencing at 6:00pm and
St Joseph’s Regional College Hall on Tuesday 3rd May commencing at 5:00pm.
Children are encouraged to attend.
Registration is essential. Please click here to register and for more information.
This week we celebrated Harmony Week by wearing a ‘splash’ of orange! Students also participated by listening to peers and sharing with peers about different cultures within our school community. Thank you to our students for making this such a meaningful experience!
In Year 6 we are working with our students and the wider school community to develop the leadership of all students. As part of this process students identified areas of the school in which they would like to be involved. Committees were formed in a number of identified areas such as Faith, PBS, Events Management, Indigenous Awareness, Environmental Action and Media. Students have taken on these new responsibilities with great enthusiasm and success. Of particular note are the Media, PBS team and Indigenous leaders who have presented brilliant ideas and undertaken projects across the school.
Our Indigenous leaders have conducted tours of the new Indigenous garden, providing important insights into the garden design and features.
Our PBS team have been leading Christian Meditation across the school on Monday and providing information about our PBS focus for the week.
Our Media team have busily interviewed students across the school to get an insight of St Joseph’s from the students perspective. We look forward to sharing their interviews with you in next week’s newsletter.
Congratulations to everyone involved and we can’t wait to see what projects you take on in the future.
Elise Howard and David Lynch
Year 6 Teachers
Gymnastics Finance update
Due to the cancellation of the Week 5 Gymnastics session this term by Dance Fever Multisport (due to flood situation) a credit of $4.50 per student has been applied to your student activity account. Please contact the school office if you have any queries regarding this.
Swimming
These two students are “swim-pressive”! Zoe Lawrence (4MM) and Harry Lawrence (3B) travelled to Sydney to compete in the Polding Selection Swimming Carnival held at Homebush.
We are proud to announce that Zoe finished 3rd in the Junior Backstroke and has earned an opportunity to represent Polding at the NSW State PSSA Swimming Carnival in Sydney on 4th and 5th April.
Celebrating Our Joeys at Lismore Diocesan Primary Soccer Trials
We celebrate our outstanding students who were extremely flexible and adaptable as they travelled to Grafton over the past two weeks. They each gave an awesome effort and represented our school marvelously. Well done to you all!
Hockey | Soccer | Netball |
Joel Crook Lucas Yates Xavier Mat (Unable to attend) |
Caden Connor Ariannah Beard Ruby Holmes Lailah Watson |
Charlie Holloway |
Cross Country
Unfortunately our annual school Cross Country Carnival has needed to be further postponed. The carnival will now be held on the new date of Wednesday 30th March (Week 9, Term 1) in and around the school grounds. This carnival is for all students in Kindergarten to Year 6.
Shared Lunch: We are pleased that we can also welcome parents and carers to join their children for lunch on the day (weather dependent due to limited covered spaces). Students will be able to sit with their parents/carers out on our playground grass areas or on the undercover areas of the MPA and back of the Library, picnic style (BYO seating). It is important for supervision and safety that students are in these areas. You are invited to bring food to share with your child/ren if this suits you, or they can use their own food packed for the day. The canteen is unable to cater for all who visit, so will only be able to cater for pre-ordered student lunches. We ask parents and carers not to order in flexischools or in person at the canteen for any family members who are not students in our classes.
Please refer to the below timetable for times when students will be competing. Please note these times are an approximate guide only as they are dependent on how fast each race occurs and the smooth change over to the next age group.
David Lynch
Sports Coordinator
Lunch Orders and Flexischools Cutoff Time
A friendly reminder that Flexischools cutoff for canteen lunch orders is 8.30am each day.
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.
- 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!
Volunteers
Our new COVID guidelines now allow volunteers into the school. As we prepare to start back with volunteers, you can register to volunteer via this link - Click here for Volunteers Form. You will also need to email or drop in a copy of your Volunteer Working With Children Check and a proof of double vaccination to sjpport@lism.catholic.edu.au. After registering your availability in the above online form and sending in your supporting documents Kim, our Canteen Co-ordinator will be in contact with you to arrange your first day.
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.
Kim Goldie
Canteen Coodinator
K - 2 Dance Diaries
Values and Attitudes in the Creative Arts
The arts exist within a framework of values. These are highly significant to students’ development of knowledge, understanding and skills in the artforms. Over time, these values contribute to the ways in which students develop interpretations, explanations and meanings about their own and others’ work in the artforms that have a personal, social and cultural relevance. They also assist students to understand and utilise the artforms as symbolic forms of communication. Teachers, parents and people in the wider community can be significant role models for students in how they value the arts.
Teachers, parents and students can:
- value and appreciate opportunities to experience and engage in visual arts, music, drama and dance through learning experiences in making, performing, composing, listening to and appreciating.
- value and appreciate opportunities for students to take on the roles of artists, performers, composers, makers and audiences or viewers in their own experiences.
- value the different people they know who are engaged in and contribute to the visual arts, music, drama, and dance including themselves, teachers, families, friends and other members of their communities.
- value the different kinds of novel, innovative, original and creative works that are made in visual arts, music, drama and dance.
- recognise how the artforms employ a wide range of traditional and contemporary technologies that contribute to how they are made, performed and interpreted.
- recognise how the world provides an endless source of concepts, ideas and issues that can be explored in visual arts, music, drama and dance.
- value the opportunities that visual arts, music, drama and dance provide for the development of students’ reflective thought and action in making, performing, composing, listening to and appreciating.
- value the opportunities visual arts, music, drama and dance offer for self-expression, sensory experience, intuition, imagination and the sharing of meanings and how these can enrich and enhance the quality of students’ lives.
- value and appreciate how the visual arts, music, drama and dance function as different symbol systems that communicate messages and meanings.
- recognise the value of the arts in different times and cultural contexts and consider the influence of cultural and spiritual values, continuity of traditions, ethnic origins, gender, social issues, locations and changing technologies on making, performing and appreciating in visual arts, music, drama and dance.
- respect the views of various social and cultural groups, people with different religious and belief systems and people with disabilities.
- recognise that experiences in the arts of Aboriginal peoples contribute to students’ understanding of Australian society and to the reconciliation of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
- recognise and value the contribution of female and male artists, performers, composers, actors, choreographers, designers.
- recognise how they can contribute to cultural life in Australia and respond as critical consumers of artistic and cultural activities through their participation in visual arts, music, drama and dance during their schooling and in post-school settings.
(source: Creative Arts K–6 Syllabus (2006) PDF)
Dancers of the Week:
Kindergarten |
Year 1 |
Year 2 |
Indianna Ross |
Blake Lawlor |
Emerence Young |
Stay tuned for next week’s ‘K - 2 Dance Diaries’ article.
Nicola Jackson
Kinder to Year 2 RFF Teacher
KBB | Arthur Bell | Harley Elphick-Ollevou | Eliyah Fernando |
KHB | Eva Richards | Kane Coombes | Jayda Rogers-Thomas |
1CS | Noah Lynch | Eliza Steadman | Duaansh Sachan |
1PS | Ashton Wynter | Conor Grieves | Johns Mejo |
2BT | Mia Moss | Hudson Bruen | Cleo Gawith |
2DT | Huxon Jones | Flynn Loosemore | Koen Swaysland |
3MH | Sianna Karickal | Flynn Watts | Keilah Long |
4MM | Lucy Styles | Millie Schneider-Smith | Hannah Tony |
4R | Lilly Chapman | Archie Holloway | Chase Mulligan |
6H | Joshua Hiam | Lachlan Matheson | Noah Dowd |
6L | Cordelia Fazzolari | Hayley Honeysett | Samuel Cummins |
Week 9 - Term 1 2022 |
|
Monday |
|
Tuesday |
|
Wednesday |
|
Thursday |
|
Friday |
|
Week 10 - Term 1 2022 |
|
Monday |
|
Tuesday |
|
Wednesday |
|
Thursday |
|
Friday |
|
Week 1 - Term 2 2022 |
|
Monday |
|
Tuesday |
|
Wednesday |
|
Thursday |
|
Friday |
|
Saturday |
|
Week 2 - Term 2 2022 |
|
Monday |
|
Tuesday |
|
Wednesday |
|
Thursday |
|
Friday |
|
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
Staff Development Day (Pupil Free) - Friday 24th June 2022
Kindergarten to Year 6 last day of classes Term 2 – 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)
2022 Cross Country - Further postponement and Carnival Program
ANZAC Day invitation
ANZAC Day attendance
Year 1 - Structured Literacy and Home Readers
Year 2 - Structured Literacy and Home Readers
Year 6 Going on Camp - A Guide for Families