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- Prayer Focus
- Leader's Message
- Parish News
- P&F Community Connect
- Catholic School Parents Australia 2022 Parent Survey on Student Wellbeing and Learning
- Sport Spotlight
- Update For Works Along Aston Street
- Kathleen Briscoe Tuition Scholarship recipients for 2023
- Sharing Our Learning
- Yarning Circle - Indigenous News
- Sunshine Cafe
- Digital Technologies and Innovation
- Premier's Reading Challenge
- PBS (Positive Behaviour Support)
- Student Awards
- What's On Next Week ...
- Advance Dates for Your Diary
- This Week's Notes
STEM MAD - Congratulations, We're going to Melbourne!
STEM MAD is designed to acknowledge and promote STEM learning initiatives that address real-world problems and demonstrate how students in Catholic schools take action that matters. Student teams were invited to design a product, service or innovation to Make A Difference (MAD) to others or the environment. The projects needed to include a working model or digital prototype in order to be accepted to participate in STEM MAD National. This is a competition with other dioceses in Australia.
St Joseph's had 3 teams participating this year from across Years 5 and 6. Our groups focused on "inclusion" and they designed a disability friendly clothing line with help from therapists at the Cerebral Palsy Alliance, a Buddy Bot to support emotional regulation and a door alarm system.
This week we were informed that Year 6 students Matilda Coleman, Jackson Coleman, Gene Smith and Amelie Obeid have won a place in the STEM MAD National event in Melbourne for their project "Adaptive Designs". I would like to thank our teachers, Emma Francis and Eloise Wilson who have guided and supported the team these past few months
We wish the team the very best as they head down to Melbourne next month.
Have you seen our new art installation?
We would like to take this opportunity to thank Jodi Daley for her inspiring paintings which are located adjacent to our Indigenous Garden. Please see more in our Yarning Circle - Indigenous News article this week.
100 Days
This week Kindergarten students celebrated their 100th day of Kindergarten. They were very perplexed at their teachers as they arrived dressed as if they were 100 years old. See more in the Sharing our Learning article this week.
Space to Science
This week I had the pleasure of spending time with Year 1 students who took me to space one day and then on an investigation the next. The students were very excited to tell me all about their rockets and what all the ‘contraptions’ were used for. I asked if I could go into one of the rockets, however, I was promptly told that I was too big! The very next day, I spent time with the students during investigative play. I learnt how to build using playdough and toothpicks, overseen by my foreman I was then instructed on how to scientifically label a diagram correctly.
One of the most pleasurable parts of coming to school every day is the conversations you have with the brilliant minds that surround you.
There are a few special days coming up this term including a Police Liaison visit on Monday 15th August, National Science Week - open classrooms on Wednesday 17th August, Book Week celebration on Friday 26th August and the P&F hosted Father's Day Breakfast, Prayer Assembly and Colour Run on Friday 2nd September. We are inviting you to be a part of the learning and fun. I look forward to seeing you all and watching you experience the joy I have every day. More details for these special days will be sent home soon.
Siren Practice
During Week 4 we will be listening to our new warning alarm system. Students will hear the Fire Alarm and Lockdown Alarm. In the coming weeks we will practise these drills so we are prepared in the event of an emergency occurring in the future.
Nut Allergies
Just a reminder that it is our intention to endeavour to make our school environment as safe as possible for all. We do have a small group of children who have a severe allergy to nuts. Exposure to nut products for these children will trigger a serious reaction. Such a reaction could be fatal if not treated quickly and appropriately. For this reason we are asking your cooperation to help reduce the risk for these children.
Our school has a Nut and Allergy Aware Policy. In real terms this means not sending:
- Peanut Butter;
- Nutella; or
- foods which contain nuts (eg: crunchy nut biscuits/muesli bars with nuts).
Tell Them From Me - Partners in Learning Survey
We would like to invite you to complete the Tell Them From Me (TTFM) Partners in Learning survey. As we value the role of parents and carers within our school community we would greatly appreciate your feedback. The information you provide will be used to maintain our commitment to working together in partnership to further improve student learning and wellbeing at St Joseph’s Primary School.
The survey is anonymous and will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. You can leave the survey and return at another time if that is more suitable.
This week we emailed and sent via sms to you the below link to be able to access the parent survey on your computer or mobile device: http://tellthemfromme.com/t4fs3
Thank you for taking time to complete this survey.
Celebrating Our Faith
Peace be with you and your family
Whenever we reassure someone who is experiencing fear, anxiety, or despair, we are acting in the divine image. Throughout salvation history, God has continually offered peace and reassurance that God is in our midst and that we will have a future. Let’s face it, the world we live in can be a very scary place, not just for little children, but also for us adults and we all need peace and reassurance.
As the term progresses and extra activities fill our days, the organisation required can increase the sense of busyness. Peace might seem like something difficult to achieve in some of the trying challenges that family life presents us, but there are some practical steps we can all take to promote peace in our daily lives. Click here to read more about ways to find peace in daily life.
Sacrament of Confirmation
A reminder to parents of students who are preparing to complete the Sacrament of Confirmation will need to be registered. A note with further information was emailed to parents of Sacrament candidates last week. Onlline registration closes Wednesday 10th August.
Dates for your calendars and parent reminders are:
Workshop 1 - Tuesday 23rd August at 3.30pm - St Agnes’ Primary School
Workshop 2 - Thursday 25th August at 6.00pm - St Agnes’ Catholic Church
Workshop 3 - Wednesday 31st August at 3.30pm - St Joseph’s Primary School
Workshop 4 - Thursday 1st September at 6.00pm - St Peter’s Primary School
Learning Together
Year 3 to 6 Police Liaison Visit - Parents and Carers Welcome
We would like to inform you that students in Years 3 to 6 will be part of an educational visit from Police Liaison Officers, Constable Wendy Hudson and Steve Jefferies on Monday 15th August at:
- 11:40am in the MPA - Year 5 and 6
- 11:40am in the Hall - Year 3 and 4
Wendy and Steve visit many schools in our local area to support programs around cyber and personal safety. They have vast experience in educating and supporting students in proactive approaches to reduce the incidence of concerns in Primary settings.
On their visit to school with our students, Wendy and Steve will spend an hour addressing these areas with students:
- Their responsibility to choose safe attitudes and behaviours around the use of, and access to, the internet as well as how to communicate their concerns to their support network of parents, carers and others.
- Attitudes and behaviours around personal safety, to support students in understanding the consequences now and into the future of aggression and bullying.
Parents are carers are invited to attend your child’s session.
Save the Date and Watch This Space
Catholic School Parents Australia 2022 Parent Survey on Student Wellbeing and Learning
The national body representing Catholic school parents is seeking parent and carer feedback regarding the wellbeing and learning of children and young people. This feedback will assist in reporting to the Federal Government and Catholic education bodies. All feedback will remain anonymous. Click here for CSPA Parent Survey.
David Lynch
Sports Coordinator
Update For Works Along Aston Street
You may have noticed the @EireConstructions crew working along Aston Street – they are currently replacing the sewer main that runs parallel to the Dixie Park Soccer Fields.
There may be minor delays and impacts for the use of Aston St, particularly if you use the Warlters Street cul de sac for parking during school drop off/pick up. Please take care when in the area, and follow the traffic signs at all times.
Works are expected to wrap up along Aston Street in the coming month with some minor off street works remaining in the Dixie Park carpark area.
Year 3
In Year 3 this week, we went on a virtual trip to Uluru! This term in English and Geography, we are exploring important Australian landmarks and their significance to us. We used the Virtual Reality headsets to go on this adventure to build our vocabulary and inspire our ideas for writing this term.
Kindergarten
On Tuesday this week, we celebrated a huge milestone in our Kindergarten rooms - our 100th day of big school! Since day 1, our youngest learners have been counting days leading up to this special day by adding one counter to our chart each day. Our 100th Day of Kindergarten was an excitement-packed day of learning and fun. After the morning bell, the students were surprised to discover that their Kinder teachers had turned into frail old ladies overnight! We enjoyed 100th-day-themed craft, writing and maths activities and we got to share the fun with our Year 5 buddies. It was such a memorable day!
Yarning Circle - Indigenous News
Over the past several months, one of our talented parents, Jodi Daley has completed a triptych of artworks that provide an Indigenous perspective of our local area. These pieces will be part of a Diocesan produced Indigenous art project that will be featured in a published book. They are proudly displayed near the park, make sure to check them out at pick up time!
We thank Jodi for this wonderful addition to our school and we look forward to seeing our students and staff engage in exploring this work.
Marrumbu.
Caleb Smith
Indigenous Education Worker
Canteen Reminders
- Flexischools cut off time is 8.30am. Please remember to place your orders early or the night before to ensure you meet the cut off time.
- If using Flexischools, please remember to double check that your order is correct before confirming it.
- Please also remember to check that you have confirmed your order and that it has gone through.
- If sending food in lunch boxes for your children, please remember to send everything they will need to eat their lunch, including forks or spoons. If ordering lunch from the canteen, forks and spoons are included if needed.
- If your children are sick but you have placed a lunch order for them, please call before 9.00am and I can cancel it for you or offer it on another 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 Storeor 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 Co-ordinator
Digital Technologies and Innovation
Bebras Challenge 2022
The results are in and once again we have had some amazing results from our extremely talented students.
About Bebras
The Bebras Australia Computational Thinking Challenge started in Australia in 2014 and is now run through CSIRO Digital Careers.
Bebras was founded in 2004 by Professor Valentina Dagiene from the University of Vilnius, Lithuania. Bebras began with 3470 student participants from 146 schools and has now grown to almost 60 countries with over 1.6 million students participating each year!
The goal of the Bebras Challenge is to promote computational thinking skills in a way that highlights student abilities.
- The challenge is made up of 15 questions ranging in difficulty.
- Students in Years 3 and 4 have 60 minutes and students in Years 5 to 12 have 45 minutes to complete the challenge.
- The challenge is open twice a year for 2 weeks.
- Students complete the challenge in one sitting at any time within the 2 week challenge period.
Please see our results below:
High Distinction | Distinction | Credit |
Marielle Obeid 4MM |
Zoe Lawrence 4MM |
Lilly Smith 4R |
We also had 18 students receive Merits!
Some amazing results! I would like to thank all the students who participated and tried their hardest to achieve these outstanding results.
Sarah Blundell
Leader of Innovation and Digital Technologies
Reminder for students participating in the
2022 Premier's Reading Challenge that
online entries close on Friday 19th August 2022.
PBS (Positive Behaviour Support)
Congratulations to Maxi Clement in KHB and Olivia Couch in KBB!
Maxi and Olivia received three bonus MJR crosses for displaying positive behaviour. At our whole school assembly they were each awarded a certificate of appreciation.
KBB | Arthur Bell | Olivia Couch | Luke Lijo |
KHB | Clayton Long | Phoebe Briggs | Cohen Watson |
1CS | Ashton Giurissevich | Charlotte Guild | Oliver Hardy |
1PS | Talon Clogg | Sequoia McCarthy | Zane Mitchell |
2BT | Jacob Wittenberg | Grace Gluckstern-Hill | Logan Reilly |
3B | Taylor Ashcroft | Jake Kaandorp | Kingston Shooter |
3MH | Sianna Karickal | Tyler Mat | Tilly Scott |
4MM | Ruby Gilbert | Marielle Obeid | Lucy Styles |
5BH | Xavier Mat | Chloe Widdison | Laila Thorburn |
5BH | Harry Hoade | Charlie Burns | |
5T | Cooper Bell | Jesse Johnstone | Caden Connor |
6H | Siya Modi | Isabella Hawkins | Lara Hardy |
6L | Kruz Batterson | Haley Honeysett | Elaina Stewart |
Week 4 - Term 3 2022 |
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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 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
Labour Day – 3rd October (Public Holiday)
Christmas Day - 25th December (Public Holiday)
Boxing Day - 26th December (Public Holiday)
Diocesan 2022 Athletics Permission Note (selected students)
Supply of Rapid Antigen Tests for Students - W3T3
Tell Them From Me Parent Survey - Letter to parents
Year 3 - 6 Visit from Police Liaison Officer
2022 Census Privacy Notice
Year 3 - Using Food Products Throughout Term 3
Tell Them From Me Student Survey - Letter to parents
National Science Week - Open Classrooms