Filter Content
Welcome back to School for Term 4!
We would like to take this opportunity to welcome all students and families back to school for Term 4. There are so many wonderful things happening during this term, as you will see in our newsletter this week, so we encourage all families to carefully read our communication each week so that you know what is happening and can be involved where you can. There will be notes emailed out for special events, so please continue to check your inboxes for what you need to do.
Thank you from Mrs Koning
I am excited to be back for Term 4 after my leave in Term 3. It has been a joyful week re-engaging with students across the school and seeing just how well they have been working, not to mention how much they have grown! I would like to thank Mrs Ucdereli and all of the leadership team for their wonderful care for our school, students and families in my absence. I look forward to all of the things we will achieve together in Term 4. Thank you to parents and carers who have warmly greeted me across this time and for your well wishes on my new appointment in 2023. The process of discerning a new Principal to begin in 2023 is taking place during the start of this term, and I will communicate to you future leadership of the school once this process is complete.
Kindergarten Teaching Team for 2023
Our Kindergarten 2023 Transition and Orientation program begins next week and continues through the term to support the start of school for our youngest learners. Each year we believe it is important to set them up for success by making this as comfortable as possible. For this reason, we would like to announce the teaching team who will be working together with them in 2023:
Mrs Kathy Bailey, Ms Magda Buckley and Mrs Brianne Hoitink
Class Placements for 2023
A reminder that any input from parents and carers regarding placements of students for 2023 is due by Monday 31st October via email to the school email address. Only information received by this date will be considered by teachers when forming class grouping.
Celebrating Our Faith
Launching our new School Website and School Values - Community Evening and Family Art Competition
You are invited to a very special community evening on Wednesday 2nd November from 5:30 to 6:30pm when we will be launching our new school website and new school values.
Over the past two years, our school community has been learning about the history of our school, specifically the Sisters of St Joseph’s. We have sought voice from our students, parents and staff to help shape our new school values.
At St Joseph's we aspire to be like St Joseph.
With integrity we live out the values of Courage, Humility and Compassion.
In the coming weeks we will be exploring these three values in greater detail and we would like you to join us by participating in our family art competition. How does your family show these values of St Joseph? As a family show us in artistic form on an A4 sheet of paper the values of Courage, Humility and Compassion. All entries need to be submitted to the school office by Friday 28th October (Week 3). One piece from each class will be chosen to be recreated professionally to form an artwork which will be displayed in our front office. The winning designs will be revealed on the night.
Grandparents and Grandfriends Day - "In my day..."
You are invited to our Grandparents & Grandfriends celebration.
We really hope you can join us for an afternoon of open classrooms, old school games and activities, BYO picnic and whole school liturgy.
When: Friday 28th October, 1:10pm - 3:00pm
Where: St Joseph’s Primary, Warlters Street. We will open the gate between the Administration building and the Canteen at 12:55pm for your entry to the school grounds.
1:10pm - Open Classrooms - we would love you to bring a photo or story from your youth to share with your grandchild and their friends. “In my day…”
1:40pm - Join us on the playground for some “Old School Games” - Elastics, skipping, marbles, hopscotch.
2:00pm - BYO Picnic afternoon tea with Grandparents and Grandfriends. Please remember we are a nut and allergy aware school, thank you for bringing safe treats into our school.
2:15pm - Year 1 will be hosting our whole school Prayer Assembly.
We look forward to seeing you. Please feel free to join us for all or as much of the day as you can.
Student Forum
Our fantastic Year 6 Student Representative Council, voiced this year that they would like to hear from their younger peers. They visited classrooms and organised voting for our Student Forum to be reinstated at St Joseph’s for Term 4. The team will meet fortnightly on Thursdays at Lunch 2, to discuss ways we can make positive change in our school.
Congratulations to these students from Kinder to Year 6 for being our Student Forum for Term 4, 2022.
Kinder |
Luca Godwin |
Piper Salvestrin |
Clayton Long |
Sophie Richardson |
|
Year 1 |
Zane Mitchell |
Claire Leonard |
Noah Lynch |
Eliza Steadman |
|
Year 2 |
Yzekiel Nieva |
Alexia Lynch |
Wyatt Hough |
Hannah Cooper |
|
Year 3 |
Talon Swaysland |
Taylor Ashcroft |
Flynn Watts |
Elsie Steadman |
|
Year 4 |
Hudson Jones |
Harlow Maher |
Lucas Fernando |
Alivia Johnson |
|
Year 5 |
Caden Connor |
Lilliana Anderson |
Lucas Lynch |
Evie Johnson |
|
Year 6 |
Joshua Hiam |
Harmony Amanatidis |
Elaina Stewart |
Peyton Berry |
Learning Together
Sharing a snippet from our School Review Commendations and Affirmations
Following on from last term we thought we would share with you some of the feedback the Panel shared with us. It will be from this information we as a school community will begin to shape our School Improvement Plan for 2023-2025. This process will also include input from all stakeholders in our school community.
St Joseph’s is to be commended for:-
- Strong commitment and focus on faith, learning and wellbeing outcomes for students.
- Tailoring of intervention programs to meet the needs of a range of students.
- Commitment to exploring evidence based practices and processes to support whole school improvement.
- The well developed collaborative approach with all staff members.
- The proactive and highly valued work of the Educational Assistants that improves the learning and wellbeing outcomes for all students.
- The work of the ‘Office Aunties’ who are the face of the school and commit to making every students and their family feel a sense of belonging.
St Joseph’s is to be affirmed for:-
- The collaborative process that has led to the development of the school mission and values (compassion, courage and humility).
- The openness to feedback and commitment to respond to student needs.
- The clearly articulated desire to reconnect with the community following COVID-19 restrictions being lifted.
- The efforts that ensure well developed partnerships continue.
- The continued support of student agency and voice.
Once again we would like to take this opportunity to thank the School Review Panel for their conversations, observations and considerations through the course of their visit.
PAT Assessments (Year 2 - Year 6)
During Weeks 2, 3 and 4 our students in Years 2 - 6 will complete their ACER PAT Mathematics and Reading tests. ACER’s Progressive Achievement approach is used in thousands of schools in Australia and around the world. The approach focuses on assessing and monitoring student growth over time and is underpinned by an understanding that students of the same age and in the same year of school can be at very different points in their learning and development.
These tests are designed to provide objective, norm-referenced information to teachers about their students’ skills and understandings in a range of key areas. The Mathematics test assesses students’ skill and understanding in the six strands of Number, Algebra, Geometry, Measurement, Statistics and Probability. The Reading test assesses students’ reading comprehension skills, vocabulary knowledge and spelling.
Why do schools use PAT tests?
- They provide a measure of student achievement in each learning area.
- There is a common achievement scale for all tests within a learning area.
- They are mapped to the Australian Curriculum.
- They provide overall descriptions of the types of skills mastered and those still to be developed based on test performance.
- They can be used to inform teaching and learning and to assist in planning effective and targeted learning programs.
If you have any questions about the ACER testing please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher for further clarification.
PBS (Positive Behaviour Support)
Congratulations......Mitchell!!!
Congratulations to our MJR (Making Jesus Real) House winners from Term 3... MITCHELL!
Students from Mitchell House received the highest total of tokens for being noticed as making Jesus real at St Joseph’s. This week, these students enjoyed extra play and received an icypole to remind them how proud we are of their efforts. Thank you for continuing to show the face of Jesus at our school!
Wheelchair Sports NSW Roadshow
Students from Years 2 to 6 will participate in an onsite wheelchair sports program on Thursday 20th October and Monday 24th October. Wheelchair Sports NSW will provide children and educators with a chance to experience a game of Wheelchair Basketball, raise disability awareness and road safety amongst peers, and most of all, everyone will have loads of fun!
Term 4 Grade Sport Days
David Lynch
Sports Coordinator
October is Mental Health Month
Mental Health Month is celebrated each year in the month of October in NSW. This month encourages all of us to think about our mental health and wellbeing, regardless of whether we may have a lived experience of mental illness or not. It also gives us the opportunity to understand the importance of good mental health in our everyday lives and encourages help seeking behaviours when needed.
In 2022, the theme for Mental Health Month is "Tune In"
- Tuning In means being present – being aware of what’s happening within you, and in the world around you.
- Tune In to your senses – what can you sense right now? What can you feel?
- Tune In to your communities – what’s happening that you can be part of, or that you can help others be part of?
Taking a moment to "Tune In" can help still and focus your mind, it can help you understand what’s going on for you and others. Tuning in can help you find a new perspective, and it can help you reflect and be present.
Tuning In has been shown to help build self-awareness, help make effective choices, reduce the impact of worry, and build positive connections. Tuning In to communities and the impact of mental health stigma can help ensure that people who need support have safe places to talk about their experiences and reach out.
Tune In to Mental Health Month and help create a world we can all Tune In to.
Some tips on how to ‘tune in’ can be found here: https://mentalhealthmonth.wayahead.org.au/tips-to-tune-in/
Kelly Russell
School Counsellor
Yarning Circle - Indigenous News
Our new Indigenous Australian mural 'Connection'
Throughout this year Caleb Smith, Elise Howard and Jodi Daley have been working together to create a narrative that details our Biripi country's landscape. With Jodi’s expert artistry we have developed a story of our differing landscapes all meeting into the one place at the mouth of our Hastings River. Journeying through our mountains, our mangroves and our beaches while taking in the sights and finding some cool animals along the way! Our new mural ‘Connection’ is located in our Indigenous Garden which is also our homelines area, please feel free to have a look when you visit. A massive thank you goes out to Jodi Daley for her patience and brilliant mind!
Caleb Smith
Indigenous Education Worker
KBB | Tiana-Jade Sangkuhl | Jacob Van den Boom | Shelby Moore |
KHB | Toby Burnham | Lucas Andrew | Sophie Richardson |
1CS | Scarlett Slater | Alexander Searle | Elvis Scott |
1PS | Harriet Clough | Aria Takiari-Conceicao | Ashton Wynter |
2DT | Kathleen Yewdell | Alexia Lynch | Liam McGovern |
3B | Diane-Grace King | Josephine Yewdall | Hudson Young |
3MH | Wynter Stewart | Marcus Cramp | Harrison Slater |
4MM | Noah Alchin | Lucy Styles | Alivia Johnson |
4R | Lenny Dixon | Indhi Kingsmith | Lylah Robinson |
5BH | Hudson Alexander | McKenzie Newton | Oscar Peirce |
5T | Lilliana Anderson | Sebastian Bennett-Tonkin | Benji Connor |
St Joseph's Primary School Band
St Joseph’s Regional College is excited to be offering students in Year 3 to 6 an opportunity to be part of the St Joseph’s Primary School Band. Last term, the College Band performed for the school and interested students were given a note to sign up for the pre-band percussion class that will lead to joining the band in 2023.
We have always known that playing an instrument is good for us, but the research at Bigger Better Brains has really connected the dots between starting an instrument in primary school and increased literary skills and general academic performance in secondary and tertiary level studies. There is also a direct link between music and improved social development which is important, especially in these days of screen overload!
Fascinatingly, it doesn’t matter how good the player becomes on their instrument, what matters is that they are playing and reading music regularly.
The pre-band percussion class will take place in Term 4 and will teach students to read music with the use of percussion instruments. We will assess them by the end of the term and advise them on which instrument they should move onto the following year. These lessons cost $5 per week. The Pre-2023 Band Enrolment Form can be found in the below link:
Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you would like more information.
Sharon Green
Leader of Co-Curricular Music
St Joseph’s Regional College
sharon.green@lism.catholic.edu.au
0416291648
Applications for Student Travel
Applications for Student Travel in 2023 are now open. Please see the below flyer for useful information to assist with student travel enquiries.
Week 2 - Term 4 2022 |
|
Monday |
|
Tuesday |
|
Wednesday |
|
Thursday |
|
Friday |
|
Week 3 - Term 4 2022
|
|
Monday |
|
Tuesday |
|
Wednesday |
|
Thursday |
|
Friday |
|
Week 4 - Term 4 2022
|
|
Monday |
|
Tuesday |
|
Wednesday |
|
Thursday |
|
Friday |
|
Week 5 - Term 4 2022
|
|
Monday |
|
Tuesday |
|
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 4
Kindergarten to Year 6 commence classes for Term 4 - Monday
10th October 2022
Staff Development Day (Pupil Free) - Monday 7th November 2022
Kindergarten to Year 6 last day of classes for Term 4 - Thursday
15th December 2022
Staff Development Day (Pupil Free) - Friday 16th December 2022
Other Holidays in 2022
Christmas Day - 25th December (Public Holiday)
Boxing Day - 26th December (Public Holiday)
Year 5 Glasshouse excursion - Backbone (Circus Theatre)
Year 5 - 2022 PDH Sensitive Issues_Growth and Development
Grandparents and Grandfriends Day Invitation
Wheelchair Basketball 2022
Todd Woodbridge Cup (Tennis) for Year 5 and 6 - Expression of Interest
Letter_to_parents_Acting_Director_of_Catholic_Schools
Letter from Gavin Wood, APM, Assistant Commissioner - Gel Blasters in NSW
15437_Flyer_Gel_Blasters
Kinder PDH 2022 Sensitive Issues
Accendere Youth Hub Day - Year 4
2022-2023 Summer Sports Trials (Touch Football) - Successful students
2022-2023 Summer Sports Trials (Basketball) - Successful students
Year 6 Graduation Parent Meeting Follow Up Information
Year 1 Billabong Zoo Permission Note - 2022
Kindergarten - Term 4 Overview
Year 1 - Term 4 Overview
Year 2 - Term 4 Overview
Year 3 - Term 4 Overview
Year 4 - Term 4 Overview
Year 5 - Term 4 Overview
Year 6 - Term 4 Overview