Hi everyone, 

We have reached the end of Week 8, time sure flies! With two weeks to go of term, we are working with our children on maintaining our school expectations right up to the holidays. It has been a very busy term, and no doubt families are also very busy with life in general, so it is quite normal for your children to be tired now. Try to get that bit more sleep in for them where possible and a bit of down time.

Child Protection Week and R U OK? Day

With this week being officially a week of awareness of Child Protection and R U OK? Day, we have spent time focussing on the importance of being well and safe. You will find shared with you in our newsletter, some of the things that happened in our school this week to build awareness for this amongst our children. One of the conversations I had with some of our students this week is how talking with their parents is a vital part of life as they grow up, so that we know what is happening with them to support them. In particular, the media this week has highlighted online activity and apps that children and young people are accessing that can contribute negatively to their wellbeing and sense of safety. Being a parent is a really hard job, but keeping our children’s wellbeing at the heart of it is something this week is highlighting for us. We need to by ensure we know what is going on for them and help them make good choices for their safety and wellness.

Welcome to our new students

This week we welcomed Tyalah (Year 5) and Lillian (Year 3) Hyde to St Joseph’s, along with their parents. We are so glad they chose to join our community, fitting in so well from the start to their classes. We wish their family well in settling into life in Port Macquarie.

Safety in front of the school

We have focussed on the safety of cars on the road outside school during the morning and afternoon pickup up and drop off times. Please help us keep our school community safe by using good judgement and following road safety guidelines.

We had a concerned grandparent contact us this week when her grandson getting out of the car and a bike rider almost collided along the path this week. Please also be watchful of each other when sharing pathways as the quick thinking of the bike rider avoided a collision by almost running into the fence. If your children are riding along the area where cars are dropping off, remind them to slow down or walk the last part of the path. If you are dropping children off, help them to remember to look for others as they step onto the path. Together we can all enjoy this time and stay safe.  

Uniform

A reminder that students are now able to wear their summer uniforms Monday to Wednesday from now until the end of the year. Sports uniforms remain on Thursdays and Fridays. Check the uniform requirements to make sure all items are correct. 

Click here for uniform requirements

Our Community

With so much to feel concerned about in the world around us, it is always wonderful to spread some good news around. Here are my reflections on our school community this week:

KM - Prayer

Thanks KM for leading us in prayer this week via Zoom with the rest of the school participating from their classrooms. We are enjoying being able to meet together in this way.

Ethan Tony - Kindergarten

What a super good news story from Ethan in KM, who created his own bear template to colour, cut and paste for school. He demonstrated resilience, redrawing it about 15 times to get it right, in his own time. He brought them to school to share with his friends as a fun activity during lunchtime.

 

Tess Koning
Principal

Thursday 10th September was ‘R U OK?’ Day across Australia. ‘R U OK?’ Day is a national focus on wellbeing, raising awareness of mental health throughout communities and promoting action through simple actions such as asking someone, “Are you ok?”

#lismmeditates

To recognise this day, the students at St Joseph's participated in #Lismmeditates, an initiative run by the students of St Mary’s Catholic College, Casino. #Lismmeditates was a diocesen wide Christian meditation project with many Catholic schools within the Lismore Diocese participating in this event. Christian meditation is a traditional form of prayer that promotes healthy spiritual and mental wellbeing. 

Nathan Porter
Assistant Principal Mission

Butterfly is Australia's largest charity that promotes healthy body image. This year their new initiative Love Your Body Week provides a range of free resources for families to ensure positive body messages and healthy relationships with food and exercise are encouraged within the home. Included in this is a relaxed and informative webinar for parents/carers of primary and secondary age children to give knowledge, information and tips to help families better understand and promote positive body image in the home. 

To find out more and register for the FREE webinar go to: https://butterfly.org.au/get-involved/campaigns/love-your-body-week-for-families/

In Science this term Year 4 have been learning about materials and their purpose. The students have been working hard with a number of hands-on investigative tasks to develop an understanding of natural and processed materials and their suitability for a particular purpose. Over the last 3 weeks we have been busy putting our learning into action. 

As a team they were tasked with designing and constructing a prototype for a COVID safe, isolation home. Not only were the students able to use their scientific knowledge to design and make the structure of the home, students also developed empathy for those who might need to isolate for two weeks by making the home a safe, happy, healthy and active environment. This unexpected learning from the students of Year 4 linked nicely into our Term 3 Health unit where students were able to identify what skills and strategies we as human beings would need to be healthy, safe and empowered.  

After constructing their homes, students then created videos and iMovies, sharing their learning and highlighting the reasons they chose their different materials. Students worked collaboratively not only in their groups but also as a year group, sharing their digital technology skills and knowledge to ensure that all students were active participants in their learning. 

We are so proud of everything that Year 4 has been able to achieve this term. They have shown maturity and developed a sense of respect and responsibility for each other's skills and knowledge within the classroom learning environment. 

Well done Year 4

Emma Francis and Melissa Buckland
Year 4 Teachers

Drumming

Over the past term Year 5 has been involved in a wonderful musical initiative working with Mark Spence of St Joseph’s Regional College, participating in drumming workshops. Every Thursday students get to spend 40 minutes creating an assortment of music using buckets, chairs and drum sticks. Students have learnt how to count and read notes and how to play different musical rudiments.

Webinar

During Week 8, we had the privilege of being involved in a virtual workshop based on child protection. The major focus was safety whilst online. Throughout the presentation we had questions, answers, polling and time to reflect on how we can stay safe in different online situations. 

WBBL

On Wednesday 9th September, we were invited to join an online Q&A session with one of the Sydney Sixers Womens Big Bash League (WBBL) players. We worked as a year group to come up with a variety of questions to ask the player. Over the session we learnt about what it takes to be an elite sports player and the amount of time that goes into training. 

Leadership for 2021

As we move into Term 4, our focus will shift to selecting our school leaders for 2021. Our wonderful Year 5 students will have the opportunity to nominate for school or sports captains and as part of this process they will have to write a resume explaining what they have done throughout the year to support the school. As a team we will spend time guiding and modelling this. Watch this space. 

Writing collaboration

Both Year 5 classes have joined together three days each week for the past several weeks for collaborative learning in writing. This has involved working in groups, pairs and individually in composing diary entries and biographies. We have learnt about Pemulwuy, Bennelong, Superman and Steve Irwin - Crikey! 

Brianne Hoitink, Damian Lawrence, Vanessa Goldstein, Nathan Porter
Year 5 Teachers

Sydney Sixers WWBL Virtual Q & A

On Wednesday, each class joined a virtual Q&A session with Jodie Hicks from the Sydney Sixers Women's Big Bash League (WBBL). The students came up with questions to ask Jodie and all were fascinated to hear her story and achievements. 

New hoop nets

A big thank you to Bec and Dan Newton for donating four new Basketball and Netball hoop nets. They look great on our basketball courts and the students love using them. 

Summer Sports trials - Year 4 and 5

The Hastings Zone Sports Committee has invited St Joseph’s to send representatives to the Hastings Zone Summer Sports Selection Trials.  These trials will be held in the form of a round robin Gala Day.  The day will be held on Monday 26th October (Week 3 Term 4) with a backup date of Monday 2nd November.

If your child has the ability and would like to trial for this year’s Summer Sports Trials, they will need to have a nomination letter from their current coach in their chosen sport.  Students may elect to trial in boys or girls Touch Football, Softball, Cricket or Tennis at Kempsey Sporting fields and Basketball at Port Macquarie Stadium. Please refer to the emailed note for more information. 

Yours In Sport
Leah Toole

Creative Arts in the classroom

Creative Arts is taught as one of the Key Learning Areas in our classrooms, with as much significance as the other subjects. 

The subtrands in the Creative Arts are: 

• Visual Arts 
• Drama 
• Dance 
• Music 
  
  
  

In Visual Arts, students develop their knowledge, skills and understanding in making artworks informed by their investigations of the world as subject matter, use of expressive forms, and consideration of the audience for their works. They also develop their knowledge, skills and understanding in appreciating their own artworks and those of others, recognising some relationships between artists, artworks, audiences and how the world is interpreted.

In Music, students develop knowledge, skills and understanding in performing music of different styles and from different times and cultures by singing, playing and moving, and in organising sound into musical compositions using musical concepts. They also develop their knowledge, skills and understanding in listening to and discussing their own music and that of others. 

In Drama, students develop knowledge, skills and understanding in making drama collaboratively by taking on roles and creating imagined situations shaped by the elements of drama, and in performing drama by actively engaging in drama forms. They also develop their knowledge, skills and understanding in appreciating their own dramatic works and those of others. 

In Dance, students develop knowledge, skills and understanding in composing their own dances using the elements and contexts of dance and in performing their own dances and the dances of others from different times and cultures. They also develop knowledge, skills and understanding in appreciating their own dances and those of others.

The Creative Arts encourage students to observe the world from many different angles. Students learn to intensely observe and analyse the world around them. It gives them the skills that build the foundation of critical thinking.  Creative and critical thinking involves students thinking broadly and deeply using skills, behaviours and dispositions such as reason, logic, resourcefulness, imagination and innovation in all learning areas at school and in all areas of their lives.

Joanne Hall, Education Officer Mathematics K -12, Diocese of Lismore, is currently undertaking the unit EDCP601 Capstone (a research project), as part of a Masters of Education (Mathematics Leadership) at the Australian Catholic University. The purpose of the research project is primarily for the purposes of assessment for the course not for publication purposes.

The project aims to analyse the existing Diocese Mathematics Assessment Interview (MAI) data captured in February from 2018 - 2020 for the students that are currently in Year 3. The data collected will be de-identified prior to analysis and stored securely for the duration of the project. 

If you have any objections to the use of your child’s de-identified data in this research assignment, please contact your child’s teacher.  

The latest edition of the NSW Council of Catholic School Parents (CCSP) newsletter contains many helpful resources and links to assist parents and carers to support their own and their children's wellbeing during the continuing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

https://ccsp.schoolzineplus.com/newsletter/68610/#a0

R U Ok day

Year 2 Geography

Year 2 Science design resources request

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 school term dates are located on our website. Click on the words “TERM DATES” on the home page.

STAFF DEVELOPMENT DAYS 2020

Our remaining planned Staff Development Day (pupil free) is:

• Monday 12th October (Term 4, Week 1)

Limited child minding places will be available on this day for those who are unable to organise care outside of school. Please contact the Office Aunties or email us at sjpport@lism.catholic.edu.au to book. We will need to have bookings finalised by 3:00pm Thursday 24th September.