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- Bebras Challenge 2021
- Sport Spotlight
- Kindergarten
- Sunshine Cafe
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- This Week's Notes
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Afternoon Routine reminder and update
Thank you for the way in which you are supporting our afternoon routine of pick up to ensure all children are safely and quickly able to leave school. We are continuing to refine the ways in which we support all students, including those who ride their bikes or walk from school independently.
If your child is going to walk or ride their bike from school to home or meet you at your workplace at any time during the school week, they are required to have a signed note from you so that teachers know you are allowing them to have the responsibility to leave without a parent or carer. The Office Aunties will then provide them with a card that they show the teacher on duty at the gate, so that they are accounted for and we can complete our duty of care. They will then be allowed to leave via the end gate and make their way to you or home. If they arrive at the gate without their card or note, they will be sent to the office so that a parent or carer can be contacted. Please note that the bike rack has been moved to the end of the Warlters Street gate to allow ease of students leaving rather than through the bus gate.
Please also continue to support the movement through the exit gates in the afternoons by walking and following the markers from the front gate through to the side gate as your child sees you and walks to you. Teachers are not able to send students to you at your car, you will need to come and collect them with our process.
Kindergarten drop off transition
Our COVID-19 guidelines allowed us to welcome Kindergarten Parents and Carers at the start of the term to bring their children into school for this very significant transition to the school environment. It has been so special getting to know the Parents and Carers and make connections to ease the anxiety of starting school.
As the children have become accustomed to their new environment, we now require parents and carers to not remain in the school grounds for any extended period of time. We will be transitioning students into becoming independent at drop off times starting next week. Each of our Parish Primary Schools are planning in their own environment the best way to do this, in the context of their school grounds. For our school, the main entrance gate is a safe and secure place for children to enter and be cared for by the teachers who will assist in allowing parents to drop off and say goodbye. We will have extra staff on hand in the coming weeks at the gate to ensure Kindergarten parents are able to be greeted and have their children supported to enter school and move to the COLA or classroom. If you have any concerns please speak to your child’s teacher.
We remind all parents K-6 that supervision begins at 8:30am and students should not be at school much earlier. For buses who drop off before 8:30am the COLA is the area that all students are required to sit and wait for the supervision teachers. There are some excellent before school providers who drop off at the school gate for families needing options for early work schedules.
Band Program Launch
This week Sharon Green from St Joseph’s Regional College visited our school on Wednesday night to speak with interested families about the change in our Band Program. It was a pleasure and privilege to have the Jazz Band from the College come along to demonstrate the achievement of their hard work and teaching over time. Sharon explained the reason why the right instruction in music is so important for success and the amazing connections that students have in their learning and wellbeing with the opportunity to learn to play music. The Band Tutors who will be instructing each of our instrumental groups also attended and returned on Thursday to school in order to start organising the tuition groups so that we can commence soon. There was much excitement from the students who have already been in band as well as new faces who were keen to get started. All students who met the tutors today took home notes to assist in the decision making of families who were wanting to consider Band and tuition. Any other families of students in Years 3-6 who would like to receive information can contact the office for a copy of the notes. There is also a wonderful opportunity for any student in our school in Years 3-6 to try out different instruments at SJRC (not at our school) on Saturday 20th February between 10am-12pm. This date has been changed from the weekend prior. It is important that students find the right instrument for them, so that they can be happy and successful musicians. If you are interested, go along and meet Sharon and her team. We look forward to this new collaboration.
Principal
Mass for beginning of year
The whole school gathered together at St Agnes' Church to commemorate the beginning of year with a lovely Mass led by Father Peter. Our Year 5 students sat with their Kinder buddies to role model our reverence and behaviour during Mass and did a wonderful job. Our Year 6 School Captains and Sports Captains were presented with their badges after a blessing from Father Peter. All Year 6 leaders made a pledge to be positive leaders that students want to follow and were applauded for their maturity and commitment demonstrated at this early stage of the year. We thank all staff and students who helped to make the Mass a lovely way to start our school year.
ash wednesday
All students will participate in a Prayer Service on Wednesday 17th February to mark the beginning of the Lenten Season. According to Google, Lent is the period of 40 days which comes before Easter in the Christian calendar. By observing the 40 days of Lent, Christians replicate Jesus Christ's sacrifice and withdrawal into the desert for 40 days. Lent is marked by fasting, both from food and festivities.
Students will be encouraged to make a ‘Lenten Promise’, giving up something or taking something on in order to be more like Jesus.
SHROVE Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday which celebrates the tradition of using up all the ingredients to make pancakes before the season of Lent and fasting begins. During this time we are unable to represent this with food as we may have done in the past years.
Baptism for children
Nathan Porter
Assistant Principal Mission
Sleep is your superpower
It has been a very busy start to the school year and I thought it timely to remind us all about the importance of sleep. Children and adults alike need sleep. Without enough sleep we get cranky and with time, unhealthy. But for children it’s especially important because the effects of sleep deprivation can lead to lifelong problems.
Studies show that children who do not get enough sleep can end up with behavioral and learning problems that persist for years and affect a child’s life forever. The prevalence of devices such as mobile phones and Ipads also has implications for sleep. More and more, children are staying up or being woken up by these devices. In addition to that our achievement culture between homework and extracurricular activities, many of us simply have less time for sleep.
So, how much sleep does your child need? Here are the recommended amounts:
- Infants: 12 to 16 hours (including naps).
- Toddlers: 11 to 14 hours (including naps).
- Preschoolers: 10 to 13 hours (including naps).
- Grade school-aged children: 9 to 12 hours.
- Teens: 8 to 10 hours.
Here are four ways you can help your child get enough sleep:-
- Make sleep a priority.
- Set the bedtime routine earlier.
- Switch all screens off.
- Keep the same routines on the weekend and during the holidays.
Jeannine Ucdereli
Assistant Principal Learning and Teaching
St Joseph’s celebrated Safer Internet Day last Tuesday. This year’s theme was ‘Start the Chat’ and we certainly did that!
K-2 enjoyed listening to Jimmy Rees read the new online book Swoosh, Glide and Rule Number 5 and had fun learning My Family Rules Song by Lah-Lah.
3-6 found the Webinar Be an e-Safe Kid: Fake News, Real Harms very interesting and had some robust discussions.
For further information we encourage you to explore Australia’s online safety hub. Check out eSafety’s great range of advice and resources. Get started by visiting the parents and carers pages and reading the practical tips for kicking off an online safety conversation.
- Visit https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents for tips to start the chat at home.
Sarah Blundell
Leader of Digital Pedagogies/STEM
After discussions with the new Student Captains and Student Representative Council (SRC), the team has opted to make a change to how we run our group. The SRC has opted to work as a team across the whole year rather than have two specific leaders for each Term. This means a shared approach to volunteering and involvement in various events throughout the year.
Our School Captains this year are:
Millie Paine, Penny Little, Jesse Steinhour, Jack Cremins, Luke Davies , Tori McGrath, Riley Robinson, Macey Stewart
Unfortunately this occurs from time to time. We request that parents pay special attention to children’s heads, particularly during the warmer months of the year.
Parents should look for:
- persistent scratching, particularly behind the ears and the nape of the neck accompanied by a red rash
- tiny silver white eggs at the base of the hair shaft
- small pale brown lice. You may need a magnifying glass and a fine tooth comb under strong light.
Examine your child’s hair for nits (eggs) frequently. If you see any eggs or live lice your child needs treatment.
- Please note that some parents are having success by applying a cheap conditioner to the hair – leaving it on the hair for at least half an hour during which time it smothers the eggs.
- After rinsing the hair, remove the nits with a fine-toothed comb. Dipping the comb in vinegar may assist.
- It may be necessary to remove stubborn eggs by actually pulling them off with your fingernails
Certain lotions require one application but if lice are still present a further treatment after seven days will be necessary. If lice are detected:
- check the hair of everyone in the family
- remove lice or nits from combs, bedding, caps, car seat covers etc.
- wash bed linen and soft toys
Children may go back to school when they have been treated with a head lice lotion and ALL eggs have been removed as directed above. Children should not miss more than one or two days of school each time they have head lice.
We appreciate this can be a very frustrating problem however the CSIRO advises that lice have built up an immunity to many of the standard treatments and the only way to keep the problem under control is constant vigilance and treatment – parental assistance in this regard is sought and appreciated.
Please notify the school if head lice are found and call at the front office after treatment before returning your child to class.
Creative Lunch Clubs
Check out our Creative Lunch Clubs at Lunch 1.
All new and old members welcome!
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
Primary Art Club Mrs Howard |
Primary Drama Club Infants Drama Club |
Infants Art Club Primary Dance |
Musica Viva
All classes this semester will engage in a specialised Music Program called Musica Viva. Musica Viva provides professional learning for our teachers to provide exciting musical education and experiences. The theme of this year's program is ‘Adventures in Antarctica’ with a focus on the Harp. We will have Musica Viva performers visit our school in Term 2.
Yours in Creative and Performing Arts
Leah Toole
Creative Arts Coordinator
P&F Community Connect
On Wednesday evening the P&F held their Annual General Meeting. We are pleased to advise the following positions have been filled, along with the positions that are available for expressions of interest.
Executive Committee
President: Laura Bell
Vice President: Rebecca Newton
Treasurer: Darren Gray - expressions of interest currently open
Secretary: Melinda Robinson
Committee Members
Advertising & Promotions Coordinator: Dani Bosnjak supported by Aunty Heather
Catering Coordinator expressions of interest currently open
Fundraising Coordinator: Stephen Zerafa
Fundraising Assistant expressions of interest currently open
We welcome all Parents & Friends to our upcoming P&F Meeting to be held on Wednesday 24th February at 5:30pm. This meeting will take place at St Joseph’s Primary School.
This week permission notes have been sent home for Year 3-6 students to participate in the 2021 Bebras Challenge. Our students have had great success in this challenge over the last 3 years. Please see below for more information and don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or queries.
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 two week challenge period.
Sarah Blundell
Leader of Digital Pedagogies/STEM
Swimming Carnival
Congratulations to all students, staff and parents that made our Swimming Carnival a huge success last Thursday. It was a wonderful combination of competition and fun and was full of team spirit and encouragement. Well done in particular to our House Captains for leading their Houses. It was great to see all students participate in some way. All placings were only given to the students entered in the Competitive races and who swam the fastest times in each age group.
Our Age Champions and Runners Up are as follows:
Age Champion | Runner Up |
8 Years Boys - Noah Alchin | 8 Years Boys - Tyler Mat |
9 Years Boys - Archie Holloway | 9 Years Boys - Harry Hoade |
9 Years Girls - Zoe Lawrence and Gemma Cooper | 9 Years Girls - Ivy Dalton |
10 Years Boys - Xavier Mat | 10 Years Boys - Cooper Bell and Drew Evans |
10 Years Girls - Lailah Watson | 10 Years Girls - Evie Johnson |
11 Years Boys - Billy Stapleton | 11 Years Boys - Baxter Matthews |
11 Years Girls - Keely Newton | 11 Years Girls - Charlie Holloway |
12 Years Boys - Oliver Mat | 12 Years Boys - Hudson Bell |
12 Years Girls - Bonnie Russell | 12 Years Girls - Tori McGrath |
Congratulations to all of these students.
Zone Swimming Carnival
Congratulations to the following students who will attend the Zone Swimming Carnival on Monday at Macksville:
Billy Stapleton |
Baxter Matthews |
Felicity Goldstein |
Charlie Holloway |
Oliver Mat |
Noah Alchin |
Spencer Searle |
Gemma Cooper |
Archie Holloway |
Rhys Cutler |
Lailah Watson |
Evie Johnson |
Xavier Mat |
Oscar Peirce |
Keely Newton |
Ella Moore |
Hudson Bell |
Drew Evans |
Penny Little |
Caleb Edkins |
Ryder Monckton |
Tori McGrath |
Gene Smith |
Taj Davis |
Charli Robinson |
Zada Robinson |
Charlie Burns |
Cooper Bell |
Ivy Dalton |
These students enjoyed some extra swimming practice and training at the Port Pool on Thursday. We wish them the best of luck for the Zone Carnival.
Polding Basketball
Congratulations to Oliver Mat, Ysaac Nieva, Keely Newton, Peyton Berry, Hudson Bell and Laiken Richardson who attended the Polding Basketball selections in Tamworth last Friday. All played well, with many getting into Possible and Probables but no further this time. Great job all!
Winter Sports Trials
Thank you to all students who nominated for the Winter Sports Trials. More information will go home to these students soon.
Futsal Expression of Interest
Students in Years 5 and 6 are invited to participate in an U11’s or U12’s Boys / Girls Futsal team to represent St Joseph’s Primary at the 2021 Hastings School Futsal Titles. It is to be held on Thursday 25th March at the Port Macquarie Indoor Stadium. Please nominate by Friday 19th February via the online link in the note sent home last week.
CHANGE TO GYMNASTICS AND CRICKET
The timetable for Gymnastics and Cricket has slightly changed from what we had published previously. Please see below an updated timetable.
Leah Toole
Sports Coordinator
Kindergarten celebrated their first full week of learning. With the help from our Year 5 buddies we've been spending the first days of school helping students get to know one another and become comfortable with various classroom routines.
Laura Stapleton, Naomi Currall, Magda Buckley
Kindergarten Teachers
Flexischools
There have been some technical issues with the Flexischools Online Ordering system over the last couple of weeks. These issues have now been fixed however if you are still having any problems using the Flexischools App you may need to check for software updates.
TERM 1 CANTEEN MENU
Volunteer Notice
We are unable to have volunteers in the canteen at this stage, however we are hoping this will change very soon. If you would like to volunteer when it is possible, please fill out the Volunteer Form using the link below.
LUNCH ORDERS
The canteen is operating as usual and 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!
Helpful websites
For help and ideas for getting back into the routine of making school lunches every day, check out these websites:
https://healthylunchbox.com.au/#
https://www.healthyliving.nsw.gov.au/food/healthy-school-lunch-box
Kim Goldie
Canteen Coodinator
KBC | Ellie Lawrence | George Smith | Cody Ylias |
KSC | Harriet Clough | Ashton Giurissevich | Ariana Renton |
2T | Leah Donovan | Rafael D'Souza | Indii Love |
3D | Lilly Smith | Jack Cuneen | Lenny Dixon |
3H | Jade Hanks | Chayse Jones | Hayley Ylias |
4MG | Zada Robinson | Xavier Mat | Lilliana Anderson |
5L | Harmony Amanatidis | Abbey Delforce | Kruz Batterson |
5S | Joseph Hunt | Riley Tattersall | Mikayla Love |
6B | Ivy Basanovic | Riley Robinson | Sydney Forsyth |
Saints Youth Drama with Mrs Sandra Thompson has resumed this term in the Hall.
Kindergarten-Year 2 classes are Tuesdays (3:15pm - 5:00pm)
Year 3-6 classes are Wednesdays
(3:15pm - 5:00pm)
Cost: $10 per class
There are limited vacancies in both groups, as well as freedom to move within groups for family convenience. Please call Sandra on 0408 810 705 for any queries.
Week 4 - Term 1 2021 |
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Saturday 13th February |
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Monday 15th February |
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Tuesday 16th February |
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Wednesday 17th February |
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Thursday 18th February |
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Friday 19th February |
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Saturday 20th February |
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Week 5 - Term 1 2021 |
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Monday 22nd February |
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Tuesday 23rd February |
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Wednesday 24th February |
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Thursday 25th February |
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Friday 26th February |
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Week 6 - Term 1 2021 |
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Monday 1st March |
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Tuesday 2nd March |
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Wednesday 3rd March |
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Thursday 4th March |
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Friday 5th March |
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Week 7 - Term 1 2021 |
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Monday 8th March |
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Tuesday 9th March |
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Wednesday 10th March |
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Thursday 11th March |
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Friday 12th March |
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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 2021 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 2021
Kindergarten to Year 6 last day of classes Term 1 - Wednesday 31st March 2021
Staff Development Day (Pupil Free) – Thursday 1st April 2021
TERM 2
Staff Development Day (Pupil Free) – Monday 19th April 2021
Kindergarten to Year 6 commence classes Term 2 - Tuesday 20th April 2021
Proclaim Lismore 2021
Staff Development Day (Pupil Free) - Wednesday 5th May 2021
Kindergarten to Year 6 last day of classes Term 2 – Friday 25th June 2021
TERM 3
Staff Development Day (Pupil Free) – Monday 12th July 2021
Kindergarten to Year 6 commence classes Term 3 – Tuesday 13th July 2021
Kindergarten to Year 6 last day of classes Term 3 – Friday 17th September 2021
TERM 4
Staff Development Day (Pupil Free) – Tuesday 5th October 2021
Kindergarten to Year 6 commence classes Term 4 – Wednesday 6th October 2021
Kindergarten to Year 6 last day of classes form Term 4 - Wednesday 15th December 2021
Other Holidays in 2021
Australia Day – Tuesday 26th January 2021 (Public Holiday)
Good Friday – Friday 2nd April 2021
Easter Monday – Monday 5th April 2021 (Public Holiday)
ANZAC Day – Sunday 25th April 2021
Queen’s Birthday – Monday 14th June 2021 (Public Holiday)
Labour Day – Monday 4th October 2021 (Public Holiday)
Christmas Day - Saturday 25th December 2021
Boxing Day - Sunday 26th December 2021