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Parent Partnerships
I would like to keep it simple this week, in asking for some ideas from you about Parent Partnerships. Following on from our newsletter last week about building opportunities for parent partnerships, I would like to focus this week on support for parents and carers in education or information sessions that we can plan for across this year. I am seeking some ideas from a parent and carer point of view about what you feel would be helpful for you to develop your skills in supporting your child at home. This could include, but not be limited to, areas of digital technology, general or specific learning areas, parenting courses that could be provided from external sources etc. I can’t promise that we can do all of these, but we would like to try to find those which would be most beneficial. We will be able to start introducing sessions outside of school that are face-to-face onsite outside of school hours following COVID safe plans and possibly also some digital versions for those preferring this medium. If you have a suggestion you would like to offer, please share it with us in one of these ways: email the school address and title it “Parent Partnership Ideas”, send it as a physical note to the office, or chat with our Office Aunties who will pass it on.
Canteen Helpers
We have been working hard in the canteen to keep up with supporting our students and families in using this great resource. Kim is a great manager of the canteen and keen to continue providing the best access possible. We have been reporting for a year through COVID that we are unable to have anyone helping in our school for any events or purposes, and this is largely unchanged. However, when absolutely essential, we can work with strict guidelines to have some additional support for some areas of school life. The canteen is one of these, if we have a small number of regular helpers who can be briefed on the food safety and COVID guidelines. We are not able to have lots of people at the same time or different people all the time, which does make it hard for helpers who have limited availability. If you feel you would be available to assist on a regular basis (particularly at the end of the week when it is really busy), please make contact with Kim Goldie our Canteen Co-ordinator and we can run through what this could look like or you can fill out the Volunteers Form.
Principal
PROJECT COMPASSION
It is during the Lenten season that Project Compassion is run by our Mini Vinnie students. Each classroom have received a Project Compassion box and several boxes have been placed in the staffroom and front office if you would like to make a donation.
St Joseph Art Competition
The SRC Team are running an art competition for the best portrait of Saint Joseph to help celebrate our school feast day on Friday 19th March. The Team will award artworks in Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3 and Adult categories. Artworks can be submitted to the school office by Monday 15th March. There is no limit to size or medium.
Incitare
Sacrament of Reconciliation
Workshops
Family Workshops for Reconciliation are held at the following locations:
Wednesday 3rd March @ St Peter’s Primary School - 6:00pm-7:00pm
Thursday 4th March @ St Agnes' Primary School - 3:30pm-4:30pm
Tuesday 9th March @ St Joseph’s Primary School - 3:30pm-4:30pm
Wednesday 10th March @ St Agnes' Church - 6:00pm-7:00pm
Cermonies
The Reconciliation ceremony will take place on the 23rd, 24th, 25th and 31st of March. Families will be able to select their preferred date after the Workshop for Reconciliation listed above.
Nathan Porter
Assistant Principal Mission
THE POWER OF READING
Engaging children in reading experiences presents infinite opportunities for developing language and literacy skills. Children's literature is important because it enhances development of language skills and other critical thinking skills that provide the foundation of learning. Reading children's literature stimulates a child's imagination, reading provides an important visual experience.
When parents and teachers share reading experiences with children, it provides numerous opportunities for language and literacy learning. Reading with children is an opportunity to support children to make meaning from texts, and to learn “how texts work” (e.g. exploring texts). Children can also “practice” their reading skills (e.g. concepts of print, phonological awareness, making meaning) through the supportive scaffolding from their parents and teachers. All children’s literature should:
- Engage children emotionally.
- Invite involvement.
- Provide opportunities for children to interact with the text to help them develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of print.
- The books need to be aesthetically pleasing and include interesting illustrations.
Look for new books and authors that your child may enjoy.
Organise an area dedicated to reading and writing tools.
Visit the library for story time and book recommendations.
Encourage your child to talk about what they are reading.
Talk to your child, and sprinkle interesting words into your conversation.
Offer a variety of books to read.
Read with your child every day.
Expand your home library to include magazines and nonfiction.
Ask questions if you're concerned about your child's development.
Decide to raise a reader!
Make time this weekend to sit with your children and explore the wonderful world of print. Help them to create a love of reading.
Jeannine Ucdereli
Assistant Principal Learning and Teaching
Drop offs at school, particularly for Kindergarten and new students, can involve tears and clinging.
Here are some ideas that might help make drop offs easier:
- Have a drop off ‘routine’. This could be a kiss/cuddle or a special handshake that signals it is now time to go into school.
- Keep your morning routine and drop off routine as consistent as possible
- Remind your child where you will pick them up “I love you. I’ll see you at the end of the day at homelines”.
- Don’t linger at the gate. Once you have said goodbye head back to the car. It shows your child that you are confident they will be safe and happy at school.
- Try to stay relaxed and keep a calm manner about you (I know this is not always easy - I have a crier too).
- There are teachers and older students at the gate from 8.30am so if you need support they will happily take your child’s hand and walk them to a friend.
- If possible, have some ‘special’ time at the end of the day where you can talk with your children about ‘the best thing about today’.
- If saying goodbye continues to be challenging, please talk to your teacher about it. There are other strategies they may be able to put in place to assist you.
Confident Carers, Co-operative Kids
Confident Carers is a nine-week parent group aimed at addressing a range of 'oppositional' behaviours displayed by children (4-11 years), such as disobedience, arguing with adults, and sometimes lashing out when angry. The program engages parents to connect with their parenting values and grow the parent-child relationship. This acts as the foundation to then introduce or tweak effective behaviour management strategies like praise, rules, effective instructions, and applying consistent and fair limits and consequences.
The program runs during school terms, Weeks 2-10 on Tuesday afternoons (12:30-2:30pm) and evenings (5:45-7:45pm). Term 2 intake appointments are being booked for Mondays/Tuesdays for the last few weeks of this term, and are run by phone, online and face-to-face.
If you would like more information please contact:
Rachel Sheppard ( Registered Psychologist)
Port Macquarie Allied Health
Level 1, 21 Short Street,
Port Macquarie, NSW 2444
Ph: 0466387466
E: rachelsheppardpsychology@gmail.com
W: http://portmacquariealliedhealth.com/index.php/rachel-sheppard/
Kelly Russell
School Counsellor
Clean up Australia Day
As a school, we will celebrate “Clean up Australia Day” on Friday 12th March. Please support our efforts by avoiding packaged food. Many thanks for helping us to show our care for our common home.
School Banking is back. School Banking Day is Tuesday and will restart next week.
For each weekly deposit made at school, students will receive a token. Once they collect 10 tokens, they can redeem them for a School Banking reward.
If your child has previously participated in School Banking, or has an existing Commonwealth Bank Youthsaver account, they can start banking straight away by bringing their Dollarmites deposit wallet to school on School Banking day.
If your child has lost their deposit wallet, please contact the School Office or visit any Commonwealth Bank branch for a replacement.
Winter Sports Trials
Congratulations to all students who competed in the Zone Winter Sports trials on Monday.
We are very excited to announce that these students will attend the Diocesan Winter Sports trials next week:
Taj Davis - Rugby Union
Oliver Mat - Hockey
Savanna Cunneen - Netball
Hudson Bell - Soccer
Riley Robinson - Soccer
Jhett Moore - Soccer
Milhani Moore - Soccer
We wish them the best of luck.
A special shout out to Noah Dowd who saved the day by single handedly putting up the school shelter on his own when others weren’t able to. What a terrific growth mindset!
Polding Golf, Diving and Rugby 7’s
If there are any students who play and have talent in these sports, please contact myself or Mr Lynch.
Cross Country
Our Cross Country Carnival will be held on Friday 26th March for all students in Kindergarten to Year 6.
Our Year 6 Captains will be holding Cross Country practice in the playground before school beginning Monday next week. Training will be held every day from 8:30am. Students can bring sneakers for these if needed.
Cricket
Cricket has been a hit so far with our students. We have been keeping our eye on the ball while learning how to take cracking catches. Between the wickets, we have been developing our batting and bowling skills by building hand eye coordination and balance.
Gymnastics
We are continuing to love our weekly Gymnastics lessons, with students developing non locomotor skills using equipment, their body weight and a partner. They are learning to create movement sequences across the equipment.
Leah Toole and David Lynch
Sports Coordinator and Assistant Sports Coordinator
KBC | Abaigeal Ashton | Asher Parry | Liam Clint |
KSC | Zoella Cruickshanks | Elsa Bolehala | Savian Sain Karickal |
1B | Jack Rock | Oscar McHugh | Logan Reilly |
1R | Isabella Connor | Oliver Godwin | Harvey Porter |
2S | Eli Partington | Tilly Scott | Savina Fernando |
2T | Talon Swaysland | Sonny Hancock | Heidi Lawrence |
3D | Noah Alchin | Lenny Dixon | Lily Francis |
3H | Koby McGinley | Isla Schneider-Smith | Jazmine Taylor |
4F | Violet Richardson | Hudson Alexander | Benji Connor |
4MG | Evie Johnson | Sophie Lawrence | Ryder Monckton |
5L | Rocco Robinson | Noah Dowd | Lachlan Matheson |
5S | Isabella Russell | Zali Roberts | Edvin Benny |
6B | Tori Mcgrath | Ella Moore | Phoenix Kitching |
6H | Aaron Biju | Bonnie Russell | Axel Davidson |
Birthday Buckets
What are they?
Birthday Buckets are a great way for your child to celebrate their birthday at school and share a treat with their classmates. Each bucket will contain a Quelch ice block for every student in the class (and may be even the teacher!)
Quelch ice blocks are 99% fruit juice which means they are great for children with allergies so everyone in the class can enjoy them.
How much do they cost?
Just $10.00 per bucket.
The bucket will be decorated for your child’s birthday and collected during the day as directed by the teacher to share with their class. The buckets are reusable and will need to be returned to the canteen.
How do you order them?
They can be ordered via Flexischools on the day you would like your child to share them or can be ordered in advance. Alternatively, if you don’t use Flexischools, you can call the school office to order directly from the Canteen.
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 under Canteen.
Don’t forget you can place your online orders days or even weeks in advance, making the morning rush even easier!
Kim Goldie
Canteen Coordinator
Infants Drama Club
Infants Drama Club was a huge success this week. We became aware of the different ways we can move and how we express a variety of emotions, using our faces and bodies. We loved making frozen pictures with our friends and miming everyday activities.
Infants Art Club
Young Archie Competition
We are always looking for opportunities for our students to create artworks with a purpose. This year one of our goals is to enter pieces into the prestigious “Young Archie” portraiture prize held by the Art Gallery of NSW. This highly coveted exhibition is designed for junior artists to demonstrate their skills by creating a portrait of someone they know and who has been a positive influence on them. Students may also create a self portrait. We are very proud to announce that the following student’s artworks have been entered into the 2021 “Young Archie” competition:
Aaron Biju - ‘One Calm Dad’
Matilda Kos - ‘My Pop’
Spencer Searle - ‘A Photo of Me’
Axel Davidson - ‘Rock Lobster’
Jasmine Howell - ‘ My Sister - Mystical Mia’
Bonnie Russell - ‘In the Reflection’
Millie Paine - 'Here Comes The Sun'
Phoenix Charnock - ‘My Dad’
Lawson Bentley - ‘My Dad’
Emerence Young - ‘Eme’
Elsie Enriquez - ‘Where I Feel Calm’
Zara Lawrence - ‘Little Wild Child’
We look forward to hearing about their success at the end of May. Good luck everyone!
Junkyard Beats
Our Stage 2 (Years 3 and 4) students are very fortunate to be going to see a performance at the Glasshouse called ‘Junkyard Beats’ on Thursday 18th March.
Students will learn about sustainability with this high energy, imaginative music-in-education performance combining drumming, dance, theatre and comedy.
In the hands of Junkyard Beats, ordinary household items are transformed into extraordinary musical instruments and unwanted junk comes alive in exciting and surprising ways! They will follow four characters during their daily activities in a world made of cardboard boxes and junk. The contents of an abandoned kitchen and wheelie bins become the greatest drum set in the world; Plastic bags are an amazing musical instrument and the human body becomes a unique sound machine.
Yours in Creative and Performing Arts
Leah Toole
Creative Arts Coordinator
KINDERGARTEN PARENTS & FRIENDS SAVE THE DATE
Tuesday 16th March 3:30pm - 4:30pm
Please keep an eye on your email for further information.
To contact the P&F directly, please email your enquiry to stjosephspnf@gmail.com and a member of our Committee will gladly respond.
Expressions of interest are available for the following positions:
Treasurer
Fundraising Assistant
Catering Coordinator
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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Week 8 - Term 1 2021
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Monday 15th March |
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Tuesday 16th March |
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Wednesday 17th March |
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Thursday 18th March |
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Friday 19th March |
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Saturday 20th March |
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Sunday 21st March |
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Week 9 - Term 1 2021 |
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Monday 22nd March |
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Tuesday 23rd March |
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Wednesday 24th March |
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Thursday 25th March |
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Friday 26th March |
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Sunday 28th March |
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Week 10 - Term 1 2021 |
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Monday 29th March |
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Tuesday 30th March |
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Wednesday 31st March |
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Thursday 1st April |
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Friday 2nd April |
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Week 1 - Term 2 2021 |
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Monday 19th April |
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Tuesday 20th April |
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Wednesday 21st April |
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Thursday 22nd April |
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Friday 23rd April |
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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