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- Prayer Focus
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- Celebrating Our Faith
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- Parish News
- Year 7 2022 High School Principals Visit (Year 6)
- National Day of Action against Bullying
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- School Banking
- P&F Community Connect
- General Information
- Mini VInnies
- Sport Spotlight
- Creative Corner
- Sharing Our Learning - Year 4
- Student Awards
- Mind Matters
- What's On Next Week ...
- Advance Dates for Your Diary
- This Week's Notes
- Billboard
Staff Development Days 2021
We published our Staff Development Days (Pupil Free) to our website and newsletter at the start of the year, to ensure we give families advance notice. We need to advise a change to one of these days in Term 2, highlighted in bold below. This is also adjusted in our forward planning calendar. On the days that child minding is available for families requiring support, please ensure you follow the link in the note that you receive ahead of time, so that we are able to ensure adequate staffing.
Here is a recap:
Thursday 1st April - Staff First Aid and CPR Training (limited child minding available).
Monday 19th April will now be a regular school day - all students are expected to attend as normal.
Wednesday 5th May - Proclaim Staff Event (limited child minding available).
Tuesday 22nd June will now be a Staff Development Day - Digital Technologies (child minding available).
Shaving and Cutting Hair for Cancer Research
Students at St Joseph’s have a great reputation for doing good in our local community in a variety of ways. One of our students, Maddyx Gray (5S), is participating in an event this weekend with some friends, to shave or cut hair for Cancer research. It is always inspiring to see young people contributing to causes that show selflessness and generosity, engaging in acts of service for others. In support of Maddyx’s involvement in this event, the following notice is an invitation from the organisers to be involved. This is not an event run by our school, so this is a sharing from those who are running it. We will acknowledge Maddyx’s generous contribution next week at our prayer assembly. There are many causes out there to support, and all of them worthwhile. There is a link below if anyone feels this is a cause they would like to contribute to and a link to the event if you want to go along and support Maddyx and his friends. https://tourdecure.grassrootz.com/bald-beautiful-2021
COVID-19 School Update Note
Early this week you will have received an emailed updated note around COVID-19 Guidelines for schools. While this is good news, as it is allowing some things previously not on the agenda to return, please note that in planning, there will be some alterations to how these have occurred in the past.
Principal
Project Compassion
It is during the Lenten season that Project Compassion is run by our Minni Vinnie students. Each classroom has 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.
Saint Joseph Art Competition
Please be sure to submit your entry into the Art Competition with a portrait of Saint Joseph. Competition closes Monday 15th of March.
Saint Joseph’s Feast Day
The school will celebrate the Feast of Saint Joseph on Friday 19th March. The day will be structured a little differently to a normal school day with activities around Saint Joseph and a whole school Mass taking place during the day. Please continue to pray for our community under the protection and love of Saint Joseph.
Kinder Religious Education
Sacrament of Penance
Please continue to pray for our students preparing to complete the Sacrament of Penance for the first time.
Thanks to all students and families who attended the family workshops for Penance. It was great to witness the loving relationships within families of our parish community. It is finally time to book for the Sacrament of Penance ceremony for your child.
Tuesday 23rd March
Thursday 25th March
Wednesday 24th March
Wednesday 31st March
Nathan Porter
Assistant Principal Mission
The Impact Of Television On Children - Positive and Negative
It is hard to avoid television if you are a child. People in the house are usually tuned in to TV. In some homes, the television is perpetually “on” even without anyone watching. But how does watching TV really affect children?
Positive
1. Entertainment - From Sesame Street to Dora the Explorer and Arthur, kids’ entertainment shows teach children a plethora of skills ranging from handling emotional trauma, interacting with peers, navigating through tough situations, and stimulating their imaginations through interactive quizzes and thinking patterns. Entertainment shows keep your kids engaged, teach them new skills, and let them have fun – all in one package!
2. Education - Educational shows inspire kids to take action and engage in productive behaviour.
3. Sports - Watching sports shows such as football, cricket, and volleyball can be a great way to generate interest in outdoor activities. Sports shows encourage kids to be active and healthy, thus enabling them to engage in physical behaviours which, down the line, bring emotional and physical well-being.
4. Creativity - From cooking, baking, arts and crafts to music and theatre, creativity is the cornerstone of TV shows. Art channels and shows involving music composing, drawing, and painting stimulate the mind and encourage children to answer their inner calling.
5. Healthy Stress Relief - TV shows provide a healthy emotional outlet for kids who go through stress in school or outdoor environments. A healthy dose of TV can do wonders for a child’s mood and emotional problems and protect them from emotional stress which can impact them negatively.
Negative
1. Steals Time - Children who spend too much time in front of the television may miss out on life’s opportunities. If your child is spending too much time watching TV, he or she may lose precious time which could have been spent on more productive tasks like mingling with friends, working on home learning, playing outside and other similar activities.
2. Kills Creativity and Imagination - If children spend too much time on TV instead of going outside and exploring the real world, they will not be able to develop a strong imagination. Since ideas are presented in front of the screen, children who watch TV excessively cannot stimulate their minds or come up with fresh ideas on their own, thus passively consuming and not actively creating.
3. Lack of Focus - Children who spend more than 2 to 3 hours in front of the screen on a daily basis often suffer from a lack of focus in classroom environments.
4. Negative Behaviour - According to research, watching too much TV can alter the brain structure and promote negative behaviour – especially violence and aggression.
5. Causes Learning Problems - Learning problems due to excess TV time range from passive listening and underdeveloped listening skills to a lack of fine motor and creative skills. This occurs when kids do not engage in physically and mentally stimulating activities.
What Can Parents Do to Protect Their Child From the Bad Effects of Television?
Parents can:
- Limit the number of hours their child spends in front of the TV.
- Ensure that their child is watching quality TV shows as opposed to inappropriate ones.
- Watch TV with their child so that they are sure that the content being consumed is informational, educational, and interactive. This can also foster a bond between the parent and child.
- Keep the TV set away from the bedroom and turn off the TV at the end of the show.
- Help develop a healthy relationship between TV time and complete tasks.
Jeannine Ucdereli
Assistant Principal Learning and Teaching
Adult Faith Formation
Kindergarten 2022
baptism for children
Year 7 2022 High School Principals Visit (Year 6)
Mrs Cath Eichman from MacKillop College and Mr Jim Dempsey from St Joseph's Regional College will be visiting the school on Monday 15th March 2021 from 10.00am to 11.00am to talk to Year 6 students about enrolment for next year.
National Day of Action against Bullying
The National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence (NDA) on Friday 19th March 2021 is an opportunity for Australian school communities to stand together against bullying and violence. As a school we will explore some resources to support and educate our students about bullying behaviours.
There is also a Parent Education site which you may like to access throughout the week. It is the eSafety's parent guide to cyberbullying and online drama. This free one hour webinar will look at how parents and carers can support young people to have safe and respectful online relationships and what to do if things go wrong.
The dates for these webinars are:
Tuesday 16th March
7:30pm-8:30pm
Wednesday 17th March
12:30pm-1:30pm or 7:30pm-8:30pm
Thursday 18th March
3:30pm-4:30pm
Monday 22nd March
12:30pm-1:30pm
Parents can register using this link.
Vegetable Week & The Big Vegie Crunch
Did you know that next week is Vegetable Week? Traditionally we celebrate this by holding The Big Vegie Crunch, however due to COVID-19 restrictions that are still in place, we are unable to share platters of food with friends at school. We will have another opportunity to learn and share about vegetables and healthy eating later in the year during Vegetable Month in Term 3.
If you are looking for some information about how to introduce more vegetables to your children, you may find the following resources helpful:
https://healthy-kids.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/VWBVC2021UpTheVegAtHomeActivityIdeasFINAL.pdf
https://www.healthykids.nsw.gov.au/downloads/file/textandlinkbasedsidepanelteaser/eatmorefruitandveg.pdf
Volunteering in the Canteen
Thank you to those of you who have filled out the volunteer form. I will be in touch with you soon to discuss your availability to help in the Canteen.
If you haven’t volunteered in the Canteen before, but would like to, please fill out the form below:
What does Volunteering in the Canteen involve?
Volunteers perform simple tasks ranging from labelling lunch bags, making sandwiches and wraps, stocking shelves and fridges, packing lunches, and serving students at lunch time. There are no specific skills required, just a willingness to help and a friendly smile when serving the children at lunch time. And your children would love to see you at school too!
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
School Banking is back. School Banking Day is Tuesday and restarted this 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.
Student Medical Appointments and Early Departure
We strongly encourage parents to organise medical appointments outside of school hours (Start 8.55am and Finish 3.10pm) but are conscious that this is not always possible. For your convenience if you have to make a medical appointment for your child during school time please be aware of our breaks for your planning as there will be a delay in getting your child to the office if they are out at lunch play:
Lunch 1 is at 11:00am-11:40am
Lunch 2 is at 1:40pm-2:10pm
Hometime messages
If there is a change to your child's hometime travel arrangements please let your child know before they leave the house or write a note to your child's teacher. Some parents also write a "H" (homelines) or a "B" (buslines) on their child's hand. We understand that plans may change during the day and ask that you phone the office Aunties on 6583 3848 between the hours of 8.30am and 2.30pm. This enables us to ensure that your child gets the message in a timely manner. Do NOT email the school or message your child's teacher directly as it may not be seen in the timeframe you require. If an emergency occurs or there is a late change to your child's home time plan we will do everything we can to get the message to your child after 2.30pm. Please be aware that a warning school bell sounds at 3:00pm for classes to prepare to leave the class for hometime at 3.10pm which makes it difficult to guarantee that a message will get to your child.
Clean up Australia Day
As a school today, we celebrated “Clean up Australia Day” with a rubbish free day. Students supported our efforts by avoiding packaged food. All classes participated in showing how to care for our common home.
Dio Winter Sports Trials
The Diocesan Winter Sport Trials in Grafton have been postponed to Friday 19th March due to inclement weather.
Cross Country
Our Cross Country Carnival will be held on Friday 26th of March for all students in Kindergarten to Year 6 in our school grounds.
Our Year 6 Sports Captains have begun holding Cross Country practice in the playground before school every morning from 8:30am. Students can bring their water bottles, sneakers and puffers if needed. If it's raining or has been raining, training will not be on.
Netball
23 of our boys and girls in Year 5 and 6, will represent our school at the Netball NSW Schools Cup on Wednesday 17th March. We have entered 3 teams into the Competitive Competition. We wish them the best of luck!
Rugby League
On Tuesday Mr Lynch attended a very exciting Rugby League Coaching Accreditation course at Mackillop College. This will open the door to several Rugby League opportunities in the near future. Stay tuned!
Leah Toole and David Lynch
Sports Coordinator and Assistant Sports Coordinator
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 |
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
Year 4 have been learning about ceramics in our Visual Arts lessons. We have learned about ancient Egyptians and how they used clay. We have looked at how it is still helpful today. We have learned about using techniques and making patterns in our clay to create pinch pots. We have been practising with modelling clay and designing our final pot. We will be using real clay to create our final sculpture in Week 9.
By Sophie and Charlotte
KBC | Elvis Scott | Eliza Steadman | Nakuya Gatonye |
KSC | Charlotte Guild | Noah Lynch | Morgan Marlowe |
1R | Anika Suveesh | Elijah Van den Boom | Blake Yewdall |
2T | Georgia Bell | Ivy Harris | Ella Roach |
3H | Hannah Tony | Sunny Stapleton | Makayla Johnson |
4F | Mayriah Spicer | Lillian Hyde | Ariannah Beard |
4MG | Olivia Austin | Lacey Sinclair | Bailey Parker |
5L | Ruby Comer | Justin Dennison | Jaina Thakrani |
Noah Dowd | |||
5S | Willa Corless-Brown | Anabelle Hicks | Jaxon Smurthwaite |
6B | Phoenix Charnock | Analiese Bishop | Jhett Moore |
6H | Matthew Kelly | Hudson Bell | Oliver Mat |
Problem Solving When Our Kids Are Worried
As adults we have learned how to problem solve when something unexpected happens or when we are worried about something.
Kids - especially our worriers - often worry so much with the worst case scenario stuck in their thoughts that they can’t see the way out of a problem.
Rather than giving our kids the answer to the problem, why not try to increase their problem solving skills instead?
Step 1 - Get your child to tell you what the problem is and say it back to them to check you got it right.
‘You’re worried that you will get in trouble and have detention since you forgot to do your home learning.’
Step 2 - Get your child to think of as many ideas as possible on how to fix the problem. Try not to give them the answers but prompt if needed such as ‘what has happened if other kids forget to do their home learning?’; ‘What are the ways you might be able to get it done?’
Step 3 - Get your child to think through the possible outcomes for each idea. Praise them for their efforts in thinking of all the ideas and outcomes.
Step 4 - Get your child to choose which idea they think is the best and what steps they need to take to do it.
Step 5 - Try the idea and talk to them about how it went. If it didn’t work, ask them again if there are things they could change or another idea they could try instead.
Remember: the focus is to help your child be able to solve future problems on their own. Praise them for trying to solve it - even if it didn’t work.
Kelly Russell
School Counsellor
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
Kindergarten to Year 6 commence classes Term 2 - Monday 19th April 2021
Proclaim Lismore 2021
Staff Development Day (Pupil Free) - Wednesday 5th May 2021
Staff Development Day (Pupil Free) - Tuesday 22nd June
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
SJP Uniform update to families 2021-03-08
COVID-19 update 2021-03-08
Letter from Sally Towns 2021 Term 1 Update
Cross Country 2021
Camp Brochure
Hastings School Futsal Titles - final details, consent and medical information (selected students)