Filter Content
- Prayer Focus
- The Principal's Report
- Celebrating Our Faith
- Learning Together
- PBS (Positive Behaviour Support)
- Parish News
- Grant Success
- Sport Spotlight
- Student Awards
- 2021 Australian Early Development Census (Kindergarten)
- Band News
- eSafety's Guide to Parental Controls Free Webinar
- Creative Corner
- Sharing Our Learning - Year 3
- Sunshine Cafe
- What's On Next Week ...
- Advance Dates for Your Diary
- This Week's Notes
- Billboard
Community event of the week….
While I will leave most of the communication about our Athletics Carnival to our Sport Coordinators, I would like to make some thank yous. Firstly, we know these events can not happen without a lot of preparation behind the scenes. Mrs Toole and Mr Lynch have been working together for some weeks and I have it on good authority that Mrs Toole has been thinking into the night several times about all the things that needed to be done! Thank you to both of these staff and those who assisted in any way.
We also appreciate the support of St Joseph's Regional College for the use of their fields.
Our P&F team were very popular after the decision to add a coffee van to the day, we thank Laura, Mel, Stephen and Bec for being with us and adding to the day.
It was wonderful to have an event where parents and visitors could participate. Thank you to all who came to our day.
Kindergarten 2022
It has been my great pleasure to interview some of our future Kindergarten students this week and their families. We will continue to conduct interviews in the next two weeks for applications received up to this date. In the past two years, it has been our experience that some families leave applications until later than our enrolment and interview period. If you have a child you wish to enrol for 2022 or know of someone else who is in this position, please encourage them to complete an application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. Once the interview period is completed, offers will be sent out to families and any later applications will only be considered if there is still room in classes.
School Afternoon Pick up
In line with the recent updates to parents and carers around Child Protection, COVID-19 and signing in to enter the school site, our staff met last week to discuss the pick up routines at the end of the school day. While we all may be quite comfortable with understanding how COVID-19 guidelines have changed, meaning there is less concern about being in outdoor spaces with others, we need to be clear on how we continue to provide a safe environment for students during these times of the day. A note will be emailed to families next week outlining how things will remain the same as current pickup with some slight variations to ensure that both staff and parents can feel secure in the way students are kept safe during pick up. We have spent a little more time refining this to ensure we have it as we wish to continue. It is easy to become complacent due to our wonderful community feeling quite safe, but both parents and staff have a responsibility and commitment to always do our best to ensure this is the reality for all children. I know that as always, you will support us in this most important part of our roles together.
Principal
Reconciliation Week Prayer
Thank you to our Indigenous Education Worker, Mr Caleb Smith, and the Indigenous students who led our school in prayer to recognise Reconciliation Week and National Sorry Day. The display, the reverence and the prayers were felt by all students, staff and parents and will add to our strong sense of reconciliation that exists within our school culture.
National Sorry Day and Reconciliation Week
St Joseph’s recognises the historical injustices that impacted the lives of many Indigenous people in Australia’s history. We endeavor as a school to be a people of welcome and reconciliation to all members of our local and national communities.
First Reconciliation
Congratulations to those children who received their First Reconciliation this week and all children involved in this Sacramental Program. We hope this experience filled our children with a closer understanding of God’s endless mercy and love.
We thank our teachers and staff and our parent community who have helped, prepared and supported the children through this Sacrament.
Sacrament of Confirmation Dates
Registration Nights
Registration evenings are Monday 21st and Tuesday 22nd June at St Agnes' Church. Parents will be required to register their child for Confirmation on one of these dates. Please look out for an email with details on how to register.
Confirmation Workshops
Parent/Guardians and children are to attend one of the below workshops.
Tuesday 20th July at 3:30pm, St Peter’s Primary School
Thursday 22nd July at 3:30pm, St Agnes' Primary School
Wednesday 28th July at 6:00pm, St Joseph’s Primary School
Thursday 29th July at 6:00pm, St Agnes' Parish Youth Hub
Presentation of Candidates to the Parish Community will be at any of the Masses on the weekend of Sunday 1st August at 7:30am, 9:00am or 5:00pm at St Agnes' Church.
Sacrament of Confirmation Cermonies
The upcoming Sacrament of Confirmation ceremonies will be on 2nd, 3rd and 4th August 5:30pm at St Agnes' Church.
Nathan Porter
Assistant Principal Mission
Intentional Play
“...Play based learning provides opportunities for children to actively and imaginatively engage with people, objects and the environment. Symbolic representation is a critical aspect. When playing, young learners may be organising, constructing, manipulating, pretending, exploring, investigating, creating, interacting, imagining, negotiating and making sense of their world…” (courtesy of Dept of Education, QLD).
This week our school hall became a NASA Astronaut Training Station. Year 1 students engaged in intentional play as they developed the skills, knowledge and understanding about what it would be like to be an astronaut and fly to the moon. They engaged in a number of learning experiences including, making food to take to space, visiting the moon using virtual reality, building rockets and stepping out onto the moon using greenscreen technology. These learning experiences culminated in the students writing magnificent stories about traveling to the moon. They had been exploring a number of quality literature books but most notably ‘When you’re going to the Moon’.
Over the two days students used a number of provocations to actively engage in experiences where there were multiple opportunities for choice, wonder and excitement. The newly trained astronauts engaged in the skills of collaboration, negotiation, risk taking, celebrating and most of all participation, smiling and plenty of laughter.
We look forward to sharing their learning journey with the Year 1 parents on Monday afternoon. However, if you would like to see the amazing NASA built rockets for yourself please visit our library.
Jeannine Ucdereli
Assistant Principal Learning and Teaching
PBS (Positive Behaviour Support)
Congratulations to Elsie Steadman in 2S!
Elsie received 3 bonus MJR crosses for displaying positive behaviour. At our whole school assembly she was awarded a certificate of appreciation.
Mr Caleb Smith and Mrs Elise Howard have been successful in being awarded a Junior Landcare grant sponsored by Woolworths. This grant will be instrumental in creating an interactive garden and learning area that will include indigenous plants, a frog swamp and a native (stingless) beehive. The students will be involved in the design and construction of the garden and we are hoping that our families and local community will also be involved in the process. If you are interested in providing expertise, resources or other forms of support please get in touch to be a part of this exciting project.
Follow this link to the Woolworths Junior Landcare Grant map to read about our project and others:
Elise Howard
Year 6 Teacher
Athletics Carnival
What a wonderful day and celebration of not only our talented athletes but of teamwork and friendship. This day wouldn’t have been as successful without the help of our super staff and our generous parents. Thank you for making this day so special for our students.
There will be an Athletics Presentation on Monday 7th June at 2.10pm.
All welcome!
Leah Toole and David Lynch
Sports Coordinator and Assistant Sports Coordinator
KBC | Abaigeal Ashton | Lacey Lawrence | Asher Parry |
KSC | Elsa Bolehala | Zoella Cruickshanks | Isabelle Mat |
1B | Lewis Freeman | Ashvik Thapa | Islah Kingsmith |
1R | Harry Herbert | Lexie Lynch | Jay Tymerski |
2S | Kyelle Webber | Elsie Enriquez | Hardy Lin |
3H | Jade Hanks | Hayley Ylias | Eden Pope |
3D | Ayla Moss | Lenny Dixon | Dustin Clement |
4MG | Maya Marshall | Charli Hoitink | Evie Johnson |
5S | Anabelle Hicks | Lucinda Giurissevich | Millahni Moore |
2021 Australian Early Development Census (Kindergarten)
Next week our school Kindergarten teachers will begin the Australian Early Development Census. This helps to build a nationwide picture of our children’s health and wellbeing as they begin school.
Teachers answer questions about five key areas that are important for children's development:
- physical health and wellbeing
- social competence
- emotional maturity
- language and cognitive skills
- communication skills and general knowledge.
You can view the interactive results from previous years here: www.aedc.gov.au/early-childhood/findings-from-the-aedc
Once our Kindergarten teachers finish collecting information for the 2021 Australian Early Development Census #AEDC, the data is analysed and prepared for publication in March 2022.
The census results are presented as groups of children at local, state and national levels. This ensures children and schools remain anonymous.
Learn more here about how your children’s privacy is protected: www.aedc.gov.au/parents/protecting-your-child-s-privacy
Sharon Green
Leader of Co-Curricular Music
St Joseph's Regional College
eSafety's Guide to Parental Controls Free Webinar
This eSafety free webinar will look at how parents and carers can set up devices and apps to help kids and young people stay safe online. It is designed for parents and carers of children aged 4-13.
It will cover:
- the benefits and limitations of parental controls;
- how to set up iOS and Android devices for safety;
- how to set up popular games and apps like YouTube and Roblox for safety;
- using family tech agreements and other parenting strategies to manage online risks; and
- how eSafety can help when things go wrong.
This webinar will include practical tips, demonstrations and advice.
Choose from one of the following dates/times:
- Tuesday 8th June 12:30pm to 1:30pm
- Wednesday 16th June 7:30pm to 8:30pm
Parents/carers can register at https://register.gotowebinar.com/rt/9188680659348918543
UNE Student Art Prize 2021 - Let's Hang it!
Congratulations to the following students who were selected to compete in the University of New England Student Art Prize (UNESAP) held at the New England Regional Art Gallery.
Year 1 | Year 6 |
Harper Maher | Penny Little |
Matihias Bridger | Jasmine Howell |
Hannah Cooper | Bailey Elphick |
Koen Swasyland | Zara Lawrence |
Ethan Tony | Pheonix Charnock |
Emerence Young | Hunter Vause |
There were almost 500 entries in the competition and we are very proud to announce that Harper Maher (1R) and Penny Little (6B) have been selected as finalists. Final judging of the “Let’s Hang It” exhibition will take place on Friday 30th July in Armidale with the exhibition open until Sunday 15th August. There is also an online People’s Choice Award to be voted on throughout the exhibition period.
We wish Harper and Penny every success!
Elise Howard
Year 6 Teacher
Whole school concert at The Glasshouse
This year our whole school Creative Arts program will run in Term 3, culminating in a whole school concert at The Glasshouse. ALL students in the school will be involved in a Technical and Dress Rehearsal at the Glasshouse on 30th August and a Matinee and Evening performance on 31st August. Student participation will be through acting, singing, dance routines, Glee Club and Band.
The Carnival of Animals - Got ya Back Productions
Students in Year 6 will be attending the performance ‘The Carnival of Animals’ at The Basement in Port Macquarie Panthers on Friday 18th June.
Year 6 students will experience their childhood wonderment, with brand new musical arrangements of French composer, Camille Saint-Saëns', classical masterpiece CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS! Giant puppetry, confetti, artistic mastery, tons of bubbles and musical mastery combine to make this theatrical experience like no other!
See the note emailed home on 24th May for full details and please complete the online permission form by Friday 11th June.
Online permission form link - https://forms.gle/AnAhmfhPVoHMLrpM9.
Hamlet
Students in Year 5 will be attending the performance ‘Hamlet’ at the Glasshouse on Wednesday 23rd June.
See the note emailed today for more details and please complete the online permission form by Thursday 17th June.
Online permission link - https://forms.gle/B8apaDF4Wu2E3JASA
Yours in Creative and Performing Arts
Leah Toole
Creative Arts Co-ordinator
This term has flown by for Year 3, we have been very busy over the past few weeks working on different genres in writing. We have been lucky enough to view and read an assortment of fantasy texts and also had the chance to write our own. Over the coming weeks we will be looking at adventure and poetry.
In Religious Education we have been learning about the story of Pentecost. We explored what happened the day the Holy Spirit came and the reactions and feelings of the disciples. This story leads into our Confirmation program as we begin to prepare for the Sacrament.
This term the children have participated in a basketball program for PE, developing skills and learning how to play a game. It has been great to see many children playing basketball at lunchtimes. The children have also been preparing for the Athletics carnival and we look forward to sharing their efforts and achievements.
In Science the children have been learning about the effects of weathering and erosion. The children had to plan and conduct their own scientific experiment. There were many budding scientists amongst the class.
The children have been working hard in Mathematics, developing number skills. They are learning to model and order larger numbers and developing strategies to add and subtract.
Supporting Those in Need
Congratulations to Gemma Cooper and Zoe Lawrence who participated in the Laps for Life challenge. Between them the girls raised $1,270 and swam just over 16 kilometres. Money raised goes to support the “Reach Out” organisation to help children in need. Well done girls, we are proud of you!
Karen Davies and Brianne Hoitink
Year 3 Teachers
CANTEEN REMINDERS
- Flexischools cut off time for daily orders is 8:30am. You can place your orders the day before, or at the beginning of the week, to make sure they are in on time. The cut off time is set to ensure that there is enough time to process, prepare and pack all of the lunch orders each day.
- Please remind your children if they have a hand written lunch order to drop it off first thing in the morning or if they need to pick up their fruit break items from the canteen.
- We do not offer an IOU service. If you don't use Flexischools and do not have cash for lunch orders you can pay in the office using EFTPOS. If there are any issues with providing lunch please call the office to discuss.
Stock Supply Issues
There are currently some supply issues on a number of products we stock in the canteen. I update Flexischools daily so if you use that system you will be able to see what is and is not available. For those that still drop lunch orders off in the morning, if the item ordered is not available I will offer an alternative or give a refund of the amount.
lunch orders
Canteen 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!
Kim Goldie
Canteen Coodinator
Week 8 - Term 2 2021
|
|
Monday 7th June |
|
Tuesday 8th June |
|
Wednesday 9th June |
|
Thursday 10th June |
|
Friday 11th June |
|
Week 9 - Term 2 2021
|
|
Monday 14th June |
|
Tuesday 15th June |
|
Wednesday 16th June |
|
Thursday 17th June |
|
Friday 18th June |
|
Week 10 - Term 2 2021
|
|
Monday 21st June |
|
Tuesday 22nd June |
|
Wednesday 23rd June |
|
Thursday 24th June |
|
Friday 25th June |
|
Week 1 - Term 3 2021
|
|
Monday 12th July |
|
Tuesday 13th July |
|
Wednesday 14th July |
|
Thursday 15th July |
|
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 2
Staff Development Day (Pupil Free) - Tuesday 22nd June
Limited child minding available
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
NO child minding available
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
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
Year 6 Peer Support Leadership Training Day
Year 4 School Project Resources Request
Final Note - Todd Woodbridge Cup Tennis (nominated students)
Blast Off Rocket Exhibition Change of Date - Year 1
Athletics Carnival Program and other final details
Year 5 Glasshouse excursion - Hamlet