St Joseph’s Primary School Charlton eNewsletter

Principal's Report

Hello to Families and all in the St Joseph's School Community,

It is lovely to be back in the school community this week after enjoying some time overseas, both school related and personal, and visiting Urban Camp with the Senior Class last week!

I was privileged to join a group of sixteen colleagues on a pilgrimage to Ireland as part of the Diocesan 150^th anniversary celebrations. We journeyed around Ireland in an anticlockwise direction, commencing in Dublin and concluding in Belfast. The purpose of our trip was to explore the inspirations and lives of some of the founding patrons of our various schools, including Catherine McAuley (founder of the Sisters of Mercy), Teresa Bell (founder of the Loretto Order), Solas Bhride Centre (spirituality centre for St Brigid; founder of the Brigidine Sisters), Edmund Rice (founder of the Christian Brothers) and Nano Nagle (founder of her own religious order, the Presentation Sisters). Visiting the many venues, museums and monuments of our founders helped the group develop a greater understanding of their individual journeys. I was also provided with invaluable insight into a life dedicated to service and witness and have been inspired to ensure our school remains true to the original vision of these people in providing faith-based education and a holistic education: one that develops the whole person - academically, spiritually, emotionally and socially.

Joined by my husband, we extended our journey to Scotland, London, Paris, Venice, Florence and Rome. No matter where you roam it is always nice to be back home! This is particularly poignant at this time as the month of October is World Mission Month, drawing our attention to those in our world don’t have their basic needs met each day. Students articulated all they are grateful for and prayed for those in need.

The focus for 2024 is the Catholic church in Mongolia, who work to look after children who don't have parents or whose parents are unable to care for them. At assembly we learnt about Otgonbayar, who was abandoned at just seven days old. He now lives at the Don Bosco Caring Centre where he receives love, care, food, shelter and an education.

Next week the Senior Class will run an activity to raise money for the Don Bosco Caring Centre in Mongolia, which provides a safe home for children who are orphaned or abandoned. Keep your eye on our facebook page for details.

With commitment to our shared journey,
Mary Hogan

Celebrate Our Teachers

This Friday is World Teachers' Day.
World Teachers' Day is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the incredible work teachers do every day. By celebrating this day and showing our appreciation, we can help create a supportive and encouraging environment that allows teachers to thrive and continue making a positive impact on our children's lives.

Don't be shy in acknowledging the amazing work our teachers, and all staff, carry out each and every day! The students of St Joe's are blessed to have the dedication, care and attention provided by these amazing people!

Beatitudes for Teachers

God of Wisdom,
Blessed are those who care for the young
Blessed are those who share laughter
Blessed are those who foster sharing
Blessed are those who encourage risk
Blessed are those who show possibilities
Blessed are those who make learning fun
Blessed are those who take time to reflect
Blessed are those who show patience
Blessed are those who build teams
Blessed are those who live out community
Blessed are those who recognise potential
Blessed are those who engage the learner
Blessed are those who inspire confidence
Blessed are those who allow for quiet times
Blessed are those who foster creativity
Blessed are those who believe in others
Blessed are those who affirm and encourage
Blessed are those who teach
Amen

Sisters of the Our Lady of the Missions

This Sunday a number of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions will be in our Parish to celebrate the centenary of their establishment in St Joseph's Parish. The sisters first arrived in 1924 and served in our parish until 1968, from what I can tell. Mass is at 10:30am and will be followed by a luncheon in the school's multi-purpose room. All are most welcome to attend. Names for the luncheon are to go to Anne Kenny.

The sisters will visit St Joseph's School on Monday morning and make a presentation to mark the occasion of the centenary, before joining staff for morning tea. Parents and parishioners are most welcome to join us for this assembly at 10:30am in the multi- purpose room.

School Closure Days

A reminder that the school will be closed to students TOMORROW 25th October and MONDAY & TUESDAY 4th and 5th of November. Students ARE NOT required at school on these days.

Tomorrow, staff from surrounding schools are undertaking professional development of the new Mathematics Curriculum.

Monday 4th November is an assessment and reporting day and Tuesday 5th November is the Melbourne Cup public holiday.

Charlton College Year 7 Transition Meeting

A reminder that Charlton College are holding an Information Meeting for Year 6s transitioning to Year 7.

The meeting is at 5:30pm in Room 1 at the College.

Students of the Week

Grade 3/4 Class Report

Students have resumed a regular Literacy and Numeracy routine in Week 2 and Week 3 of this term.

Students have been introduced to our new integrated studies topic for this term- How does heat energy make things happen? Students have been learning about this in their daily shared reading, practicing their accuracy, fluency and expression in their reading in several opportunities. Students have been learning phonics through their No Nonsense Phonics program 4 times a week with either myself or Mrs Hogan. Students are working well in these sessions and it is having a positive impact on student’s spelling, reading and general knowledge. For writing this week, students are preparing an information booklet based on caring for Budgerigars. Students have been discussing class pets for a while now and have decided that they would like two budgerigars as classroom pets. We look forward to welcoming our new additions next week. Mrs Armstrong will be busy shopping this weekend!

In Maths, students have been learning about decimals and revising place value from millions to hundreths. Students have been comparing decimals, linking these to fractions and using decimals in practical situations- such as measuring length of items in a classroom.

In Religion, students have been discussing the concept of dignity and poverty in Australia.

Students homework and spelling words are due either Thursday this week or on Monday due to the holiday on Friday.

School camp will be coming up in the next few weeks. Information will be sent home shortly about this.

Grade 5/6 Class Report

The biggest news in the Senior Room is that we had the best trip to Melbourne for our recent stay at Urban Camp! The students were fantastic and received compliments for their manners and behaviour throughout the week. Brilliant effort everyone!

The students visited several key tourist attractions, discovered numerous interesting facts and figures, and enjoyed engaging with the diverse characters who guided them through each site. By the end of the week, the students returned to Charlton feeling tired yet fulfilled, having broadened their cultural and social perspectives.

Rosie: “My favourite activity of the week was ice-skating because I had a lot of fun zooming around and trying to learn to spin - which I did!”

Toby: “I had fun feeding the turtles at the Aquarium because we got to see them all close up.”

Marlly: “I discovered that the ANZAC soldiers trained in Egypt and camped out next to the Pyramids!

Isaac: “The most amazing thing about camp was the food on Day Three! We ate delicious pizza and pasta in Lygon Street.”

Patrick: “I couldn’t believe that the Skydeck was up so high - it took my breath away!”

Ruby: “I discovered that Cook’s Cottage is very old and was built in 1755 by Captain Cook’s parents, James and Grace.”

Henry: “I loved it when we went out onto the MCG because many AFL and cricket legends have played there!”

Darcy: “Our tour guides were all really friendly and because we were a small group they showed us around places bigger groups are not allowed to go!”

Sophie: “I couldn’t believe the people in Parliament House were acting like children and they couldn’t agree on anything. It was so fun to watch!

Willow: “Urban Camp was the best! Urban camp was the best place. The MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) was a very big place. There was so much to look at and the art work on the walls looked very realistic.”

GWM Water Week National Poster Competition
Congratulations to Rosie Fitzpatrick for clinching first place in the Grade 5-6 category of the National Poster Competition! Rosie stood out among thousands of entries and is celebrated for her remarkable achievement. She received a value pack of goodies worth $100 and secured $400 for St. Joe’s School! Additionally, Rosie's design was transformed into a jigsaw puzzle and featured on the back of a pack of playing cards. Her artwork will also appear on the GWM Water calendar for 2025! Well done to Flynn for his honourable mention!

We were delighted to welcome Shelly and Phil the bucket from GWM Water, who presented the prizes and the cheque.

We are completing some Term Four assessments to determine what our focus areas are on the run home to the end of the 2024 school year.

Students had no spelling or homework this week but were encouraged to read each evening.

Mary Hogan

As we transition back into school routine, this week's report on our School TV page is all about sleep!

Children these days seem to be going to bed later and later. Distractions such as TV, computer games, internet, texting friends and social media are all having a negative impact on a child’s sleep time. Sleep is vital to a child’s wellbeing. When children sleep well, they are more settled, happier and ready for school the next day. Sleep also strengthens their immune systems, supports overall development and their ability to function properly on a daily basis. Children who do not get enough sleep show increased levels of aggressive behaviour, are less attentive and are much less active. Trying to catch up on sleep on weekends is not the answer and can still lead to severe sleep deprivation. Recent studies have shown than many children, especially teenagers, are missing out on vital REM sleep, which is particularly important for memory and learning

Start exploring SchoolTV today! https://sjcharlton.catholic.schooltv.me/

Child Safety

The care, safety and wellbeing of children and young people is a central and fundamental responsibility of Catholic Education. St Joseph’s School is committed to strengthened practice for the protection of children in line with the Victorian Government child safety reforms.

Child Safety - digital images

Taking Photos/Video Footage
As we begin a new year a reminder to parents and family members to please ensure, when at school events, to take photos or video footage of your child/ren only. Please do NOT post photos of children, other than your own, at school events or wearing school uniform, on personal social media pages other than your own. Thank you for your cooperation in using social media respectfully helping to keep everyone in our school community safe online.

Community News

Acknowledgement of Country

We acknowledge the Dja Dja Wurrung people as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of this land. We pay respect to Elders past, present and emerging. We thank them for sharing their cultures, spiritualities and ways of living with the land, in this place we all now call home.

Newsletter 18, 24th October 2024