Newsletter 12 2023
Principal's Report
Hello to Families and all in the St Joseph's School Community,
Well week one certainly finished in a flurry! It is amazing to think there are only six weeks left now for this term! The Junior Room students walked to the Kindergarten yesterday and enjoyed a dramatic performance presented by“The Flying Bookworm Show”. Three different stories were dramatized; The Three Billy Goats Gruff, The Little Red Hen and The Farmer's Turnip. We have continued to focus on kindness this week and I have been pleased to note a few acts of kindness in action. Further to this, staff are working to bring awareness to empathy between students. Empathy is a necessary value for students to develop if they are going to build meaningful relationships in future years. On this note – if anyone has old pairs of shoes they are willing to part with please send them in to the school! All types of shoes – gumboots, work boots, high heels, sandals, thongs, sports shoes, etc – are welcome. Let’s explore what it might be like to walk in someone else’s shoes!
An empathetic person:
Listens respectfully when others are speaking
Notices and responds when someone is upset
Can name her/his feelings
Can see a situation from another’s point of view
Knows that different people may feel differently about the same thing
Doesn’t use unkind words or ‘put downs’
Respects the ideas of others.
Gracious and merciful God of all creation,
You made us to live together in communities.
We are nothing without relationships.
You have given us the virtue of empathy to ensure that we are able to identify with and feel other people’s concerns.
We ask for the grace and strength to follow your example and to form a safe, caring, inclusive community here at St. Joseph's.
May your gift of empathy lead us to know and feel your presence among us.
We ask this in the name of Jesus, Your Son, who lived to show us your way. Amen
Staff News
Congratulations to Mrs Karina Johnston and her husband, DJ, who have welcomed a new baby boy to their family. Lenny James arrived safely on Saturday and will be well loved by siblings Hugh and Airlie! Congratulations and best wishes from all in the St Joseph’s School Community.
Mother’s Day
There will be a Mother’s Day Liturgy and Morning Tea in the school multi-purpose room at 10:30am on FRIDAY 12th MAY. Mothers and grandmothers of St Joseph’s are warmly invited to attend and celebrate this occasion.
Project Compassion Boxes
A final reminder to return Project Compassion Boxes to the Office. Thank you for your contributions over the Lenten period, to this very important mission charity.
Grade 5 & 6 Camp
This year the Grade 5 & 6 students will benefit from a Positive Start Camp, which is government funded. We will join with the senior students from St Mary’s Donald and St Patrick’s St Arnaud, to attend the PGL Adventure Camp in Kyneton. More details as they become available.
Bus Travel & Dismissal
Parents have received a notification on the PAM app asking for your USUAL routine regarding bus travel. This will be recorded and parents are asked to contact the Office or Mary’s phone (0410137966) on any day this routine changes. Unless notified, staff will presume the usual routine applies. Thank you to those families who have responded to the PAM survey and indicated the arrangements for your family.
To ensure the safety of students being collected from the school car park, they will be asked to wait with staff until their ride home arrives.
I know this will be a change, but this is very important if the school is to ensure the safety of each student every day.
School Uniform
It is wonderful to see students in full St Joseph’s uniform each day! Please make sure the correct socks are also worn as this completes the uniform perfectly! The weather is certainly changing, so please ensure students have their school jumpers each day.
PLEASE NOTE – I am happy for students to wear navy shorts during the Winter terms if that is their preference.
Library
There are a large number of overdue library books from our school library. At present, this equates to between $1500 -$2000, which is a large amount of school resources we cannot utilise. Students with overdue books received a notice last week. Thank you to those who have located and returned books to the library. Please keep hunting if you are still to locate these missing books.
Zone Cross Country
Congratulations to Charlie, Liam, Isaac and Sophie who were in Bendigo yesterday to compete in the zone cross country. All students did very well on a wet track on a cold and blustery day, competing against huge groups of students. It is hoped all students benefited from the day and were able to reflect on their efforts in a positive light - once they recovered from their runs. Well done to all!
National walk to School Day
National Walk to School Day is on 19th May 2023. As we have so many bus travellers, students will go for a walk during the day as part of our participation on this day.
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.
Overview of Standard 3
Standard 3: Children and young people are empowered about their rights, participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously
In complying with Child Safe Standard 3 an organisation must, at a minimum, ensure:
3.1 Children and young people are informed about all of their rights, including to safety, information and participation.
3.2 The importance of friendships is recognised and support from peers is encouraged, to help children and young people feel safe and be less isolated.
3.3 Where relevant to the setting or context, children and young people are offered access to sexual abuse prevention programs and to relevant related information in an age-appropriate way.
3.4 Staff and volunteers are attuned to signs of harm and facilitate child-friendly ways for children and young people to express their views, participate in decision-making and raise their concerns.
3.5 Organisations have strategies in place to develop a culture that facilitates participation and is responsive to the input of children and young people.
3.6 Organisations provide opportunities for children and young people to participate and are responsive to their contributions, thereby strengthening confidence and engagement.
Important Dates
Thursday 4th May – Charlton College Fete
Thursday 11th May – Winter Sports in Boort Gr 3-6
Friday 12th May – Mother’s Day liturgy and morning tea at 10:30am
May 19th – National Walk to School Day
Sunday 21st May – Catholic Education week commences
Wednesday 24th May – Catholic Education Cluster Day at St Mary’s Donald
Friday 26th May – Arts Performance “Making Friends” in the multi-purpose room
Wednesday 31st May – Friday 2nd June Gr 5&6 Camp
Monday 12th June – Public Holiday – King’s Birthday
Please keep on the dates as they continue to populate in each weekly newsletter and aim to avoid appointments on these days so all students can participate.
Mary Hogan
Principal
Foundation/1/2 Class Report
Religion Education
This week we have continued focusing on the wonder of our local environment and sharing it with our classmates. We have looked at our favourite places at school and in our local area. These have been recalled when praying and celebrating our environment.
Language
In our writing we have been continuing our focus on using interesting sentences and forming letters correctly.
This week we commenced our reading groups for the term and enjoyed our group discussion.
The highlight of the week was attending the Kindergarten where we heard three very well told stories. The storytellers and their helpers fully engaged us. It was a fun hour.
Mathematics
During Week Two we continued focusing on addition. We have looked at doubling numbers and counting on.
The Junior Class have had a very busy week and are enjoying preparing for Mother's Day.
Regards Anne Anderson
Grade 3/4 Class Report
Welcome to the first full week of Term 2! Students have settled back into the classroom and our routines well.
In Literacy this week we are continuing to learn about ANZAC Day and it’s importance in our current society. We are exploring stories of soldiers and their experiences through the picture storybook ‘The ANZAC Puppy’ by Peter Millet. Students are discussing the experiences and consequences of war for people at the front, at home and in different generations. Students are revising the skills of reading accurately, fluently and with expression- exploring punctuation indicators in the text that support reading fluently and with expression. In writing, students are working on information texts. They are exploring the topic of ANZAC Day and how it is still relevant today. Students have completed some research about ANZAC Day and written an information report. Students have also researched a particular battle at ANZAC Cove and written an information report on this. Well done on your information reports this week.
In Maths this week students are still working on their knowledge of fractions. Students have worked on vocabulary such as numerator and denominator, proper and improper fractions and equivalent fractions. Students have used a fraction wall to help them to understand these concepts. Students are continuing to work on their multiplication tables and mental maths strategies every day. Students are counting daily and working on their skip counting.
In Religion we are working on a unit based on the concept of respect- respect for ourselves, respect for others and respect for God’s world. Students have observed and discussed scenarios presented to them and identified where respect was shown and how it was shown.
Homework contract 10 and spelling words are due on Friday please.
Grade 5/6 Class Report
GRADE 5 & 6
This week we had Charlie, Liam and Isaac run Cross Country in Bendigo. This was a new opportunity for the students and they were all aiming to do their personal best! Well done and I hope you enjoyed the experience. All students are looking forward to the Charlton College Fete this week and the Winter Sports in Boort next week. The sports and after school activities seem to be in full force, and it is good to hear positive feedback from the students about these activities.
CAMP
Grade 5 & 6 students will join with students from St Mary’s Donald & St Patrick’s Sea Lake, from 31/05/2023 to 02/06/2023 for a two-night camp at PGL Adventure Camps in Kyneton. We have been fortunate to access this camp through Positive Start Camps, which are funded camp experiences. More details will follow soon!
ENGLISH
This week, during the literacy block, we have taken some time to reflect on our class and school norms and expectations. We have particularly been focused on being kind, being respectful, showing empathy for others and being inclusive. I know these concepts are not easy to master, but it is hoped we can practise them each day! We have begun to explore figurative language, specifically similes, metaphors, personification, hyperbole, idioms and onomatopoeia. It has been fun to be creative with language and explore some different ways of writing and describing. We have also focused on pronouns during grammar time and continue to revise all components of punctuation. Students are practising different aspects of reading, according to their individual needs (decoding, pacing, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension).
MATHEMATICS
In Mathematics, we continue to begin each session with counting and number facts, including times table facts. We complete a daily mental math column, which encourages mental computation using short cut methods and making connections (eg 2x3 = 6 so 20 x 3 = 60). Our topic work has been on multiplication. Students have learnt about multiples and factors, which led us to revise prime and composite numbers. Grade 6 students are multiplying by 2 digits and Grade 5s are starting to progress towards this. Mrs Wright is focusing on the topic of time each Wednesday, with a specific focus on 24-hour time this week. Students are also revising the spelling of the days and months.
A reminder that students should have their satchel, reader, diary and Homework Pocket at school each day. Reader diaries are to be filled in each day with the page number read to and a parent/carer signature, please.
Community News
Acknowledgement to 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.