Newsletter 24 2023
Principal's Report
Hello to Families and all in the St Joseph's School Community,
Term Three will finish at 2:30pm next Friday 15th of September. As usual, the term seems to have flown by in a flurry of learning and activity. This term students have competed in the Calder Athletic Sports, celebrated 100 Days of Prep, Grade 4-6 camped over in Echuca before attending the Badminton Tournament in Shepparton, experimented during National Science Week, celebrated Book week, visited the Kindergarten and the Nursing Home, held a Father’s Day breakfast and will present our concert next week! I would particularly like to thank families for supporting your children during these times, for participating in dress up days, packing children up for camp, coming along to special events, and having children in uniform ready to learn each and every day! Particular thanks for your attendance at Parent-Teacher Meetings this week to discuss your child’s academic, social and emotional growth.
To conclude the term, we will celebrate a whole school Mass in the church on Thursday 14th September at 9:00am. All members of the St Joseph’s School community are most welcome to attend.
A reminder that as Charlton College is closed tomorrow (Friday), school buses will not be operating.
TERM FOUR STAFFING
Mr Jason Whatnall returns from long service leave to commence Term Four in the F-2 Classroom. We have been fortunate that Mrs Anderson was willing to join us to cover Jason’s Long Service Leave. Anne has shown steadfast commitment and dedication to the F-2 students over the past two terms. I thank Anne for the contribution she has made to the school life and learning of the F-2 students, and for her overall contribution to St Joseph’s School, as a collaborative and active staff member. We wish her health and happiness as she transitions back into life after education!
ASSEMBLY
A reminder that we are going to trial a different time for our weekly school assembly for the final two weeks of this term, starting today THURSDAY 7th of September & then again on THURSDAY 14th of September, at 2:45pm. Parents, families and those in our St Joseph’s School Community are most welcome to join us in the Multi-Purpose Room at these times. We will share in prayer, celebrate birthdays, recognise student achievement, sing the national anthem and share school news.
SCHOOL PLAY – “QUEST – NEW HERO IN FANTASYLAND”
It’s almost time!!!! Students have worked hard to learn songs, dance moves and their lines, in readiness for our whole school performance next week WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 13th at 7:00pm.
The doors will open in the Parish Hall from 6:30pm. All families, extended family members, parishioners and interested me mbers of the community are welcome to attend.
Will Brandon T Man and his trusty sidekick, Brandon L Man, be able to save Fantasyland from the clenches of Orica (the baddy) and her rapping sidekick, Groova? Only time will tell!
PLAYGROUND NEWS
A huge thank you to the Bendigo Bank for helping us to keep our students safe in the playground. Our softfall has been topped up and we have fantastic new padding on the upright poles in the playground area. We have also been able to purchase some new sports equipment, including an outdoor table-tennis table, for the students to utilise.
FOOTY COLOURS
Staff and students are invited to dress in their team’s footy colours on the last day of term, Friday 15th September. Students may choose local colours, AFL colours or simply wear their favourite sports gear! Go Pies!!!
SMOKING CEREMONY
We attended an information session at Charlton college last week in recognition of the International Day of Indigenous People. A traditional owner, Troy Firebrace, presented a slide set informing the audience of the history and culture of the indigenous people of our local area. At the conclusion of the session we were invited to participate in a smoking ceremony as we left the stadium.
Important Dates
Wednesday 13th September – SCHOOL PLAY PERFORMANCE at 7:00pm
Thursday 7th September – School Assembly at 2:45pm
Thursday 14th September - End of Term Mass at 9:00am
- Prep/1/2 excursion to Wooroonook lakes
-School Assembly at 2:45pm
Friday 15th September – Dress in FOOTY COLOURS
- End of Term Three - dismissal at 2:30pm
Mary Hogan
Principal
STUDENT ABSENCE FROM SCHOOL
Under Department of Education Regulations, typically the only acceptable reasons for absence from school are illness and medical or dental appointments that cannot be arranged outside of school hours. In accordance with the Education and Training Reform Act 2006, schooling is compulsory for children and young people aged from 6-17 years. It is a legal requirement that parents contact the school regarding any student absences or lateness.
In the event of any absence or lateness, a note, phone call, text message or email to the school is required. This must be done before 9:30am on the day of absence, explaining the reason for absence on that 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.
THE 11 CHILD SAFE STANDARDS
Standard 1
Organisations establish a culturally safe environment in which the diverse and unique identities and experiences of Aboriginal children and young people are respected and valued.
Click here for details about Child Safe Standard 1
Standard 2
Child safety and wellbeing is embedded in organisational leadership, governance and culture.
Click here for details about Child Safe Standard 2
Children and young people are empowered about their rights, participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously.
Click here for details about Child Safe Standard 3
Families and communities are informed and involved in promoting child safety and wellbeing.
Click here for details about Child Safe Standard 4
Equity is upheld and diverse needs respected in policy and practice.
Click here for details about Child Safe Standard 5
Standard 6
People working with children and young people are suitable and supported to reflect child safety and wellbeing values in practice.
Click here for details about Child Safe Standard 6
Standard 7
Processes for complaints and concerns are child-focused.
Click here for details about Child Safe Standard 7
Standard 8
Staff and volunteers are equipped with the knowledge, skills and awareness to keep children and young people safe through ongoing education and training.
Click here for details about Child Safe Standard 8
Standard 9
Physical and online environments promote safety and wellbeing while minimising the opportunity for children and young people to be harmed.
Click here for details about Child Safe Standard 9
Standard 10
Implementation of the Child Safe Standards is regularly reviewed and improved.
Click here for details about Child Safe Standard 10
Standard 11
Policies and procedures document how the organisation is safe for children and young people.
Click here for details about Child Safe Standard 11
Student of the Week
Winner of School Raffle
Foundation/1/2 Class Report
The Junior Class have been finishing up areas covered over the last two terms plus practising the Play.
Religion
The Unit on 'Story" has been an enjoyable unit and the students have been able to relate to stories, especially Jesus being lost in the Temple.
Language
The students have continued focusing on No Nonsense Phonetics which includes a specific sound, using the sounds to read a passage and completing a comprehension task. The drawing, which includes details contained in the passage, assists the students answer questions. Students have been answering questions using a sentence.
Mathematics
Congratulations to the Grade 1 & 2 students on their mastery of the 2, 5 and 10 times tables and using their knowledge of counting and the patterns contained in numbers to assist them.
The Prep students have continued to work on the mastery of addition and subtraction single digit number facts.
Over the last two terms I have greatly enjoyed teaching the Junior Class. It has provided me with a very rewarding way to finish my teaching career. Sincere thanks to the students, Emily Lanyon, families and staff for your support during this time.
Wishing the St. Joseph's community's ongoing success in their learning.
Anne Anderson
Grade 3/4 Class Report
We have been continuing to work hard on implementing our No Nonsense Phonics program in the classroom during Literacy time. Last week and this week we have worked on the ‘v’ sound and the short ‘-oo’ sound. Students have been practicing their handwriting, revising alphabetic code, sound focus, identifying graphemes that represent sound focus and paired fluency reading. Students are getting used to the routines and are working on clear articulation during these daily practices. We have been impressed with the work students have put into their handwriting in their overall work. Students have been working on information texts and have researched, drafted and published an information text on a gemstone of their own choice.
In Maths we have been working on understanding mass, volume and capacity through different activities. Students have been working with digital scales, virtual balances and physical balances to explore the concepts of mass in particular. Students have been using different weights to weigh objects in grams and kilograms. Students have been constantly revising their multiplication and division facts and working on automaticity. We are revising place value this week to hundreds of thousands and working on expanding the place value of these numbers numerically.
In Religion we are continuing with our unit on IDENTITY. Students have reflected on questions relating to their understanding of our world and why we are here in a philosophical sense. Students have read a poem ‘Spiritual song of the Aborigine’ by Aboriginal author and Yorta Yorta woman Hyllus Maris and reflected on how this poem shows Hyllus’ personal identity through culture.
If students could read daily, practice their spelling words and multiplication facts, it would support their learning.
Grade 5/6 Class Report
Grade 5 & 6
We have been busy rehearsing for our end of term performance, “QUEST – A New Hero in Fantasyland”. I commend the students for their effort and participation, some outside of their comfort zones, but still giving it a go! The class also joined me in celebrating the arrival of Spring last week. Students were challenged with a Springtime goodie bag. They were asked to imagine why each item was in the bag and what it’s significance to Spring might be. Students were then invited to create a collage using the items in the bag in any way they could imagine. I was very impressed with the results! To conclude the frivolity we worked together to bake and decorate some Spring-themed cupcakes. They were to be traditional Butterfly Cakes but were a little flat for that so we went with Plan B! (See some images below).
ENGLISH
The latest element of Structured Literacy we have introduced is the Daily Review. This is a quick review of recent learning to reinforce and commit the content to memory. We often use mini-whiteboards for this practice which allows for quick working and instant feedback. During writing we have been writing creatively using strategies which support guided writing and allow for students to work at their individual level. An explicit focus has been on vocabulary development. Students continue to be heard read each morning and we have been revising components of comprehension. In grammar we have been working to identify the meaning of various homophones and then using these words in context.
MATHEMATICS
Our focus topic in Mathematics taking us to the end of the term is decimal fractions. We have worked with concrete materials and place value charts to say, write and read decimal amounts. Students are working at their level of understanding from tenths to thousandths, and beyond. We have explored the use of decimals in real-life situations such as monetary amounts and measurements. We are also investigating the relationship between decimals, fractions and percentage. Students are operating with decimals using addition subtraction, multiplication and division.
HOMEWORK
Students have weekly spelling to learn and a reader for nightly practice. The HOMEWORK HOUND online homework will continue to be available for any students who wish to use this at home. I also continue to provide a homework sheet for students, which is due back each Friday. Please prioritise reading, spelling, tables practice and homework sheet, in that order, completing what you are able to.
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.