Newsletter 3 2024

Principals Report

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

In amongst the extreme weather days we have experienced lately, we were fortunate to hold our annual Swimming Carnival last week. In perfect conditions for water activity, all students, whether on Team Dory or Team Nemo, participated in the planned activities. It was fantastic to see students challenging themselves to land a dive, complete a full lap or just achieve their personal best on the day! Thank you to all staff for their assistance with the swimming program and the carnival. Even though the program was shortened there was still much progress to be celebrated. And as always, a big thank you to those who were able to come along and cheer from the sidelines – your support is rewarding for the students.

Thank you to the Wright Family, Danny and his helpers, who generously gave their time to remove five truckloads of fallen timber, which had been piled up previously by the Dads who pitched in after the storm. Your time and assistance is much appreciated.

We have welcomed Maddy Jovica, and her family, to St Joseph's School community. I hope Maddy enjoys the time she spends with us and extend a warm welcome to the Jovica Family. 

This week concludes the second week of Lent. During Lent, Catholics are reminded of the value in almsgiving, praying and fasting.

ALMSGIVING calls us to ask, “What can I give to those in need?” There are many people in our community and in our world who are needy – the poor, the sick, the lonely, the elderly and marginalised. This week we think especially of those who have lost their homes due to fire. Almsgiving may be time given, talents shared, materials or donations shared.

I recently came across an article about reading and why it matters! I have noticed over the past few years a significant decline in reading habits – reading for pleasure, reading to relax, reading to learn, reading as a regular practice. Reading more is one of the simplest ways to boost overall outcomes for students. Just the habit of fifteen minutes nightly reading can have a real impact! I have added the article below – please take the time to have a read!

Mary Hogan
Principal

 Give me a heart for generosity. Show me how to hold my possessions lightly, Ever mindful of their temporary value. Inspire me to share what I have in full measure, So that others are able to live without need or want.

School Advisory Council

The School Advisory Council currently has two parent representatives. Brendan Bourke finished his time on the SAC at the end of the 2023 school year. I thank Brendan for the time he gave as a member of the SAC and was always appreciative of his input and feedback. Brendan's departure has left a vacant position on the School Advisory Council. If any parent is interested in filling this role, please contact Mary via the School Office. The role involves
a once-a-term meeting, and as the name suggests, to support the principal in
steering the school forward.

Project Compassion

Students of the Week

"Why Reading Matters: A Simple Explanation"

Reading is when you look at words in a book, on a screen, or anywhere, and understand what they mean. It's important, and here's why in simple words:

1. Learning New Things: When you read, you find out about new stuff. It's like having a secret door to a world of knowledge.
2. Getting Smarter: Reading makes your brain stronger. It's like a workout for your mind. You learn new words and ideas, which helps you understand things better.
3. Solving Problems: Imagine having a toolbox with lots of tools. Reading gives you more tools in your brain to solve problems and figure things out.
4. Making Friends: Books have characters, and when you read about them, it's like making new friends. You understand how people think and feel, even if they're not real.
5. Enjoying Stories: Stories in books are like movies in your mind. They take you on adventures, make you laugh, and sometimes, they even make you cry. It's like going on a fun journey without leaving your chair.
6. Speaking Better: Reading helps you talk and write better. You learn how to put words together and express yourself clearly.
7. Calming Down: Reading can be like a cozy blanket for your mind. It helps you relax and forget about worries for a while.
8. Learning Forever: School is not the only place to learn. Reading lets you keep learning, no matter how old you are. You can learn about history, science, or whatever interests you.
9. Being Wise: Wise people are the ones who know a lot. Reading helps you become wiser because you keep gathering knowledge.
10. Achieving Dreams: Sometimes, reading about people who achieved big things can inspire you. It's like having a mentor in a book, showing you the way to your dreams.

In simple words, reading is like magic. It opens doors to learning, happiness, and understanding. So, grab a book, start reading, and see how it can change your life.

Foundation/1/2 Class Report

Hi families at St Joseph’s,

The P/1/2s have had a very positive start to the Term and are settling in well. 
In Literacy, we have been focusing on our No Nonsense Phonics (NNP) everyday, looking at the different sounds, and concentrating hard to achieve our handwriting goals. 
Numeracy focus has been introducing addition and subtraction to our Foundation students. Grade 1s are looking at counting by 2s and 5s and Grade 2s are working hard on place value. They have also been bundling and rearranging numbers. 
In Inquiry, all students have been learning about living and non-living things and have enjoyed researching this topic. Students created their chosen living thing from Playdoh and were excited to display them and discuss them in class. 
Well done P/1/2 on a great start to our school year. 

Prev

Showing images 1 - 8 of 11

Next

Grade 3/4 Class Report

The Year 3/4 students have made an amazing start to the year. Over the past few weeks we have been implementing and consolidating our routines. 

In Literacy students have been working on the ‘ch’ phoneme (ch, tch and ture), along with the ‘j’ phoneme (j, -ge, g (e,i,y) and -dge. Students have been practising their handwriting four days a week and are working on learning basic keyboarding skills that will help them to learn to touch type. In writing, we have been revising what a paragraph is and working on our understanding of conjunctions, common and proper nouns. During shared reading, we are consolidating our learning of our Integrated Studies topic ‘Our continent Australia and mapping’. Students have been learning about the natural and built features of Australia, what a cartographer is and who Australia’s neighbours are.

In Mathematics, students have been learning about place value to tens of thousands (Year 3) and hundreds of thousands and beyond (Year 4). Students have been using a variety of materials, such as MAB, number expanders, expanding notation, partitioning, rounding and increasing a number by 10, 100 and 1,000 so far to learn about this concept. 

Grade 5/6 Class Report

ENGLISH
In English, students are learning a different routine as Structured Literacy is more fully implemented this year. We have been reviewing grammar and parts of speech, common punctuation and sentence structure. Students are working in pairs to rehearse and monitor their reading fluency    - the aim is to read as we speak! We have covered both narrative and persuasive writing styles and, as per structured literacy guidelines, our focus has been on sentence level improvement. Spelling words this term focus on prefixes, suffixes and word roots/origins.

 MATHEMATICS
With assessments completed, we are well into our first topics for Term One.
In Mathematics we have completed a unit of work investigating place value, using large numbers up to millions and beyond. Students have worked at individual levels to revise and extend their understanding of place value. Tasks included making, reading, saying, writing, comparing & ordering and deconstructing large numbers. We also explored the difference between place and value of given digits within a whole number. Currently we have moved onto our next topic which is Addition & Subtraction. If you want to reinforce these topics at home it can be helpful to use varied vocabulary in relation to addition and subtraction.

HOMEWORK
Students have a home reader, a weekly spelling list and a mathematics or literacy sheet, on alternate weeks. Homework is handed out each Monday and to be returned each Friday. This week, students were given a NAPLAN style quiz as a familiarisation task.

Reading diaries should be filled in by students each day, noting the pages read.

Mary Hogan
(Class Teacher – Monday-Wednesday)

NAPLAN 2024

School Nurse Visit

 Kerrie McCosh, primary school nurse, will be visiting our school on March 8^th.

Foundation Grade Health Assessments:  All parents/guardians of Foundation grade children will be asked to complete a Health Questionnaire online, before the day of the visit. A ‘postcard’ will be sent home from school with information about how to do this.  If you do not wish your child to be seen by the school nurse, please go online and indicate the non-consent.  If you need a paper copy of the questionnaire instead, please ask the school, or, phone Kerrie on 0428319636.  Thank you.

Referrals (Grades 1-6): Parents and/or teachers may refer children from any grade for assessments of vision, hearing, basic speech, physical abilities, medical conditions, behavioural and parenting issues.  Please collect a referral form from the school office.  Completed forms are to be handed into the school office prior to March 8^th.  Should parents wish to have an interview with the School Nurse, please indicate your request on the form.

Please note: You can talk to the primary school nurse at any time throughout the year. 

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.  

Camps, Sports & Excursions Fund

The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) applications are now available to
those eligible parents and carers who hold a valid concession card. Primary school students are eligible for $150 The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) provides payments for eligible students to attend activities like:
• school camps or trips
• swimming and school-organised sport programs
• outdoor education programs
• excursions and incursions.
Please email or call the office if you would like an application form.  Existing families who have received CSEF and hold a valid concession card do not need to re-apply, but will need to send a copy of their Concession Card into the office.

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.