APRE
Our New Bishop
Our School belongs to the Catholic Education Diocese Cairns (CEDC) and we have been without a bishop for two years, until now! The Pope recently appointed Bishop Joe Caddy as the new Bishop of Cairns. To welcome him to our diocese we sent him a video to introduce ourselves and our wonderful school. We look forward to meeting Bishop Joe in August when he has planned a visit to Weipa!
A bishop is an ordained member of the Christian Church who is in charge of a diocese and empowered to grant holy orders. If you think about it in order of rank, a bishop is ranked higher than a priest.
College Visits
Our Year 5 and 6 students met with staff from Mt St Bernard College, St Monica’s College and St Augustine’s College this term to hear about what their colleges have to offer. It is important for our students and their families to discuss and decide what high school is best for them.
Under 8’s Day
Our Prep, Year 1 and Year 2 students joined with Under 8’s from Weipa, Napranum and Mapoon areas to celebrate Under 8’s Day. The theme this year was ‘Connecting to Culture through Play’ and it was wonderful to see around 350 little people enjoying themselves and connecting through play. We have such a great community in Weipa and we had many local organisations join us to make the day possible. Thank you to Western Cape Colleges, Kluthuthu Christian College, C&K, Cape Kids, Pebbles Playgroup, Rio Tinto, Family Health, Cape Occupational Therapy, Hibberd Library, Bravo Company 51st Battalion, Rural Fire, and Police for joining us on the day. We were also very grateful for the donations of fruit from Woolworths and dental products from Dental Health.
Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea
A shout out to our staff who raised $140 for The Cancer Council hosting a shared morning tea this term.
Reconciliation Week
The theme for Reconciliation Week this year was ‘Now More Than Ever’ and our students embraced this through completing activities and discussions to understand what this theme meant to them. Prep traced and decorated their hands and feet with colours from their various cultural backgrounds to show that ‘We all walk together’. Congratulations to Georgie, Zig and Toby for their ‘Now More Than Ever’ colouring in competition winning entries.
Mabo Day
Mabo Day was on the 3rd June. It commemorates Mer Island man Eddie Koiki Mabo and his successful efforts to overturn the legal fiction of terra nullius or ‘land belonging to no-one’. The Mabo decision was named after him as he led the fight to change land laws to recognise Indigenous connection and traditional ownership of land in Australia. Year 1 spent time on Mabo Day learning about Eddie Mabo and the work he did to help First Nations people.
Athletics Carnival
Our students once again showed their good sportsmanship and athleticism during our Ball Games and Athletics Carnival this term. We had some spirited interhouse competition during Ball Games where Prep-Year 2 had Over Under Ball and Tunnel Ball, and our Year 3-6 students had these games plus Leader Ball. The Athletics Carnival saw our Prep-Year 2 students compete in a 60m race, a relay and some novelty events. They then went back to school around lunch time where they enjoyed a wet play afternoon.
At the Athletics Carnival our Year 3-6 students competed in many track and field events. The track events included the 800m, 200m, 100m and relay, and the field events included high jump, shot put and long jump. The students ran, jumped and put (yes, it’s a ‘put’ in shotput not a throw) as best they could. It was great to see our 8-year-old students participating in all the track and field events this year as well. We were very proud of all our students for having a go and trying their best!
School Officer Day
We have wonderful school officers at St Joeys and last week on School Officer Day we celebrated them. Thank you to Miss Peta, Miss Rachael, Miss Kim, Miss Lynette, Miss Kathy, Miss Nikki, Mr Jamie and Mr Sam, we appreciate everything you do to help the students, the staff and the school. We would be lost without you!
It has been another busy, productive and fun term. Enjoy your holidays, stay safe and we will see you all back in Term 3!
Mrs Julie Dore
Acting Assistant Principal Religious Education (APRE)