Week 8 Newsletter

Dear Parents, Caregivers, Staff, Students and Community,
The opening term of 2019 at St Joseph’s has been full of challenges, triumphs and new learning. Despite a brief interruption by Cyclone Trevor we have achieved a great deal so far. Students, Parents and Staff need to be congratulated for the significant improvement in attendance so far this year.
Students across the school have been immersed in learning over the past 8 weeks, with a major emphasis around focussing on student learning through high expectations. At St Joseph’s we want for our students to work hard and to achieve the best they can, whatever their best is. As part of this journey students are challenged to find problems, as opposed to avoid them, they are then supported by teachers to use critical and creative thinking to solve those problems. Students are encouraged to “give it a red hot go”, and that if at first they don’t succeed, then to try, try and try again.
Throughout the year, we aim to nurture and grow these essential skills to not only increase student engagement and academic outcomes but develop ‘lifelong learners’ who are well-equipped for the challenges of the 21st Century.

Christ Church Tragedy

In the wake of the horrific events in Christchurch, New Zealand, we join with Pope Francis - and all Christians and people of good will around the world - in prayer for the healing of the wounded, the consoling of those who grieve the loss of their loved ones, and for all affected by this tragedy.
Dear Lord, We pray for all those who grieve the loss of these precious lives …. parents and family, friends and neighbours: that they will find the courage, strength and hope to hold each other with tender care and rebuild their lives while cherishing her memory always. Amen
You might like to light a candle as you pray. You can do so online at: http://lightaprayercandle.bne.catholic.edu.au/LightaPrayerCandle/
We offer this prayer for all those who live within this time of grief and remember lives lost, hearts broken, hopes torn asunder, let us turn to our God of love and compassion in prayer.

Staffing Update
Hi, my name is Emma Dixon and I am thrilled to start as the Learning Support Teacher at St. Josephs in Term 2. I have lived in Weipa for 5 years with my loving husband Adam and amazing sons Evan and Toby. My family and I absolutely love everything that Weipa has to offer and feel blessed to live in such a beautiful part of the world. I have been a teacher for 10 years and during this time I have taught in Rockhampton, Sunshine Coast, Charleville and Weipa. I have experience working with students from kindergarten up to Year 6, in both private and public sectors of education. I love the work that I do as a teacher, it drives me, inspires me and constantly fills my cup. It is an honour to be able to do this work. I am a very passionate, committed and highly motivated educator and will bring my experience and passion for high quality education into my new role as Learning Support Teacher. I can’t wait to meet you all and look forward to working with you and your family this year!

Mr Nigel Mitchell will be arriving in Weipa later today weather permitting. Mr Mitchell is originally from Adelaide. He has worked all over Australia in Church ministry, Teaching in schools, and as a consultant in Educational IT. In recent years Nigel has been working in Northern Australia in several schools, including Mount Saint Bernard College on the Atherton Tableland, and in urban and remote schools in the Northern Territory. He has University degrees in Theology, Education, and Religious Education. Nigel has taught at every level from junior primary through to lecturing at University, and he is looking forward to working with the year 6 students atSt Joseph’s. Despite having grown up in SA, Nigel is a rugby fan. He follows the Wallabies in Rugby Union, the Cowboys in NRL, and the Maroons (of course!). Nigel has an adult daughter who lives in Melbourne. His wife, Florence, is Indonesian, and they have a home in Bali. Due to family commitments Florence will not be joining Nigel at first, but is planning to visit Weipa several times during this school year.

Parent Teacher Interviews

Parent Teacher Interviews will be held next week in Week 9 of this term for all parents from Prep - Year 6.

Interviews will be for a duration of 15 minutes and will occur in your child’s classroom. Please ensure you have booked a time.

To book these interviews we are again using the internet-based booking system called Parent Teacher On-Line (PTO).

Please ensure that we have your most up-to-date contact email for the 'Main Contact' parent in our student database, as this will be used to enable access. If you have any problems with booking, please contact the school to assist you.

This is a great opportunity to discuss how your child is progressing towards the achievement standards this year and to set some goals for the remaining semester with your child’s class teacher. 

Harmony Day

Our diversity makes Australia a great place to live. Harmony Day is a celebration of our cultural diversity, a day of cultural respect for everyone who calls Australia home. Australia is a vibrant and multicultural country - from the oldest continuous culture of our first Australians to the cultures of our newest arrivals from around the world. Unfortuneately, due to Cyclone Trevor were were unable to celebrate HARMONY DAY this week. We will reschedule Harmony Day celebration to next Thursday 28^th March 2019. Children are invited to dress up in a cultural costume of personal cultural significance or to wear the traditional Harmony Day colour of orange. As part of our support for Project Compassion, we are asking all children to bring a coin to place on the word HARMONY displayed in the Library.

Be Allergy Aware

St Joseph’s is an allergy aware school. For some people, exposure to certain allergens can result in the most severe form of allergic reaction known as anaphylaxis.

HOW YOU CAN HELP: If your child has eaten peanuts before coming to school, please be sure your child’s hands and face have been thoroughly washed. Please do not send peanuts/nuts or peanut butter to school.

NAPLAN Online Testing Program

In preparation for the NAPLAN Online testing program our Year 3 and 5 students will participate in a Practice test during week 9 – Thursday 28th March. Like the School Readiness Test in October 2018 when our current year 3 and 5 classes participated as Year 2 and 4 students, Year 5 students will undertake Writing (online) and the Omnibus test consisting of Reading, Conventions of language and Numeracy test items. Year 3 students will undertake the Omnibus test only; whereas Year 5 students will access the testing platform. Both Year 3 and 5 students are required to use their own set of headphones for the duration of the test. We ask parents to ensure that headphones are at school and in working order to support their child’s positive experience with the Practice test. Leading into both the Practice test and the full NAPLAN Online testing program, which is scheduled across Tuesday 14 – Thursday 23 May, teachers will provide opportunities for students to access the NAPLAN Public Demonstration site which offers sample test items. These have been updated since 2018 and contain different sample questions for students to try. Parents are also invited to access the site with their children to become familiar with question types and the interactive features of the online NAPLAN assessment program.

TEACHING AND LEARNING NEWS

The Proven Benefits of Reading with Your Child Parents and carers who read aloud with children in a secure, safe and comfortable context motivate their children to read. Parents’ perceptions, values, attitudes, and expectations play an important role in influencing their children’s attitudes toward reading, and subsequent literacy development. When children share a book with someone who makes them feel special, the attitude that reading is pleasurable is transferred to other reading encounters.                                                                      

Relationship Building At the core of reading is a relationship and it is the bond between children and parents that is enhanced through reading together. It only takes ten minutes a day to build this relationship.

Children’s Reading Improves The research is conclusive: When parents successfully support their children’s literacy learning from an early age, everyone benefits. When teachers and parents work together to support children’s reading and academic success, learning outcomes for all children improve.

Children Read More Students who read with their parents are better prepared for school. They begin school with knowledge of book language and familiarity with concepts of print. They understand how books work and have many more exposures to text types and vocabulary.

Children’s Self-esteem Improves Knowing someone cares enough to take time out of a busy schedule to give you undivided attention around a book makes a significant difference to how students perceive themselves as learners and readers. When parents show an interest in their children’s learning, children respond positively.

Reading Unites Families Through Shared Stories When a family reads together, stories form a common ground for communicating. Stories bind families and help students makes sense of where they fit in the world.

Not only does parent involvement have a specific and profound impact on children’s reading, but also on children’s language and literacy learning in general. It is through interactions with parents and carers that children learn new vocabulary, seek clarification of new understandings, and learn to comprehend their expanding worlds. Talk is the key to reading and writing success. Talking with children (walking to school, at the table, in the car, bedtime) has a significant effect on literacy learning in general.