Dear Parents and Guardians,

Students and staff are settling back into the routines of school and it is pleasing to see the smiles of so many throughout the school day. 

Each new term brings with it an opportunity for students to build on previous achievements and to place further attention to areas which may need improving. I also believe that a new term will present additional opportunities for our school community to further build on the positive culture that exists here at St Joseph’s and for our school to continue our quest to provide the best possible educational and pastoral environment for all the children who attend.  

I am looking forward to another productive and successful school term. I have always been very proud of the efforts your children put into their schoolwork and their overall exemplary behaviour. Of course, this does not occur by accident or by good luck. The pride students take in their work and how they conduct themselves is a product of great parenting and a highly effective teaching and learning environment. It takes hard work but the fruits of our labour will be well worth the effort.

Our school strives to develop and express its own unique culture. However, we cannot do this alone. We rely greatly on each of our students and staff members being able to actively contribute to this culture in a positive manner. One of the most important things you as parents can do to assist the school and the teachers is to ensure you instill a great value of school and education. Explain to your child that treating everyone with respect, attending school, being on time, wearing the correct uniform and placing a high value on learning is important to them. They are also important life skills. The value you place on the traits of a learner and being a global citizen will be the values your child holds into the future. Primary school is the crucial time to establish values, develop positive dispositions and an understanding of the benefits of being resilient and to persist. 

 Our Positive Behaviour for Learning rules, the Four R’s, serve as a guide for Learning the St Joseph’s Way. Our goal is that this proven approach will give students practical tools to learn and live according to these dispositions and enhance their wellbeing in a holistic way. Each Monday, classes attend a brief PB4L Assembly where we focus on teaching expected behaviour, followed by (Second Step) Social Emotional Learning Program activities in each classroom. 

This fortnight we are focusing on ‘Focusing Attention’, which will involve students throughout the school learning and practicing skills related to listening and learning. We will continue to provide updates via the newsletter regarding the progression of this curriculum and what our topic is for the fortnight. We look forward to growing student wellbeing at St Joseph’s through continued focus and development of the St Joseph’s Way.

God Bless,

Megan

Catholic Education Week

Catholic Education Week will be celebrated across Queensland from 27 - 31 July. This annual event is held to promote the special ethos of Catholic schools and to highlight the great things that take place in Catholic schools every day across the state and country. 

Catholic education strives to make a difference in the lives of those in our schools and in the wider community by challenging young people to live out the message of Jesus and to reach their full potential as compassionate, contributing, life-giving members of society. 

There are 307 Catholic schools in Queensland that educate around 146,000 students and employ approximately 19,000 teachers and staff and most will celebrate Catholic Education Week in some way.  

Due to COVID-19, celebrations this year have been restricted. Here at St Joseph’s we will be integrating activities into our regular school week and celebrating a liturgy in the Church on Friday 7th August.

School Renewal & Improvement Process 

As we are currently in our 5^th year of operation it is time for us to develop a new five-year strategic plan. This process enables parents, staff, and students to have a voice on the future direction of the school. The findings of the Independent School Review we undertaken in 2019, along with the 2019 school survey and 2020 survey feedback and current student achievement data, will provide us with valuable information to create a fully informed strategic plan for the next five years.

We aim to have this process well underway and a draft Strategic Plan completed by the end of this term, ready for further consultation and feedback from school community groups in term 4.

In term One 2021 we will hold a parent meeting to launch our strategic plan.

Report Cards 

One of the benefits of being Principal is that I get to see what is happening in all classrooms and witness how every student is progressing through the school year. Having just read their recent report cards, I must comment on the effort level of the majority of students in all year levels. A high level of effort tells me that you are putting in 100% effort into your work and that you are doing the very best you can do. Yes, we can all work on improving some part of our performance but if we are giving it our very best, success is sure to follow. These reports can be accessed from Tuesday this week. 

Report cards for Semester One are based on learning that has occurred in Term One and Term Two and report on student achievement for the first half of the year. This is most important to keep in mind as students have a whole year to demonstrate the targeted knowledge.  

Report cards for Semester One 2020 are modified to reflect the changed learning conditions for Term Two. The changed circumstances of the first half of Term Two may mean that not all learning areas have been fully covered or assessed as planned. It is also important to understand that the grades your child/children receive are reflective of the unforeseen circumstances we had during the term.

All schools are required to report using the Federal Government’s A-E format. This has been in place for many years now and a revised explanation of each achievement level is attached and is included in the report card. One issue that we often encounter is that of parents’ perception of A-E. If we are not too sure of something, we always revert to our default understandings – in this case “what A-E used to mean when I was at school”. The definitions are different and have been for many years, especially for the achievement level of ‘C’. Achieving the grading of ‘C’ means that your child at this point in time is demonstrating the targeted knowledge at the expected level for the particular year level they are in. In other words, that is where most children in a class should be at.

Learning is a journey and like all journeys, it will have its ups and downs.  A person’s ability to apply higher-order thinking, transfer and application of knowledge to new situations etc, is different for each individual and often takes time, practise and maturity.  

I have asked our teachers to focus on the following aspects when writing each child’s report and when preparing for parent / teacher interviews. How well each child has engaged with their learning. Their progress during this year, acknowledging it has been an extremely interrupted one. The strengths that each child has demonstrated and the ‘next steps’ that will help each child improve.

I thank our teachers for their time, effort and professionalism in writing their children’s reports. They will provide families, along with the parent/teacher interview, with a comprehensive overview of your child’s progress.

PARENT TEACHER INTERVIEWS

Report cards are just one way of communicating student achievement. Parents are strongly encouraged to discuss student progress with their classroom teachers at any time.

Formal Parent-Teacher interviews will be held:

• Monday 20^th July to Thursday 23^rd July for Year 3.
• Monday 27^th July to Wednesday 29^th July for all other classes. 

Each interview is for a period of 15 minutes. Social distancing and hygiene practices will be in place. Please book in via our Parent Teaching Online Booking System (PTO) to make an appointment at your preferred time. If you are experiencing difficulty accessing the Parent Teaching Online Booking System (PTO), please feel free to contact our office staff and they will be able to assist you. Explanation of how to access the booking system via the Parent Portal linked to the school website can be found below.

Instructions for Accessing our internet-based booking system called Parent Teacher On-Line (PTO).

Using this system, you will be able to book the interview times that suit you best from any internet-connected computer. If you do not have internet access, please contact our School Secretary to assist you in making your booking.

 Please access the system as follows:

• Go to the parent portal
• Click the PTO icon as shown here …
• Click “Obtain PIN/Password” and enter your email address.  Your PIN will be emailed to you. The email you receive will include a link that can be clicked on to log straight into PTO, bypassing the login screen.

Full instructions are provided to you after log in. Please note the following points:

• When you log on, the system displays only your own child/children. Bookings are made for individual parents/guardians, not for couples. Couples can however log on to the system simultaneously to coordinate bookings. If two parents/guardians wish to attend a single interview time slot, one parent/guardian should make the booking then both can attend.
• You will only see time slots that are available at the time you are using the system. As time slots are booked for teachers, those time slots are no longer displayed as available. PTO prevents double-booking of teachers or parents/guardians.
• When you have made all the bookings you require, you can download or email a report of your bookings in time order for printing. You can log in and change bookings any time up to 9am on the day before interviews. For cancelations on the day of your appointment please contact our school office directly.
• If you see this symbol displayed alongside the class name, it means this teacher recommends that you book an interview.
• Other parents may be making bookings at the same time that you are using the system. It is possible, though unlikely, that a time slot is displayed to you as available, but is then booked by another parent shortly afterwards. If you then attempt to book this time slot it will not be available and a message will be displayed to indicate this.
• If you encounter any problems using PTO please contact the school office on 4069 9500, or by email to secretary.weipa@cns.catholic.edu.au

2021 PREP ENROLMENT 

Believe it or not, it is nearly time to finalise the year-long process which is the enrolment of our Prep cohort for 2021. As always, we will begin with interviewing our siblings before we move forward to interviewing new families to join our community. We will send out invitations for interviews at the beginning on next week and they will commence in Week Seven.

Our school website is the pathway to the enrolment process which must be completed online.  

Children must be 5 by 30 June in the year they enrol (2021). I encourage you to attend to this process as soon as possible.  Our friendly office staff are always happy to support and answer any questions you may have regarding your child’s enrolment.

NEWS AND EVENTS

I encourage our Parents and Students to read our School newsletter weekly and check our Facebook page to keep up to date with events as the pace will no doubt quicken throughout this semester. We are all looking forward to events and activities returning once the COVID-19 restrictions ease.

NAIDOC WEEK

NAIDOC Week has been postponed this year until 8-15^th November 2020 due to COVID-19.

Important News Regarding Book Week 2020

The (CBCA) Children’s Book Council f Australia have moved the annual Book Week celebrations. The dates St Joseph’s will be celebrating Book Week are now from Monday 24^th to Friday 28^th August . This year’s theme is “Curious Creatures, Wild Minds”.

Curious Creatures Drawing Competition 

Students are invited to draw their idea of a curious creature and bring it to the library no later than Thursday 13^th August. All drawings will go on display and one prize will be awarded in each class.

Book Fair

We will still be having our Book Fair in the same week as Book Week.

COVID-19 Update

Social Distancing / Parents entering the school grounds – we will continue to err on the side of caution with this restriction: We ask that parents wanting to enter must have a good reason and maintain Covid-safe practices (hand sanitiser, not attending when unwell, maintaining social distance, not congregating etc). Thank you for adhering to this directive and keeping us all safe.

Social Distancing Precautions are also the reason we cannot yet welcome parents back to assemblies and masses as before. We certainly miss our families being part of our school events but by holding our Weekly Assemblies on the Basketball Court, we are now able to invite parents of students who are receiving weekly awards. We will now be able to hold parent meetings with individual parents, as long as appropriate hygiene and social distancing practices are applied. 

Hygiene

As the coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to evolve, it is important to remember that effective hand and sneeze/cough hygiene is the best defense against viruses and can help prevent the spread of illness. Lead by example and encourage your children to

• wash their hands regularly with soap and water, before and after eating, and after going to the toilet
• use alcohol-based hand sanitiser if soap is not available
• cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or the inside of their elbow
• dispose of tissues in the bin immediately
• if they’re unwell, stay at home and avoid contact with others such as touching, kissing or hugging.

Uniforms

At St Joseph’s we have a school uniform that reflects our sense of community. Our uniform also demonstrates respect and pride for our school and for each individual student. Please ensure your child wears the correct full school uniform every day. All uniforms can be purchased through flexischools. See us at the office for a range of second-hand items if required.

Please remember to check our lost property box, located at the entrance to the library, if your child/ren have misplaced anything.

AFTERSCHOOL AUSKICK PROGRAM 2020

On Thursday afternoons from 3.10pm - 4.10pm on the following dates, AFL will run an afterschool Program for Auskick for a maximum of 50 participants due to COVID - 19 regulations.

First in, best dressed...ONLY 3 SPOTS LEFT!

Thursday - 23rd of July - 3.10pm - 4.10pm

Thursday - 30th of July - 3.10pm - 4.10pm

Thursday - 6th of August - 3.10pm - 4.10pm.

If parents would like their child to participate they complete the attached forms in the Newsletter and return to the school office as soon as possible with the $20 Fee.

***PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING IMPORTANT REGULATIONS***

Due to COVID - 19 Regulations the session will be capped at 50 participants and parents are unable to attend. Mrs. Turner will be the teacher to facilitate the afternoon with 3 AFL staff running the program. Parents will be able to pick up their child from 4.10pm at the Kiss and Go area.