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A Prayer of Hope
In the name of reconciliation and hope,
We hope for a better today and a better tomorrow together.
We acknowledge the pain of the past, as well as the hurt and frustration of many our Aboriginal sisters and brothers in the present.
We take time to notice and understand the injustice.
But with hope, we look towards more positive things to come as we continue on the journey into reconciliation.
Help us to own our part in the story.
May we never be complacent about the need to work for justice.
Give us the courage to act in ways that we can to work for change and improvement.
There is so much to be done and there are big obstacles that seem to be in the way.
Inspire us to think creatively that we might find ways to right wrongs and lay strong foundations for a hopeful future.
Help us to work together to make our contribution for improvement.
I pray this in the name of the reconciling one.
Amen
POPE Francis has received a copy of the Uluru Statement from the Heart in St Peter’s Square, Rome.
He accepted the gift in Rome, offering the endorsement of a photograph with the document after a briefing from aides and a meeting with Gweagal woman Theresa Ardler presented a copy of the Uluru statement to the Pope during a 15-minute meeting last Wednesday, ahead of Reconciliation Week.
Dear Families and Friends,
It is hard to believe that we are now over halfway through the term. Although this term has been a busy one with a number of short weeks, our students have continued to show their commitment to their learning each day. Students are working very hard to complete their schoolwork and teachers are busy getting ready to write report cards.
Just a reminder of the importance of teachers and parents working together to encourage students to continue to be motivated to always be the best that they can be. When you receive your child’s report at the conclusion of this term, please take some time to reflect on their progress with them. This is about celebrating their successes and communicating expectations for personal growth. It is important that we do not compare our students to another student or siblings, rather, acknowledge their personal growth in their own learning journey.
SAVE THE DATE!
There are many opportunities for parents to come into school over the remainder of the year. In particular, our school FETE! For something a little different this year, our ‘Starry Starry Night’ will be a twilight Christmas Fete. The event will be held on Friday the 18th of November. Please keep this date free for a fabulous night of family fun and entertainment.
IS YOUR CHILD STARTING PREP IN 2023?
As anticipated, there has continued to be a strong demand for placements within our Prep group for 2023, and we are planning to expand to two classes. If there is anyone you know with children who may be ready for Prep next year they are invited to complete an Application for Enrolment, available on our website or alternatively collect an application package from the School Office.
Please note that if you have a sibling of a current St Joseph’s student you will also need to complete an enrolment application for your child for Prep 2023. It is important that applications are received by the school as soon as possible.
We will be hosting a series of “Be a Preppie for a Morning” sessions where all our the local Kindegartens will visit a number of times throughout Term Three. We will also be holding our first Prep Information morning on the 24th August 2022, for families that are looking to enrol into Prep for 2023 or 2024 are encouraged to come along and experience the fun and excitement of the Prep classroom. We look forward to welcoming prospective students in, as well as our 25 siblings who will be joining their brothers and sisters next year.
SCHOOL FEES
Thank you to all the families who maintain a regular financial commitment to the school. Your ongoing support by paying school fees goes a long way to assist the school to meet its financial responsibilities and continuously providing contemporary resources for the students. If you are experiencing financial difficulty please contact me so we can work out a positive solution. We would never have a child miss out on a Catholic education because of difficult times.
SICKNESS AT SCHOOL
While we encourage good attendance, please be mindful of sending your child/ren to school unwell. If they are sick, please keep them home until they are better. Germs spread easily and we would much prefer them to be at school and feel 100% than have them at school spreading those nasty germs. Any child who is unwell at school, will be asked to be collected by a parent or guardian.
STUDENT PROTECTION
At St Joseph’s School the safety and wellbeing of our students is our highest priority. All children should grow up free of violence or exploitation and be able to learn in a safe and supported environment. Schools have a number of specific child protection reporting obligations that are detailed in our Student Protection Processes and Guidelines.
If a student wants to talk to someone about harm, abuse or inappropriate behaviour toward themselves or others, they can speak to a trusted staff member or one of our School Student Protection Contacts (SSPCs). The SSPCs receive additional training and are identified in the student protection posters displayed around the school. Summary documents have been developed for parents and caregivers about our student protection obligations and our broader strategy for maintaining safe school environments. Michelle Gear, Melanie Turner, Tash Tapper and Megan Pearce are the Student Protection Contacts for St Joseph's Parish School.
Further information on all of the above topics can be found on the Cairns Catholic Services website.
DRESS AND APPEARANCE
The school uniform is important to us and there is a need for it to be worn well. It is a symbol of who we are as a school and of the values we hold dear. For students, we ask that they respect the uniform, wear it correctly and with pride. We ask for the cooperation of all families in this endeavour.
SCHOOL OFFICER DAY
This coming Wednesday, we give thanks for the incredible School Officers in our schools and the significant contributions they make to our school communities. I invite you to share in a blessing for our School Officers as schools across Australia take the time to recognise their tireless efforts in supporting student growth and development.
INTERESTED IN BECOMING OUR CROSSING SUPERVISOR?
Make a difference to the lives of the children at St Joseph’s.
Contact our local Road Safety Officer on: 4045 8516
Reconciliation Week
This week was National Reconciliation Week where we are called to Be Brave and Make Change. The week started with a Reconciliation Liturgy where we heard about our connection to the Holy Spirit and First Nations people connection to the creator spirit. The school sat in a yarning circle and were reminded that sometimes being brave starts with a conversation, whether that be in a text message, email or a yarning circle, it is these conversations that can lead to change. The Senior Learning Hub students also created artworks to accompany the interpretation of Pslams 132 from the Bible.
Throughout the week we had Lillian Miller our First Nations Consultant from Cairns visit each class to learn more about Reconciliation week and Mabo Day. Many hearts have also been returned and placed in the library and assembly area for the Sea of Hearts Challenge. Be sure to come and read about what reconciliation means to the students and their families.
Today the week ended with students invited to wear yellow as the colour of friendship and optimism. The Year Six Leaders also raised money by making and selling cupcakes. The money raised will be donated to a local First Nations Charity.
Queensland Ballet
Queensland Ballet is coming to Weipa. Students will participate in workshops on Monday 6th June at the WASP at the following times:
12:30pm- 1:15pm- Ballet Moves Workshop Prep- Year 1
1:15pm-2pm- The Nutcracker Year 2 and 3
2:10pm-2:55pm- The Nutcracker Year 4-6
A reminder that children are to wear their sports uniform on Monday. Please ensure the permission slip emailed to parents is completed before Monday.
Creator of all things,
Both seen and unseen.
Speak to us in your great wisdom.
Make us strong as we seek
Your help and guidance.
Teach us to love all people
Regardless of race or colour or belief.
May we listen with great care
To the heartbeat of this land
And to its people
Who cared for it so well
And for so long.
May the peace these people and their land
Have always enjoyed
Continue to be strengthened and preserved
By all who wish to come and be part of
This country and its ‘Ancient Dreaming’.
(Used with the permission of Elizabeth Pike,1998).
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Welcome to Week 7. The term is flying, and the students and teachers are all working very hard as they head into the last 3 weeks of Term 2.
NCCD - Nationally Consistent Collection of Data
The NCCD is an annual collection of information from all Australian schools on the numbers of students with disability and the adjustments they receive. All Teachers at St. Joseph’s School will be expected to understand their obligations to students with disability under the DDA and the Disability Standards for Education 2005 and consistently collect and provide evidence which is recorded on ENGAGE. (Please insert Fact Sheet here).
Visitors
This week we welcomed back Ms. Lillian Miller - Consultant First Nations Education from Cairns Catholic Education to our School. Lillian will continue to provide her service to St. Joseph's School during Reconciliation Week.
In Week 9 we have Vicki Reimann - Psychologist from Cairns Catholic Education visiting for the week and supporting teachers and students.
If you have any questions please feel free to make contact with myself at a convenient time that suits. My email address is mturner@cns.catholic.edu.au
Kind Regards,
Melanie Turner.
These last couple of weeks have really been busy in Prep! In English we are working on our tricky words, learning new letters and sounds and putting it into practice writing sentences. In maths we are continuing to focus on pattern making, ordinal numbers and positional language.
This week in Design and Technology, we have had lots of fun designing and building our own water transport. We were thinking and discussing how our food arrives at the supermarket in Weipa. The students have designed and built their own box construction ships – some are ‘motorised’ and some under sail. We even had a couple of submarines that would get through in any weather!
An absolute highlight for the Prep students this week was the visit from children and staff at C&K Napranum. The Prep students thoroughly enjoyed being the ‘big kids’ and showing all the wonderful things we do in our class. The Preps are very much looking forward to the return of their new Kindy buddies.
Hello again families,
The end of term is fast approaching as we come to the end of week 7!
For our Technologies unit we got to plant some seeds. We are exploring gardening and uses for plants and trees in our design and technologies unit and loved being able to plant our own. Each of us got a different plant and are very excited to document its growth. In Science, we learnt last term about all the things living things need to survive so we are going to ensure our plants get enough light, shelter, water and air to help them make their own food and stay alive.
This week we also had some of the Preps come to visit us whilst their classroom was used for “Stay and Play”. 1A was very excited to show them what we do in Year One and some of the games we play in our literacy rotations. I was also so impressed with their whole body listening on the mat!
On Monday this week we held our whole school Reconciliation Liturgy with special guest Miss Lillian. It was a beautiful liturgy where the school was seated in a yarning circle with the focus of this year being “Be Brave”.
Mrs Tash Tapper.
Welcome to week 7!
The term is certainly flying by and we are busier than ever in Year One. We have been busy working on our imaginative writing, experimenting with innovating texts and coming up with lots of great ideas around characters, settings, and plots of a variety of stories. In Maths, we have been exploring time, fractions, money which we have enjoyed learning about through both explicit teaching lessons and hands on activities to consolidate our learning.
In Religion, we have been looking at how Jesus lived when he was younger and making comparisons between life then and now. This has been very interesting for us to look at and we even got a look at the town of Nazareth on Google Earth. We have been integrating our learning within our Geography, Science and Technologies units exploring different types of weather and landscapes. These have included managed, constructed, and natural landscapes and we have also enjoyed looking at ways we can care for these places and how they might change over time. Check out the photos below of us creating our very own Year One garden!
It’s been a fun filled, busy fortnight with lots of learning, Reconciliation Week Liturgy and accompanying activities and Auskick happening again in PE. We are having a fantastic Term Two.
Mrs Backhouse
Hello Families,
These past weeks we have been talking about how things grow. We have learnt about Frogs, humans, and lots of other animals too.
We have developed a great knowledge on how things change and develop over time.
Here are some work samples from Year two on how they understand things can change.
Here are some cheesy snaps of Year Two kiddos very excited for AFL on Wednesday afternoon.
Happy Week 7 Everyone!
Pictures of our Toys to come soon!
What’s New in Year 3?
In year 3 this term for English we have been learning about the important elements to construct an entertaining narrative. We learnt about orientation, complication, resolution and building tension. We also learnt about important language features like speech marks for direct speech of characters and ‘show don’t tell’ sentences where students had to show their character’s emotion rather then say what their emotion was. Look at some of our interesting stories… Our motto this term was to ‘BAN THE BORING!’
Hello Families of Year 4,
What another great two weeks we have had! The students have really shown great resilience and persistence as we knuckled down to do some consolidation tasks and create engaging presentations. Students have been creating PowerPoints to discuss different subjects, such as sustainability and forces. In the coming weeks the students will then present these to the class. We have also been busy constructing an information report on a animal of our own choosing. We have looked at what is needed to create a great paragraph, and will continue to write up our final copies over the coming days.
Gentle Reminders:
- Homework is due on Friday
- Library is Friday
- PE/Health is Wednesday
- AUSLAN is Thursday
Please also submit your Queensland Ballet permission slips if you have not done so already. Thank you to those parents who have supported some dance practice at home already! I sent out an email with the dance link with the song and actions that the students will be performing at next term’s dance concert.
I hope you all have a lovely weekend.
Warm Regards,
Emily
Our Seniors have been busy these past couple of weeks with creating artwork for a Psalm that has been converted into a First Nations story. Bringing scripture to life through artwork has allowed us to understand the meaning more clearly.
The Year 5’s have also been busy interpreting a piece of scripture and creating a visual representation. We discussed the images that represent the Holy Spirit and recognised these within various scripture references. We had scripture about Pentecost, The Valley of Dry Bones and Jesus’s Baptism.
