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We respectfully acknowledge the past and present traditional owners of this land on which we are meeting – the Algnith people. We also acknowledge the contributions of First Nations peoples to the education of all children and people in our country Australia, in which we all live and share together.
Prayer for Harmony
Good and gracious God,
Who loves and delights in all people,
We stand before You,
Knowing that the spark of life within each person
on earth is the spark of Your divine life.
Differences among cultures ad races are multi-coloured
manifestations of Your light.
May our hearts and minds be open to celebrate similarities and
differences among our sisters and brothers.
We place our hopes for racial harmony in our committed action an d
In Your presence in our Neighbour.
May all peoples live in Peace.
AMEN
Dear parents and friends of St Joseph’s,
One of my favourite things about Australia is that we are a multicultural nation — from the oldest continuous culture of our First Australians to the cultures of our newest arrivals from around the world. Our cultural diversity is one of our greatest strengths and is at the heart of who we are. It makes Australia a great place to live.
All people who migrate to Australia bring with them some of their own cultural and religious traditions, as well as taking on many new traditions. Collectively, these traditions have enriched our nation.
We, parents and teachers, have a wonderful opportunity to help build a peaceful and productive future for our children by setting an example at home and at school of how to live in harmony with people from other cultures.
These are some fascinating statistics about Australia's diversity:
- (49 %) of Australians were born overseas or have at least one parent who was
- we identify with over 300 ancestries
- since 1945, more than 7.5 million people have migrated to Australia
- 85% of Australians agree multiculturalism has been good for Australia
- apart from English, the most common languages spoken in Australia are Mandarin, Arabic, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Italian, Greek, Tagalog/Filipino, Hindi, Spanish and Punjabi
- more than 70 Indigenous languages are spoken in Australia
During Harmony Week (20-26th March) St Joseph's will be celebrating Australia's rich cultural diversity. On Monday we will celebrate with a special Harmony Day Liturgy beginning at 2pm in the flexible learning space and then on Harmony Day, Tuesday 21st March, our students are invited to wear orange and participate in different cultural activities from many countries around the world. It’s about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone.
Students are invited to bring along a gold coin donation to support Project Compassion, which supports many cultures around the world.
Congratulations St Joseph’s Families! Our current student attendance is at 91.9% of our student’s attendance above 90% of the time, which is the highest rate of student attendance we have ever had.
Attendance at school is the foundation of student engagement, learning, wellbeing and achievement. Learning gains, engagement to school and retention have all been strongly correlated with regular student attendance.
Current research and practice indicate that an individual student’s attendance rate of 90% or less is correlated with potential problems for the student in the short, medium and long terms. Such a rate has been described as Chronic Absenteeism (CA) and needs to be identified and responded to from the earliest indications. Put simply, an attendance rate of 90% equates to the following:
Ninety percent (90%) attendance (aka “regular attendance”):
= 1 day/fortnight absent
= 1 week/term absent
= 1 month/year absent
= 1 school year/P-9 absent
= almost 1 ½ years instruction lost P-12
The research is clear and extremely concerning, children with less than 90% attendance are:
- achieving lower levels of literacy and numeracy;
- achieve lower performance and learning grades/reports;
- reportedly experiencing more problems with peers (ie. peer conflict;)
- reporting higher levels of disorganisation and anxiety;
- reportedly experiencing less success in the classroom compared to their peers;
- more likely to experience unemployment, mental health difficulties, not complete Year 12, lower life expectancies and more likely to be involved in criminal activity as an adult.
Let’s keep up this great attendance and support our kids to achieve.
NAPLAN
NAPLAN testing for our Year 3 and 5 students started this week and will be completed by Tuesday next week.
Please note there are changes to NAPLAN reporting this year. There are new proficiency standards with four levels of achievement which will replace the 10-band structure seen in previous reports of student results. This means that results from 2008-2022 will not be able to be compared to the 2023 results. The four levels of achievement are: Exceeding, Strong, Developing and Needs Additional Support.
Here are some good tips for keeping NAPLAN in perspective. It is a snapshot in time.
- NAPLAN is about making sure your child is on track in the important areas of literacy and numeracy
- NAPLAN helps you see your child’s growth and achievements
- NAPLAN isn’t high stakes testing and it amounts to less that 16 hours over 7 years of schooling.
Parent Teacher Conferences
Conferences are scheduled for next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
These interviews are most important and are designed to provide parents with the opportunity to gain a greater understanding of your child’s progress and wellbeing at school. They are also a great avenue for dialogue around achievements, areas which require some further improvement and ways parents can assist. Each teacher is required to have an interview sheet which parents are required to sign as record of the discussion. I thank you in advance for your presence at these interviews.
Prep Enrolments
It is that time of year again where we urgently request for any existing families who may have a child eligible for Prep in 2024 to ensure an enrolment application has been submitted. Children who are born between 1/07/2018 to 30/06/2019 are eligible to enter next year’s Prep program. It is vitally important that we have secured a place for children of existing families prior to offering places to new families.
Please spread the word about our wonderful school and encourage friends and neighbours to join our St Joseph’s community. We are aware that there are siblings who will be in the Prep class of 2024. Please ensure that you have enrolled online or collect your enrolment package from the office as soon as possible.
School Fees
Families should have received their first school fee invoices for the year about two weeks ago. Please double check your emails and if you have not received one, contact the office asap. We have several options for families to pay these fees. Please do not hesitate to contact the office to arrange internet banking, direct debit, repayment plans etc.
It is vital that all families meet their financial commitment to the school. Not only is regular payment of fees a condition of enrolment, but school fees are also a major source of income. Consequently, our ability to continue to provide the best possible staffing levels and student resources relies heavily on your timely payment of school fees and levies.
Why do school fees exist?
They exist because Catholic schools, only receive 74% (Federal 58.4%; State Gov 15.6%) of the total cost associated with per student funding compared to 96.8% (76.3% State Gov; 20.5% Fed Gov) which Ed. Qld schools receive. School fees and levies exist to bridge the government funding shortfall.
As you can see from the above figures, Ed. Qld schools’ main source of funding is received from the State Government while the majority of funding for Catholic Schools is sourced from the Federal Government.
Where do school fees & levies go?
As mentioned before, the fees and levies you pay are a major source of income and are directed towards additional teacher and support staff wages, classroom resourcing, capital projects, IT upgrades, building & grounds maintenance, library and curriculum resourcing and of course general operating expenses such as insurance, rates, electricity etc.
Families also need to keep in mind that the school always strives to keep fees and levies to an absolute minimum.
When you consider the resourcing levels and amount of free of charge opportunities available for students here at St Joseph’s, the level of fees is extremely reasonable. Of course, we do understand that from time to time, families fall on financial hardship. Our fees and levies are not designed to be a burden on any family. All we ask is that you contact the office to make an appointment to come in and discuss alternative payment options or concessions.
Wishing a great week ahead,
God Bless,
Megan
Prayer
This year, Garratt Publishing’s Lent Calendar is exploring the places where Jesus did his ministry. While there is some debate over where many of the events in Jesus’ life occurred, the locations shown are generally accepted by scholars as being the most likely place for the selected event, based on descriptions in the Gospel and archaeological finds. The images selected show what the landscape looks like today, and in some cases, what it may have been like in Jesus’ time. You may like to use this resource to reflect and journey with Christ this Lent.
Parent Slip Reminders
You may have noticed a few extra parents slips this week. Please complete the following as soon as possible
- Swimming Program Week 9 and 10
- Swimming Nomination for Swimming Carnival
- Sacramental Program (if applicable) Term 3 and Term 4
Bravehearts Visit
Today we had the team from Bravehearts visit Prep-Year 6 students for the Ditto Personal Safety show. The students were able to learn about personal safety in a fun and interactive way. Ditto the lion cub and the presenters went through the following six principles of personal safety:
- Differentiating ‘yes’ and ‘no’ feelings
- Recognizing the bodies ‘warning signs’
- Body ownership
- Helping children identify language and feelings associated with secrets
- Reinforcing that there is no secret that children cannot tell someone
- What to do if you feel unsafe or unsure
You may want to speak with your child about the show and the six principles. If there are any concerns, please contact the school.
Father Dariusz Visiting
We have our Parish Priest visiting this weekend to lead Mass at the following times:
Saturday 18th March 6pm
Sunday 19th March 8:30am
Feel free to join us for any of the services.
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Welcome to Week 8. It is hard to believe we only have 2 weeks to go, times flies when you're having fun learning and bringing Faith to life.
Personalised Learning Plans (PLPs)
Over the last few weeks the teachers will be in the process of writing Personalised Learning Plans (PLPs). Personalised learning is a process that supports a wide range of students with additional learning and support needs. This includes students who may require support in one or more of the following areas: learning (including high potential learners), behaviour, social/emotional, cultural/language (including international students, boarders and learners of English as an Additional Language or Dialect) and those who have educational support needs arising from disability.
This week and next week the Teachers, with the support of the Leader of Diversity, and in consultation with parents, collaboratively decide which adjustments and/or goals are to be targeted and determine appropriate strategies and supports to be implemented. It is the teacher’s responsibility to implement these planned strategies in order to support students to meet their goals.
Teachers will direct School Officer support and plan for adjustments on a weekly basis. Teachers communicate weekly with School Officers regarding student progress and make adjustments as needed.
Evidence is collected regularly and uploaded to ENGAGE. PLP meetings are set 6 monthly and will determine if current goals have been achieved before setting further goal.
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.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at a convenient time that suits.
My email address is mturner@cns.catholic.edu.au
Kind Regards,
Melanie Turner.
The Prep students have really settled into school life now and it has been wonderful to see how responsible, respectful, resilient and ready for learning they are as they enter the classroom each day. In English we have been very busy learning about sound and letter relationships and how to blend and segment sounds. We have also been reading stories, developing our vocabulary and talking about what we liked (or disliked) about the story. Students have also engaged in discussions about feelings using the characters as inspiration.
In Maths we are continuing to build our number skills. Counting and sequencing numbers, writing numerals and developing an understanding of quantity continue to be a focus. We have also begun looking at patterns - making and continuing repeating patterns using a wide variety of materials.
In Science we continued our investigation of living things. The seeds we planted have begun to sprout! Each day we check to see the growth of our baby plants ensuring that they have water, sunlight and soil.
In history we have been discussing the stages of human life. We have heard lots of stories about when we were babies and toddlers – the things we could do, the food we ate and who looked after us.
Line, shape, colour and texture have been the focus of our Art lessons and we have been using this knowledge to explore and respond to other famous art works. Look at our amazing Kandinsky colour circles!
We are looking forward to swimming lessons and the swimming carnival in the next couple of weeks!
Just a friendly reminder also that homework and library books are due on Fridays.
The Prep Team.
Hi, Year 1 families,
This week in English we have continued learning about how to read and write words and sentences. We have been exploring more about how and why we might write a letter to persuade others to consider our point of view. We have talked about an opening sentence stating what we think and supporting that opening sentence with three reasons. At the moment we are writing about what book we like best and why. We will also be discussing adding sentences giving examples of why our reasons are good reasons.
In maths this week we are learning to order numbers from biggest to smallest and smallest to biggest and we are learning about growing number patterns. We have talked about how patterns are all around us and are purposely built into things like walls to make them stronger. We are learning to recognise types of patterns and the mathematical rules behind the pattern. This pattern recognition is essential for later skills in addition, problem solving, multiplication, and eventually algebra.
In history this week we will have created timelines and talked about what is a significant event, or important event, to include on our timeline and what is not. We have talked about how life has changed for us from the beginning of our timeline and what has not changed from the beginning of our timeline.
In science we have explored more about vibrations, how sound engineers create sounds for movies and cartoons, and creating sound through body percussion.
In art we have created more Matisse style artwork through recreating our own version of Matisse’s Garden. We have abstracted shapes found in the garden and used shape and colour to create a vibrant garden of our own.
Week 8 sees us start our assessments on science, history, religion, and art.
Reminder,
Library day is Wednesday. Students need to have library bags to bring books home.
PE is Thursday.
Homework return day is Monday however homework will be sent home on Wednesday. We are still focussing on reading and number recognition.
Have a wonderful week, Mrs Hamilton.
Year 2: Mathematics – Building, measuring and comparing.
In the last unit of Math Year 2 completed a BIG project. They had to make a robot out of shapes, compare their robot to another robot and find the difference and finally graph the kinds of shapes they used. There were some amazing creations!
During this unit, one of the most challenging aspects was comparing two objects by measurement and finding the difference. In this activity (see photos) the Year 2’s had to build the tallest free-standing tower they could under a time limit. The groups then measured the towers to see how tall their tower was and compared it to another group’s tower. They had to find the difference by writing a subtraction algorithm and state which tower was taller or shorter with mention of the difference in measurement number.
Hello families of Year 3,
As we finish off week 8 I would like to congratulate all the students for their participation and dedication to completing NAPLAN. The students were able to use their devices and show us all the amazing things they already know.
Moving forward to the last 2 weeks of Term 1, students will be finishing up learning areas and completing some assessments, especially in writing where they will polish off a persuasive text of their choice.
With swimming lessons and the carnival coming up, please keep an eye out from Mr H in terms of times and events. It is crucial that the students come to school with all the necessary items so that we can move to and from the pool with ease.
Thank you to those who have already donated some goodies for our Easter raffle. If you have any items please get your child to bring them to me or to the office.
Hope you all have a great weekend!
Emily
Year 4 have been super busy these past two weeks. We have been practicing our skills using the bible and locating scripture. Students are getting comfortable using the bible and telling others what type of text type the passage is. We are becoming more and more confident talking about the creation story, the song of Moses and the 10 commandments. We have practiced that we say the book first, name the chapter and last is the verse.
In our Math lessons we have started to look at equivalent number sentences. Students have been learning this using addition and subtraction and we will work up to multiplication. We have also been having fun learning some new warm up activities- which one doesn’t belong? And the number of the day. We will continue working with these type of warm ups so students are gaining as much number sense as possible.
Our writing lessons have been all about figurative language with poetry. Next week we start to use our knowledge and understanding of these and will create our own poem. We can’t wait until everyone's poems are done so we can share them with you.
Days to Remember:
Swimming Lessons- Wednesday, Thursday & Friday.
Library and Homework Day- Thursday.
Harmony Week Cupcakes- Tuesday
Hi Families,
In the Senior Learning Hub we have had a busy few weeks and have finished a unit on countries and continents around the world. We explored, Aisa, North America and Europe too. Students will be presenting their work to the students around the school of their chosen country.
In mathematics, we have been learning about lots of new maths warm ups to get our minds ready for learning. This week we learnt Partitioning Party and Play to 100. Perhaps you can get your child to play with you?
We have just started a new unit of work all about adaptations of plants and animals around us. We have begun with the exploration of local wildlife like the wallaby, eagle, shark and crocodile.
In Visual Arts with Miss Libby Year 5 and 6 have been exploring Cubism. Here are some great photos of their drafts. We have their final work displayed in the classroom at the moment. You’ll have to come in and see their self-portraits.
Year 5 have been extremely responsible students this week during our first couple of NAPLAN tests demonstrating their developed understanding. They have had a great attitude and have given it a red hot go. Keep up the great work Year 5!