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 

There are many things that I take for granted. May I not ignore them today. 

Just for today, help me, God, to remember that my life is a gift, that my health is a blessing, that this new day is filled with awesome potential, that I have the capacity to bring something new, unique and good into this world. 

Just for today, help me to remember to be kind and patient to the people who love me, and to those who work with me too. Teach me to see all the beauty that I so often ignore, and to listen to the silent longing of my own soul. 

Amen 

WELCOME BACK 

As we start another busy term, I welcome all families back and hope that everyone had a restful, safe holiday.  

I’m excited to be filling in as Acting Principal for the first 5 weeks of term. I have found the students very welcoming and well-behaved, the staff extremely committed, pastoral and professional and the facilities are second to none – all the ingredients for a wonderful learning environment. That isn’t to mention the warm welcome I have received from those parents I have met so far. I have been a principal since 1995 with appointments in Mossman, Cairns and Brisbane. Your children may share that I have been in their classrooms as I enjoy discussing learning and progress with students. I know that you will join with me in wishing Megan a safe and fulfilling time of leave and I know she is looking forward to returning for term 4. 

As a loyal and proud NSW supporter (it’s been a couple of hard years!), I can attest to a difficult couple of weeks and many moments that have pushed my loyalty. It was good to get a victory on Wednesday night. However, as I say to the students, it is important to acknowledge excellent skills and gifts, even if they belong to the other side! Well done Queenslanders and they were the better side over the series! 

What can we learn from the Origin series that applies to learning: 

1. No matter how good you are at a task, you can always take advice from others. 
2. To be good at any task, you must practice, practice, practice! 
3. It’s ok to make mistakes, even the best make them!
4. We are so much better performing as a member of a team rather than doing actions different to the team. 
5. Celebrate victories, large or small and always strive to do your best. 

We do it all again in 2024!  

It’s all things football at present. Students were very excited to be visited by staff and players from the Northern Pride on Thursday. They addressed students about how the school values apply to football and life in general. They also facilitated some games and drills that were a lot of fun. This was to support the game between the Falcons and Pride this weekend at Andoom Oval. If you are free, sounds like a great thing to do on Saturday night. 

FEEDBACK SURVEYS 

We live in times of feedback and Cairns Catholic Education is no different. I invite parents as well as staff, to participate in this year’s Feedback Surveys (previously known as Satisfaction Surveys). It should take about 30 minutes to complete. 

You will receive an email containing a link to the survey in the next couple of days and this link expires on Friday, August 4. These surveys are an important tool in providing information and opinions – both positive and negative. This information guides us to further develop and refine our operations and offerings, at both the school and system levels. 

Like all surveys, the greater the number of participants, the greater the breadth of opinion so I encourage each and every person to take advantage of this opportunity. 

Dear Parents and Guardians,   

 Welcome to back to Term 3. It has been a busy but a great week with lots of learning, dressing up for State of Origin, Year 5 Camp and a visit from the Northern Pride.

Visitors 

This Term we welcome back many visitors, next week we have Ms Marnie Carrison – CES Consultant Student Engagement visiting St. Joseph’s Parish School Weipa for 2 days.

In Week 2 we have Zinna Aylward - Occupational Therapist from Cairns Catholic Education visiting for a few days and supporting teachers and students. 

In Week 3 of this Term, we have the pleasure of Ms Heather Alison- our School Counsellor visiting us again in Weipa providing her service to St. Joseph's School from Monday 24^th July – Friday 28^th July 2023.

And Week 5 we also have Lorraine Carroll - Speech Language Pathologist from Cairns Catholic Education visiting for a few days and supporting teachers and students. 

Later during the Term, 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 Term 3.

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.

The children at St, Joesph’s Parish School Weipa have been invited to take part in a survey about student wellbeing and mental health from the between 31/07/2023 and Friday 18/08/2023 The survey will be completed online during school hours and contains between 25-57 questions (depending on the age of your child) and will take 10- 15 minutes to complete. 

This annual survey is being issued to all students in the Diocese of Cairns by the Student Wellbeing and Diversity directorate of Catholic Education Services. The survey aims to gather student opinions about aspects of the school that relate to supporting student wellbeing and mental health.  

What is the purpose of the survey? The survey will provide schools with student opinions on what the school is doing well and what they can improve to better promote and support student wellbeing and mental health. Long term this survey may be used to track student wellbeing and mental health over a period of time.

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.

Welcome back to Term 3! It great to see all the students back and eager to start their new units of work.  

In week 3 of this term, we celebrate Catholic Education Week. One of the events during this week is the school dance. The school dance is a combination of the students’ and teachers’ creativity and a chance for students to show case the skills they learned in The Arts: Dance in Term 2. Teachers will be in contact with parents to inform them of any dress requirements for their class. We invite the St Joseph’s community to come and see all the hard work classes put into their Arts curriculum last term. 

Last term Report Cards were uploaded to the Parent Portal and were sent home in a hard copy format. Students that were absent during the time Report Cards were sent home will receive a hard copy of their student’s report this week.  

Lastly, this week Year 5 students have been provided the opportunity of going on school camp. School camp is a great way to experience learning in a different environment. Students that attend camps build several skills including social and team building skills, make informed decisions around risk-taking and safety, various motor skills and lessons about nature and adventure. School camp provides a safe environment where students can experience a sense of independence which can boost confidence and responsibility as the Year 5 students build their leadership skills in preparation for next year.