We respectfully acknowledge the past and present traditional owners of this land on which we are meeting – the Alngith 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. 

Dear Parents,

As we reach the halfway point of the term, our students have settled into learning and the routines of school. Our focus has been on making sure that everyone is organised with what they need and attending school every day, so they can have the best opportunities for learning.  

Schools are very busy places and as such we endeavour to keep you informed of any changes to planned events. Most of our communication will be through emails, Seesaw or Facebook. Please remember to update details such as new emails, phone numbers or join Seesaw or the School Facebook so we can continue to keep you up to date.

Have a great weekend!

A note from the APRE 

Lent – What is it? 

Lent is the liturgical season that prepares us for Easter, the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We began lent on Ash Wednesday and it lasts for forty days, not counting Sundays. Ash Wednesday is the day that we were marked with ashes on our forehead to remind us of our mortality. The Bible tells us that we came from dust, that God, our Creator, breathed life into us, and we shall again return to dust of the earth. Holy Thursday officially ends Lent, although we still observe Good Friday and Holy Saturday as part of Lent. During Lent, we prepare ourselves for Easter through prayer, almsgiving and fasting. How can we do this? 

Prayer: We can find time in our day to pray. Thanking God for what we have. 

Almsgiving: We can donate to Project Compassion. Help others in need. 

Fasting: We can give up something. Not eat red meat on Fridays. 

Project Compassion 

This year, Project Compassion brings us the stories of three resilient women from three different corners of the world. They are facing vastly different challenges, but are all united by one dream: to create a better tomorrow for all future generations. Through Project Compassion, the students will get to know the stories of Ronita, Leaia and Memory, and see how the money they raise helps others in need. 

The St Joseph’s Community will be fundraising during Lent to raise money for Project Compassion, so that we can be a part of creating a better tomorrow for future generations. Each class will hold their own fundraiser with all money raised being sent to Caritas Australia at the end of the term. 

Here is a little information about the women in the stories, so you can discuss them with your child at home: 

Ronita from the Philippines lives with her husband and two children. With the money from Caritas, she was able to go back to school to finish her education so that she could earn money to support her children. 

Leaia from Samoa. Not having access to a reliable source of clean water was very difficult for Leaia and her family. But, with the support of Caritas Australia, a water tank was installed at their home. 

Memory from Malawi. She was able to get training to become a carpenter and is now a trailblazer for future generations of women in her village.    

Please help us by donating to the Project Compassion donation boxes in each classroom, and supporting all the fundraiser events the students hold this term. Our small donations go a long way! 

Shrove Tuesday 

Tuesday last week was Shrove Tuesday, also known as Pancake Day. This is the day before Lent begins where we feast before we fast. The staff at St Joey’s cooked pancakes for all the students and they enjoyed these in the morning. 

Ash Wednesday Liturgy 

Wednesday last week was Ash Wednesday and marked the beginning of Lent. We celebrated as a community with a liturgy in our Church where each student received the sign of the cross on their forehead in ash. The ashes used came from burnt leftover palms from Palm Sunday last year. 

Opening School Mass 

Monday this week we celebrated the beginning of a new school year with an Opening Mass in our Church. Fr. Dariusz joined us and it was a lovely whole school celebration. As part of the Mass the Year 6 students had their Student Leader Commissioning where they were presented with their Student Leader badges and shared a Leadership pledge they had written. 

Mass & Welcome BBQ 

Please join our St Joesph’s Mass at 6pm Saturday 16th March followed by a shared BBQ dinner at the school. This is a great way to meet other families in our Parish and get to know each other a little better. Our students will have readings and other duties during the Mass and it would be lovely to see many families together, celebrating our patron Saint Joseph. 

 Uniforms 

• Wear the correct uniform on the right days, e.g. Term 1 Sport uniform on Thursdays (and swimming days) and Formal uniform on all other days. 
• Wear fully black shoes with navy blue socks or wear navy blue/black crocs on wet weather days (no jibbitz). 
• Wear hair tied up if it is past our shoulders with small navy blue, black or white hair ties (boys & girls). Hair is to be clean, neat and tidy. Hair must not fall or obscure the face. No extreme hairstyles or colouring in unnatural tones. 
• Wear the right type of earrings or jewelry. Earrings- one set of small gold/silver studs/sleepers. No other piercings allowed. Jewelry- one fine gold/silver chain with small religious pendant. Watch- a small watch (Smart watches must be switched to airplane mode whilst on school grounds). 
• Bring a SJW school hat & SJW school bag every day. 
• Make-up or nail polish is not allowed. Nails must be kept to a minimum length. 

Upcoming Dates in Term 1 

1st March – World Day of Prayer, Year 4 on Assembly Prayer 

2nd March – Liturgy at St Joseph’s Church 6pm 

3rd March – Liturgy at St Joseph’s Church 8:30am 

4th March – NAPLAN Practice Test 

8th March – International Women’s Day, Year 3B on Assembly Prayer 

9th March – Liturgy at St Joseph’s Church 6pm 

10th March – Liturgy at St Joseph’s Church 8:30am 

13th – 21st March – Year 3 & 5 NAPLAN  

15th March – Year 1 on Assembly Prayer 

16th March – St Joseph’s Mass and Welcome BBQ 6pm 

17th March – Mass at St Joseph’s Church 8:30am, St Patrick’s Day 

20th March – Parent/Teacher Conferences 3:30-6:30pm 

21st March – Harmony Day, Closing the Gap Day 

22nd March – Prep on Assembly Prayer 

23rd March – Liturgy at St Joseph’s Church 6pm 

24th March – Liturgy at St Joseph’s Church 8:30am, Palm Sunday 

26th March – Swimming Carnival (whole school event) 

27th March – Liturgy of the Cross 9am 

28th March – Holy Thursday, Last day of Term 1 

29th March – Good Friday (public holiday) 

30th March – Liturgy at St Joseph’s Church 6pm 

31st March – Liturgy at St Joseph’s Church 8:30am, Easter Sunday

Dear Parents and Guardians, 

Welcome to Week 5. It is hard to believe that we are in halfway through Term One already and the children have been introduced and engaged in many programs during the Term.    

Second Step   

This Term all classes are introduced to the Second Step Program. Second Step SEL is research-based, teacher-informed, and classroom-tested to promote the social-emotional development, safety, and well-being of children from Early Learning through Grade 8. Children learn and practice vital skills for listening and paying attention, having empathy, managing emotions, building friendships, and solving problems with others. The 25-minute interactive lessons and discussion-based activities with distinct grade-level experiences. The lessons focus on Social-Emotional Learning:   

• Mindsets & Goals  
• Recognising Bullying & Harassment  
• Thoughts, Emotions, & Decisions  
• Managing Relationships & Social Conflict  

 These lessons will continue throughout the Year for Prep to Year 6.  

 Zones of Regulation   

The Zones is a systematic, cognitive behavioural approach used to teach self-regulation by categorising all the different ways we feel and states of alertness we experience into four concrete-coloured zones. The Zones of Regulation uses four colours to help children self-identify how they’re feeling and categorise it based on colour. The curriculum also helps children better understand their emotions, sensory needs, and thinking patterns. They learn different strategies to help them cope and manage their emotions based on which colour zone they’re in.  

The Green Zone   

The green zone is used to describe when you’re in a calm state of alertness   

Being in the green zone means you are calm, focused, happy, or ready to learn. This is predominantly the state you want your child to be in.   

It’s also the state most needed in the classroom in order to learn.   

The Yellow Zone   

The yellow zone describes when you have a heightened sense of alertness. This isn’t always a bad thing, and you still have some control of your actions when you’re in the yellow zone.   

Being in the yellow means you may feel frustrated, anxious or nervous. But, it could also mean you’re feeling excited, silly, or hyper – which is okay in the right situations.   

The Red Zone   

The red zone describes an extremely heightened state of intense emotions. When a person reaches the red zone, they’re no longer able to control their emotions or reactions.   

Being in the red zone means you’re feeling anger, rage, terror, or complete devastation and feel out of control.   

The Blue Zone   

The blue zone, on the other hand, is used when a person is feeling low states of alertness or arousal. When you’re in the blue zone you may be feeling down – sad, sick, tired, or bored. You’re still in control, as you are in the yellow zone, but with low energy emotions.  

 Personalised Learning Plans (PLPs)  

Over the next 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.  

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 goals. The teachers will meet with Parents of PLP students in Week 8/9 of this Term. 

Visitors  

Week 6: Next week we have Heather Alison, our School Counsellor, visiting us in Weipa providing her service to St. Joseph's School from Monday 26th February – Friday 1^st March. Heather is onsite 2 weeks each term and will also provide support online all other weeks.  

Week 6:  Also, this week Sandra Van Rooyen - Consultant for Inclusive Education will be arriving to support teachers and students on Tuesday 27^th February – Wednesday 28^th February. 

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.  

News from Learning and Teaching

What is NAPLAN?

NAPLAN will be taking place at St Joseph’s Parish School in week 8 and 9 of Term 1, 2024.

NAPLAN helps governments, education authorities and schools to see whether young Australians are reaching important literacy and numeracy goals. It provides information about how education programs are working and areas of improvement.

Is NAPLAN day different to normal school days?

NAPLAN scheduled days are still a normal school day, students will simply be completing the assessment under supervised conditions, in a designated classroom at a specific time. Students are still required to attend their normal school day at the end of the NAPLAN time.

What can you do to help your child for NAPLAN?

Our fabulous team has been working to prepare the students for NAPLAN. It is great for families to encourage students for NAPLAN, however it is valuable to remember that this is only a snap shot in time of a student’s learning & knowledge – NAPLAN should represent knowledge and skills that students have been learning throughout their education journey (not just this year).

You can help your child on NAPLAN day by ensuring they have;

• A good night’s sleep
• Eat breakfast
• Have a packed lunch (or tuckshop) and
• A hug and congratulations at the end of the day.

Please find the attached NAPLAN schedule below. Please reach out if you have any queries about NAPLAN on tbarberb1@cns.catholic.edu.au.

Happy week 5! I can’t believe the term is already half over – time flies when you’re having fun!  

Prep has been very busy so far this term with lots of fun things happening in all learning areas. We’ve been working hard building our phonological awareness and introducing letters and sounds to help us with our beginning reading skills. In Maths, we’ve been focusing on 2D shapes and numbers to 10 which has seen us adventuring around school and doing lots of fun hands-on activities. During Science we’ve been exploring living and non-living and have enjoyed learning about the things living things need to survive. In Religion, we’ve continued our learning about God’s creations and have also moved into exploring having the right to make choices and that choices can be both good and poor. In Technologies, we’ve been learning all about food production and have found it fascinating learning about how things we consume everyday in our own households are made. During Art we’ve been enjoying exploring different types of lines that can be used to create artworks and also colours primary, secondary, warm and cool.  

Other exciting things that have been happening have included swimming lessons, Opening Mass, Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday which we’ve also loved learning all about.  

We look forward to continuing sharing our learning with you via SeeSaw and encourage you to reach out if you have any questions. Also a friendly reminder for Library and Homework folders to come in each Friday and we can change them over.  

Many thanks,  

Miss Backhouse and Miss Rachael.  

Year 1 are having a blast. We are showing we can be great learners by following our school rules and being wonderful friends in and out of the classroom. In our Religion lessons we have been looking at God’s creations. We are understanding that humans were put on the earth last so we could take care of all living things and show love and respect to those living things. By the end of the term students will be asked to create a contract on what their responsibilities are and why, when it comes to protecting God’s creation.  

During our English lessons we have been practicing writing on the red and blue lines. Our letter formation was great to start with and is looking fantastic on the lines. It is super tricky but we are excited to keep practicing. We are also getting super clever at decoding our cvc words and are building more confidence decoding our cvcc words. This week we are going to try writing a few sentences about Emus. Keep a look out for our fantastic informative texts.  

Our Math lessons have been all about numbers. We are practicing counting up and back, skip counting in 2’s, 5’s and 10’s as well as the numbers that come before and after a number. This past couple of weeks we have been learning about numbers on a number line and numbers that are missing on a number board. We will be continue to practice grouping numbers so that each group gets an equal share (division).  

With the beginning of Lent we have chosen a promise we would like to try and keep and are counting down the days until Christ has risen or as some of us know, Easter Sunday. We will continue to have conversations around help those in need through Project Compassion and other ways in and around our school for our friends.  

These past 5 weeks we have also celebrated 3 birthdays in Year 1. Happy Birthday to Jhett, Stella and Cooper. We can’t wait to celebrate our March babies.  

There are many important days coming up. Don’t forget to check Facebook, Seesaw and your emails.  

Dear Parents and Carers, 

Thank-you for an amazing start to Grade Two! Wow, I can’t believe we are halfway through the term already as we settle into the routines and expectations in our class. 

This term we have had a focus on bucket filling. Our assembly item this term was based around sharing kindness to others and helping each other fill our invisible buckets. See the ways we can fill each other’s buckets in our pictures below. 

We began the term in P.E. with fundamental movement skills and teamwork games. Students loved playing paper, scissors, rock using hoops. We also began swimming lessons on Tuesdays where we learnt some safety skills and practised our strokes, floating and streamlines.  

In Reading this term we are learning to understand and comprehend what we read through comprehension lessons. Students have been introduced to imaginative and informative texts. See pictures below of us working in partners to do a partner read.  

 In Writing, students are learning about the structure of informative texts through stories and fairytales. We have read Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, 3 Little Pigs and Sleeping Beauty and have determined who the villain and heroes are in each story.  

On Tuesday last week we celebrated Shove Tuesday (Pancake Day) and Ash Wednesday. Students loved eating the pancakes together as a class. On Wednesday we received the ashes on our forehead in the sign of the cross.  

Some gentle reminders: 

-Please connect to SeeSaw if you haven’t already and turn notifications on so you don’t miss any messages 

-Library Day – Wednesdays 

-Homework Day – Wednesdays 

-P.E. / Swimming Day – Thursdays 

-Week 9 Wednesday 20th March – Parent / Teacher Interviews 

Any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me via SeeSaw or email at ttapper@cns.catholic.edu.au  

Kind Regards, 

Mrs Tash Tapper 

Dear Parents and Guardians, 

Week 5, 2024 

Important information: 

Library is Monday afternoon. 

Sports day is Thursday, and this is swimming for term 1. 

Homework is scheduled to go home on Monday and be returned on Friday.  

Here's a glimpse into what we've been up to in our classroom: 

Religion: In religion this term we have been exploring the values of Saint Joseph, the symbols of the Catholic religion, and how God is written about in the Bible with our Awesome God unit.  

Swimming Lessons: We're diving into the term with our swimming lessons! Swimming is not only a valuable life skill but also a great way to build fitness and strength. 

Science: Classification of Living Things: In science, we've been exploring the wonderful world of living things and how we classify them. We've had some exciting discussions about the diversity of life on Earth and how scientists organize it into categories. 

HASS: First Nations peoples: In HASS this term we have been answering the question ‘Who was here first? And how do we know?”  

Maths: Place Value Beyond 10,000: Our mathematicians have been stretching their brains by exploring place value beyond 10,000. They've been representing and comparing numbers using thousands, hundreds, tens, and ones. 

Reading Groups: Reading continues to be a focal point in our classroom. Students have been engaging in various reading activities, from guided reading sessions to independent reading time.  

Persuasive Writing: In literacy, we've been delving into persuasive writing. Students have been learning how to structure their arguments effectively and use persuasive language to convince their audience. 

Spelling Lessons: Spelling remains an essential part of our language curriculum. We've been exploring different spelling patterns and rules to improve our spelling accuracy.  

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to get in touch. We're looking forward to a fantastic term ahead, filled with growth, discovery, and plenty of smiles. 

Warm regards, 

Mrs Hamilton 3A Class Teacher 

Email: dhamilton@cns.catholic.edu.au. 

Week 5 Newsletter – Year 3B

Hi Parents and Carers,

What a start to our year in Year 3B! I can’t believe we are already halfway through the term. It has certainly been busy, with lots of learning and exciting activities happening in the classroom and at school.

This term in reading, students have been working in groups and participate in reading groups four times a week. During reading groups, students have the opportunity to build their word recognition, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension skills through different activities, and through modelled, shared, guided and independent reading.

In mathematics, students have been exploring place value and numbers beyond 10,000. They have done a fantastic job so far at representing and comparing numbers using MAB Blocks, in thousands, hundreds, tens and ones. As a whole class we complete daily mathematics warm up’s that readily prepare students for the lesson through activities such as continuing number patterns, number of the day, expanding numbers and friends of ten. 

We have had lots of fun exploring persuasive writing in English so far this term. Students have reviewed nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs, whilst also being exposed to new learning through introducing high modality words, emotive language and time connectives in their writing. As a class, we are currently co-constructing our own piece of persuasive writing on ‘Why St Joseph’s School must have a pool!’. Following this class co-construction students will gradually begin planning and writing their own pieces of persuasive writing. 

Entries and exits have been the focus in handwriting during the first five weeks of learning in our classroom. Students have been practicing their entries and exits on letters such as w, m, n, a, and h. The aim of entries and exits in handwriting it to ultimately improve students’ accuracy, legibility and efficiency when writing.

To the student’s excitement, we began our swimming lessons this week! Participating in swimming lessons builds pool safety and awareness, as well as helps students to learn a variety of swimming strokes and floating and streamlining techniques.

Week 8 brings the beginning of NAPLAN for Year 3. This is the students first year of participating in NAPLAN and although it can be a nervous time for students, please encourage them that it is a time that they can show everything they know and have learnt so far throughout their years at school! NAPLAN will be completed online via laptops this year. More information on dates, sessions and times will be sent out to families in the coming weeks.

Thank you to all of the families that have taken homework, swimming and the beginning of the school year in their stride! It has certainly made the beginning of Year 3 smooth, and I know that you children appreciate everything that you do for them to get them ready for school each and every day.

Reminders

• Homework will continue to be issued each Monday and is expected to be returned completed each Friday morning.
• Thursday’s – Swimming – PE Uniform
• Library borrowing day is Monday
• Week 7 – Friday 8^th March (International Women’s Day) – Year 3B presenting on Assembly
• Week 9 – Wednesday 20^th March – Parent Teacher Interviews

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to me via SeeSaw messages or email – mlehmann@cns.catholic.edu.au

Kindest regards,

Maddi Lehmann

Year 3B Classroom Teacher

Dear Parents and Carers, 

Thank you for an incredible start to Year 4! How is it half way through the term already! We have worked hard to settle into routines and expectations.  

In Reading, this term we are learning how to comprehend texts and monitor our understanding by using our prior knowledge, vocabulary, self-questioning, and visualising. In Guided Reading, we are learning how to ask and answer questions related to what we read.   

 In Writing, we are writing imaginative, narrative poems. We are learning how to use figurative language such as similes, metaphors, personification and hyperboles. We are going to make them as entertaining as we can and put on a Comedy Show for the Year 2.  

In Science, we are currently  

On Tuesday last week we celebrated Shove Tuesday (Pancake Day) and Ash Wednesday. Students loved eating the pancakes together as a class. On Wednesday we received the ashes on our forehead in the sign of the cross.   

Some gentle reminders: 

-Please connect to SeeSaw if you haven’t already and turn notifications on so you don’t miss any messages 

-Library Day – Monday 

-Homework Day – Monday to Monday  

-P.E. / Swimming Day – Thursdays 

-Week 9 Wednesday 20th March – Parent / Teacher Interviews 

Any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me via SeeSaw or email at rbell5@cns.catholic.edu.au.  

Kind Regards, 

Miss Bell  

We began the term in P.E. with fundamental movement skills and teamwork games. Students loved playing paper, scissors, rock using hoops. We also began swimming lessons on Tuesdays where we learnt some safety skills and practised our strokes, floating and streamlines.  

Hello families and friends of Year 5, 

What a busy start to the term, it is hard to believe we are halfway through term 1. Thank you to all of you for the support, it has made each child’s entry into Year 5 confident and calm.  

Across English, the students have been deconstructing narrative texts to identify the structure, including orientation, complication, series of events and resolution. We have drafted and published stories together and now the students have a chance to get creative and sizzle their sentences. To make our writing more engaging, we can use a sizzling sentence that may include speech, sound words, lists or explanations.  

Over the last 5 weeks, the students have been touching on a range of topics in Maths. For example, we have looked at 3D objects and creating nets to match the object’s features. We have also looked at decimals, percentages and fractions and how we can represent class data, such as our height or our eye colours with these attributes.  

In Science the students have been exploring different types of matter and how we can perform reversible and irreversible changes. We have looked at what happens to balloons when they are exposed to heat vs when they are not exposed. Students have also planned and conducted their own experiment, where they needed to find out the quickest way to turn ice into water using different sorts of heat. An important part of this process in ensuring our experiments are a ‘fair test’, which means that there is only 1 independent variable that changes across the entire experiment.  

Year 5 did a fantastic job on assembly during Week 3, where we spoke about our Religion topic ‘love’ and a key scripture from John’s Gospel about Jesus’ new commandment.  We will continue to look at ways we show love through action, especially Project Compassion and the work they do to help those in need.  

Moving forward across the end of the term, the students will continue to receive homework on a Monday and visit the library for a book on a Friday. Thank you to all of those families who have taken swimming into their stride! It is great to be able to watch the students develop their swimming skills, even if the water does appear a little cool! 

In Week 10, Year 5 will be leading the Stations of the Cross in the lead up to Easter. There will be more information on this as the time gets closer.  

Gentle Reminders: 

- Homework given out Monday 

- Spanish is Wednesday 

- Art is Wednesday 

- Sport uniform Thursday (swimming gear labelled please!) 

- Homework due Friday 

- Library is Friday 

- Technology is Friday  

- Stations of the Cross – Week 10  

Wishing you all a safe and happy weekend!  

Kind Regards, 

Yr 6 Update   

Year 6 students have had a whirlwind start to the year.  These last 2 weeks we feel we are getting into a routine with working out our timetable and learning with stamina and meaning.

Our Leadership Day in Week 2  gave us good tools for the year. Miss Nadine was amazing with her knowledge and the team building games helped us connect with other students. 

Year 6 camp in Week 3 was an amazing experience and we all learnt a lot about ourselves and how to work as a team more productively.  The skills we learnt at camp will stay with us for a long time.

This week we were privileged to have our Leadership Badges presented to us at our Mass, and to stand tall and proud to recite our Leadership pledge.

In between all these events we have navigated Leadership roles, new responsibilities and Year 6 content in our curriculum. This has been a step up for our working brains, organisational skills and settling into work mode and expected behaviour in class. However we have met the challenges and  are looking forward to moving on to Fundraising and Leadership challenges.  

The next 5 weeks will be full of opportunities to shine as a Leader in and out of our classroom.