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.

Last Friday our Diocese celebrated Principal’s Day. My preference is to try and stay out of the spotlight when I can and work quietly behind the scenes, but I was grateful for the acknowledgement and the hard work the students and staff put into a morning tea, making posters and writing letters to me for the occasion. I am the one who is thankful for being Principal of our school and leading a great team of dedicated people. Many thanks to Mrs Dore for organising the day and Yr 4 for presenting the beautiful prayer on assembly.

WEIPA RUNNING FESTIVAL

Congratulations to all our participants especially those who placed on the day.  Participation points gave us a second place but next year we challenge everyone to think about being part of the action on the day and joining in the fun. Well done everyone!

SCHOOL BOARD

The school board met for the first time last month. Our first action is to discuss how the Year 6 Leadership will role out in 2025. If you wish to add your thoughts, please fill in the survey sent out by Mrs Dore.

STAFFING

It is unfortunate that I announce we will be recruiting a new school Counsellor in the very near future. The position has been advertised and we are waiting for the interview process to begin.

We will miss Heather Alison and wish her all the best for her future endeavours. We will let you know as soon as we know who her replacement will be.

We welcome Mrs Elliot Sawdy to our school as a relief teacher who lives locally in Weipa. We are blessed to have Elliot helping us out to cover classes now and into the future when staff are unwell.

ATTENDANCE

Our attendance statistics are reflecting the number of students who have been unwell recently, while we appreciate that parents are keeping their children home when they are unwell, we are also conscious of the missed amount of learning. Please remember that it is important that they are attending school as teachers cannot make up the amount of missed learning time for every student. Also when booking holidays please avoid term time so the amount of missed school days is minimised.

Week 5 Term 3 2024 – APRE Newsletter item 

This term we have celebrated many special events already. We thank our St Joey’s Community for always having-a-go and participating in whatever opportunities come their way. Please spend some time reflecting on the events below and reading about some upcoming events this term... 

NAIDOC Week 

We commemorated NAIDOC Week with a whole school liturgy that was led by Year 2 students along with many of our First Nations students. This year the theme for NAIDOC week was ‘Keep the Fire Burning: Blak, Loud and Proud’. Throughout the week, we celebrated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. As Australians, we are fortunate to share our home with the world’s oldest continuing culture who have upheld their rich and diverse cultural traditions for thousands of years. We are thankful for the deep and enduring legacy of these ancient peoples and their contributions to our continent. We recognise and appreciate the land on which our parish is situated and the people who have nurtured it over time, the Alngith People. Together, let us continue to cultivate a spirit of unity and respect for all cultures and traditions within our community. This is how we, as a community, ‘Keep the Fire Burning’.  

 

Catholic Education Week 

We began our Catholic Education Week celebrations with a whole school Mass with Fr. Dariusz. The students all enjoyed some cake to celebrate and fun activities throughout the week, including our Just Dance night. We celebrate Catholic Education Week every year in week 3 of Term 3. It is an opportunity for all 312 Catholic schools in Queensland to celebrate and promote their distinctive mission and ethos. 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. We are Communities of Faith, Hope and Love... not only was this our theme for Catholic Education Week this year, but what we strive to be every day.  

National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day 

Celebrated on the 4th August every year, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children's Day was chosen in 1988 to communally celebrate the birthdays of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people taken from their families at a young age – the Stolen Generations. This day is a chance for all Australians to celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stories, language and the rich cultures of all First Nations Australians. At St Joseph’s School approximately a third of our students are Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander or both. We acknowledge the importance of sharing their stories, language and culture in our classrooms, not just on this day, but throughout the year. 

Feast Day of Mary MacKillop 

We celebrate the Feast Day of Saint Mary MacKillop on the 8th August every year. Mary is this first Australian saint. This August, let’s walk in the footsteps of Australia’s most loved Saint. Just like Mary MacKillop, let’s be fierce in the face of adversity. Let’s be fair and act when we see injustice. Let’s give love to those we encounter each day. 

“Let no obstacle deter us from proceeding with courage.” 
– St Mary MacKillop 

When Mary saw families living on the margins without access to education, she set up a school to teach children herself — regardless of their situation. She and the Sisters of St Joseph went wherever the need was greatest. And despite facing enormous challenges, they continued to walk with people every step of the way. It was more than 150 years ago that Mary and the Sisters of St Joseph travelled through the heat of the outback to some of Australia’s most remote communities. They were willing to do whatever it took to set up schools, so overlooked children could pursue an education, reach their full potential, and flourish. They gave up everything to live amongst the people they served and teach with love and compassion. They saw injustice and were fierce to act, so children wouldn’t miss out on fair access to education. They were Fierce for Fair. 

“Never see a need without doing something about it.” 
– St Mary MacKillop 

Information and image from marymackilloptoday 

Next week, on the 15th August, we celebrate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This significant day recalls the spiritual and physical departure of the mother of Jesus Christ from the earth, when both her soul and her body were taken into the presence of God. 

Ordination of Bishop Joe 

Next week we will celebrate a very special event for our diocese, the ordination of Bishop Joe. We haven’t had a bishop for two years now and haven’t had an ordination in Cairns since 1992, hence the excitement around this event! St Joseph’s Weipa will be represented at the ordination in Cairns by our Principal Kath Porter and two of our Year 6 students, Vanessa and Jed. But don’t worry, the rest of our St Joey’s Community will not miss out and are invited to view the ordination via live stream in our Flexible Learning Centre at 6pm Thursday 15th August. 

Julie Dore 

Acting Assistant Principal Religious Education 

Dear Parents and Guardians,   

Welcome to Week 5 and what a wonderful Term it has been so far celebrating Naidoc Week, Catholic Education Week and our annual School Dance. It was so wonderful to see all the students smiling and enjoying their dance productions that they have been working on and practising over the last term.

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 9/10 of this Term. 

Visitors 

This Term we farewelled Ms Heather Alison - our School Counsellor. Heather has done an amazing job over the last 18 months, and we cannot Thank her enough for all the time and support she gave the students, teachers and parents over that time. Best wishes on your new adventure Ms Heather. The position for a new School Counsellor has now been advertised.

In Week 4 we have Lorraine Carroll - Speech Language Pathologist from Cairns Catholic Education visiting and in Week 5 we have Zinna Aylward – Occupational Therapist from Catholic Education for a few days and supporting teachers and students. 

SEL Wellbeing Survey  

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 29/07/2024 and Friday 16/08/2024. 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 15 - 20 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.

From Learning and Teaching 

Wow what a great turn out at our Annual School Dance Showcase! The students did a great job at showcasing the skills learnt from last term in their Arts unit. Each year level showed their talent, personalities and enthusiasm when they were performing. I think everyone was impressed!

NAPLAN results will be ready to go home Monday week 6 of this term. Schools are just finalising their data analysis. An email will be sent to parents when NAPLAN results are ready to go home and parents will be able to retrieve them from the front office. So - keep a look out for that email. I have included a NAPLAN handout for parents to give you a bit more information on interpreting the results.

At the end of last term a ‘School Reader Record Form’ was sent home with students. This form was for students who would like to participate in the Premier’s Reading Challenge. Just a notice that the Premier’s Reading Challenge closes the FRIDAY 23 August 2024. Please return your forms by this date so entries can be submitted and processed.

Welcome to week 5 and the checkpoint for half way through Term 3 – time really does fly when you’re having fun!

It’s been a great start to the term and we have enjoyed our new units of learning in all subject areas.

In Religion, we’ve been learning all about ‘the golden rule’. We’ve been discussing the rule of treating others the way we would like to be treated and how this applies to our everyday lives. We’ve also been reading stories from the bible including the Good Samaritan and Jesus Heals 10 Men and how there were people in these stories who made good choices and people who did not.

In Maths, we’ve been working on building our number skills to 30 including modelling, sequencing, writing, partitioning and equal sharing. We’ve also been looking at measurement and how we can measure using informal units. These lessons have seen us working both inside the classroom as well as making the most of the cooler weather and sunshine outside.

English has us looking at lots of procedural texts and how we can create them ourselves also. This includes recipes and we’ve been lucky enough to make a chocolate cake. Next up we will be exploring the recipes of fairy bread, playdough and pizzas and of course will get a chance to make these as well ? We continue building our reading and speaking skills through learning new letters and sounds, tricky words, and practising our decoding skills. It’s been very exciting watching the growth in the children in these areas and I’m sure you’ve noticed at home too.

Science is an exciting unit this term looking at materials and their properties. We are enjoying exploring lots of different materials and discussing with the class how they could be used.

Technologies has introduced us this term to the concepts of software and hardware. We are enjoying looking at all the different types of software and hardware relevant to our lives and also intrigued learning about ones we didn’t even know existed.

HPE this term has had us exploring different games we can play and how we follow the rules of a game for enjoyment, fairness and safety. We have been practising our throwing, hitting, catching and running skills and are looking forward to moving into skipping very soon. Health sees us moving into our Daniel Morcombe safety units soon where we explore personal safety both at home, at school and out in the community.

Our focus in HASS this term is History. We have been enjoying learning all about how things and places change over time and have had a great time looking at toys and objects from the past (and making Miss Backhouse and Miss Rachael feel really old!!!!). We’ve also been looking at different celebrations that are celebrated by ourselves and others in our class.

In addition to our busy learning, we’ve also enjoyed other exciting things such as celebrating birthdays, special things happening for our families and our school dance night. We look forward to more exciting things coming up in the term too.

As per usual, we appreciate your support and commitment to your little one’s education and if you ever need, please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns you may have.

Many thanks,

Miss Backhouse and Miss Rachael.  

What a fantastic start to the term we have had. We are loving seeing so many smiling faces and getting to enjoy the beautiful weather. There have been a few times where we have taken learning outside and the students enjoy the change of environment. Just this week, we went outside to do some reading with a peer in the class and enjoy our oval space.

Our reading, writing and oral language has come a long way since the beginning of year. Learning how to use our bossy ‘e’ has been fun as we need to remember to apply the long vowel sound to the word and add the e on the end when writing. We have been enjoying our informative text unit and learning about how the texts are different to fiction/imaginative text.

In our Math lessons we started the term off with grouping and knowing how to share objects evenly amongst people. This past week we are back into addition and learning new strategies to assist us when counting bigger numbers. We will use some of these strategies when we do subtraction next.

Religion lessons have all been about seeing God’s presence and appreaciating the little things in life. We have learnt about God’s presence in the sacrament of batptism and also The Last Supper. Students have started to recognise God in the everyday things we do.

In History lessons we are learning about our families and what it means to be a family. As we know they come in all sorts of forms but having these conversations are great for the students as they see families that are similar and different to theirs.

Next week we start our PE lessons in skipping. If you haven’t registered your child yet for Jump Rope For Heart, please do so. We can’t wait to learn to skip and do some tricks with our skipping ropes.

Important Dates/Days:

Homework & Library- Wednesday

PE uniform- Wednesday

Father’s Day Liturgy and Smoko- Thursday, 29^th August

Pupil Free Day- Friday 30^th August

Year 1 Assembly Prayer- Friday 6^th September

Dear Parents and Carers,

Thank-you for an amazing start to Term 3! We welcomed two new students into our classroom this term, a very warm welcome to Theo and Indie. We also welcomed “Jef” the monkey who sat in Connor’s spot on the mat and in his chair at school. He joined in some activities with us too. We cannot wait until Connor is back in class with us and we think of him often!!

Year 2 absolutely loved presenting our dance “Hair Up” to you during Catholic Education Week. Students worked hard choreograph their dance and add in their own “freestyle” movements. Thank-you for your help in getting the students dressed to impress on the night!

We were lucky enough to have Miss Heather come into our class and read some stories with us for Heath this term. We learnt how to co-operate and work together, stay as a group and show kindness.

In Reading this term we are learning to understand and comprehend what we read through comprehension lessons. We are gathering many strategies or “tools in our toolbox” to help us understand what we read. Students are reading a range of fiction non-fiction and persuasive texts.

In Writing, students are learning about the structure of informative texts through videos and non-fiction books. We have learnt about the features of a non-fiction text and that they include facts. Students so far have learnt about the life cycle, appearance, habitat, diet and interesting facts about kangaroos, crocodiles and cassowaries. They will get to choose their own animal to prepare an informative text about for their assessment at the end of the term.

In Mathematics students have learnt to use a think-board to represent different multiplication and division strategies. We are also learning about directions and using Bee-Bots as part of our unit this term.

Students were treated to a visit from the Rural Fire Brigade where they were shown the truck and spoken to about what to do in a fire emergency. Students learnt to “Get Down Low and Go Go GO!” as well as “Stop, Drop, Cover Your Face and Roll”. All students were sent home with some information booklets and goodies to read through as a family. (See photos below!)

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. – Wednesdays (wear sports uniform)

-Assemblies – Fridays (all welcome)

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 3A and 3B Parents,

I hope this message finds you well. We've had an exciting and productive time in class, and I'm pleased to share what we've been working on in various subjects:

In our English lessons, the students have been exploring procedural texts. They are learning how to write clear and detailed instructions on how to perform tasks or activities. This skill is essential for effective communication and helps enhance their writing precision.

Our science curriculum has taken us on a journey to understand the fascinating phenomena of why day and night occur. We've delved into the Earth's rotation and how it influences our daily lives. Additionally, we've explored the concept of shadows, investigating how they are formed and what factors affect their size and shape.

In HASS, we have been discovering how laws are made, and why rules and laws are important. The students have also been studying the states and capital cities of Australia, we have also been looking at important natural features of Australia including the Great Barrier Reef, Uluru, Kakadu, Cradle Mountain, and Fraser Island.

In math, the students are applying their knowledge through mathematical modelling to solve real-life problems. Recently, they tackled the challenge of planning a dinner with friends, considering factors such as quantity, preferences, how much it will cost. This hands-on approach helps them see the practical applications of their mathematical skills.

Our religion classes have been focused on learning about our church and diocese. The students are gaining a deeper understanding of our religious community, its history, and its significance in our lives. This knowledge helps foster a sense of belonging and spiritual growth.

In health education, we are addressing the important topic of stereotypes. Through discussions and activities, the students are learning to recognize and challenge stereotypes, promoting a more inclusive and respectful environment. This helps them develop critical thinking skills and empathy towards others.

Physical education has been especially exciting with our focus on soccer and soccer drills. The students are not only learning the technical skills of the game but also the importance of teamwork and cooperation. This encouraged them to work together, communicate effectively, and support each other on the field.

Thank you for your continued support and involvement in your child's education. We look forward to sharing more of our learning adventures in the coming weeks.

Kind Regards Year 3 Teaching Team

Mrs Hamilton and Miss Peters

Hi Year 4 Families!

What a fantastic start to the term! We have begun some exciting units for English, Maths, HASS and HPE!

In English, we are writing a persuasive magazine article to convince people to travel to different countries! So far we have written about New Zealand, Fiji, Hawaii, Egypt and South Africa. We had Mr and Mrs Clark come in to visit us! They shared about their lives, culture and heritage in South Africa. We were able to use this information to help educate travellers about South African history and the value of learning from other cultures!

In Geography (HASS), we are creating a portfolio comparing two continents. We are looking mapping conventions! Ask us about BOLTS! See if we can remember what it stands for! We researched travel routes to countries such as Brazil, Zimbabwe, Egypt, Nigeria and Ecuador. Next, we are learning about climate zones and different biomes!

For the first half of the term, we’ve just finish learning about Basketball. We have learned about dribbling, chest and bounce passes, pivoting, offensive and defensive strategies, and good sportsmanship. Take a look at our mad skills!

In Maths, we completed a unit about grid references and angles in our environment. We mapped out Saint Joseph’s using these skills and even designed our own dream school! In Week 4, we focused on efficient strategies for addition and subtraction. Our assessment was an ‘Escape Room’ activity – we had to solve 9 problem cards using our most efficient strategies.

This is just the first half of the term! We can’t wait to share the second half in our Week 10 newsletter!

Hello families and friends of Year 5,

How good was our camp! The students were fantastic on camp, they got in and gave everything a go and it was great to see everyone getting along outside of the school environment. We have gotten straight into our learning this term, and the expectations begin to rise as we get closer to Year 6.

Thank you to those who were able to attend our School Dance last week. It was fantastic to see the students dance with independence and personality. Big thank you to Mrs Turner for teaching dance to the Year 5’s last term!

In English the students have been exploring persuasive texts and the different ways to engage our readers. We have explored the language features such as rhetorical questions, modal verbs, hyperboles and connectives.

Across Maths the students are working on multiplying and dividing numbers. We have been completing some tricky short division questions and rounding the answers out to decimals. We will start our new topic on gird coordinates, maps and symmetry.

Students have been busy in our other learning areas too. In Religion, the students are using the Bible to identify different symbols and actions that relate to the Holy Spirit, for example a dove sending a message or oil healing sick people. Across science we have been gathering information about light energy and how light moves and travels through different objects. The Gold Rush is the topic of conversation in History, and we have been learning all about the rare, important and precious substance Gold is.

Some gentle reminders as we head into the last half of term 3:

• Book Parade 23^rd August
• Father’s Day event 29^th August
• Parent Interviews Week 9

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Kind Regards,

Emily

Year 6

The school Dance has been the highlight this term so far. Our class really brought it together on the night with everyone stepping up to display another set of memorable Evolution of Dance moves!

Our exploration of Judaism has generated many deep and interesting conversations as we explore the rituals and traditions of this Religion. We are looking at symbols, Holy Days and tracking back to many stories from the Old Testament to make meaning of it all and connect the pieces to Christianity.

In Maths, the student’s confidence in converting the 3 elements of Fractions, decimals and percentages in real life situations has really consolidated. We are now moving on to Statistics, Data and Probability and how these 3 elements can be represented through graphs, surveys, timetables and other everyday occurrences. Good preparation for Year 7.

Learning to Persuade seems easy, but when you need to add in evidence, several devices and create your own article…there is a lot to consider. I am so proud of how hard the class has been working on this.  As a class we wrote about whether “Books or Movies were Better” and this week students chose their own topic. Some topics were “Is it important for children to play sport?”  “Should children be taught to save money?” and “Are Robots Important in our lives?”  Their use of modality words and connection to their own experiences has been a focus when writing persuasively.

In our Spanish lesson we discovered this amazing Underworld Museum in Cancun, Mexico.  I have attached the link and it is worthwhile looking at with your child. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWiI7AkDX-o

The Olympics have of course been central to our morning chats and are so inspiring!  It is linking so well with our Geography unit about Exploring our World and connections to Australia. Go the Aussies!