Welcome to our first newsletter of the year. The purpose of this newsletter is to keep you informed of the direction of the school, highlight past and future events that are happening in our school community and to share photos with you in a safe space.

Our Purpose

Research tells us, organisations that act with a sense of purpose, have a clear vision and direction, usually outperform other organisations and are more successful in what they do. Therefore, it is important that as a school we have a clear vision of what our school aims to achieve now and in the future. Our Purpose is a relatively new document for our school that I will again share with you and ask that you become familiar with it. Everyone in our school needs to know the purpose behind why we make the decisions that we make at ‘St Joeys’. Please have a read. 

So far this term we have had our Opening School Mass where we joined with Fr Dariusz in the church to induct our new Year 6 School Leaders and give blessings for our year ahead. Fr Dariusz joins us once a month and we always welcome his visits. In Term 1, he will fly to Weipa and can only stay usually over the weekend as he needs to get back to his other Parishes in Cairns. Term 2,3 and 4 he will drive up and we will be able to see more of him then.

The School Board met at the end of Week 3. I value this forum as an opportunity to discuss the ‘nuts and bolts’ of the school and to utilise their knowledge and wisdom to make future decisions for the benefit of our school. We are growing fast and are now at 160 students with waitlists in a few year levels. Maximum capacity would be around 190 students, so we do still have spaces available mainly in the upper year levels. Prep enrolments for 2026 are promising and we will have a full class in 2026. This then presents us with many dilemmas for space. We don’t have any extra rooms to use as a classroom. Future directions and funding of any new buildings are part of our discussions but it’s not a simple solution as finances are already stretched with the costs of existing loans and maintaining a school in the Weipa climate. I thank the board members for their constant insights and thoughts to help us navigate the future.

Our Parents and Friends met on Thursday night. They are a group of hardworking parents who assist us to keep the school functioning by organising functions such as BBQ’s, Sports Day Canteen, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day just as a few examples. They need more people to come along and help over the year. Please try and find the time to be part of this wonderful group.

Early in the Term, we ran our Volunteer Induction for parents wanting to assist at any of our school events or helping in the classroom. Thank you to those who attended. We will run another in Term 2 for those who missed it. If you are interested, can you please email secretary.weipa@cns.catholic.edu.au to register your interest. I will advertise another opportunity to participate in the Training in Term 2 for those who were unable to attend. Many hands make light work! We thank our talented ladies who helped label our sports equipment ready for use. 

Student Protection Contacts

We are fortunate to have 4 trained Student Protection Contacts at our school. All our Leadership Team completed the Training last year and will continue as our school contacts for 2025.

Attendance

School is important! There are high expectations on what needs to be taught and assessed in schools, and we need to meet these requirements. Our teachers do not have spare time to catch up students who have been away, especially for long periods of time. This is a reminder to please schedule your holidays during school holidays this year. I know this can be difficult with shifts etc, but it is your child who is missing out and will become anxious and fall behind if they feel as though they don’t know what’s going on. We have great teachers who do their best to help, but when there are multiple students away at varying times it becomes a difficult job. Please be understanding that you are helping them do their job by sending your child to school every day.

Lost Items

The number of lost items is beginning to increase again, especially hats. We can return them if they have a name clearly labelled on them. With the increase in headlice we will not be handing out spare hats if your child has forgotten or lost their hat.

10-year Anniversary

Next year we turn double figures! This is a date saver to please keep Friday 1st May 2026 in your diaries as a day we celebrate 10 years operating as a school in Weipa. I have many ideas and will share them later.

One of the ideas I am working on is to produce a traditional painting to commemorate the event. I am asking if you have the name of an artist in our Weipa area who can work with our students to create this piece of art work could you please email secretary.weipa@cns.catholic.edu.au so we can reach out and see how we can work together to achieve this for our school.

That’s it for now!

Have a great weekend.

Welcome all our new and existing families to 2025!  

As always at school, time is flying by. I can’t believe we are halfway through Term 1 already! The students and staff have all settled into the year nicely and are smashing goals.

St Joseph’s Parish

Please join us for our weekly Parish Church liturgies at the following times:

• 6pm Saturday
• 8:30am Sunday

Fr. Dariusz Osinki, our Parish Priest, joins us on the third weekend of each month.

Sacraments

A reminder that we are running our Sacramental program this year and to please see me if you are interested in Baptism and/or Reconciliation, Communion & Confirmation. Baptism is an option for students in Prep to Year 6 wanting to be baptised Catholic. Reconciliation, Communion & Confirmation (all three Sacraments are done together) are for students in Year 3 to Year 6, who have been baptised in the Catholic faith before our Sacramental Weekend in August this year.

There will be a Parent Information Session about the Parish Sacramental Program at 4:30pm on Saturday 15th March at the Parish Church where interested parents are to attend and receive information and paperwork needed for their child to complete the program. This will be run by Fr. Dariusz (Parish Priest).

Week 1 & 2

St Joseph the Worker

For Religion, each class focused on learning about our patron saint, St Joseph the Worker. What an amazing man, who was so humble in his role. St. Joseph's life was that of an ordinary working man, yet his ability to see and communicate the presence of God made him extraordinary. Although the Bible doesn't tell us a great deal about him, we can learn a great deal about the type of person St Joseph was from his actions.

We know from the things he did that St Joseph:

• Listened to God in his dreams and married Mary (He was obedient to God)
• Protected and cared for Jesus and Mary (He was courageous and loving)
• Put the needs of his family first (He was selfless and a provider)
• Was a skilled craftsman and worked hard to provide for his family (He was a worker)
• Acted quickly and when needed to protect his family (He was a man of action)
• Was able to hear and respond to the voice of God when he faced difficult decisions (He was humble)

 St Joseph was the man closest to Jesus. No other person in history, aside from Mary, was closer to Jesus or knew him better than Joseph. St Joseph worked side by side with Jesus teaching him carpentry. Not only did he teach Jesus a trade, but Joseph’s love and faith taught Jesus important lessons about dedicating one’s life and work to the service of God and others.

Our School Values

The students have learnt about our school values of Justice, Humility and Compassion, and how they can be just, humble and compassionate. Below are our school values icons. These came about from students’ ideas of how to visually represent each of our values. Thank you to Miss Rachael for helping to digitalise these designs last year.

Week 3

MTSS-E

This year we are working with the school community on our Multi-tiered Systems of Support & Engagement (MTSS-E). MTSS-E has three tiers, hence the name ‘multi-tiered’. This year our focus is on our Tier 1 practices for Engagement. Tier 1 is known as the ‘Universal’ practices, universal meaning what we provide for all students. This involves setting up whole school systems and practices to enable a unified approach to student engagement by all staff. It includes universal, evidence-based teaching practices.

Our Tier 1 focus is Engagement. Student engagement refers to the degree of attention, curiosity, interest, optimism and positive connections that students have when they are learning. This is achieved when students are provided the environment and support to become fully invested, have desire to learn, display a willingness to do the work, and want to gain a round understanding of the topic.

The MTSS-E observation focus for Term 1 is:

• Establishing Expectations & Routines
• Building Positive Relationships & The Classroom Environment

By the end of this year, it is anticipated that we will have embedded the following Tier 1 systems and practices for Engagement at our school:

• A defined, unified staff approach to facilitating ongoing student engagement
• 3-5 whole school values
• A matrix of expected student behaviour
• Documented procedures (routines) for ensuring predictability across school settings
• Systems and practices for acknowledging students for demonstrating expected behaviour
• Systems and practices for collecting, summarising and sharing incident data
• Defined evidenced-based strategies for engaging students
• Definitions of minor and major behaviours to support appropriate continuum of responses
• Systems for collecting data on the implementation of the Tier 1 practices
• An updated Whole School Behaviour Support Plan (WSBSP) that reflects these updated systems and practices

 Anniversary of the National Apology to the Stolen Generations

On the 13^th February it was the 17^th anniversary of the historic National Apology to the Stolen Generations. This Apology was delivered by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in the Federal Parliament on 13 February 2008 and was a historic moment for reconciliation and truth-telling in Australia. It is estimated that as many as one in three Indigenous children were taken from their families between 1910 and the 1970s as part of formal government assimilationist policies. It is important for us to acknowledge this event and for all Australians to better understand our shared history and the traumatic injustices committed against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the past.

On the 14^th February we celebrated Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day. Valentine's Day has its origins in ancient Christian traditions, stemming from the actions of Saint Valentine, a third-century priest who defied the Emperor's orders by marrying young lovers and left behind the enduring phrase, 'From your Valentine'.

Week 4

Opening School Mass

On the 17^th February we celebrated our Opening School Mass as a community led by our Parish Priest Fr. Dariusz. It was a hot morning in the church and the students were amazing and reverent in their responses, singing and listening. We welcomed our new students and staff who joined us this year and presented our 2025 Year 6 Leaders with their Leader badges. We look forward to a wonderful year of learning, fun and prayer together.Week 5

New family members

At our Week 5 Assembly we welcomed some new babies into our school community. These were families who were with us last year and added new additions to their families over the Christmas school holidays. Congratulations again to the Bakes, Cardelli, Christie & Poi Poi families. We loved meeting your little ones.

Week 6

Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day)

Tuesday 4^th March is Shrove Tuesday, better known by the students as ‘Pancake Day’. As the day before Lent, Shrove Tuesday is seen as the last day of fun and excess. Followers saw it as a day to use up all their fats and eggs, with pancakes being a good way to use them up — so the pancake-eating tradition began. This year, our Year 6 Leaders are making pancakes for all the students in the school. This is an example of ‘servant leadership’ where we demonstrate being good leaders by serving others, just like Jesus did.

Ash Wednesday

Wednesday 5^th March is Ash Wednesday. This is the first day of Lent and we will celebrate this event with a Liturgy where we have ashes placed on our foreheads in the shape of a cross. Ashes are placed on our foreheads for two reasons: a personal act of remembrance and as a sign for others. The ashes come from the burnt palms from last year's Palm Sunday celebration, which begins Holy Week.

Lent

Lent is a time of fasting, almsgiving & praying. During the Lenten Season, we ‘fast’ by giving up things we can do without, we ‘alms give’ by giving to those in need and we ‘pray’ more during Lent. Lent is represented by the colour purple and lasts for 40 days.

Ideas for the 40 days of Lent:

Fasting:

• Give up something (e.g. an app you spend too much time on, TV)
• Have less of something you enjoy (e.g. sweets, soft drink)

 Almsgiving:

• Donate to Project Compassion fundraisers at school
• Donate items to the local Community Centre
• Donate your time to help others or the environment

 Praying:

• Morning prayer to begin your day
• Mealtime prayers to thank God for all you have
• Evening prayers dedicated to others in need

Yours in faith,

 Julie Dore

Assistant Principal Religious Education (APRE)

jdore@cns.catholic.edu.au

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 Sandi Brown, our School Counsellor, visiting us in Weipa providing her service to St. Joseph's School from Monday 2^nd March – Friday7th March. Sandi is onsite every second week of each term.

Also next week we have Lorraine Carroll - Speech Language Pathologist and Sue Lewis - Occupational Therapist from Cairns Catholic Education visiting on Tuesday the 4^th March – Thursday 6^th March supporting teachers and students

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 a great for families to encourages 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.

Welcome Prep Parents and Carers to our first newsletter article for 2025!

We have been busy little learners in Prep so far this term and it is hard to believe we are halfway through term one already. Here in Prep we have been settling into new routines and learning the rules of our new classroom.

In English we have been working hard on our rhyming words and breaking words into syllables. Students have been working through their Initial Lit lessons and have been learning to work in groups for literacy rotations. We are beginning to learn about the letters in the alphabet and what sounds they make.

In Maths so far this term we have been learning to count to 20, how to subitising numbers, features of shapes and all about time. Students have been participating in lots of hand-on activities to assist in their learning. Our favourites are the magnetic shapes and playdough!

In Religion students have been learning about the creation story. In HASS we are learning all about our families and in Science the focus has been on living and non-living things. We are looking forward to the Cross Country run in week 8 and have begun running a lap of the oval in our morning fitness to help us prepare. We are also practising our Harmony Day song we will be presenting at our first assembly in Week 7.

Some gentle reminders:

• PE day – Thursday : Mrs Turner (Your child will need to wear their sports uniform and shoes).
• Library day – every Wednesday (Please return books in library bags).
• Homework folders to be brought in on Wednesday – this will begin next week (week 6).

As always, please feel free to contact me via e-mail ttapper@cns.catholic.edu.au or on SeeSaw. Thank-you for your continued support in your child’s learning in Prep this year so far!

Kind Regards,

Mrs Tash Tapper

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We have had a fantastic start to the term, engaging in a variety of learning experiences across all subject areas. Here’s what we have been working on over the last five weeks:

Mathematics
Students have been developing their number sense by connecting number names, numerals, and quantities. We have also been ordering numbers up to at least 60 through both explicit instruction and hands-on activities.

English
We have been exploring poetry, focusing on aspects such as rhyme and rhythm. Students have also put their own creative spin on well-known nursery rhymes. Additionally, we have been working on speaking confidently in front of the class while practicing respectful listening skills.

Science
Our focus has been on sound and light—how they are made and where they come from. Through discussions and experiments, students have been deepening their understanding of these fundamental concepts.

HASS (Humanities and Social Sciences)
We have embarked on an exciting journey through time by creating personal timelines. This has helped students understand the concept of past, present, and future in a meaningful and personal way.

Religion
Our discussions have centered around the wonder and beauty of God’s creation. We have explored creation as God’s gift and a reflection of His goodness. Students have also been introduced to prayers of praise for creation and ways to show commitment to caring for our environment.

Health
Students have been identifying their own personal qualities as well as those of others. We have discussed how these qualities shape our identity and influence our interactions with the world.

Technology
We began our unit by exploring what it would take to grow the ingredients for our very own pizza! This has led to discussions on where and how food is produced, the complexities of food manufacturing, and expanding our knowledge of food production.

It has been a joy to see the students engage with their learning so enthusiastically. Thank you for your ongoing support, and we look forward to continuing this wonderful journey together!

Best regards,

Amanda Peters

Hello families and friends of Year 2,

What a fantastic start we have had this year. The students have settled into the routines and expectations of life in Year 2. We are excited to continue learning new ideas and pushing ourselves to achieve great things! Thank you to the families who were able to attend our Parent Welcome evening last week and our assembly on Friday. The students did an amazing job reading and presenting.

Across our English strand this term the students have been exploring different imaginative texts and the characters, setting and plot that each story presents. We are learning to describe these different features in texts by expanding on our vocabulary.

Throughout our Maths, the first 5 weeks we looked at representing, ordering and naming numbers up to 1000. Students used concrete materials, such as MAB blocks to help show different numbers accurately.

In Religion, the students were exposed to the covenant (promise) that Abraham and Sarah had with God. We looked at some different covenants that the students may have at home with their parents, and how continuing to believe and trust in God helped Abraham and Sarah achieve his dream.

Moving forward towards the back half of this term, the students will continue to receive homework on Monday. Library borrowing is also Monday, and we ask that you please send books back that have a St Joey’s barcode.

Seesaw is an easy way to communicate with me, so please feel free to message me through this platform. If your child is away, please let myself or Miss Kathy in the office know as soon as you can.

In Technology this term the students will be designing an updated version of the Mission Bridge. For the hands on part of this activity, we will need building materials! Things like cereal boxes, paper towel rolls and any other materials suited for bridge building. If you have any of these materials at home that you can donate or that are ready to throw, could I ask that they come into school in a bag for us to use!

If there are any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Kind Regards,

Emily

Dear Year 3 Families,

They say time flies when you are having fun… so, we must be having lots of fun in year 3 as it is already week five.

Important information:

Homework goes home on Wednesday and can be returned on Tuesday.

Sport day and Languages are on Thursday.

Art is on Wednesday.

SEL is on Friday.

So, what have we been learning so far?

We have been learning all about living things and how scientists classify animals into groups. We have explored the history of Australia by learning about the First people of Australia. We have been fascinated by Connection to Country, the Dreaming, and what an Acknowledgement of Country means.

We have been learning all about addition and subtraction strategies. In English, our task to persuade Mrs Porter to add a new tuck shop item or start a kitchen garden is going very well. We have learned how to use high modality words like ‘absolutely’ or ‘undoubtably’ and evaluative language like ‘fantastic’ and ‘amazing’ to help us convince her.

In writing we have been working on cursive writing. In spelling, we have been exploring different spelling patterns and rules to help improve our accuracy. In reading we have been working in groups to increase our word knowledge, fluency, and comprehension.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to get in touch. We are looking forwards to a fantastic term ahead, filled with growth, discovery, and plenty of smiles.

Warm Regards

Debra Hamilton

Year 3 teacher

Email: dhamilton@cns.catholic.edu.au

Hello Parents and Carers of Year 5,

What a busy and wonderful start to the year we have had. The students and I have been really getting into “The Way of Dog” by Zana Frallion. We have been whisked away with Scruffity and Manpup as they adventure into the big wide world. In Math we have been exploring multiplication and division strategies to support us in working out one and two digit multiplication problems. In Science we have been exploring matter and how it can change into different forms. The students really enjoyed getting their hands dirty and experiencing Oobleck and making Jelly. As we dive deeper into History we are beginning to see the hardships of the early settlers and First Nations of Australia and how the states and territories of Australia developed. In Technology we are looking at food and fibre production in Australia. We are beginning to think about how we can grow our own garden in a sustainable way. We really enjoyed meeting our buddies in week 3. We will continue to help the Preps learn the way of our school every second week.

I am very proud of the Year 5’s effort on Assembly Prayer in week 4. We all voted on if we should have a song or not and if we would sing or do the actions. We ended up going with the song and actions. The students all came together to work out moves and then practised to learn them. After this we also wrote some prayers about our values, the students worked really hard on putting it all together. Well done Year 5!

Looking ahead, we have NAPLAN coming up and have begun practising in class. The students have been getting used to using the system and the test settings. Please if you have not yet, send in some headphones as we will need them for NAPLAN in weeks 7 and 8. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about NAPLAN.

Thank you all for the warm welcome to Weipa. I am really enjoying my time here and with Year 5.

Sincerly,

Lyndsey Fielding

Dear Parents and Carers,

Thank you for such a great start to the year. The students have settled in well, and we have established our classroom rules and expectations.

In reading and writing, we have been exploring portal stories, where characters travel through doorways into distant worlds. We have examined various class texts and identified character feelings based on their actions rather than emotions. This skill has been applied to our writing, along with using noun groups to add detail and create a clear vision in readers' minds.

We have just completed our maths unit on composite, square, and prime numbers. This work will continue to appear in their homework as revision for a few weeks to ensure the knowledge is retained. Students are now exploring number patterns, including fractions and decimals, and analysing patterns in nature.

In the coming week, we will be requesting recycled materials such as cardboard, bottles, and jars for our technology unit. Students are in the process of designing a toy for their Year 1 buddies. If you ask your child about their construction plans, it may help determine which materials will be most useful.

Thank you for your support!

Over the past couple of days, year 5 & 6 had a visit from Thaine & his team of scientist from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries & Forestry.  The students took part in a Biosecurity Workshop , the students loved and appreciated the opportunity to be scientists for the day.