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Dear Parents and Guardians,
Across the school we have been focusing on developing a growth mindset in order to develop positive learning dispositions. Those with a growth mindset apply effort and understand that effort helps to develop ability. They also utilise adjusting strategies when they come across a set back and seek help, rather than adopting an ‘I cannot do it’ or ‘I give up’ attitude.
You may have heard students talking about growing their brain with challenges, being in the learning pit or the fact that mistakes are a necessary part of learning.
The Learning Pit poster represents an approach we have been using with our students to help them develop into powerful learners. When our students are struggling with their learning they sometimes opt out, disengage or simply sitting very quietly hoping no one will notice them. Students too often rely on their teacher to show them how to get an answer – thus rescuing them from the hard thinking.
What we now know is that challenge is necessary for all learners as this is when deep learning and understanding occur. The Learning Pit strategy not only encourages teachers to develop better questioning techniques but also supports students’ resilience; their ability to cope when situations become tricky. When students recognise that we all experience ‘the Pit’ at times, and this is normal, and are supported to use different strategies to get them out of the Pit, their sense of achievement and confidence is increased.
At St Joseph’s we use the learning pit:
- Is a metaphor or analogy for learning. Everyone is encouraged to get in the pit!
- Encourages learners to take risks and stretch themselves with challenge.
- It’s the place where we may face challenge, adversity, setback and failure. This is where the best learning occurs!
- In the Learning Pit, mistakes are seen as opportunities to learn
- Learn to be comfortable being uncomfortable in our learning
- Know what to do when we don’t know what to do
- Experience the eureka moment
The following is a link to a youtube clip explaining the learning pit https://vimeo.com/117364809
God Bless,
Megan
Monday 29th July - Australia Zoo wildlife presentation (P-6) 11.00am
Monday 29th July - August 2nd - Catholic Education week
Friday 2nd August - Crazy Hair Day
Monday 5th August - Friday 9th August - Naidoc Week
Thursday 8th August - St Mary of the Cross Mackillop
Friday 9th August - Whole School Mass celebrating Catholic Education Week and Naidoc week.
Thursday 22nd August - School Photos
The Stop, Kiss and Go area is signed and requires parents to remain in the car as this is a drop/collect only zone. Overtaking and walking through the Kiss and Go zone is NOT permitted. Please be patient to help us keep all our students safe.
CATHOLIC EDUCATION WEEK
Sunday 28 July – Saturday 3 August 2019
Next week St. Joseph’s Parish School, Weipa will be celebrating Catholic Education Week.
The theme for Catholic Education Week in Queensland in 2019 is: Many Voices. One Spirit.
This theme has been chosen for its promotion and support of inclusiveness. The ‘Many Voices’ represent those of students, teachers, families, communities, parish, social services and government within all five dioceses in Queensland and include students of all educational ages (kindergarten to university), all genders and all beliefs.
‘One Spirit’ will be interpreted differently by different audiences and could include for example: faith, the Holy Spirit, charisms, or school spirit, team spirit, parish spirit, family spirit.
The theme brings feelings of energy, enthusiasm, love, joy, values, relationships, togetherness, learning, unity and belonging – all ideals relevant to Catholic schools in Queensland.
Loving God,
your Spirit is present in the many voices in our Queensland Catholic schools.
May your Holy Spirit unite us in faith, hope and love during Catholic Education week and promote and uphold the distinctive mission of Catholic schooling.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.
Have you moved? Gotten a new job? Have a new phone number? Perhaps a new email address.
It is important to update your personal information with the school. We need this information to contact you for a number of reasons but most importantly if there is an emergency. You are able to see your personal information on the Parent Portal if you would like to check.
You can update your information via the parent portal, emailing or phoning the office or come in and see us in person. Thank you.
SCHOOL UNIFORM
We have been noticing a lot of students wearing the incorrect uniform to school lately. The Uniform Policy has been attached for you. Please contact the office to explain any uniform discrepancies or if you have any questions. Thank you.
SCHOOL UNIFORM POLICY
The school uniform represents the pride we have for our children and our school. A smart, neat and user-friendly uniform encourages the children to take pride in their appearance and in the school.
The school uniform and accessories are only available through the school supplier. Plain black school shoes or joggers are to be worn with the uniform, and supplied by parents, not through the uniform supplier. The school uniform should be worn at all times at school. We realise that occasions will occur when this is not possible. A note of explanation should be forwarded to the student’s teacher.
Uniforms are available through Flexi schools. Orders are to be placed before 12:00 pm on a Wednesday to pick up on Friday morning. Uniform fittings are available by appointment throughout the year. Please contact the office to arrange a time.
Girl’s Uniform
- School shirt with school logo
- Navy school skort
- Navy ankle socks
- All black closed in shoes to be worn at all times (Students are not allowed to wear thongs to school)
- Black or Navy Crocs are allowed to be worn during rainy days in Term 1 & 4
- Wide Brim Day Hat
Boy’s Uniform
- School shirt with school logo
- Navy school short
- Navy ankle socks
- All black closed in shoes to be worn at all times (Students are not allowed to wear thongs to school)
- Black or Navy Crocs are allowed to be worn during rainy days in Term 1 & 4
- Wide Brim Day Hat
Please Note: It may be a great idea to put a spare set of clothes in your child’s bag. Accidents do happen and may we also suggest a set of socks.
Sports Uniform
- Sports uniform should only be worn on allocated sports days
- Girls - Navy skort with sports shirt
- Boys - navy short and sports shirt
- All black shoes with navy socks and the sports bucket hat to be worn for both girls and boys
On Cross Country, Athletics and Swimming Carnival, students are invited and encouraged to wear there sports team colours. Embley – Orange, Mission – Blue and Pine – Green. On these days we ask for no coloured zincs or coloured hairsprays to be used. Please note that parents are allowed to dress up on these days as well.
Hats
Students are expected to wear a hat at all times when outside. We cannot over-emphasise the importance of students wearing hats to prevent damage from the ultra-violet rays of the sun. No hat will result in no play and/or exclusion from outdoor activities. There is a girls and boys wide brim day hat and a unisex sport bucket hat.
Jewellery
The only jewellery allowed will be one set of fine studs or sleepers and a chain with some form of religious significance. Nail polish is not acceptable. Watches may be worn by students as long as they are plan and not distracting in anyway.
Hair
Hair, if longer than shoulder length for girls, is to be tied back with a navy blue ribbon or scrunchie. Boys’ haircuts are to be neat, tidy and kept above collar length. It is expected that hairstyles reflect the code of dress required by the school. The colouring of hair and inappropriate hairstyles are not acceptable.
It has been a great start back listening to everyone’s adventures over the holidays. This term the Prep students will be hosting assembly Friday, the 26th of July 2019. We are looking forward to seeing you all there. The students had an opportunity to choose a day to share their news. The new News Roster is below which will commence week 3, 29th of July 2019.
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
| Skyla | Leyton | Rowan | Blaine | Charlotte |
| Denson | Bryn | Kadence | Summer | Flynn |
| Kaylee | Joshua | Madison | Adeline | Kingston |
| Conrad | Femke | Ella | Drew | Parker |
| Connor | Cody | Aniyah | Niamh | |
| Nina | Chastyn |
During our reading groups we will be focussing on retelling main events from a text as well as making connections to our own experiences. This week’s book was: Big Rain Coming by Katrina Germein. In Mathematics the students revised their number knowledge through counting, number writing, placing numbers on a number line and identifying where in everyday life we use numbers.
We have an engaging and exciting Term 3 ahead of us in Year 1!
This term we will be exploring Entertaining texts and learning about Finding Tales and Losing Tales. Students will use a story map to orally retell, deconstruct, analyse and then construct Tales. Start brainstorming imaginative items to find or lose in an interesting story. In Literacy, we have been learning about contractions, past tense and using suffixes to change the meaning of words (jump jumped). Next week we will be practising our knowledge of split digraphs and the “bossy e” making vowels say their long sound. When reading, we have been focussing on paying attention to punctuation so that we can read like a river and not like a robot.
In Maths, we have been improving our number sense by practising different ways to solve addition and subtraction stories. Next week we will practise our doubles and solve addition and subtraction problems of near doubles (eg. 6+7). We will also be using our prior knowledge of 2D shapes to build new knowledge of 3D shapes. We will learn how to identify, describe and classify 3D shapes by their features.
We are learning about the different states of matter in Science. We will conduct experiments on changing solids to liquids and discuss the different reasons we need to do this in everyday life (eg. change chocolate to a liquid to ice a cake).
As a whole school, we have been exploring the Learning Pit and how it is important to have a Growth Mindset to overcome setbacks and achieve success. Year 1 are on assembly next week and the students will be sharing what they have learned. You are invited to attend Friday 2 August at 2:30pm in the flexible learning area.
Homework: Reading every day, maths game and spelling words
Please remember to place your library bag and homework folder in the red tub every Tuesday.
I am very excited for all the learning ahead of us this term. We have made a great start to our units and all seem eager to do our best.
In English we have been learning about persuasive texts and the language used to convince someone of your opinion. We will be reading a variety of texts and using them as writing stimulus. In Science, we are learning about the water cycle and how to use this precious resource responsibly. We will be learning about our local area in History and our culture in Health. For Visual Arts this term, we will be focusing on primary colours and making our own superheros using red, yellow and blue. These colours have superhero powers as they create all the other colours. In Religion, we will be learning about all the miracles Jesus performed, helping us to understand God’s nature and Jesus’ mission. We will relate this learning to our own life and the role we play in caring for others.
There are lots of other exciting things ahead this term such as the Colour run, NAIDOC week, Australia Zoo’s visit and Year Two presenting at assembly in week 5.
If you would like to discuss anything please send me an email or pop in to see me. My door is always open!
Welcome back to another term.
We have been busy with many new learning concepts and are keen to find out more.
In English we finished off our Poetry unit and have started to look at Information Reports. We are looking at the structure and are then learning about Language Features. Our vocabulary is growing with many new terms learnt each and every day.
Our Math lessons have been focused around learning our times tables. We will learn our 0, 1, 2, 3. 5, 9 and 10 times tables.
In history we discovered that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders tell stories that focus on the land owning us, not us owning the land.
In Science we are learning about the Earth, Moon and Sun, which is the theme for this years science week. The health focus is based on developing good friends and how to be a good friend. We have looked at what a friend is and how they make us feel.
Superheros are always exciting so our Religion lessons are a hit. Heros from the bible makes us realise those figures play a special role in some of our favourite bible stories. Our attendance has been amazing since returning this term with 19 out of 21 students here more than 90% of the time. Keep up the fantastic work.
Welcome back to another busy term!
The students have returned from holidays with a great work ethic and were all recognised as students of the week last week. They have been really supportive of their classmates learning by sharing their knowledge during group work.
In the next fortnight we will finish looking at the life of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ before 1755 and continue onto the next time period about the arrival of the first fleet. This unit will give students the opportunity to research, look at different sources of evidence and ask questions to deepen their understanding. Students will be presenting their knowledge and skills through artworks, diary entries and other mediums.
The science and health unit are integrated this term, both looking at packaging of foods. Students will be examining the best materials used to make packages through their scientific eye. They will then look at how these packages are marketed towards people to encourage them to buy the product from a health point of view.
In religion we have begun looking at the story of creation and exploring the three worlds of the text: the world behind the text, the world of the text and the world behind the text. So far we have started looking at the world of the text and how the author has included various elements to make the story engaging and able to visualise in our mind.
With all these busy units of work happening, attendance is crucial to best support your child to succeed. Even just one missed day is 5 hours of learning lost. This term our attendance so far has been fantastic with 17 of our students attending 100% of the time. Great work everyone!
In Year 5 this week the students have been learning all about Growth Mindset. They have identified if they have a growth or fixed mindset and developed whole class strategies for how to develop their growth mindset. They have incorporated the growth mindset philosophy into their thinking and language quite readily.
They have been working with 3 digit division in Maths; doing demand writing both with and without an image stimulus; Spelling Mastery; discussing time management and organisation for SEL and reading rotations. They started a new Religion unit about Jesus’ message; and started a Science unit about the Earth’s Place in Space.
Both of their teachers Yvonne Grant and Emma Dixon are very proud of how easily they have settled into their new routine. The students of Year 5 have been very welcoming, respectful and helpful. We are looking forward to working with these wonderful young people and guiding them in their learning journey this term.
Yvonne Grant & Emma Dixon
It was great to see everyone return to school rested and refreshed, ready for term 3. This term in Year 6 we will be studying lots of interesting things, and it is important that every student attend school every day.
In History/Civics we are learning about what it means to be Australian, with an emphasis on the wide range of people and communities that make up our nation. We will also be learning more about extremes of weather, including cyclones.
In Religion we have already begun looking at the different ways that the Church in Australia continues the work and ministry of Jesus in the modern world. In Health we will study the benefits of healthy living, with an emphasis on the food pyramid and the important balance of work, rest and exercise for adolescents and young adults. The students have been enjoying learning Auslan in term 2, and we will be continuing this one afternoon per week through term 3.
Underpinning all our work this term will be the whole school emphasis on having a Growth Mindset. Mrs Pearce has been speaking to us all about the importance of having a go, learning from our mistakes, and exercising our brains so that they grow.
We do not often have homework in Year 6, but all students should be reading at home at least 20-30 minutes each day, and those who are not confident in their times tables should be practicing these regularly.
Plans are well underway for our Year 6 camp. Please remember we will be leaving on Monday 7 October and returning on Thursday 10 October, and keep these dates in your diaries. More information will be available soon.
