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Welcome back to another great week at St Joseph’s.
There is definitely a sense of positivity and energy amongst staff and students for the term ahead. Let's pray that things remain that way and we can continue in as 'normal' a way as possible for the remainder of the Term. While we are by no means back to normal just yet, we’re getting closer every week.
We are continuing our planning for Yr 6 camp and will be communicating with parents regarding this experience over coming weeks as we confirm arrangements considering COVID-19 requirements. We are also seeing the start of some events at the school and in the sporting domain. We look forward to trialling in these endeavours in a safe and well managed way that looks after the wellbeing of our community.
It is very important to note that our current focus is on providing opportunities for students to reengage, and later in the term, we will shift that focus, if appropriate, to reengaging the wider community back into the school.
It has been wonderful to have the AFL here again this week. Matt, Jake and the team do such a great job. A special thank you to Mel Turner whose attendance at the after-school session has made it possible to meet COVID-19 safety restrictions to allow our students to be able to attend.
Last week I had to unexpectedly be away on family leave. Thank you to Megan Newell who stepped up as Acting Principal and our other experienced staff who have supported Meg during this time.
While I was away, I had the opportunity to finalise the organisation of a special project to celebrate our five year milestone of the opening of St Joseph’s. I am very excited to announce that Josh Arnold will work with our students to write our own original school song. Josh and his team will be here in week nine to write, film and produce our school song.
Josh Arnold is a song writer, performer, music producer and film director with more than 20 years of industry experience from winning a Golden Guitar to having his music placed on TV programs around the world and played nationally on radio stations across Australia.
Josh continues to produce his own music while working with Schools, Communities, and various organisations to create original songs and music videos for his production company Small Town Culture.
Please check out some of his work on www.smalltownculture.com
Catholic Education Week
This week, Catholic schools across Queensland will celebrate Catholic Education Week. Although we are not celebrating as we usually would, we do have some special activities planned for students.
As we begin Catholic Education Week it is a great opportunity to reflect on what it means to be a Catholic School. Sometimes our school has been referred to as a 'private school', but it is important to note that we are a Catholic School, which brings with it some key points of difference from our Private, State or Independent schools.
The most significant of these points is that we have Jesus at the core, as our School Motto reads, Bringing Faith and Learning to Life. With Jesus as our model, St Joseph’s School assists members of its community to develop their spiritual, intellectual, emotional, social and physical potential so that they may 'live life in all its fullness.'(John 10:10)
What does this mean in reality? It means that we are about inclusion, embracing difference and are supportive of students and families who are marginalised. It means we have high expectations; however, we start from where you are at!
As a Catholic school with Jesus as our guide, it is fundamental to who and what we stand for.
Staffing Update
Maternity Leave- A huge congratulations to Akira Ernst who is expecting a baby in the near future. Akira has been our School Counsellor and Educational Psychologist since 2018 and we have been very grateful to have such excellent support. We wish Akira and her husband every happiness and look forward to her return in the future.
Welcome Tosca Grainger-Dee- While Akira is on maturity leave we are blessed to have Tosca Grainger-Dee join us as our school Counsellor. Tosca is a very experienced School Counsellor and will know many of our staff and students from other schools in Cairns. Tosca will visit us in Week 3 and Week 6 of each term.
Internal Relief Teacher- We have advertised for an Internal Relief Teacher for the rest of 2020. Should you know anyone who may be interested in this role please encourage then to apply.
Amanda Rowe is doing well and is expecting to have her baby around the 10th September.
Parent Teacher Interviews
Our parent/teacher interviews are being held this Monday 27th July to Wednesday 29th July, 2020.
Each interview is for a period of 15 minutes. Social distancing and hygiene practices will be in place. If not already done, please book in via our Parent Teaching Online Booking System (PTO) to make an appointment at your preferred time. If you are experiencing difficulty accessing the Parent Teaching Online Booking System (PTO), please feel free to contact our office staff and they will be able to assist you.
Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD)
Every year, all schools in Australia participate in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD). The NCCD process requires schools to identify information already available in the school about supports provided to students with a disability or students requiring additional support to access the curriculum. These relate to legislative requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005, in line with the NCCD guidelines (2019).
Information provided about students to the Australian Government for the NCCD includes:
- year of schooling
- category in which students receive support: physical, cognitive, sensory or social/emotional
- level of adjustment provided: support provided within quality differentiated teaching practice, supplementary, substantial or extensive.
This information assists schools to:
- formally recognise the supports and adjustments provided to students in schools
- consider how they can strengthen the support of students in schools
- develop shared practices so that they can review their learning programs in order to improve educational outcomes for students.
The NCCD provides state and federal governments with the information they need to plan more broadly for the support of students. The NCCD will have no direct impact on your child and your child will not be involved in any testing process. The school will provide data to the Australian Government in such a way that no individual student will be able to be identified – the privacy and confidentiality of all students is ensured. All information is protected by privacy laws that regulate the collection, storage and disclosure of personal information. To find out more about these matters, please refer to the Australian Government’s Privacy Policy (https://www.education.gov.au/privacy-policy).
Further information about the NCCD can be found on the NCCD Portal (https://www.nccd.edu.au).
God Bless,
Megan
This Week Let us include in our prayers…..
- Our fragile home; planet earth. May we dare to find new ways of living and working so that we do less harm to our common home and ensure the most vulnerable have food in their bellies and homes for their heads to rest at night.
- A proliferation of friendships within our local communities and abroad. May our humanity and hope foster new ways of relating and being near and afar.
- Catholic Schools and communities across the country. That we continue to strive to make a difference in the lives of those in our schools and 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.
- For those families who have recently lost a loved one. May you find strength to cope with the challenges ahead during the period of grieving. We pray that God’s great wings of love surround you during this time.
Sunday’s Gospel - 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Please find shared in this week’s newsletter: the Sunday prayer at home which has some wonderful resources to unpack this week’s readings in a family friendly way.
This week’s Gospel from Matthew is another Parable about the Kingdom of God. The question is raised for us….. Just what is the “kingdom of heaven”? There is no doubt that Jesus has a passion for the Kingdom and he wants us to share it. The Kingdom is a central feature in his mission of teaching and healing. But it remains elusive, even baffling, like the parables he tells that both hide and reveal this concept.
On Sunday Matthew’s Gospel brings Jesus’ Parable Sermon to a close with three more stories. Two of them call for decisive action while the third counsels’ patience. Something that is always a challenge for me! Faced with such different demands that we might well cast up our prayers for the gifts of wisdom as well. Sunday’s readings also reassure us that our lives are in good hands. We are surrounded by God’s loving purposes that will come to glorious fulfilment if we hold strong to our faith. Sunday Reading Reflections
Catholic Education Week
This week we are celebrating Catholic Education Week. Whilst the public launches may have been postponed due to the Pandemic, at St Joseph’s we are still going to celebrate and recognise Catholic Education in Queensland this week. Here are some ideas that you could do at home to Celebrate prayer life and the value of a Catholic Education:
Prayer Space:
This week you could create a prayer space in your home. This can be done with a small table and some coloured cloth that reflects the season in the Church year, we are currently in green for ordinary time. Find a candle and a crucifix (if you have one). You might also like to add some flowers and prayer stones. If you have a Bible it could be placed in the space as well opened to a favourite passage or story. Try not to over clutter the space. Keep it simple, students love to decorate the space.
Routine:
This week, try to have all of the family participate in a routine where they gather each day (perhaps before bedtimes). Each person might offer their own thoughts about what or whom they would like to pray for.
Pray in Creation:
Sit outside each day and take a moment to listen to the sounds, paying attention to what you can feel and see. Give thanks to God as you sit in stillness, peace and quiet.
Gratitude Prayer:
Share a moment of your day that you are grateful for with someone else.
Meditative prayers:
Practice silence and stillness. Light a candle to remind you of the presence of God and sit quietly alone or with others in your family. Close your eyes and become aware of your breath. You might like to include a mantra. Maranatha is an ancient Aramaic work meaning come Lord Jesus. This can be repeated gently with the breath. Spend 5-10 minutes (even a minute is fine and work your way up to five).
Traditional Prayers:
Traditional prayers can provide comfort in repetition and simplicity. They can help to refocus the mind. These prayers have been prayed by members of the Catholic community for the past 174 years as they celebrate God and their faith. Take time to say the Our Father and/or the Hail Mary. Perhaps you can pray a decade of the Rosary as a family and share who or what is your offering for the prayer.
Ignatian Examen:
This prayer comes from Ignatius Loyola the founder of the Jesuits (Pope Francis is a Jesuit). The Examen has 5 simple steps:
Stillness: Stop and become present in the moment. Let the ‘noise’ inside your head stop and be aware of God.
Thanks: Think of the things you are grateful for in your day. Don’t rush this- you might realise there are things you would have expected and yet some surprises.
Awareness: Think and pray a bit more. What is really going on in your mind and heart share your thoughts, and feelings with God.
Sorrow: Now share with God what you are sorry for and now name how you can do things better.
Hope: Look ahead to tomorrow. What is a positive way you could look at a new day?
Week 4- Whole School Liturgy
We will be having our first school liturgy of the word on Friday the 7th August. We will be celebrating Catholic Education Week and importantly the feast day of our second patron saint St Mary of the Cross. The students will be learning all about St Mary of the Cross (Mary Mackillop) with a particular focus on what she means to us here at St Joseph’s. One of the most used, motivating and known sayings of Mary Mackillop is ‘never see a need without doing something about it’. A motto that has become infused in the St Joseph’s Weipa spirit. We can all learn a great deal from the inspiration of Mary Mackillop, she was a champion for the poor and needy, she had no troubles rolling up her sleeves and getting her hands dirty, she believed in the importance of education, she was an advocate for social justice and she stood up for what was right no matter the cost. A true inspiration!
Curriculum News
Assessments
This week the staff worked collaboratively to examine quality assessment tasks. We identified the elements of quality assessments and reflected on the importance of creating assessments that were reliable, valid, engaging, inclusive and most importantly aligned to the Australian Curriculum Achievement Standard.
Teachers at St Joseph’s work hard to ensure that assessing students learning is an ongoing cycle. During each teaching period we use the student’s assessments to gauge what the students know, what we need to teach and where to next. Assessment is the ongoing process of gathering, analysing and reflecting on the evidence of students’ work to make an informed and consistent judgement to improve their future learning. This is done through three types of assessments.
- Assessment for learning, this is formative assessment used by the teacher to understand what it is that students already know so teaching can be planned and differentiated.
- Assessment as learning, this is formative assessment where teachers gather and monitor students working during the teaching cycle to ensure that the student is understanding the concepts being taught. This is important as it will identify any areas that may need consolidation or reteaching.
- Assessment of learning, this is summative assessment as it is completed at the end of the teaching cycle. This is where students’ responses to the assessment task are moderated and marked against the Australian Curriculum to measure how well they have achieved.
All three levels of assessment are equally important in all learning areas of the Curriculum.
May St Joseph smile on you,
Meg Newell
APRE/CST
Jake introduced the Prep, Year 1 and Year 2 students to the Program - Move With Deadly Foods Project (OTMWDF) which aims to educate and promote healthy food and drink choices and encourage regular physical activity.
The classroom session involved students working through a resource booklet, which aligns to the HPE Curriculum in a fun, interactive and educational session. Year 2 and Year 3 will participate in the Program - Move With Deadly Foods Project in Week 3 and Year 5 and Year 6 in Week 4.
AFTERSCHOOL AUSKICK PROGRAM 2020
On Thursday afternoon from 3.10pm - 4.10pm AFL ran an afterschool Program for Auskick for a maximum of 50 participants due to COVID - 19 regulations. The students had a great afternoon and at the end of the session received their AFL Packs.
Welcome back for Term 3!
We have hit the ground running this term. Our intervention programs are in full swing and teachers have been working hard getting Personalised Learning Plans reviewed and implemented for the remainder of the year. We have been extremely busy ensuring that all students are being supported to access the curriculum and the social and emotional needs of all are being met.
In other exciting news, we have started to roll out a program around the teaching of strategies to support students with learning self regulation and understanding what self-regulation is. The ‘Zones of Regulation’ is a curriculum designed to foster self-regulation and emotional control. The Zones curriculum provides a framework of support for students that are challenged with self-regulation but can benefit all people in general. Everyone experiences difficulties in regulation from time to time so learning about the Zones and how to consciously move between the Zones can help everyone. The tools that students learn to self-regulate are tools that they can take away and apply to all aspects of life.
The visuals that we use to actively teach about ‘The Zones of Regulation’ have been placed in all classrooms and areas where teaching and learning occurs. We will soon have more visuals placed around the school so we will have a constant reminder of the Zones at all times.
Warm regards,
Sigita Ulanas (LST)
Hello , I am very excited to be the newly appointment school counsellor at St Joseph's. My name is Tosca Grainger-Dee, I have had the pleasure of being a school counsellor for the last 10 years within our Catholic Education System, across primary and secondary school settings.
Just in case, if you didn’t know, school counsellors work in partnerships with families and school staff to support students in overcoming any social or emotional barriers to their learning, so that they can achieve educational success.
Some common social or emotional barriers to learning include: -
- Friendship issues
- Bullying
- Bereavement
- Parental separation
- Stress/worry
- Feeling down
- Self-harm
- Anger
School counsellors are committed to ensuring that all students have the skills needed for social, academic, and personal growth.
I look forward to working with families, students and school staff to support and provide counselling interventions to increase and promote positive relationships and optimal emotion and mental wellbeing.
Warmest regards,
Tosca Grainger-Dee
