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It is hard to believe that we are now entering the last four weeks of the school year. This year has been very rewarding and challenging at times, but it has also gone very quickly. As we move towards the end of the year let us work hard together to ensure the children end on a positive and memorable note. Your support is invaluable and needed if we are to be successful.
I would like to thank the P&F for their generous time to have discussions about the school and how we can move it forward in a positive way. The P&F have been currently looking at different suggestions to spend their funds. If you have any ideas please come to a meeting or send me an email.
We are constantly being contacted by new families wanting to join our family at St Joseph’s. I believe we have created an inclusive and welcoming school in the true sense of these words. We are extending our classes to ensure all local families can be part of our school community. Your ongoing support of our school is greatly appreciated, and should you know of friends, relatives or work colleagues who are considering schooling options for 2022, I ask you to encourage them to consider St Joseph’s as a preferred option. Should you or they require any further information regarding enrolment at St Joseph’s, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I am always happy to meet with people to talk about what St Joseph’s has to offer.
At any stage, prospective families are more than welcome to come along, tour the school and see firsthand the calm classroom environments conducive to learning.
School Fees
Do you know someone who would love to give their child the many opportunities that St Joseph’s provides to your child, but they think they can’t afford it.
Did you know that if you have a health care card then Catholic Education will pay 75% of your school fees?
Acting Principal Catherine McKechnie
This weekend our Leadership Team travels out to Cairns to participate in week of Professional development and strategic planning for 2022. We are fortunate to have visiting relief Principal Catherine McKechnie who will be running the school in my absence. Catherine is a very experienced Principal and she is looking forward to being part of the St Joseph’s community for the week. I’m sure our community will make her welcome.
29 October, is World Teachers Day – a day when we recognise and thank teachers for all that they contribute to each individual student and to the community as a whole. We are grateful for the quality teachers that bring St Joseph’s to life. We acknowledge your talents, your knowledge, your energy, your stress. I believe teaching is the most important profession and without great teachers we would not have great leaders, nurses, tradespeople, doctors, scientists etc, and not to mention future great teachers! Teaching is a vocation with immense responsibility but one that is tremendously fulfilling. Congratulations to all our St Joseph’s teachers on the magnificent work they do each and every day. We take this day to say a very big thank you.
‘Day for Daniel’
As part of the Catholic faith, Mary the Mother of Jesus is an extremely important person. One story that resonates with our older children was the time the young Jesus got lost from his parents. (Luke 2:41:52) Of course the story ends well, as after three days, they discover Jesus in the main synagogue. Most parents can relate to this story - that stomach churning terror when you realise a child is missing, even if only for ten minutes.
I'm sure you have at some time contemplating the grief of the Morcombe family and the tragic loss of the son, Daniel.
Today we remember not just Daniel but also the legacy his family has chosen to crate for him in the Day for Daniel National Day of Action to raise awareness of child safety, protection and harm prevention.
It is about educating children and adults about keeping kids safe through child safety and protection initiatives. It aims to empower our children to 'Recognise, React and Report' if they feel something is not right.
Each year our school, like all Catholic Schools in our diocese takes part in the Daniel Morcombe curriculum, which focuses on teaching children how to stay safe. There are parent support resources available here. Today as part of Student Protection week, students were invited to wear red clothing and participate in a walk around the oval in the afternoon.
Student Protection Talk
Next Tuesday Senior Constable Emma Wallace will visit the school to talk with each class about student safety. The content of her talk is aligned with the Daniel Morcombe program.
Staffing for 2022
Although we have little staff movement for next year, we have now completed recruiting for 2022. Class allocations will be announced at the beginning of week 6 and ‘Bump Up’ Day will be Monday 15th November 9:00am to 10:40am.
Year 5 Leadership Day
This Friday, our Year 5 learners took time out of their normal classes to begin their leadership journey for 2022. The purpose of this day, was to begin to focus students attention on their upcoming role as Leaders of SJW in 2022 and the qualities and strategies they would need to be great Year 6 leaders. Together they participated in various leadership activities including designing the senior school shirt for 2022. There was so much energy, insight and joy witnessed throughout the day.
As leaders our Year 6 students are called to lead in different ways: by modelling the way for the younger students, by taking on extra responsibly around the school, by leading assemblies, by leading sports houses, by engaging in our community service programs and many other ways. Overall, the students had a very positive day, which was enjoyed by all. Ms Edmonds and I were very impressed at how the students immersed themselves in the tasks and challenges. This evening they will continue building leadership skills as part of the traditional sleepover at school.
Survey
A huge thank you to everyone who has filled out our School Improvement Survey. If you haven’t not too late yet as the survey closes on Wednesday the 3rd November. It is so important that we get feedback from our school community so that we can develop strategic directions for the next few years. Our new St Joseph’s water bottles have been chosen and are currently being labelled.
Establishment of the School Board
St Joseph’s Parish School is establishing our first School Board. The school board provides the opportunity for members of the school, parish and diocesan communities to support the mission of Catholic education in the school by supporting the Principal. Please see the School Board Information Sheet attached.
On Monday 15th November at 6.30pm, we will be holding an information evening for all in the school community who are interested in becoming a School Board member. As such, we are calling on nominations to fill these positions. Interested members of our community need to write a short ‘expression of interest’ letter that outlines the nominee’s skill set and what they might bring to this group. These nominations will then be presented to the Board Establishment Committee which will be made up of the Principal, Parish Priest, Director of School Effectiveness and CES Parent Engagement consultant.
The purpose of the School Board is to support the Principal to effectively run the school. In addition to this the Board is responsible for policy review and have input into Strategic Planning, Budgeting and Master Planning. This team is essential in bringing different perspectives of our community together as we discuss and make decisions. They are also important links to the rest of our school community to ensure they are listening to feedback and sharing this information when we meet.
This year we are excited to be holding our first ever St Joseph’s Annual Awards Evening. This evening will be an opportunity to celebrate the many achievements of our students and share in the success of the 2021 school year.
We invite all families to join us at the Storm Shelter on Wednesday 24th November. Doors will open at 5:30pm with the awards starting at 6:00pm sharp.
All students are asked to wear their school uniform.
For each award category there are clear criteria that need to be met by a student to be nominated. Teachers can nominate students in any of these categories, with nominations approved by the Leadership Team.
Award Categories are as follows:
Year Level Awards:
- Academic Achievement Award- For first place in Academic Achievements in all Learning Areas and consistent effort in all areas of learning.
- Religious Education Award- For the student who has achieved outstanding results in the curriculum area of Religious Education.
- Citizenship Award- This award is for our all-round citizen, combining academic effort, Christian values, sportsmanship, leadership and relationships with staff, students and the Parish community.
- The St Joseph’s Way Award- For displaying persistence, organisation, resilience, confidence and the ability to get along with staff and students.
Overall School Awards
Attendance Awards -100% Trophy
-96% and above Medallion
St Joseph’s Star Awards are awarded to students in special recognition of their outstanding achievement over a sustained period of time in the following areas.
Sports Achievement Red Star - For a student who has attained high levels of sporting achievement and school representation.
Cultural Endeavour Purple Star - For any student who has displayed a significant involvement at a high standard in cultural presentations and performance. Has achieved quality participation or work in one of the following area: Music, Arts, Visual arts, Drama.
Service and Stewardship Green Star - For any student who has shown unselfishness and consideration by helping others in the school, parish or local community.
-In an exemplary fashion, has participated in a program or activity that benefits the school or local community.
-Has represented St Joseph’s Parish School with pride
All Saints Day
During the month of November, we are invited to remember and honor the saints in several unique ways. On November 1, is All Saints Day where we pay tribute to all the saints and commit ourselves to living lives of faith as they did. It’s nice to think of the saints as companions. A companion is someone who walks with us on a journey and spends time with us in conversation. We all need companions to turn to at important times in our lives and for some, saints can be that person to pray and connect with. On the feast of All Saints, we also remember that everyone is called to be a saint. As the Second Vatican Council reminded us—a mother or a father, a student or an attorney, a teacher or a janitor. “Saints next door,” Pope Francis calls them. All we need to do is to “live our lives in love” and “bear witness” to God in all we do.
All Souls Day
On November 2 is the Commemoration of All of the Faithful Departed, or All Souls. On this day, we pray that all those who have died, our loved ones, and also those people around the world who we will never meet, through the mercy of God, will rest in peace.
This weekend the Parish will hold the following Liturgy of Word with Communion Services. Please join us.
Sunday 31st 6pm Sunday Service
Monday 1st Nov is All Saints' Day 7pm
Tuesday 2nd Nov is All Souls' Day 7pm
DOGIT Day
On Wednesday 27th October Napranum Aboriginal Shire Council celebrated DOGIT Day by holding an Amazing Race. DOGIT stands for Deed of Grant in Trust and on October 27 1988, the Aboriginal reserve held by the Queensland Government was transferred to the Weipa South Aboriginal Council.
There were two teams that entered the Amazing Race from St Joseph’s and participated in four stationed activities and running races. It was a beautiful evening and a great celebration for the community. We would like to thank Napranum Aboriginal Shire Council for a wonderful event that brought many people together to learn about the history and celebrate Napranum as it is today.
Remembrance Day Liturgy
On Thursday November 11 we will be holding a Remembrance Day Liturgy. As part of this Liturgy we would like to show our respect and gratitude for War Veterans. If you have any images of family members who have served in war or conflict, could you please send them to Michelle Gear mgear@cns.catholic.edu.au along with the family name to be part of a presentation.
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Welcome to Week 4. It has been a very busy few weeks and the term is certainly flying by.
Over the last few weeks we have had many visitors to our school.
In Week 1, Sharon Brissoni - Consultant for Diversity Multilingual Learners (EAL/D) will visit on Tuesday 5th October to Friday 8th October to support teachers and students.
Week 2 Rebekah Wegner - Consultant for Inclusive Education will be arriving in Weipa on Tuesday 12 October – Thursday 14th October to support teachers and students. Also that week we will have Tosca Grainger - Dee our School Counsellor visiting Joseph's School from Monday 11 October – Friday 15th October.
Week 3 we have Stephanie Fox - Speech Language Pathologist and Zinna Aylward - Occupational Therapist from Cairns Catholic Education visiting for the week and supporting teachers and students.
In Week 4 from Wednesday 27th October to Friday 29th of October we have Mia Lumley - Psychologist and Verity Beams - Consultant for Diversity and Inclusion from Cairns Catholic Education visiting for the week and supporting teachers and students.
Next week Tosca Grainger-Dee our School Counsellor will be visiting us again in Weipa providing her service to St. Joseph's School from Monday 1st November – Friday 5th November.
This Term the teachers are in the process of writing Personalised Learning Plans (PLPs) and will be meeting with Parents over the next few weeks. 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
The 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.
Have a wonderful weekend and 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.
Today we celebrated World Teachers’ Day by showing appreciation for our hard-working teachers. At this morning’s assembly students from each class presented their teacher with a certificate and gift on behalf of the Parents & Friends Association.
Hello Prep Families,
We have had a very busy few weeks in Prep. We are preparing for starry, starry night and it is getting to that time of term where we are starting to look at report cards and the students are showing the us how much they have been learning throughout the year!
English:
Students have been doing some fabulous writing in the last two weeks. We have been focusing on the tricky words come and some and using them to write sentences. We have been doing lots of reading and it was very exciting to have Mrs Pearce come into our classroom this week to check out the students awesome writing!
Maths:
Students have just finished learning about sharing and enjoyed sharing their party bag sharing with you all on See Saw. We are about to start learning about adding.
Religion:
Students created their own rosary crosses to bring home and share with their families. We have been looking at the different prayers we say as we come to the end of October, the month of the rosary.
HASS:
In HASS this week the students designed their own playgrounds. The students had to create a map of all the different things they would have at their playground. It was great to see the student’s creativity when designing things and using their imagination to create castles and crocodile slides.
Technology:
Students have been using technology to collect and show data. They have been using See Saw to share some of their work with you at home.
Daniel Morcombe Curriculum:
We started our Daniel Morcombe curriculum this week we started learning about feelings in our bodies that tell us when we are not feeling safe and need to use our 3 R’s of Recognise, react, and report.
It was fantastic to see all the students coming in red to support Daniel Morecombe day at the school.
Thank you to all the parents and students that wished me a very happy world teacher’s day it made my day! Hope you have a safe and happy weekend.
Kindest,
Anneka
Hi families of Year 1,
We have been a very busy class this week learning about Koalas. Did you know they can sleep for up to 22 hours. Next week we’ll be learning about Kangaroos!
Across Maths this week we have been revising 2D shapes and their features and how they are different and similar. Students did some activities and craft to reinforce their knowledge on shapes.
I look forward to another awesome week next week practicing our Starry Starry night performances.
Hi families of Year 2,
Year 2 have been busy looking at persuasive writing and how we can structure an argument to convince someone of our opinion! This week we looked at ‘children should do no chores’…I’m interested to know whether they took their arguments home to you!
Across Maths this week, we delved back into addition and subtract and how we can solve different problems using strategies. Students did some small group work using dice, cards and our mini whiteboards to solve 2-digit and 3-digit problems!
In our Science unit, the students are looking at forces and how objects and living things may move through the air. Students were able to make a paper plane and demonstrate the ‘push’ that moves it through the air. We also discussed how birds fly through the air and how fish swim in the sea…amazing that forces make everything move!
I look forward to another productive week, and taking time top practise our Starry Starry night songs!
Welcome back to Term 4! I have been very impressed with our focus in Year Three and we have had many quality learning experiences. This week we have changed our seating and students are now sitting in new groups. This is a good opportunity for students to learn to work with different personalities.
In Writing, students are currently writing a poem review on Google Classroom which they will be recording next week. Our reading has been focused on fluently reading poems with expression.
In Maths, we have engaged in Maths groups on Money and Angles. Year Three have shown a great knowledge of these topics. We have been learning different strategies for our mental maths including the split strategy and how to use a number line.
In Science, students have continued learning about the changing states of matter. We have watched a number of experiments on melting and have learned how to write up a science experiment.
Our Geography lessons have been focused on a project on how to protect the Great Barrier Reef.
Just a reminder that students will need to wear a shepherd-themed costume for Starry Starry Night.
I look forward to more quality weeks of learning with Year Three.
Regards,
Miss Trudy Sinnamon
Year 4 have been discovering the Maths that doesn’t really involve working with numbers! Building upon our knowledge of 2D shapes and tessellations, Year 4 came up with some tessellation patterns that are now on display in the classroom. The students were up for the challenge that included making symmetrical and asymmetrical shapes work in a repeating pattern! We have also started honing our persuasive writing skills and have been enjoying sharing our opinions with each other. Topics have included learning an extra language, limiting screen time and whether or not siblings make the best friends.
These past two weeks we have been super busy with hands on learning across a number of Key Learning Areas. In our Writing lessons students put together their recipes to then present in front of the class. So far the Year 5 students have presented these well. Of course it has been nerve racking but the confidence needed has not been hidden. Next week we will have 6 more students to present their recipes and I’m sure they will do just as well as the others.
During our Science lesson last week students were experimenting how a well known root system adapts to the environment. Students were asked to replicate the wind, rain and tides. By the looks of it there were plenty of things to observe and record.
In Geography we have been trying to perfect the best looking compass rose during our mapping lessons. They already know the directions on the compass but were taught how to create a more artistically pleasing compass rose. We have also been learning about the countries within North America and Europe and its relative location to Australia.
Our Math lessons last week were about angles. Students were using the Spheros to create shapes based on accurate coding of angles. This week we have moved onto Area. Miss Baker our practicing teacher has been helping us understand area in comparison to perimeter. We are getting better at understanding the difference between centimeters and centimeters squared. More work around this over the coming week.
Some students have already started to hand in senior shirt design options for next year. These will be looked at in more detail and with the student votes on the best elements of the designs, we will hopefully have a final design within the next couple of weeks. This is a great first step for the Year 5’s so they can step up to be our leaders next year.
Yr 6 News Written by Yr 6
This term the Yr 6’s have formed 2 committees with the intention of making a difference in our school and to raise money to donate to a local charity. More information to come.
Recycling Committee Sydney, Aiden, Sarah, Levi, Leon
Mission Committee Sam, James, Noah, Sharli, Mitchell
IN CLASS
In Science we have been busy learning all about micro-organisms. We have carried out several experiments to test how mould grows and what conditions it needs to grow. We have also tested which bread goes mouldy first and why, using different varieties of bread and yeast content. At the moment the students are researching different facts about mould/fungi/bacteria and will be presenting these in class next week.
Problem-solving in Geometry and Measurement has been the focus in our Maths work. The students work with a different partner for each session, helping each other to use different strategies to work out the questions. Lots of discussion about the importance of reading the question properly and checking over work! We have all learnt the importance of being thorough when reading what the questions are really asking you to solve.
Our English unit has been exploring different lyrics and the meaning behind the songs. We have learnt a lot about what makes a song interesting, why we remember certain songs and the importance of rhythm and melody. Students are currently writing their own lyrics! The next step will be adding it to music.
YR 6 TRANSITION
On transition days all of the Yr 6’s from WCC met up with us on the basketball court at WCC. Then we all split up and went with different teachers. We found out lots about them, where they lived and what they liked doing in Weipa. Then we were able to go to the canteen and buy lunch. Once we had lunch we had a bit of a play and then we headed back to school. It was a bit nerving at first, but once we had a tour around and saw some familiar faces, things felt better.
We are pretty excited about next year!
Year 6 Transition Day at WCC photos
Congratulations to this weeks Star Students! Keep up the great work.
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What’s going on in P ED at St Joseph’s? |
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QLD CRICKET VISIT Last Friday we had our cricket ambassadors from Qld Cricket return, Trish and Gav. Each class had super fun drills, skills and games about catching and throwing balls. I had as much fun as the kids! The older grades either played Diamond cricket or T2 cricket, meaning that each player gets a bowl, a bat and to field. So every child is doing something and learning how to play as a team and develop skills! The younger classes played active games based on catching and team spirit, our favourite was the “Knock em down, Build em up”. Very accurate throwing was happening. All round it was a great day of enjoying cricket skills. Thanks to Qld cricket for your support and enthusiasm towards teaching our kids such important skills.
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NRL COWBOYS VISIT Wow! What an exciting afternoon we had on Tuesday with the Cowboys group. Yr 4-6 were very fortunate to have State of Origin player Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow as well as Romy Teitzel (Captain of the NQ Toyota Goldstars Womens side). The rest of the team were so friendly and Gavin, Romy and Hamiso gave the kids a run for their money during skills games. So much fun! A great afternoon of league skills and team building. The question time at the end of the session was valuable to all our students, learning how these people achieve so well in their careers with training, hard work and dedication to something they strived for and believed in. Thankyou Cowboys for coming to visit us!! We welcome you back any time. Thankyou to Emilie from NQ Bulk Ports for being with us as well.
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P Ed Lessons We will build on Cricket skills for the next 2 weeks, then engage in some obstacle type challenges for each class to finish off the year. I have focused on team building this term and guiding students how to be resilient during team sport, particularly when things go their way. Working together builds important life skills, particularly out of the classroom in an outdoor environment. Yours in sport. Libby Lange |
Hi I’m Tash Tapper and I’m super excited to be here and to have the opportunity to continue working at SJW next year. I have recently moved to Weipa from Geraldton, Western Australia with my husband Brad, son Blake and daughter Scarlett. I love the outdoors, the ocean, surfing, netball and being active. My family and I love Weipa so far and I look forward to continuing working with and nurturing the wonderful children of St Joseph’s.
