Dear Parents and Carers

It is great to be back at school and narrowly avoiding a lockdown as the term began.  I am very grateful for your assistance in meeting the current restrictions and wearing face masks when attending school.  Summer seems to have come early and the change in weather has certainly been noticeable this week.  With higher than expected temperatures projected for the remainder of the year it is important to remind all students to make sure they have their hat, sunscreen and plenty to drink throughout the day.

Term 4 is always a hectic one due to the fact we have so much to fit into a short time frame.  With people working so hard and with so much to accomplish before the end of the year, we need to more than ever be aware of our needs and the needs of those around us.  Be patient and generous whenever we can and when we find ourselves at the point of frustration, try to remember that others are dealing with life challenges themselves. They say Christmas is a time of giving and I hope that in this last stage of another busy and successful year we will try to give each other time, support and understanding.

This term we welcome some new staff to roles within the school.  In Yr 3 we welcome Ms Emma Perticato and Ms Rachel Reid. In Year 4 we welcome a familiar face in Ms Linda Jones.  Linda, Emma and Rachel will be working in their respective classrooms for the remainder of the term while some staff are on leave.  I am sure you will make them welcome and support them in their role.  I am very grateful to them for taking on these positions for Term 4.  

Have a great week.

Tim

The Rosary

October is the month of the Rosary. This is because the liturgical feast of Our Lady of the Rosary is celebrated on the 7th October each year.  The word Rosary comes from Latin and means a garland of roses, the rose is one of the flowers used to symbolise the Virgin Mary. The Rosary is a devotion in honour of Mary. With the Rosary in fact we meditate the mysteries of joy, of sorrow, and the glory of Jesus and Mary.

Our school will come together next week to pray one mystery of the Rosary with Fr Siby. 

Socktober-Mission Month

October marks World Mission Month, a celebration of the global work of the Church and the dedication of missionaries; religious and lay as they reach out and support children and communities in need around the world. 

Our school will participate in activities to raise awareness and funds for Catholic Missions from 18th to 22nd October. Children are invited to make a sock ball, participate in a sock ball shoot out and wear crazy socks to school on Friday, 22nd October. 

We are seeking donations of old, unwanted but clean socks and t-shirts to make the sock balls. If you have any donations, please drop them into the grey tubs near the office door. Thank-you. 

Our Year 6 Faith & Service and Environmental Pastoral Groups had a go at making a sockball ready for Socktober

Red Cross Fundraiser

A special mention to Stella Stewart and Arabella Robinson from Year 3. Last term, both girls set up a stall selling their own products to raise funds for the Afghanistan Red Cross Appeal. Through their efforts, they were able to raise $130 to donate. Congratulations!

Hope all have a wonderful week, 

Trina

SchoolTV

SchoolTV has partnered with Townsville Catholic Education to deliver ongoing support to parent communities, teachers, and school and pastoral support staff. The SchoolTV platform is integral as part of a whole-school approach to student wellbeing.  It is available to our parents and families. Each topic or edition addresses key issues using brief interviews with expert specialists, fact sheets, parent quizzes, recommended apps, books, and much more.

This month's topic is about Friendships and Belonging. Friendships, at any age, can be difficult to negotiate. SchoolTV provides a series of short clips and articles to help us, as parents, to support our children to navigate the challenges friendships can bring. 

Please click on this link to view SchoolTV Friendships

There is a range of other topics available on SchoolTV and these can be accessed on the school webpage, under the resources tab. 

Please contact the school if you have any questions about SchoolTV.

Swimming Lessons P - Year 3

As part of our school's HPE program, the students in Prep-Year 3 will begin Swimming lessons in Term 4. Lessons will be conducted at Tobruk Pool with qualified instructors. Lessons will be undertaken every Friday, commencing Friday 8/10 (Week 1) and concluding Friday 19/11 (Week 7). Students will have a supervised walk to the pool each week. It would be greatly appreciated if some parents were able to assist with this walk. Please contact your child's classroom teacher if you are able to help out. The cost of the lessons will be included in Term 4 school fees. We trust that our swimming lessons will be an enjoyable and worthwhile experience for everyone involved. We thank Luc Senent from Tobruk Pool and his dedicated coaches for ensuring our students are afforded this wonderful opportunity. The timetable for lessons is included in our newsletter.

T20 Blast Cricket (Year 1 -3)

We are once again fortunate to have been awarded a federal government Sporting Schools Grant. This term, students in Years 1 - 3 will benefit from having specialist Cricket coaches (Qld Cricket) providing skills in throwing, catching, fielding, bowling and batting. This will be an invaluable opportunity to learn new skills in fun, game-based lessons. The clinics will be conducted on Wednesdays (October 27, November 3, 10, 17, 24). These lessons will complement the existing PE lessons provided at Joey's.

Rookies Basketball Program

We are pleased to announce that St. Joey's will continue the tradition of providing an after school Rookies Basketball program (Prep-Year 6) in our school hall in Term 4. Townsville Basketball offers an opportunity to learn the basics of Basketball in a fun and safe environment. The program will run for 5 weeks on Mondays (25/10 - Monday 22/11). More information (cost, finish time etc) will be provided in forthcoming newsletters. This has proven to be a very popular program for our students.