Dear Parents and Carers

Welcome back to Term 2.  I am hoping this term will be a little more settled than the first.  It has certainly been a busy start to the term. I was really pleased to see such a wonderful turnout on ANZAC Day.  While this year our numbers were limited due to restrictions it was wonderful to be able to participate in the march again this year to commemorate ANZAC Day.  

Thank you for your participation in parent/teacher interviews this week.  These are a valuable way of staying in touch with your child's teacher and getting a snapshot of how they have progressed over the first term.  I hope these session were beneficial.

Our 150th celebration committee met last term to begin preparations for the coming event in 2023. A date for this has been proposed and will be confirmed at the next meeting.  St Joseph's is the oldest operational Catholic school in the Townsville Diocese so this will be a highly significant celebration for our school community.  The committee meets again next week and will finalise a date for the event.

Just a reminder about school uniforms.  Over the last week I have noticed increasingly the number of students with incorrect footwear and additional jewellery.  You can find our school uniform guidelines here.  Please take time to read through the document and ensure that students have the correct uniform.  

Parents and Carers would also have received an email this week regarding prep enrolments for 2023.  We begin interviews next week so if you have a prep aged child or know of someone interested in attending please contact the office to complete an enrolment form and to book an interview.

I hope that you enjoy the long weekend.

Kind regards

Tim

Season of Easter

Whilst it has been a few weeks since we enjoyed celebrating Easter with our family and friends, and enjoying some chocolate eggs, on the church calendar in are now in the Season of Easter. It is seen as a time of new beginnings, of joy, thanksgiving and a celebration of Jesus, the risen Lord. Easter continues for fifty days ending with the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Sunday. St Joseph's will celebrate Pentecost Sunday with prayers within each classroom.

ANZAC Day

Last Friday, students from our Defence families lead our ANZAC Day Liturgy. We were proud to welcome Major Gordon to this service. Major Gordon spoke to our students about the importance of ANZAC Day and why we continue to remember those who have served. 

We thank Major Gordon and families who were able to join us on the day. 

Congratulations to all of the students who represented St Joseph's so proudly at the ANZAC Day March on Monday. Despite the rain at times, these students demonstrated respect for those who have fallen or continue to serve. 

Our 2022 school captains present on the day laid a wreath at the Townsville City Cenotaph on behalf of the school. 

Project Compassion 2022

Over the Easter holiday break, Caritas Australia pledged to match any donations made. St Joseph's community had proudly raised $3000 and with the matched donations, it was equal to $6000. These funds will be shared in communities across the world to help those in need, access to clean water, materials and equipment for farming and education. 

A sincere thanks to all those who made donations through Project Compassion boxes at home and school, at our busking morning and through the purchase of icy cups. This year's efforts show that a little bit goes a long way.

Celebrating Mother's Day at Joey's

On Monday, 9th May all Mums, Grandmas and significant women in our school community are invited to celebrate Mother's Day. 

The day will begin at 7:30am with croissants and coffee. Our Year 6 Arts group will be entertaining all out on the school oval. 

At 8:45am, our Year 2 students will lead the Mother's Day Liturgy in the Hall. 

Click here to RSVP by Wednesday, 4th May. 

NAPLAN

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual national assessment for all students in Years 3, 5, 7, and 9. All students in these year levels are expected to participate in tests in reading, writing, language conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. 

Authorities provide parents with the opportunity to withdraw their children from the NAPLAN tests. If you do not wish your child to participate or if your child will be absent for the below dates, please contact your child's teacher.

If your child is away for a NAPLAN test, he/she will need to sit the test on the day he/she returns to school. Your child will sit the test in another room and won't be able to complete the same test as his/her classmates until he/she has caught up with missed tests.  

If your child is late for the NAPLAN test, he/she will need to sit the test in a different room (school starts at 8:30 am).  Click here for more information regarding NAPLAN

The Public Demonstration Site is a great way to explore NAPLAN online along with assisting students to navigate using the online tools. Our teaching teams have been working with students to ensure they are well prepared. 

Schedule for NAPLAN 2022 St. Joseph's (Timetable will vary if you have students at other schools).  

PARENT-TEACHER INTERVIEWS 

Thank you to all parents and carers for attending Parent-Teacher Interviews on Tuesday and Wednesday.  These meetings play an integral role in connecting you with your child's learning as well as providing the opportunity for us to work together.

We hope you enjoyed our new process of looking through your child's work prior to attending interviews (Yrs1-6).  The expression on the faces of some parents when they read the very entertaining stories was priceless.

Many thanks to our wonderful teaching staff who have worked tirelessly creating student portfolios and learning goals with students.

Julie Wallace

Learning and Teacher Adviser

Dear Parents and Carers

What a wonderfully musical start to Term 2! It always brings me great pleasure to know that music is such an important part of the St Joseph's School community. The instrumental music program is incredibly strong with over 150 students learning piano, guitar, singing, drums, and woodwind. What this means is that over 50% of our year 2 to year 6 students are learning a musical instrument and gaining valuable language, maths, and concentration skills whilst having fun creating music.

The Australian Government's Learning Potential site offers insights and support for your child's learning. One such article that relates to musical benefits can be found here.

Our school choir rehearsals have begun and the students have already shown great focus and ability. The choir's first performance will be at the Mercy Awards Assembly next Wednesday the 4th of May from 8.45 am. Parents are warmly invited to come along and support the award winners as well as the amazing young singers in the choir.

In classroom music this term, students are continuing to explore the elements of music with dynamics, rhythm, tempo, and pitch forming the basis of lessons so far. The students have been exposed to a variety of different sounds and have begun aurally recognising pitch. Some year levels have unfortunately missed lessons so far this term due to the Monday public holidays however, this coming week I will be with these classes to make up some lost time. I am thoroughly enjoying teaching classroom music this year and I look forward to further developing the music program at St Joseph's.

Mulkadee students and their families should have information relating to the upcoming workshops. Tickets for the Mulkadee concert are now available and can be purchased here.

As always, please feel free to reach out to me via email if you have any questions about music at our amazing school.

All the best.

Jason Bennett

To purchase tickets, please click here

Searching for Beachathon 2022 Logo Designer

All students are invited to design a logo for this year's Beachathon.

The theme for 2022 is STEP I.T. UP

I.T for Information Technology

I.T for Innovative Teaching

Stepping I.T up and being our BEST!

Kids can......STEP IT UP!

Entry Guidelines- 

*Design a logo is open to all Joey's students

*Only one entry per person

*All entries to be on A4 paper

*Can be hand-drawn or created on a computer

*No digital entries- all entries must be printed

*All entries must be handed into the office

*No entry fees

Entries close on Wednesday, 4th May at 9am

Logo Masters to vote for a design winner will be held on Friday, 6th May

This year, Joey's P and F invite families and members of our community an opportunity to provide sponsorship towards the 2022 Beachathon Fundraiser. 

The letter below provides details about 2022 Sponsorship Opportunities. 

The National Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD) is an annual Federal Government requirement for all schools within Australia. This data collection process involves counting the number of students who are receiving an adjustment or 'help' within the school context and the level of adjustment to enable access to education on the same basis as their same-aged peers. 

If you have any questions regarding this process at St Joseph's, please contact the school office.