The Lenten Season

Last week we begin the very important Church season of Lent. Our classes commemorated Shrove Tuesday with pancakes and we gathered together to observe Ash Wednesday – the start of Lent with a whole school liturgy led by our Year 4 students.

Shrove Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday occurs the day before Ash Wednesday.  It is traditionally known as a day of preparing for the coming season of Lent. "Shrove" is the past tense of the word "shrive," which means to hear a confession, assign penance, and absolve from sin. Shrove Tuesday is a reminder that we are entering a season of penance.  As Lent is known as a time of abstaining from certain things, in many cultures pancakes were/are prepared and enjoyed, because in so doing a family depleted their eggs, milk, butter, and fat which were part of the Lenten fast. That is why Shrove Tuesday is often known as Pancake Day.

Project Compassion

Shrove Tuesday also marks the launch of Project Compassion. On Tuesday, our school captains, Elsie, Quaid and Kynan travelled to Gilroy Santa Maria College in Ingham to attend the 2023 Project Compassion launch.

They joined with other Townsville Catholic Education school students to participate in the liturgy and hear Bishop Tim speak about the cycle of poverty and its impact on the world's environment.

Ash Wednesday – 23rd February 2023
Ash Wednesday signifies the beginning of Lent. Ashes are a symbol of penance made sacramental by the blessing of the Church, and they help us develop a spirit of humility and sacrifice. The ashes are made from the blessed palms used in the Palm Sunday celebration of the previous year. They are put on the foreheads of those who attend Mass or a liturgy on that day, as a reminder that their bodies are destined to return to dust too following their death. This represents a powerful symbol of mortality, and it spurs Catholics to make a genuine effort to live out the spirit of the Lenten season in as dedicated a manner as possible. At our Ash Wednesday Liturgy, we were asked to 'Make a new beginning with Jesus' as we were marked with the cross. 

2023 Project Compassion Icy Cups 

Our Year 6 Faith and Service group are excited to be selling icy cups again this term. Icy Cups will be sold each Thursday on the astroturf near Year 6. 

Hope all have a wonderful few weeks,

Trina

NAPLAN - Year 3 and Year 5

Please advise your child's teacher if you do not wish your child to participate or if your child will be absent for the dates below.

Schedule for NAPLAN 2023 St Joseph's (Timetable will vary if you have students at other schools).

How can I help my child be ready for NAPLAN?

You can support your child by reassuring them that NAPLAN is part of the school program and to simply do their best. Our teachers are providing learning experiences to familiarise students with the online platform and format of tests to ensure students feel comfortable with the experience. The Public Demonstration Site has examples of the online format. Further information regarding NAPLAN can be found here. 

If you have any concerns about your child’s participation, please contact your child’s classroom teacher or via my direct email below.

Julie Wallace

Learning and Teaching Advisor

jwallace@sjnwtsv.catholic.edu

Swimming Carnival

Despite the threats of inclement weather, St Joseph’s Swimming Carnival proceeded at Tobruk Pool last week. Our Year 6 seniors demonstrated excellent leadership, guiding their houses with rousing ‘war cries’ and preparing competitors for their events. This year, Benjamin had a clean sweep, securing both the Overall and Spirit Trophies. Ryan and Faulkner were great competitors and are congratulated on their efforts. Congratulations to our parent/teacher relay team, in keeping the winning tradition alive and well in our 150th year. No pressure. The day would not have been the success it was, without our incredible staff. In particular, we thank our amazing PE teacher Miss O’Connor for all of her efforts. A special thanks goes out to all contributors who made the day possible especially our parent volunteers who helped with set up and pack up. Our Interschool Carnival (A Schools) will be held on Wednesday 8th March at Long Tan Pool. We wish our Putney team, all the very best of luck.

2023 Putney Team

Year 5 - Isla Lorimer, Arabella Robinson, Stella Stuart, Julia Ponti, Meah Ronke, Asha Rule, Cooper Gianni, Charlie Joyce.

Year 4 - Alexandra Hunter, Chloe Cheetham, Phoebe Baker, Grace Wolanski, Sylvie Christopher, Harrison Chandel, Zachariah Gardner, Harriet Kelly, Harper Jurss, Caterina and Ava Armstrong.

Year 1 read ‘The very blue Thingamajig’ by Narelle Oliver and were inspired to create their own Thingamajig. Great art work displayed in the library.

Book Club

Students will receive their book club orders this week.

Readers Cup

If your child is in Year 6 and is an avid reader they may be interested in competing. We are meeting with interested students on Wednesday 1st March at second break in the library.  If I do not get enough interested readers I will give Year 5 the opportunity to participate.

This is a reading competition organised by the Qld Branch of the Children's Book Council of Australia. It is a state-wide competition for young readers. Teams of four students and one reserve together read a set of books, and then compete with other school or public library teams to answer quiz questions from the books.

Readers Cup competitions challenge students to read widely, work collaboratively in a team and continue developing a love of reading. It allows readers to compete at a regional and state level similar to sporting competitions and to meet other students with an equal passion for books.  

Visit the Readers Cup website http://www.readerscup.org.au/information.html for more information and resources.

Sora ebooks

I’ve been asked by parents if we can access ebooks.  The Answer is yes. On 15th June 2021 I did a lengthy post on the above Blog on how to log on if you need more details.  The short version is download the sora App.

This is the icon 

It will ask you to log in as your school but please choose ACEN members until your child gets prompted to use their personalized school log in.  If you have any questions please pop in before school on Friday and I can help you out.

Keep those books open

 Belinda Walker (Teacher Librarian)

From Wednesday, 8th March all students are encouraged to wear their 150th shirt each Wednesday. 

Please see below for updated uniform calendar for each year level. 

St Joey's Disco

The P&F are excited to announce the first Joey's Disco for 2023.  This is a wonderful opportunity for children and parents to gather socially.  As this is not a drop-off event, parents are required to be present with their child on the night and enjoy the entertainment.  Cold drinks and a sausage sizzle will be available for our students on the night. We look forward to seeing you there!

P&F Meeting Dates

The P&F meetings will be held on the following dates in the music room of the hall at 7.45am.  Everyone is welcome to attend.