Dear Parents and Carers

Thank you for your patience as our interrupted calendar for the first term begins to return to normal.  It was wonderful to see so many families attend class information sessions last night.  If you were unable to attend, I know that teachers have emailed much of the information presented to families.  The sessions provided a snapshot of events and curriculum offerings throughout the year as well as informing parents/carers of classroom expectations, communication protocols and other necessary information to support students in their journey this year.  As always, should you have any questions or concerns please contact your child’s class teacher to discuss these.  Alternatively, you are also welcome to contact Jan, Amanda or myself should the need arise.

Tomorrow sees our first major sporting event of the year take place, our swimming carnival at Tobrook Pool.  Our school has a very strong swimming culture and I am looking forward to a close contest between our house teams.  Mr. Meekin has again been at his best planning and preparing for the day and I am sure it will be another great experience for our students.  We are also hoping for slightly better weather conditions this year, as last year’s downpour made for an interesting event!  I am looking forward to seeing you there.

Next week we will celebrate our opening mass at 9am in the hall.  This will be a wonderful opportunity to gather as a school community and officially begin the year.  It will also see our Year 6 leaders inducted into their roles.  They will be presented with their badges during the mass.  This is a special occasion for our school and our new leaders.  I invite all members of our school community to attend this mass if possible.  Your support would certainly mean a great deal to our students.  I hope you are able to join us.

To all our families that have experienced difficulty during the recent weather event, I would take this chance to remind you that while the media hype may have lessened, and the recovery plan is well under way, if you need assistance as a family, then please do not hesitate to contact the school or our Parents and Friends Association.  The offer of assistance is not just a ‘once off event’.  In the weeks and months to follow you may find yourself in need of assistance in other areas.  Please be assured that if we can be of help, then you only need to ask.  Our thoughts and prayers remain with all of our affected families.

Have a great week.

Tim

World Day of Prayer Next Friday is World Day of Prayer.  This day is celebrated in over 170 countries around the world on the first Friday in March.  The World Day of Prayer aims to bring together people of different races, cultures and traditions in prayer as well as in friendship, understanding and peace.

To celebrate World Day of Prayer we will be coming together as a school community to pray.  We will be gathering in the Hall at 8:45am for Christian Meditation. We would like to invite all parents and friends to join us for this simple, still and silent form of prayer.

The Sign of the Cross

One of the first prayers and ritual actions your child will learn in the Catholic faith is the Sign of the Cross. Catholics are invited and encouraged to make the Sign of the Cross at the beginning and end of prayers and liturgical celebrations and it can be a sign of moving to a special time to talk to or listen to God.  God is named three times in this prayer. It is a mini creed that recognises and celebrates the Trinity. When we make the sign of the cross, we acknowledge our belief in the Word of God, our commitment to spread God’s Word in our daily lives and our awareness of God’s presence in our hearts. In other words, we pray that we should understand it with our minds, speak it with our lips and believe it in our hearts. Next time you pray as a family, take a moment to focus on making the Sign of the Cross slowly and reverently, reflecting on its importance in your life.

Adapted from http://bcewaystopray.weebly.com/week-19-10-16-june.html

 Image from http://www.orgsites.com/md/church-crafts-and-activities/SignoftheCross.pdf

Sacramental Program

On Tuesday evening we held our information session for the 2019 Sacramental Program.  Next Tuesday the children enrolled in the program will begin with their Reconciliation Preparation session.  We ask that you keep these children and their families in your prayers as they continue along their faith journey to become full members of our Catholic Church family.

Beginning of Year Mass

We will be gathering as a school community on Wednesday 27th February for our Beginning of Year Mass and Commissioning of Student Leaders.  Our Mass will be held in the Hall and we warmly invite all members of our school community to join us for this special occasion. 

Have a wonderful week

Take care and God Bless

Amanda

At St Joseph’s School, we are working as a staff to develop and implement our Pedagogical Framework. The student is at the heart of all we do at SJS. We use this Framework to ensure we have a shared vision for teaching and learning across our school. For our students, it involves them taking ownership for their learning.  

In 2019, teachers will be working with our classes on what it means to be a learner at St Joseph’s.

We would like to share some aspects of our Pedagogical Framework

At St Joseph’s Catholic School: The Strand we believe

• Children are a gift from the Lord.  They are a real blessing.(Psalm 127:3)
• Our learners are individuals with varying learning styles and interests.
• High expectations are essential for success.
• Learning must be engaging, future oriented and connected to the real world.
• Our environment is helping to develop independent, 21st century learners who are creative and innovative.

Every child has the ability to learn and

succeed

As teachers at St Joseph’s : The Strand, we work to

• Know our students.
• Know our curriculum.
• Know how to differentiate our teaching for each child.

Library Matters

http://readiscover1.blogspot.com.au/ Click this link to see articles on reading and other educational literature, photos of library events and any upcoming competitions.

Behind the scenes: The library landscape in general, including school libraries, has changed significantly in the last two decades. School library staff and leaders have seen a significant shift in the services and resources they offer, and the evolution continues. School library professionals understand the importance of promoting student engagement with the library and the educational benefits of reading for pleasure.

The modern school library is not just a book repository. It is a cultural hub, a social space, a centre for wellbeing, and a learning hub.

To improve our small library, we have put our heads together to innovate on how we can utilize this space better.

Children in years 1-5 have been invited to share what they want to see in their library.  What would make them keep coming back?  Their responses were inspirational.  Students were keen to have a reading loft, more comfy chairs, secret spots to read, a games room, and to be apart of organising what happens on a daily basis.

They also voted on the colours they would like to see.  The 2 most popular colours were lime green and sky blue.  The picture here was one of the most popular library designs liked by the students.

A new look library: With the children’s ideas in mind we have ordered some new furniture to make the library an inspiring place to be. A place where students can read, explore, meet, imagine, learn and grow. I think our space is too small to have a reading loft, but it is nice to dream and imagine.

Volunteers: To keep our library a vibrant happening place we need volunteers. Presently our teacher librarian works Wednesday – Friday with teaching being her main role.  To keep the following services functioning we need volunteers to assist with shelving, covering, delivering book club, Stocktakes, arty displays, data entry, lunch time activities e.g. share a skill for 15 mins e.g. crochet, art, macramé, dance etc So a big thank you to Deb Innes, Pat Sheriff, Miriam O’Donnell and Sue Gardner.  If you have an artistic leaning we’d love to hear from you as my artist is no longer with us.

Junior Librarians:  Each year I give an opportunity for students in years 4- 6 to apply to be a junior librarian.  Their role is to assist teachers with looking after books in the classroom, to assist their peers with borrowing and shelving and to run lunch time activities.  Each class will have 2 students employed in this position.  Positions will be announced soon.

There is always time to dream big

Belinda Walker (Teacher Librarian)

Swimming@Joey’s

We have an exciting time ahead for swimming. It begins with lessons (Years 4-6) and our annual carnival (8 – 12 Years). The Swimming Carnival program can be found here.

Carnival

Who: Students turning 8 years - 12 years in 2019 (Year 2’s turning 8 this year are invited and encouraged to attend)

Prep to Year 2’s (not involved in the carnival) will have ‘Wet Day’ activities @ The Water Park. Information to follow.

When: Friday 22 February (9.00am - 12.00 noon approx)

Where: Tobruk Pool

What: Annual Swimming Carnival (Freestyle & Relay Events - including parent, staff, student relay).

If any parents are able to assist, it would be greatly appreciated. The success of the carnival is reliant on parental support. Please advise the office or email Anthony Meekin (ameekin@sjnwtsv.catholic.edu.au) if you are able to assist with one of the jobs listed below. Parents are encouraged to walk to the carnival from St Joey’s at 8.30am if able.

This year parents/caregivers are not needed to sign a permission note for events where students leave the school grounds, as permission has been granted when signing section #26 (Student Enrolment Application). Information regarding all events will be communicated to parents/caregivers in advance and if a student is unable to participate the school needs to be notified.

Lessons (Year 4-6)

As part of our schools HPE program, the students in Years 4-6 will begin swimming lessons this term. Lessons will be conducted with qualified instructors at Tobruk Pool every Friday, commencing next Friday 15/2 (Week 3) and concluding Friday 22/3 (Week 8). Our St Joey's Swimming Carnival will be held on Friday 22 February (Week 4). Classes will walk to their lessons each week and parents are needed to assist with the supervised walk. If you are able to help, please contact your child's classroom teacher. The cost of the lessons will be added to Term 1 school fees. Please note that the lessons are Sunsafe and sun shirts are required.

Volunteers Needed:

7.00am - Set Up (Tobruk), Judges, Marshalling, Caps (for each House),

12.00 - Pack-up

Help Needed

If anyone has a ute/trailer and is able to assist in transporting our new Joey's tents to Tobruk Pool on Thursday 21st February (after school), please contact Anthony Meekin (ameekin@sjnwtsv.catholic.edu.au).

Prep to Year 2 Wet Play Day

Our St Joseph's Wet Play Day for Prep to Year 2 (those not attending the carnival) is Friday 22nd February at The Strand, Waterpark.

All students must wear sunsafe swimming clothing and may wear easy to slip on shoes to walk to and from the Waterpark (but must have their closed in shoes for school). They are to wear their full school uniform before and after the Waterpark visit. Parents are more than welcome and encouraged to assist in walking to the Waterpark.

Times:

Prep - 9.00am- 9.40am 

Year 1 - 9.40am- 10.20am 

Year 2 - 11.00am - 11.40am

Tuckshop 

Due to our Joey's Swimming Carnival and Wet Play Day (Friday 22nd February), our tuckshop will not be operating at first break. It will be open as normal for second break. 

TUCKSHOP NEEDS YOUR HELP

A call out to Parents/guardians

Tuckshop is looking for volunteers for 1 to 2 hours once a month. Please see Arlene @ tuckshop. Children are really excited when they know their parent will be helping at the tuckshop for the morning. Volunteer and make their day.

Due to our Joey's Swimming Carnival and Wet Play Day (Friday 22nd February), our tuckshop will not be operating at first break. It will be open as normal for second break. 

Thanks

Arlene