Dear Parents and Carers

What an amazing, albeit very hot, swimming carnival it was last Friday.  As always, our student leaders and staff did an amazing job on the day to ensure another very successful carnival. While we certainly missed our usual venue, the staff at Kokoda were wonderfully accomodating and continue to be so as they host our lessons this term.  An enormous thank you once again to Anthony Meekin and his team of helpers prior to and on the day.  Anthony leaves nothing to chance and this means that these days are always successful but most importantly enjoyable.  It was very pleasing to see the parent/teacher team defeat the students this year after they were soundly thrashed by the students in 2019.  Once again, thank you to all involved.

Our school team for the interschool carnival has been selected and will compete in the 'A' schools carnival in week 8.  I am sure you will join with me wishing them all the very best.

A colleague shared a post from a legal firm with me recently that said, 'Dance like no one is watching....but text, email and post like it could be read in Court one day.' I thought this was excellent advice given some of what I had seen on social media lately.

Over the last few weeks, I have been shocked by some of the comments on stories I have read on social media. While these social platforms provide us with the ability to connect, inform and communicate they also provide people with the opportunity to make the vilest comments and observations, ranging from the ludicrous to the hate-filled racially intolerant, and everything in between. Nothing has made it more apparent that age restrictions on social media platforms are necessary, more so than the comments and observations made by people locally. 

These were not comments in some bizarre chatroom or thread, but comments made on local and mainstream media stories and posts.  Some of the sentiments expressed are beyond alarming and surely no parent or carer would want their child to read or be exposed to that kind of speech or ideology.  I would again urge all families to be aware of what access your children have to online activities and be informed about what they are exposed to online.  We work in our classes to help our students become responsible digital citizens and we need to ensure together that they have the skills to navigate the online world.

Exposure to this type of angry, violent, anti-social and concerning speech and behaviour is not limited to social media platforms.  If your child plays any sort of online game, most of which have messaging features, then they can be exposed to this in these games as well. We need to be sure we know what our children have access to and that they know what to do should they be confronted by something inappropriate online.  The office of eSafety is a fantastic resource for parents and carers and I would urge all families to familiarise themselves with the resources available on this site.

Have a great week

Tim

Icy Cups Don’t forget we are selling icy cups on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday after school to raise money for Project Compassion.  Icy cups are 50c each. A huge thank you to our wonderful school officers who have been making sure that the freezers are fully stocked with our cool treats.

Bushfire Appeal

A few weeks ago we held our free dress day for Bushfire Relief.  We raised $650. Thank you for your amazing support of this appeal.

Have a great week

Take care and God Bless

Amanda

Student Awards will be presented at Asembly on the 11th March @ 2pm 

4OH is class in the spotlight

http://readiscover1.blogspot.com.au/

Book Club: Our school runs book club approximately once a term. Your child will bring home a book club this week.  The brochure has age appropriate books to add to your home Library.  Having books at home for children to read at any time will improve their reading skills and knowledge of the world around them.

Please encourage children to purchase quality-reading material and to avoid any of the marketing gimmicks.  If a book seems expensive, it will be better quality (bookbinding and choice of author will be of a higher standard).

The brochure gives you the option to order directly online.  Make sure you select our school and the correct year level.  Our kindergarten will come up as a choice as well.  All purchases provide our school with 20% of sales in free books.

Book Club must be ordered by March 17^th.

Our wonderful volunteers who come in on a Wednesday will help process the order. 

Year 1: Last week we looked at the author illustrator Stephen Michael King.  The children were very inspired and recreated some of their own art using some of Michael’s patterns and motifs.

At home Reading Tip: Read with your child every day especially if they are in Prep-2.  At bedtime makes a great end to the day. Children in years 3-6 also benefit from being read to.  They may enjoy reading a chapter book together with you.  Lots of learning can still happen as children can enjoy listening to a harder book then they can read.

Ask questions that encourage your children to talk about what they have read. Questions such as: What do you think will happen next?  What do you like about the characters? Do you have anything in common or different with the characters?  What was your favourite part?

Year 5 Litpro: Congratulations to Caitlyn, Estella and Greta for receiving their reading certificates.

Overdue books: This week the library program has generated automatic emails to go to parents to let you know if your child has any overdue books.  Check your email and let your child know they can renew the book if they wish to keep it longer or just return it.  Thank you for your cooperation.

Happy Reading

Belinda Walker

(Teacher Librarian)

Last Friday, we enjoyed our annual St Joseph’s Swimming Carnival held this year at Kokoda Memorial Pool. The steamy conditions made jumping in for a swim very enjoyable. Our Year 6 seniors demonstrated excellent leadership, leading their houses with rousing ‘war cries’ and preparing competitors for their events. This year, Faulkner was victorious (narrowly holding off the fast finishing Ryan team) securing the Overall Trophy. The Spirit Shield was again on offer, with Benjamin taking the coveted prize. The parent/teacher relay team again triumphed over the spirited Year 6 teams. The day would not have been the success it was, without our incredible staff and parent helpers. A special mention to those who were able to help with set up and pack up. The success of our Joey’s carnivals would not be possible without the significant contributions of both staff and parents. Our Interschool Carnival (A Schools) will be held on Wednesday 18^th March at Long Tan Pool. We wish our Putney team all the very best of luck.

All students in Years 4 - 6 are invited to join our School Choir.

Mrs Bennett, Miss Higgins and Miss Donna are excited to start the singing on Tuesday afternoons from 2:50 - 3:30pm in the Music Room. 

Our first session will be a 'Come and Try' singing workshop on Tuesday 10th March. The permission slip is attached in this newsletter and there is still time to enrol.       Hope to see you there!

Mulkadee runs from 20th - 24th July, with the big concert on the night of Friday 24th.

Registrations are now open for students in Years 4,5 and 6.

Please click on the link below.  Applications close 27th March. 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSftO82ElOf6aQA7IXDK6JKbaPVOOUOopMFxw5mxpvpqcwtbqA/viewform

Central School Dental Clinic is currently treating St Josephs School. If your child/children are in Prep to Year 6 and you would like to access this FREE service could you please phone the clinic on 0436915759 to make an appointment to bring your child in.  If we are unable to come to the phone please leave a message and we will return your call. (This clinic is currently open every Monday and the occasional Friday)

School Dental Staff