As the term comes to an end, I would like to thank all students, staff and families for a very good start to the year.

The restructure of the School Leadership Team has been very successful, and I thank Matthew Brown, Megan Mahoney and Sarah Yates for the outstanding work they are doing across the whole school. Their leadership and support for all students, staff and families has been instrumental to creating positive change in the school.

I would also like to commend the work of our staff who are committed to providing high-quality teaching and learning as well as strong pastoral care of our students. In particular, I would like to acknowledge our new staff who have settled in very well and brought great energy and enthusiasm to the school.

NAPLAN Online

This year all students (Years 3, 5, 7 & 9) will sit their NAPLAN tests online, that is, on a laptop. The only exception will be the Year 3 Writing Test which will be hand written. NAPLAN Online is being introduced across Australia and will provide better assessment, more precise results and faster turnaround of information.

Over the last week the school has participated in a number of Coordinated NAPLAN Online Practice Tests. Staff have also undergone training in preparation for the change to the new system. These practice sessions, the staff training and further classroom preparation with the students will ensure that the school is ready for the successful completion of the actual tests.

We appreciate some students may become anxious about NAPLAN testing, so plans are also in place to ensure students are mentally prepared for the tests.

Please note that the testing period for NAPLAN Online is different to what is used for the written NAPLAN tests. For NAPLAN Online schools are allocated a testing window – May 14-24 – in which they can conduct the tests. St Joseph’s will be doing our tests from May 14 to May 17. This will allow us to get all testing done, provide time for catch up tests and allow us to free up time for our school athletics carnival and other school activities. Matthew Brown and Sarah Yates will provide specific details in due course.

More information about NAPLAN Online can be found here:

P&F Trivia Night

Last week the P&F ran a very successful Trivia Night. I am very grateful to have so many wonderful parents who readily given their time to support the school and students. The Trivia Night was certainly a fun night and a great way to get the whole Stanthorpe community together. Thanks to Jodie Cosmo, Dan O’Dea and the committee members.

I would also like to commend all who have given their support to young David Romeo and his family. David’s peers are looking forward to catching up with him and presenting him with some gifts to keep him busy and have some fun while he goes through his treatment.

Finally, I would like to remind all families that Easter is a special time in our Christian calendar. Over Easter we remember and reflect on the sacrifice that Our Lord Jesus Christ made for all of us. Importantly, I implore all students to remember and practise the Gospel Values Jesus taught us. It is the successful practise of these vales in our daily lives that define us people.

Have a safe and restful Easter break.

God bless,

Andrew Kendall
PRINCIPAL

DEPUTY PRINCIPAL (ACTING)

As we entered the last two weeks of Term 1, one could be forgiven for entertaining the thought, fleetingly, that school life would begin to slow as we progressed towards the first holiday period of 2019. However, this has certainly not been the case. Students and teachers have been busy finalising assessment requirements, with the Year 10, 11 and 12 students completing exams in offline blocks, with Year 7-9 students completing in-class assessment and examinations as the culminating point of the units studied. All students are to be commended on their engagement and positivity during Term 1 and deserve a well-earned break over Easter.

The Year 3, 5, 7 and 9 students undertook NAPLAN online practice tests across Week 9 and 10 in preparation for the NAPLAN testing period in mid-May. Further to this, the Year 12 QCS students also participated in practice sessions, refining responses to mock assessment instruments that built on the skills acquired through targeted learning in weekly QCS sessions. Both practice environments will build confidence for our students as they move towards the actual test instruments later in the year.

For Secondary parents, interim reports will be posted out over the Easter holiday break. Please discuss the feedback and results with your child, and do not hesitate to contact any of the staff if you require clarification or further information. A reminder that Parent Teacher Interviews will be held on the Secondary Campus on Wednesday May 1.

As we head towards the holiday break, we are reminded that this is a significant time for us as people of faith, as we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus. “May the risen Christ fill your heart with joy, bring you new hope and bless you with peace”. Happy Easter!

Matthew Brown
Deputy Principal (Acting)

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL-PRIMARY

The well-known saying ‘time flies when you’re having fun’ could certainly be said to apply to the Primary Campus this term! It seems incredible to think that we are at the end of the first 10 weeks of learning. Whilst many of the students – and teachers - have been tired during the last two weeks, this has not stopped such a lot being achieved. To name a few of these things, we have had the very successful busking performance where we won second prize in the Schools’ Section, Year 3/4 students have learned how to propagate plants, Year 3 and 5 students have completed the NAPLAN online practice tests, Catherine Travers from SDRC talked to some of the students about ways to conserve water and some students from upper primary participated in the Computational and Algorithmic Thinking competition. The Prep students have learned so much since starting school including how to write their letters and numbers and in the last two weeks, they have constructed alliterative sentences! When I spoke with some of them last week, they were keen to share their highlights of Term 1, all of which revolved around learning. It is such a delight to visit each of the Primary classrooms, to talk to the students and share in their learning experiences. Behind the scenes, the staff have continued to invest time in our Visible Learning journey to ensure that all students are working towards one year’s growth for one year’s learning. Whilst it has certainly been a busy term for the Primary Campus, we are looking forward to a well-earned rest before getting involved in all the opportunities that Term 2 will bring.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff and students for their commitment and hard work this term. I would also like to thank all the parents for their support. It is very important that we all work together for the benefit of each child in our school community and, with this in mind, I would encourage all parents to discuss their child’s academic progress and general welfare with their teacher early in Term 2. Details of Parent Teacher Consultations were sent home last week via Parent Paperwork.

I wish everyone a restful and enjoyable Easter holiday.

Easter Prayer

Lord, the resurrection of Your Son
has given us new life and renewed hope.
Help us to live as new people
in pursuit of the Christian ideal.
Grant us wisdom to know what we must do,
the will to want to do it,
the courage to undertake it,
the perseverance to continue to do it,
and the strength to complete it.

Sarah Yates
Assistant Principal-Primary

ASSISTANT TO THE PRINCIPAL-FORMATION AND IDENTITY

The Journey to the Resurrection

As the school term draws to a close, so too does our Lenten journey as we conclude our final two weeks of Lent and begin the story of Jesus’ passion and death. Each year our school gathers on the final day of Term 1 and journeys the Way of the Cross, or traditionally, the Stations of the Cross. This year, we will acknowledge this journey through the Scriptural Stations of the Cross, first celebrated by Pope John Paul II on Good Friday, 1991. This gathering provides a way of reflecting more deeply on the Scriptural accounts of Christ's passion, allowing our senses and imagination to be used more deeply. The images below are those which will be used for our journey. (Artist: Jenny Hawke)

BUSKING SUCCESS

Congratulations to all the students who took part in the busking event that took place in Stanthorpe on Saturday 23 March. There was certainly a lot of energy and enthusiasm in the Piazza at 10am and 11am that morning and the students enjoyed performing to a large crowd.

We were delighted to find out that we had won second place in the School’s Section and fourth in the People’s Choice category. Our prize money of $125 will be put to good use.

Thank you to Mrs McLucas and Mrs Barker for their help in preparing the students for this event.

Students showed the St Joseph’s School spirit with their participation in the recent busking event.

YEAR 5/6 CAMP

The time had finally come. We were off to camp! As we waved goodbye to our parents, we felt a little sad. However, once we got going the excitement on the bus took over. Some of us played cards and read books and all of us talked happily.

Before we knew it, we had arrived at Lake Moogerah. The first thing we noticed was the heat. It was boiling! Once off the bus we met our instructors who told us what would be happening over the next couple of days and enjoyed some delicious hamburgers for lunch.

Next it was time to explore our cabins and unpack our bags.

We were all split into three groups – Red, Blue and Purple. Each group got to design their own team flag. Over the three days we enjoyed many activities such as archery, canoeing, mountain biking, raft building and high ropes.

My favourite activity was archery where I nearly got two bullseyes. I think the teachers were all very relieved that we all managed to send our arrows in the right direction! I was happy to try some of the more challenging activities even though they were a bit scary for me. I felt so proud of my achievements!
(Abraham)

I really enjoyed canoeing, sometimes it was a little funny as we watched people capsize their canoes. A highlight was seeing lots of turtles while we were in our canoes. One of them looked like it was about 1 metre long! The high ropes were a big challenge for me, and I felt so nervous that my legs were all wobbly. I kept going and managed to make it to the other side. I felt amazing that I had achieved this.
(Madysen)

Friday afternoon came around quickly and the we headed back to Stanthorpe, tired and a little grubby, but so happy and proud of we had achieved. Many great times were had and lots of new friendships were made. Camp was awesome!

Written by Abraham Caruso and Madysen Doherty.

The Year 5/6 students had a wonderful time at their recent camp.

MAKING ART

To get students thinking about what constitutes drawing, the Year 7 students were introduced to non-traditional and non-conventional ways of drawing and mark-making. Inspiration was taken from Australian painter Lorna Crane to make their own brushes, choosing from a variety of natural materials, fibres and foliage from the local area. They used this in some experimental marking on different paper surfaces. and will use these to create a layered collage of their mark-making papers.

The body was also used as a medium for making art. Students looked at how drawing can be created by using the body as the primary tool in making marks and designing a composition. Students viewed work by Heather Hansen and Tony Orrico who create ‘performance drawings’ and use symmetry of movements of their body to draw large scale works.

Students then spread out in the stadium - armed with charcoal and laying down on large paper to create pieces inspired by these artists, moving their arms in symmetrical motions and patterns to create their own body drawing. It got a little messy, but students embraced a different way of drawing!

Year 7 students embraced learning different ways of drawing.

PROPOGATING PLANTS

In Year 3/4 Science this term students grew more than just in their minds. They learned about plants and their life cycles. They expanded their ‘scientist skills’ as they honed their observations and participated in many experiments including the highlight so far - propagating plants.

Mrs Williamson shared many of her skills, tips and tricks with students before they were able to attempt to grow their own plants from cuttings and from leaves of succulents. What a wonderful experience for students who can't wait to see the results of their handy work.

Year 3/4 students enjoyed learning about propagating plants.

BRINGING HISTORY BACK TO LIFE

This term, Year 8 History students have been studying medieval castles in Europe from 1000 AD to 1550 AD.

For their assessment task, the students had to explain why castles were built in the medieval period and how and why their design changed over time. They also chose one type of medieval castle to demonstrate the design features and constructed it out of various materials. The castles produced were the Motte and Bailey, Stone Keep and Concentric.

The students were super excited when Sophie Day produced her castle - a butter cake, with all the trimmings. This was devoured at the end of presentations. They certainly loved bringing history back to life with these beautifully constructed castles.

Year 8 students loved bringing history back to life.

BUDDING HORTICULTUARALISTS

The Year 3/4C class have been dissecting flowers to identify its parts.

Amongst the sneezing, they were able to successfully locate the stamen, pistil and pollen contained in the flower.

What budding horticulturalists we have!

VISUAL ART

Year 9 Visual Art students have become creative entrepreneurs in their first unit this term. Inspired by the recent trend of makers/crafters markets and online shops like ‘Etsy’, this unit merges the fields of art, craft and design.

Students were tasked with designing and making their own collection of polymer clay earrings based on the theme ‘Australiana’. They chose their own focus from this, sourced visual stimulus, developed slab designs and experimented with polymer clay techniques. Students also viewed the work of Australian polymer jewellery artist Molly Coombs Marr and contacted her to ask questions and advice.

This unit has seen students develop their conceptual, design and problem-solving skills, their ability to analyse and justify opinions of good and bad design, as well as inform their knowledge of the Art Design Elements and Principles. Students have invented their own business name and will be presenting their collection of earrings on display cards like those found in jewellery shops and clothing stores.

The Year 9 students have enjoyed learning about art, craft and design.

PREPPING INTO EASTER

In the lead up to the Easter, Prep students were delighted to make some treats for their Easter basket. On Monday, they made marshmallows and Tuesday they made Easter chocolate and Easter bunny biscuits. On Wednesday the biscuits were iced, ready for all the tasty treats to be put in their Easter basket to take home.

Preps were delighted to take their Easter basket goodies home.

QUEENSLAND SWIMMING TITLES-JESSICA PRADELLA

Congratulations to Jessica Pradella who represented Darling Downs at the Queensland Swimming Titles in Brisbane last week. Jessica placed 11th in 50m backstroke (one place out of the final) with a 1 second personal best, as well as 37th in the 50 freestyle and 23rd in the 100 freestyle. A wonderful effort. Well done!!

Congratulations to Jessica Pradella who recently competed at the Queensland Swimming Titles in Brisbane.

DARLING DOWN TRIALS-ERIC RICHARDS & BRAYDEN SPILLER

On Friday the 22 March, Eric Richards and Brayden Spiller attended the Darling Downs U16 Football Trials. The boys said they both played well on the day. It is a privilege to play at this level and both students should be proud of the effort they put in to attending these trials as ambassadors for our school. A big congratulations to Brayden Spiller who made the Darling Downs team as a shadow player. He is a year younger than most of the boys and was playing in a position he is not used too.

ANNUAL CROSS COUNTRY

Yesterday, the annual St Joseph’s Cross-Country was held at the Stanthorpe Golf Course. This is a great way to end the term with students dressing up in their house colours and supporting their fellow students.

The students were all in high spirits cheering on the different grades as some jogged over the finishing line with a gazelle like stride and some who just wanted to support their house by walking the course. The highlight of the day was the Prep to 8 year old students who are in a mad dash to complete their 250m race.

Thank you to the staff who helped with the day and a big thank you to the staff at the Golf Club who provided a canteen for the students. We extend our sincere appreciation to Symphony Hill Wines who sponsored the individual trophies and medallions.

BOOK FAIR ROUNDUP

Thank you to students and families for supporting the recent Book Fair! It was a busy but very enjoyable time for us, and we loved meeting and greeting parents, grandparents and family friends.

At this point we don’t have a final tally, but I think it will be very advantageous to the school. We will receive a high percentage of the takings as points that we can spend at the Scholastic site. This gives us a wonderful opportunity to build up the collection with titles, authors and information resources that we know the children will borrow and use.

Our next Book Fair is towards the end of Term 4, just in time for Christmas shopping!

Thanks again everyone.

Lesley and Josie

Book Fair is always an enjoyable experience for everyone.

TRIVIA NIGHT – 2019

Football, Meat Pies, Kangaroos & Holden cars!

This year the P & F Association held their “AUSTRALIAN MADE” Trivia Night on Saturday 30th March. We had 22 teams join us for a night of Aussie Trivia, with all the questions based completely on Australia. There were some outstanding teams who went to a lot of effort with their costumes.

We were again very fortunate to receive generous donations of round sponsorship money and donations for the Multi Draw raffles from both the business and school communities, which was outstanding. We thank everyone so very much.

Our winners for the evening were:

First Place Winners: The Kookaburras
Second Place: State A Fact
Third Place: 000 KNOW
Wooden Spoon: Let’s Settle It

Best Dressed Team: Happy Little Vegemites
Best Dressed Male: David Ball
Best Dressed Female: Kate Fittock
Best Team Name: Double Pluggers

During the evening the teams took advantage of the gorgeous photo booth created by Jen Wren, and many people stayed on for the Aussie Rock after party as well.

A Child-Minding Service was on offer for families, which was a fundraiser for the QISSN Netball Team. Our thanks to Aimee Coulston and her band of helpers for providing this wonderful service.

To support the fundraiser organised by the Year 7 Class for the Romeo family, we had a donation tin make the rounds with any donations gratefully accepted. A special mention and thank you must go to the winning team – The Kookaburras who donated their prize winnings of $240 to the fundraiser.

I would like to give a very special thank you to the committee who all worked so hard to make our Trivia Night such a success! - Dan O’Dea, Julianne O’Brien, Gianna Blaxland, Jen and Chris Wren, Kim Thiess and our MC Rob Reeves who again did a fabulous job. Thanks also to Michael O’Brien, Glen Brunckhorst, Michael Cosmo and Peter Alldridge who helped on the night. We are also very grateful to Andrew and the office staff for all the help they’ve given us throughout the organising and promotion of our event.

A massive thank you to all our sponsors and donors for the event: