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- PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
- DEPUTY PRINCIPAL
- ASSISTANT TO THE PRINCIPAL PRIMARY
- ASSISTANT TO THE PRINCIPAL FORMATION & IDENTITY
- SECONDARY MATHS
- RUN AROUND QUEENSLAND
- ST VINCENT DE PAUL CHRISTMAS APPEAL
- SACRAMENT OF PENANCE
- LECURETTE TOWN FINAL COMPETITION
- YEAR 6 TRANSITION DAY
- WELCOMED DONATION TO OUR PREP ROOM
- REMEMBERANCE DAY
- PONYTAIL PROJECT
- CAROL UNDER THE STARS
- MOUNTAIN BIKE COMPETITION
- PRIMARY SWIMMING CARNIVAL
- BASKETBALL
- TUESDAY NIGHT SOCIAL BASKETBALL COMPETITION
- UPCOMING EVENTS
This week we farewell our Year 12's.
After 13 years of education they head out into the big wide world, ready for the challenges that life presents.
This time 20 years ago our first group of Year 12's graduated at St Joseph’s School. They have gone on to achieve much in that time. All speak fondly of their time here. Similarly, our current Year 12's will no doubt speak highly of the education they have had here and the friendships they have made.
We have been privileged to have such a fine group of young people as our Senior group in 2020 and all are grateful for the fine leadership they have displayed. I congratulate them for the high standards they have set for future Year 12's and their dedication to our Mercy values.
My thanks to the teachers and other staff who have worked with the students over the years and to the parents and caregivers who have trusted us with their education.
We pray for all the Year 12's as they begin their adult journey in life.
God Bless,
It is hard to believe that after the challenging year we have faced as a school community, and as a wider local and global community, that the year is coming to a close. On 13 November, the last exam as part of the External Assessment block for our Year 12 students finished. I congratulate all the Year 12 students on their wonderful efforts across this year, and indeed all their time at St Joseph’s. On Thursday 19 November, we fittingly farewell our Senior cohort at the Graduation mass and dinner, followed by our farewell Liturgy the next day. We wish all these students the best as they embark on the next stage in their young lives.
The Year 7 2021 transition day was a huge success and I thank all the staff and students involved for making the day enjoyable. It was terrific to have the new students commencing in Year 7 2021 join our current Year 6 students for the day, and we welcome them and their families to our community.
To all students, I wish you the best as your school year draws to a close. I enourage you all to work hard and complete assessment to the best of your ability. It has been a great year and we are looking forward to a positive end to the year.
Matthew Brown
Deputy Principal
ASSISTANT TO THE PRINCIPAL PRIMARY
Earlier this week we hosted the Granite Belt Lecturette Town Schools Final. This is a long-standing event on the calendar and offers Year 6 students the opportunity to write a speech on a topic of their choice and, if nominated as one of the school finalists, the opportunity to compete against students from other local schools. Congratulations to the following students who shared their speeches on Monday night: India St John, Erin O'Dea, Ashley Juriss, Lillian Kendall, Eden Shatte, Stella Rabic and Magnolia Mills. Following adjudication by three members of Stanthorpe Toastmasters, Ashley, Lillian, Eden, Stella and Magnolia have all progressed through to the District Final to be held on Monday 30 November. We wish the girls well. Thank you to Ms Thompson who, as well as supporting the students with their writing this year, also hosted the competition on Monday and also to the Primary Campus teachers who supported the students on the night.
Over the last 2 weeks, we have welcomed the Prep students for 2021 for their "Prep Practice Day's". Thankyou to Mrs McNichol and Miss Holly who made the transition days so very welcoming.
On Monday and Tuesday of this week, I had the pleasure of attending the Corwin annual conference where the theme was 'Moving Learning Forward'. With me was Mrs Charlton and Mr Page. Corwin is the organisation we have partnered with in the previous three years as we have embraced Visible Learning. Whilst the conference was a virtual one, we did hear from some key researchers and practitioners from around the world and learnt much about how we can continue to move learning forward at St Joseph's. We are looking forward to the opportunity to share our learnings with the teaching staff across the school with the aim of embedding Visible Learning further into the learning programs so that we can ensure that every student can be the best they can be. During the conference, I also had the privilege of sharing our story of the last three years with conference attendees from across the country. Certainly a proud moment for me to reflect on how far we have come as a school in the last three years and I thank sincerely the teachers for the way in which they have embraced the changes for the benefit of the learners. There is still much for us to learn in this arena as teachers and leaders and we are excited about the opportunities that 2021 will bring.
Sarah Yates
Assistant to the Principal Primary
ASSISTANT TO THE PRINCIPAL FORMATION & IDENTITY
The Year 12 Retreat from Sunday to Tuesday this week was a wonderful way to prepare for Graduation for our Year 12's.
Together with Campus Minister, John Mahoney, Mrs Sandra Ellis and myself, the Year 12's enjoyed their time on Sunday and Monday in Brisbane to reflect on their time at school and the future ahead. The students also had fun taking part in the Brisbane Storey Bridge climb and sharing some delicious meals around town.
The three days were capped off with a thrilling, but important, defensive driving course at Willowbank. Thanks to the P&F for helping to fund this course.
We wish all the Year 12's much success in the years to come. They are a wonderful group of young men and women.
God Bless,
Megan Mahoney
Assistant to the Principal Formation & Identity
The Secondary Students were recently presented with their awards after competing in the Australian Mathematics Competition.
Congratulations and well done to all students.
Tuesday 10th November, saw students from Year 2 and Year 3 complete an epic lap of the state; in their 'run around Queensland'!
Students enjoyed a wonderful cake for morning tea, baked by Mrs Stone and decorated with some icons of the places we virtually visited over the course of the last couple of terms.
A big thank you to Mr. John Mahoney and four of the future leaders of our school (Karla, Taylah, Gianna and Louise) who organised and cooked a sausage sizzle for lunch.
Now....where do we run to next?
ST VINCENT DE PAUL CHRISTMAS APPEAL
Help Support our Community this Christmas
Our Teen Vinnies Christmas Appeal is all about bringing joy and festivity to families and individuals who may be in need of some extra support. It is an opportunity for us to partner with our local St Vincent De Paul committee and put a little joy back into the lives of people calling on Vinnies this Christmas season.
Before our school year winds up, we are inviting you to join us in this good work.
Each class in our school has been given a basket in which students can place donated goods or vouchers. Students are encouraged if possible, to donate an item to the appeal and below is a list of suggestions that are not very expensive.
Because we want to treat everyone with dignity and respect (our Mercy Values), we ask that all food items are in good condition and not due to expire for at least 6 months.
Hamper Ideas
- Christmas pudding
- Pancake mix
- Long life custard
- Long life milk
- Tinned fruit
- Tea/coffee
- Shortbread
- Milo
- Jelly long life juice
- Christmas cake
- Cordial
- Rice
- Cereal
- Biscuits, sweet and savoury
- Tinned vegetables
- Soup
- Pasta
- Pasta sauce
- Tinned tomatoes
- Jam, Vegemite
- Gravy mix
CONGRATULATIONS !
Sending our heartfelt prayers and Parish congratulations to Grace Barker, Isabella Coco, Will Favaro, Fletcher Heads, Aiden McCosker, Liam O’Dea, Damon and Louis Pompetti, Patrick and Sarah Scudamore, Cooper Sulzberger and Eloise Verri who received the Sacrament of Penance on 5 November and Gracie Zanatta on 6 November.
Such a joy to meet with and journey with you!
Thank you, Mrs O’Dea, for stepping in to help too.
Peace be with you all, Selina Venier
LECURETTE TOWN FINAL COMPETITION
Monday 16th November saw 13 competitors from Stanthorpe State Primary School and St Joseph’s Primary School compete in the annual Lecturette competition.
7 students in total, with 5 of these students being from St Joseph’s, will go through to the next round, the District Final on Monday 30th November.
Well done to all students involved and good luck to those students competing next week.
On Monday 9th November, the Year 6 students, along with students joining our community in Year 7 in 2021, participated in a full day of activities on the Secondary campus. This builds up the transition program that has been facilitated across the year, with the Year 6's engaging in lessons on Secondary on a weekly basis.
The students commenced the day in Home Economics and STEM, enjoying some wonderful activities with Mr Steele and Mrs Wockner. During the STEM lesson for the Year 6 transition day, students were able to explore the digital world and experience different job avenues that they might want to persue in the future. They all managed to create and code a game using a website called “Scratch”.
In the middle session, the students interacted with the Year 8 Maths classes as part of the Carnival of Chance. A variety of games were on offer, with the most popular including Balloon Pop, Pie Face, Lucky Tubs, Duck Points and Lolly Toss. These games form part of the Probability Unit for Year 8 Maths, with Year 8 students collecting data to analyse as part of their Problem Solving Task for this semester. All in all, both Year 8 And Year 6 gave the Carnival a big “thumbs up”!
While the Year 6 students were engaged in the “Carnival of Chance” Year 11 Prefects were cooking and preparing lunch to share. The lunch menu consisted of a sausage sizzle, juice box and a water ice block. Not only did the Year 6’s enjoy their lunch but they also got to share food in communion with the year 11’s who will be their buddies for next year.
At the conclusion of lunch, the House Captain’s for Davadi and McAuley discussed their House goals for 2021 and organised trivia and small games. The two Houses were split and the House captains ran trivia Kahoot that broadened knowledge of Ft. Davadi and Catherine McAuley, the House’s name sakes. After trivia the year 6’s played some Futsal as so the House Captains could increase House spirit. To finish the day, the students entered the world of code breaking, participating in Science escape room challenges with Mr Citrigno and Mrs Butson.
It was a wonderful day and we look forward to welcoming the Year 6's fulltime to the secondary campus in 20201.
WELCOMED DONATION TO OUR PREP ROOM
A huge thank you to Edith and Sal Boccari from Stanthorpe Furniture Emporium who recently donated a bright orange couch for the Prep room.
The Preps are so excited to see a new couch in the Prep classroom. They have warmed to it already using it for reading times, sitting and chatting to their friends, working on their iPads and sitting and sharing their show and share news with the whole class. We are sure the current Preps and future Preps will have lots of fun learning times on and around the couch for many years to come.
It has made the Prep classroom look and feel brighter having such a generous donation from a local business and the Preps and Mrs McNichol feel very honoured and grateful to have received this lovely couch in their classroom.
Remembrance Day is dedicated to Australians who died as a result of war, particularly from World War I onwards.
Students and Staff at St Joesph's, at 11am observed a minute of silence, dedicated to the deceased, especially for soldiers who died fighting to protect the nation.
17 girls gave up their locks this week for The Ponytail Project - a fundraising event for the Cancer Council which supports families going through their cancer journey.
Organised and led by Year 10 students Mackenzie Swan, Natasha Brierley and Caitlyn Hennoste, they were joined by 8 other high school students, 3 primary students and 3 teachers who together, as part of the St Joey's team, raised $10 582 - what an AMAZING achievement!
The big finale on Thursday 12 November saw all girls get the chop - with most donating hair of 20cm or more which will go towards making wigs for cancer patients. It was such a positive experience to be a part of and demonstrated the way students of St Joseph's show service to others.
Thank you to all who donated either with cash donations or online. We are very proud of the girls and their efforts to support and raise awareness for such an important cause.
Courtenay Mason
Secondary Teacher
Unfortunately, St Joseph's Carol Under the Stars for this year has been cancelled due to Covid.
On Friday 6th November, St Joseph’s took part in our first inter-school mountain bike competition hosted by Rocky Trail Academy at the Sugarbag Trails in Caloundra.
This competition ran on a time-trail format, with three separate runs designed to test riders’ technical skills, flow skills and endurance.
Noah Taylor and Blake Campbell, both Year 7 students, represented the school well, pushing their individual limits and competing well against some of the best junior riders in the State.
Well done to all the students who took part in the Primary Swimming Carnival and to Mr Grew, our staff, Michael and Gail Smail and pool staff and the families who helped out and supported.
Congratulations to House Champions, Davadi; Spirit Award winners, McAuley; and our age champions and runners up below. A special congratulations to Jessica Pradella who broke the 11 Years Girls 50m Freestyle and 11 Years Girls 50m Backstroke records, and to Lillian Kendall who broke the 11 Years Girls 50m Butterfly record. All three records have stood since 2003.
8 Year old Boy Champion | Jason Maggiolo |
8 Year old Boy Runner Up | Sean Lancaster |
8 Year old Girl Champion | Ivy Hill |
8 Year old Girl Runner Up | Gracie Zanatta |
9 Year old Boy Champion | Lyndon Morello |
9 Year old Boy Runner Up | Aiden McCosker |
9 Year old Girld Champion | Georgie Petrie |
9 Year old Girl Runner Up | Claire Stanford |
10 Year old Boy Champion | Liam Green |
10 Year old Boy Runner Up | Tom Telfer |
10 Year old Girl Champion | Sasha Kendall |
10 Year old Girl Runner Up | Lilly Tuvukica |
11 Year old Boy Champion | Billy Galloway |
11 Year old Boy Runner Up | Hamish Organ |
11 Year old Girl Champion | Jessica Pradella |
11 Year old Girl Runner Up | Lillian Kendall |
12 Year old Boy Champion | Jayden Green & Jaiden Morello |
12 Year old Boy Runner Up | Jack Brown |
12 Year old Girl Champion | Eden Shatte |
12 Year old Girl Runner Up | Madison Wilson |
Records
Name | Event | Time | Previous Record |
Lillian Kendall | 11 Yrs Girls 50m Butterfly | 38.12 | N Cobon (2003) 38.25 |
Jessica Pradella | 11 Yrs Girls 50m Backstroke | 39.75 | N Cobon (2003) 40.05 |
Jessica Pradella | 11 Yrs Girls 50m Freestyle | 32.97 | N Cobon (2003) 33.44 |
ST JOEY’S WIN!
St Joseph’s 24 – Assumption 21
Assumption got out to the early lead with some fast ball movement and getting in the right spots to make shots. St Joey’s steadied and played some great defence to get the lead back. The half time score was 13 – 7 with St Joey’s in front.
The second half started with great competitiveness from both sides as they went scoreless for the better part of the first 5 minutes. Finally, Assumption scored the first basket of the second half. It was game on. With high intensity and a fast paced nature, both sides were scoring the ball very well. St Joey’s fell behind in the middle of the half to be trailing by 3 points. In the last 5 minutes, St Joey’s came out of second gear and played exceptional defence to force turnovers and to give themselves an abundance of opportunities to score.
As the end of the game was near, St Joey’s finally regained the lead and held on for the last 90 seconds to come out winners. It was a great contest from both sides, and we look forward to playing each other many times in the future!
Carmelo Citrigno
TUESDAY NIGHT SOCIAL BASKETBALL COMPETITION
This year has deprived us all of opportunities to engage in sport, however finally social sports at the YMCA was to start again. Stanthorpe Fitness Centre at the YMCA started a social Basketball competition on the 27th October.
Secondary teacher, Carmelo Citrigno put the call out to both Primary and Secondary students to gauge what interest there was and a number of St Joseph's teams were formed.
The students, from both Primary and Secondary, are having a lot of fun and improving each week!
Thanks Mr Citrigno for facilitating this and ensuring that students are enjoying sports once again!
19 November | Year 12 Graduation Mass & Dinner |
20 November | Year 12 Farewell Assembly |
23 November | Lecturette District Final |
25 November | Year 6 Wet n Wild Excursion |
Year 11 Leadership Day | |
26 November | Prep & Year 1 Fairy Tale Ball |
27 November | Year 10 & Year 11 Finish |
2 December | Semper Una Year 6 Celebration |
4 December | Last Day of Term 4 - 12pm finish |
27 January | First Day of Term 1 2021 Years 1-7 & 11-12 |
28 January | First Day of Term 1 2021 Prep and Years 8-10 |