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- PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
- DEPUTY PRINCIPAL
- ASSISTANT TO THE PRINCIPAL PRIMARY
- ASSISTANT TO THE PRINCIPAL FORMATION & IDENTITY
- SCHOOL FEES
- ST VINCENT DE PAUL CHRISTMAS APPEAL
- SCIENCE CLUB VISITS PRIMARY CAMPUS
- CHESS CLUB and COMPETITIONS
- INTO THE FIELD FOR BIOLOGY
- YEAR 4/5
- BOOK FAIR - IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO VISIT !!
- MUSIC
- 2022 YEARBOOK ORDERS ARE NOW OPEN
- TUCKSHOP CHRISTMAS PARTY
- SPORT
- UPCOMING EVENTS
This year the following staff were nominated as the finalists in the Toowoomba Catholic Schools Excellence Awards.
Each finalist attended the finals presentation on Wednesday 2 November at Preston Peak Winery Function Centre in Toowoomba where the winners in each of the 10 categories were announced. All are very deserving of their nomination, and I am very thankful for the wonderful work they and all our staff do. The number of finalists from St. Joey’s is indicative of the success of the school and the good work our staff do across the diocese.
Excellence in Teaching and Learning
Secondary Expert Teacher
- Lisa McPherson
eLearning
- eLearning Collective – St Joseph’s School, Stanthorpe, Our Lady of the Southern Cross College, Dalby and Toowoomba Catholic Schools Office (Matthew Brown, Mary Roberts and Joseph Shorter)
Excellence in Leadership
School/Kindergarten Leadership
- Sarah Yates
Excellence in Education Support
Teaching and Learning Support
- Kim Badcock
We were very pleased to have winners from St Joseph’s School in the Secondary Expert Teacher and eLearning categories – Lisa McPherson, Mary Roberts, Joseph Shorter and Matthew Brown.
We are blessed to have so many dedicated and professional staff excelling in our diocese and I am proud of the work they do.
God Bless
Term 4 historically moves very quickly, and this year has been no different. We have flown past the halfway mark for students and over the next few weeks, as the assessment window draws closer, it is important that all students work collaboratively with teachers to meet deadlines and implement the feedback given to continue to improve the quality of responses.
Some parents may have been contacted by the curriculum leaders in relation to academic intervention sessions. These are an important support strategy we use at the checkpoint stages of assessment draft development to ensure students are on track to complete a quality draft. I ask that as parents you support your child’s teacher by encouraging them to attend these sessions if they are requested to.
The Year 12 students have engaged in the External Assessment block and the feeling of apprehension, coupled with positive energy, has seen the students perform remarkably well in the exams. The journey in preparing for these external exams has been long and challenging, and we as a school community are proud of the effort and commitment that the Year 12’s have shown across the exam block.
Our Year 11 students travelled to Toowoomba recently to join other Year 11 students from schools within our Toowoomba Catholic system for a study skills day. During this day, students engaged in various activities relating to developing study skills and coping with the upcoming demands of summative assessment in Unit 3, as well as hearing from current and former Year 12 students who shared their lived experience of senior schooling and preparation for the External assessment block.
On November 7, the Year 6 students transitioning into Year 7 in 2021, including students joining our community from other schools in the region, enjoyed a full day program on the Secondary Campus. As a school, we are excited to see the continued growth of the Year 6 students as a collective group as they move into Secondary together, building on the wonderful work done this year in developing their skills, capabilities and leadership qualities as part of the Year 6 hub.
Call to be… Christ-like
Called to live… Mercy
Matthew Brown
Deputy Principal
For the past two years we have been involved in a Toowoomba Catholic Schools' initiative called INSPIRE Maths. The focus areas of this project included exploring how mindsets towards Maths could be changed through language and teaching approaches as well as how research into effective teaching might be used to improve the practice of our teachers and therefore the outcomes for our students. We have seen much success with this project as a school and do not intend for it to end at the conclusion of this school year. However, the project itself culminated in a 'Students in Maths Day' last Thursday for some upper primary students who travelled to St Saviour's College in Toowoomba. They were invited to engage in a number of workshops around Maths themes which they did with much enthusiasm. It is always a delight to take students to an event such as this and they certainly represented the school well.
By the time you read this newsletter, we will have hosted our first Prep Practice Morning for those children who will be starting Prep next year. It is always very exciting to see the children in this environment and to watch how they interact. This is an important day for the teachers too. There is a lot of educational research about how significant the relationship is between the teacher and the learner as well as children feeling safe in their environment. This is an early opportunity for us as a community to make our new Preppies feel safe and valued. Another day will be provided next Wednesday, after which the children will receive a gift from us to keep them busy over the holidays.
In a few weeks we will begin the annual Granite Belt Lecturette Competition, with Town Final first which will be followed by the District Final. Congratulations to those students from Year 6 who have been nominated to represent the school at this competition and we wish them all the best.
Finally, we said goodbye last Friday to Miss Bella who successfully completed an SBA course with us over the past two and a half years. During her time here she made a big impact on the children and the teachers and was an enormous help to both. Bella will be missed but we wish her well in the future.
With God's blessings
Sarah Yates
Assistant to the Principal Primary
‘Adventus’
Another season of the church is almost upon us!
Advent!
Derived from the Latin word ‘adventus’ meaning ‘coming into’, advent is the season of reflective preparation for the birth of Christ coming into this world at Christmas. Today there are numerous advent calendars available for purchase, ranging from fragrances, beauty products, chocolate, alcohol, teas and even Lego. But what is the true meaning of Advent?
"Advent is the season for remembering the closeness of God who came down to dwell in our midst" (Pope Francis, 2020).
The advent calendar has become so commercialised that the significance and meaning of Advent can become lost and difficult to fully experience. The two links below provide a brief summary of the season of Advent and its meaning for all as we move towards the celebration of Christ’s birth.
With God's blessings,
Megan Mahoney
Assistant to the Principal Formation & Identity
School Fees for Term 4 have been emailed and payments are due this week.
If you haven’t received an invoice / statement or require a statement to date, please feel free to contact the Bursar on 4681 5903 or email Megan.Hines@twb.catholic.edu.au
Payments can be made by Direct Deposit or at the office by paying by cash or card.
Bank details are as follows:
Account Name : St Joseph’s School
Bank & Branch : 064-431 (CBA-Stanthorpe)
Account No : 1018-4376
Reference : Surname STA___ (eg HINES STA999)
If your payment plan or account can't be paid in full by the end of the school year, please contact the Mrs Hines to discuss this further.
St Joseph’s School has always been strong supporters of the annual St Vincent De Paul Christmas Appeal. The response to our Christmas campaign has always been outstanding, ensuring that the families in our local area can enjoy Christmas more comfortably. The continual rise in the cost of basic commodities and services, has meant that many families are in need of assistance. Therefore, we will once again support our local St Vincent De Paul Society in their Christmas Appeal.
This year each class will be given an item to donate to the appeal. Students are encouraged to be involved in purchasing their item, understanding that their contribution, together with others from our school, will make a real difference to someone's Christmas this year. Items can be placed in the baskets located in each classroom or mentor room.
We will present a hamper to SVDP representatives at our end of year mass. Below is a list of items for each class to contribute.
- Prep - sweet biscuits
- Year 1 - savoury biscuits
- Year 2 - pasta or rice
- Year 3/4 - long life milk or long life custard
- Year 5/6 - sauce - tomato, bbq etc OR tinned fruit
- Year 7 - spreads eg jam, Vegemite, peanut butter
- Year 8 - beverages eg. tea, coffee, hot chocolate etc
- Year 9 - sauces for rice or pasta dishes eg. pasta sauce, Chicken Tonight
- Year 10 - juice, poppers, cordial OR sugar
- Year 11 and 12 - monetary donation for the purchase of meat vouchers.
Many thanks in anticipation of your support of this very worthy appeal.
On Monday 7th November, during lunch time, the Secondary Science Club ran an experiment for primary students.
The primary students ‘flew’ their balloon rockets with an enthusiasm that was ‘out of this world’. It was a close competition with students trialling various sizes of balloons, and angles of attachment. However, the true winner was the joy of Science.
Thank you to the Year 11 Science Club Leaders: Addison Swan, Taylah Organ, Sophie Day, Eliza Telfer, and Taryn McCosker.
Each Thursday, students from the Primary and Secondary Campuses are meeting to compete in the inter-house Chess competition. Students from Years 5 to 11 are involved. There have been some great games played with a number of the younger students pushing their older, more experienced competitors. This competition wil run until the end of Term.
Commencing last Friday, our team of Patrick Scudamore, Lachlan Doyle, Luke Maggiolo and Jeremy Lister are competing for three weeks in the Granite Belt Primary Schools Chess Competition at the State Primary school.
The boys began with two convincing victories and are looking forward to the rest of the competition.
Congratulations and well done !
On Monday, 7th November, the Year 11 Biology students went ‘into the field’ to hone their ecological sampling skills.
They practiced the ecological sampling methods of transects and quadrats. These are methods to obtain data on the ecological diversity of an ecosystem. They will be using these skills this coming Friday on their Girraween excursion.
Primary Teacher Aid, Mrs Debbie Wilson recently created a beautiful piece of art, resembling a flower, with multiple petals and invited students to sign each petal to say Thank You to their teachers.
Students from Year 4/5 took the initiative then to create a replica (without any adult prompting), signing each petal again.
This was then presented to the staff in Learning Support.
What a beautiful and lovely gesture on their behalf of these students.
Bookfair is open from 8am - 8.30am and 3pm - 3.30pm, every day this week.
Don't miss out - see you there !
On Saturday 29th October and Sunday 6th November, the first group of St Joseph’s instrumental students entered for their Australian Music Examinations Board exams. Nine in total did exams on flute, trumpet and saxophone.
This is an amazing effort by these students to meet this rigorous challenge of sitting exams recognised around Australia and the world.
Well done to these brave students and to their families who supported them throughout the process and travelled to Toowoomba. Congratulations to everyone.
The 2022 Yearbooks are $35 per copy with only 100 Yearbooks being printed this year so you will need to act quickly to secure a copy. To confirm your Yearbook order, all payments are to be made through the Qkr! app. It can be found under "School Payments, School Magazine". The Yearbook will then need to be ordered under your child's name.
Yearbooks will be available for collection in Term 1 of 2023. A broadcast will be sent advising when the Yearbooks have arrived.
The annual Tuckshop Christmas Party will be held on Sunday 20th December at the Stanthorpe RSL at 12pm.
Everyone who has assisted throughout the year, whether it be baking or volunteering on either the Primary and / or Secondary campus is invited to attend.
We hope to see as many of you there as possible and look forward to celebrating another successful year. We welcome everyone to join us.
Please RSVP to Sarah Fleming on sarah.fleming@twb.catholic.edu.au by the 17th November.
Basketball Qld State Championships
The annual Primary Swimming Carnival is scheduled to take place on Wednesday 16 November 2022.
Good luck to all students competing and remember that every point counts towards your sporting house.
So who will win ? McAuley or Davadi ?
Please find following a program for the days events.
We look forward to seeing all students in attendance and parents and friends are more than welcome to join us.
| 10 November | Year 11 Study Skills Day, St Mary's Toowoomba |
| 11 November | Year 11 Biology Excursion, Girraween |
| Ted Bonner Tennis Selection & Trials | |
| 7 - 11 November | Bookfair |
| 7 - 11 November | Year 12 External Assessment Block |
| 13 - 15 November | Year 12 Retreat |
| 16 November | Primary Swimming Carnival |
| Prep 2023 Open Morning | |
| 17 November | Year 12 Graduation Mass & Dinner |
| 18 November | Year 12 Farewell Assembly |
| 21 November | Lecturette Town Final |
| Rotary Crafts Award Presentation 6pm | |
| 22 - 23 November | Year 11 Leadership Days |
| 25 November | Year 10 & 11 Finish |
| End of Year Mass | |
| 27 November | 1st Sunday of Advent |
| 28 November | Lecturette District Final |
| 29 November | Year 6 End of Year Trip |
| 30 November | Semper Una Year 6 Celebration |
| Primary Break-Up Swim | |
| 1 December | Carols under ther Stars |
| 2 December | Term 4 Finishes |
| 24 January 2023 | Year 1 - 12 Commence |
| 25 January 2023 | Preps Commence |