25 November 2016

Newsletter Articles

Leader’s News

Dear Parents and Carers

This is the final edition of our newsletter for 2016 and my final entry as Principal of the school. As you know the last fortnight has been a busy one, with the graduation and farewell of our Year 12 students and preparations for end of year events and festivities. Coming up next week, we have the Dance Fever concert on Tuesday at 9am in the Bathersby Centre, our end of Year Mass at 9am on Wednesday where we will farewell outgoing staff, celebrate the transition of Year 6 students to Secondary school and pray for a happy and holy Christmas and vacation. That evening, commencing at 5:30pm in the Bathersby Centre, we have Carols under the Stars. On Thursday, our Primary students will have an end of year celebration at the pool with a BBQ lunch, and that afternoon from 3:30pm we are holding an afternoon tea for parents and students to show their appreciation for the life’s work of Mary McLucas at St Joseph’s School. On Friday, Semester 2 reports will be available for collection from the office between 10:30-11:45am (or otherwise posted), with the school year ending at 12pm. For a school of 400, we know how to keep busy.

We held our final Fete meeting on Tuesday night where the outcome of the Fete was presented and evaluation and feedback was undertaken. From a monetary point of view, the outcome was disappointing with a total taking of $6497.05. When we compared the breakdown of income with 2015 it was clear the weather had a major impact, with approximately 50% fewer people attending in 2016. However, we cannot put a dollar figure on the community cohesion such an event engenders, and despite the rain, it was a great day for our school community. The number of volunteers offering their assistance was spectacular, school staff invested a great deal of time and energy into stalls (which generated over $4000 profit!), parents and members of the local community generously made donations and our students also worked as volunteers, helping to make the day as successful as possible. The review identified a few areas for consideration for future fetes, and there is a commitment on the part of the committee to continue the Fete in 2017. Of course, this will need to be a discussion with the incoming Principal, Phil McGreevy. I want to thank all those involved with the Fete and in particular the committee who offered their time and talents over many months in preparation for this significant and important event which is a family—centred and community building exercise.

I want to take this final opportunity to thank the community of St Joseph’s School for their support over the last 5 ½ years. I think, together, we have achieved a great deal in respect of student learning, resourcing and improvement of facilities. I am certainly richer for my time as Principal here and I feel very privileged to have been given this special opportunity. I pray that you and your family have a holy and happy Christmas, and a prosperous 2017 and beyond.

Dr Michael McCarthy
Principal

School News

Year 6’s from St Joseph’s and many other primary schools in our local area, and from Tenterfield enjoyed the Secondary experience day held last Tuesday.

Students were all keen to be immersed in the life of a Secondary student and attended a variety of subject lessons on the day. In the first lessons students were given an overview of lessons, homework and assessment in Year 7.

After lesson 1 Year 6’s headed off to lessons. In Technology Studies students made dice, in English some creative writing, in Geography the rivers of Asia and in HPE a myriad of futsal drills. Morning tea and lunch were provided and we thank Year 8 students cooking and preparing the BBQ. At the end of the day many of the Year 6’s replied that they had all had a great day.

We look forward to seeing all of the smiling faces when we begin Term 1 2017.

2016 Lecturette Semi-Final

Lecturette time has come around again and all the Year 6s have been very busy planning, drafting, editing and practising their Lecturettes. All the students presented their speeches in the library two weeks ago in front of their peers, teachers and our special guest Mr Shorter from the Secondary Campus.

The top seven students were chosen to represent St Joseph’s last Monday in the Semi-Final of the Regional Lecturette competition against the State Primary.

The seven students and their topics were:

• Tom Gleeson - Why disabled children should be included in mainstream environments
• Georgette Forbes – Equality for and Stereotypes for Women
• Kaelie Doyle – Now or Never (protecting the Great Barrier Reef)
• Lucas Wren – The pros and cons of obeying my parents
• Lochie Westlake –Rix – Why teachers should be paid more
• Hamish Alldridge – Books v TV
• Taylah Zahner – Okavango

On the night there were thirteen competitors and only seven places available for the regional final on Monday 28th November. The school library was full of expectant parents, students and community members who were enthralled by a very high standard of speeches. In the end it was up to the Toastmasters volunteer judges to decide the top 7 and they chose 5 St Joseph students.

They were (in no particular order) Tom Gleeson, Georgette Forbes, Lucas Wren, Lochie Westlake-Rix and Taylah Zahner.

A big thank you to all the students for their exemplary behaviour and support of each other. Also thank you to the Toastmasters, the state school competitors and supporters and all the staff involved. All the students performed admirably and we look forward to the final next week in the school library at 7PM.

One Million Stars to End Violence

“Weaving Communities of Courage to End Violence”

During Term 4 students, under the guidance of their teachers, have been busily weaving stars as part of the One Million Stars to End Violence community project. The aim of the project is to invite community groups to weave as many stars as possible in an effort to remind each of us that we have to make peace and commit to ending violence and revenge; to promote forgiveness and healing, ensuring that light and hope fill our world. All stars will be used towards an installation for the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Project coordinator Mrs Sandra Ellis said that it had been a wonderful opportunity for the students to be involved in something far greater than their own community. As well as developing a deeper awareness of the need to end violence in our world, Mrs Ellis said that students had also come to realise that from a small contribution, something far greater can grow. It is anticipated that the students and staff will have made 1 000 stars by the end of the school year. If any members of the Stanthorpe community would like to contribute to this project, please contact the school.

A Human Advent Wreath

As part of their religious education unit for this term, Prep students have been learning about the season of Advent as we begin preparations for the birth of Christ. Students have made paper wreaths highlighting the symbolism of each of the four candles – 3 purple and 1 rose representing each of the 4 Sundays of Advent. In the centre of the wreath is a white candle and together these candles represent the coming of the light of Christ into the world. During their regular Yoga classes, Mrs Armstrong’s students took their learning one step further, creating a human advent wreath! This amazing display can be seen in the photo together with the candles. This popular tradition is a wonderful opportunity for families to come together and focus on preparing for the true meaning of Christmas.

Celebrate a citizen

Students from Year 3 and 4 have spent weeks preparing for Celebrate A Citizen, a class project that celebrated those members of the community whose work often goes unrecognized. From volunteers to vets students interviewed citizens and presented them with a certificate of thanks and a morning tea.

Year 11 Camp

The trip started off well, until we realised that Miss Taylor had to wear the same outfit for three days, thankfully Miss Allen saved the day, exploring new territory on the Toowoomba range, dropping off the necessary provisions. Goals were set within the first hour; overcoming fears, making decisions, working together as a team and becoming closer as a class. Our first lesson was punctuality, followed by 40 push-ups as a consequence for being 4 minutes late. Team building exercises started off less challenging and gradually got harder from charging towards an invisible enemy whilst screaming to carrying a classmate while scaling a rocky cliff. Together we completed the goals set in activities to the best of our ability and successfully out-performed previous schools in the cable crossing and the swinging log, to mention a few. Spending time together in the drill hall, jumping from a tower into the murky depths of the dam and becoming closer with people not usually associated with were the highlight of our days. Tuesday was by far the hardest day, challenging many people to overcome their fears, climbing through tunnels underground and trekking through mud along the Kokoda trail. Tough love and brutal honesty were forever lashed out by our well-meaning instructor, John, straightening people out, with Claudia in the firing line, the stress finally got to her and she decided to have a fully body mud bath. The furiousness of paintball was felt by Mr Macnamara shot by one of the girls and Jacob achieving the perfect shot, consequently injuring Katie. Emu Gully’s mission was successful, to encourage teamwork within a group whose next mission is to lead our school as Year 12 for 2017. There are endless amounts of stories and funny moments that we will forever remember and we wouldn’t have survived camp without the strength of our 5 boys and the perseverance of the girls, and together we are leaders for 2017.

Cory Rossiter Visit to Year 3/4 to talk about Advertising

The power of persuasion is strong in the Year 3/4 T classroom. We have combined English and Technologies in an effort to create an advertisement. We have enjoyed using the skills from our writing program – our favourite of course is “Ban the Boring” and designing, creating and improving in a collaborative setting to write scripts and record our ads.

We were lucky enough to have Dom’s dad Cory visit us with some real life examples of photography that are used in advertising. His advice and knowledge was amazing as he answered the tough questions that the students threw at him. We enjoyed looking at Cory’s cameras but also hearing that we too can take some really interesting images using even basic equipment as long as we are prepared to view the world around us in a different way.

We also learnt that those 5 Keys to Success and Happiness – especially persistence and resilience definitely are needed to succeed in any career. A big thank you to Cory Rossiter for taking the time to come and visit our class and share his expertise with us.

Year 12’s Last week

As our Year 12 students approached their final days at St. Joseph’s, the week began with a two day retreat to Leslie Dam. After settling into their accommodation, the students enjoyed a day with Kym and Matthew, presenters from the Brisbane based Real Talk team. As well as sharing their own personal stories, Matthew and Kym’s presentation focussed on love and life, relationships, media stereotyping, body language and God’s plan for each person. That evening the students participated in a “Colours of Life Ritual” and were given the opportunity to affirm others in the group. The affirmations were supportive, encouraging, healing and, at times humorous. Students received a letter of affirmation from their parents as well as a class member, which again offered opportunity for reflection and contemplation.

An early rise Tuesday morning saw the students partake in a Yoga session with Elly, a local Yoga instructor. Feeling refreshed and invigorated the students then participated in catapult making and archery, both of which ensured strong competition as well as plenty of laughs along the way. As the day drew to a close it was time to board the bus and head for home feeling a little more nostalgic and sentimental, but eager for the days ahead and the final roll call for the 2016 Year 12 graduates.

Many thanks to Mrs Muller and Mr Shorter for their participation and assistance with Year 12 Retreat.

Sport News

Primary Swimming Carnival

Parish News