4 August 2017

Newsletter Articles

Message from the Principal

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

The last two weeks has been a busy time for all involved at St Joseph’s School and I am thankful for the positive engagement of students, staff and parents.

“Back to the 80’s” was a wonderfully performed musical. Our students are to be commended for their hard work, dedication and support for each other. Thanks to Mr Shorter, Mrs Perrett and Mrs Barker for their leadership of the production. I am also very grateful to the other staff and parents who helped out so well. I hope all involved and those who turned out to watch on both nights “had the time of their lives”!

Catholic Education Week, themed “Sharing the Journey”, also went very well. Father Brian celebrated mass with members of the parish and school community to kick off the week. Congratulations to our Year 4’s who began their preparations for their first Eucharist at the end of mass. The Alumni display set up in the church on the day was a great representation of the different faces of the school over time.

The highlight of the Catholic Education Week was the journey by the whole school along Quart Pot Creek, stopping along the way to collect mementos symbolic of each child’s personal journey. Concluding with a prayer liturgy and lunch at Lions Park, it was an enjoyable day for all. Thanks to our seniors who did a commendable job of leading the activities and helping throughout the day.

Congratulations to McAuley House for their overall win on Athletics Day and to the various aged champions. It was a beautiful Stanthorpe Day and the spirit amongst the students and staff on the day was great to see.

Thanks to all students, staff and parents for making Catholic Education Week a great success. In particular, I would like to thank Mrs Mahony for her organisation of the week and to Mrs Ellis, Mr Armstrong, Mr Brown, Mr Grew and others for running our athletics events.

With all the fun and excitement of the last few weeks now over, it is time for all settle down to the business end of the term. For the students, that means focusing on their studies. We encourage all students to strive to reach their full potential and the teachers are working diligently towards supporting that goal. I ask that we all share in helping our students make a successful journey with their studies.

God bless.

Andrew Kendall
Acting Principal

School News

NEWS FROM THE PRIMARY CAMPUS:

Forensic Science Incursion – A Case of Emergency

The most effective learning takes place for students where there is a real life context and where students can see a use for the knowledge they are acquiring. This week a crime scene was set up in the multi-purpose room and the students, acting as forensic scientists, had the responsibility of solving the crime. Their clues included, among other things, a backpack, a water bottle, a pair of thongs and some eucalyptus leaves. They were able to use a digital microscope to view plant samples, find evidence within digital texts and investigate scat to see what animal it came from – and what the animal had eaten! So much learning took place in each session as the students interacted with the information and artefacts with which they were presented and using skills such as inferring, hypothesising and justifying, they were able to solve the crime.

AUDIOLOGY VISIT – Term 3

St Joseph’s School has contracted the services of an Audiologist, Ms. Dendra Cole, to visit the school in Week 9 of Term 3, 2017. This opportunity allows students to have a full hearing test, and will provide vital information of the hearing health of your child.

Your child may have previously participated in a Hearing Screening Process through your local Health Unit. These screeners help to inform us of some issues, such as whether there is fluid in the ears, wax build up or hearing levels. However, without a comprehensive hearing test by an accredited Audiologist, you are unable to access federally funded hearing services such as Australian Hearing or Ear, Nose and Throat consultations if required.

The hearing health of your child is vital in their access to educational, social and emotional development. Even a mild hearing loss can mean that your child may be missing 25% of the speech that occurs in the classroom. Hearing loss (whether permanent or fluctuating) can also be linked to fatigue, disengagement in school and difficult friendship experiences.

Your child is invited to participate in this program. This may be due to an existing screening history, or possibly due to their age. Should you choose to consent to this process, please ensure that you have noted your child’s hearing health history. There is a cost of $66 for the Audiology test. This cost is quite reduced from the expected price of such a test. If you wish to take advantage of this offer, you will need to complete a consent form (available from Mrs Sarah Yates) and return it to the school office by Monday 14th August, 2017. The cost is payable to the office by Monday 21st August, 2017.

Diocesan-wide Reading Strategy

Currently the teachers from Prep – Year 4 are undertaking professional development for a Diocesan-wide reading strategy which is designed to raise the standard of reading and comprehension for all students. Some of the practices involved in the strategy are new whilst others are more of a refinement of what we currently do. As the teachers work through the training modules and begin to implement the practices more widely in their classrooms, you will probably find your children using vocabulary which is currently unfamiliar to you. They will be describing questions as ‘in the book’ or ‘in my head’ and classifying them further into ‘right there’, ‘think and search’, ‘author and me’ and ‘on my own’. This terminology will become part of the language used in every classroom so that the consistency can lead to familiarity and understanding for the students.

We will hold a information session for parents in the near future but in the meantime you may like to use some of the question prompts below when reading a book with your child. It is important to remember that reading is not just about cracking the code of the marks on the page, but also developing a level of comprehension about the content and the purpose of the text.

Fun run

The Year 7’s are holding the CUA School Fun-Run as a major fundraising event this year! The event will be held on Friday 15th September. This is a sponsorship based fundraiser, and we’re looking to raise money for St Joseph’s School. The CUA School Fun-Run is a healthy fundraiser that we hope you’ll get behind, with all proceeds going to Granite Belt Support Services, Careflight and QISSN 2018 team.

We’re looking for all students to participate and we’re organising a great day for our community, so we’d love our parents and friends to come down on the day.

Keep your eyes peeled for the sponsorship forms which will be sent home with your child in the next 2 weeks. Students who raise $10 or more will receive a reward and just by jumping online, your family has the chance to win a $30,000 Ultimate Family Experience!

Thanks for supporting your child’s wellbeing and we hope to see you at school for the event.

Catholic Education Week

Whilst every week in our school is a celebration of learning and working in a Catholic School, official observance of Catholic Education Week concluded on July 29. Planned activities allowed the opportunity for staff, students and families to acknowledge and reflect upon the important role each of us play in sharing the journey, both educationally and spiritually. Our whole school walk along Quart Pot Creek truly showed the beauty and uniqueness of being part of St. Joseph’s School.

For this activity primary students were buddied together with a student from the secondary school and, after receiving their bag and bottle of water set off on their walk stopping along the way at a station to collect mementos and participate in an activity and reflection. Each of these stations was facilitated by Year 12 students and focused on aspects of journeying. The walk concluded at the Lions Park where our secondary students were kept busy organising games such as Duck, Duck, Goose, quoits and relays. Both old and young participated in these games, until it was time to conclude with a prayer liturgy giving thanks for the journey each of us have shared and continue to share at St. Joseph’s. Lunch, prepared by our Year 11 students was then distributed and enjoyed on the banks of the creek. The walk back to school, whilst somewhat slower, was a final opportunity for secondary students and their buddies to chat about the day and say goodbye.

The opportunity this activity provided for staff and students to gather together as a whole school highlights the value and significance of journeying at St. Joseph’s School where Jesus continues to be at the centre of learning and life.

Megan Mahoney
APRE

Real Talk

Recently students from Years 7 to 11 had the opportunity to attend presentations from the Real Talk team, an organisation which delivers the message of love, relationships and personal identity with a Catholic Christian focus. Using multimedia, personal stories, facts, discussion and reflection, presenters led the students in topics including true beauty, love and live, and living in the digital world. For some of the sessions, classes were separated into male and female, allowing opportunity for open discussion on personal topics. Classes were asked to write a brief statement on this component of their pastoral care program:

“Real Talk taught us many life lessons that we found extremely valuable. We learned the importance of knowing your worth, having confidence in yourself and being emotionally strong in the face of difficult choices. Our biggest take home message from Real Talk was that your life is shaped by the choices that you make. “ Year 10

In Real Talk we learnt a lot about life choices in love and relationships – and kept it real by talking about real choices and consequences made by real people in the real world. Year 9

“We discussed that we are all different and beautiful, even though society pressures young adults into looking this way or that way. I really enjoyed Real Talk and just being with the girls because it was a comfortable atmosphere where everyone was happy to just share their thoughts and feelings.” – Year, 8M.

Year 12 students will have the opportunity to engage with the Real Talk team when they participate in a full day seminar at their retreat in November.

Megan Mahoney
APRE

Sport News

2017 St Joseph’s School Athletics Carnival

St Joseph’s Athletics Carnival for 2017 experienced the perfect conditions to see records crumble and the level of participation and enthusiasm rise steeply. It was fantastic to see the large numbers of spectators this year sunning on picnic rugs instead of huddled under blankets.

Records were on the chopping block this year both in field and track events, the following records fell:

School spirit was high with characters such as cheer leaders and ninja nanas running around the track in house colours. Other students contributed to the carnival by honing their Barista skills selling coffees, hot chocolates and teas raising funds for the sports department. This year saw the youngest of our student body stay until the end of the carnival participating in the sprints and cheering on the relay teams.

Contesting age champion trophies was a close competition with one age being separated by just one point. Congratulations to the following Age Champions and Runners Up: